Chapter 336: Homicide! 'Ghost Knocking!

‘This time it was closer. I could clearly see the blood on his face, see those milky-white eyes, that face riddled with death spots…’

‘I have to hide. I have to hide myself away…’

‘I need to find a place it can’t find me!’

…

‘Hee hee, I found a place to hide.’

…

The diary ended there.

Zhang Min felt a chill run down her spine.

She opened her mouth, but her throat was dry. She wanted to say something, but her fingertips were ice-cold.

If this diary was really written by the previous tenant…

Then where was the place he finally found?

The security footage showed that after entering the apartment, he never came out…

‘Did he hide in some corner of this apartment?’

“That’s impossible… It’s been over ten days. He couldn’t have been hiding here this whole time…”

Her skin crawling, Zhang Min looked around and whispered.

“And what about that ghost?”

“There can’t really be a ghost, can there…?”

She muttered to herself.

But she quickly fell silent.

If he was really still in this room…

…hiding in some unseen corner right now, watching her read his diary and mutter to herself…

At that moment, Zhang Min’s scalp tingled with fear.

Suppressing the feeling in her heart, she searched the apartment one more time.

The bathroom, the living room, the bedroom.

Zhang Min stood before the mirror, looking at her own reflection, meeting her own gaze. Then, she tapped on the glass.

It was solid. Not hollow.

She checked the sofa again, and even the ceiling.

There wasn’t even a mouse.

The heavy weight in Zhang Min’s heart finally lifted. It was as if she’d been doused with cold water on a hot August day; the pressure on her shoulders vanished without a trace.

‘I knew it.’

How could there possibly be ghosts in this world?

Besides.

Zhang Min had already checked this apartment inside and out three times.

Counting the inspections by Wang Chao and the professional, Li Jianye, it had been searched a good four times.

The apartment was just one bedroom, one living room, and one bathroom. A small place like this, with a minimalist design—no matter how you tried to hide, where could you go?

Maybe the security camera was broken.

Or maybe the old lady from across the hall wasn’t right in the head and was just trying to scare a young woman like her.

But still…

‘I should find a new place anyway. This one is too far from headquarters. I’ll get one closer…’

Zhang Min thought to herself.

As soon as tonight was over and daylight came, she would absolutely find a new apartment to rent!

But it looked like she’d have to tough it out for one more night.

Zhang Min hesitated slightly. She glanced at the bed in the bedroom, thought for a moment, then went to the bathroom.

But she didn’t take a shower.

She kept feeling a gaze on her back.

It was the same even when she was just washing her hair.

She jerked her head up to look behind her.

But she saw nothing.

An even deeper chill crept into her heart, and she unconsciously sped up.

Then, she used her hair dryer to dry her hair and sat on the bed, ready to sleep.

But unfortunately…

The old lady’s words, and the contents of the diary.

They kept replaying in her mind, tormenting her, making it impossible to sleep.

After a long while.

Zhang Min’s heart, which had just settled down, began to pound again. Unable to stay still, she got up, ready to search one more time.

Was there any place in the apartment she hadn’t checked?

The kitchen, under the table, under the sofa, the bathroom, the ceiling…

She’d checked all those places, back and forth, over and over again. There was nothing.

But no matter what, she always felt a gaze on her back, constantly watching her, putting her on pins and needles.

Until…

Zhang Min’s gaze locked onto… a cabinet.

It wasn’t a large cabinet, just a drawer under the wardrobe.

The diary said he had once hidden inside this drawer, but…

The drawer was so small. Who could possibly hide in there?

Zhang Min didn’t know. All she knew was that the man wasn’t sane.

‘Perhaps…’

‘He’s in a drawer in the apartment?’

‘He stuffed himself, alive, into this very drawer…’

Zhang Min stared intently at the drawer front. It was as if she could see through the wood to the person hiding inside.

She reached out and placed her hand on it.

She held her breath, focused, and then…

…

“SHICK!”

In a daze, she pulled the drawer open. There was nothing inside.

Zhang Min let out a huge sigh of relief.

The drawer was empty. There was nothing.

Of course, there were some marks inside suggesting it had been warped, which seemed to corroborate the diary, but in any case, he wasn’t here.

“Just scaring myself…”

Zhang Min gave a relaxed smile. She was about to look around one last time before going back to bed.

But…

A pair of eyes.

Suddenly met Zhang Min’s gaze.

In an instant.

The whole world seemed to freeze, as if time had stopped.

The air conditioner mounted above the wardrobe… in the thin gap of its vent, there was…

A pair of eyes.

“Shhhk~”

As if in a trance, the eyes seemed to notice something, and the eyeballs rolled.

Those vacant, dead, deathly-pale eyes, through the gap…

…stared directly at Zhang Min.

It was the previous tenant.

He had…

…hidden himself inside the air conditioner.

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!”

A piercing shriek echoed out.

The voice-activated lights in the entire hallway instantly lit up.

Parked in the residential complex, Wang Chao, who had been sleeping in his car because he was too worried about his niece to go home, was jolted awake by the sound.

He froze for a second, then his expression changed drastically.

SLAM!

The car door flew open.

Without even putting on his jacket, he bolted into the complex.

In that moment…

The entire residential complex erupted into chaos.

….

「Meanwhile.」

At Xu Huo’s home.

A voice emerged in the ear of the sleeping Xu Huo.

He calmly sat up, went to the bathroom, and washed up a bit.

He then sat on the edge of his bed, his expression growing serious.

The next second, a pale blue screen of light appeared before him, accompanied by a voice.

[Congratulations, Host, you have triggered a mission…]

[(Incomplete)]

[The rewards are divided into four tiers: 25% Immersion, 50% Immersion, 75% Immersion, and 100% Immersion.]

[Composition Time: Seven days.]

[Failure Penalty: Forfeit all rewards for this mission.]

‘Another mission triggered.’

‘But considering the timing, it makes sense.’

It was the kind of thing that was unexpected, yet also expected.

‘But this case…’

Xu Huo squinted as he looked at the mission’s name.

[This case is titled:…]

[‘The Case of the Ghost Knocking on the Door!’]

[Note: Do you believe ghosts exist in this world?]

[Perhaps behind every door, a ghost lies in hiding, just waiting for you to push it open…]

[Note: Be careful when you open the door. The one knocking might not be a person. It might be… a ghost?]

“The Ghost Knocking on the Door…”

…

…

PS: To all my friends who are night owls and like to read novels before bed, good evening!