Ding Ruxiao’s expression gradually darkened, and her hand holding the phone trembled slightly.
Seeing her like this, Zuo Si instantly felt a bad premonition.
“Zhang Wenlong couldn’t have found out about us so quickly, right?”
Zuo Si suddenly regretted his earlier decision; after all, he had just had a confrontation with Zhang Wenlong that very night.
How could he seek revenge on him the same day?
“Wait, it’s only been half an hour; Zhang Wenlong should still be on his way to the hospital.”
As Zuo Si was lost in thought, Ding Ruxiao hung up the phone.
He hurriedly asked, “What’s wrong? Why do you look so pale?”
“Lu Liangyuan is dead…”
Just a few words sent a chill down Zuo Si’s spine.
Lu Liangyuan’s sinister smile suddenly appeared in his mind.
“Lu Liangyuan actually died?”
Zuo Si found it hard to believe; how could that old man, who had been so lively at the Police Station, be dead so soon?
It had only been a few days!
If he had heard this news before encountering ghosts, he would have surely been happy.
But now…
He even hoped Lu Liangyuan could still be alive.
At the very least, that way, he wouldn’t be able to leave the Police Station.
But if Lu Liangyuan had turned into some ghostly thing…
Zuo Si dared not think further.
He looked at Ding Ruxiao.
He quickly asked, “When did he die? How did he die?”
“Just an hour ago; the cause of death was liver poisoning…”
“Liver poisoning?” Zuo Si frowned, “Was he poisoned by someone?”
“No, this is a late-stage symptom of cancer; it can happen at any time.”
“Late-stage cancer? How is that possible? Lu Liangyuan didn’t look like he had late-stage cancer!”
“I don’t know, I don’t know…” Ding Ruxiao’s face looked very bad, and her mood was extremely complicated at that moment.
This demon that had caused her brother’s death had not yet faced legal punishment; how could he just die so easily!
Ding Ruxiao’s body swayed slightly, and Zuo Si quickly stepped forward to support her, saying, “Given the situation, don’t think too much; at least we caught him.”
Ding Ruxiao nodded and said, “I’m fine.”
Lu Tao was confused, not understanding what Zuo Si and Ding Ruxiao were talking about, but he still stepped forward to comfort her, saying, “Sister-in-law, there’s no hurdle in life that can’t be crossed; just try to think positively.”
Ding Ruxiao frowned and said sharply, “I have no romantic relationship with Zuo Si; I hope you speak with a bit more respect.”
“Uh…” Lu Tao was left speechless, feeling quite awkward, glancing between Zuo Si and Ding Ruxiao, unsure of what to say.
Zuo Si also felt an emptiness in his heart, as if he had lost something.
“I’ll head home first…”
Ding Ruxiao waved her hand and stopped a taxi.
“I’ll take you!”
Seeing her face so pale, Zuo Si naturally didn’t feel comfortable letting her go back alone.
“I’ll go too!” Lu Tao also got into the car.
Inside the car, Zuo Si and Lu Tao were afraid of provoking Ding Ruxiao further, so they didn’t dare to speak.
They remained silent for over ten minutes.
Suddenly, Ding Ruxiao asked, “Zuo Si, can I ask what you borrowed money for?”
“Uh… I bought a haunted house at Huaxing Haunted House; if you have time, you can come and play…”
After Zuo Si finished speaking, both Ding Ruxiao and Lu Tao looked slightly surprised, inquiring about the haunted house’s operations. Upon learning that it was still in the ‘clearing’ stage, they both expressed their willingness to help.
Once the conversation opened up, the atmosphere became less awkward.
The three discussed how to arrange the haunted house, brainstorming ideas for Zuo Si.
After dropping Ding Ruxiao off at home, Zuo Si and Lu Tao booked a room at a nearby hotel and slept for the night.
*****
The next morning, the sun was shining brightly.
Lu Tao took a day off from the funeral home and accompanied Zuo Si to Huaxing Haunted House.
Arriving at the entrance of the haunted house, Lu Tao couldn’t help but exclaim at the sight of the large haunted house.
“I’m telling you, Zuo Si, did you do something illegal to have this much money to buy such a big place?”
“Stop talking nonsense; first, help me with the weeding. I’ll check inside the haunted house!”
Zuo Si tossed Lu Tao a sickle and walked toward the haunted house with the keys.
He opened the rusty iron chain and swung the door open, instantly greeted by a cold gust of wind.
This wasn’t the interior of the haunted house but a buffer room; to enter the horror scenes, one had to go through here.
The buffer room was divided into two parts: the left side was the entrance for visitors, while the right side was the entrance for staff.
According to Qin Hui, various monitoring devices were set up in the staff passage.
They could detect visitors’ movements in real-time, allowing for better activation of scare points and quicker rescue of those visitors who were terrified.
Zuo Si entered the right staff passage and was surprised to find it very clean inside.
Looking up, he saw various monitors running, and the scenes on the screens were identical to the second floor of You Ren Hospital…
“They even set up the monitors for me!?”
This unexpected surprise made Zuo Si very happy, saving him a lot of trouble.
He clenched the news report about Meng Miaoxue in his hand and entered the ‘Screaming Hospital’ horror scene through the staff passage.
“I wonder if Meng Miaoxue can appear during the day; it would be best if she could, as I don’t want to come here at night…”
As soon as he entered the horror scene, Zuo Si felt the temperature drop significantly; it was a patient room with flickering lights.
He surveyed the surroundings and noticed there were three beds.
And there were actually ‘people’ on them…!?
Zuo Si swallowed hard; even though this horror scene belonged to him, he still felt a bit scared.
What if there were other things?
No, there were indeed other things here; where was that extra soul…?
Could it be hiding among those three ‘people’ on the beds?
“Actually… I could livestream to promote my haunted house.”
Zuo Si took out his phone and selfie stick; the promotion was a pretense, but his fear was real.
With the Chat protecting him, the fear factor would be significantly reduced.
“Since it’s broad daylight, I can’t use the midnight livestream title; otherwise, no one would watch.”
He changed the livestream title to ‘Welcome to Huaxing Haunted House in Qingshui City’!
He started the livestream.
After a successful connection, the livestream room displayed a picture.
After sending out the broadcast notification, Zuo Si slowly walked toward the three figures.
Their entire bodies were covered with white blankets, motionless.
Zuo Si gradually approached, wanting to lift the blanket to see what was hidden underneath.
Perhaps a pillow?
Perhaps a doll?
Or maybe that unknown ghost?
The Black Mobile Phone didn’t mention it would come with such scary props.
Zuo Si reached the bedside, his trembling right hand slowly extended toward the blanket.
Just as he was about to touch the blanket…!
The three figures suddenly sat up!
The white blankets slowly slid off, about to reveal their true forms…