Chapter 277: Chapter 238: The Nonexistent Room
Yang Xiao sized up Tong Han from head to toe; she was dressed in a sequined outfit, looking like a dance performer, and if he remembered correctly, she had also introduced herself as a dance artist by profession, which seemed to fit the bill perfectly.
Qu Yi had taken on another commission, which was a bit strange. The client was Mr. Wen from Room 5042.
As a mystery novelist, the briefing introduced Mr. Wen as someone who lived alone, led a tedious life, and seldom left his room. Therefore, the one who came to his door must be an interesting person, and it would be even better if they could bring some fresh inspiration to his stories.
What really moved Qu Yi was the last sentence in the briefing: Mr. Wen was a generous man and if someone could inspire him to satisfy his wide readership, he would be willing to pay a hefty reward.
To be frank, this commission didn’t sound easy, but Qu Yi had her own plans, and she had taken on the task out of sheer necessity; after all, she had very little money on her now, and having been marked by the Ball-slapping Ghost, the consequences of encountering a similar situation again were unthinkable. She needed plenty of money to ensure her own safety.
She could tell that among this time’s teammates, there were a few tough ones she was no match for. Even if they dragged this out, the one to die would be her, so she might as well go all in and gamble.
Fortune favors the bold, and in later stages of the mission, it was crucial to have enough money on hand—that was the key to survival.
After the commission task was done, the next order of business was the daily patrol mission. This time, Yang Xiao took the initiative to speak up and secured a spot for himself, while the other went to Mo Daidai.
Li Qingxuan, Cheng Ya, and Fu Changxue were left idle.
Just as everyone was getting ready to leave, Tong Han’s gaze was suddenly drawn to the large wooden desk in the security room, or more precisely, to the photo pressed under the glass panel on the table surface.
"Come over and look!"
Upon closer inspection, they noticed that one of the photos, slightly to the right, showed a man and a woman in a portrait, which had been blurred just yesterday.
The man was in a suit, his face stern, exuding the air of a business elite, while the woman beside him wore light makeup, and importantly, was dressed in a white lab coat.
Looking closely, one could see that both had a ring on the ring finger of their left hands.
Qu Yi’s complexion changed dramatically; the ringed hands triggered her indelible memories of terror, "It’s the Ball-slapping Ghost and the Surgical Ghost!"
"Is this that notorious couple?" Fu Xuechang was somewhat confused, after all, the two did not look like bloodthirsty psychopathic killers.
Mo Daidai picked up a torn envelope from the ground, the envelope still bore a blood handprint, and the ring finger of the left hand was missing a small piece, confirming the letter was delivered by the man in the photo, also known as the Ball-slapping Ghost.
"Why do I feel that these two don’t look like murderous maniacs? They seem more like the managers of the apartment, or... or even the owners of this place." The more Li Qingxuan looked, the more things seemed amiss, the background of the photo was the front gate of the apartment, which looked magnificent at the time.
"Everyone, there’s another matter. We’ve all received a script box, and I suppose you’ve all seen its contents. Among them is a number plate marked with 85, but from my observations, there is no such room number inside this apartment building," Yang Xiao expressed the doubts that had been weighing on his heart for a while.
"That’s right, I noticed it too, the highest room number here is 60, and it’s about the same on every floor," said Tong Han.
"So... does this room not exist?" Cheng Ya was rarely so lucid.
"It definitely exists. The clues given by the script box won’t deceive us," Mo Daidai spoke softly, just loud enough for everyone present to hear, "This Room 85 must exist, and it’s vitally important. I believe that the biggest secret of Dongzhou Apartment is hidden within."
"The secret that turned it into a famous haunted building," Mo Daidai speculated after some thought.
Day had completely broken, and, confirming no new clues emerged, the group left the apartment. The key issue now was to find the hidden Room 85 and to figure out the origins of the Ball-slapping Ghost and the Surgical Ghost.
Following the road they had walked the day before, they went around the wall and just emerged from the gap in the collapsed cement wall when a familiar scene unfolded. The old candy seller, pushing his bicycle and hawking candied haws along the street, appeared on time like a scripted NPC.
The old man was startled to see them, especially when he saw Yang Xiao, his gaze immediately turning fierce. Without waiting for the group to greet him, he stepped onto his bike and turned to leave, cursing under his breath.
It was Li Qingxuan who quickly ran a few steps to catch up and grabbed the rear seat of the old man’s bicycle, "Old sir, don’t go."
"Let go of me!" The old man was so angry that his eyes bulged, "A bunch of paupers, always tricking a poor old man like me, timing it just right to deceive, do you even have a conscience?"
Tong Han turned to Yang Xiao, pleading in a soft voice, "Chu Xi, please apologize to the old man quickly!"
"Yeah, Chu, the old man looks so pitiful, let’s give him a bit of help with his business," Fu Changxue also urged Yang Xiao.
Yang Xiao could see that these two just wanted him to spend money to buy information. After all, he was the wealthiest at the moment; there was nothing wrong with that. However, this was a bad habit they couldn’t get used to. Yang Xiao smiled, pulled out some money, and said in a joking tone, "Miss Tong, Brother Fu, I’m well aware of what to do, you don’t need to worry about social niceties for me, I might have a bit more money, but every bit was hard-earned."
"How about this, each one of us buys a skewer of candied haws, as a way of supporting the old man’s business?" Yang Xiao cleverly turned the tables on them.
The atmosphere became somewhat awkward in an instant, until Mo Daidai took action. He took out a one-yuan note from his pocket and handed it to the old man, "Old sir, I’ll take two skewers of candied haws."
Seeing the real cash coming in, the old man wasn’t in a rush to leave anymore. He took the money and handed Mo Daidai two skewers of bright red, large candied haws.
Mo Daidai didn’t mind at all and took a bite, the sugar crust crunching sharply, the hawthorn inside even sourer to the core.
"Delicious," Mo Daidai commented earnestly.
Once Mo Daidai made a move, Li Qingxuan immediately followed suit, pulling out his own single one-yuan note and emphasizing repeatedly, "Old sir, I want one skewer of candied haws, just one!"
But at that moment, it was as if the old man’s ears suddenly went dead. He took the money and passed Li Qingxuan two skewers of candied haws, without giving change.
When Li Qingxuan questioned him, the old man put on an honest smile, pointing at his ear, saying he was old and his hearing wasn’t good, he didn’t hear clearly. He said this time was an exception, next time for sure.
Next, Fu Changxue and Qu Yi both reluctantly bought two skewers of candied haws each, no matter how much they emphasized, the old man simply refused to give change.
Lastly, only Yang Xiao, Tong Han, and Cheng Ya were left who hadn’t bought any, but the difference was that Yang Xiao had the money to buy, while the latter two had none at all.
Tong Han had earned 5 yuan from performing a patrol mission last night, but she had already paid it back to Mo Daidai and was downright penniless, not even a dime in her pockets.
As for Cheng Ya, she was anxious on the spot, at a loss on what to do. She wanted to ask someone for a bit of money, but absolutely no one paid her any mind.
"What’s the meaning of this?" Having already found Yang Xiao displeasing, the old man finally seized the opportunity to make a scene, "Everyone else has bought some, so why are you three special? That’s it, you’ve upset me so much I’ve become dizzy, my head hurts, and I can’t remember anything."
Yang Xiao fished out a crumpled one-yuan note from his pocket, then counted out a five-jiao coin and generously handed them to the old man, "Old sir, give me three skewers of candied haws, I’ll cover for those two as well."
Tong Han was startled, while Cheng Ya was overcome with gratitude, continuously thanking Yang Xiao.
Once everyone had received their candied haws, Fu Xuechang immediately began to inquire with the old man for information about Dongzhou Apartment, but the old man refused to reveal a single word. He just made excuses about his headache, saying that if his head hurt, he couldn’t remember anything, and he didn’t have money for medicine, acting completely unreasonable.
"How much do you need for the medicine?" Yang Xiao got tired of the pointless talk and pulled out a five-yuan note, fanning himself with it in a showy manner.
