Jiang Jiu soon realized who Chen Ge was talking to. He watched as a tall, slender young man stepped out from behind Chen Ge and placed both hands on his head.
"Don't worry, this will be over soon."
Another person had suddenly appeared in the room. Jiang Jiu quickly realized what was happening, but before he could even begin to struggle, his memories started to become chaotic.
His memories regarding the Cursed Fetus were hidden away, and he soon collapsed unconscious to the floor.
Chen Ge put Zhang Yi back into the comic book, then looked at Jiang Jiu slumped sideways in his chair and immediately started shouting: "Hey! Are you alright? Wake up! Chief Zheng! Chief Zheng! Someone's fainted!"
Hearing Chen Ge's voice, the police officers outside rushed in. They performed emergency treatment on Jiang Jiu and found that his body was perfectly normal—he simply wouldn't wake up.
"Get him to the hospital right now!"
After the officers sent Jiang Jiu away, the room was left with only Chen Ge. He made a phone call to Uncle Xu to check on the haunted house's situation.
Once he confirmed everything was fine, he walked straight to the bed, hugged his backpack, and fell asleep.
He didn't know how much time had passed before Chen Ge was shaken awake. He opened his bleary eyes to find Li Zheng and several police officers standing over him.
"You're finally done?"
"I honestly can't believe you actually fell asleep at a murder scene. Did we bring you here so you could take a nap?" Li Zheng was exasperated with Chen Ge, though he could clearly tell that Chen Ge was utterly exhausted.
"Well, you guys were here, weren't you? I helped you catch all those murderers, so naturally I've made countless enemies along the way. Usually I sleep with one eye open, but only when I'm next to the people's police can I rest easy."
"Save the jokes, let's head back. Don't leave Hanjiang for the time being—we may need to summon you at any moment." Li Zheng and the others were busy, so they left right after speaking.
Chen Ge glanced out the window. Night had already fallen.
"I should head back too. Tonight I need to have a good talk with Chang Gu." Chang Gu himself was nothing remarkable—just a fierce ghost with a talent for directing. But Chang Wenyu was a different matter entirely. Aside from Zhang Ya, she was the second red-robed spirit to have a dedicated page on the Black Phone.
Theoretically, Chang Wenyu should have been completely obliterated back at the Spirit Medium School, yet the Black Phone stated she wasn't fully dead. Moreover, she apparently knew something about the Black Phone—and that was what concerned Chen Ge the most.
Back at the New Century Park haunted house, the living employees had already finished cleaning and clocked out. The ghost employees, however, were still busy with their own affairs.
Chen Ge didn't disturb them. He went straight to the staff lounge, opened the comic book, and summoned Chang Gu.
"There's no one else here. You don't need to hold anything back."
The white cat studied the one-eyed man before it and jumped away with a look of disdain. That cat had always been a bully—picking on the weak while fearing the strong.
"My sister's soul wasn't obliterated. She said she still has one life left." Chang Gu's words were startling, and they immediately caught Chen Ge's attention.
"What do you mean, 'one life left'?" Chen Ge stared into Chang Gu's eyes.
"I don't know the details either. She only told me that whether the plan succeeded or failed, if I could escape the Spirit Medium School, I should come find you immediately. She wants to make a deal with you."
Chang Wenyu had indeed left herself an escape route. Neither sibling was someone to be trifled with.
"What kind of deal?"
"She knows you have a black phone. She also knows that phone once belonged to someone else. She's willing to tell you everything she knows, and she's also willing to do three things for you." Chang Gu held up three fingers.
"You two sure think highly of yourselves. Whether what you're saying is true or false, even if I wanted to verify it, I'd first have to bring Chang Wenyu back to life." Chen Ge swept a glance over Chang Gu. "You're trying to make a deal with no capital at all."
"My sister's eyes have seen many things. She won't deceive you."
"You really are devoted siblings. Her death had a direct connection to you, yet here you are still doing her bidding. I'm almost touched." Chen Ge stood up and walked a full circle around Chang Gu. "Fine, I don't have a problem with helping you revive Chang Wenyu, but three tasks isn't enough."
"Then what do you want?"
"We'll discuss that later. First, tell me—how exactly do you want me to help?" Chen Ge had to resolve the Chang Wenyu situation completely. It was both a mission from the Black Phone and an opportunity for him to learn more about it.
"My sister left behind a residual thought in Xinhai City. It's been hidden inside a student. All you need to do is activate the memories within that residual thought."
"After the residual thought's memories are activated, will that student die?" More than reviving Chang Wenyu, Chen Ge was concerned about the student's fate. After all, Chang Wenyu was a top-tier red-robed spirit—ordinary people couldn't withstand her memories.
"She won't." Chang Gu said only two words. It seemed there were still things he hadn't told Chen Ge. "That student attends Xinhai No. 1 High School. She's a girl. She was almost taken away by the door at the Spirit Medium School—Chang Wenyu saved her."
"Do you have any other information?"
"That's all." Chang Gu had said everything he needed to say. He stood in the center of the room, expressionless, with a trace of sadness hidden in his solitary remaining eye.
"Being chosen by the Spirit Medium School's door means she was bullied at school before too. That narrows the search considerably—finding her shouldn't be difficult." Chen Ge's tone shifted. "But I'm not planning to go to Xinhai anytime soon."
"Why?" Chang Gu felt that Chen Ge was deliberately making things difficult for him.
"I have a mortal enemy in Xinhai. They're after my life at any moment." Chen Ge's hand passed through Chang Gu's shoulder. "Until I'm ready, you can stay here and work. Back at the Spirit Medium School, I risked my life for the two of you, only to be betrayed in the end. Now it's your turn to work off that debt."
"How long will you need to prepare? Can you give me a definite answer?"
"Within one month." After saying that, Chen Ge took out his phone. He was going to fulfill another promise that had been put off for far too long.