Chapter 401: Candid Photos

The articles were shocking to read, but their view counts and comments were dismal. Compared to celebrity gossip, this kind of news barely made a ripple with the public.

In an era where massive breaking news dropped constantly, Zhang Heng's reports on ghosts and deities failed to draw much attention. Even the few who stumbled across them simply brushed them off, treating them as little more than ghost stories.

"This reporter ignored the most popular, profitable material. Instead, he wandered the streets of Shuangfo District day in and day out, digging up rumors of cults and Buddhas. Even if those things actually existed, the authorities would never let him speak the truth. That's why I called him a strange man." Li Jingyu stood to pour herself a glass of water. She blew lightly over the surface to clear away the impurities, then took a small, elegant sip like a Persian cat.

"He certainly is unique. I'm getting more and more interested in your request." I quietly committed the clues Li Jingyu provided to memory. "Most of his articles rely on clickbait titles, while the actual content is vague and lacks real substance. Do you think he's just grandstanding? Or does he actually have earth-shattering secrets that he's too afraid to make public?"

"I wouldn't know. Every profession has its specialty. You're the great detective, so I'll leave the analysis to you," Li Jingyu said with a smile. After getting my confirmation, she completely relaxed, and her gaze softened a bit as she looked at me.

She had nothing to her name and couldn't offer a dime in payment. The fact that I was willing to help her investigate was a massive favor on its own.

"I need to plan my next move. First, I have to gather some information on this guy." Setting my phone aside, I grabbed a pen and paper and listed every article Zhang Heng had written concerning Shuangfo District. There were fifteen in total. They spanned three administrative districts across Xinhu City, with eleven of them focused specifically on Shuangfo District.

One of the articles even included a photo of him. He had sheep-like eyes with whites showing all around the irises, a pointed head, and a narrow forehead. His eyebrows were heavy, and his hair looked scorched. He had a wide mouth with thin lips, a sharp nose, a weak chin, and ears that folded back.

Even though I didn't know much about face reading, my first impression was that he had an ominous look about him. Not that he looked brutal or vicious, but rather that his fate was destined to be treacherous—fraught with peril and terrible luck.

"This guy has the look of someone destined to die young. I need to go find him immediately, or something might happen if I'm even a step late." I set the pen down and shoved the paper full of notes into my pocket. "I'll find the evidence as fast as I can. You'll just have to lay low here for a while."

"I'll be waiting for the good news."

It was exactly ten in the morning when I left Li Jingyu's rented apartment. I didn't stick around, immediately catching a cab to Zhang Heng's address.

Zhang Heng was also from out of town. He rented a place in Haixing District, though it was far from the factories, making it a fairly decent neighborhood for Xinhu.

The residential complex was small, consisting of just three rows of older family apartment blocks.

I didn't head straight upstairs to look for him. Instead, I tracked down the landlord, an old woman in her sixties.

Pretending to be interested in renting a room, I followed her upstairs for a tour. As we walked past Zhang Heng's door, I made sure to pay close attention to it.

Making casual small talk with the landlord, I slowly coaxed out the information I needed.

Zhang Heng did live there, but he was rarely home. According to the landlord, he was a quiet, unsociable oddball who kept strictly to himself.

One year, during the Dragon Boat Festival, the old woman had made zongzi and delivered them door-to-door to all her tenants. Zhang Heng was the only one who acted incredibly secretive, refusing to even let her step inside his apartment.

Then, just two nights ago, the landlord heard Zhang Heng screaming in his room in the dead of night, sounding completely out of his mind.

She had been about to go up and scold him, only to see him sprinting out of the complex with something in his hands. He hadn't been back since.

The old woman was remarkably kind. Despite Zhang Heng's eccentricities, I could hear a trace of genuine worry in her voice.

Having gathered the intel I needed, I excused myself, lit a cigarette, and took a stroll around Zhang Heng's apartment complex.

"Leaving in the dead of night two days ago and not returning since... this timing is very interesting." I pulled out the sheet of paper detailing his articles. "Zhang Heng's final article—about Lu Xing, the killer from the Jiangcheng serial murders, appearing in Shuangfo District—was published exactly two days ago. And that night was the exact time the Death Game began. Are the two connected? Did Zhang Heng actually find Lu Xing? Is Lu Xing hiding in Shuangfo District right now?"

After falling off the dam and taking a knife to the gut from me, Lu Xing definitely hadn't recovered yet. Meanwhile, I had just finished my tenth live stream and gained the help of three more ghosts, causing my strength to skyrocket. With his power waning and mine growing, this was the perfect opportunity to kill him.

"Before I head to Shuangfo District, I need to find this reporter and ask him about the exact details. Better safe than sorry."

I waited until noon, but Zhang Heng still didn't show up. After lingering outside the complex for a little while longer, I decided to stop wasting time.

It was past one o'clock now. The sun was high in the sky and there were very few pedestrians around, so I slipped quietly into the apartment complex.

I had already figured out the detailed routines of the residents. I made it to Zhang Heng's door easily, without running into any issues along the way.

"People lie, but objects don't." I pulled the Skeleton Key from my pocket. It originally belonged to Detective Number Three, and I had quietly taken it after the Death Game ended.

It only took a few seconds to open the single-layer security door. Moving swiftly and without hesitation, I slipped straight into the apartment.

"I have my reasons for this, so I hope you won't hold it against me." Placing a piece of paper at the door, I closed it and covered my nose and mouth with my hand.

The apartment hadn't been cleaned in ages, and a faint stench drifted through the air.

"One bedroom, one living room, and a private bathroom. His little life is decent enough." The TV in the living room was still plugged in, its standby light flashing red. A half-eaten, foul-smelling container of fast food and a nearly full bottle of soda had been tossed onto the coffee table.

"These signs show he left in a massive hurry. What exactly happened?" I didn't touch anything inside. Instead, I stood by the door and swept the room with the Judging Eye. The living room was a mess. Shoes were haphazardly left by the entrance, and clothes were thrown on the sofa without being tidied up. "A textbook single shut-in."

I stepped further inside and pushed open the bedroom door.

There was barely any room to step. Aside from a large bed, the remaining space was packed full of various tools and documents.

"'Where Do We Go After Death', 'The Weight of the Soul', 'Does Buddha Exist'..." Most of the books in the room fell into this category. To avoid leaving fingerprints, I put on a pair of dust gloves to flip through them. Every single book had been read thoroughly, and I could see Zhang Heng's notes every few pages. The man possessed a terrifying thirst for knowledge.

After checking the books, I returned them to their original places, crouched down, and carefully inched my way forward.

I wasn't unfamiliar with the tools on the floor: tripods, camcorders, and fixed-lens cameras.

They were completely normal pieces of photography gear, but they had all been modified. The camcorder's casing had been replaced to make it more convenient and lightweight.

The fixed-lens camera was fitted inside a homemade case. When held in hand, it looked a lot like a men's wallet.

A toolbox sat in the corner, neatly organized with various types of lenses, data cables, and repair tools.

"This guy is a pro." In the eyes of someone who knew the trade, a microchip, a lens, a data cable, and an outer casing were enough to assemble a basic hidden camera.

Thinking of this, I looked around and noticed a faint red light flashing beneath the air conditioner.

"Installing a camera in his own home... that's deranged enough." I dragged over a chair and took the camera down, then found several more modified hidden cameras around the room. Pens, belts, watches—the dazzling variety made it look like this guy was a spy embedded in Xinhu to anyone who didn't know better.

"The surveillance footage is synced to a cloud drive. If I want to leave without a trace, I have to delete these recordings first." I turned on the only computer in the apartment. As soon as it booted up, I jumped in fright. The desktop wallpaper was a bloody male corpse. A man wearing a baseball cap stood beside the body, holding a sharp knife. He stabbed it into the back of the victim's neck and dragged it downward, looking as though he was preparing to peel off the dead man's skin.

The entire image had been taken secretly. The man in the baseball cap was completely unaware that his crime was being recorded.

"Is this the flaying case Zhang Heng talked about?" I looked at the man in the cap on the desktop background, and the more I looked, the more familiar he seemed. "Isn't that Lu Xing?"