What Was Scarier, Evil Ghosts or Poverty?

"Once an Anomaly Event reaches level 4, the risk of losing control increases dramatically. We have to snuff it out before it grows."

Time was short, so Gao Ming planned to head to Sishui Street while it was still daylight and get a clearer picture of the situation.

"Seventeen, Wan Qiu, you two are coming with me." Gao Ming picked up the backpack full of Posthumous Photographs. "Miaomiao, stay in the office. Call me if anything happens."

"I'm coming with you." Zhu Miaomiao stood up too. "I won't hold you back."

"It's not about whether you'll hold us back." Gao Ming walked up to Zhu Miaomiao, stopping just half a step away. "It's about trust. Can I trust you completely? If my orders conflict with the Investigation Bureau's, whose will you follow?"

Zhu Miaomiao hadn't expected Gao Ming to ask a question like that. As a firefighter, obedience was her duty, and rules and regulations were the standard she followed.

"Until you've thought it through..."

"You saved me. I'll follow you." Zhu Miaomiao looked serious, her answer firm and decisive.

"Bring your axe. Come with us."

All the members of Investigation Team One gathered at the Investigation Bureau's back entrance. No one from the other investigation teams asked any questions. Everyone at the Investigation Office knew about Investigation Team One's situation. Some gloated, some felt sympathy, and others saw themselves in it and couldn't help sighing. Ever since Anomaly Events had appeared in Hanhai, the Investigation Bureau had been on the back foot. Everyone was desperate for a victory. They needed hope, even just a little.

As the vehicle headed toward the East District, Yan Hua and Wan Qiu sat in the back and finished reading the information in their Black Rings, gaining a rough understanding of the Anomaly Event.

Yan Hua looked fierce and frightening, but she was very patient with Wan Qiu, who had also suffered a tragic childhood. She never demonstrated her strength by preying on the weak.

Gao Ming took out his phone. Without even opening his contacts, he entered a number directly.

The call connected after only two rings, and a woman's gentle voice came through. "Do you need me to come over?"

Gao Ming hadn't even spoken, but Xuan Wen seemed to have already guessed what he wanted to say.

"Sishui Street in the East District. We're planning a big job tonight, so we've come early to scout the place."

"Didn't you join the Investigation Bureau? Why do you sound like a gang member?" Xuan Wen seemed to still be working. The clatter of her keyboard continued over the phone.

"Someone's feeding a Strange Tale, helping it grow quickly. If we don't stop them soon, it could get out of control." Gao Ming was in an Investigation Bureau vehicle, so he couldn't go into too much detail. "See you in two hours. You'll get to feast tonight."

"Okay, but there's something else I want to ask you." The typing on Xuan Wen's end suddenly stopped, and her voice became even sweeter.

"What is it?"

"Why do you video-call Wei Dayou but only make voice calls to me? Am I not as good-looking as him? Or do you not want to see me? Do you think we're just business partners?"

"..." Gao Ming covered the phone and looked around. Zhu Miaomiao was concentrating on driving, while Yan Hua and Wan Qiu were reading the information on their Black Rings. They all seemed busy with other things, but their bodies were tilted slightly toward him. "We still need to take our time getting to know each other."

"My hands and feet were tied up, and you sat beside me drinking two cups of milk tea. Is that your idea of trying to get to know me?"

"We'll talk in person." Gao Ming hung up and looked out the window.

At the same time, in Nightlight's office, Xuan Wen looked at her phone screen and gently took off her headphones, the faintest hint of a smile on her face.

She wanted to free herself from every restraint, become a living, breathing person, and enjoy everything being human had to offer, including freedom, dignity, and true love.

At nine that morning, they arrived at the Meiling Wonton Noodle Shop on Sishui Street.

Gao Ming and the others had finally found somewhere to park and planned to eat here first, but a filthy old man stopped them as soon as they got out.

"I saw it! You're all going to die! Tonight! Tonight's the night!"

The old man shouted theatrically. He wore a tattered padded coat and two mismatched shoes. With one of his front teeth missing, his words came out with a slight whistle.

"What did you see?" Gao Ming stopped. They really were going to do something very dangerous that night.

"You! You! And you! Disaster will strike all of you tonight! If you want to live, you have to stick this Talisman Paper above your bed!" The old man pulled open his ragged coat and took out a handful of worn talismans. The Talisman Paper looked quite old.

"Can I inspect the goods?" Gao Ming had the old man come over to the car. He showed every piece of Talisman Paper to Wan Qiu, but Wan Qiu didn't react at all.

"Well? Want to buy some?" The old man's tone was strange, and he seemed a little mad.

"No need." Gao Ming grabbed the Fire Axe. "This is what I believe in."

The old man jumped in fright, turned around, and ran.

"Why do you keep scaring people with my axe?" Zhu Miaomiao shoved the Fire Axe under the seat. "Don't you have a weapon of your own?"

They entered the Meiling Wonton Noodle Shop. Before they could even order, a waitress scattered a handful of salt over their shoes.

After scattering it, she hurriedly bowed and apologized. She was so excessively polite that Gao Ming was baffled. "Why are you throwing salt on us?"

"That crazy old man you met when you got out of the car—there's something unclean about him!" The waitress looked to be in her forties and had a kindly face.

"If he's dirty, you should spray disinfectant. What good does salt do?"

"Not that kind of unclean!" The waitress ushered them into their seats before continuing. "His surname is Wu. No one knows his full name, so everyone calls him Uncle Wu. He lives on the most haunted floor of the Sishui Street Apartments."

The middle-aged waitress spoke conspiratorially. "Did you notice how he always wears that thick padded coat? And how he keeps lots of Talisman Paper hidden on him?"

"Wearing a thick padded coat in this weather is pretty strange." Gao Ming opened the menu.

"There are lots of apartments where people died violent deaths in the Sishui Street Apartments. New residents get talismans to put up in the corridors to protect their homes and help them settle in. The talismans Uncle Wu carries are all ones he tore down from those apartments. He's always going in and out of places like that, which is why he feels so cold. Why else would he always wear such thick clothes? We all suspect there's a Ghost attached to him!" The waitress described it all vividly.

"Tearing down Talisman Paper meant to protect other people's homes? That old man's pretty rotten." Gao Ming poured himself a cup of tea and began ordering.

"The Sishui Street Apartments are notorious as a haunted building in the East District. Tragedies happen there every year, and more and more apartments become sites of violent deaths. But the place seems to have some special magic that draws a steady stream of people in." Worried that Wan Qiu had touched the Talisman Paper earlier, Zhu Miaomiao took out a tissue and wiped his hands.

"That so-called magic is the cheapest rent in the entire East District. Evil ghosts aren't half as scary as poverty!" A Middle-Aged Woman with a child at the next table chimed in. "I live in the Sishui Street Apartments too. Once you get used to it, it's nothing special. All that haunting stuff is just nonsense people spread online."

"You live in those apartments?"

"Yes, and my place is one where someone died violently. So what? My kids still run all over the place, perfectly healthy and safe." The Middle-Aged Woman dipped her chopsticks in water and used them to work out the figures for Gao Ming on the table. "Those places come fully furnished. The previous owner doesn't want any of it, so that's your first saving. Compared with the other apartments on the same floor, they can cost tens of thousands less. And when you live in a place like that, some nasty neighbors get scared of you. You don't have to bow and scrape to anyone."

"Aren't you scared?" Zhu Miaomiao meant no disrespect. She was simply curious.

"Scared?" The Middle-Aged Woman looked utterly dismissive. "I'm not even afraid of dying. What else is there to fear?"

(End of chapter)