Chapter 1720: The Early Death of a Father
"I don't think these two things are related," the burly bald man said. "Even if that old lady's son happened to work for that mining company, a lot of people die in aircraft accidents. It probably wasn't specifically targeting that old lady. Besides, after this incident, that mining company also suffered considerable losses."
"Even if we stretch it and say the two events are connected, it still has nothing to do with this instance."
"Master Solan encountered countless people in her lifetime. If you single out any one of them, they might have decades of grudges and entanglements. That's not surprising at all. If we investigate in this direction, forget forty days—we might not finish even in half a year."
The burly bald man looked rough on the outside, but he was actually meticulous, noticing details many would overlook.
"No, wait—grudges and entanglements?" The short-haired woman turned her head to look at him. "Most people in Zone 019 are supported by the government. They have food and clothing every day, no shortage of resources, no war, and even the crime rate is pitifully low. What grudges and entanglements could they have?"
"A case where two hundred people die all at once is a textbook example of grudges and entanglements. If I were a family member of those two hundred people, I'd definitely go after that mining company for revenge. Killing the boss wouldn't be enough—I'd kill everyone involved in the aircraft technology research and everyone who built the aircraft too!"
The burly bald man looked at her speechlessly. "Isn't that a bit excessive?"
"Who told them to take money and not do their jobs properly?" the short-haired woman said. "If the technology isn't up to par, don't force the sale. If the construction isn't up to standard, don't fly it into the sky. Knowing there are risks, they still used new technology to polish their reputation. If not them, who should be killed?"
"It's not just one mining company," Xu Huo interjected, not stopping his hands as he continued flipping through the materials. "But this mining company has a wide business scope. Without the new aircraft, they still have other industries. The impact isn't that great."
The burly bald man's gaze steadied, and he said again, "It's hard to connect the old lady's experiences with Master Solan."
The old lady had moved to Dingding Flower Town years before Solan arrived, and Solan was only a two-year-old child at the time. He didn't think the old lady would tell her past experiences as a story to a child who wasn't related to her. For one, it would undoubtedly be reopening old wounds, and for another, it would be beyond what a child could handle.
"Even if Master Solan later learned about the old lady's experiences, it would be hard to link her sudden change to this. Without experiencing it personally, this can only be considered a social news story."
"Compared to this, losing her father at the age of two probably had a greater impact on her."
The short-haired woman wanted to say something more but couldn't refute it.
"You investigated Solan's family." Xu Huo looked up. "Is there a problem with her father's relatives?"
The burly bald man shook his head. "It's a pity that there's nothing wrong."
"In Zone 019, children can apply to establish their own household before adulthood. Parents usually don't stop them. Married couples almost never live together. The ties between blood relatives aren't that strong. Moreover, because they have a high level of education, they view problems more rationally, even matters of life and death. If there really were any extreme behavior, not only would robots be dispatched immediately, but the government would also arrange for psychological counseling right away."
"So even though Solan's mother took her away, Solan's father's family didn't say anything. That family has quite a lot of people. They're probably obsessed with reproduction. They used artificial wombs to have over a dozen children. Solan's father was one of the younger ones, and many of the children of his older siblings were already adults."
"They really can breed," the short-haired woman couldn't help saying. "Do these people just get together every day to have children?"
"Those willing to have children are still a minority." The burly bald man paused, then brought the topic back. "But there are several versions of how Solan's father died. Some say he died in an accident, others say he died in a mine, or from a love affair turned murder, or suicide."
Solan's father was one of the people players had to investigate. The short-haired woman said, "Solan's grandparents and mother have all passed away. These three were the ones who handled his burial. The other siblings didn't participate fully. These versions come from different relatives of Solan's father, especially after Solan became famous—they had even more stories to tell."
"Solan's father died over a hundred years ago. The death registration records from that time should have been cleared by now," the burly bald man said. "Besides, the place where he died was a relatively remote mountain forest. There weren't that many electronic eyes."
"Coincidentally, the location of Solan's father's death happened to be near a mine. I suspect that's where the story of him dying in the mine came from. However, his eldest sister firmly stated that the body was found outside the mine, so it's also possible that he happened to be passing by when a landslide occurred. Mine accident rates were still relatively high back then."
"Where did the love affair murder and suicide stories come from?" the short-haired woman asked.
"Solan's parents were both quite... artistic when they were young," the burly bald man said, choosing his words carefully. "The love affair murder theory came from the fact that Solan's father left with a female friend, and that female friend was never found afterward."
"The suicide theory came from some of the words and phrases he wrote, which repeatedly hinted that life wasn't very beautiful."
"No wonder Solan's mother was so distraught after he died. They were both the type who had too much leisure time on their hands," the short-haired woman said with a curl of her lip. "But the love affair murder theory can probably be ruled out. If it were true, Solan's mother wouldn't have eventually died of illness."
"This has become a cold case." Xu Huo reopened his Message Collection Terminal, searching as he spoke. "Are there any places Solan visited that are close to where her father died?"
"No," the short-haired woman said firmly. "The closest place she went to for inspiration gathering was still a two-hour drive from the mine where the incident occurred. The friends who gathered inspiration with her during that time never saw her leave."
"Judging from Solan's inspiration-gathering trajectory, she didn't seem to care much about that place," the burly bald man said, opening a public route map. "She chose locations very randomly. Sometimes she just followed others. Since there weren't any scenic spots nearby, she didn't go there often. The mining area was still in production, and she never went inside."
"Coincidentally, the development company for this mining area is also Tiantianle Mining." The short-haired woman rotated the projection, displaying the content she had found in front of Xu Huo and the other man.
Tiantianle Mining—its mining area was suspected to be the site of Solan's father's death, and it was also the employer of the blind old lady's second son, as well as the developer of the accident aircraft that killed her entire family.
"I suddenly have an idea," the short-haired woman said, slapping her head. "What if the 'Ember Maiden' has already been obtained by someone, just not made public?"
"Are you also going to say that the painting might be hidden in the home of Tiantianle's boss, and that Solan's reason for revealing the existence of this painting was to guide players to cause trouble for Tiantianle's boss, and incidentally make public what happened a hundred years ago?"
Xu Huo calmly finished her sentence.
(End of chapter)