The Fatty only had to think about it briefly to realize Jiang Cheng was right. "That's true, but none of us had ever seen a ghost before. We couldn't possibly know its habits or characteristics. So how did she know the ghost had targeted her?"
Jiang Cheng smiled. "Do you remember the two people in Room 405?"
The Fatty frowned. "The Suit Man and the Hat Man?"
"Right." Jiang Cheng nodded. "Why were they too scared to sleep last night?"
"Because you're a heartless bastard who scraped a coin against the wall to scare them." The Fatty suddenly stopped. His pupils contracted sharply, as if he'd just realized something, and he blurted out, "Doctor, you mean someone deliberately planted the idea in her head, made her think there was a ghost around her, and that it had already set its sights on her!" He grew more and more agitated. "If she didn't leave, she'd die!"
"Mm," Jiang Cheng replied, then added, "That's not what I meant. It's just the explanation that makes the most sense if you follow the logic."
"But..." The Fatty lowered his head and thought for a while. "The Qipao Woman didn't look like someone who'd be easily fooled. Remember, she came out in the middle of the night, while the Suit Man and the other guy only went out when we'd just lain down. The risks and psychological pressure involved were completely different."
"Sometimes you don't need to spell things out. You just plant a seed of doubt in her mind, and she can fill in the rest herself."
"The smarter and more cautious someone is, the easier it is for them to lose their way."
"Especially in a place like the Dream Realm, where nothing can be explained by common sense. The tiniest doubt can be blown out of proportion. Caution is a good thing, but endless caution and excessive suspicion can have the opposite effect."
It took the Fatty a long time to digest what Jiang Cheng had said. By the time most of the people had left the cafeteria, the Fatty finally let out a long breath. "Doctor, suppose—I mean, just suppose—all of your assumptions are right. Then who drove the Qipao Woman into the hallway and killed her?"
Jiang Cheng seemed surprised that the Fatty had used the word "drove," but he liked it and thought it was apt.
"What do you think?"
"Going by location alone, the Sleepwear Woman in her room is the most likely suspect. But you saw her yourself—she's just a rookie who makes a fuss over everything." The Fatty looked grim as he continued, "That leaves the Suit Man, the Hat Man, and the Ponytail Woman from Room 406."
At the mention of the Ponytail Woman, the Fatty's gaze grew more serious. He licked his slightly chapped lips, then looked up. "I don't think she's ordinary. I don't know why, but I feel uneasy whenever I'm near her, like there's a chill surrounding me. Once I leave, I feel fine again."
"That's killing intent." At the mention of the Ponytail Woman, Jiang Cheng's expression changed slightly too. "You feel uneasy because of her presence."
"If you look closely, you'll notice that her eyes are sharp, like a blade glinting with cold light, ready to take you apart piece by piece." Jiang Cheng leaned back against the plastic chair, gazing straight ahead as he continued, "When I shook her hand, I noticed her wrists were more heavily callused than most women's. She had calluses on her fingertips and in the web between her thumb and forefinger, and when she swung her arms, her elbows stayed low. That would protect her ribs and other vulnerable spots, while also letting her exert force suddenly. She's clearly trained—and not just in some ordinary way."
"She's probably fired a gun, and may even have blood on her hands. When she suddenly came face-to-face with the Qipao Woman's corpse, whose chin was missing, she was the calmest of them all. She even crouched down and noticed that the tongue was gone." Jiang Cheng drew a breath. "That would be unimaginable for an ordinary person."
The Fatty looked at Jiang Cheng and nodded firmly, as if reaching a conclusion. "That's what I'm saying. She must have done it! She lived right next door to the Qipao Woman, and the distance was just right."
Jiang Cheng turned his head and looked at the Fatty for several seconds. He hadn't confirmed or denied the Fatty's guess. He didn't understand it. He'd merely analyzed the facts they knew so far, so why did some people always rush to conclusions after noticing only the most superficial details?
The Fatty was one of them. Fan Li from the previous instance had been another.
"What's wrong?" the Fatty asked in confusion. "Was I wrong?"
"Could it really have been the Suit Man and the Hat Man?" The Fatty's eyes widened. "That doesn't make sense. You already scared them so badly they're jumping at shadows. How could they still be plotting against someone else?"
Just then, a clear bell rang out.
It startled the Fatty.
It was the bell for morning classes. The brief but shrill sound made the Fatty feel even more irritable, coming as it did while they were discussing a crucial part of the case.
"Let's go." Jiang Cheng stood up. "We'll look around somewhere else."
"Oh, okay."
The two of them walked through a campus that seemed much larger than it really was. With the students all in class, the grounds were nearly deserted, aside from the occasional staff member.
What the Fatty couldn't understand was why every staff member they encountered looked at them so strangely, as if they were some rare and exotic creatures.
"Doctor," the Fatty finally said after it happened for the third time. "Have you noticed? They're looking at us funny."
"Mm," Jiang Cheng replied. "It's definitely strange. I noticed it in the cafeteria, but back then they were sneaking glances. Now they're being more and more obvious."
The Fatty seemed to think of something. He swallowed nervously. "They aren't all ghosts in disguise, are they? And as time passes, they'll gradually show their true faces, then kill us all?"
The more he spoke, the more frightened he became, and the softer his voice grew. Before he'd even finished, he'd scared himself half to death. His legs, like two fat sausages, went limp.
"Probably not," Jiang Cheng said, shaking his head.
The Fatty desperately needed some reassurance from Jiang Cheng. He perked up at once and asked, "Why not, Doctor?"
"Because the law forbids it," Jiang Cheng replied solemnly. "Especially a whole bunch of them turning into ghosts together. That counts as a flagrant violation. If they get caught, they'll all be hauled off to the little black room."
The Fatty: "???"
Ever since meeting Jiang Cheng, the Fatty had developed a problem with managing his expressions. He often couldn't tell whether he should laugh or cry. Just then, his face began to twitch uncontrollably.
"Doctor," the Fatty said, twitching violently before trying hard to suppress it. Trembling, he continued, "If I didn't know what you were really like, I'd suspect you were in cahoots with the things in the Nightmare. I really would."
At that moment, Jiang Cheng suddenly stopped.
Before you continue