Chapter 345: The Hidden Fifth Person! Person or Ghost?

“You know him?”

“Who is he!?”

The moment Xu Huo spoke, the interrogation room fell silent.

They had already suspected that the deceased, Wang Wei, might have known him.

First, there was the diary. People don’t remember a random passerby for no reason, and according to the diary, Wang Wei had some kind of premonition from the very first encounter.

Next, on the second page, he merely saw the person’s facial features and immediately realized they were a ghost.

It was incredibly strange.

So strange that even Wang Chao, someone outside the investigation, realized it!

Why?

The explanation lies in gathering information.

For example, there’s a person standing in front of you. Do you know who this person is? Do you know their name? What about their profession?

Honestly, you don’t. The simple fact of a person standing there is just that—it lacks any other information.

Now, let’s add a gender. Let’s say she’s a woman. Then, let’s add a personality trait: a bit of an airhead.

Are you starting to get a picture?

Let’s keep adding: she likes to make desserts, loves feeding people, and sneaks into your bed at night…

Yes, when there’s enough information, you can know who someone is even without being told their name.

And this process of gathering information… its most basic form is communication!

For the deceased, Wang Wei, to know at a glance that the person was a ghost, he must have, at some point, gathered information through communication that confirmed his conclusion.

Society even has different labels for the degree of information exchanged.

Stranger, acquaintance, familiar, friend, best friend, etc.

The more information, the closer the relationship.

“I’m guessing it wasn’t just Wang Wei and Qian Hao. You knew him too, right?”

Xu Huo narrowed his eyes.

Shen Fei’s face was still twisted in terror. He stared behind Xu Huo, his eyes filled with dread.

“He’s here! He’s here!”

“It’s closer! It’s taken another step closer to me! Let me go! You have to let me go!”

JANGLE!!!

The chains jangled as Shen Fei pulled on them relentlessly, emitting sharp, metallic sounds.

“Cooperate properly!”

An inexplicable look flickered in Li Jianye’s eyes as he slammed a large hand on the table and barked the reprimand.

But Shen Fei seemed to hear nothing, muttering nonsense as if delirious.

He thrashed about, making the interrogation table groan.

Seeing this, Li Jianye’s brow furrowed.

‘This isn’t an act…’

His heart skipped a beat.

‘This is bad. He’s had a mental breakdown…’

There were four people in this troubled group. Now two are dead, and one has disappeared—most likely dead as well.

The Shen Fei brought in by the police… if he’s actually mentally ill, then this is a huge problem!

What can you hope to get out of a madman?

Especially one who has retreated into his own world? You might as well be trying to question someone with autism!

Don’t even dream of it.

If you could pull that off, you shouldn’t be a detective. I’d suggest you apply to be a doctor at a mental hospital.

“The four of you have a lot in common. For instance, the money. For instance, seeing a ghost.”

Xu Huo’s expression was calm. He ignored the crazed Shen Fei and continued speaking:

“And the source of that money can’t be traced. It’s gray-market income.”

“You can’t print money, nor did you perform labor commensurate with that amount.”

“But you had money. So, I’m guessing you used some method to get it from someone else, right?”

Money doesn’t grow on trees. Unclaimed, missing funds aren’t enough to make four people rich.

How do you get money without putting in the work?

You take it from society, of course. And if you don’t work for it, it can only be illegally obtained!

Wang Wei and the other three were all dirt poor—so poor they were about to sell their own underwear. If they wanted to make money through crooked means, this was the only way!

As I said, money has an owner. Therefore, for the four of them to get money, they could only take it from a specific ‘owner of the wealth.’

So…

“There’s a fifth person involved in this case. A fifth person, hidden behind the four of you.”

“Is he the one you saw?”

As his voice fell, the atmosphere grew increasingly tense. Fortunately, Li Jianye had discussed this with Xu Huo beforehand and had some idea of what was coming; otherwise, he might have been planning to continue the interrogation indefinitely.

Shen Fei continued to tremble.

His pupils were unfocused, reflecting the figures of Xu Huo and Li Jianye, but judging by his cowering, trembling body, it was as if he wasn’t seeing them, but a demon.

“Whether you’re really crazy or just faking it,”

“we’ll find out about this fifth person sooner or later.”

Xu Huo gave him a look, then got up and walked toward the exit.

Nearing the doorway, he paused, turned his head, and said:

“Hm. It seems you really have gone mad.”

After saying this, Xu Huo said no more and walked straight out.

Inside the room, Shen Fei seemed oblivious to what had just happened. He was curled up, his bone-thin body trembling, his eyes vacant and numb.

“He’s here… he’s come to kill me…”

“Wang Wei is dead, Qian Hao is dead too, and Zhou Tong… It’s my turn! It’s my turn!!!”

In a daze, spittle flew from Shen Fei’s mouth. His eyes, filled with terror, were bloodshot, the veins wrapped around his eyeballs like bulging tendons.

“I can’t die! I have to hide… I have to hide… I have to hide…”

As he spoke, Shen Fei’s trembling body gradually bent over.

He tried to hide under the interrogation table, but with his hands cuffed, all he could do was pull and strain.

His wrists, chafed raw by the handcuffs, were turning red, then purple, but he still didn’t let up, continuing to try and squeeze underneath.

Just as they were about to bleed, Li Jianye yanked him out.

“Take him away!” he said, his face ashen.

“Get out! All of you, get out! It’s right next to me! It’s right next to me! I have to hide!!!”