Broken Clues

"Damn, so you used to be a cop, Ethan Zhang? I really didn't expect that."

"Enough about that. Tell me, what's really going on with your friend?"

I pressed him for details. We were sitting in a breakfast shop, eating while Jason Zheng talked. He told us that a few months ago, one night, he and his friend went out singing. But after they returned, the next morning, his friend started acting strange.

"Did anything happen that night?"

Jason Zheng thought carefully for a long time, then suddenly widened his eyes.

"Right, that night I saw some guy in a suit come looking for my buddy. I don't know what happened after that. I actually thought my friend was about to get lucky, but after that, he just started acting weird."

According to Jason Zheng, ever since his friend met that impressive-looking man in a suit that night, he started acting extremely strange the next day. He stayed home all the time. Jason visited him several times and often heard him rambling nonsense, almost as if he'd gone mad.

"Do you remember seeing anything else that night?"

I continued to ask, but Jason Zheng just shook his head.

"I was so scared that night I passed out. I barely remember anything. But Ethan Zhang, are you guys really cops?"

Faced with this situation, Jason Zheng had no choice but to explain everything to his boss, asking for a favor for Lin Zishu. His boss agreed, so the day before, Jason brought his boss over. Unexpectedly, everyone who came died—except Jason.

Everything that happened here, I saw clearly in Jason Zheng's memories. We entered Lin Zishu's home—it was a mess, the room was in complete disarray, littered with old newspapers and piles of garbage everywhere. I looked around after entering.

This type of house was only about sixty or seventy square meters, with a living room, a kitchen, and a bedroom. The police had already been here before and conducted a thorough investigation. The previous warrant had also been canceled, and the case was handed over to the Ghost Burial Squad.

"Ethan, do you think that guy might be possessed by a ghost?"

I shook my head. I wasn't sure. Last night, when I saw Lin Zishu, there was a strange red-eyed dog's head hanging from his stomach. It looked bizarre. I released the Specter Web inside the house to check, but aside from some lingering yin energy, I found nothing.

Afterwards, Leo Li and I asked around the area, wandering for quite a while, but heard nothing useful. Most people said they didn't know anything. No one knew when Lin Zishu had arrived here, and apparently, the house he lived in hadn't been rented out for years.

Just then, Hu Tianshu called. Leo Li explained the situation to him, and after a brief conversation, Leo handed the phone to me.

"Ethan, go check the kitchen in his house."

We returned to Lin Zishu's place and entered the kitchen. It was covered in dust and completely empty. I reported this to Hu Tianshu.

"That's right."

I asked, a bit confused.

"Ethan, how long can a person survive without eating anything?"

In an instant, I understood. Aside from some trash not covered in dust, I truly hadn’t seen any food here.

"Also, Jason Zheng might be lying. Ethan, you checked his memories from the night of the incident, right?"

"Yes, Tianshu."

"Then what about his memories after he woke up from the coma? Did you check those?"

When Hu Tianshu said this, I realized I hadn’t checked those memories. He continued speaking.

"A normal person, after such a severe shock, would react much more strongly. Hurry and go find Jason Zheng."

Leo Li and I immediately returned to the chaotic street, got in the car, and headed straight to look for Jason Zheng.

According to Jason Zheng’s records, he lived near a landfill to the north, where new buildings were being constructed. The area was mostly waste collection sites, and he rented a unit in one of the new apartment buildings.

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Leo Li and I hurried over after noon, arriving at Jason Zheng’s place—a sixth-floor unit, 607. We knocked on the door for a long time, but no one answered. Later, we found the building manager, who told us the apartment had been vacated two days ago.

The manager opened the door for us. As soon as we entered, a foul stench hit us, and the room was filled with a chilling yin energy. Everything was chaotic, as if someone had left in a hurry. Jason Zheng had vanished.

After asking around, we learned that Jason Zheng had left around 11 o’clock, but no one knew where he went.

“Looks like things just got a lot more complicated,” Leo Li said. I sighed, and we kept searching, hoping to find any clue, but there wasn’t a trace. Everything led to a dead end.

“Maybe we should head back for now, Ethan. There’s a lot going on, and when we’re training the new recruits, we can investigate further.”

There was nothing else to do. I nodded, preparing to leave. At that moment, I noticed a photo pressed under a pack of instant noodles on the table. I hurried over and picked it up—it was Lin Zishu, with messy hair, looking quite handsome. The photo was vivid and ordinary, nothing special about it.

After thinking it over, I put the photo away. Leo Li called the local station, asking them to do everything they could to track down Jason Zheng. I decided to head back to the Ghost Burial Squad first.

Suddenly, as I was about to leave, something struck me.

“What’s wrong, Ethan?”

“Something’s off,” I muttered. On the way here, I checked—the place definitely had yin energy. Where there’s yin energy, there should be ghosts. Whether it was Lin Zishu’s place or here, something wasn’t right—not a single ghost in sight.

This situation reminded me of the old apartment building in the northern district, which was about to be demolished. There, too, was thick with yin energy, but not a single ghost shadow could be found.

But no matter how much I thought about it, without finding Jason Zheng, the case couldn’t move forward. I decided to return to the Ghost Burial Squad for now.

Afterwards, Leo Li and I had lunch, then drove straight back to the Ghost Burial Squad—it would take at least three hours to get there.

Finally, a little after 3 p.m., I could see the surrounding farmland. In the distance stood a large complex—the Ghost Burial Squad headquarters. The main gate was wide open, and as we drew closer, I saw the training field beside the main building, crowded with people.

At the entrance, I saw Justin Huang sitting in the gatehouse, grinning. Leo Li parked the car, and after I got out, Justin hurried over, his mysterious smile making me laugh.

"Ethan, be careful later."

I responded with a puzzled 'Ah,' not knowing what Justin meant. I hadn’t seen him in a long time. I reached out, made a fist, and bumped it with his.

"What’s going on over there?" I saw many Ghost Burial Squad trainees lined up, collecting something. Most of the team was present.

"Oh, we’re busy with the new recruits. I’ve assigned two groups."

Justin Huang said this, and I followed him inside. Hu Tianshu and Old Stone were chatting and drinking, talking non-stop. When I entered, quite a few people looked over. Among them, I saw Qian Ling and Zhang Qing—they’d already arrived at the Ghost Burial Squad.

As I walked over, several trainees glanced at me curiously. Old Stone came over, smiling at me.

"Sigh, Ethan, you really are something. Off playing around—why weren’t you more careful? If you’re going to the training room, watch yourself."