Chapter 392: Fifty Percent Not a Ghost

Xiao Yu’s expression froze in shock. His eyes widened as he stared at the red figure emerging in the surveillance footage. It floated into frame from outside the camera’s original angle.

‘Holy shit!’

Even without a mirror, Xiao Yu knew exactly what kind of face he was making right now. It had to be grim. Twisted. Stunned into slack-jawed disbelief.

‘This move’s a bit too flashy…’

Watching that red figure drift into the frame gave him a strong déjà vu as if he’d stepped right into the middle of a horror film.

For some inexplicable reason, his mind recalled an old internet meme.

Why do bitches cry out all night?

Why do sixty-year-old monks keep mysteriously dying?

Why are all the country cats pregnant at once?

Is this the distortion of human nature, or the collapse of morality?

His lips twitched.

Xiao Yu’s eyes remained locked on that red silhouette. He’d seen this figure just recently in those three photographs.

Half her face was gone, her hands were nothing but bone. That head of damp, clinging black hair… That face, torn and mangled… And those glowing red eyes… They could make anyone’s scalp tingle and heart skip a beat.

Xiao Yu wasn’t immune either. A chill crept over his nerves.

But the sensation came and went quickly.

Xiao Yu shook his head.

No matter how terrifying the woman in red appeared, he still didn’t believe she was an actual ghost.

Only with a questioning mindset could humanity make progress.

Because once you start doubting, you begin to search for flaws. And once you find the flaws, you find the truth.

Take his first thought, for example.

A ghost carrying a plate and a knife to kill someone? Doesn’t that seem… cheap?

And yet this ghost did come armed.

With a knife, she stabbed a young woman in the neck.

That woman had just walked into the dark corner of the room. And when she appeared again, the red-dressed figure had a bloody eyeball clenched in her mouth, chewing.

Next, the red figure floated in front of a young man. Her bony hands clutched his head. She lowered her head and began devouring his face.

At that point, Xiao Yu noticed something strange.

The girl who was attacked first and the boy who was attacked second were the exact two who had been “cheating” during the spirit board ritual.

So the moment the red-dressed woman appeared, she targeted them first?

Unfortunately, the video was short.

In the final moments of the surveillance footage, the last two candles went out. Darkness swallowed the entire room. Nothing more could be seen, and the video ended.

Xiao Yu set down the tablet and exhaled slowly.

He had to admit. As a horror flick, this was a damn good one. He’d felt his heart skip more than a few beats.

“See anything?” Wang Dong handed him a cigarette.

“Plenty of suspicious points,” Xiao Yu said as he took it. After Wang Dong lit it for him, he took a deep drag. “Fifty percent is not a ghost.”

Wang Dong, “…”

You might as well have said nothing.

What about the other fifty percent?

“A lot of seemingly supernatural effects can be achieved,” Xiao Yu thought for a moment. “But to be certain, we need to see the crime scene.”

Case files and surveillance footage were only supplements.

To truly solve a case, an investigation was essential. And the crime scene was always the key.

***

J City – Suburbs – Old Housing District

This area resembled a dilapidated shantytown. A place long forgotten by the city.

An old courtyard, wide and weathered. And a spacious, crumbling flat house.

“Five years ago, there was a murder here. Since then, it’s been labeled a haunted house,” Wang Dong explained. “After someone died, most of the neighbors moved away. These days, no one in the area dares get close. There’s even a local rumor they say this house is haunted.

“The current case was discovered six days ago. The one who reported it had too much to drink, wandered into the courtyard by mistake, entered the house… and found the bodies. That’s when they called the police. Police responded immediately and conducted an initial investigation.

“Early speculation suggests the victims came here after hearing the haunted rumors. They said the yin energy was heavy, so they decided to play the plate spirit game here and ended up dead. The surveillance equipment was brought in by the victims. It bears their fingerprints. No one knows why exactly, but the whole ritual was clearly recorded.

“At the scene, all six victims had been brutally murdered. Only faint traces of human interference were found. Most signs pointed to supernatural causes. There were several things we tried to replicate—methods that should’ve been simple—but we couldn’t pull them off.”

As they stepped into the courtyard, Wang Dong glanced at Xiao Yu. “That’s why we brought you in. To see if you can figure out what really happened.”

‘So I’m just a tool, huh? I get it.’

Xiao Yu curled his lip slightly but let his gaze sweep across the courtyard.

Nothing unusual stood out. He moved toward the house.

After putting on shoe covers, he and Wang Dong entered.

Six days had passed.

Yet Xiao Yu could still smell the thick stench of blood with his Monarch Butterfly’s Nose.

He frowned as he walked into the dusty room.

Cobwebs clung to the ceiling. A table stood near the center.

On the floor were four burned-out candles. And atop the table was a spirit-board diagram.

But the plate was gone.

Bloodstains spattered the floor. The walls too. Bloody handprints everywhere.

He flared his nostrils slightly. Too many living people had been in and out of this room.

For now, he couldn’t distinguish anything useful from the scents. He scanned the room with his eyes, but didn’t investigate further. He needed to see the bodies of the six victims.

Only by examining them could he proceed with his deductions.

Didn’t the case file contain autopsy photos?

Those were useless. Some methods of murder could only be understood by inspecting the bodies directly.

***

J City – Cold Storage Facility – Specialized Morgue

Xiao Yu stood before six autopsy tables, staring at the six stark naked corpses laid out upon them.

Four men. Two women. All young.

The autopsies hadn’t yet been performed. Four forensic specialists stood by, awaiting orders.

Xiao Yu’s eyes settled on the first female corpse. A massive knife wound across her neck. The blade had cut deep, tearing open a gaping hole. He shifted his gaze to her face. Most of it remained intact.

But her left eye…

It was gone. In its place was only a bloody, hollow cavity. No eyelid. No eyeball.

Xiao Yu stepped closer, bending down to peer directly into the socket.

The damage wasn’t from biting.

It’s unrealistic to tear out an eye with your teeth.

Finally, Xiao Yu confirmed her left eye had been torn off, skin and all. Ripped out by hand. Brutally. Completely.