Translator: CinderTL
"Shen Aiwei." Banana Wolf, kneeling beside her, furrowed his brow.
It was clearly the names of two people, likely a couple. The man was named Shen, and the woman's name was Wei.
"A crime of passion?" Hua Luo whispered, "Could it be that this woman named Song Xiaoyou stole Wei's boyfriend Shen, and after Wei committed suicide, she became a vengeful ghost?"
This was a plausible guess.
Banana Wolf stood up while scanning his surroundings. He couldn't shake the feeling that someone was hiding somewhere, watching him.
"Take the ring and let's leave first," Banana Wolf said. "We'll talk more once we're back."
"Doctor," Fatty looked at Jiang Cheng with pleading eyes, swallowing hard. "Could you eat slower and save some for me?" he asked in a negotiating tone.
"No," Jiang Cheng discarded the shrimp shell, exhaling as he looked at Fatty. "Fatty, eating this stuff isn't good for your health."
"And it doesn't even taste that good," Jiang Cheng added before slurping the sauce off his fingers.
Fatty: "..."
"This is a Nightmare, not reality," Fatty muttered unwillingly, especially since this was his own room.
Half an hour ago, the Doctor had rummaged through the bottom of the fridge and found a box of spicy crayfish. His eyes lit up, and he eagerly heated the crayfish, then asked Fatty to cook two portions of instant noodles.
He specifically emphasized that they should be cooked, not soaked, saying that soaked noodles didn't taste good.
Fatty, while poking at his noodles with a fork, stared at the crayfish in front of the Doctor, his expression full of resentment.
A sudden, urgent phone ring interrupted the harmonious scene.
"Doctor," Fatty said in surprise, "the phone's ringing."
Every room here was equipped with a landline, and next to the phone was a considerately placed telephone book, with a stub of a pencil tucked inside.
The telephone book listed the numbers of 12 rooms, very thoughtful indeed.
After wiping his hands with two napkins, Jiang Cheng jogged over. The screen displayed the number for Room 404, Building 2.
Jiang Cheng thought for a moment, then gestured for Fatty to answer the phone.
Moments later, Banana Wolf's voice came through, "Mr. Jiang," his voice sounded a bit off, as if he was worried about something, "didn't you go out to look for clues?"
In this scenario, Fatty was still using the alias Jiang Fugui, a truck driver who wasn't an orphan.
Fatty looked at the Doctor, who gestured back to him.
"I'm not feeling well, I have a headache," Fatty said. "I didn't sleep well last night, so I came back to rest."
"You're not with Chu Jiu and Chen Yi?" the other side seemed to relax a bit.
Fatty followed the Doctor's instructions and replied, "No, I'm alone in my room. They... they went out to look for clues."
"Huff—" Banana Wolf's breathing suddenly became rapid. "Mr. Jiang, listen to me carefully. We just went to a mall, the place where the ghost in my room used to work. We... we saw her. Her name is Song Xiaoyou. She disguised herself as the shop owner and tricked us, then she killed Yu Lan."
"We found a ring on Yu Lan's body, and after returning, we discovered some clues in the room based on the information on the ring."
Banana Wolf spoke quickly, as if someone was urging him from behind. He said excitedly, "Listen, Mr. Jiang, we've figured out the sequence in which the ghosts in several rooms were killed."
"Yu Lan shouldn't have been the first to die. The first incident should have been in your building, Building 1! Room 707!"
"707?" Fatty's voice changed.
"Yes, 707," Banana Wolf said. "It's Chu Jiu! Chu Jiu is already dead. She's a ghost! A ghost!"
A chill ran down Fatty's spine. He looked at the Doctor and noticed a flicker of light in his eyes. The Doctor's deduction... had indeed come true.
"Whatever you do, don't go out!" Banana Wolf said. "I'll bring the evidence to you right now. Wan Yuanning and Hua Luo have gone to inform the others."
"Okay," Fatty nodded repeatedly. "Be careful."
"Take down this number. We got two phones. This one's mine, so we can stay in touch."
Fatty picked up his chubby hand and jotted down a string of numbers in the notebook. After confirming it with Banana Wolf, he hung up.
"Doctor," Fatty looked at Jiang Cheng, his voice barely containing his panic, "you were right. That Chu Jiu... she's a ghost!"
"Maybe... maybe Chen Yi is already dead too."
This explained why so many people encountered ghosts on the first day, but no one died.
Jiang Cheng thought for a moment, then turned to Fatty and said, "Stay calm. They're not around us, so why are you panicking?"
"But I feel like they're about to come back," Fatty whispered, simultaneously glancing at the door, as if afraid that Chen Yi or Chu Jiu's voice would suddenly come from behind it.
Based on the information Banana Wolf had revealed, the people in Building 2 had confirmed the identity of the ghost—the one in Banana Wolf's room.
The ghost's name was Song Xiaoyou, who had once worked in a mall.
The price was Yu Lan's death.
Just as Fatty couldn't hold back and was about to speak again.
The door knocked.
"Knock, knock, knock." The knocking was soft but urgent, as if the person didn't want to make too much noise but couldn't contain their anxiety.
"Mr. Jiang," a very soft voice called from outside.
It was Banana Wolf!
Fatty stood up immediately, ready to open the door.
But to his surprise, someone was faster. He was yanked back and had his mouth covered.
Jiang Cheng stared at the door, his brow slightly furrowed.
Fatty immediately quieted down, his confused eyes darting between the Doctor and the door.
Jiang Cheng turned to look at the phone, and after a moment, his expression darkened.
Banana Wolf outside seemed very anxious, whispering toward the door, "Mr. Jiang, it's me, Banana Wolf. Open the door quickly."
"If Chu Jiu and Chen Yi come back, it'll be bad!"
"Can you hear me?" Banana Wolf said urgently, "Mr. Jiang, open the door!"
His final tone even carried a hint of pleading.
Then, the phone rang again, suddenly this time, startling Fatty, who was already on high alert.
Staring at the number displayed on the screen, Fatty slowly began to sense something was wrong.
A few seconds later, the voice outside the door abruptly stopped, and the phone call ended. In its place was a long, indescribable scraping sound.
It was as if someone was dragging their feet along the corridor without lifting them.
And it was filled with unwillingness.
Fatty could almost picture the person looking back with every step.
Fortunately, the footsteps grew fainter and finally disappeared.
After waiting another 10 minutes, until there was no sound at all, Fatty finally asked Jiang Cheng in a very, very small voice, "Doctor," he mouthed, his face twisted as if he was about to cry, "how... how did you figure it out?"
Rumor has it that with votes and power stones, you can summon additional chapters. I wonder if it's true (hinting frantically).
(End of the Chapter)
---
Read (NS) on Pa.treon@CinderTL - c464. [+4]
Early Access at $1.
Translated (5) Series, (2.2K+) Chapters, (2.9M+) Words.