"Oh, this must be the new member of the bureau. I don't think we've met before." It was obvious that the police officer was very friendly and familiar with Chen Nian.
Shen Yao quickly took out her temporary work license and said, "I'm Shen Yao, I just registered at the Special Immigration Bureau yesterday. My formal work permit hasn't been issued yet."
"Hello, I'm Sun Hai." Sun Hai extended his hand to shake with Shen Yao, and then glanced at Chen Nian. "So, you guys finally agree to take on new recruits?"
Shen Yao was also curious in her heart.
Sun Hai's tone and the implications of his words all suggested that it was like that previously Special Immigration Bureau, or that commissioner Chen, was not willing to recruit new personnel.
The term that Shen Yao used to call him had quietly changed from "Chen" to "commissioner Chen" in her heart.
At that time, the News Department said they would transfer her. And yesterday, she registered to the bureau. Other departments were discussing the issue of the Special Immigration Bureau being short of staff. It seemed that this was not quite the same as what she heard now...
"Zhang Min is too busy to handle everything." Chen Nian said casually. "How is it here?" Chen Nian returned to the main topic.
Sun Hai also switched over. The two of them moved towards the side door while exchanging information. Shen Yao listened silently from behind.
"For several days, many facilities have automatically started operating at 10 p.m. and the volume has exceeded the noise standards, resulting in a sharp increase in complaints from the residents in neighborhood."
Shen Yao glanced at the side of the park. It should have been abandoned. Why would the facilities be activated at night?
"The local police officers have responded many times nearby. They have confirmed that there should be no more staff here. They have also ruled out the possibility of naughty kids playing pranks or someone using this as an opportunity to harass the surrounding residential areas. And," Sun Hai specifically emphasized, "There was indeed no human presence visible in the surveillance footage."
Shen Yao thought she had misunderstood and repeatedly pondered the meaning of this sentence.
Sun Hai continued: "As long as there are no police stationed here, the entire park will be fully operational after 10 p.m."
"What does 'fully operational' mean?" Chen Nian asked.
Just as he reached the side door, Sun Hai stopped, took a deep breath and complained: "Imagine it. Back then when there were no other large amusement parks, most of the people in Nancheng would flock here every summer. All those sound systems, lights, and amusement facilities were turned on at the same time, and it would be as lively as you can imagine."
Although it has been quite some time since then, Shen Yao still has a vivid memory of such scenes from her childhood.
Sun Hai sighed: "Things are different now. The urban area has expanded. Now there are residential areas everywhere here. How could the surrounding residents bear it If it keeps being noisy like this after 10 p.m.?"
"It's been abandoned here for many years. I heard there are disputes over property rights, projects and funds. At first, there were workers maintaining the plants and flowers. Later, even the plants and flowers were not maintained anymore. There's only one worker here making a path through the weeds, and we didn't even know where to gain the electricity."
Sun Hai stopped and signaled to the staff on duty at the side door to make way, "Special Immigration Bureau on a mission."
The staff pulled back the cordon, and Shen Yao followed behind the two of them to enter the area.
"This park is overgrown with weeds everywhere now. In summer, the roads are almost impassable. In winter, although it is passable for people, it becomes pitch black at night, making it terrifying. So we have to come here during the day."
Sun Hai had clearly explained everything, and Shen Yao understood it. But does this have anything to do with the Special Immigration Bureau?
Shen Yao was completely confused.
"Interestingly, there were residents who came to inquire if the park had reopened. They want to relive the memories from their childhood... This has been happening for quite a few times over the years. To prevent panic, we all uniformly claimed it was a line failure. They were a bit disappointed about it."
"When there are police stationed here, the area is quiet at night; but without the police presence, it would disturb the residents, wouldn't it?" Chen asked.
Sun Hai nodded. "Yes, that's it. But there have been too many complaints around. These days, we can only have people come to handle the situation at night to calm down the complaints from the nearby residents. The specific situation is still under investigation. Our leader said it would be better if you, the Special Immigration Bureau, could come and take a look. We'll wait for you to review the situation before deciding on the next steps. I never expected commissioner Chen to come personally."
"Just happened to be in the neighborhood." Chen Nian wasn't prepared to say much.
"Does it require teamwork?" Sun Hai noticed and asked directly.
"No need."
After Chen Nian finished speaking, Sun Hai looked at Shen Yao in amazement. Shen Yao immediately understood. Sun had misunderstood that she was the manpower - that is, the kind of "manpower" that does not need the cooperation of others if she is there. So He looked at her amazingly, his eyes filled with admiration.
Shen Yao: "..."
"Shen Yao." Chen Nian had already entered through the side door. Shen Yao quickly caught up. Since it was impossible to explain clearly anyway, she decided not to do so.
It had been many years since she last came here. All she could see were overgrown weeds and broken branches scattered haphazardly across the ground. The entire Mermaid Square was reduced to just a narrow path that could be walked on. However, deep in Shen Yao's heart, her memories still came back with the scene before her.
In the past when people still came here, this side entrance was very busy because it was convenient for entering and exiting. In the middle of Mermaid Square, a mermaid statue was holding a basket. Surrounding it were musical fountains. Naughty children would splash water around the fountains. On the left side of the square, there was a row of doorways which were changing rooms and storage cabinets. When there were a lot of people waiting for an empty cabinet, there was no space to stand. On the right side of the square, there were shops selling water guns, buckets, water shovels, as well as swimsuits, goggles and swimming caps. The rear is the food area. There were toasted squid, grilled sausages, popcorn, various kinds of sodas, and ice cream.
Here used to be a children's paradise, housing many people's happy memories from their childhood. These memories seemed to suddenly bring the desolate and abandoned park before Shen Yao's eyes back to life.
"Have you been here before?" Chen Nian asked.
Shen Yao nodded, her thoughts breaking free from the memories. "I came here with my parents when I was young. I remember many places here. Commissioner Chen, the spot where you're standing used to be a place for stir-frying squid on iron plates."
Chen Yan gave her a glance.
Shen Yao suddenly realized that something was wrong. How could she say such words like "stir-frying squid" to her superior? (in Chinese, stir-frying squid means firing someone.)
"This is the place where you can buy the triple-color ice cream. You always have to wait in a long queue every time." Shen Yao naturally changed the topic, hoping that Chen Nian hadn't heard the previous words.
Shen Yao continued to walk forward, and the deadwood under her feet made a crackin sound. Although she had no idea how the work of Special Immigration Bureau was related to this abandoned water park, she couldn't just stay away since the leader was present. Thanks to the familiar feeling in her memory, it wasn't as confusing as when she was listening to the police officer explaining the background. Otherwise, just the cracking sounds under her feet would have made her feel like something was crawling under the floor.
The road was narrow, and it was a bit crowded for two people to walk side by side. Chen Nian and Shen Yao walked one after the other to continue walking further in the park.
"Has commissioner Chen been here before?" The surroundings were quiet, with only the chirping of birds and the buzzing of insects, along with the rustling sounds from beneath their feet. Shen Yao tried to find something to say.
"No." Chen Nian was concise.
The park was in such a mess that it was impossible to even tell the direction. Shen Yao, relying solely on her childhood memory, couldn't figure out the direction at all and followed after commissioner Chen. Chen can move around the park much more smoothly and effortlessly.
Chen suddenly stopped, and Shen Yao also followed to stop. Then, following the direction in which Chen was looking up, Shen Yao looked over. Through the layers of overlapping tree canopies, one could vaguely make out the remnants of the large amusement rides and their traces. However, the leaves were too thick and they were also covered with vines, making some parts unclear to see.
Shen Yao searched in her memory to determine which amusement facility this was.
"Riptide!" Shen Yao suddenly remembered.
When she was young, she loved water rafting the most. She would sit in the boat and speed down from a very high place. Even with a raincoat on, she would get drenched with water, especially when she was in the first row.
Riptide was the most popular area of the entire park at that time. Many people lined up to sit, and a lot of people were onlookers. The night here show also featured a light show, accompanied by the ship flying down from the top of the facilities. The entire process is dazzling and it is the most lively area in the park.
Chen Nian also managed to magnify a photo to clearly read the words "Riptide" on his cellphone. It was the park guide photo taken in the abandoned area of Mermaid Square. It can help to identify the basic directions. When it was magnified, the names of the facilities can also be clearly seen.
"No wonder!" Shen Yao thought to herself. She had just been lost in reminiscing about her childhood, while Chen was meticulous and handled things ahead of time.
Chen Nian put away his phone and said, "Go ahead and have a look."
In fact, Shen Yao didn't know what they were going to see or look for in the amusement park. Before leaving, Shen Yao once again looked up at the "Riptide". It seems that when she was a child, she didn't realize that the Riptide was so close to the side door. She remembers that it took her a long time to get there at that time. Maybe it was because the queue was so long back then. Now it felt like she only walked a short distance and was already there, which was different from when she was a child.
The phone in her pocket vibrated. Shen Yao quickly looked up and glanced at the screen. It was Su Haohao.
[Have you decided on the time? Is your boss planning to organize a dinner party?]
Su Haohao was still thinking about the matter she mentioned about the lamb stew this morning.
Shen Yao replied: [The director didn't come today. I'm currently on an operation with the commissioner. Let's talk about it later.]
Su Haohao: [Hey, behave yourself, buh~]
Shen Yao: "..."
Shouldn't she step in front of the commissioner and cut down the trees to clear the way? It seems that commissioner Chen is not so weak either.
After walking for about ten minutes through the overgrown grass, "Shen Yao." Commissioner Chen suddenly stopped and said.
As Shen Yao reached beside commissioner Chen, before she could even speak, she was completely stunned by the scene before him!
This... Isn't this the Mermaid Square?
Just now, they entered through the side door and arrived here at the Mermaid Square. She talked to commissioner Chen about the fried squid and the three-color ice cream...The location of the Mermaid Square should be behind them. They also passed through Riptide halfway, and then kept moving forward without ever turning back!
The Mermaid Square shouldn't be here!!
Xiaqing Park is so huge. It's even less likely that they could complete a round trip of the entire Xiaqing area so quickly. Shen Yao's eyes were filled with astonishment. She don't know what's wrong, but there must be something wrong here.
Recalling the somewhat mysterious explanations she had heard outside the park, Shen Yao felt a chill run down her spine for no reason. Previously, the park, which was full of happy memories, suddenly became eerie.
"Let's go ahead and have a look." There wasn't much emotion in Chen Nian's eyes.
Following the small path beside Mermaid Square, walking for about ten minutes, they finally came across "Riptide" hidden among the thick foliage.
Both of them stopped.
This time, Shen Yao didn't have the same excitement as before when she saw it. Even her face turned pale. They have been moving forward and have passed this place twice already.
The phone in Shen Yao's pocket vibrated again. Shen Yao instinctively pulled it out. On the phone, a shocking message appeared again - Su Haohao: [Have you decided on the time? Is your boss planning to organize a dinner party?]
Shen Yao's face changed. The phone almost slipped out of her hand and fell to the ground.