The Investigation Team's Conspiracy

Of the two people who entered, one pair of footsteps headed straight into the bedroom, while the other, lighter set did not; instead, they circled the living room, stepped into the kitchen, and then moved on to the bathroom.

Throughout this, Shen Xing kept his ears pricked, listening intently to the movements outside while feigning sleep.

The person who entered the bedroom had to be the young man, Zhao Wenbo, while the lighter footsteps belonged to Li Naijing.

Li Naijing was currently roaming the other rooms to inspect them, which was Shen Xing's greatest worry; he feared that if his other self hadn't truly vanished but was still hiding in one of the rooms, it would surely be discovered by her.

As for Zhao Wenbo, he was standing by the bed staring at him, but as long as Shen Xing kept up the act of sleeping and didn't move, he wouldn't notice anything amiss.

The two remained silent after entering, leaving Shen Xing with no choice but to continue pretending to sleep, as it would be awkward to "wake up" immediately.

A moment later, he heard Li Naijing's footsteps approaching the bedroom.

The end of the bed shifted, and he heard Zhao Wenbo lower his voice to say to Li Naijing, "I don't know what's going on, but why is there a slipper on the bed?"

Hearing this, Shen Xing nearly lost his composure; he must have hooked a slipper with his foot when he scrambled onto the bed earlier, causing it to drop onto the sheets.

However, since the other party had already spoken, Shen Xing now had sufficient reason to "wake up," as would be expected of a light sleeper.

He slowly turned over, opened his eyes in a "dazed" manner, rubbed them, and then sat up with a start, staring at the two by the bed with a look of lingering fear.

"Officer Li? Officer Zhao? How... how did you get in?"

Zhao Wenbo didn't answer, instead glancing at Li Naijing.

Li Naijing looked at Shen Xing earnestly, and seeing that he appeared to be fine, she explained, "We were worried something else had happened to you at home, so we didn't want to wait and just opened the door to check."

Judging by her demeanor, she didn't seem to have found anything unusual in the other rooms, and Shen Xing's heart finally settled; his other self must have simply vanished rather than hiding.

He then feigned surprise and said, "You could have just called my phone!"

Li Naijing held up her phone. "I did, but you didn't answer, which is why we resorted to this."

Shen Xing pretended to look for his phone, retrieved it from under his pillow, and after a glance, realized, "Oh, I set it to silent mode before I went to sleep."

He then asked with a look of surprise, "Officer Li, let's be honest, did you get the key to my place from Officer Xiong Wei?"

Li Naijing paused, turned to look at Zhao Wenbo, and the latter looked awkward once again.

Li Naijing laughed and replied to Shen Xing, "I have a Universal Smart Key, standard equipment for the Special Case Investigation Unit. Wenbo has one too."

"I... do I?" Zhao Wenbo stammered.

"You... don't you?" Li Naijing blinked at him.

Watching these two comedians act like they were in a skit, Shen Xing wanted to laugh, but asked, "What brings you here?"

"It's about what happened at Song Xiaoyu's place," Li Naijing said. "After we arrived, Brother Zheng said you had already left, but a carpet search failed to turn up the skin that fell off Song Xiaoyu."

"We were worried that the thing might have followed you back, so Naijing and I came over immediately to check," Zhao Wenbo added.

Shen Xing nodded.

If he were in the Special Case Investigation Unit, he might also be worried enough to come and check.

"Do you mind if Wenbo checks your body?" Li Naijing asked with concern. "According to Brother Zheng's description, that thing can attach itself to human skin, so for your own safety, we must be thorough."

"Go ahead."

Although Li Naijing had broken into his home without permission, at least it was out of concern for his safety.

Besides, if something had truly happened to him, breaking down the door to check would have been necessary.

Zhao Wenbo approached Shen Xing and patted him down from head to toe, specifically ruffling his hair into a bird's nest to carefully inspect his scalp for anything suspicious.

Ever since the skin had been locked away, the back of Shen Xing's head had stopped itching, so he knew they wouldn't find anything unusual.

A few minutes later, Zhao Wenbo looked up at Li Naijing and said, "There's nothing out of the ordinary."

"Is there any discomfort or tightness on your skin?" Li Naijing asked Shen Xing.

Shen Xing shook his head. "Ever since that layer of skin fell off at Song Xiaoyu's place, there hasn't been anything unusual."

Li Naijing continued, "You should still go to the City First Hospital Physical Examination Center tomorrow for a check-up, especially for your skin. It's our designated medical facility. Just give them my name and phone number when you arrive, then take a photo and sign the register; there's no need to pay."

As a member of the Special Case Investigation Unit, Shen Xing suspected that they often came into contact with unclean things due to their line of work.

And since these things, like the skin that possessed Song Xiaoyu, could invade a human body without a sound, it was necessary to have a designated medical center.

A free check-up? He wouldn't refuse.

Shen Xing agreed immediately and got up to pour them some hot water.

The three returned to the living room, and Shen Xing subconsciously glanced at the corners of the room; he still couldn't put his mind at ease.

After all, his other self had suddenly appeared behind the bedroom door, and although it had vanished, it could just as easily appear before Li Naijing and Zhao Wenbo now.

Fortunately, the two had no intention of staying long; they declined the water and opened the living room door to leave.

Standing at the doorway, Li Naijing said, "Brother Zheng mentioned last time that if you encounter anomalies repeatedly, it's likely because you have a special attraction for them, so be careful from now on."

With that, she gave Zhao Wenbo a look. He understood, took a black, police-style telescopic baton from his bag, and handed it to Shen Xing.

"Keep this baton. You can use it for self-defense or physical attacks, and if the anomaly happens to be a ghost, press the button on the handle and strike at the target. It should be effective against ghosts about three times."

Shen Xing took the baton and thanked them, then frowned. "Why didn't I see Old Zheng use this at Song Xiaoyu's place earlier?"

Li Naijing smiled and said, "Don't mind him. He has many ways of handling these cases, and he rarely uses the same method twice."

"Also..." She paused, then added, "Your mental power is quite good. If you're interested, you can come to the Public Security Bureau to register once you pass the physical exam. Who knows, you might be on the government payroll in the future!"

Shen Xing was stunned. He suddenly realized that the physical exam was likely just an excuse for Li Naijing to get him to register at the Public Security Bureau; her primary goal was probably just to find a pretext to recruit him.

Of course, another purpose of the physical exam was to ensure that he hadn't been compromised by any anomalies before joining.

At that moment, a rather inappropriate but, upon reflection, strangely fitting analogy popped into Shen Xing's mind: he felt as if he were about to be castrated and sent into the imperial palace.