After roll call, Sun Zhibing adjusted his glasses. "Oh, right—I have good news to share. The school is holding summer social gatherings for each department recently. Other departments have to pool their own money and find venues themselves."
"But Mr. Zheng Tiance, Young Master Zheng Shaoming's father, has sponsored our department. We'll be going on a two-day trip to the Zheng Group's high-end summer resort, and it's completely free!"
At this, everyone erupted in excitement.
"Gather on the playground after lunch the day after tomorrow. The department has chartered buses to take us there together."
"Before we end roll call, I propose we all give Young Master Shaoming a round of applause to thank him!" Sun Zhibing shot Zheng Shaoming an eager smile—only to find Zheng Shaoming looking rather grim, not even glancing at him.
In the back row, Jiang Chen froze, a faint sense of unease creeping in.
"Logically, someone of Zheng Tiance's status should know things ordinary people don't. Why would he actively sponsor such a large-scale event when he knows it's not safe lately…?"
He focused his demonic energy; his pupils grew slightly warm as he glanced at Zheng Shaoming.
In the next moment, Jiang Chen's eyes narrowed—he spotted two black handprints on Zheng Shaoming's shoulders, as if someone had grabbed him.
"Something's off…" He frowned, then shook his head.
He'd just clashed with Zheng Shaoming. If he tried to persuade everyone not to go now, he'd only seem petty.
"Forget it—I'll just go along and check it out then." In the end, Jiang Chen decided not to meddle. He wasn't a saint; improving his own strength was his top priority right now.
After roll call, he spent the morning resting at his shop, scrolling through recent murder news on his computer.
The milk tea shop Zheng Shaoming had mentioned was actually owned by Jiang Chen. As a transmigrator, he hadn't achieved any earth-shattering feats, but he'd used the initial funds left by Old Zhang to open several small shops near campus. Now he had over a million yuan in assets and a steady income.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have dared to rent an apartment costing 5,000 yuan a month.
Of course, all his years of hard work were no match for the apartment Sister Hong had given him.
He had two classes in the afternoon.
After dinner, around 7 p.m., Jiang Chen took a taxi to Tianfu Road.
It was already dark when he arrived. There was an old residential complex nearby, with only a few households having their lights on.
Jiang Chen glanced at his system panel, then got out of the taxi with confidence.
- [Host]: Jiang Chen
- [Ghost Qi]: 9
- [Demon Transformation Cards]: Red Python Spirit (1-Star), Demon King of Chaos (1-Star)
He entered Building 1 and knocked on the door of Room 101.
"Who is it?" An old man's voice came from inside—he didn't open the door.
"Uncle, do you know which unit Zhang Meimei lives in?" Jiang Chen asked.
That morning, he'd searched for the disfigurement case on a forum and found many discussions about it. One person claimed to live in the Tianfu Road residential complex and revealed that a woman had died in the complex before the disfigurement murders began.
However, the person had only mentioned the woman's name and how she'd died: Zhang Meimei, whose body had been disfigured.
At the sound of that name, the old man inside fell silent for a moment before saying, "I don't know. Never heard of her. Hurry up and leave—this neighborhood isn't safe lately. Watch out for trouble."
After speaking, the sound of footsteps faded away—he'd walked off.
"He denied it twice in a row. That's covering up his panic. He definitely knows that name, but he's too scared to talk about it." Outside the door, Jiang Chen stroked his chin, deep in thought.
"Even if she was a deceased neighbor, there's no need to avoid the topic this much, right?"
"I'll ask someone else."
Next, Jiang Chen knocked on two more doors. But as soon as they heard the name "Zhang Meimei," the residents reacted as if they'd heard a taboo—their faces paled, and they slammed their doors shut without saying a word.
"I must be in the right place. Zhang Meimei probably lived in this building when she was alive. Something must have happened after her death to make the neighbors fear mentioning her so much."
He looked up at the dark staircase. Even though it was midsummer, the building felt cold, and there was a smell similar to that of a hospital lingering in the air.
"An old neighborhood like this doesn't even have security guards. The property management definitely wouldn't do regular disinfections."
"So where is this disinfectant smell coming from?"
Filled with doubt, Jiang Chen continued upstairs. When he reached the 4th floor, he saw the inner door of one household was open. Through the old iron security gate, a little girl was eating a bowl of rice.
"Little sister, why are you eating while looking at the staircase?" Jiang Chen smiled gently and walked over to ask.
The girl glared at him. "Uncle, you scared my friend away!"
"Friend?" Jiang Chen looked around in confusion—there was no one in the staircase.
"Yeah, he was eating here just now. As soon as you came up, you scared him off." Before the girl finished speaking, a woman's scolding came from inside the house.
"Yaoyao! Who are you talking to?"
Then a woman wearing an apron walked out. She glanced at Jiang Chen, and when she saw he was a stranger, she frowned. "What are you doing in our building this late at night?"
"Auntie, I'm here to find someone. Do you know Zhang Meimei?"
At the sound of that name, the woman's expression changed. She waved her hand dismissively, as if shooing a fly. "I don't know her. Hurry up and leave!"
She was about to close the door when she sighed and added a warning. "Take my advice—get out of here quickly. This neighborhood's been really unsafe lately. If you hear someone asking you 'Am I beautiful?' when you go down later, don't pay any attention to it—just run as fast as you can."
Jiang Chen's eyes sharpened. "Why?"
"Because if you say she's not beautiful, that woman will go crazy and hack you to death!" the woman snapped.
"What if I say she is beautiful?"
"Heh—do you think forcing yourself to call a disfigured person 'beautiful' will make her kind to you?" The woman let out a strange laugh. "No. You'll only make her more insecure. And when that happens, she'll turn you into someone just like her!"
*Thud!*
After speaking, the woman pulled her daughter inside and slammed the door shut.
"Thanks, Auntie." Jiang Chen nodded, then glanced at several medical aesthetics advertisements pasted on the staircase wall. He already had a guess about the murder case.
He continued upstairs. When he reached the 5th floor, he saw a door was slightly ajar, and a faint smell of blood wafted out from inside.
"Did something happen?"
He walked over and pushed the door—it felt heavy. He pushed harder.
*Thud!*
A corpse fell to the ground.
It had apparently been propped up behind the door; anyone opening it would be greeted by this terrifying sight.
Jiang Chen wasn't too frightened. He squatted down to examine the body—it was a man, with no injuries on his body except his face, which had been hacked beyond recognition, a mass of blood and flesh.
"He was hacked to death on the face while he was still alive. He must have struggled in agony before he died."
As Jiang Chen muttered this, he suddenly heard rapid footsteps coming down the stairs. In the next moment, a woman rushed down. She was wearing tight jeans and a white shirt; her skin was fair and smooth, and her looks were no less stunning than Lin Youwei's.
Right then, though, her face was filled with panic. The fabric of her shoulder was torn, revealing a bleeding gash, and a faint black aura of resentment emanated from it.
"A living person?" When the woman saw Jiang Chen, she frowned. She ran over, pulled him out of Room 502, then slammed the door shut with great force.
"If you want to live, don't say a word!"
The woman opened a wooden door between the two units—it was a water valve room, a tiny space usually only used when checking water meters.
"Hurry in!" She was surprisingly strong; she pulled Jiang Chen inside, closed the door, then pulled a yellow paper talisman out of the back pocket of her jeans. She chanted a few words and stuck it to the door.
"May the Upper Clearance bless us, and may the Mysterious Void hide our presence!"
Jiang Chen watched as a faint yellow glow emanated from the talisman, seemingly cutting off the small room from the outside world completely.
"You…"
"Shut up!" The woman covered his mouth with her hand. "This talisman can only hide the vitality of living people. If you don't want to die, keep quiet!"
As soon as she finished speaking, a woman's maniacal laughter suddenly echoed through the staircase.
"Hahaha—Am I beautiful?"
"Don't run! I just want to know… am I beautiful now?!"
*Tap, tap, tap!
From the sound, someone was rushing down from the 6th floor.