Atlas of Heaven and Man.

Chapter 1367 Strange and Unusual Things
After returning to the administrative department, Chen Chuan immediately began retrieving information from Shen Yu.

The National Security Department's database is very comprehensive; even old texts and maps from the past can be found, and he has retrieved them all.

According to the information, Xiaochishan, Maoshan, and Chengzeshan were actually one mountain before the old era, with only flat and concave areas having mountain paths for people to pass through.

If you compare the maps with those from earlier times, especially the hand-drawn maps from the Qi Dynasty, you can clearly see that the terrain of these three mountains is extremely unusual. From an aerial view, it looks like a person whose chest and abdomen have been cut open, with Maoshan as the main trunk and Xiaochishan and Chengzeshan as the two forcibly separated ribs.

As this place is the southern gateway to Zhongjing, battles involving Xuanji warriors have taken place here throughout history, and the terrain has gradually changed under these influences.

Especially towards the end of the old era, a large-scale battle took place here, with each side deploying more than a dozen Xuanji martial artists.

After this battle, the mountain was completely destroyed. After the establishment of the Republic of China, the three mountains were separated by clearing and opening up several new roads along the fractured sections.

And it was from that time that the old ghost story completely disappeared. Ninety years have passed in the blink of an eye, and now only legends remain of the memories of that time.

Chen Chuan stared at the map for a while. Judging from the outline of the mountain and the time when the cracks appeared, it was possible that the strange tales that appeared were intentionally arranged and cultivated by someone.

This explains why ghost stories appear and disappear intermittently, always during the middle of a dynasty, because that's precisely when wars have passed and conflicts in the region have lessened.

Recent battles have severed the connection between the three mountains, and with the disappearance of the rift, the ghost stories may disappear for decades.

So why is it resurfacing now?

Another document at hand seemed to confirm this answer.

A company initially planned to build a joint scenic area here, but just a few months after the project started, the company's top executives were embroiled in a political scandal and fell from power. Some of the assets were transferred to others, and some were auctioned off, thus putting the entire development plan on hold.

The sightseeing cable car project was the first phase of the project, initially connecting the three mountains with cables to facilitate tourist travel. However, this move may very well have reignited this strange tale.

The timing also confirms his judgment, because there was nothing unusual between the three mountains before the tourism project was opened, and it was only three years after this incident that the long-haired woman who handed someone the camera appeared.

Actually, there's another situation here.

His gaze fell on the small pond near the sea village, and he retrieved an internal case file from the administrative department's archives.

After reading it, he had roughly figured out the cause and effect.

He sat down and pondered for a while, then tapped the boundary token. After the call connected, he said, "Mr. Zhan, this is me, Chen Chuan."

Zhan Jiyue's voice came through: "Counselor Chen? Is there a problem?"

“I’ve found some clues, and I think you might want to take a look, Mr. Zhan.”

Zhan Jiyue immediately sped up her speech and said, "I'm coming right away!"

Half an hour later, Zhan Jiyue got into Chen Chuan's car and sat opposite Chen Chuan in the back seat.

"Counselor Chen, I didn't expect you to find the clue so quickly."

Chen Chuan said, "The matter is not complicated; it just depends on whether you have paid attention and organized it."

Zhan Jiyue knew it wasn't that simple. The more he thought about it, the more confused he became. He asked, "What exactly is going on with this anomaly?"

Chen Chuan said: "Let's talk about the matter of Hai Village that Mr. Zhan is concerned about first. The occurrence of anomalies is usually closely related to some special people or special events."

The most direct connection to the Haicun incident was the mudslide that destroyed the village.

However, the so-called mudslide did not actually occur. The weather was actually very good that night, and the incident happened in October, not during the summer flood season when mudslides are most frequent.

Zhan Jiyue was taken aback and immediately used the Jieping to check the date of the news. To her surprise, she found that the incident happened on the night of October 7th. She wondered if it was a coincidence, but today happened to be October 8th.

But after checking the weather records again, he frowned. "That's not right. The weather records show that there was a torrential downpour that night, which also triggered flash floods."

Chen Chuan said calmly, "That's because the record was altered afterward." As he spoke, he tapped the lower realm token and sent a data over.

"The original records are here. Although most of the information left at the time has been erased, the records of the affairs department and the military department cannot be changed."

Zhan Jiyue glanced at it, his eyes narrowing. Sure enough, the record clearly stated that the weather that night was "fine." He frowned and said, "Then what exactly happened to the mudslide in Hai Village...?"

Chen Chuanchuan said: "In Zhongjing, there is a group of young people with a very impressive background. Their hobby is demolition and appreciating various explosion effects."

On Xiaochi Mountain, there is a type of whetstone that is extremely sturdy. There is also a large whetstone lying horizontally on the mountaintop, known as the Mountain Shed. Since ancient times, no one has been able to carve or inscribe on it.

They had their eye on this large rock and, in pursuit of a dramatic effect, used high-powered, highly directional explosives there.

But they completely ignored the village below, or rather, they simply didn't care. The already loose sedimentary layers below, losing their supporting pressure, caused a massive mudslide, washing away the village below and even the Hai Family Restaurant at the farthest point. "So, all of this was entirely man-made?" Zhan Jiyue said in a deep voice.

"Yes."

Zhan Jiyue was silent for a moment, then asked again, "The Hai family's son wasn't in Maoshan at the time. Did he find out about this later?"

Chen Chuan said: "I also investigated the situation of the Hai family's son. He may have had some doubts at the time and also asked some departments to investigate, but there was no result."

He later received a government relief fund and scholarship, but it was far from enough to live in Zhongjing, so he dropped out of school the following year.

At that time, he heard about the ghost story and may have had the idea of ​​finding his parents through it, so he went to Maoshan on his own initiative.

He paused for a moment, then said, "I checked the information. Most people who voluntarily enter the mountains may have been misled by supernatural tales, but that's not the primary factor..." He pointed to the boundary marker, "These are the photos I retrieved, and some comparison photos with the abnormalities removed. Mr. Zhan can take a look."

Zhan Jiyue flipped through several photos, then suddenly paused, "This is..."

"The photo says that the long-haired woman will be there, but in reality, there are not only her, but also the relatives of those tourists who have lost their lives."

Chen Chuan slowly said, "Actually, only a few were attracted by something unusual. Most of them went there after hearing the rumors. They just wanted to find their deceased or missing relatives."

Zhan Jiyue asked slowly, "Are these two anomalies related?"

Chen Chuan nodded.

Zhan Jiyue fell silent again. After a while, he asked in a deep voice, "Who exactly did what happened in Haicun?"

"I have already found out who was involved at the time."

Chen Chuan sent him a list of personnel, "Among them, the organizer, who is also the planner of the entire 'entertainment event,' is Song Shicheng, the son of Song Haiying, the president of Chiyin Dayu Company."

Chiyin Dayu is a state-owned enterprise mainly responsible for inland construction projects. It is also a very powerful giant company in Da Shun.

Upon hearing the name, Zhan Jiyue frowned even more deeply. Then, as if remembering something, he asked, "I remember there were two survivors in Hai Village, they...?"

Chen Chuanchuan said: "After the incident, the two villagers did not know what was going on at first. They just wanted to return to their homes. One of them had a daughter who was studying in Zhongjing. She noticed something was wrong and guessed a lot of the truth. She even secretly collected some evidence to try to appeal, but she failed and then disappeared."

The two villagers died from some kind of infectious disease.

Zhan Jiyue clenched her fists tightly.

Chen Chuan continued, "The investigators from the police station and the security department at the time were very diligent and investigated the whole story clearly, but they encountered obstacles when they submitted this case file."

The police station's copy was lost, while the copy sent to the administrative department, although preserved, was restricted to certain individuals with access restrictions, making it inaccessible to anyone below the rank of clerk.

It can be inferred that the person who helped cover this up was at least a member of the departmental committee, but it cannot be ruled out that they were a member of the departmental affairs committee, or even just one person.

Zhan Jiyue's eyes sharpened, even though he had seen this kind of thing many times before. He still felt extremely angry inside.

However, as he was looking through the list, his expression suddenly changed slightly after seeing a certain name, but he calmed down again.

He said, "Counselor Chen, what are your plans to do?"

Chen Chuan said, "The anomalies in Hai Village and Maoshan have now become intertwined and complicated. Dealing with one of them individually is useless. We must start with the Hai Village case and arrest and thoroughly investigate all those involved back then."

Zhan Jiyue looked at Chen Chuan's calm eyes. He didn't know if Chen Chuan was telling the truth or not. He suspected that Chen Chuan was deliberately trying to stand up for the people of Hai Village, so he linked the two things together.

He thought for a moment and said in a deep voice, "Counselor Chen, this matter needs to be investigated, but I don't recommend taking action now. It's best to wait a few more months."

Chen Chuan's gaze shifted to his face. "Why?"

Zhan Jiyue said, "Do you remember that second young master Zhu? He's the son of Vice Finance Minister Zhu. There are quite a few people on the list who are from their circle."

We are lobbying the "Naturalist Faction" to help you get into the top advisory group, and some of them are also from this circle; they have the power to influence the recommendation process..."

Chen Chuan calmly said, "So what?"

……

……

(End of this chapter)