Being Targeted by a Female Ghost [Criminal Investigation] - Chapter 9

Chapter 9: It’s a Small World

The familiar dizziness didn’t come. Qiu Chi opened her eyes and looked around, only to find she was still on the rooftop.

Did I guess wrong?

Is there no direct link between the trigger and imagination?

She tried to retrace her steps. When she had successfully teleported to the nurse’s house, she had a detailed address and already knew what the complex looked like before she made the jump.

In other words, to teleport to a specific location, at least three conditions had to be met: paper, pen, and an address.

As soon as these three conditions came to mind, she shook her head. The first two were easy enough—every time she used the ability, she was drawing with a pen. But the address… when she had mysteriously teleported to the crime scenes before, she hadn’t known the addresses at all.

According to the police clues, she had appeared at the crime scenes before her amnesia. The fact that the nurse was terrified until she saw her face clearly suggested a major problem. She had seen the way those victims died and didn’t find it particularly frightening, which led her to suspect that the killer had sought out the nurse after the crime.

But here was the strange part: the killer found the witness but didn’t finish her off. Since the nurse had already told the police what she saw, the killer likely didn’t find her to threaten her into silence.

Then why?

And just how terrifying was this killer that the nurse was too scared to go to work, hiding at home every day eating instant noodles?

Thinking of this, she hurriedly pulled out the sketch of the killer’s back and looked closely. Judging by the proportions, the killer was likely no shorter than 165 cm and had a slender build.

The nurse had said: “Actually, she didn’t run fast. I thought I could catch her, but then she just disappeared.”

No one just “disappears.”

Qiu Chi thought: It can’t be that the killer can teleport just like me, right?

If the killer could teleport, running away would be unnecessary—they could just find a spot to hide and transport themselves away, just like she did. She temporarily ruled out this possibility and reached another conclusion: if the killer didn’t have supernatural powers, it meant they were extremely familiar with the scene.

For a killer to be more familiar with the terrain than the nurse suggested they were either someone from the sanatorium or had scouted the location extensively in advance.

Footsteps echoing from the distant stairwell interrupted her thoughts. The most urgent task was to evade capture. As for the killer’s identity, she would have to figure that out later.

But where to go?

Going home was out of the question; the police were likely already staking it out. She looked out over Lancheng—it was huge, yet she couldn’t find a single place that felt truly hidden.

Forget it. Don’t think. Anywhere is fine.

She picked up the pen and paper again, concentrating as she drew. Her pen instinctively traced that hidden silhouette.

The familiar dizziness hit. The scenery shifted rapidly, and in the blink of an eye, she was standing in a strange living room.

“Strange” wasn’t quite right, because… she had been here yesterday.

Seeing the pickled cabbage flavored instant noodles on the coffee table, she frowned. Her stomach let out a series of growls. After a moment’s hesitation, she picked up the top cup of noodles and cradled it in her arms.

Well, since I’m already here, might as well eat.

There was no water dispenser or kettle in the living room. She checked the house to ensure no one was home before entering the kitchen. Finding neither a kettle nor a usable pot, she had no choice but to tear open the packaging and gnaw on the dry noodle block.

As she crunched on the flavorless noodles, she wondered how poor the resident must be.

After finishing the noodles, she returned to the living room, sat on the sofa, and emptied the contents of her bag. She picked up the wallet and opened it. Finding not even a single yuan in the compartments, she shook her head in disgust: “Another pauper.”

She was about to put it down when her peripheral vision caught a photo in a corner frame. In the photo, a young woman crouched in the middle, hugging two children, smiling happily at the camera.

Qiu Chi recognized the child on the left instantly. Although the face was chubby, the features hadn’t changed much—it was that fierce Captain Zhang.

The one on the right…

Half of the photo had been burned away, the scorch marks covering the facial features. Qiu Chi could only tell the child was thin and frail; she couldn’t see anything else.

She wasn’t particularly interested in the photo. Her gaze shifted to a bank card in the pocket.

“Only one?” she frowned, talking to herself. “Not even a credit card?”

She turned the wallet upside down and shook it hard, but only small pebbles fell out from deep within the folds. Disgust deepened in her eyes. She stuffed the card back, closed the wallet, and tossed it aside.

She stood up and turned toward the balcony. Just like yesterday, the light was on. It was broad daylight, and the living room had good natural lighting; there was no reason to have the light on.

Qiu Chi blinked. A thought flashed through her mind: Could it be that the person living here hasn’t returned since last night?

A wave of joy hit her, and she relaxed slightly. She went into the bedroom and began rummaging through the wardrobe, hoping to find some less conspicuous clothes to change into.

The moment she pulled out a police uniform, she froze. A bad premonition bubbled up in her heart.

It couldn’t… be that coincidental, right?

As soon as Zhang Zhuo entered the door, she smelled the scent of rotting food. She turned on the light and frowned at the trash-strewn floor.

Someone pushed past her from behind.

Gu Xiao: “What are you standing there for?”

Zhang Zhuo stepped through the gaps in the trash into the room. This was the nurse’s bedroom; the woman had been taken to the hospital by ambulance an hour ago.

Gu Xiao stood by the window, peering out. “She got away again.”

Zhang Zhuo didn’t speak. Her gaze was fixed on the messy bed. There was a crumpled ball of paper there. At first glance, it looked used, but careful observation revealed writing on it.

She shot a quick glance at Gu Xiao by the window and grabbed the paper ball with lightning speed.

Gu Xiao happened to turn around. “What are you doing?” She stared at the paper ball in Zhang Zhuo’s hand. “What’s that?”

Before Zhang Zhuo could answer, Gu Xiao strode forward and snatched it away. Opening it, she saw a few lines of crooked handwriting:

“The killer sought out the witness after the crime. I suggest you start with her; there might be a surprise.”

“What do you think?” Gu Xiao asked.

Zhang Zhuo looked away, scanning the surroundings again. “She probably squeezed some clues out of the witness.”

After a moment of silence, Gu Xiao said, “Go to the hospital and verify this with the witness. If she’s telling the truth, the witness might be our breakthrough.”

“Aren’t I banned from the investigation?” Zhang Zhuo snatched the tissue back and stuffed it into her pocket.

“The one who can’t participate is Detective Zhang Zhuo. You’ve had your ID stolen; what kind of cop are you now?” Gu Xiao said. “You’re just a friend visiting a patient.”

“Tch.” Zhang Zhuo headed for the door.

Gu Xiao called out, “Go home and change first.”

“I just changed yesterday,” Zhang Zhuo said.

Gu Xiao: “Who knows if the killer has seen you in those clothes? Besides, there’s blood on them.”

Hearing this, Zhang Zhuo looked down at the holes and bloodstains on her clothes. The blood had long since dried, its color darkened and hard to notice unless one looked closely.

Still, she replied, “Got it.”

Before heading to the hospital, Zhang Zhuo went home. She took off her jacket as soon as she entered and headed for the bedroom. Passing the living room, she suddenly stopped and looked at the coffee table.

She was the one who put those cups of noodles there. She knew exactly how many there were, and now one was missing.

One missing?

She immediately realized someone had been there. This had happened before, but she had always handled it successfully. She had arrested many people, many of whom hated her to the bone. Those wanting to teach her a lesson were countless.

But someone coming into her home and blatantly stealing her instant noodles? This was a first.

Must be a rookie.

Zhang Zhuo acted as if nothing was wrong and returned to the bedroom. Opening the wardrobe, she used the door as cover and, without hesitation, drew her pistol and looked toward the head of the bed.

The bedroom curtains were drawn, and the door was half-ajar. The light from outside was enough for her to see that there was no one else in the room. She stared at the empty room, her eyes slowly narrowing.

“Heh.” She let out a cold laugh and walked to the door.

The door slammed shut with a bang, and the room plunged into darkness.

She said coldly, “Come out. I’ve already seen you.”

Under the bed.

Qiu Chi lay flat on the ground, desperately fighting back a sneeze. It was so dirty here, with thick layers of dust; she wanted to cough, she wanted to get out.

But she couldn’t.

The person waiting to catch her outside was the one she had stabbed and electrocuted early this morning. If she went out, she was finished.

She couldn’t go out.

She hugged her small bag, frantically trying to teleport herself away, but in her nervousness, she tore several tissues and failed to succeed.

Her long, dark hair spilled out, sliding along her curves onto the floor, most of it sweeping through the dust.

Filthy.

She shifted her body, wishing she had a pair of scissors to cut off the soiled ends of her hair right now.

“I know you’re under the bed,” Zhang Zhuo’s voice rang out again. “Get out now, or I’ll fire.”

Fire? Again with the shooting!

Qiu Chi sighed silently, gripped her pen tightly, gritted her teeth, and drew a black line directly across her palm.

Darkness flashed. This time, she wasn’t knocked down by the air; she stood steadily in place. She froze for a moment, then looked down at her palm. The black line was gone.

Back in the apartment.

Zhang Zhuo lifted the bedsheet and peered under. The space was empty. She pulled out her phone for light and scanned the floor.

The person was gone, but the traces left in the dust remained. Someone had definitely been there.

Could it be her?

She hurriedly opened the GPS tracking on her phone to check Qiu Chi’s location. The two red dots were almost overlapping.

She instinctively stood up and headed for the balcony. Leaning over, she scanned the people on the street below.

Qiu Chi happened to look up at that exact moment. Their eyes met, and both froze.

Qiu Chi was the first to react. She had already changed her clothes and was wearing a mask and hat. In the blink of an eye, she vanished into the crowd.

Zhang Zhuo punched the railing in frustration, rushed back to the bedroom to change, and chased downstairs.

Just as she got into the car, she received a call from Gu Xiao.

“Why is the suspect’s location near your house? Did you get your phone back?”

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