The elevator moved stably and stopped on the second floor. After the door opened, no one dared to move. It was not because there was something outside. But… they wanted to keep a low profile so the things around them would not react.
However, to Yu Yu’s despair, since they didn’t move, the things around them also didn’t move. The two batches waited for each other. The elevator opened to the empty lobby.
“We’re here.” It was Jiang Cheng who spoke. However, he didn’t move. People squeezed him from both sides. The chill was like a thin blade, slicing through his skin. Holding her breath, Yu Yu was the first to leave. Then, Cao Yang. Neither of them turned back. Jiang Cheng was the last. After all of them had departed, they noticed the chill emanating from the elevator. Soon, a creak came from nearby.
Yu Yu turned to the sound and sucked in a cold breath. In the right corridor, the doors of more than ten rooms were left open. Every door had someone standing with their backs to the group. Then, the doors closed. The wind blew, and everything returned to normal.
“Stop looking,” Jiang Cheng uttered, “They’re not here for us.”
“What’s going on?” Yu Yu turned back to ask.
The elevator doors slowly closed. Then, the elevator moved and stopped on the underground first floor.
“Is it… Wang Changguo?” Cao Yang gasped. He thought the man was already dead.
Jiang Cheng glanced at the elevator. “I don’t know. It doesn’t matter. We shouldn’t wait here. We need to go upstairs and meet up with the rest.”
“Okay.”
…
Not too long ago, Kui Yi led Lin Wan ‘Er to the ninth floor, Room 916. The place looked abandoned. They tried the door and realised it was locked. The decoration was old. There was a large glass fitted to the door. It was likely to improve lighting. They didn’t see anyone else. Kui Yi slowly moved back. It looked like he planned to ram the door down. This was just a wooden door. It shouldn’t be too hard.
However, as he prepared to pick up speed, Lin Wan ‘Er moved over and removed a hairpin from her head. In less than 10 seconds, the spring clicked. The door opened.
“Don’t move!” As Lin Wan ‘Er reached for the door, Kui Yi stopped her. “Let me.”
Lin Wan ‘Er glanced at him and moved out of the way. Kui Yi leaned on the door and listened. When he didn’t hear anything, he slowly eased the door open. The room was dark because it was nighttime. The light from the corridor cast silhouettes inside the room. The room was spacious, with a musty odour. It felt vacant for a while already.
Kui Yi walked in with his flashlight. The ray scanned around. Kui Yi realised the room was larger than he expected. It looked like an office. There was a large black table. The table reflected the light. He walked closer and realised the table had a piece of glass as large as the table on its surface.
Lin Wan ‘Er walked in after Kui Yi. She looked around and asked, “What is this place?”
Kui Yi studied the pictures under the glass and answered, “Zhang Zhaowei’s office.”
Lin Wan ‘Er guessed as much. However, she needed a confirmation.
While Kui Yi looked around the table, Lin Wan ‘Er checked the room. Zhang Zhaowei seemed like a bookworm. There were several bookshelves in his room, filled with medical books. Behind the table stood a tall, wide iron shelf. It was deep green in colour. The paint in some places had already fallen off. The shelves had many drawers. All the drawers were numbered. There was an embedded handle shaped like a ship's anchor. Lin Wan ‘Er saw something similar almost twenty years ago. Only large archives would use such iron shelves to preserve documents.
Lin Wan ‘Er walked around the shelf and discovered the space at the back. There was a single bed there. It wasn’t a special bed. It was a normal hospital bed. The iron shelf separated the private and working spaces. The hospital director probably rested there.
Soon, Kui Yi walked over with a frown. He didn’t find the thing he wanted at the table. He looked at the bed.
“What are you looking for?” Lin Wan ‘Er asked.
“I don’t know.” Kui Yi knelt and shook his head. “But I believe the hospital director must have left some clues before he died.”
“Could they have been taken by others?” Lin Wan ‘Er shone the light on him.
Kui Yi found nothing. He stood up and sighed. “Perhaps.” If someone had swiped them, Zhao Ru and Director Qi were the most suspicious. The latter was to cover the truth, and the former… to take revenge.
“Come,” Kui Yi whispered. “Let’s leave.”
After returning to the corridor and closing the door, Kui Yi relaxed slightly. The light in the corridor shone on his pale face.
“Did you find something?” Lin Wan ‘Er asked. Clearly, Kui Yi must have found something, or else he wouldn’t have targeted Zhang Zhaowei’s office the moment he returned.
Kui Yi leaned on the wall. He looked tired, but he rubbed his face to stay awake.
“I found Xiang Nan’s background,” Kui Yi began, “Things are… not what we expected. Before marrying Yi Zhenliang, she already had a previous marriage.” Kui Yi glanced at Lin Wan ‘Er. “And she had a child from that marriage. However, not long after, Xiang Nan’s child died. Then, her first husband committed suicide from depression.”
“Depression…” Lin Wan ‘Er mumbled.
“That’s right.” Kui Yi licked his cracked lips. “He jumped from the 27th floor. He died on the spot.”
“How did the child die?”
“They were bitten to death by wild dogs,” Kui Yi explained, “I saw the crime scene pictures. It was horrid. There was meat everywhere. The child’s neck was broken. A piece of skin hung there.”
Kui Yi morphed into a different person as he stared at Lin Wan ‘Er. Eventually, he asked, “Do you remember the child Xiang Nan had with Yi Zhenliang?”
Lin Wan ‘Er’s gaze dropped.
Kui Yi paused before resuming, “According to the records, he also… died from a wild dog attack.”
