"You should say it was a ghost's voice."
"So the ghost has gotten stronger? It's been appearing constantly?"
"Perhaps it's possessed someone."
"Hmm? Chief, are you saying..."
"Yu Meng is in danger. We have to find her as soon as possible."
"We can only start with the surveillance footage."
"How long will that take?"
"At least a week. The police station's firewall isn't easy to break through."
May 19, 2004. After ruling out four people on the list of the deceased, they could not confirm whether "Xiaoling" existed among Sun Gan's social connections.
May 20, 2004. They investigated a list of 7,000 people connected to Room 809 and found 298 women whose names contained "ling" or "lin."
May 22, 2004. They received a call from Zhang Dong, a former employee of the Junli Hotel. Audio file 02320040522.wav.
"I heard from a former coworker that you've been asking about the hotel and mentioned a square-cut diamond ring?"
"Mr. Zhang, do you know about this? Could you tell us more?"
"Yes. I joined the Junli when it first opened. I was just an ordinary employee back then, working in housekeeping. The manager of our department was my senior from when I studied abroad. He returned to China first, but we kept in touch. When the Junli opened, I happened to be back in the country too. He asked if I wanted to work there, so I joined."
"The strange things that happened at the hotel, including that square-cut diamond ring—were they connected to him?"
"...Yes, they were connected to him. I... I don't really know exactly what happened. I always thought my senior had a girlfriend. I'd met her twice, and she was very close to him. They seemed like a perfect match, and he seemed happy. They were at the point of discussing marriage—or at least my senior intended to marry her. He bought a ring and planned to propose. That kind of thing was more common abroad. Back then, I think the idea of a diamond engagement ring was only just catching on in China. I remember that ring very clearly."
"Did he choose Room 809 at the Junli Hotel for the proposal?"
"Yes..."
"Did the proposal go wrong?"
"Yes..."
"Could you tell us what happened?"
"What happened? Heh... That day, my senior invited his girlfriend to the Junli and made special preparations. A lot of us helped him decorate the room and wished him luck. But the person who showed up wasn't his girlfriend. We all thought the guest had gone to the wrong room. I was about to say something when my senior opened the door first, and that man punched him. We were all stunned. It took us a second or two to react, but by then the man had shoved my senior into the room and shut the door. We scrambled around, and by the time we found a key card and opened it, they'd already been fighting for a while. The room was a complete mess, and the man was still beating my senior. A few of us men rushed over to stop him. When he couldn't hit my senior anymore, he started yelling that my senior had... raped his wife..."
"So your senior's girlfriend was married?"
"Yes... Phew—none of us had any idea. My senior... his face was swollen, but I could tell he was shocked too. He must not have known."
"How was the matter settled afterward?"
"To protect the hotel's reputation, we didn't call the police. My senior wasn't in any state to do it either. He kept calling his girlfriend, but she didn't answer. He was injured and took a long leave, and we didn't feel right asking about it... But after the room was tidied up, the cleaning lady brought us the engagement ring and asked what to do with it. I had no choice but to contact my senior and return it to him."
"Was it the square-cut diamond ring?"
"Yes, it was square-cut."
"What did he say when you met?"
"At first, he didn't say anything. He just stared at the ring. He was so dejected that I could tell the man hadn't been lying or acting crazy. That woman had deceived him. Later, he said he wanted to drink, so I went with him. After he got completely drunk, my senior started talking. His girlfriend wouldn't answer his calls, but he still found a way to track her down. She avoided him and seemed afraid of him. He went to her workplace, and happened to run into one of her coworkers. The coworker even tried to talk him out of pursuing her, saying her husband was violent and beat her all the time. For her sake, my senior should leave her alone."
"So her coworkers knew your senior?"
"Yes. That's why I'm telling you, my senior had no idea that woman was married! He'd met her coworkers and her parents, and they'd all supported their relationship! Who knew a husband would suddenly appear? Those people were awful! And that woman too! If her husband was abusing her, she could've called the police, gotten a divorce, or whatever—but back then, people weren't used to that sort of thing. Fine, but don't drag someone else down with you! They all knew how miserable she was and what a bastard her husband was. They didn't help her, but when my senior came along, they acted like he was her lifeline and hid the whole thing from him! My senior got beaten up, and that woman—or maybe those people—must've been reprimanded too. Then they all had the nerve to make those callous remarks! Fucking hell! My senior had been dating that woman for six months! Damn it!"
"Was she pregnant?"
"Ah... you..."
"Looks like you know quite a lot."
"I... I'm only guessing... I can only guess."
"Tell us about the pregnancy."
"My senior told me when he was drunk. Their affair came to light because the woman got pregnant. Her husband drove long-distance buses, and the dates didn't add up, so he immediately realized she'd cheated on him. Then he found my senior. You know what? The woman was the one who told her husband about it, including the room number—Room 809—and the time. She even had an abortion without a second thought! After that man found out, she begged him for forgiveness like a dog. She went and got an abortion, then said my senior had raped her! That bitch deserved to get beaten!"
"Maybe she'd been abused for a long time, so..."
"So she threw my senior under the bus. What had he done? Did he deserve all that?"
"..."
"They were all scum. My senior did nothing wrong, and they still ruined his life!"
"Ruined his life?"
"Later, that man used it to extort my senior. He really was a piece of trash. That woman was a bitch too. She got an abortion at some shady little clinic, and that man kept the fetus and used it to threaten my senior! Once, he even brought the woman along to prove that the lump of flesh was my senior's child! Later, the woman went to see my senior alone, crying and begging him to forgive her. She even asked him to save her, take her abroad, and help her escape. Ha!"
"And then?"
"My senior already knew the truth and wanted to break things off with that woman. But they kept showing up at his door, sometimes even at the hotel. My senior got caught up in it and was suspended from work. Then they went to his home and nearly gave his parents heart attacks... A few months later, I got a call telling me about my senior's funeral. He was trying to get away from that pair of bastards when a car hit him. He... died just like that..."
"You keep saying you're 'guessing,' but everything you've told us so far sounds certain."
"I..."
"What were you guessing?"
Before you continue