CH 17

At first, when he heard that they could take a break, he wasn’t happy.

They came up with this idea over dinner and spent the rest of the time running wildly in the wrong direction—at least Shian thought it was wrong. The investigation was stopped only after a few days, and during that time they also went AWOL. Would Shian really exempt them from the probation period?

Zhong Chengshuo was filled with a sense of loss. After returning to the table, his eating movements were much more stagnant.

After the meal, they exchanged contact information. Lin Bei still had work to do, so she took a taxi and returned to the studio.

“Let’s go for a walk,” Yin Ren suggested.

The restaurant was facing the river, which reflected the lights from thousands of homes. The cool river breeze was slightly alluring. More importantly, Zhong Chengshuo was like a cat that had just gotten all its fur shaved. He was in a state of half-daze, half-deep thought.

As Yin Ren expected, Zhong Chengshuo didn’t refuse. He surmised that even if he were to say, “Let’s jump off a building,” Zhong Chengshuo would subconsciously just let out an oh.

“There’s something I don’t understand from what Liang Shan told us.” Yin Ren was soothed by the night breeze and casually started a topic. “What does ‘be on standby as support staff and wait for the outcome of the incident’ mean?”

Zhong Chengshuo contemplated a bit. “It should be regarded as some kind of paid leave.”

“They aren’t punishing us for acting without authorization?”

“We blocked the attack on Lin Bei before. The police determined that we were righteous and brave, so our merits even it out.” Although they were given a lecture because they chased after the culprit instead of calling the police.

In short, it was good that they didn’t lose their job.

“Paid leave…” Yin Ren chewed on these words for a while and felt they were as refreshing as the summer night breeze.

But Zhong Chengshuo had on a solemn expression. He looked at the river in the dark night, and Yin Ren couldn’t guess what he was thinking.

Since he didn’t understand, he asked, “Unhappy?”

After all, Zhong Chengshuo was the one who took the lead in “acting without authorization and pursuing on his own”, so shouldn’t he be relieved to know that Shian wasn’t holding him accountable?

“…I was just thinking about Gao Mengyu.” Zhong Chengshuo didn’t seem quite comfortable with this conversation, as he hesitated for a bit before answering.

“Why?”

“Phenomenon C-B4, ‘gap’. According to Liang Shan, if Gao Mengyu enters the gap, she won’t ‘come back’. The primary goal of Shian may not be rescue but prevention and control.”

Yin Ren thought for a bit before saying, “I think so too.”

It had been about six days since Gao Mengyu disappeared without a trace, so she had probably entered the “can’t come back” kind of “gap” by mistake. Rather than aimlessly search and try to rescue her, it was more urgent to control the gap.

“I don’t want to give up now. That’s a human life.”

Zhong Chengshuo lowered his gaze.

“The timing is too coincidental. Looking at Shian’s reaction, the appearance of this gap isn’t normal.”

“Although there’s no evidence that her disappearance is related to Xie Chao, it can’t prove that it’s ‘irrelevant’. I want to do some more research. If you don’t…”

“Sure, let’s both do it together,” Yin Ren readily agreed.

Zhong Chengshuo paused his steps.

“Well, you’re the one who mentioned the gap and the one who caught that knife-wielding thug. If I were to be lazy again at this point, it’d be like I’m deadweight.”

After all, the matter of him seriously wounding that ghost couldn’t be exposed. Not to mention that the ghost didn’t have any language skills, even if it opened its mouth to confess, Yin Ren was ready to cry about being wronged.

Adding up, he didn’t need to do anything.

Thinking of this, Yin Ren’s tone was as firm as iron. “If I do such a bad job right when I start working, I will really have no face!”

Zhong Chengshuo pondered for a moment. He couldn’t think of what kind of face a person with amnesia needed.

Then he gave Yin Ren a sideways glance.

Yin Ren walked closer to the river and would stop from time to time to look at the various facilities. Tonight, was a formal occasion, so Liang Shan had given him a high-end black shirt. His long hair was tied up in a low ponytail and braided a few times. His hair was soft, and right now it looked low-key and untidy, as if it were part of the evening breeze.

The lights were dimly lit, which gave Yin Ren’s outline a warm edge.

‘The fruit dessert was delicious, and this person was truly good-looking,’ Zhong Chengshuo thought to himself. Except for the occasional short circuit in his brain, he couldn’t find any faults in his partner.

So Zhong Chengshuo decided to lighten the mood. “Thank you. You’re a very good person.”

Yin Ren: “……”

Yin Ren: “…Thank you too?”

The next day, the two went to Fanghua Apartments early.

Unlike yesterday, the entire apartment was evacuated, and there was a bright yellow barrier erected outside. An official sign was planted at the entrance of the apartment notifying everyone that part of the building was aging and cracking, so an emergency safety inspection was required.

The regular employees of Shian were dressed up with detection machines in their hands as they carefully explored every corner.

The case was taken over by the regular army, and Liang Shan had returned to his civilian job at the police station, where he could only answer their questions through text.

[Final Fruit: Mr. Liang, can we still enter Fanghua Apartments?]

[The River Flow Eastward: Just show your work ID. You can enter the places that have already been checked.]

[The River Flows Eastward: I personally suggest you take a two-day break and take the opportunity to recuperate from your injuries.]

[Final Fruit: We want to check again.]

[The River Flows Eastward: …Well, I understand. Go ahead. Say hello to Shian for me.]

[Fruit Knife: Thank you, Liang Ge ]

[Final Fruit: Thank you, Liang Ge ]

[The River Flows Eastward: ……]

Zhong Chengshuo withdrew the hand that he used to copy and paste and opened the door to the apartment.

Room 1413, Gao Mengyu’s residence, was the first place to be investigated. Shian’s investigation team had worked all night, and the 14th floor was the first to be classified as a safe area.

Seeing that the two of them didn’t rest in the hotel, the staff in charge of the 14th floor was a little surprise.

“Go ahead. We’ll give you an hour. The ‘gap’ is estimated to still be moving nearby, so don’t stay too long.”

She patiently helped the two of them put on protective clothing.

They all knew that Gao Mengyu’s apartment had been carefully inspected by veterans, so it was quite interesting to see these two wanting to do another check. However, the staff member didn’t mention this and just smiled gently.

“If you find a clue, remember to report it!”

The rancid smell of room 1413 had long since dissipated. There were no longer any traces of the sewage on the ground or the flies buzzing around. There was only warm and tidy furniture left in the home. The windows, bedding, and other debris remained as they were, as if their owner had only temporarily left and could return home at any time.

Zhong Chengshuo stood at the entrance. He took a deep breath, then walked into the bedroom with his eyes closed and lay down on Gao Mengyu’s bed.

Yin Blade: “???”

Let alone someone else’s bed, this was also a girl’s! Isn’t this bad?

Not only that, Zhong Chengshuo’s steps were strange—they became light and slow, as if he were possessed by something.

“She woke up in the morning, poured a glass of water, and then opened the bedroom curtains.” Zhong Chengshuo opened his eyes naturally and got up from the bed. He walked towards the window where the curtains weren’t drawn and gave a false pull.

His movements were still light, with a little caution and a bit of softness.

Yin Ren finally came back to his senses and realized that Zhong Chengshuo was imitating Gao Mengyu.

“She finished washing up and ate a few cookies, then went to the table to study.” Zhong Chengshuo was talking to himself in a slow and solemn voice.

Slender fingers brushed the cookie package that was opened, and after a short pause, Zhong Chengshuo sat down in front of the desk.

Facing the desk was another small window. The window was half opened, and the curtains on the pages of the book were gently swaying in the wind.

“At an unknown time, she walked to the vicinity of the refrigerator and began to organize the meat in the freezer.”

Zhong Chengshuo pushed away the chair he was sitting in and walked towards the fridge. Halfway through, his movements suddenly stopped.

Yin Ren was watching with fascination. “What’s the matter?”

“Something’s not right.” Zhong Chengshuo slightly frowned. He looked at the window in front of the desk. “Why is she opening the window?”

“Ventilation in the summer?”

Zhong Chengshuo took out his phone. “On the day she disappeared, the temperature in Donghe District was 35℃. It was dry and windless. Opening the window would only make it hotter. Even if she really wanted to open the window to breathe, she wouldn’t open the screen window with it—not to mention the summer mosquitoes, she has raised cats for years.”

Yin Ren murmured to himself. These details were indeed subtle, but it wasn’t subtle enough to be suspicious. This was the 14th floor. It was fine for him since he knew how to fly, but that was something that was impossible for Gao Mengyu to do.

While Zhong Chengshuo stared affectionately at the air, Yin Ren bypassed the desk and leaned his head out the window.

From this angle, he could see the vestibule and the entrance of Fanghua Apartments. The barrier blocked the curious passersby outside. When he poked his head out, many people looked up at him, and some even raised their phones, which made Yin Ren shrink back quickly in fright.

“What’s the matter?” This time, it was Zhong Chengshuo who asked.

“No, there are quite a lot of people watching the excitement.”

Zhong Chengshuo was stunned for a moment, then he stood up suddenly and lay down on the windowsill.

The 14th floor was quite high, but if he used the camera function on his phone as an aid, he could manage to barely see the people from below. Zhong Chengshuo quickly turned on the camera and zoomed in on the screen, scanning the scattered crowd downstairs.

“That’s right. Her phone was on the porch at the time. Maybe she saw something from the window and wanted to go out, and she couldn’t even wait to close it.”

Zhong Chengshuo grabbed his phone and walked to the door, put down the phone on the shoe cabinet, and made the action of putting on shoes.

“But she suddenly changed her mind, hurriedly returned to the fridge, and took out all the frozen products she was storing—there are live photos the police took of the fridge showing that the inside was well taken care of. Yin Ren, regardless of the non-scientific possibility, she was probably checking her inventory.”

The things she had in the fridge were everyday items that could be recognized at a glance, but considering that she didn’t eat much meat and didn’t often use the freezer, it wasn’t surprising that she had to make an impromptu inventory.

Then, in the process of checking the inventory, she disappeared.

This time, Zhong Chengshuo demonstrated Gao Mengyu’s actions fluently—she first looked out the window, then rushed to the door. Just as she was about to put on her shoes, she seemed to have thought of something, and she even forgot to take her phone as she rushed straight back to the front of the refrigerator.

Unfortunately, he could restore the trajectory of her actions but not her motivation. Zhong Chengshuo was squatting in front of the freezer, poking at the door of the fridge with a deep expression.

But there was another entry point in this matter.

“What did she see nearby…” Yin Ren rubbed the wall. “Zhong Ge, can you go out first?”

Zhong Chengshuo looked at him in confusion.

Yin Ren: “I’m going to do some feudal superstition activities.”

Zhong Chengshuo: “…”

“Do you want to watch me do the Great God dance?”

“Do you remember how to do the Great God dance?” Zhong Chengshuo said it in surprise.

“No, it’s just an expression*. I just had a kind of spiritual induction just now, and I want to meditate here… Mediation requires the environment to be quiet.”

*Clarity: Yin Ren is saying (sarcastically) do you want to watch me do a ritual dance (跳大神) to which Zhong Chengshuo thought he really could, but he’s saying it in a joking way. (跳大神) is a folk ritual dance handed down that must be completed by two people. Nowadays, it’s considered a feudal superstitious activity and folk art.

Due to the short video platform, he didn’t know how many fashionable excuses he had learned from it. Sure enough, Zhong Chengshuo didn’t ask any more questions and honestly left. He didn’t even forget to gently close the door before leaving.

‘Such a good trick,’ Yin Ren thought with relief.

He then went to the middle of the room and stood there.

The entire building was staffed by Shian. Not to mention evil qi, he couldn’t even use ordinary evil spirits and spells, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t do anything.

Evil things were always sensitive to human emotions, especially negative emotions. As the saying went, people were three points afraid of ghosts, and ghosts were seven points afraid of people*. Strong emotions such as hatred and fear were especially easy to be exploited by evil beings.

*This saying is basically saying people fear ghosts 30% while ghosts fear people 70%. It boils down to people are afraid of the unknown (like ghosts) and are just an imagination made up by people because they don’t conform to science and common sense. More than anything, a ghost is probably more afraid of people (if they are righteous and blessed by God and can ward them off). There’s also a more Buddhist aspect to why the 3/7 points are assigned, but I won’t go into details about that since it’s too confusing for me.

Yin Ren closed his eyes and slightly bent the corners of his mouth.

In the next instant, centered in room 1413, a strong killing intent suddenly exploded.

The majestic, murderous qi of the King of Evil encircled the entire Fanghua Apartments. The pressure was like a battlefield of 10,000 people in deep winter; the thick soil was soaked in blood and ice. It was like a swamp that had devoured countless corpses, full of cold and viscous evil.

This wasn’t just evil qi, but pure murderous intent.

Letting this murderous intent spread for a few seconds, Yin Ren opened his eyes and looked at the window expectantly…

As long as there were any evil beings that were still here, they would react to this level of “demonstration”.

He was only half right, it turned out.

The half that he guessed right was that the evil being in his conjecture did exist, and in the face of such murderous intent, it subconsciously responded with hostility.

As for the wrong half…

The source of that hostility wasn’t outside the window, but behind him.

The author has something to say:

Xiao Yin, it’s rare to be so cool for three seconds (?

Xiao Zhong: Thank you, you are a good person.

Xiao Yin (thinking): Thank you, so are you.

Two male guests exchanged the good person card!