The Scene

The eerie fire, the vanished killer—Chen Ge had discovered for the first time that he had a real talent for storytelling. Combining online news reports with his own theories, he had more or less reconstructed the Massacre Case from back then.

"That's the whole story. I was looking for new material for my Haunted House, so I went exploring a haunted apartment. But I made a shocking discovery: nobody in this Apartment Building is normal. I suspect the killer from five years ago is hiding among them!" Chen Ge stubbed out his cigarette and looked at his phone screen.

"Interesting. A real-life game of Werewolf! Let's hear from the seer."

I Am A Little Green Worm: "Just make stuff up, streamer. You're talking like it's real. Go ahead and spin your tale; I'll lose if even one person believes you."

"Fu'an Apartment in Hanjiang City? I looked it up online, and it seems to be real."

He Shan: "I believe the streamer."

I Am A Little Green Worm: "Even if the streamer's story is true, how can he prove that the room he's in is the scene of the original crime? As he said, the Apartment Building was ravaged by a fire. But look at the room he's staying in—the walls are smooth, the floor is clean, and all the furniture is intact. Does that look like a crime scene to you?"

"I wouldn't lie to you about this. Proving it is easy." Chen Ge moved the dressing table aside, took out a Fruit Knife, and gently scraped the paint off a corner of the wall. "After the incident, they changed the Apartment Building's name and renovated the whole place inside and out. But no matter how much they renovate, some things can't be covered up."

He scraped off a layer of paint, revealing the blackened bricks underneath. "This is one piece of evidence that a fire once happened here."

Scumbags Must Die: "Wait, what I'm curious about is why you brought a hammer and a knife when you went to stay at a hotel. Were you planning to pretend you were the killer's accomplice?"

"Feeling sorry for the apartment owner. They ruined a perfectly good wall."

"How much is one night in this apartment? It doesn't even have a TV."

Chen Ge read the comments and tried to hold back, but couldn't. "Everyone, can you please stop focusing on such weird things? Show me some respect, will you? I'm risking my life to livestream this for you!"

Scumbags Must Die tipped one coin: "Here's a dime, to show my respect."

Chen Ge had no choice but to put up with the viewers. This bunch of old hands were such trolls. "All right, let's get back to the point. I've run into six people in the Apartment Building so far. The first was a woman who might have mental problems. When I came in, she gave me a strange smile through the crack in the door. I don't know anything about her, so I'll leave her out for now..."

Chen Ge described all the tenants' appearances to the viewers, along with his own analysis. "In terms of motive, the Landlord is the most likely to be the killer, but he has a bad leg and walks very slowly. Looking at their physical condition instead, the Tattooed Man on the first floor and the Short Fat Man on the second floor seem more likely. Of course, we can't rule out the woman on the first floor or the frail Wang Qi."

Scumbags Must Die: "You've gone in a circle and said nothing. I suspect the Old Man in the wheelchair is the real killer. After all, he benefited the most from the fire back then."

"That's possible. The Old Man is paralyzed and in a wheelchair now, but that doesn't mean he was paralyzed five years ago. Besides, the killer didn't murder anyone in a physical struggle—he set a fire. The Old Man could definitely have done it."

"Right, he could be faking his paralysis, too. The person who seems least likely to be the killer might actually be the killer."

"I actually suspect the woman on the first floor more. She smiled at the streamer, so she must have been hinting at something. Streamer, do you remember how far her lips protruded when she smiled, and how wide she opened her mouth? Let me analyze it for you using microexpression psychology."

"I don't..."

The viewers were getting more engaged, and the livestream's popularity was starting to rise faster.

Chen Ge silently watched the comments but didn't see anything useful. "Looks like I'll have to go look for more clues myself."

He held his phone up in front of him. "I inspected the place earlier and found that the first and second floors of this Apartment Building have been completely renovated, but some parts of the third floor are still the way they were five years ago. I'm going to search it carefully in a bit and see if I can find anything useful."

"Still the way they were five years ago? That's creepy."

"The case is still unsolved. Could the dead be unwilling to rest and still be wandering around?"

"Exploring a haunted apartment at night? That's hardcore!"

"If he weren't hardcore, how could he run a Haunted House? Listen, a bunch of us went to mess with the streamer's Haunted House once. The two bravest among us ended up crying and passing out."

"Wait, why did the two bravest ones get so scared? What about the cowards?"

"You're talking nonsense. Who the hell would be brave enough to enter his Haunted House if they were cowards?"

"Actually, that makes sense."

He Shan: "Heh."

The livestream had gone off track, but Chen Ge didn't mind. He put the Fruit Knife in his pocket and practiced drawing it a few times. Then, holding his phone in one hand and the Tool Hammer in the other, he went to the door.

This time, he was smarter. He first peered through the crack in the door and, after confirming that nobody was in the corridor, gently pushed it open.

When he closed the door, Chen Ge pulled out one of his hairs and placed it in the keyhole. That way, if someone opened the door while he was gone, the hair would be pushed deeper into the lock.

Once he was ready, Chen Ge crossed the second-floor corridor and reached the stairwell.

He moved quietly, careful not to activate the Voice-activated Light, and felt his way along with nothing but the glow from his phone screen.

As he climbed the stairs, the walls on either side gradually darkened, and a strange, indescribable smell drifted through the air.

When he reached the third floor, Chen Ge turned on his phone's flashlight. He pressed his back against the wall, his attention fully focused.

The first time he had accidentally reached the third floor, he'd seen a blurry Dark Shadow flash through the corridor. It had vaguely looked like a person.

"Human or ghost, I need to be careful."

The light from his phone revealed the crime scene from five years ago. Chen Ge stared at the deep gouges carved into the walls and couldn't help tightening his grip on the Tool Hammer.

Ping An Apartment had an unusual layout, with only one stairwell near the building's right side. As a result, the corridor on the left looked unnaturally long.

Walking through it made his back go cold. Even pressed against the wall, he felt terribly unsafe.

"If the fire started on the third floor, this place couldn't have survived. So the killer probably never came up here." Chen Ge walked down the dark corridor with his phone. The doors on both sides stood half open, many of them warped by the fire.

Avoiding the debris piled on the floor, Chen Ge entered the room nearest to him.