Translator: Cinder Translations
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Jiang Cheng went to the second floor yesterday, and everything was consistent with what the girl said.
The boy's and girl's bedrooms were easy to distinguish—one was filled with various dolls, while the other had military weapon posters on the walls and military journals on the desk, giving off a strong military fan vibe.
Next, both groups turned their attention to Jiang Cheng and the girl.
"This family seems to have had a fierce argument. We found many broken plates and cups in the trash can, some of which even had blood stains," Jiang Cheng said.
The girl added, "There are also some marks on the wooden staircase railing that we believe might be scratches left by fingernails."
This was a lead that couldn't be ignored. The group went to the staircase, and following the girl's finger, they indeed found some friction marks.
The burly man touched the marks with his hand, his expression changing slightly. "No doubt, they are scratch marks."
In a family of four, with a poor family atmosphere, broken dishes, scratch marks, and a young girl who may have been imprisoned, any combination pointed to a family tragedy.
There had once been a girl who suffered abuse here.
"So what do we need to do next?" the male clerk whispered, "Rescue this poor girl?"
"No matter what happened here belongs to the past; we cannot change the past," said the woman with a mole by her lips. "What we can do is uncover the truth and then end the mission."
"But haven't we already deduced the truth?"
The burly man grew increasingly impatient. "What the hell! How was the girl abused? Who participated in the abuse? Is the girl dead or alive? We don't know any of that, so how can we end the mission?"
Shouted at by the burly man, the male clerk was too scared to say a word.
The girl looked at the male clerk with pity.
Gulugulu.
Gulugulu.
Everyone turned toward the source of the sound; the fat man sheepishly covered his stomach. "Um…"
"Forget it, we've searched the first floor pretty thoroughly. Let's prepare to eat," the burly man said, feeling a bit hungry after a morning of chaos.
Just as everyone was getting ready to cook, a voice came from behind. "That place hasn't been checked yet." Jiang Cheng pointed to the bathroom where the middle-aged man's body lay. "I think there might be clues there."
Hearing this, everyone's expression turned serious. Everyone knew what Jiang Cheng was thinking, but convincing themselves to check was difficult.
After all, someone had already died there; entering the bathroom might touch on the taboo surrounding the cause of death.
When the search areas were assigned, everyone had tacitly avoided that spot.
In the end, reason triumphed over fear. The burly man took a deep breath and said, "He's right; there might be clues hidden there. Although it carries some risk, if we don't solve this mission, we all die."
The woman with the mole rarely didn't refute him. She clearly understood the stakes but still sarcastically said, "So who will go?"
At this moment, Jiang Cheng interjected, "Who has been in the first-floor bathroom? Just entering the door counts."
Everyone raised their hands.
After counting the number of people, Jiang Cheng continued, "So everyone has a chance of triggering the death taboo, so this isn't just about finding clues; it's also about saving our own lives."
The girl frowned and asked, "Then we can't all go in together, right?"
The burly man stroked his stubble and nodded. "The space inside is too small. If too many people go in, we won't be able to act if something happens."
"True," Jiang Cheng nodded. "I estimate that two people would be enough."
"Then who volunteers to go in?" the male clerk at the back said excitedly.
The crowd fell silent.
"Alright, let's draw lots to decide; this way, it's fair to everyone," Jiang Cheng said, spreading his hands.
"Okay!"
"I agree."
After some preparation, Jiang Cheng took out several slips of paper, two of which were shorter. He rolled them into small scrolls in front of everyone and placed them in his palm, saying, "The person who draws the short slip goes in. No problem?"
"This method is definitely fine, but…" The fat man stared at the small scrolls in Jiang Cheng's hand, swallowing hard. "Why are there only five slips? There are six of us."
Others had also noticed the problem and were looking at Jiang Cheng in confusion.
"Because I didn't go," Jiang Cheng said naturally.
Everyone was taken aback, then some became angry. The burly man shouted loudly, "Who says you can just not go?"
"Because I haven't been to the bathroom."
"You've been here for a whole day and night, and you've drunk so much water. How is it possible you haven't gone to the bathroom?" The male clerk seemed to find an outlet for his frustration, yelling hysterically, "You just want to be tricky! Let him go in alone then!!"
The woman with a beauty mark on her lip stared at Jiang Cheng with an unfriendly expression and sneered, "Playing tricks here will come at a cost."
"I know," Jiang Cheng replied without changing his expression, "but I really haven't been to the bathroom; I have evidence."
He raised his hand and pointed in a direction, probably towards the windowsill. A gust of wind lifted one corner of the curtain, revealing two mineral water bottles placed behind it.
One was full, and the other was half full, both showing a faint yellow color that definitely wasn't normal for mineral water.
They shimmered enticingly in the morning light.
"What is this..." The male clerk's eyes widened suddenly.
"Uh-huh," Jiang Cheng nodded, slightly embarrassed to admit their guess, "I thought the bathroom was darker, so I..."
The burly man looked at Jiang Cheng with a complex expression.
Then the woman: "..."
The male clerk: "..."
The girl: "..."
The fat man: "You're really a little clever boy!"
Since Jiang Cheng hadn't gone to the bathroom, everyone found it hard to say anything else. The remaining five drew lots, and Jiang Cheng stretched his neck to watch.
In the end, the burly man and the male clerk were the lucky ones chosen.
After they opened the bathroom door, they discovered that the middle-aged man's body was missing.
The bathroom wasn't big enough to hide an adult's corpse.
"This isn't the world we're used to," the woman behind suddenly said, "so it's normal for some incomprehensible things to happen; you'll get used to it."
Just as she said, the burly man showed no surprise on his face, while the male clerk, feeling miserable, cried and clung to the door, only to be kicked inside by the burly man.
The rest waited outside.
The search was very efficient. In less than five minutes, the two emerged, the burly man holding a piece of white tissue paper.
After closing the bathroom door, everyone gathered in the living room, and the burly man unfolded the tissue paper, revealing a strand of hair.
"I found it in the bathtub of the bathroom; it wasn't there yesterday."
The burly man was very cautious, even avoiding touching the hair with his hands.
The hair was long and should belong to a woman.
(End of chapter)
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