Chapter 203: Building Three, Floor Thirteen
Old Wang nodded, taking a long moment to snap out of it. "When the elevator doors opened, I was truly terrified. My mind went completely blank."
"What happened next? Did that white figure attack you?"
"She ran off as soon as she saw me. What I still can't figure out to this day is that she made no sound at all when she ran!" Old Wang's gaze kept flicking toward Chen Ge's phone; these were the memories he least wanted to recall.
"Could you have been too tense and just missed the footsteps? Normally, even a barefoot person would make noise while running." Chen Ge didn't dare voice his true thoughts, afraid of deepening Old Wang's psychological trauma.
"Maybe." Old Wang himself wasn't sure. "The white figure turned and ran as soon as she saw me. I watched her, and for some reason, I wasn't scared anymore, so I chased after her."
"After running a short distance, I saw her slip into a woman's home. By the time I got there, the door was already locked."
"The harassed homeowner called the police, but when they pried open the woman's door, they found no one inside."
"The police later came to me. I couldn't explain it at all. After the white figure went into that woman's house, I stayed by her door the whole time and never saw her come out."
"The woman didn't return until the next day. She told the police she'd been staying at a friend's place and hadn't been home at all."
Old Wang's voice turned bitter. "Because of this, I was taken to the station and locked up for a night. Everything I said was the truth, but no one believed me."
Chen Ge could understand Old Wang's plight. A normal person would panic in such a situation. He himself had felt a bit flustered when he first encountered the mirror ghost, but after seeing more, he'd gradually gotten used to it.
"Did you see the white figure's face? Or any noticeable features about her body?" Old Wang was Chen Ge's breakthrough point, and he'd already struck gold just by arriving at Fanghua Garden. His luck was good this time.
"I was scared out of my wits. How could I pay attention to what she looked like?" The wrinkles on Old Wang's face tightened, making him look much older.
"Fanghua Garden is considered a decent neighborhood in Jiujiang. Didn't your security cameras ever capture the white figure?" Chen Ge really wanted to see the surveillance footage, hoping to find something unusual in the recordings from after midnight.
"When the haunting first started in that building, the property management discussed installing cameras at every stairwell corner with the homeowners. But they argued over the cost—management wanted the owners to split the bill, while the owners accused them of shirking responsibility. They bickered back and forth, and in the end, only one camera was installed on the floor where the woman lived."
"One is enough. Did that camera capture anything strange?" Chen Ge grew more curious.
"Whether it's a technical issue or something else, that camera often goes black at night for no reason, then comes back on after ten or twenty minutes. No one can explain why." Old Wang glanced at his phone. "Everything I've told you is the truth. I said the same thing to the police yesterday. It's getting late, so I'll head back."
Anyone could see Old Wang was brushing him off. He didn't want to continue this topic.
"Wait, can you tell me which room that woman used to live in?" Chen Ge blocked Old Wang's path.
"I'm not joking with you. We barely go near that place on patrol anymore, and almost all the homeowners on that floor have moved out." Old Wang spoke earnestly. "The police already came by yesterday. Before they finish their investigation, you'd better not go causing trouble."
With that, he walked out, his steps a bit unsteady.
Just before reaching the door, Old Wang waved Xiao Gu over and whispered a few words in Gu Feiyu's ear before leaving with peace of mind.
"Got it, don't worry."
Gu Feiyu saw Old Wang off and returned to the security booth alone. Seeing Chen Ge still standing nearby, he rolled his eyes. "Our captain said we can't let shady people in."
"Do I look shady?" Chen Ge leaned toward the booth. "Is what Old Wang said true? Did your neighborhood have a haunting?"
"I don't know. I'm new here." Gu Feiyu was honest enough, making him easier to deal with than Old Wang.
"New here?" Chen Ge's eyes darted. "They hired you as the night guard. Did they tell you why the last one quit? Could it be related to the haunting?"
Gu Feiyu had been filling out records in the booth, but at Chen Ge's words, he stopped writing. "What are you getting at?"
"When did you find out about the haunting?"
"Yesterday, when the police came to ask questions. I was there when Old Wang told them."
"So you've been kept in the dark. This property management is really shady—only one night guard on duty, and they're not worried about something happening?" Chen Ge felt like a man of justice, the type to step in when he saw injustice. "How about this: I won't make things hard for you since you have rules. Here's my number. If you encounter anything unusual or dangerous during your patrol tonight, give me a call. I'll cooperate with your work, and I hope you won't refuse my goodwill."
"Goodwill? I don't see it." Gu Feiyu muttered a few words but exchanged numbers with Chen Ge.
"Remember to call me if you're in danger tonight."
With that, Chen Ge slung his bag over his shoulder, circled around to the back gate of Fanghua Garden, and walked in as if no one was watching.
"The old guard is too timid to tell me the crazy woman's address. Looks like I'll have to trouble Wang Xin's mother."
Chen Ge approached the three newly built high-rises. He hadn't noticed it on his first visit, but now he saw something peculiar.
The three residential buildings were arranged in a triangular pattern, just like the three wards of the Rehabilitation Center.
Chen Ge entered Building Three. He wasn't specifically investigating it—Wang Xin's family lived here.
"Building Three, fourteenth floor."
It was already dark. As Chen Ge stepped into the building, he felt the temperature inside was much lower than outside, though it might have been his imagination.
The first floor was deserted, not a soul in sight. Chen Ge stood by the elevator, watching the changing numbers on the display.
The building had twenty-three floors, but the elevator panel showed twenty-four numbers. Chen Ge wasn't sure what the extra one meant.
The red number on the display dropped to 13, paused for over ten seconds, then continued decreasing, as if someone had gotten on at the thirteenth floor.
Soon, the elevator doors opened, and a woman in red high heels stepped out.
She was stylishly dressed, tall and slender like a celebrity, wearing a mask and a hat.