At 11:46 PM, I had taken on the fierce and intimidating appearance I wore during the day, waiting at the street corner for David Chow. We agreed to meet here, since this spot was well-lit.
The whole street was lined with bars and KTVs. Men and women roamed wildly along the road, and the security here wasn’t great—fights broke out often. Even at this hour, police cars were still patrolling.
Gradually, I saw an orange Beetle drive up—David Chow. He parked in an empty spot behind me and got out.
"Can we talk now?"
I asked. David Chow nodded, clutching his briefcase and hurriedly rummaging through it before pulling out a document. He glanced around nervously.
"This matter, you might not believe me when I tell you," he said. "When I took over as manager here, the handover was all mysterious. The previous manager disappeared without explanation, but I secretly copied some files."
David Chow chuckled, looking at me. I smiled back—he was pretty clever, after all.
Then David Chow led me to a large bar nearby. We went up to the second floor, got a private room, and ordered drinks and food.
"People say I’m brainless, scared of my wife, totally henpecked. But I’ve always been cautious—that’s how I climbed this far, never making mistakes. Heh, brother, let’s have a drink first."
I picked up a can of beer and drank it down. But it had no taste at all. For a ghost to eat or drink, it must be offered by the living.
David Chow was a member of Changhua Construction Co., Ltd., a powerful company with investments in many places. He managed the mall next to Dragon Plaza.
I looked through the handover documents David Chow provided and saw Gregory Wu’s name, but his whereabouts were unclear—only the words “work reassignment” were listed.
I searched through all the documents while David Chow watched me nervously from the side.
“So, brother, what exactly do you want? You don’t look like you’re here for money.”
“I don’t want money. It’s useless to me.”
David Chow sputtered, spraying his drink. I hurried to clarify.
I’m not here to threaten you or ask for money. I just want to investigate this person, for certain reasons.
It’s true—everyone wants money, but I’m dead now, so no amount of money matters.
“Brother, this—” David Chow began, hesitating.
I smiled and looked at David Chow.
Do me one more favor—find out where Gregory Wu went. Once you have some information, I’ll delete the video, and your wife will never know about this.
After I finished speaking, I left, leaving David Chow behind, still looking like he wanted to say something, his face troubled.
As soon as I left the bar, Snake appeared beside me, dressed exactly the same except for a tear streak on her left cheek.
Follow him, please.
Snake nodded, stretched, and slipped back into the bar.
At that moment, I noticed a poster outside the bar for Leah King—the design showed a butterfly breaking out of its cocoon.
June 13th, Dragon Plaza, Leah King 10th Anniversary Concert. I smiled with delight. I’d promised to introduce Leah King to Redmane before, but never got the chance. I wondered how she was doing now.
Strangely, there was only this one poster—none anywhere else. I couldn’t help but feel puzzled.
“That girl has had a rough couple of years,” someone suddenly said beside me.
Suddenly, John Chou spoke beside me. I quickly took out my phone. Oddly, the phone worked perfectly in the human world, so I got online and started searching.
Instantly, I was shocked by the headline: Leah King implicated in a murder case, accused of killing out of jealousy. I immediately opened the news article.
Just as Leah King’s career was about to take off, her manager worked tirelessly to get her a part in a TV drama. Leah King auditioned for the lead role, but got into a heated argument with a popular newcomer in the dressing room.
In the end, Leah King was cast as a supporting character, while the newcomer got the lead. A few days later, when the drama was about to start filming, Leah King met the newcomer at a hotel. Less than ten minutes after Leah King left, the newcomer was found dead.
Leah King was named the prime suspect. After countless interrogations and investigations, her career took a nosedive. The so-called concert was actually arranged by her manager, who had to rent the venue and work as a cleaner at Dragon Plaza for three months as part of the deal.
After reading all this, I sighed and checked the comments—mostly insults, calling her a murderer and accusing her of just wanting fame.
Supportive voices were almost nonexistent, and those that did exist were just sarcastic.
I couldn’t help but feel sad. I’d seen how hard Leah King and her manager worked, but it was all for nothing—Leah King had become poison in the entertainment world.
Where is she now? Why isn’t Basil Bertram helping?
I asked, and John Chou just smiled.
“Go see for yourself, brother,” John Chou said.
I started searching for Leah King's current address. She had moved out of the city center to an old district in the north, living in a run-down apartment building. Someone had even posted photos of Leah King and her manager moving in.
I soon arrived at the apartment building—a decades-old structure. The surroundings were terrible: uneven, damaged roads, puddles everywhere, and piles of garbage next to the building.
I reverted to my original form and went to Leah King’s apartment—third floor, right side. I knocked, but no one answered, so I went back downstairs. It was nearly 1 AM and they still hadn’t returned.
I turned into a ghost again and continued searching. Not far from the building was a night market—there I found Leah King and her manager.
I quickly moved over, found an empty alley, took on a visible form, and walked out.
I saw Leah King and her manager sitting at a street stall, eating skewers and drinking.
“Leah, eat more. In two days, it’ll be your big moment. I’ve worked hard to promote this concert.”
Leah King nodded and ate. No one around seemed to recognize her; after all, she’d barely appeared in public for over three years.
I watched quietly for a while. Despite their predicament, both seemed cheerful and optimistic, looking forward to the upcoming concert.
I was concerned about the murder case involving Leah King. It didn’t seem simple—the actress was killed brutally, her face skinned and stabbed multiple times.
I walked over slowly. Instantly, Leah King and her manager saw me and stood up in surprise.
“Officer Zhang, where have you been these past two years?” Leah King’s manager asked hopefully.
Her manager looked at me hopefully and walked over. I smiled awkwardly, and Leah King smiled with joy.
“Sorry, I was away for a mission these past two years.”
I sat down. Though I said I wouldn’t eat, the manager insisted and handed me some skewers. I ate a little out of courtesy, and we started chatting.
Leah King had gone to apologize to the newcomer, since the argument had started because of her. The actress kept making sarcastic remarks, and eventually Leah King couldn’t hold back and argued with her.
Leah King wasn’t lying—she apologized peacefully and left. Ten minutes later, the actress’s manager returned and found her dead, then called the police.
Leah King got caught up in this and has been suffering for two and a half years. She’s had fewer and fewer opportunities.
“Please help us, Officer Zhang,” Leah King said earnestly.
Leah King looked at me seriously. I thought for a moment—since I had nothing urgent, I decided to take them to see Redmane. Her manager was stunned.
“Will Mr. Redmane even be available at this hour?” the manager asked.
“Trust me, we’re friends. If I call him, he’ll come. Let’s go to Redmane Entertainment.”
Leah King and her manager were overjoyed. I decided to do my best to help them. I hadn’t seen Redmane or Hwang Pho for a long time, and John Chou had just told me that Hu Tianshuo, Lan Yin, and Huang Jun were all staying at Redmane’s company for now.