Jiang Cheng knew a bit about illustrators because he had a fixed client in this profession. They appeared free, but they were actually under a lot of pressure. They faced the pressure of deadlines, similar to those who wrote NovelFires. Based on what they knew of Lin Chen, Jiang Cheng believed this job matched her.
“Our investigation is moving too slowly.” Hua Luo was anxious. Maybe it was related to the information he received. “We cannot wait any longer. I suggest we check out Room 808 before the people from Building Three return.” The rest could understand his anxiousness. After all, the mission time limit was seven days, and half of it had passed. seaʀᴄh thё NovelZone.fun website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
“But… we have no key,” Fatty said.
“We can ask the landlord.” Hua Luo suggested, “He must have spare keys.”
“By the way.” Banana Wolf seemed to remember something, “Not every man who entered Sister Qing’s room was killed. The landlord is still alive, not because he is a good person, but Sister Qing still finds him useful.”
Wan Xiaoning frowned. “So… it was Wen Qing who caused the wounds on the landlord?!”
“Yes.” Banana Wolf swallowed. He saw the wounds on the landlord’s body and face before. They were scary. “Actually, the landlord was quite handsome. He was also a lover boy. Sister Qing didn’t want him to harm others, so…” Banana Wolf didn’t finish, but everyone got it. With his current looks, the landlord would only scare others.
As Banana Wolf finished, he suddenly realised everyone was looking at him strangely. “Why… are you looking at me like that?” He was suspicious.
“It’s nothing.” Jiang Cheng chuckled. “It looks like you’re quite close to Wen Qing.”
Chu Jiu used her innocent voice to tear down Banana Wolf’s disguise. “Brother Wolf,” She blinked. “You were in there for almost two hours. Did you only chat with her?” The travellers were hesitant because everyone referred to Wen Qing by her name, but Banana Wolf was different. He kept calling her Sister Qing and telling the others how difficult her life had been. Whose side was he on?
“We…” Banana Wolf pressed his lips and stammered, “We were only talking… about serious things.”
“Did you see that?” Fatty pointed at Banana Wolf and groused. “He just licked his lips. You saw it too! I suspect he has sold us out!”
“No. I didn’t do that!” Banana Wolf quickly explained, “I merely thought Sister Qing was a good person. She had a sad life. Plus, she wants to catch Lee Maoshen. That aligns with our goal!”
“Alright.” Hua Luo massaged his temples and changed the subject. “We’ll find the landlord and get him to hand over the key to Room 808.”
“No,” Jiang Cheng said directly.
Hua Luo had already turned and walked towards the door. When he heard Jiang Cheng, he turned around. “Why not? If we keep on waiting, it’ll only get worse!”
Jiang Cheng didn’t argue with him but reasoned in an even tone, “Have you considered what might happen if we open the door to Room 808?”
Wan Xiaoning answered, “Are you worried that Lin Chen is in Room 808?”
Jiang Cheng glanced at her. His interest in her had moved from her figure to her identity, but he hid it well. He nodded. “Since Wen Qing can appear in daylight, why not Lin Chen?”
Fatty’s face dropped. If the Doctor were right, something horrible might happen if they opened the door to Room 808. Wen Qing was not the scariest ghost in this mission. The person in black or Lin Chen might be.
“Mr. Hao.” Hua Luo looked at him. “Anyone can ask questions, but it’s harder to solve questions. I know the risks, but I think it’s worth it. If you disagree, please offer an alternative, and we can talk about it.”
Fatty translated in his mind, “Don’t just stand in our way and do nothing.” However, Fatty was familiar with the Doctor. If he brought something up, it meant that he already had a solution.
“Let’s go downstairs.” Jiang Cheng stood up. “We’ll ask the landlord about Room 808.”
They realised the door to the landlord’s room was locked. They knocked, and there was no answer. Hua Luo told them to stay back as he raised his skirt. With a swift kick, the door fell. The door was old, and splinters flew everywhere.
Fatty didn’t anticipate the man to be so vicious when he wanted to be. They looked around and failed to find the landlord. Wan Xiaoning said that he might have escaped, worried that they would take revenge on him. The tin can with the tea leaves and the big tea cup were gone. He probably wouldn’t return for some time.
The wooden table had a layer of glass. The glass covered many pictures and flyers for Ping An Apartment.
There were pictures of a handsome middle-aged man. He was around 40. He wore a flowery shirt, old jeans and canvas shoes. He glanced sideways at the top. This should be an old picture of the landlord.
Jiang Cheng tried to open the table drawers. They contained trash. One drawer refused to budge. Jiang Cheng remembered that the landlord kept the keys in this locked drawer. He took out their room keys from this drawer.
“Fatty.” Jiang Cheng turned towards Fatty, who held a screwdriver. “Pry open this drawer.”
“Okay.”
Everyone crowded over when the drawer was open. It was very clean with a large curved plastic plate. The plate was well-used with worn edges. Some spots were yellow.
There were hooks on the plate that carried keys.