The Agency

The architecture of this old residential complex was neat and cramped. Entering through the iron gate on the first floor, the stairs were to the right. In front of the stairs was a corridor, with the kitchens of the two middle units lining the corridor. Windows were cut into the wall, and exhaust fans were installed there. Every mealtime, the hallway was filled with the smell of cooking oil.

On the way up just now, I could still smell cooking oil mixed with the scent of dishes, but now there was no smell. Moreover, I could no longer hear the sounds of people downstairs; even the skinny and the fat guys were silent.

This was somewhat strange.

I gripped the doorknob, not turning my head back for a long time. I didn't know how much time had passed when I suddenly heard a commotion from below.

"Thank you, so sorry to have bothered you."

That was the fat guy's voice.

I breathed a sigh of relief.

They must have gone into someone's home just now.

I turned my head and looked at the room in front of me.

The afterglow of the setting sun was particularly dim in the room, like a layer of dark red bloodstain. Entering the door was a reception room. To the right was an office, with the filing cabinet in the corner of the room. From the doorway, one would have to look very carefully to notice that unremarkable filing cabinet. Yet, when I opened the door, I saw it at a glance. I don't know if it was because my impression from the last visit was so strong, or if it was truly as I suspected, a kind of irresistible compulsion.

I took out my phone and turned on the flashlight. The bloody light in the room was illuminated by the bright light and returned to normal.

Last time I was here, I was only focused on the filing cabinet; the rest of the place was searched by the skinny guy and the police. This time, coming in, I wasn't in a hurry. I first went to open the window.

The window was locked, and it seemed to be rusted. I used a lot of force to open one of the windows. Hot air blew in from outside, dispelling some of the cold, eerie feeling.

I clapped the rust off my hands and surveyed the reception room.

In the center were two sets of facing leather sofas, surrounding a glass coffee table. The original dark brown color of the sofas had become a hazy, dusty gray due to the dust.

Fang Guoying and Yu Meng must have sat on these sofas, recounting their terrifying experiences.

My flashlight beam swept across the room, and I saw a dead potted plant in the corner.

This place gives an uncomfortable feeling. It's probably because it's been abandoned for too long.

Thinking this, I entered the adjacent office.

There were four desks in the office, but only one had a computer. I pulled open the drawers; they were all empty. It wasn't until I reached the desk with the computer that I found a few pens and sticky notes left behind by the owner in the drawer. Other than that, there was nothing else.

I turned to look at the side.

The filing cabinet stood there quietly, but it always caught my peripheral vision, asserting its presence.

I deliberately avoided looking at the filing cabinet and walked further in, seeing a dormitory with five beds. This was exactly the total number of members in the Qingye Supernatural Investigation Agency that I knew of. Like the desks outside, only one of the five beds had bedding and a curtain. The remaining four beds were empty. Inside the nearby wardrobe were only a few men's clothes. Judging by the size and style of the clothes, it belonged to a young man about 1.9 meters tall. The bathroom only had one toothbrush and towel, ordinary in style. In the kitchen, there were various cooking utensils and tableware, but no ingredients or seasonings. The refrigerator was empty.

These things made me uneasy. Then I thought, perhaps only one person lived here? For example, only the "leader" lived here, and the others had their own homes and commuted daily. There was also a woman among them; they couldn't all four men and one woman sleep in the same room, could they? The items in the kitchen could also be explained: a small agency, they could just hire a hourly worker to cook lunch. It's just that there was no food at all...

Thinking this, I opened another door further in. Behind the door was a corridor. There were rooms on both sides and at the end of the corridor. The rooms on both sides were full, piled with many cardboard boxes, some already opened, some still sealed with packing tape.

I opened the nearest cardboard box, and inside was a computer. Looking at the other opened boxes, they were all the same: computer towers, monitors, mice, keyboards... many sets, far exceeding the number "four."

Looking at the rooms on the other side, there were also several boxes piled up. Only one was opened, and it also contained a computer.

This isn't a computer store, nor is it a computer company. Why would there be so many computers?

Just as this thought flashed through my mind, I suddenly looked at the unsealed boxes next to me.

Leaning my phone against something, I used my key to scratch open a cardboard box. A choking smell of smoke flew out. I instinctively waved my hand, and a pile of ashes burst out, like a fairy scattering flowers. I quickly stepped back two paces. After the commotion subsided, I covered my nose and mouth and approached, shining my phone inside the box.

The box was filled with ashes, like the ashes left from burning paper money during the Qingming Festival. I picked up a small piece of unburned paper and saw a blurry character on it. It didn't seem to be a character, but rather some kind of scribbled charm.

A flash of inspiration struck me. I thought of the amulet that the Qingye people gave to Fang Guoying during the incident with the ghost face in the water.

Was it... that thing?

But why were they all burned?

Spontaneous combustion...

My hand loosened, and the paper fragment fell back into the box.

The chilling feeling that had just disappeared reappeared.

"Qi Ge!"

I jumped, almost dropping my phone. Without thinking, I quickly walked out of the room, and for some reason, I started to jog. By the door, I saw the skinny and the fat guys.

"Why did you guys come up?" I asked.

"What's wrong with you?" The skinny guy was startled. "Why are you breathing so heavily?"

I was taken aback, only then realizing that my breathing had become heavy at some point.

"Qi Ge, are you okay?" the fat guy asked with concern.

"I'm fine." I wiped the cold sweat from my forehead.

"This place is indeed very problematic, isn't it?" The skinny guy had a look of "I knew it would be like this." "Let's get out of here quickly."

"Did you guys finish checking?" I asked.

"We've asked everyone on the fifth floor. We were worried something might have happened to you, so we came up to take a look," the fat guy replied.

"Oh, then..." I started to speak, then looked back.

The filing cabinet stood there quietly.

"What's wrong, Qi Ge? Did you hear something?" the skinny guy asked nervously.

"No, I just wanted to say I haven't looked at the files yet. You've checked this whole building, so call me when you're done," I said to the skinny guy.

The skinny guy gave me a thumbs-up. "Man! Real man!"

I chuckled, but the hand holding my phone clenched so hard my veins bulged.

Man? No. It was just... I said it naturally.

"Then call us if anything comes up," the fatty said.

"Don't worry," I nodded.

The two of them went downstairs. I watched their heads disappear into the stairwell before I slowly turned and walked to the filing cabinets, opened them, and began searching.

My earlier guess was correct. Besides being sorted by time and number, the files were also broadly categorized into "Resolved" and "Unresolved." Last time, I'd randomly picked a few, and they were all "Unresolved." This time, I searched and selected cases they had successfully resolved.

The skinny guy told me to look for the last cases they handled. We hadn't taken the "Supernatural Investigation Agency" seriously before, so we hadn't thought to approach it from this angle. Now that I realized this agency might actually have some substance, I began searching carefully.

Rustle!