My House of Horrors

Chapter 979: My Name Your Name

“Of course, I understand.” Chen Ge was appreciative of the law enforcement at Jiujiang. The police might not represent justice one hundred percent, but Chen Ge knew that at least Captain Yan and Inspector Lee had been trying their best to uphold the principle of justice, and they had lent Chen Ge a lot of help in the past.

“You say that, but you will repeat the same mistake next time.” Lee Zheng shook his head helplessly. He was sincerely trying to persuade Chen Ge. Compared to him, who had the support from his family and his other colleagues, all Chen Ge had was himself.

“Let’s not talk about that anymore. Brother Zheng, how did you find the body?”

“Based on what you told us, the investigation was not that difficult to do. There was no tenant living on the twelfth floor, but the monthly electric bill is suspiciously high. We naturally targeted this place. After opening the door, as expected, we found the dead body inside the freezer.”

“Then, has the culprit been captured?”

“The suspect should be the tenant. The victim is the tenant’s girlfriend, who suffered from anorexia. We’ve already got news on the tenant’s whereabouts and have sent people after him. If there’s no accident, we should be able to capture him and bring him to the station by tonight.” The police of Jiujiang was efficient in their work. In a way, that had to do with Chen Ge as well.

“That would be great. At least I will be able to give her some justice.”

“Justice?”

“Can I go in to take a look? This is probably not the first crime scene, so you don’t need to be afraid of me messing up the evidence.”

After he got the permission from Lee Zheng, Chen Ge entered the room. The room was not that big, and the girl’s last moments were spent in this dingy place. Walking past the living room, Chen Ge entered the kitchen, and he saw the fridge and the freezer that were placed next to each other. He was reminded of the words that the girl had told him that night, and his heart felt sad and uncomfortable.

“The person that hurt you will be punished by law soon. He will not be able to escape.”

Once Chen Ge said that, there was a light knocking inside the room. Lee Zheng turned to look behind him subconsciously, but with the help from the Ghost Ear, Chen Ge immediately turned to the freezer. Opening the lid, Chen Ge saw a thin girl curl inside the shadows of the freezer. She hugged her shoulders with both hands. Her head was slightly lifted upward, and her pale face was stained with tear. The sun hit her face, and her body turned fuzzy. But she did not seem to mind it. She appeared to want to spend the last moment of her ‘life’ bathing in the sunlight.

“Don’t cry. You deserve a better life.” Chen Ge reached into the freezer, wanting to help her wipe away her tears, but he could not touch anything. The sun shone between them like a gap that could not be crossed no matter what.

“Everything is fine now. I will take you home.” Before the girl dissolved in the sun, Chen Ge took out the comic and pulled her into it. Looking at the empty freezer, Chen Ge stood there quietly for a while.

“What are you looking at? The dead body was discovered inside there, but everything has already been moved away.” Lee Zheng walked over.

“It’s nothing.” Chen Ge picked up his backpack and waved at Lee Zheng, “If there’s nothing else, I’ll be leaving now.”

“Do you think I called you here for a chat! Now, tell me in detail what you came here to do last night! After leaving your statement, when I decide that there is nothing else, you can go back and wait for the next summon!”

...

When Chen Ge returned to New Century Park, it was already late afternoon. Running between Eastern and Western Jiujiang, combined with a lack of sleep, the man was fatigued, and it was taking a toll on his body.

“No wonder they say home sweet home. It is my haunted house that’s the most comfortable.”

Lying in the staff breakroom, Chen Ge drifted off before he realized it. Without anyone to bother him, when Chen Ge opened his eyes again, the sky outside had already darkened.

“It is already 8 pm? I will need to set an alarm next time.” Chen Ge picked up the thin blanket that covered him and looked toward the door. The place was quiet. It sounded like all the employees had gone home. He placed the white cat that had been lying on top of him to the side. Then he noticed a note left on the table. Based on the handwriting, it should be from Xu Wan—’We have already cleaned the place. Take a good rest and remember to have your dinner on time.’

Putting down the note, Chen Ge carried the backpack out of the staff breakroom and took a tour around all the scenarios. After making sure there were no problems, he went to the prop room and found the picture that he had drawn from the Wheel of Misfortune that morning on the wooden box in the corner. It was just a normal picture; there was nothing haunted about it. On the back of the picture, a date was written, December 21st. The front of the picture featured a young boy about ten. He wore a white, long-sleeved shirt, and his face was blurred out, but overall, he gave off a feeling of an obedient boy with a sunny disposition.

“How am I supposed to start looking? There is not even an address!” Chen Ge first memorized the date before he studied the picture closer.

“Wait, a fountain with lights? That looks like the garden in the city!” Without any other clues, Chen Ge decided to go to the city to take a look. After getting the black phone, Chen Ge had not been to the city in a while because the phone always directed him to some deserted area. Chen Ge did not remove the stuff from inside his backpack. Chen Ge placed the picture inside it and carried the backpack as he ran out from the haunted house. Hailing a cab to the city, when Chen Ge arrived at the park in his memory, he realized that his path was blocked. The park was undergoing construction, and only a small path was left open.

“Sir, why is the park blocked off? Can I still enter it?” Chen Ge found a man who was wearing a safety helmet near the park and asked him those questions.

“Why do you want to enter it? This park is about to be demolished. Can’t you see that all the trees inside have already been moved away?” The construction worker seemed like a good person to talk to.

“It’s being demolished?” Chen Ge had found this place through the picture. If the park was levelled, then this was where Chen Ge’s trail of clues would end.

“I hear they plan to build a mall here, but I do not know more than that.” The construction worker waved at Chen Ge. “We are doing some heavy duty work inside. You’d better not go in there now.”

“My friend left me a picture of the park. He’s not been feeling well recently, and he wished for me to take a few pictures of the park for him.” Chen Ge walked toward the small path. “I will be out in a minute.”

There were giant holes everywhere inside the park, and the tiles had been all turned up. The valuable aged trees had all been dug away, and all that remained was dirt and grass. Chen Ge held the phone, and based on his childhood memories, he walked through the park. He used to go to this park to play when he was small, but since it was so far away from Western Jiujiang, he did not go there often. He walked around for a while before Chen Ge finally found the place that was captured in the picture. However, the fountain was no longer pushing out water. The lights that surrounded it had also been removed, and only the rusted frame remained.

Weeds grew through the gap. The small shop that sold ice cream and cotton candy in the picture was gone. Comparing the picture and real life, the only thing that matched was the long bench next to the fountain.

“It is indeed the same place.” Chen Ge walked toward the fountain and looked around it before he sat down on the bench. “Now, what am I supposed to do next?”

He looked at the picture in his hand. His attention was fully drawn to it when he heard a woman’s voice in his ear.

“I’m sorry, but do you know Fang Yu?”

Chen Ge turned his head to look, and he realized that there was quiet looking woman standing behind him. The woman was about the same age as Chen Ge. Her skin was fair and her cheeks, neck, and arms were all filled with tattoos. All the tattoos had the same two characters—Fang Yu.