"Wang Haiming was entangled by something foul while in the psychiatric hospital. Even after he was discharged, he brought that creature out with him."
"The two must have been fighting over control of his body the entire time. Wang Haiming refused to give in and ultimately died in his own rented room."
His bizarre manner of death and the strange things he only did at night could all support Chen Ge's theory.
"After Wang Haiming died, the creature he had brought out of the hospital might have stayed behind in this building. His body was removed during the day, when there were plenty of police officers and onlookers — the creature would never dare show itself. And by night, Room 303 had been completely sealed off, leaving the creature even less opportunity to hunt for prey."
"Under normal circumstances, this creature from the hospital would have remained trapped in the room forever. But judging by the current situation, it has already struck some kind of deal with the young man in Room 302 through unknown means."
"Having learned its lesson from Wang Haiming, the creature didn't forcefully possess the young man's body this time. The two are probably in a relationship of mutual exploitation."
Chen Ge looked at the sparrow carcasses on the floor. "There's a lot of blood on the clothes — these few sparrows alone couldn't possibly account for it. The deal between the creature and the young man must have started a long time ago."
He recalled what the young man had said earlier inside his room. When the young man in 302 had been shouting, he had said, "Stop pushing me, you all!" — a sentence that revealed quite a bit.
First, he was being coerced into doing certain things that went against his own will. Combined with what Chen Ge had seen in Room 303, the foul entity was very likely forcing him to bring back living creatures.
A few sparrows would never satisfy that creature, so its demands were probably for larger living things — stray cats, stray dogs, or even human beings.
The second point was the young man's choice of words. When he was arguing, the term he used for the other party wasn't "you" but "you all" — meaning more than one creature was pressuring him. And that was precisely what confused Chen Ge the most right now: what exactly had Wang Haiming brought out of that hospital?
After putting everything back in place, Chen Ge headed toward the window. Because of the angle, the young man in 302 didn't realize he'd been discovered. When he saw Chen Ge walk toward the window, he immediately shrank back into his own room.
"One more person to keep an eye out for tonight." Chen Ge stepped onto the windowsill, gripped the window frame firmly with his hands, and as he shifted his weight, his peripheral vision swept across the bathroom in Room 303.
Behind the half-open door, there seemed to stand a tall, thin dark figure with two different faces.
"Someone?!"
His heart lurched. His hands nearly lost their grip. He stared hard, but the bathroom was empty once more. The only thing was a vague flicker of something passing through the mirror that faced the door.
Standing on the edge of the windowsill without any safety measures was genuinely dangerous. Chen Ge didn't dare linger — he shifted most of his body over toward Room 304 and slowly climbed inside.
"Find anything?" Dr. Gao asked out of pure courtesy.
"Take a look at this." Chen Ge pulled the key from his pocket. "Dr. Gao, does your hospital have any doors that require a key like this?"
Dr. Gao took the key from Chen Ge's hand and examined it. It was only slightly larger than a regular key. "Doesn't look like a key for an operating room or an office. I'm not really sure."
Unable to get an answer from Dr. Gao, Chen Ge put the key away for now. He would wait until they entered Building Three and look for a chance to try it then.
"You spent all that time rummaging around next door and came back with just one key?" Dr. Gao hung up the phone. Chen Ge had gone over there acting all mysterious, only to come back with such a anticlimactic result.
"Don't underestimate this key — it might just be the key to tonight." Chen Ge put the key away and glanced toward the bedroom. "Is Men Nan asleep?"