Chapter 339: Weird! Weird! Weird

“Take a look at this.”

This was Wang Wei’s diary, provided by Zhang Min. The entries inside were very detailed.

Xu Huo patiently flipped through it, reading the entries one by one.

After a moment, his brow furrowed.

“So what you’re saying is…”

“You suspect that before his death, the victim, Wang Wei, was terrorized by the killer in some way, which drove him to commit suicide in such a self-destructive manner?”

“He’d rather hide in an air conditioner and starve to death—wasting away like this without eating or drinking—than come out!?”

Zhang Liang nodded.

That was indeed the case.

Despite some logical inconsistencies…

But, based on the foundational principle of criminal investigation—”there are no ghosts in the world”—the ghost Wang Wei saw must have involved human intervention.

Xu Huo fell into thought.

Seeing ghosts.

In reality, many people claimed to have seen ghosts, and might have even encountered some unbelievable supernatural events.

But if you wanted to solve a case, you couldn’t believe in such things.

Therefore, the ghost Wang Wei saw must have been the result of human intervention. But if that was the case…

Why couldn’t anyone else see it?

“The diary mentioned three key pieces of information.”

“First, the location where the ‘ghost’ first appeared.”

“Second, three other people also saw it.”

“Third, this ghost might have known the deceased…”

Xu Huo narrowed his eyes, extracting three clues after a moment of thought.

He looked at Zhang Liang.

“Are there any leads now?”

“We found something, but it’s useless.”

Zhang Liang’s expression grew grim, and he looked even more burdened.

“The police have identified the other three people. They’re friends of the victim, Wang Wei. But starting about two weeks ago, they all fell into a state similar to his. We haven’t been able to contact them.”

“We don’t know if these three are still alive or if they’ve died like Wang Wei.”

“However, judging by the timeline, their chances of survival are quite high.”

These three people were just like Wang Wei.

They had probably hidden themselves away as well…

If they thought about hiding the same way Wang Wei did, then you could search right next to them and still not find them.

After all, who would have thought a person could hide inside a small air conditioning unit?

And who could have imagined that a five-foot-seven man could starve himself down to less than seventy pounds, becoming a living skeleton just to hide in an air conditioner!?

Of course, now that they had information on the three, that part wasn’t as urgent.

“The ‘ghost’ and the victim might have known each other.”

Xu Huo suddenly spoke again.

How could he tell?

First, you had to think.

When you’re walking down the street and see a random person, do you immediately assume they’re a ghost?

This is assuming you aren’t already thinking about ghosts; you just see someone and jump to that conclusion.

Of course not.

But the victim did!

Why?

Why was he able to confirm it was a so-called “ghost” after only a second look?

Was it because of the livor mortis on its face?

Frankly, that’s hard to believe. Unless you’re looking at a very old corpse, livor mortis isn’t that obvious from even a short distance away.

And according to the diary, not only was the figure far away, but it was also seen at night.

Besides, if this ghost appeared before the victim standing up…

…then how would he know it was livor mortis and not just a bruise?

People need a lot of information to make a decision, especially one they feel certain about. They must have processed some kind of “confirmatory information.”

For him to conclude this was a ghost, that it was livor mortis and not a bruise, he must have had some prior information in his head.

And that kind of information between people is only exchanged up close!

“Have you investigated his social circle?”

Zhang Liang nodded. They had already conducted a detailed investigation into the case in the early hours of the morning.

“Wang Wei’s social circle was limited to those three friends.”

“But, we’ve found something else.”

With that, Zhang Liang walked over to a sofa in the outer area, picked something up, and came back to Xu Huo’s side.

“This is Wang Wei’s financial report.”

“There are some major issues in here. Take a look.”

Xu Huo nodded, took it, and began to read slowly.

This was Donghua District. Wang Wei had been renting a place here for almost six months. The monthly rent was 1,300 yuan, far more than an average person’s monthly salary.

So, the people who rented here were generally better off.

But…

“Six months ago, Wang Wei’s spending suddenly skyrocketed. Comparing his habits before and after is like looking at two different people!”

“But that’s not the problem. The problem is…”

“Wang Wei had no legitimate source of income!”

Zhang Liang said gravely.

“Wang Wei didn’t have a job. He was a thug, and his three friends were thugs, too. But six months ago, the spending of all four of them suddenly shot through the roof!”

“There’s a problem with his source of funds.”

Both legal and gray-area income require some kind of work.

In other words, a job. Even if you’re involved in shady side-hustles, like buying and selling goods in the countryside, that’s still an explainable source of funds.

But Wang Wei didn’t have one.

“Judging by how he inexplicably struck it rich six months ago, he most likely took part in something.”

“And, it’s almost certain the other three were involved too, since their financial records are similar.”

“So, my current theory is…”

“Six months ago, the four of them probably did something to the killer involving money, which has now caused them to come back and take revenge.”

Zhang Liang said slowly.

However, the problem wasn’t with the speculation itself.

It was…

“This so-called ‘ghost’—other people can’t see it?”

Xu Huo narrowed his eyes and asked.

“That’s right. No one else can see it. It only exists in the eyes of those four. They can visualize its appearance, but the people around them can’t see a thing, no matter what.”