She's Looking at You!

The beam of his flashlight swept across, and Lu Ban's vision still retained a trace of that vibrant red. He hurriedly swung the flashlight back, but when he shone it on the emergency exit door again, there was no one's trace.

He tried to recall the person's appearance and clothing, only vaguely discerning it was a woman, and her clothes didn't seem to be of current trends.

Lu Ban, holding his crowbar, walked towards the emergency exit door.

Directly above the emergency exit was the control room. Those mannequin dolls were still watching the theater lobby. Lu Ban arrived there and saw a newspaper lying on the ground.

He poked the newspaper with the crowbar, hooking it towards him.

Picking up the newspaper, Lu Ban confirmed it was a normal Jiangcheng Evening News.

However, this Jiangcheng Evening News was from over twenty years ago.

Lu Ban used his flashlight as a light source and stood reading the newspaper.

"During the fire, the Jiangcheng Grand Theater was rehearsing its annual performance, with performers like Du Danping and relevant theater personnel in attendance. It is reported that the fire originated from equipment backstage, which short-circuited and caused the fire, but arson cannot be ruled out."

Above was the investigation report of the Jiangcheng Grand Theater fire. In that era, the internet was not developed, and there were no online police reports like there are today. Many incident investigation reports were released by newspapers.

Of course, these reports were not necessarily true or detailed. For instance, the one in Lu Ban's hand seemed to contain some vagueness and speculation.

Flipping to the next page, the "Jiangcheng Evening News" turned into the "Jiangcheng Weekly," a weekly magazine in Jiangcheng focused on entertainment, which had closed down a few years ago. Lu Ban had glimpsed the magazine's name while looking up information in the library.

"According to sources, Du Danping was rumored to be having an affair with Song Yunyan, the daughter of the chairman of Jiangcheng Industries. This fire might have hidden secrets. According to information provided by relevant personnel, Du Danping and Song Yunyan's relationship was opposed by Song's family. The two had attempted to elope but were stopped."

This weekly report had the flavor of celebrity gossip. It even hinted and speculated that Du Danping and that Song Yunyan had caused the fire because they wanted to elope and fake their deaths, almost pointing at the deceased Du Danping as the perpetrator.

"This accident resulted in five deaths and sixteen injuries. The musician Du Danping unfortunately perished in this accident."

The newspaper was flipped over again, turning into a black and white accident investigation report from the "Jiangcheng Daily."

After reading the last line, Lu Ban continued to flip forward.

At this moment, he saw the text on the newspaper become dense.

No, it wasn't a report at all, but a curse.

"Die! Die! Die! Die! Die!"

Vicious, pitch-black characters, as if written with solidified blood, covered the newspaper.

Moreover, Lu Ban looked closely, and these characters seemed to be constantly wriggling, crawling outwards like ants, as if about to crawl onto Lu Ban's hand.

These characters, upon contact with the skin, seemed capable of imprinting themselves, burrowing into the pores, leaving a permanent mark.

No one knew if these characters, if they continued to crawl, would occupy the entire body!

Feeling a tickle, Lu Ban immediately dropped the newspaper in his hand.

Splat—

The newspaper fell to the ground and quickly turned into a pile of ashes, dissipating.

Lu Ban checked his hand. The characters that had clung to it earlier seemed like an illusion; he couldn't find any trace. He subconsciously confirmed the newspaper's condition.

Then he noticed, at the doorway, a pair of women's feet wearing red high heels!

"!"

Lu Ban raised his flashlight. The emergency exit was empty. Where was the figure?

"…It seems the ghost here wants me to investigate the truth from back then?"

He mused.

Perhaps this red-clothed female ghost was Song Yunyan? She was killed by Du Danping that year, wrongly accused, and therefore hoped someone would reveal the truth?

The other party provided him with clues and showed no signs of harming him, so the danger level didn't seem that high.

Lu Ban summarized the clues to himself.

"The incident occurred at backstage equipment due to a short circuit, but people could have made arrangements beforehand to create a similar situation."

"Du Danping and Song Yunyan indeed seemed to have a good relationship. The woman who appeared in the recording was named Song Yunyan?"

"The reports said these two had failed to elope before, so this time they wanted to cause a fire, fake their deaths, and escape, but it backfired, and faked death became real death?"

"The performer might have been Du Danping, and his ghost is also bound here, playing music every night?"

Lu Ban thought a lot and decided to go backstage.

It was past eight o'clock now. Apart from the eerie mannequin dolls, Lu Ban hadn't found any trace of the performer. Perhaps it needed some kind of trigger.

Recalling those horror movies where disasters were triggered once a certain box was opened, Lu Ban chuckled self-mockingly.

"Actively seeking death like this isn't my style."

He stepped onto the stage again and walked towards the backstage.

Tap-tap-tap—

Footsteps echoed in the theater lobby. As he walked, Lu Ban suddenly felt something was wrong.

These footsteps, it sounded like more than one person!

He immediately stopped walking.

Tap-tap-tap—

But the footsteps didn't stop.

Lu Ban turned around, but saw nothing.

It was as if someone he couldn't see was following him, wearing leather shoes.

After two seconds, the footsteps abruptly stopped.

He continued forward, arriving at the dilapidated backstage, the site of the fire. It was the most severely damaged area, with wooden structures turned to charcoal, and the cement behind them stained black.

The entire backstage was filled with a persistent, acrid smell of decay, making Lu Ban wonder if the odor was actually real or some kind of supernatural illusion.

Where his flashlight beam landed, he could see some mannequin figures. These mannequins, melted by the high temperatures, were fused with the floor and walls, appearing quite bizarre.

Perhaps these weren't mannequins?

"Impossible. The police would have definitely cleared the scene back then, they wouldn't leave any bodies."

Lu Ban dismissed the baseless thoughts. The further he walked, the warmer his surroundings became.

It was a cool night, yet Lu Ban was sweating as if he were about to break out in a sweat.

It felt as if... he were surrounded by flames.

Relying on the architectural blueprints he had memorized and descriptions from relevant reports, Lu Ban made his way to the equipment location where the incident occurred backstage.

He saw that the equipment was an old-fashioned electrical panel that controlled the lights. Such panels weren't very safe, and if they aged significantly from prolonged use, accidents could easily happen.

Since the theater was built many years ago and had been in continuous use, the electrical equipment hadn't been updated to the latest models.

"It must have been a short circuit in the breaker, followed by the fuse failing to blow in time, and then sparks ignited nearby props. By the time anyone noticed, the fire was already huge?"

Lu Ban recalled the investigation report from the newspaper, his flashlight beam sweeping down along the wiring.

Immediately, he spotted a toppled mannequin. More than half of its body had melted, leaving only the upper half with a human-like form, slumped over the electrical circuit.

However, the face of this mannequin wasn't flat like the others. The facial features were clearly discernible!

*

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