At 12:50 in the afternoon, the sun was at its peak.
The flashing red and blue police lights pierced through the sunlight, arriving at the entrance of this rarely visited abandoned hospital.
Police officers in neatly pressed blue uniforms got out of the police cars and quickly set up yellow and black police tape outside the hospital.
Soon, the officers had surveyed the scene.
On the back of the door, there were only two hollowed-out heads filled with white wax nailed to it. The remaining body parts were brutally dismembered into dozens of pieces, packed like trash in black garbage bags, abandoned in the corner, breeding countless flies and maggots in the hot weather.
Everyone realized the severity of this gruesome dismemberment case.
Some of the officers were rookies who had just graduated from the police academy this year, and their expressions betrayed their shock upon seeing such a horrific scene.
However, the female officer with a ponytail remained calm and methodically directed the scene.
The squad leader, Gao Mu, was the captain of the criminal police unit, a senior officer who had been transferred from the National Security Special Forces Bureau six months ago.
The National Security Special Forces Bureau was a legend in the eyes of all police officers. So, although Gao Mu was directly appointed as the squad leader upon transfer, there was no one in the bureau who questioned her authority.
Being transferred from the National Security Special Forces Bureau to the grassroots level was considered a demotion in a sense. Although no one knew why Gao Mu was transferred out of the Special Forces Bureau, her capabilities were evident to all.
Once the scene was under control and the forensic pathologists arrived, Gao Mu walked back to the police car.
In the police car, Zong Qi sat obediently, wrapped in a blanket and holding a bottle of mineral water, while another auxiliary police officer was getting a basic understanding of the situation and providing psychological counseling.
Gao Mu watched for a while from a distance.
Having mastered psychological profiling, she quickly noticed that Zong Qi not only responded fluently but also showed no abnormality in his expression, apart from being somewhat frightened, far from having any psychological trauma.
“We meet again.” Gao Mu approached directly.
Seeing the squad leader, Zong Qi felt a bit awkward.
He blinked and extended his hand from under the blanket, waving it like a beckoning cat, “Hi, what a coincidence.”
It indeed was a coincidence.
In the two months since Zong Qi became a paranormal streamer, he had encountered Gao Mu at least five times.
“The dispatcher said you had a brief confrontation with the killer?”
Zong Qi touched his nose and nodded.
Gao Mu looked him up and down, “You are quite lucky.”
“If you still plan to do paranormal streaming, take some time to learn self-defense.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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“The 110 dispatch takes time to reach us. This is my police phone number. If you encounter danger next time, call this number directly.”
Zong Qi accepted the card, surprised and grateful, “Thank you.”
Captain Gao usually appeared stern and businesslike. Although Zong Qi had seen her several times, their exchanges were minimal. He didn’t expect her to offer help this time.
Zong Qi immediately began to reflect on his previous stereotypes. It turns out people cannot be judged by appearances, and good people don’t have “good person” written on their faces.
“By the way.”
Speaking of which, Zong Qi finally remembered what he had accidentally forgotten.
He smiled awkwardly and asked the auxiliary officer, “Officer, can you help me recharge my phone?”
The two officers present: “…”
After Zong Qi reconnected to the internet, logged into the streaming platform, and posted a status to reassure his audience, the forensic pathologists emerged from the abandoned iron gate.
“From the time of death, this is not the primary crime scene.”
Removing his gloves and mask, the forensic pathologist glanced at Zong Qi standing by the police car and concluded.
“Judging by the cuts, the killer is skilled in dissection. The livor mortis (postmortem lividity) shows a deviation. We lean towards the victim being dismembered postmortem, though we can’t rule out the possibility of anesthesia or sedatives being used. We’ll need further toxicology and autopsy to confirm.”
The assistants packed the scattered remains into body bags and loaded them onto the vehicle. Zong Qi remembered the traces he saw during his live stream, likely the marks left by the killer dragging the black bags.
Hearing this, Gao Mu’s expression grew even more serious.
Such a large-scale, brutally executed case indicated the killer had a strong penchant for theatrics and was quite bold.
She nodded, “Thank you.”
These brief clues would be crucial in the initial stages of solving the case. But for a more definitive conclusion, further forensic verification was needed.
For some reason, Gao Mu had a premonition.
This case might be difficult to handle.
While the criminal police continued their on-site investigation, Zong Qi followed a team of auxiliary officers back to the police station to give his statement.
“Oh, it’s you again.”
Several police officers at the station greeted him with a smile.
This handsome, clean-cut young man had visited their station so often recently that he was a familiar face to the officers who rarely went out on duty. Especially after learning about his background—living with his grandmother until she passed away last year, and now working hard alone to support himself—they couldn’t help but feel sympathetic.
Often, after giving his statement, Zong Qi would get a free meal from the station’s cafeteria.
Zong Qi couldn’t help but smile back and greet everyone.
During the following statement, he realized he couldn’t reveal anything about the “Horror Movie Director” system, so he instead recounted his paranormal investigation experience in detail.
Although the incident was dangerous, he hadn’t actually come face-to-face with the killer, so he wasn’t too worried about retaliation. Of course, unless the killer found his livestream.
To help the police catch the killer quickly, Zong Qi racked his brain to recall all the clues and details from the scene.
“The killer’s voice is unique, as if it has been strangely burned. If I hear it again, I will definitely recognize it.”
After talking for a long time, Zong Qi felt a bit parched.
So he greeted the officer organizing the notes and stepped outside the interrogation room to get some water.
“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh”
Pure water flowed out, spiraling into a disposable cup.
As he watched the filling cup, Zong Qi shook his head, reflecting on his bizarre accident-prone nature, then leaned against the wall and reopened his phone.
“Who would have thought that I would encounter a murderer during a paranormal investigation? Truly strange.”
He hadn’t had time to explore the new mysterious system he obtained.
Zong Qi remembered that after completing the novice task, he received 100 points and a major script called “The Horror in the Desolate Village.” So he went straight to the point and clicked into the [Movie Script] section of his personal homepage.
This interface displayed various movie posters, divided into [Major Script] and [Minor Script].
The Major Script section had a lit-up poster of “The Horror in the Desolate Village,” while the Minor Script section had a lit-up poster of “Mental Hospital.” Other posters were in a locked gray state.
Major scripts required advance scheduling and essential [Movie Clues] to unlock and select actors for large-scale productions.
Minor scripts could be completed by the director alone and could be triggered at any time, like the incident where he encountered the murderer during his paranormal investigation, classified as a minor script.
Zong Qi clicked into the Major Script section, browsing the other posters with interest.
The first poster depicted a highway with several wrecked cars at the end. Blood flowing from the cars stained the white speed bumps red, and a shadow loomed under a distant tree, hinting at the unusual nature of the accidents.
[Major Script, Route 44, Not Unlocked]
The second poster showed an abandoned school, covered in cobwebs and debris. Despite being long deserted, a light was on in a seventh-floor room, casting overlapping shadows.
[Major Script, Friendship High School, Not Unlocked]
The only lit-up poster depicted a remote mountain village, surrounded by towering trees and endless mountains. At the center of the village, a well had a strand of wet black hair draped over it.
[Major Script, The Horror in the Desolate Village, Unlocked]
Zong Qi took a cursory look, noticing that all the scripts were horror-themed, befitting the system’s name. He then exited and turned to the [Employees] section.
This section was empty.
The sidebar stated: [More features will be unlocked after hiring the first employee]
Pondering this, Zong Qi exited the section and entered the points section.
This section resembled an online shopping mall, displaying a wide array of unusual items.
Items included abilities like [Open Yin-Yang Eyes], [Activate Chakra], [Cultivation Constitution], [Purify Meridians], and [Enhance Intuition], as well as functional tools like [Hypnosis], [Corpse Charm], [Hex Craft], [Acupuncture], [Divination], and [Love Potion].
Interestingly, these tools couldn’t be directly purchased, only randomly drawn.
The rarity of the drawn item increased the points required for the next draw, reflecting the essence of gacha games and gambling.
Zong Qi browsed the section, marveling at its content.
Then he saw the cash exchange option.
It showed that director points could be exchanged for real money at a 1:10 ratio.
Zong Qi: “?”
Feeling like he’d made a windfall, Zong Qi didn’t hesitate to convert 50 director points into 500 yuan, planning to use the remaining points to explore the lottery section.
“With 500 yuan in hand, I can breathe easy for a few days.”
His spirits lifted, Zong Qi stood up straight and strolled back into the interrogation room.
The news of the grisly murder at the abandoned hospital spread quickly.
Zong Qi, holding the status of a key witness, became an online sensation again. Within hours, his follower count soared by 100,000.
But to those in the know, it became clear that the criminal police bureau had never been so severely tested.
A month after the initial case, a similar murder occurred at the city’s orphanage. It marked the beginning of a shocking series of serial killings.
Simultaneously, paranormal incidents increased, suggesting the involvement of forces beyond the rational.
As an aspiring paranormal investigator and streamer, Zong Qi’s fortunes seemed to be turning, but the unknown dangers looming in the shadows posed significant threats.
This city was becoming more unpredictable and filled with shadows.
Oooooh I wonder whose going to be his first hired actor? 😲🤔
Thanks for the chapters 😊🫶💕