Chapter 312 – Cemetery Photos Leaked
Xiang Sheng shook her head. “Thank you, but there’s no need for now. Once we reach the Academy of Sciences, I’ll hand it over to you.” She had been using this brush for the past half-month. Although it was heavy, she had grown accustomed to it.
“Alright,” Guo Changming replied, understanding her cautiousness.
When they left the inn, a discreet-looking car was parked outside.
Guo Changming personally opened the car door for Xiang Sheng, gesturing for her to get in. He then invited the woman in the military uniform, who had remained silent the entire time, to join her. Only after they were seated did he get in himself.
The two remaining officers in police uniforms took their places—one behind the wheel and the other in the front passenger seat.
The car started quickly and departed from the old neighborhood.
After the car drove off, a figure emerged from the narrow alley beside the inn. It was Tu Ran.
She stared in the direction the car had gone, then looked up at the third-floor window where the lights had just gone out.
Earlier in the evening, while lying on a park bench, Tu Ran had scrolled through the news on her phone and spotted Xiang Sheng’s post. She immediately realized that Xiang Sheng had returned, likely earlier that same day. Activating her [Sense of Direction], she pinpointed Xiang Sheng’s location and rushed toward her.
Yes, she had run there—between two cities in different provinces, spanning over a hundred kilometers. Traveling at night without intercity buses, and even if there were, she had no money or ID card. Instead, she used her [Teleportation] ability to traverse desolate areas, running the entire way.
But in the end, she arrived too late.
Judging by the uniforms of the people who had taken Xiang Sheng, it seemed that her post had worked. The goal was achieved. Satisfied, Tu Ran decided to stay nearby, eventually finding a park where she could sleep on a bench.
Thankfully, she had stored plenty of food in her spatial storage, so meals weren’t an issue. It was summer, so the nights were warm, and she found her outdoor stay surprisingly comfortable.
Meanwhile, as neither Tu Ran nor Xiang Sheng paid attention to the post and videos, the public discussion about them took a completely different turn.
From the time the post was published until now, ten hours had passed—just enough for seasoned internet users to dig deeper. Some had pieced together credible evidence from subtle clues and left comments under the videos and post, pushing aside the baseless criticisms.
[My roommate and I analyzed those two videos frame by frame. There are no signs of editing—they’re real. She really jumped that high.]
[I’ve been editing videos for seven or eight years. I can confidently say these two videos haven’t been tampered with. If they were edited, her team must be incredibly skilled. If she had access to such a powerful team, she wouldn’t need to use such a risky and thankless method to get attention. She’d already be famous.]
[I found a news article from over a month ago about three female university students from Wenjing University who mysteriously disappeared during a spring outing. Here’s a photo from the scene.]
[JPG]
[Everything they brought was left behind, including a tablet, snacks, three jackets, a luxury handbag, and a half-eaten cake.]
[There were no signs of a struggle at the scene. Surveillance cameras at the base of the mountain recorded them going up but never coming down. They literally vanished into thin air.]
[Seeing this photo you posted, I suddenly remembered—I was there that day.]
[Tell us more!]
The comments section exploded with people urging for details.
[Wuxia Mountain is a well-known scenic spot in our area. It’s cool on the mountain in summer, so many people go there for picnics. On July 5th, my wife, kids, and I also went for a picnic there.]
[I’m older and tend to forget things, so I didn’t want to speak carelessly. I just checked my purchase records from that day, and I did go for a picnic on July 5th.]
[We believe you. Please continue your story!]
A crowd of eager commenters waited below, ready to hear more.
[At that time, on a nearby hill not far from us, there really were three very young girls taking photos and playing around. They were laughing loudly. My wife even commented, ‘I really envy them—so young,’ which is why I remember it clearly.]
[We didn’t keep watching them. After my wife said that, I turned my attention to comforting her. About ten minutes later, when I looked back in that direction, the three of them were gone. From a distance, I could only see colorful things scattered on the ground. I thought it was their trash and muttered something about them being inconsiderate.]
[What happened after that?]
[We left shortly after and didn’t think much about it. It wasn’t until you posted this photo that I remembered.]
[What do we do now? I feel like I’m starting to believe this. The universe is so vast; it’s unlikely that Earth is the only place with intelligent life.]
[I’ve found more evidence. Step aside, step aside!]
[Say it, quickly!]
[We’re ready for it!]
[Look at this.]
[JPG]
A blurry photo was uploaded and quickly circulated by those staying up late to follow the incident.
The photo appeared to be taken in a cemetery. The weather was gloomy, and it was raining, making the picture faint and hard to discern. Judging by the angle, it seemed the photographer was hiding behind a tombstone, as the bottom left corner of the image was partially obscured by a black gravestone, cutting off half the frame.
Despite the poor quality, the scene in the photo was still recognizable.
Three men, dressed in what appeared to be sleek tactical gear similar to outfits seen in action films, were holding large firearms. Due to the distance, it was hard to identify the type of weapons, but the direction of their gun barrels was clear—they were all aimed at a slender figure.
That figure, wearing a hoodie with the hood pulled up, was standing sideways to the camera. One arm was raised, holding a sharp object resembling a dagger or knife, poised to stab a man in front of them. From the blurry image, it looked as though the blade had already pierced the man’s neck.
The man appeared as if he were paralyzed, showing no reaction whatsoever.
[This photo was taken by someone at the scene who risked their life to capture it. According to them, they saw three people suddenly appear out of thin air in the cemetery. They immediately pulled out their phone to snap a picture. The first man who appeared fired a shot at a gravestone, and someone then jumped out from behind it. The witness was so nervous they forgot to take more photos, but their hand trembled at just the right moment and accidentally took this one.]
[Could this be a ghost encounter? In a cemetery, no less—it’s so creepy.]
[Not to sound biased, but judging by the figure, I think the person in the hoodie is a woman.]
[I think so too.]
[Agreed.]
The commenter who mentioned it being creepy replied:
[A female ghost?]
[There’s more—this time it’s from the cemetery’s surveillance footage, showing the entrance.]
[JPG]
The photo captured the exact moment Tu Ran looked up at the camera. She was wearing sunglasses and a mask, pulling on the strings of her hoodie to tighten it.
[Now I’m sure—it’s definitely a woman.]
[Does it matter if it’s a man or a woman? The real question is, who is she? And what about those three men? Did the witness see what happened to them?]
[They were probably killed, right? The knife was practically in the guy’s neck.]
[If they were killed, there should be bodies, right? Where are the bodies? Did no one report this to the police?]
[Could this be someone trying to piggyback off the hype on purpose?]
