A dangerous glint flickered in Chen Ge's eyes. The president of the Ghost Talk Association gave off a sense of familiarity, and precisely because of that, he was all the more desperate to track the person down.
"The five murders seem to be part of some kind of ritual. The Ghost Talk Association prepared for so long—once they successfully lured me away from the haunted house, they probably kicked things into gear."
The Ghost Talk Association feared Chen Ge would sabotage the ritual from the shadows, but Chen Ge was no less worried about his own life. Back then, Xu Yin had yet to awaken, and the only tools at his disposal were employees who looked terrifying but were, in reality, rather lacking in actual combat power.
But things were different now. Xu Yin had awakened. His condition was admittedly strange, but Chen Ge finally had the confidence to hold his own.
"As long as Xu Yin and Yan Danian work together to hold off their Red Dress, I'll have the confidence to take down the one pulling strings from behind the curtain."
With that thought in mind, Chen Ge walked over to Captain Yan. "Captain Yan, something urgent has come up at my haunted house."
"You'd best not wander around before the killer is apprehended. Don't forget—you're one of their targets too." Captain Yan didn't agree to let Chen Ge leave. He was busy coordinating over a walkie-talkie and his phone.
Chen Ge sat back down in his chair, his gaze sweeping over Captain Yan and the two other officers in the room.
From the very first time he'd met Captain Yan, Chen Ge had never once doubted this justice-driven police officer—but this time, a sliver of suspicion had crept in.
Two hours ago, it was Captain Yan who had personally called Chen Ge and told him to go to the city precinct.
Captain Yan's reasoning had been airtight—impeccable, really—and there was genuine intent to protect Chen Ge in it. But the timing was far too convenient, right at the moment when the Ghost Talk Association was making its move on the haunted house.
Going back even further—the Ghost Talk Association wanted to seize the door of Living Coffin Village. They had been remarkably well-prepared, thoroughly informed about both Jiang Ling and Living Coffin Village alike. But where had they gotten all that information?
Living Coffin Village was hidden deep in the mountains, cut off from the outside world.
The fugitives hiding in Languan Village had little contact with the outside as well.
It wasn't until six months ago, when Jiang Ling's parents were killed by poisoning, that this remote little village drew the attention of the police—and the officer assigned to the poisoning case at the time was none other than Captain Yan.
Captain Yan had been the one to investigate Languan Village in depth. Captain Yan's subordinates were the ones looking after Jiang Ling. These were facts, and no amount of arguing could change them.
At Fanghuayuan Residential Complex, Captain Yan had been present when Chen Ge rescued Gu Feiyu. The case of the Third Sick Building had been Captain Yan's from beginning to end. Thinking about it this way, Captain Yan certainly had plenty of grounds for suspicion.
Of course, that was all it was—grounds for suspicion. In Chen Ge's eyes, Captain Yan had no real reason to do any of this. Perhaps it was all just one massive coincidence.
"After Han Bao'er is caught tonight, the only one left in the Ghost Talk Association is that deeply hidden president."
Chen Ge stared at Captain Yan's back, slipped quietly out of the room, and hailed a taxi to New Century Paradise.
At eleven o'clock that night, Chen Ge returned to New Century Paradise. The moment he stepped out of the car, something felt off.
A faint, faint stench lingered in the air—similar to the smell that had permeated the Third Sick Building and Heming Apartments, only much weaker.
"That smell again." He had encountered it back at Heming Apartments. At the time, he had even asked Doctor Gao about it, only to discover that he was the only one who could pick up on that peculiar odor.
He greeted the old gatekeeper and entered the amusement park.
The deeper he walked, the more wrong things felt. The surrounding rides and attractions looked the same as always, yet they gave off an air of neglect, as though coated in a thin layer of dust.
Chen Ge switched on the voice recorder and pulled the Skull Crushing Hammer from his backpack. He advanced slowly toward his own haunted house.