Chapter Seventeen: The Strange Family and the Society

"Are you saying..."
"Either the couple has something to hide, or there’s something wrong with their home." Chen Qing tapped the document in his hand and continued speaking to Jiang Wan, "Let’s start with the first one. We can talk as we go."
He got into the car, and Jiang Wan began driving toward their destination.
"I don’t know if you noticed, but Zhang Lan—or rather, the two Zhang Lans—their memories actually complement each other."
Jiang Wan was taken aback and shook her head.
"The Zhang Lan in the mirror remembers everything related to supernatural powers, but she’s forgotten the cause. The one outside the mirror is timid, yet seems to know many details. She avoids mentioning anything supernatural, but understands the cause of the incident. Isn’t that strange?
The one in the mirror uses her powers to connect the two, but the one outside mostly provides an attitude... And she doesn’t seem particularly concerned about her own survival. That’s very odd.
Besides all this, there’s another crucial factor."
"But what reason does she have for doing this?" Jiang Wan furrowed her brow. "What is she after?"
He turned his head, smiled at Jiang Wan, and said, "Remember, a relic needs someone to use it. But look at their home—the mirror has gathered dust for ages, untouched. Who could have used the relic to split her? If the relic originally belonged to her, wouldn’t everything take a completely different turn?
For some reason, she chose to separate her memories, storing those related to supernatural powers inside the mirror, while keeping the cause of the incident outside. That way, the person outside the mirror wouldn’t fear being questioned, but would know why she was questioned. She’s the key. The one inside the mirror knows the details but not the reason—she’s the keyhole, and the vault protecting the stored memories."
Jiang Wan was stunned. Suddenly, everything became clear. Yes, if the owner of the item was indeed them—or rather, Zhang Lan—then she would certainly know what was coming, and have a reason for it.
"And what about that doll?" she asked, still frowning.
"Maybe it’s one of her other treasures. She stored it inside the mirror, but the amnesiac version of herself accidentally pulled it out, causing her fusion to be delayed."
"There’s another possibility..."
"Someone’s trying to harm her." She saw Chen Qing’s face grow grave, and realized he’d considered these possibilities as well.
"Why would she need to split her memories to protect herself?"
"I don’t know." Chen Qing looked at the slip of paper in his hand and asked Jiang Wan, "How many of the people listed here do you think are still alive?"
She hesitated. "Probably..."
"All of them."
Jiang Wan hit the brakes as the red light came on.
"What do you mean? Wait, I don’t understand! Why... Isn’t it supposed to be..."
"Because these people aren’t related to those present that night."
Chen Qing smiled. The light turned green, and their car continued toward its destination.
Within a dozen minutes, they visited the people listed on the paper.
And just as Chen Qing had said, they were all alive.
Seeing this, Jiang Wan was even more confused. "So why—why are you sure they’re all alive? Is it because of Zhang Lan?"
He shook his head. "Because these people weren’t with Zhang Lan that night. I told you already."
Chen Qing pointed to the address of Fourth High School on the paper and said to Jiang Wan, "Come on, let’s go check out the school."
But after a few seconds, Chen Qing paused. "Actually, let’s eat first. We’ll go after lunch."
She was momentarily stunned, then nodded, and continued the conversation.
"Why—why are you so certain they’re all alive?"
"It’s a simple logic. If one of them went so far to protect herself, turning herself into this, then those without such means would have been dealt with long ago.
If someone managed to escape like she did, then how could anyone else know about it?"

Jiang Wan was even more puzzled. "Why?"
"Have you checked how long Zhang Lan hasn’t attended school? And why?"
"So that’s it. She applied for a long-term medical leave, claiming she was unwell."
"Exactly. Regardless of how their stories end, none of them could continue school as if nothing happened. Since they can’t go on attending, Zhang Lan’s parents wouldn’t give us the names of people they can’t contact."
Jiang Wan frowned. "If you already knew, why ask for the list?"
Chen Qing shrugged indifferently. "If I can get it, why not?"
When they had rested enough and afternoon classes had begun, Jiang Wan brought Chen Qing to the address for Fourth High School.
As for Chen Qing, skipping classes was nothing new for him.
Schools always favored their "good students."
...
After searching for a while, the two finally found the so-called paranormal research room.
According to the student’s directions, they traced their way to an abandoned classroom.
Due to some historical issues, the school had undergone two rounds of demolition and reconstruction. The second site, not too dilapidated, was retained as a venue for extracurricular activities.
On the school’s back hill, dozens of club signs were displayed.
After searching for three to five minutes, Chen Qing and Jiang Wan found the sign for the Paranormal Powers Research Room overhead.
They pushed open the door; it wasn’t locked.
Inside, the bookshelves on both sides were neatly arranged, while the chairs in the center were worn, their brown color faded.
Chen Qing stepped forward and began searching the shelves.
"What are you looking for?" Jiang Wan asked in surprise.
"Records, or procedural notes..."
He muttered, taking all the books down. The dust was thick on the topmost ones, leaving clear marks when moved.
"Logically, the more complex an urban legend, the more investigation and preparation it requires. Do you think these few students could remember every detail of the process perfectly?"
But as he spoke, he suddenly hesitated.
"No, if they’re high schoolers, they actually could. They’re not university students."
He sighed, and at that moment, a thin boy wearing glasses, his hair covering his face, pushed the door open.
He still had one hand on the doorknob, while Chen Qing was holding a book from the shelf.
They stared at each other for a long moment.
"Sorry! I came to the wrong room!"
"Wait!"
The boy froze, unable to take another step before Chen Qing grabbed his hand.
"Eh? Eh!" He looked at where Chen Qing had been, as if he were seeing things.
"You’re here for the Paranormal Society, right?"
Chen Qing asked the boy.
"Yes... Yes. I came to look for Zhang Lan... She... she invited me to meet her here last week, but she hasn’t been at school all week, so I occasionally check if she’s returned."
Chen Qing nodded and asked, "You haven’t joined the club?"
The boy hesitated for a while before sighing and nodding. "Don’t you know? Aren’t you from our school?"

"Hey, not to brag, but I’m the helper Zhang Lan called in from another school."
Chen Qing’s words didn’t make the boy suspicious, but his regret showed on his face.
Chen Qing led him into the room.
"Why don’t you join the club? If you did, it’d be much easier to find her."
The boy shook his head. Hanging on his chest was a school ID card.
Ren Mingcheng, Class 27, Grade 2.
He sighed. "Our school clubs... well, this one in particular, it’s not open to just anyone."
"Oh? There are requirements? Is it an elite club?"
Ren Mingcheng nodded. "Sort of. To join, you need special abilities—either experience with the supernatural, or strong information retrieval skills."
"That’s pretty vague," Chen Qing frowned.
"But their recruitment is anything but vague..." The boy sighed. Before he could elaborate, Chen Qing asked, "So how many members are there? They called me over, but I haven’t seen a single person."
Ren Mingcheng paused. "They called you? But they’re all on leave."
"That’s why I’m asking you!"
The boy frowned, sensing something was off.
"The club... currently has three members. Zhang Lan, Sun Wenbin, and Feng Zhenghao."
"What kind of abilities do they have..."
"I don’t know." He spread his hands. "But all three are impressive. They spend all their time in the club, yet their grades never drop."
Chen Qing stroked his chin and gave Jiang Wan a look to investigate the two.
"So... do you know where they keep their activity records?"
"Uh... I think... it’s on... the computer..."
He hesitated, but Chen Qing turned on the computer and asked, "What’s the password?"
"Ah?! I... I don’t..."
"Come on! There’s no outsiders here!"
"6578!"
The boy was stunned for a long time.
Wait, aren’t you the outsider?
He looked at the screen and found the folder containing records of Zhang Lan and the others’ activities...
"You’ve read the files, right?" Chen Qing asked the boy.
"Uh... no..."
"Alright, you’ve read them."
He looked up and called Jiang Wan in from outside.
"Take this kid out and ask him about the past events. I need to read a bit."
Hearing this, Jiang Wan rolled her eyes. A kid—when he himself was still a child.
But despite these thoughts, she didn’t protest, and took Ren Mingcheng outside to begin questioning him about what had happened.