Translator: CinderTL
"Doctor," Fatty squirmed on the sofa, looking somewhat uneasy. He licked his lips and asked in a low voice, "They've all gone out to look for clues. Are we... are we just going to sit here and wait?"
"Slurp—" Jiang Cheng took a sip of his iced cola, squinted his eyes, and leaned back on the other end of the sofa, letting out a contented moan, "Ah..."
Fatty: "..."
"Doctor, we—"
"You go if you want to," Jiang Cheng interrupted, putting down the half-empty cola can and looking at Fatty. "I'm not going."
They were sitting in Fatty's room, taking a break. Jiang Cheng complained that the weather outside was too hot and the sun too harsh, worried about getting sunburned.
He had pretended to search for a while but couldn't find any sunscreen or similar products.
He grumbled that the previous tenants of this place were far from refined.
Fortunately, the fridge was well-stocked. Besides some frozen food, there were drinks, mineral water, and even half a box of instant noodles piled in the corner of the kitchen.
Recalling what the doctor had said earlier, Fatty hesitated for a moment before lowering his voice and asking, "Doctor, I think I understand why you don't want to go out and look for clues?"
Jiang Cheng glanced at him, clearly waiting for him to continue.
"Look," Fatty leaned in closer, acting as if he were very close to the doctor, "If we go out to look for clues, we'll have to team up with others, probably with..."
Fatty pointed upstairs and whispered, "Those two."
"I'm not afraid of that Chen Yi," Jiang Cheng immediately protested, raising his voice. "Back then, even with all the advantages on her side, she wasn't my match. Now, hmph!"
"No, no," Fatty waved his hands, "Doctor, can you let me finish?"
"What I mean is, the ghost probably killed someone last night and replaced the dead person. You're worried that if the dead person is Chu Jiu, then going out with them to look for clues today would be dangerous." Fatty looked at Jiang Cheng and asked, "You don't trust Chu Jiu, do you?"
Jiang Cheng tilted his head, looked at Fatty for a few moments, and slowly extended two fingers.
"Two points," Fatty nodded repeatedly, instinctively looking for paper and pen. "Doctor, go ahead, I'm listening!"
"First," Jiang Cheng waved his finger, "If one of the three definitely died last night, the most likely candidate is Chu Jiu."
Fatty swallowed hard and instinctively glanced toward the door before turning back. "Why?"
"Because she was the only one who left her room," Jiang Cheng replied.
Fatty was momentarily stunned, then quickly nodded. Indeed, as the doctor had said, Chu Jiu had been chased out of her room by the ghost, and the ghost had only chased her to the door before stopping.
The old man from the apartment had also said that it's best not to wander outside at night.
This could very well be a taboo.
"But..." Fatty seemed to suddenly think of something and frowned. "But Chen Yi also left her room. She even saw Chu Jiu in the hallway."
Looking into Fatty's eyes, Jiang Cheng slowly exhaled. "That's exactly the second point I wanted to make," he paused, "and it's what worries me the most."
Hearing this, Fatty's eyes slowly widened.
Standing in front of a building, Banana Wolf looked for a while before finally exhaling and turning back to say, "This should be the place."
Behind him stood three teammates.
Hua Luo, with her deep-set eyes and beautiful features, wearing a long dress.
Wan Yuanning, who didn't speak much, dressed simply, but exuded a comforting aura.
And Yu Lan, a very shy elementary school teacher, wearing a pair of white square-toed shoes, a Chinese language teacher.
The three of them stood in a row, causing many passing men to lose their focus.
But they would never guess that the tallest one among them, with slightly pursed lips, was a full-fledged cross-dresser.
This place wasn't exactly remote, but it was only relatively so compared to the Peace Apartment where they lived.
There were some small vendors around, but few permanent businesses. Some of the scattered buildings had the word "Demolish" spray-painted on them in large letters.
It seemed this area would soon be torn down.
Accompanied by his teammates, Banana Wolf turned his room upside down and finally found a piece of paper that had been folded many times under the sofa where the hand had appeared last night.
Unfolding it, he found it was a water bill payment slip.
It was for a shop called "Sunshine Tales," located in the building in front of them, though in a less desirable spot—the basement level.
This place used to be a shopping mall.
"Is this place... abandoned?" Yu Lan asked softly.
As soon as she finished speaking, the mall door, covered in white paper, was pushed open, and several people walked out, carrying large bags.
The last two were particularly striking—one was carrying a person, while the other had a head in each hand and another tucked under his arm.
It was a chilling sight.
But thankfully, they were just mannequins, the kind commonly seen in clothing store windows.
A security guard was holding the door open for them. The wind outside was strong, making it easier for them to move things out.
Seeing this, the group approached.
"Hello," Banana Wolf asked, "Is there a shop here called 'Sunshine Tales'?"
The security guard looked Banana Wolf up and down with a wary eye, seemingly not impressed by his type, and grunted, "Why do you ask?"
"We saw the rental notice posted here and wanted to see if there's anything suitable," Wan Yuanning said. Her voice wasn't as stunning as her figure, but it was pleasant and very reliable.
Upon seeing the three women behind Banana Wolf, the slightly balding and somewhat hunched security guard immediately straightened up, his face blooming into a smile like a chrysanthemum in full bloom: "You're here to rent a shop? That's great! Let me tell you, even though our location isn't in the center, there's still a lot of foot traffic, especially from older people. You young folks know how it is—older people don't shop online much, so they still prefer coming to the mall..."
"Please lead the way," Wan Yuanning nodded, interrupting him. "Thank you."
As soon as she finished speaking, the security guard had to close his mouth. Although the girl in front of him seemed easy to talk to, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.
She didn't seem to like interacting with people much.
But that was a minor issue for the security guard. He was only temporarily employed and had only been here for a couple of days.
The mall was on the verge of closing down. He heard the owner had run off with his mistresses due to poor management.
The person who took over later told him that if he could rent out a spot, he'd get a commission—a big one.
But in the few days he'd been here, most of the remaining tenants had moved out, and he thought it was hopeless.
Who would have thought—
Heh, business just came knocking?
"Of course, of course," the security guard beamed, making Banana Wolf's skin crawl. He was carrying a backpack with the severed hand and a large knife inside.
TL/N: From the next chapter onwards, the crossdresser Hua Luo will be addressed with masculine pronouns.
(End of Chapter)
---
Read (NS) on Pa.treon@CinderTL - c456. [+4]
Early Access at $1.
Translated (5) Series, (2.2K+) Chapters, (2.9M+) Words.