If this three-star scene were out in the open, Chen Ge wouldn't be so torn up about it. With employees covering the rear, they could always retreat if the fight went south.
The problem was that the morgue was built underground. If something went wrong, there was nowhere to run. They could easily end up trapped and dead inside.
Chen Ge grabbed a pen and paper and quickly tallied up the fierce ghosts on his side who could actually be of use.
"By rights, my haunted house should count as a three-star horror scene. It's packed with ghosts, all with special abilities, but overall their combat strength isn't that impressive."
Eighty percent of the haunted house's combat power came from Zhang Ya. Another fifteen percent was Xu Yin. The last five percent was everyone else combined.
"I have the guts to go head-to-head with another three-star scene, but that'll have to wait until Zhang Ya wakes up."
It wasn't as though there were no ways to speed up Zhang Ya's recovery. Chen Ge just needed to find a few female ghosts to chat about life with her, and that should do the trick. The catch was that he was afraid that once Zhang Ya woke up, she might fly into a rage and finish him off first.
Chen Ge lay on his bed. He felt he couldn't rely too heavily on Zhang Ya, even though riding her coattails was undeniably comfortable.
"The other ghosts in the haunted house still have untapped potential. The heart on Xu Yin's chest hasn't turned red yet — she's one step away from becoming a true Red Dress. That last step should have something to do with a door."
He twirled the pen in his fingers, and Chen Ge thought of the door in the Third Ward. "Maybe I should go ask Men Nan's dominant personality? That kid is a Door Opener — he's bound to know a lot."
Chen Ge instinctively felt averse to the world beyond doors, but this was a critical moment, and beggars couldn't be choosers.
"The president of the Horror Association has at least two Red Dresses on hand — Xiong Qing and his wife. I need to be prepared to face two Red Dresses simultaneously."
Chen Ge glanced out the window. Night had fallen. "Since there's nothing else going on tonight, I'll make a trip to the Third Ward."
He packed his bag, but before heading out, he pulled out the black phone for a quick look. Earlier, when Li Zheng had mentioned the missing person's body being found, the black phone had given a faint vibration. Chen Ge hadn't had a chance to check it until now.
He swiped the screen and tapped the unread message.
"Special Tourist Mission — The Vanishing Wife, completed. Congratulations, favoured one of the fierce ghosts, you have unlocked a horror scene: The Wife's Room!"
"The Wife's Room (Scream Index: One Star): I thought he would marry me. Instead, he sealed me inside a sculpture and locked me away in the lightless morgue beneath the earth."
The mission tied to special tourist Liu Xianxian was now complete, but plenty of questions remained unanswered. Why had Liu Xianxian forced herself to get close to those terrifying things? Why did she smile when she was afraid?
Chen Ge was certain Liu Xianxian had been hiding things from him. This girl's relationship with Liu Zhe was anything but simple — she might well know part of his secrets.
"Liu Zhe has lost his mind, but Liu Xianxian has been overlooked. Whatever is strange about her is definitely connected to Liu Zhe. That's a way in."
With his bag on his back, Chen Ge stopped at the haunted house entrance. After a moment's thought, he changed his mind and hailed a cab to Jiujiang Medical Academy.
When he arrived, he headed straight for the school gate as usual.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" A tall, thin security guard stepped in front of Chen Ge. The man didn't look like he was in a good mood, his face held tight.
"Going into the school to find someone." Chen Ge's eyes swept over the badge on the guard's chest. This was Zhang Li — the one Li Zheng had mentioned to him.
Before Liu Zhe turned himself in, Li Zheng had also suspected Zhang Li. The night Ma Ying's sister went missing, Zhang Li had been pulling the night shift.
"Security's been tightened at the school lately. Outsiders aren't allowed in. Call the person and have them come out." Zhang Li showed no flexibility whatsoever, which was probably one of the reasons he was so unpopular with people.
Chen Ge didn't waste his breath arguing. He called Liu Xianxian and asked her to come meet him outside.
"Boss Chen, you're looking for me?" Liu Xianxian had a good impression of Chen Ge — upright, warm-hearted, friendly. Most importantly, he had once saved her life.
Chen Ge nodded and led her into the same tea house they had visited last time, requesting a private room.
Once the partition door closed, the room quickly fell quiet.
After a brief silence, Chen Ge spoke first. "How well do you know Liu Zhe?"
At the mention of Liu Zhe, Liu Xianxian's expression dimmed. The light seemed to drain from her eyes. She began telling Chen Ge the story of her relationship with Liu Zhe.
In her telling, Liu Zhe was a mature, perfect man without a single flaw. He only hesitated when facing new romance because he was still grieving his late wife far too deeply.
After listening carefully, Chen Ge looked at her and posed his second question. "That day, when you went into the underground warehouse, Ma Ying kept protecting you. At the most dangerous moment, she still didn't abandon you. Now let me ask you one more question: if one day Ma Ying and Liu Zhe both fell into the water and you could only save one, who would you save?"
It was a meaningless hypothetical, but Chen Ge's tone was deadly serious.
"I don't know." Liu Xianxian picked up the teacup from the table. The way Chen Ge was staring at her made her extremely uncomfortable. She felt as though his gaze was a blade, capable of cutting straight into her heart.
"Liu Zhe has turned himself in." Chen Ge decided to cut straight to the point. "He was the one who killed Ma Ying's sister a few years ago."
Clatter!
The teacup slipped from her fingers and shattered on the floor. Hot tea spilled across her legs, but Liu Xianxian didn't seem to feel the pain at all. Her eyes went wide as she stared at Chen Ge.
"This happened two hours ago. Liu Zhe has already been arrested."
"Impossible!" Liu Xianxian shot to her feet. The man she liked most in the world — a murderer of her friend's sister. The truth was far too much for her to accept.
Seeing her reaction, Chen Ge actually felt a wave of relief. His greatest worry had been that Liu Xianxian knew about Liu Zhe's crime all along and had still chosen to help him cover it up.
"Things haven't reached their worst yet." Chen Ge gestured for Liu Xianxian to calm down, then laid out the entire sequence of Liu Zhe's crimes.