Suzanne and Wenwen Deng look the same; Creato's body has changed from the "monster birth theory" to the "ghost possession theory".
But Middendorffi's denial was decisive: "No."
Henry said, "How do you know it's not?"
"I can tell." Middendorffi said, "And if it's the soul of a dead person, Eli can remove it directly."
Henry said: "You know that without Eli even saying it?"
Eli said, "He's not wrong."
"..." Henry choked for a couple of seconds at the one-two punch but said, "You guys are excellent, but you may not be experts on this ... "
Middendorffi said, "I can't be wrong."
With Middendorffi's tone of voice rather raw, these words make other people listen, afraid to quarrel. However, Henry and Lupin thought that he had lost his memory before and was still naive today and that his ability to understand, feel and express himself might not have fully recovered, so they didn't mind his cold and hard retort.
Lupin also changed his mind and said, ''It's just business anyway. After all, now that thing looks like Deng Wenwen, it's possible it's still the same. According to the process, the colleagues in the 'Collector' who specialise in this area will still have to make a trip to take a look. Besides, they've only seen the Interpol before; what if what's on Creato's body is clear enough for them to see it too?"
Henry also said, "Don't worry, you won't be excluded from this case. As long as you guys contribute, the reward will count."
They persuaded him so hard that Middendorffi stopped talking.
The four of them were silent for a short while; Henry and Lupin knew this was considered a tacit agreement because Middendorffi and Eli were the "silent duo". Henry said: "OK, then we will arrange it as normal; anyway, it will not affect your participation in the case. If we have any news, we'll share it with you."
He stood up and said, "Let's go; it will be rush hour after work in a while; take advantage of it to check out the house. Bear just mentioned going to the Underworld Revelation Society to investigate the source. If we can meet the core members of the Underworld Revelation Society, we'll pass it on to the police, and we'll tell you guys as soon as we have any information."
Lupin follows, "I'll talk to the others about the characteristics of what Bear mentioned. As well as sending someone else to look at Creato, compare the databases to see if you can identify anything similar. By the way, Bear, are Henry and I still not haunted by that thing in your eyes?"
Middendorffi only then resumed speaking, "Nope."
"It's funny how we know almost everything except the name, and it hasn't infected us yet ..." Lupin mused slightly, "So, the name is probably extremely critical to this thing's factor."
Eli coldly said, "Since the name is the key to the infection, she wouldn't have used a pseudonym."
This point of view of his made sense; if Suzanna was the resentful spirit of Deng Wenwen's death, how could she rely on a fake name to spread? But with Eli's tone of voice and context, he's helping Middendorffi counter the challenge. Henry smiles slightly bitterly, "Come on, guys, wouldn't it be more of a testament to your great abilities if our colleague couldn't help? We'll have to wait for news and arrangements for everything now, so will you see the house?"
Eli looked at Middendorffi, who didn't dwell on the question, "Go."
Henry watched them stand up as they spoke, secretly relieved, "Success, let's go then; we'll have dinner after the viewing, by the way ..."
***
When others look at a house, they may have to examine it inside and out, in detail, inside and outside the neighbourhood and the surrounding facilities.
Middendorffi and Eli look at the house: one stop in the living room, one probe in each room, and that's it.
"Huh? That's it?"
Henry, who asked his colleague for the keys, was confused: "You haven't even been in the house for three minutes, and you're just wandering around the neighbourhood?"
Middendorffi was also confused: "What else to see?"
"Look at the state of the furniture ah, the situation of the decoration ah, the various electrical appliances, the network and whatnot ..." Henry said, suddenly slapping his head, "Hey, I'm talking to one of you amnesiacs, one of you just entered the world to say this for what. Why don't I help you guys see some highlights directly."
And so Henry, a usually windy and fierce man, led two men who seemed to care nothing about the quality of life while inspecting and explaining some of the essential facilities of the entire house. A quick check showed that the furniture, plumbing, electricity, and everything worked; the internet and gas had to be dealt with.
"How about ...?" Henry, who had acted as an agent for once and was feeling a little throaty after the round, looked to the two men who hadn't said a word almost the entire time, "Any more questions or thoughts?"
Middendorffi and Eli responded back and forth, "Nope."
Henry asked again, "Considerations then?"
This time, Middendorffi and Eli looked at each other before Middendorffi started, "I can."
A little smile rose under Eli's eyes, "I could too."
"Both of you, I'm asking you to go back and think about it; there's no rush to conclude now." Henry was helpless, "How about you two, you're all 'I do' and 'I do too' like you're married?"
Middendorffi didn't quite understand what he was talking about, and Eli wasn't sure if he got the analogy, but Eli called back, "There's nothing to hesitate about."
"So who sleeps in which room, decided?" Henry said, "Something important can be discussed beforehand, so we don't wait to move in and then fight over it."
The main bedroom was slightly more extensive and better orientated, but Eli took the initiative and said, "Bear's main bedroom."
"Really?" Henry was a little surprised, "Is it possible that the rent you set aside is not quite enough?"
With Eli's temperament, Henry thought he had defaulted to go to the main bedroom himself. Now that Eli took the initiative to give up his place, Henry could only think of one reason: people with more enormous bedrooms usually have to pay a little more rent.
Eli, however, bashfully replied, "The monthly payment is still enough to split with Bear at the moment."
Half-reminding, half-certain, Henry asked, "You split it equally?"
"Or else?" Eli said, "When I have more savings, I'll remember to give Bear some payment for taking me in before."
"I'm not talking about that ... Well, decide for yourselves." Henry said, "Since neither of you have any opinions, it's almost time to prepare for the signing and moving. Eli may need to buy some daily necessities, as well as the network at Bear's home, if it was originally run by you, just migrate it over here....Hey, what am I talking to you about? I'll check it out and migrate it for you when the time comes. A little help you migrate is all."
As he said that, he turned around and walked towards the door, "Since you've made your decision, let's go. Let's find a small restaurant nearby for dinner today, and you guys can familiarise yourselves with the surroundings. By the way, when the time comes, everyone will come to help you move, and you can also AA, that is, collectively pay for a meal together to celebrate your official cohabitation."
Middendorffi wondered again, "'Celebrate officially living together'?"
"Haha, I said it off the top of my head. But don't people have fun celebrating after a big, positive change?" Henry opened the door to his room, "Besides, you two hit it off so well; it's a formal celebration of your meeting and acquaintance, right?"
"A celebration of our meeting ..." Middendorffi repeated half of the sentence in a low voice after him, still with little expression but a slight uptick in tone, "You're right; it is to be celebrated. "
Eli walks at the end, sniffing and giving a wordless chuckle.
***
After dinner, Middendorffi and Eli returned to the one-room household where they still lived temporarily.
It would never have occurred to Henry that these two seemingly congenial people barely talked to each other when they got home. Other than the necessary exchange of information, the two spent most of their time at home in relative silence. The more audible sounds were Middendorffi watching videos on his tablet. He would have been watching it with headphones on, but Eli noticed and said he didn't mind the sound being out and would sometimes sit next to him and watch it together. It's become the thing the two do most together in the house.
Today, Eli watched Middendorffi go to the bathroom, get a drink of water, and then sit down on the couch to turn on the tablet as if he were going through the motions of going home, and then suddenly said, "You're different today."
"What?" Middendorffi put the tablet down and tilted her head to look at him, "What's different?"
"You were talking a lot today, in front of that Suzanne. And a lot when you were talking to those two at the 'Collector'." Eli stepped up and looked at him with downcast eyes, "You said more today, in one day, than you have in days combined."
Middendorffi seemed to freeze, then asked, "I talked a lot today?"
"A little more, but not in a bad way." Eli sat beside him and said slowly, "Those words of yours were logical and poised when confronted with Suzanne's lies. You saw the holes in her language and silenced her."
Middendorffi looked at him, "I just ... thought of those words ahead of time."
The sign was evident; after all, Middendorffi didn't quite go along with Suzanne's words, forcing his way back to his own track of the conversation. But Eli didn't say any of that; they just said, "Good thinking ahead and good proctoring. You were able to refute everything that demon said. When communicating with the 'Collectors', you could distil all the truth underneath Suzanne's lies and convey it to them."
After he finished saying this, he paused briefly, then said slowly, "You're brilliant. It's just that those days when I first met you, you were always very quiet, and you were very quiet at home. If you're willing to express yourself, I think everyone else will grow to know you and understand that your advice is trustworthy enough."
"... Yes?" Middendorffi felt that Eli had spoken to his heart but could not completely express what was in his mind and could only weigh his words and say, "But I have too much memory loss, and I am afraid that if I say it wrongly, others will not understand it."
"It's already completely enough for daily communication, sometimes, your expression is even clearer than many people." Eli said, "How can you practice if you don't say more? Don't worry about what people think of you. Since you lost your memory before, the person you are now is the new you, whatever kind of person you are."
"'Any kind of anything' ...?" Middendorffi repeated his words, seemingly thinking about something, and Eli waited patiently. After a while, Eli finally waited until Middendorffi spoke again, "So, can you help me practice talking more?"
Eli smiles slightly, "Of course."