After roll call, Sun Zhibing adjusted his glasses and said, "By the way, I have good news for everyone. The school is organizing a summer inter-departmental event. Other departments have to pool their money and find a place themselves."
"Mr. Zheng Tiance, Zheng Shaoming's father, has sponsored our department for a two-day trip to the high-end summer resort owned by the Zheng Group, completely free of charge!"
Hearing this, everyone became excited.
"We'll meet at the playground after lunch the day after tomorrow. The department has arranged for a bus to take us all there."
"At the end of roll call, I propose we all give a round of applause to thank Shaoming!" Sun Zhibing cast an eager smile at Zheng Shaoming, only to find that his expression was not good, and he didn't even look at him.
In the back row, Jiang Chen was taken aback, vaguely sensing something was off.
"Logically, someone of Zheng Tiance's level would know things ordinary people don't. Knowing that things aren't peaceful lately, why would he still take on such a large event..."
He pondered for a moment, gathered his Demonic Power, and his pupils slightly heated up as he looked at Zheng Shaoming.
The next moment, Jiang Chen's eyes flickered. He saw two black handprints on Zheng Shaoming's shoulders, as if something had grabbed him.
"There's a problem..." He frowned, thought for a moment, and then shook his head.
He had just had a conflict with Zheng Shaoming, and advising everyone not to go now would make him seem petty.
"Forget it, at most I'll go along and take a look." Ultimately, Jiang Chen decided not to meddle. He wasn't a saint; improving his own strength was the most important thing now.
After roll call, he rested in his shop in the morning, browsing recent crime news on his computer.
The tea shop Zheng Shaoming mentioned was actually owned by Jiang Chen. Being a transmigrator, although he hadn't achieved anything earth-shattering, he used the initial capital left by Old Zhang to open a few small shops on campus. Now he had assets worth over a million, with continuous income.
Otherwise, he wouldn't dare rent a place for five thousand a month.
Of course, all his efforts over the years couldn't compare to the house Sister Hong gifted him.
He attended two classes in the afternoon.
After dinner, around seven, Jiang Chen took a cab to Tianfu Road.
By the time he arrived, it was already dark. There was an old residential complex nearby, with only a few households showing lights.
Jiang Chen glanced at his panel, feeling confident as he got out of the car.
[Host]: Jiang Chen
[Ghost Qi]: 9
[Demonization Card]: Red Python Demon (1-Star), Hunshi Demon King (1-Star)
He entered Building One and knocked on the door of 101.
"Who is it?" An old man's voice came from inside; he didn't open the door.
"Sir, do you know which unit Zhang Meimei lived in?" Jiang Chen asked.
In the morning, he had searched for disfigurement cases on forums and found many discussions. Someone claimed to be from Tianfu Road Residential Complex and revealed that before the disfigurement case, a woman had died in the complex.
Zhang Meimei, her body was disfigured.
Hearing this name, the old man inside was silent for a moment before saying, "I don't know, never heard of her. You should leave; it's not safe around here lately, be careful."
After speaking, the old man walked away, leaving directly.
"Denied it twice, he's hiding his inner panic. He definitely knows the name but seems afraid to mention it." At the door, Jiang Chen stroked his chin, deep in thought.
"Even if it's a deceased neighbor, it shouldn't be such a taboo, right?"
"I'll ask someone else."
Jiang Chen knocked on two more doors, and upon hearing Zhang Meimei's name, they reacted as if hearing a taboo, shutting the door with a changed expression, unwilling to say more.
"I must be in the right place. Perhaps Zhang Meimei lived in this building before her death, and something happened afterward, making the neighbors so wary."
He looked up at the dark corridor. Despite it being midsummer, the building was cold, with a smell similar to a hospital.
"Such an old complex, without even a security guard, probably has no property management for regular disinfection."
"So where is this disinfectant smell coming from?"
With doubts in mind, Jiang Chen continued upward. On the fourth floor, he saw a household with the inner door open. Through the old iron grille security door, a little girl was eating a bowl of rice.
"Little girl, why are you eating in the corridor?" Jiang Chen smiled warmly and walked over to ask.
The girl glared at him, "Uncle, you scared my friend away!"
"Friend?" Jiang Chen looked around in confusion; there was no one in the corridor.
"Yeah, he was just here eating, but you scared him off when you came up." As soon as the girl finished speaking, a woman's scolding voice came from inside.
"Yaoyao! Who are you talking to?"
Then a woman in an apron came out, glanced at Jiang Chen, and frowned upon seeing a stranger, "What are you doing in our building at this hour?"
"Ma'am, I'm looking for someone. Do you know Zhang Meimei?"
Hearing the name, the woman's expression changed. She waved her hand as if shooing a fly, "Don't know her, you should leave!"
She was about to close the door but sighed and advised, "Take my advice, leave here quickly. It's not safe in the complex lately. If you hear someone asking you, 'Am I beautiful?' on your way down, don't respond, just run."
Jiang Chen's eyes narrowed, "Why?"
"Because if you say she's not beautiful, that woman will go crazy and hack you to death!" the woman said sternly.
"What if I praise her beauty?" This chapter was taken from g.com without permission.
"Heh, do you think flattering someone who's been disfigured will earn her goodwill?" The woman laughed strangely, "No, you'll only make her more insecure. At that point, she'll make you look just like her!"
Bang!
After speaking, the woman pulled her daughter away and slammed the door shut.
"Thanks, ma'am." Jiang Chen nodded, turned to look at the medical beauty ads on the corridor wall, and formed a hypothesis about the case.
Continuing upstairs, on the fifth floor, Jiang Chen saw a door slightly ajar, with a faint smell of blood wafting from inside.
"Something happened?"
He pushed the door, finding it heavy, and applied more force.
Bang!
A corpse fell to the ground.
It had been propped against the door, revealing this horrific scene when opened.
Jiang Chen wasn't too afraid. He crouched down to examine it and found it was a man's body, with no visible wounds except for a face hacked beyond recognition.
"He was hacked to death, his face mutilated while alive, enduring a painful struggle."
Jiang Chen murmured, suddenly hearing hurried footsteps from the stairs. The next moment, a woman rushed down. She wore tight jeans and a white shirt, her face fair and delicate, no less beautiful than Lin Youwei.
But now, her face was full of panic, her shoulder's clothing torn with a bloody gash, exuding faint black Resentment Qi.
"A living person?" The woman frowned upon seeing Jiang Chen, pulled him out of 502, and slammed the door shut.
"If you want to live, don't speak!"
She opened the wooden door between two units, leading to a water valve room, a small space usually visited only for checking the water meter.
"Get in!" She was strong, pulling Jiang Chen inside, closing the wooden door, and taking a yellow talisman from her jeans pocket, chanting and sticking it on.
"Upper Clarity protect, Cavernous Mystery conceal!"
Jiang Chen saw the talisman emit a faint yellow glow, seemingly isolating the space from the outside.
"You..."
"Shut up!" The woman covered his mouth, "This talisman only hides the living's aura. If you don't want to die, don't speak!"
As soon as she finished, a woman's crazed laughter echoed in the corridor.
"Hahaha, am I beautiful?"
"Don't run, I just want to know if I look beautiful now!"
Tap tap!
From the sound, someone was rushing down from the sixth floor.