The words on the yellow paper were scrawled and blurry in the dim light. Gently patting Yiyi on the head, I softly asked, "Yiyi, is the 'Yi' in your name the one（一） from 'one（一）, two, three, four'?"
"No, it's the 'Yi' from 'still as it is' (依)."
"Then, could you let me see what you have in your bag?"
Seeing my firm attitude, Yiyi reluctantly unzipped her bag.
Besides textbooks and that group photo, there were a dozen postcards, all signed with the same name—Tie Yixiang.
I examined all the postcards; they were addressed to the city's public security bureau, with the most recent one sent just a day ago.
"Yiyi, why have you never mentioned your father?"
"My dad divorced my mom when I was very young. He went to Guangdong and only occasionally sends letters or money to me and my mom."
"And did your mom say anything before she left?" My eyes narrowed. This was the question I truly wanted to ask. A girl going out late at night to search for her mother clearly meant that her mother had left her. Given that my involvement came from the Hell Show commission, the truth was undoubtedly grim. I just wanted to understand why someone lurking in the shadows would target such an innocent and kind child.
The woman in red targeted Zhang Rong because Zhang Rong had destroyed her family, indirectly causing her death—a clear case of karmic retribution.
But from my brief interaction, Yiyi seemed pure at heart, with no connection to crime or misdeeds.
"My mom went on a business trip two weeks ago. She'd just been discharged from the hospital when her company picked her up."
"Her company picked her up?"
"Yes."
The girl's story had many gaps. I tried to slow down my questioning: "Your mom's been gone for so long. Aren't you scared being alone?"
"My aunt stays with me, and I talk to my mom on the phone every night."
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure. It's my mom."
Such a stubborn girl. I remained silent for a long time before squatting down in front of her.
"Yiyi, can you promise me something tonight?"
"What is it?"
Time seemed to freeze in the terrifying mortuary. Gripping her shoulders with both hands, I said, "If you see your mom tonight, don't go with her. Wait until dawn. You must wait until dawn!"
"Why?" Yiyi looked at me in confusion, her eyes as clear as water, shining like a highland lake.
"If you don't want your mom to live in eternal pain and regret, do as I say." Forcing a strained smile, I straightened up, my expression turning icy as I stared at the iron table in the center. "Come out. Stop pretending. I've already seen you!"
The iron table creaked as a little girl crawled out from underneath, holding a white cloth in her hand.
"You're here?" Yiyi was visibly startled. I had actually noticed someone under the table earlier but chose not to point it out.
"Why are you helping me?" The missing girl had led me here, clearly intending for me to see the driver's corpse. With this crucial evidence, all the fragmented clues in my mind finally connected.
The girl remained expressionless, seemingly oblivious to my question. She quietly covered the corpse with the white cloth again and walked toward the door.
I saw clearly—she was walking on two legs.
"Yiyi, do you know this girl?"
"No, I've never seen her before."
Not one of Yiyi's friends, and I didn't recall her from my own memory. Yet, her small figure seemed oddly familiar.
"Her build is similar to Sakura's, but her face is completely different." Quickly following her lead, Yiyi and I trailed behind the girl as we left the room.
None of us obeyed Liu Bànxiān's instruction to leave the room backward while facing the iron table. As a result, none of us saw the corpse on the iron table slowly sit up after we turned our backs.
"Ten evils, none can be spared..."
After exiting the room, the little girl led us to the backdoor of another building. She opened a window and deftly climbed in.
"What's this building for?" Confused but following her lead, I climbed in as well. A simple wooden desk inside held two old computers.
The little girl stood still next to the computer, her hand pointing at the screen.
"Do you want me to turn it on?" Plugging in the power, I booted up the computer.
The outdated system was slow, taking a full minute to reach the loading screen.
The eerie blue light illuminated the room, making everyone's faces look unsettling.
"Uncle, it looks like someone's coming outside," Yiyi said from the door. I pulled her back before she could peek out.
"Find something to cover the monitor. Don't let the light show," I instructed. As Yiyi moved to comply, I positioned myself behind the door, slipping my phone through the window crack to film the corridor.
"Left side's clear. Right side..."
As I panned to the right, my heart sank. I almost dropped the phone.
The live stream showed a woman crawling on all fours down the right-hand corridor. Her hair hung loose, and she looked like a starving wild beast.
Signaling to Yiyi and the little girl to hide quickly, I covered the monitor with a cloth and crouched behind the door, holding my breath.
"How did Zhang Rong get in here? And where's Wang Chunfu?" Thinking back, I realized Zhang Rong's body seemed to have a lot of blood on it.
"That crazy woman..." With only a door between us, her footsteps grew closer, pausing at each door for a moment.
"She's almost here." Keeping the phone brightness to a minimum, I angled the camera toward the window's edge.
Moments later, a deranged face rose into view, pressing against the window to peer inside.
A gust of night wind pushed the window slightly inward. My heart clenched in panic.
In my haste to cover the monitor, I'd forgotten to shut the window. If Zhang Rong leaned in just half a hand's width more, she'd spot me hiding behind the door.
Every second felt like an eternity. When her footsteps finally resumed and her grotesque face vanished from the camera, I exhaled deeply.
"She's gone?" Rising cautiously, I peeked out with my phone. The corridor on both sides was shrouded in darkness.
"It's safe for now. You can come out." Rushing to the computer, I skimmed through the files on the desktop. "What does this girl want me to see? Huh?"
My eyes locked onto a file titled "Cremation Schedule for the 25th."
"Yesterday was the 25th, wasn't it?" Opening the file, I found a straightforward table. The first column listed names, the second ages, followed by cremation times, storage periods, and special notes.
"Uncle, what does this table mean? Aren't these the names of the people we rode with earlier?"
"Wang Jianye, Wang Jianbang, Wang Chunfu, Zhang Rong, Zhou Wei, Qu Fei..." Reading the names aloud, I felt a mix of the thrill of discovery and an overwhelming sense of dread.
"On the morning of the 24th, a major accident occurred at the Miyun Residence. Cranes operated improperly by an intoxicated Wang Chunfu caused three deaths and multiple injuries. The bodies remain at the Third Bridge Crematorium pending further instructions due to unresolved compensation issues with the victims' families."
"On the morning of the 24th, a woman from Huayuan Apartments' Building 9 committed suicide by overdosing on sleeping pills. She had severe mental illness, reportedly due to repeated abortions rendering her infertile. Her parents disowned her, and her body remains at the Third Bridge Crematorium pending further instructions."
"On the afternoon of the 25th, a traffic accident occurred on Huayuan Road. The deceased, Zhou Wei, was sent to the Third Bridge Crematorium for temporary storage."
"Late on the night of the 24th, cancer survivor Qu Fei passed away. His body is temporarily stored at the Third Bridge Crematorium."
...
By the time I reached the last entry, my back was drenched in sweat.
"So far, only three people's identities remain unconfirmed: Yiyi, the little girl, and Yuan Feng."
Continuing my search for older records, footsteps echoed again in the corridor outside, this time sounding like a man running.
"Uncle, we should hide!"
"You two hide first. Leave me alone," I said, eyes glued to the screen, my hands sweaty as I scrolled. "Two weeks ago, two weeks ago... There it is, Tie—"
"Bang!"
The unsecured window was pushed open, and a disheveled figure leapt into the room. Backing against the door, he hurriedly locked the window.
"Yuan Feng?" He clearly hadn't expected anyone inside and froze. Recognizing me, he blurted anxiously, "Turn off that computer now! That lunatic Zhang Rong is here!"