Chen Ge and the Nether Fetus were playing hide-and-seek across an entire city. Right now, the Nether Fetus was in the shadows while he was out in the open, and the feeling grated on him.
But the appearance of Zhen Zhen had given Chen Ge a glimmer of hope to change his situation — though only if Jiang Long wasn't lying.
"Where is that child now?"
"I hid him. The police are looking for him, and there's another group in Hanjiang looking for him too." Blood vessels writhed across Jiang Long's body, the sight decidedly nauseating.
"Another group?" Chen Ge's interest was piqued. He hadn't expected anyone else in Hanjiang besides himself to be interested in the Nether Fetus.
"We saw him once in Liwan Town. The guy had cracked lips, a permanent smile on his face, and he always wore a hospital gown under his jacket."
"Bu Xiao!"
"Yes. I don't know if he's acting on his own, or if he represents that cursed hospital in Xinhai." Jiang Long's voice gradually grew calmer, as if he had already accepted the fact that he was in Chen Ge's custody and had given up struggling.
"You know about the cursed hospital?" Chen Ge narrowed his eyes. "Are you deliberately trying to deceive me? Trying to redirect my attention to that hospital?"
"I have no reason to deceive you. The only reason I risked breaking into your haunted house today was because I've already been backed into a corner with no way out." A bitter smile crossed Jiang Long's face. "The police pursuit was already suffocating me, but what truly drove me to despair was two nights ago, when I saw Bu Xiao standing outside my own apartment building. That madman was just standing there. I saw him, and he saw me."
"There doesn't seem to be any logical connection between your despair and the decision to break into my haunted house," Chen Ge said. Having been to the police station numerous times and faced interrogations more than once, he'd practically become an expert through sheer repetition. He'd accumulated a wealth of experience in handling police questioning, which now made him rather skilled at interrogating others in return.
"The Shadow once told me there's a hidden door inside your haunted house. He became what he is now after he walked through that door." The Shadow had inhabited Jiang Long's body for a long time, and he knew many of the Shadow's secrets.
"Did he ever tell you what was behind that door?"
"You don't know what's behind that door either?" At Chen Ge's question, Jiang Long momentarily froze before quickly recovering. "The Shadow never said what he saw beyond the door. The only reason I wanted to go through it was because I wanted to become like him. The police hunt was already giving me enough headaches, and now I've been marked by Bu Xiao — I needed to leave myself an escape route."
Jiang Long's reasoning held up. Chen Ge considered it for a moment and decided not to press further. "That child is in real danger out there alone. Tell me where he is, and I'll go bring him back."
The room fell silent. It was a long while before Jiang Long spoke again. "He's in a basement in the western suburbs. It's not easy to find — I'll take you there."
Chen Ge opened his comic book and sealed Jiang Long inside together with Stench.
"Everyone, get back to your posts. He's been caught." Chen Ge directed his employees back to their respective scenes, then slung his backpack over his shoulder and headed for the exit.
To prevent Jiang Long from having left any contingencies in place, Chen Ge left Door Nan and Red High Heels in the haunted house bathroom to guard the "door," while sending Old Bai and Old Zhou on continuous patrols through the underground scenes.
Only after confirming there would be no problems did Chen Ge leave the amusement park and set off for the place Jiang Long had described.
It wasn't far from the park, but few people ever went there.
As Chen Ge left the park, several plainclothes officers followed him out. He had actually noticed them a long time ago, but made no effort to stop them.
After a circuitous route, Chen Ge found the room where Zhen Zhen was hiding, tucked away in an alley behind an old street block that was slated for demolition.
"You really didn't make it easy to find this place."
Jiang Long must have had his eye on Chen Ge's haunted house for some time, but due to the imbalance of information, his carefully laid plans had been stillborn before they could even begin.
The property owner was nowhere to be found. Following Jiang Long's directions, Chen Ge entered the backyard and lifted the wooden boards covering the cellar entrance.
He peered down into the cellar and found a child bound to a plank of wood, with an unconscious adult man lying nearby.
"Zhen Zhen?"
At the sound of his voice, the child opened his eyes and let out a series of muffled cries at Chen Ge.