Frightening Joke: Above the Mist
Chapter 32: After modification - 32 Pretending

Chapter 32: After modification: Chapter 32 Pretending

The story unfolds in two places.

At the Ruyi Hotel, Bai Yanliang had just gathered some news.

"They are staying in room 406?"

"Yes, sir, another gentleman asked about it just now. Are you friends with him?"

Bai Yanliang nodded, "Sort of. May I ask... how long has it been since he left?"

The receptionist glanced at the clock on the wall and said, "Almost an hour."

Almost an hour...

Damn.

Bai Yanliang thanked the receptionist and was about to leave when he noticed another female receptionist who was on the phone suddenly stand up, look around, and then shout, "Excuse me... is Mr. Xu, Miss Jiang, Mr. Bai, or Mr. Feng here?"

Bai Yanliang’s heart skipped a beat. He walked over and said to her, "I am Bai Yanliang. Please give me the phone."

The receptionist quickly handed the phone to him, her gaze filled with doubt, since the call was from the police department.

"Hello?" Bai Yanliang answered the phone.

"Bai Yanliang?"

"That’s me."

There was a moment of silence on the other end, and then the voice of Li Yuejun came through.

"I just found out something. The owner of the Ruyi Hotel, Ding Lei and his brother Ding Peng are twins!"

Bai Yanliang raised his eyebrows, and the puzzle pieces in his mind started to come together.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!"

"I understand now..." Bai Yanliang paused for a moment, then said, "Stay at the police station. I will handle everything here."

On the other side, Li Yuejun looked somewhat puzzled. Bai Yanliang had already hung up the phone and instructed her to stay put.

Is he... that confident?

What a strange guy.

Although her heart was unsettled, Li Yuejun couldn’t deny the strong sense of security this relatively unfamiliar man gave her. It seemed that... as long as he was around, even ghosts weren’t so terrifying...

...

Feng Xinghan had run into trouble, Bai Yanliang was certain of it.

He looked up at the ceiling, his gaze seemingly penetrating the floors.

Jiang Li and Xu Zhi’an were still hiding on the rooftop. Although there were two highly decayed corpses lying in the water tank there, it might still be the safest place, or so it seemed.

As for Li Yuejun, she hadn’t conducted much investigation and wasn’t clear about many things. Her ability to keenly sense that Ding Lei and Ding Peng were twin brothers was already a significant contribution.

In fact, even Bai Yanliang had overlooked this point, which had been a persistent conundrum for him.

Zhang Wen got Ding Peng’s help to kill Li Yuhua with nothing but an unreliable verbal promise.

Even someone driven mad by money wouldn’t believe such foolish nonsense, but... Ding Peng really did cooperate with Zhang Wen.

This was something Bai Yanliang couldn’t understand at all.

Why?

Why was Ding Peng so sure that after killing Li Yuhua, he would gain a fortune?

Only when Li Yuejun’s call came through did he understand everything.

The reason Ding Peng was willing to cooperate with Zhang Wen was that he had a plan of his own!

Bai Yanliang had fully pieced together the whole incident. He glanced at the receptionist and said, "Please call Boss Ding and inform him that the police will come tonight and hope for his cooperation in investigating... the disappearance of his sister-in-law Zhang Qiao."

The receptionist widened her eyes and looked at Bai Yanliang in confusion, somewhat at a loss.

"Sir... may I ask who you are?"

Bai Yanliang looked at her solemnly and said, "Police officer, badge number 015386, I hope you can cooperate."

The female receptionist was visibly frightened and hurriedly nodded, beginning to dial Ding Lei’s number.

Bai Yanliang no longer paid attention to her but looked towards the fourth floor, obscured by several layers of ceiling. It’s been an hour since he came down... Feng Xinghan might never come down in his lifetime.

"Help... help!"

A scream full of terror echoed from nearby.

Several receptionists and Bai Yanliang turned their heads simultaneously to see a short, frail male employee rushing out, his face pale.

"Wang Sheng? What’s wrong?"

The female receptionist at the counter looked at him and asked in confusion.

"Dead... he’s dead! Brother Jiang is dead!" His eyes were full of horror, and even in the brightly lit lobby, he couldn’t stop trembling.

"Ah!"

Several women covered their mouths and gasped, looking at each other in panic.

Fortunately, Bai Yanliang had just impersonated Yang Wanlong and borrowed his badge number. At this moment, he stepped forward and looked at Wang Sheng: "I’m a police officer, take me to the scene."

Wang Sheng looked at him with a mix of suspicion and fear, his eyes turning to the other receptionists.

Seeing the women nodding repeatedly, he finally made up his mind.

"He’s... he’s in the restroom."

With Wang Sheng leading the way, Bai Yanliang reentered the employee lounge. The narrow corridor seemed... a bit too tight.

The restroom was at the end of the hallway, somewhat dim, and Wang Sheng was extremely reluctant to go back in but didn’t dare leave this "officer" behind.

After much hesitation, the two finally entered the restroom.

The horror in front of them was too much for Wang Sheng, who gagged and didn’t dare to take another look. But Bai Yanliang remained silent, quietly observing the corpse in front of him.

Looking at the deceased male employee.

He was still wearing the Ruyi Hotel staff uniform, his limbs twisted grotesquely. The skin on his face had been completely torn off, revealing the scarlet facial muscles underneath.

His eyeballs hung outside their sockets, his entire face a bloody mess, utterly terrifying.

But the most horrifying sight was his hands; Jiang Chaojie’s fingernails still had flesh stuck under them, dripping blood, suggesting... he had clawed off his own face and gouged out his own eyes.

Bai Yanliang didn’t ask Wang Sheng what happened earlier. He believed that even if he asked, the man who was scared out of his wits wouldn’t be able to answer.

Moreover, Bai Yanliang was certain that this wasn’t a crime committed by a human but by a ghost.

"Where is Jiang Chaojie’s room, take me there."

Bai Yanliang’s gaze fell upon Wang Sheng, his voice calm and commanding, causing the already distraught Wang Sheng to nod repeatedly.

Bringing Bai Yanliang to Jiang Chaojie’s doorstep, Wang Sheng appeared restless.

"Go on, don’t let anyone enter the employee area until your boss arrives," Bai Yanliang instructed.

Upon hearing this, Wang Sheng nodded quickly and ran off in a hurry.

Bai Yanliang watched him leave, and after he was gone, the surroundings seemed to grow colder.

With one swift kick, Bai Yanliang pushed open the door to Jiang Chaojie’s room.

This man and Wang Sheng had witnessed the hidden corpse yet chose to keep it secret for hush money.

Bai Yanliang didn’t believe that so-called hush money could resolve such a matter. Ding Peng had already killed one person, so killing two more wasn’t anything significant, after all, only the dead could keep secrets forever.

However... Ding Peng indeed hadn’t harmed him.

Bai Yanliang stepped into Jiang Chaojie’s room and began searching around.

Only when he discovered an agreement deep within the closet did he stop.

Everything was now explained.

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