Chapter 993: Chapter 698: Bell
The interior of this villa was even more outdated than it appeared from the outside. Upon entering, there was the living room—an old-fashioned fabric sofa, a brown glass coffee table, and against the wall opposite sat a wooden TV cabinet, atop which a black, bulky television was coated with dust.
Though the room seemed old, it was not particularly cluttered. There were almost no miscellaneous items, with the coffee table and other surfaces left bare. It seemed the space had been meticulously cleaned after the crime took place, possibly by the deceased’s relatives.
However, due to its reputation as a crime scene, the heirs struggled to sell or rent the property. As a result, it remained vacant until now—an unintended stroke of fortune for someone like Boss Sun, who dabbled in unconventional ventures.
As they prepared to venture deeper inside, Yang Xiao and the others tried to switch on the lights. Flipping the switch proved fruitless, but fortunately, they had planned ahead. Grabbing three flashlights from Boss Sun’s car, they armed themselves with old-fashioned aluminum-shell flashlights that emitted a warm, yellowish beam.
The group silently worked in sync, gathering close in a single-file line as they ventured farther inside. As the beam of the flashlight swept across the living room ceiling, Yang Xiao noticed something peculiar—along the edges near the walls, a row of nails had been hammered in.
There were quite a few nails, concentrated primarily around entrances such as doors and windows. The placement felt distinctly strange.
"Move the table over, grab a chair, and give me a hand to get up there," Yang Xiao instructed the group. He added a reminder, "Don’t all stare here—split into three teams to keep watch on the other areas. Stay sharp."
Following Yang Xiao’s directions, a wooden table was brought over, followed by a chair which was carefully placed atop it. Yu Kai steadied the chair, giving it a firm shake to ensure its stability before nodding to Yang Xiao. "It’s secure. I’ll hold it steady."
Yang Xiao climbed onto the table and then onto the chair. The building wasn’t a true villa—just a modest two-story house—with a living room ceiling that wasn’t particularly high. Standing on the chair, Yang Xiao’s height allowed him to closely inspect the ceiling.
Using a sleeve to wrap his fingers, he softly touched the row of nails. They appeared ordinary, just standard iron nails—no coffin nails or anything unusual. Yang Xiao raised his hand to knock on the ceiling, tapping at various spots. None of the taps produced hollow echoes, which indicated there was no concealed compartment behind the ceiling.
Only then did Yang Xiao feel reassured. In the difficult years when he struggled to make a living as a scriptwriter, he had once crafted a chilling scene in his imagination. It involved someone moving into a new house, constantly feeling watched—even during sleep. Despite searching every inch of the room, they could find nothing. One day, while repairing the ceiling light in the bedroom, the homeowner accidentally discovered a crack near the light fixture. Curiosity drove them to pry it open, only to uncover a corpse wrapped in sealed plastic layers, its haunting eyes staring fixedly at the crack.
Yang Xiao’s imagination often ran wild—both a blessing and a curse. It wasn’t uncommon for him to be frightened by the sudden images or thoughts that sprang to mind.
"Mr. Chu, have you found anything?" Qu Hong tilted her head upward, observing Yang Xiao. From her angle, half of Yang Xiao’s face was obscured in shadow, lending an eerie quality to his figure.
"I’m fine. These are just ordinary nails." Still determined, Yang Xiao continued running his fingers over each nail. Strangely enough, the ends of all the nails had been bent. Shortly after, Yang Xiao discovered something unusual on one nail.
Raising his flashlight to shine directly on it, Yang Xiao noticed the bent end of the nail was tied to a piece of wire. The wire was short and inconspicuous.
It seemed that long ago, all the nails had been tied with similar wires—one per nail. What purpose they served, Yang Xiao couldn’t yet determine.
Yang Xiao pulled the wire loose and showed it to the group, but no one could make sense of it. They decided to continue searching.
On the first floor, aside from the living room, there was a study, a bedroom, a kitchen, a bathroom, and a small storage room. Yang Xiao and his team noticed that above the ceiling of every door, there was a row of nails—as if part of some sort of evil technique.
Through Yang Xiao’s observations, it was clear the nails had been in place for years—many were rusted.
Pushing open the bedroom door, they found this room to be the messiest of the lot. The bed was covered with a crumpled white sheet. On one side of the nightstand sat a roll of toilet paper, while used wet wipes were scattered on the floor.
It seemed Boss Sun had brought couples here—and this was their battleground. However, Boss Sun’s character left much to be desired; he hadn’t even bothered cleaning up after the activities, leaving behind this mess.
In the bedroom, there was a wardrobe as well. When opened, it contained only a moldy quilt and a few rudimentary wire hangers—nothing of note. It seemed that after the tragedy here, the area had been thoroughly cleaned. If there had been any clues, they were long gone.
The bedroom was not particularly spacious. If all six people entered, it would be hard to escape in case of an emergency. So, only Yang Xiao, Yu Kai, and Qu Hong went inside, while the others kept watch by the door, staying alert to any movements outside.
Qu Hong held a flashlight, its beam directed at the base of the wardrobe. She also noted that the room had been cleaned, but the wardrobe itself stood out—constructed of sturdy wood, large and immovable. The wardrobe’s four corners were propped up with thin wooden blocks, leaving roughly a 2-centimeter gap underneath.
She guessed the cleaners hadn’t been meticulous enough to move the wardrobe and sweep the hard-to-reach spots underneath. Lowering herself to the floor, she pressed her face close to the ground, peering into the gap. As the flashlight beam swept underneath, she spotted scattered debris deep within the crevice.
