My House of Horrors

No. 10 could have been Chen Ge’s acquaintance who was trying to help him, or he could have been a mental patient trying to make Chen Ge drop his guard. To find out the real answer, he had to go to Linjiang New Schistosomiasis Control Station.

After making sure he did not miss anything, Chen Ge walked out of the room and returned to the elevator.

There have to be other secrets behind these closed doors. Perhaps the hidden exit that the members used is behind one of them. Chen Ge regretted that he did not bring the hammer or else he could have broken down all the doors. I’ll need to pay attention next time.

Back in the elevator, Chen Ge looked at the number dropping, and he finally sighed in relief. He tied the cleaver back on his calf and removed the mask. He took a deep breath. The elevator stopped at the first floor. Before he walked out, Chen Ge could hear someone talking, and the tone was stern.

“How did he get in here? I’m asking you, how did he get in here‽”

“Supervisor Huang, I really don’t know how he managed to sneak in here.”

“We have a murderer in our building, and you’re telling me you don’t know anything‽”

“I’m sorry.”

“I paid you to protect the tenants, not for you to apologize to me! How many troubles have happened recently? You can count for yourself!”

Chen Ge looked outside the elevator. Zhu Xiu, who he had hidden in the corner, had disappeared.

Where is the man?

Chen Ge glanced outwards. Gu Feiyu, in the security uniform, was holding his phone, his head lowered. Standing across from him was a middle-aged man who looked refined but had a huge temper.

“Xiao Gu? What’s going on?” Chen Ge walked over.

“Who are you?” The middle-aged man turned to Chen Ge. “You don’t look familiar. You’re not one of our tenants, are you?”

Then, he turned to glare at Gu Feiyu. “He’s your friend?”

They were not supposed to allow strangers to enter the premises after midnight; this was a written rule. Gu Feiyu knew that he had made another mistake. He removed his cap and nodded.

“Supervisor Huang.” There was a police siren coming from outside, and a middle-aged man in a causal outfit walked in. “That is my friend.”

Chen Ge was shocked when he saw the man. “Inspector Lee?”

“I knew that something was wrong when you left the police station, but I didn’t think you’d be able to flush this man out.” Inspector Lee pointed at the door, where the unconscious Zhu Xiu was lying.

“You’ve been following me from the police station?” Chen Ge had not noticed that at all. Thinking back, he was scared.

“I’ve been a cop for twenty years already. If you managed to discover me, then it’s time for me to retire.” Inspector Lee turned to Supervisor Huang. “Don’t blame the kid, he did well this time. The culprit is very cunning and has been avoiding the police. Even our plainclothes are unable to notice him, so it’s normal for him not to notice.”

“Even the police failed to capture him?” Supervisor Huang turned to Chen Ge and apologized immediately, a complete change in attitude. “So, this is another policeman? Thank you so much for your service.”

Chen Ge ignored him and looked at Inspector Lee with embarrassment. “You’ve been waiting outside the building?”

“What do you think? I observed you for one and a half hour at New Century Park and then followed you to Fang Hwa Apartments. Been waiting for you to show up since then.” Inspector Lee moved his shoulders. “When you came down with the suspect, I was ready to come in, but then you went back into the elevator.”

“Uncle Lee, do you know how dangerous that was?”

“If I’m not worried about you doing something stupid; do you think I’d care?” Inspector Lee lowered his voice and pulled Chen Ge aside. “Zhu Xiu seems to have suffered some kind of trauma; was he like when you found him?”

Inspector Lee’s tone was weird. Chen Ge looked at the inspector’s expression, and it dawned on him. He explained, “Yes, he was already like this when I found him. I returned upstairs to find out why.”

“Yes.” Inspector Lee nodded. “That does sound logical.”

Not long after Zhu Xiu was taken away in the police car, an ambulance arrived. It also stopped in front of the third building. The people looked at one another. “Who called the ambulance?”

No one admitted to it. After a while, the number on the elevator moved before it stopped at the thirteenth floor.

“The tenants here rarely use the elevator at night. Something must have happened.” Supervisor Huang and Gu Feiyu rushed to the elevator at the same time. Not long after that, the elevator opened, and a middle-aged man ran out carrying an old lady.

“Doctor! Doctor!” The man’s mother seemed to have fainted from her illness. Chen Ge did not pay much attention initially, but when he saw the old man’s face, shock registered in his eyes. The old lady was the elder who had planned to leave on the 13th floor earlier. When she saw the elevator, she had grumbled,“Why are there so many people taking the elevator so late at night? There’s not even enough space for me.”

The old lady’s outfit was different from what Chen Ge had seen. He was unsure whether the elder he had seen was the old lady or her soul.

“Since she didn’t take the elevator, the senior should be able to live.”

After the ambulance left, it was time for Chen Ge to go, but before that, he had something to do.

“Xiao Gu, how much are they paying you monthly to act as the night guard?”

“3,000.”

“I see you’re quite brave and have a good personality. If you ever feeling like quitting or have nowhere else to go, come find me at Western Jiujiang’s New Century Park.” Chen Ge pointed at his phone. “Give me a call then.”

Gu Feiyu looked rather interested. “Okay.”

After saying goodbye to Inspector Lee, Chen Ge rushed back to New Century Park. He felt safer when he was at home.

I feel more comfortable here.

He jotted down everything that he needed to pay attention to. He memorized it all before burning the paper.

Tomorrow will be a new day. After work, if there’s time, I should pay Linjiang New Schistosomiasis Control Station a visit.

It was getting late. Chen Ge fed the white cat and lay down to sleep, but as he did so, his phone rang.

Is this Inspector Lee? Chen Ge assumed something had happened to Zhu Xiu, but he realized that it was a call from Captain Yan.

“Sorry for disturbing, Chen Ge, but I have something to confirm with you.”

Captain Yan sounded so polite that it would have been rude for Chen Ge to reject. “Okay, but please make it quick.”

“I’ve sent you the picture. Take a look at it. We saw this when we were looking over the surveillance around Hai Ming Apartments.”

Chen Ge clicked the picture open. It was a picture taken from the surveillance video but had been made clearer.

There was a man in a jacket, and he seemed to be talking with someone through the phone in his right hand. He was holding the flyer for Chen Ge’s Haunted House in his left hand. There were cigarette wounds and small injuries on the back of his hand.

“Do you recognize the person in the picture?”