CHAPTER 179: CHAPTER 177: INVESTIGATING THE SITUATION

"Old Li? Why are you here again? Didn’t we already have an inspection before?" Chen Xin opened the door to the refuge, allowing the SWAT team and investigation team members to enter, and asked Li Tou his question.

"We did come before, but this time the joint investigation team requested a re-inspection. Comrade Xiao Chen, we hope you understand and cooperate with our work." Li Tou was relatively courteous to Chen Xin, knowing that Chen Xin had good relations with Qin Lan and Ding Ning, without appearing too stern.

Chen Xin nodded in understanding and firmly stated, "I will cooperate as much as possible, but what is it you need to inspect again this time? You’ve already familiarized yourself with the situation."

"The issues are still pretty much the same. Comrade, you just need to answer briefly." The staff member from the joint investigation team spoke up on the side.

Hearing this, Chen Xin glanced at Li Tou. Seeing no reaction from Li Tou, he nodded, "Alright, let’s talk inside. It’s quite cold out here."

With that said, he led Li Tou, the joint investigation staff member, and two other SWAT officers into his refuge, leaving the outermost door open to avoid any suspicion.

Passing through the sanitation room at the entrance, as the group walked through the corridor, the joint investigation staff noticed the Four-Armed Heavy Crossbow mounted at the top of the passage. In surprise, they asked, "Comrade, what’s this thing for, mounted here?"

After systemic upgrades, the original recurve bow had become a Four-Armed Heavy Crossbow, equipped with a unique gear and reloading mechanism, turning it into a rapid-fire weapon. It looked especially menacing from the outside.

Particularly since Chen Xin mounted the heavy crossbow at the top of the passage, directly aimed at the entrance, it gave anyone entering the passage the feeling of having the crossbow pointed at their head.

"Oh, this..." Hearing the staff member ask about his crossbow, seeing Li Tou still showed no sign, Chen Xin explained, "It’s a kind of defense measure, I suppose. Since I live alone, if someone breaks in, this serves as a defensive mechanism, at least it can fend off dangerous individuals."

Upon hearing Chen Xin’s explanation, the staff member could understand his reasoning. However, looking at the finger-thick bolts, they couldn’t help but say, "Having safety measures is indeed necessary, but the crossbow is a bit... exaggerated, isn’t it?"

Chen Xin couldn’t say much regarding this evaluation, so he just smiled and led them down into the interior of the refuge.

After inviting the four to sit down in the living room, Chen Xin addressed them, "I’m not sure what you need to ask this time. Feel free to ask anything you need me to answer."

"Comrade, there’s no need to be nervous. We’re just here to understand the basic situation. You just need to tell me some basic information, like how many people live here and the basic personal information of each." The joint investigation team member pulled out a questionnaire, asking Chen Xin questions while filling in the form.

Since there wasn’t much content to ask, and since Chen Xin was indeed living alone, the investigation was concluded quickly.

After the staff member collected the form, Li Tou said to Chen Xin, "Comrade Xiao Chen, could you show us around? It’s just a routine procedure, and we ask for your understanding."

"No problem. After all, you’ve seen this place last time as well." Chen Xin didn’t oppose the request. Li Tou only wanted a brief tour, rather than a search, so Chen Xin didn’t ask him for a search warrant.

Thus, the group went on to inspect Chen Xin’s refuge.

Chen Xin’s place wasn’t big, so it didn’t take long to look around every corner.

Having been there before, Li Tou and the others weren’t surprised by the state of Chen Xin’s place, but for the joint investigation staff, the rich supplies in Chen Xin’s storage room and the sprouting crops in the greenhouse were nothing short of astonishing.

"This is truly... stunning!" The staff member’s eyes widened. Since the apocalypse began, it’s been difficult to see this much greenery, even in official refuges.

"It’s alright; most of it was prepared before the disaster," Chen Xin humbly commented, adding to Li Tou on the side, "I recently got a batch of seeds, including cucumbers, tomatoes, and such, which I’ve already planted. If all goes well, I should be able to provide more varieties of vegetables in the future. I hope you, from the SWAT team, could exchange more supplies with me."

Hearing this, Li Tou hastily agreed, delighted.

Having access to more vegetables was something everyone dreamed of, and Li Tou couldn’t and wouldn’t refuse such an opportunity.

After checking out Chen Xin’s greenhouse, they’d essentially inspected the entire refuge. Finding nothing suspicious, Li Tou and the others prepared to leave.

As they were about to depart, Li Tou noticed the water purifier and scattered blueprints on Chen Xin’s workbench and curiously asked, "Comrade Xiao Chen, what are you up to? It looks like a vehicle?"

"I’m planning to modify my car. Given the current weather and road conditions, regular cars can’t get around. Not driving is too inconvenient, so I’ll have to modify the car." Chen Xin didn’t hide his intentions and explained to Li Tou, mentioning, "However, I’m still missing some materials, so I might have to find someone to trade."

At first, Li Tou found Chen Xin’s words a bit strange, but noticing the staff member from the joint investigation team standing nearby, he realized Chen Xin’s concern. So, without saying anything further, he nodded to Chen Xin and left with his team.

After seeing Li Tou and the team off and closing the refuge door, Chen Xin let out a small sigh of relief.

Even though he did nothing wrong and had nothing to fear, having the SWAT come twice for inspections still made Chen Xin a bit tense.

If it were just the SWAT team, it wouldn’t be a big deal. They had a mutual interest relationship, and they knew him well enough. But with the joint investigation team member present, Chen Xin was genuinely worried they’d discover he had a gun.

In the current environment of screening for dangerous elements, getting caught with a gun — even if it was traded from the SWAT team — would undoubtedly cause trouble for Chen Xin, potentially implicating Qin Lan, Uncle Ding, and the SWAT members.

After all, when Chen Xin shot and killed three people last time, it was Qin Lan who took responsibility, claiming she fired the shots, while Chen Xin only witnessed the deaths, thus concealing the fact that he had a gun.