My House of Horrors

“The construction was stopped halfway, and the electrical circuit has not been completed, so there isn’t electricity. Then, what is giving out light in the building?” The four buildings stood in the dark. The lights that came from the building were like eyes that were looking at the approaching people.

Lee Zheng saw that Chen Ge did not follow, so he turned back to yell, “Chen Ge, don’t stay too far from us, and keep your guard up!”

“Understood.” Chen Ge knew that Lee Zheng was only worried about him, so he rushed to his side. “I just thought it was weird. The buildings have no electricity, so why are lights coming out from the room?”

“There could be many reasons. It could be reflection of the moonlight, or perhaps there are squatters. No matter the reason, we have to be careful when exploring abandoned buildings like this.” Lee Zheng seemed to have a bad memory. “Abandoned factories or warehouses in the countryside for the favorite places for people with illegal backgrounds to hide. There are also crazy madmen who prefer these kinds of places to conduct their weird rituals. I once oversaw a case where the killer has been stealing dead bodies from the hospital, attempting to summon a legendary monster from a myth. In the end, we apprehended the person inside an underground sewer.”

“Summoning a ghost inside an underground sewer? Has he considered how the ghost feels?”

Chen Ge’s answer stumped Lee Zheng. He did not know how to continue. “You sure have an interesting mind. Never mind, I’m not going to chat with you anymore. Just understand that it’s dangerous here.”

Ming Yang Residence was huge. The four unfinished buildings stood before their eyes, and they looked like four tombstones. The night breeze swayed the grass and leaves. Looking up from the ground, there was an ominous feeling, like the four buildings could collapse at any moment and bury them alive.

“Shall we head toward the light first?” Lee Zheng suggested. “The closest light is on the second floor of the first building. Since we’re going to pass it anyway, why don’t we go check it out?”

“Yes, Room 104 is on the tenth floor. As we go up, we can check all the rooms once. Perhaps we might find some clues.” Tian Lei was very familiar with Ming Yang Residence; he had once handled the cases of the investors.

“Room 104 is on the tenth floor, huh? How did they arrange the room number?”

“The front two numbers are the floor number, and the third number is the room number, so Room 104 is the fourth room on the tenth floor,” Tian Lei explained to Chen Ge.

“But there are four buildings here. Does that mean that there are four ‘Room 104’s?”

“The numbering of the four rooms on the tenth floor of the first building is one to four and the second building is five to eight, so the condition you mentioned doesn’t happen.”

“The room numbers of the different buildings are linked together?” Chen Ge was just curious, but what Tian Lei said gave him some idea. “Why would the designer do that?”

“Apparently, it was a request of the investor. They even planned to build bridges between the buildings to connect the four buildings. They planned to make Ming Yang Residence the landmark in Jiujiang, but that obviously did not come to be.”

“Shush, we’re preparing to enter the building now.” Captain Yan held the flashlight and was the first to enter the dark building.

“To join four buildings together?” Chen Ge remembered this. There had to be a reason behind the death of all the investors.

After they entered the stairs, the temperature noticeably dropped. There was a chill in the air like every breath that they took was filled with cold air. There were many rivers that cut through Eastern Jiujiang, so this place had comparatively more moisture than other places in Jiujiang. Lichen grew on the walls, and the plaster was wrinkled. As one’s finger cut across it, one could peel back a large piece.

“The light came from this room.” The group turned the corner of the second floor and stopped before one of the rooms.

“Lee Zheng, go in first. Tian Lei will cover you.”

“Yes.”

The three officers did not carry their weapon, so they were very careful. Lee Zheng entered the room with the flashlight raised. There were weird pictures on the wall, and trash littered the ground. These things proved that someone had been staying there.

There was a small sound coming from inside the bedroom. A glass bottle tipped over.

“Come out now! I’m the team leader of investigation team one—Lee Zheng! Come out of the room now and cooperate with the investigation!” Lee Zheng shone the light into the room, and soon, a homeless person walked out from it. He looked around sixty, and his beard and hair grew together. He was wearing a tattered sweater and coat. Even with two layers, he was still shivering. He was wearing a frayed cap and gloves with his fingers showing.

“Name and age, why are you here?” Perhaps Lee Zheng’s uniform was useful because the homeless person did not resist and act honestly.

“My surname is Zheng. Full name… cannot remember anymore. I’m the seventh of the family.” Probably because he did not speak often, the man spoke very slowly. “I just want to find a place to hide from the rain. Since the building is abandoned, I stayed here. If you want me to move, I will leave now.”

“Lee Zheng, put the light down.” Captain Yan walked into the room and looked at the man for a long time. “The weather is so hot, but you’re so wrapped up—aren’t you hot?”

“No, I’m very cold.” From the man’s answer, his mind was still working. He did not appear to have any mental problems. However, he was wearing so many layers like he was already in the winter.

“Cold?” Captain Yan looked into the bedroom that the man had vacated. “Stand there by the wall. We won’t hurt you. For the sake of your safety, I suggest you don’t live here alone. Jiujiang has many shelters; you can seek help there.”

Captain Yan took one step forward, and the man became nervous.

“You’re afraid?” Captain Yan moved his eyes away from the man’s face and suddenly picked up speed to run into the bedroom.

“Don’t!” The man wanted to stop him, but it was too late. Lee Zheng and Tian Lei stopped him. “Don’t go in! You’ll all die!”

“Be quiet!”

The man screamed, and his face filled with terror. He was unable to stop Captain Yan and Chen Ge. The bedroom was small, and it was thick with a bad stench. Broken dolls were piled up in the middle of the room.

“It wasn’t me who killed them. I just accidentally found them; I have not killed anyone.” The man started to struggle like he had gone insane. “I didn’t kill anyone! It’s not me!”

“These are all dolls, so of course, we know you didn’t kill them. Quiet down.” Tian Lei pressed the man against the wall, and when he turned around to look at the broken toys, he also took in a cold breath.