Chen Ge clicked through the other files on the desktop. Most were in English, and after staring at them for a while, he could only make out a small fraction of what they said.
He opened the comic album, intending to release the English teacher, but since ghosts appearing in places touched by sunlight seemed to suffer considerable harm, he looked at the pitiful Duan Yue and decided not to force the issue.
With no other option, Chen Ge took out his phone and photographed everything.
He exited the phone's interface and called Officer Li.
"Uncle Sanbao, I'd like to ask you a favor."
"Is it about the bloodstain analysis on the nail? I'll head over this afternoon and push them for results." Officer Li sounded like he was still on the road, not yet at the station.
"No, it's something else. Help me look up the information on Room 3004, Building 3, Fanghua Garden Community. I want to know who the registered owner is."
"What do you need that for?"
"It's connected to the blood on the nail. I feel like I'm getting close to catching him!"
"All right, I'll do my best."
After hanging up, Chen Ge recalled every object he had touched, wiped away his fingerprints, and left Room 3004.
He took a cab back to New Century Paradise, and a new day of operations began.
The one-star mission triggered by the special visitor Liu Xianxian still hadn't been completed. Technically, Chen Ge had followed the Black Phone's instructions and found Liu Xianxian, but he still hadn't received any notification that the mission was done.
"I probably need to fully resolve her inner turmoil before it counts."
The mission wasn't actually that difficult. The man she was in love with was very likely a murderer. All he had to do was find evidence of the killing, and Liu Xianxian would surely give up on him.
After all, the man had murdered the sister of her best friend.
He opened for business, and his staff were becoming increasingly skilled at their jobs, which naturally meant he, the boss, had more free time.
In between, he idly made a few more calls to Li Zheng, inquiring about the progress of the case. What he really cared about, though, was the sculpture — he wanted to get his hands on it and bring it to his haunted house.
Li Zheng had already gone to the new campus and interviewed a great many people, but none of them had any recollection of the sculpture. It was as though it had simply walked into the underground warehouse on its own.
Realizing the case had hit a dead end, Chen Ge pointed Li Zheng in a new direction: conduct a covert investigation centered on the man Liu Xianxian was interested in. It might yield an unexpected breakthrough.
The day's operations passed without incident. It was worth noting that a few visitors had finally begun attempting the three-star horror scenarios.
They had probably heard that the Living Coffin Village scenario had scared five people into fainting the day before, so they had the good sense to avoid that one, setting their sights on Ward Three instead.
They went in looking fierce and determined, but most visitors fled before reaching the end of the course.
Still, this gave Chen Ge a slight sense of urgency. As more and more visitors began taking on the three-star scenarios, it was only a matter of time before they were all conquered.
"One step at a time. First, I'll deal with the Strange Talk Association and complete Ward Three's own hidden mission."
Sitting in his room, Chen Ge took out the comic album. He instructed Yan Danian and several other ghosts to communicate extensively with Phone Ghost Duo Duo, authorizing them to use every means necessary to make Phone Ghost Duo Duo understand just how happy and meaningful it was to be an employee of a haunted house.
Time passed slowly. Just after four in the afternoon, Chen Ge's phone suddenly rang. He assumed Officer Li had an important lead, but when he glanced at the caller ID, he saw it was an unfamiliar number.
"Why do I keep getting calls from strangers?" Chen Ge answered and held the phone to his ear.
"Excuse me, is this Mr. Chen?"
"Yes, that's me." The voice on the other end was one Chen Ge had never heard before. There was a note of sorrow hidden in it.
"You're the one who helped crack the Ping'an Apartments massacre case, correct?"