No matter how loudly
"This cat has a mind of its own. It showed up on its own at lunchtime, and the moment it saw me packing my bag, it bolted outside."
Chen Ge stared up at the tree with a helpless expression, then slung his bag over his shoulder and left the amusement park.
He took a taxi to Fanghua Yuan Residential Complex. It was already dark, and very few people were entering or leaving the compound.
"Last time I was here, I forgot to ask Dr. Gao. This complex was built a while ago — who knows if anything unusual has happened inside."
Chen Ge pulled up the police files on his phone. They only mentioned that the patient from Room Two had last been spotted at Fanghua Yuan Residential Complex, without revealing a specific address.
"This is going to be tricky. The police use numbers to refer to each patient. I don't even know her name, and with just a single photo, it's going to be hard to make progress."
Fanghua Yuan was considered a mid-to-upper-tier residential complex in Jiujiang. The front section consisted of six older buildings, all relatively low in height. Behind them stood three newly constructed high-rises, each over twenty stories tall. The Wang Xin family had lived in one of the newer buildings at the back.
"Better ask the security guard."
He had come here primarily to fulfill the tape ghost's wish and hire it as a haunted house employee — that was the top priority for the night. But since he was here anyway, he would also do some digging on the patient from Room Two, Ward Three.
He walked up to the security booth and opened his phone, finding the photo attached to the police files. "Excuse me, could you tell me if you recognize this woman?"
The patient from Room Two had features that were each individually near-perfect, but when put together, something about them just felt off.
The security guard not only refused to answer Chen Ge's question, but instead eyed him with suspicion, as though he had spotted a suspicious individual. "You don't live in this complex, do you?"
"No, I don't," Chen Ge answered honestly.
"Then there's no need for us to answer your questions." The guard stepped out of the booth. "If this person is a resident here, we won't disclose resident information. If she isn't, then I certainly don't have any information about her."
Chen Ge was caught off guard. The man wasn't exactly following the usual script.
"Xiao Gu, don't cause trouble." Inside the booth sat another security guard in his sixties. He had just taken off his uniform and changed into casual clothes. He walked out of the guardhouse with a genial smile. "The young ones are hot-headed. He got chewed out over something minor today, so he's in a foul mood."
"I'm in a perfectly good mood. Old Wang, you get off work already — I've got this covered," the younger guard said impatiently.
"If I leave it to you, I'm afraid you'll be getting an earful again tomorrow. You never learn, do you? Every time you talk to someone, you come on too strong." Old Wang shook his head and sighed. "How many times have I told you? We're just security guards. Nod more, talk less. Whether they're right or wrong, don't go passing judgment."
"It's fine — I actually appreciate this kind of personality. Straightforward, no pretense." Chen Ge quickly spoke up. He genuinely found this young guard interesting. "What's your name?"
"
"Night-shift guard? So you patrol the complex at night too?" Chen Ge's attention wasn't really on Gu Feiyu as a person — he was slowly steering the conversation in a different direction.
"We security guards protect the residents' safety twenty-four hours a day." Old Wang brushed the dust off his pants. "Oh, right — were you trying to find someone just now? Give me the name. I've been working here for ten years. I know most of the residents."
"I don't know her name, but I do have a photo." Chen Ge opened the image and handed his phone over.
"A photo makes things much easier." Old Wang took the phone and looked down at it. The instant his gaze landed on the screen, all the color drained from his face, and he nearly dropped Chen Ge's phone on the ground.