Goo Goo

It's her, as expected.

Gu Mian felt a headache coming on.

He'd originally thought that the performances of celebrities on screen were all just personas. He never imagined that meeting a real person would reveal something completely different from what he'd expected.

This person was genuinely airheaded.

In the darkness, Gu Mian lowered his voice, "Why aren't you running?"

Xiao Qiao thought seriously for a good while before replying, "I saw you weren't running, so I didn't run either."

Gu Mian: "..."

Then she also asked, "Why aren't you running?"

Gu Mian casually made up a lie, "I'm scared. My legs are weak, I can't move them."

Upon hearing this, the person in front of him fell silent.

Gu Mian thought she probably felt insecure being with someone so timid and might be planning to turn around and leave.

Unexpectedly, a few seconds later, her resounding voice suddenly came from the darkness—

"Don't be afraid, I'll protect you."

Gu Mian's brain immediately crashed. What was with this sudden bodyguard?

But his brain didn't crash for long. Gu Mian rebooted it, remembering that he had originally intended to find a light source.

Even though he had a bodyguard now, it wasn't a problem.

Making the best use of everything, he asked the person beside him, "Have you seen any light sources in here? Like a flashlight, lighter, or candles?"

Being in complete darkness felt terrible. Gu Mian always felt like he was blind.

Although Xiao Qiao was sometimes slow, her movements were quite quick at this moment.

She reached out her hand, holding something that looked like a cylindrical object. "I put a flashlight in my inventory earlier. Didn't you put any light sources in yours?"

Can I say I don't have an inventory?

Gu Mian sighed, took the item from her hand, and then pressed the button.

A white light illuminated the entire Mourning Hall.

The angle he held the light at wasn't great. The beam shone directly onto the large face in the Obituary Photo. The already pale face became even whiter under the light, making Gu Mian want to put some blush on her.

It was quiet outside. The players who had scattered earlier were nowhere to be seen.

Gu Mian couldn't bother with too many side matters at this moment. He shone the flashlight towards the coffin in front of him.

The coffin had already been pushed aside, creating a gap large enough to stick one's head into. They could see clearly inside if they leaned closer.

The two of them leaned over the edge of the coffin to look at the large opening.

The flashlight illuminated the inside of the coffin. There was no ghost inside, as Gu Mian had eagerly hoped. Instead, two pieces of paper, about the size of A4 sheets, lay at the bottom of the coffin. Something seemed to be written on them.

Although the coffin was high, Gu Mian managed to retrieve the papers without much effort.

Shining the flashlight on them, he saw that the first paper began with—"Wanted Notice."

"On September 23, 2003, a violent murder case occurred in Xuzhou City."

"A male was found dead in his car, suspected of being struck multiple times in the back of the head with a blunt object, and his wallet and other belongings were taken."

"After investigation, Ma Gang (Male, 31 years old, local resident of Xuzhou, approximately 172cm tall, slender build, wearing an orange shirt and with a buzz cut when he fled, has a scar on his forehead) is a major suspect."

"The Xuzhou Public Security Bureau is soliciting clues from the public to report the whereabouts of the criminal suspect. A reward of 30,000 RMB will be given for clues that assist in the capture of the suspect, and 60,000 RMB for direct capture. The Public Security Bureau will ensure the confidentiality of informants."

"--Xuzhou Public Security Department, 2003.9.23"

Below it was a large headshot of Ma Gang.

His face was long and thin, making him look very old. His high cheekbones were prominent, and his eyes were tri-pupiled with upturned outer corners. When he looked at someone, he resembled a hungry wolf.

He had a hooked nose and thin lips. The overall impression was that of a sinister old man.

"Ma Gang," Gu Mian recalled a question from his exam, "Is this the Ma-surnamed Fierce Ghost?"

The first multiple-choice question had been about the surname of the Ma-surnamed Fierce Ghost. It seemed the answer had now appeared.

He then looked at the next piece of paper.

It seemed to be a letter of thanks.

"Ms. Yang Shuang, your information has been received. Upon verification, Ma Gang is indeed hiding at the Longchang Hotel. We have taken action, but have not yet apprehended him. The suspect is still at large. Please ensure your personal safety."

"Thank you for providing the clue. The Xuzhou Public Security Department thanks you again for your report. October 1, 2003."

With this, he had found clues to two Fierce Ghosts.

The Yang-surnamed Fierce Ghost, named Yang Shuang, female, had reported the hiding place of the murder suspect Ma Gang to the Xuzhou Public Security Department. However, it was unknown how she had obtained the suspect's whereabouts.

The Ma-surnamed Fierce Ghost, named Ma Gang, male, had fled after committing murder in Xuzhou, but was reported by Yang Shuang not long after.

It seemed that Ma Gang had not let go of the person who reported him, as could be seen from this Mourning Hall.

The Public Security Department had sent a condolence banner, clearly indicating that their failure to capture the suspect had led to Ma Gang returning and killing Yang Shuang.

Gu Mian's final question was a free-response one, asking for the time of death of the three ghosts.

Looking at it this way, Yang Shuang's death should have been before Ma Gang's, he calculated silently.

There was one multiple-choice question left, asking how many people the only male Fierce Ghost had killed in his lifetime.

Ma Gang was this sole male Fierce Ghost. It was clear now that he had killed at least two people: a man who died in the car, and Yang Shuang. But Gu Mian didn't know if he had killed anyone else.

To understand the timeline, he had to piece together the complete story of the three ghosts' lives. But as of now, there was still no clue about the Zhao-surnamed Fierce Ghost.

Gu Mian shone his flashlight at Xiao Qiao beside him and said, "We can't waste any more time. Let's go to the second floor and keep searching."

Xiao Qiao nodded in agreement.

As the two left the Mourning Hall, Gu Mian specifically glanced back at the coffin.

The test stated that there was one Fierce Ghost on each floor. Logically, the Fierce Ghost on this floor should have been in the coffin. But inside, besides two pieces of paper, it was empty.

Did that ghost leave with someone?

At this moment, Fatty was dragging someone with each hand, panting as he hid in a room and shut the door.

Because it was too dark all around, he had almost fallen multiple times. Fortunately, Chu Changge, who was beside him, had been pulling him along.

"I was so scared just now," Fatty said, catching his breath in the darkness. "But you two were quite brave, not making a sound."

At this moment, Chu Changge beside him finally spoke, "I think something's not right."

Fatty was slightly taken aback. "What's not right?"

"Are you holding onto Gu Mian on your side?"

"Yeah, it's the doctor..." Fatty said as he turned his head towards Gu Mian's direction. But it was pitch black here, and he couldn't see anything. No matter how hard he tried, he could only make out the silhouette of a person.

"Doctor?" Fatty asked softly. "Why aren't you saying anything?"

Chu Changge was silent for a moment beside him. "Get ready."

What? Fatty didn't quite understand.

But immediately, he understood what Chu Changge wanted him to get ready for.

A white light suddenly illuminated the Mourning Hall. It was Chu Changge taking out his flashlight.

The beam of the flashlight was pointed directly at Gu Mian's location. Fatty was already looking in that direction. As soon as the flashlight turned on, the scene there was clearly visible—

A face was staring right at him.

It was almost pressed against his face.

Clearly, this was not Gu Mian's face.