Bai Ci immediately walked over. Lin Wenyu was crouching in front of a patch of bushes, pointing at the ground. “The dirt here has been disturbed, and it looks fresh.”
Bai Ci looked in the direction he pointed. Sure enough, there was a patch of dirt about half a meter square. It was darker than the surrounding soil and loose, clearly having been turned over recently.
She squatted down and poked the dirt with her finger. The soil was moist, still holding a hint of dampness.
“It looks like it was turned over less than twenty-four hours ago,” Bai Ci said. “Could someone have buried something here?”
“It’s possible.” Lin Wenyu nodded. He pulled a notebook from his backpack, tore out a few pages to protect his hands, and began carefully brushing the dirt aside.
Bai Ci stepped up to help. The two worked gently, afraid of damaging any potential clues hidden inside.
They cleared the dirt away bit by bit, digging deeper until they reached a depth of about thirty centimeters, where the soil was no longer loose. Both of them stopped.
The hole was completely empty. There was nothing inside.
“Strange. If it was freshly turned, why is there nothing here? Did I misjudge?” Lin Wenyu frowned, looking puzzled.
“Not necessarily,” Bai Ci shook her head. “It’s also possible that someone already dug the item up, or they turned the soil on purpose to cover something. This is a camera blind spot, making it the perfect place for covert activities. Either way, this fresh disturbance is suspicious and worth keeping in mind.”
She pulled her phone from her backpack, took a few photos of the disturbed dirt, and noted the location in her notebook.
The two left the small park and walked along the road in front of the apartment building toward the breakwater. The sea breeze grew stronger, carrying a thick, salty stench of seawater that whipped their hair wildly about.
“You heard it too, right? The anomaly in the sound of the waves,” Bai Ci turned to ask Lin Wenyu beside her.
Lin Wenyu listened intently for a moment and nodded. “It is indeed a bit strange. It sounds like two overlapping noises.”
The two walked slowly along the breakwater, observing their surroundings as they went.
Lin Wenyu looked around, constantly brushing aside the hair covering his face. Fortunately, his wig was securely attached to his costume, or things would have been incredibly awkward. “The wind is too strong here. It’s unlikely anyone would stay for long.”
Bai Ci didn’t reply, focusing instead on carefully observing every corner of the breakwater. Just then, she caught a faint scent drifting through the salty tang of the sea, barely perceptible.
“Do you smell that? It’s like sandalwood.” Bai Ci turned to Lin Wenyu. “Is this the same scent you smelled near the entrance of the underground passage earlier?”
Lin Wenyu stopped in his tracks immediately. He sniffed the air carefully and nodded with certainty. “Yes, that’s the one! It’s very faint, but I would never mistake it.”
The two immediately traced the scent of sandalwood back. Following it all the way, they eventually stopped at a corner behind the Chaosheng Apartments.
There was a ventilation duct here, not far from the utility room Lin Wenyu had discovered last night. The vent’s grate was rusted and covered in dust, but they could clearly see the pitch-black passage inside.
“This vent should lead to the apartment’s basement,” Lin Wenyu said, leaning in to inspect it. “The shadow of the underground passage I saw last night was roughly around here. It seems there’s a direct connection between the underground passage and the smell of sandalwood.”
Bai Ci also leaned closer to the vent. Aside from the sandalwood, she could smell a faint mustiness and an unfamiliar, fishy odor. She pulled out her phone, turned on the flashlight, and shone it inside.
The interior of the vent was pitch black. She could only see a narrow shaft sloping down underground, filled with dust and cobwebs, with no other obvious anomalies.
Just as she was about to turn off the flashlight, a faint, eerie blue speck of light flashed deep inside the vent. It was extremely brief, vanishing in an instant like a passing firefly.
“Did you see that?” Bai Ci asked immediately.
Lin Wenyu was about to shake his head when the blue light flickered once more. This time, he saw it clearly. “I saw it! What was that?”
“I don’t know,” Bai Ci frowned. “The light is too small and too deep inside to make out its shape. But one thing is certain: there’s definitely something wrong with this underground passage.”
“Should we go in and take a look?” Lin Wenyu asked tentatively.
“Not yet,” Bai Ci rejected the idea. “The situation in the underground passage is unclear, and it’s too dangerous for just the two of us to rush in. Besides, Zhao Lei is still on guard duty in the hallway. If something happens and he can’t reach us, it’ll be trouble. Let’s note down the location of this vent first, then discuss it with Wang Qiang and the others during our evening meeting to make a detailed plan.”
Lin Wenyu found her reasoning sound and nodded. “Alright, let’s do that.”
The two stayed near the vent for a moment longer. After confirming there were no other anomalies, they prepared to head back to the apartments.
Meanwhile, Zhao Lei, who was responsible for staying behind, was sitting idly on the steps of the fourth-floor hallway.
He had been waiting in the hallway for most of the day, and aside from the occasional resident passing by, he hadn’t noticed anything unusual. The property manager had only visited the fourth floor once in the morning to inspect the fire equipment before leaving in a hurry.
“This guard duty is way too boring,” Zhao Lei yawned, feeling a bit regretful that he had agreed so readily last night.
He had originally thought he would uncover some groundbreaking clues, but instead, he was stuck sitting on the sidelines, staring blankly at the empty hallway.
Just as he was about to pull out his phone to kill some time, a dragging sound of footsteps echoed from the end of the hallway. Zhao Lei perked up instantly, scrambling to his feet to peer down the corridor. He saw Old Man Li dragging his bulging bag of recyclables, slowly making his way up to the fourth floor.
Old Man Li still had his head down, his hair messy, and wore his dusty old gray jacket, its cuffs and hem frayed. He radiated the sour, musty stench of discarded trash.
Here’s my chance! Zhao Lei thought. He immediately stepped forward and took the initiative to strike up a conversation. “Hey, Uncle, out collecting recyclables?”
Old Man Li acted as if he hadn’t heard a thing, continuing forward with his head down, his pace never faltering.
“Hold on, Uncle, let me ask you something.” Undeterred, Zhao Lei closed the distance and blocked Old Man Li’s path. “Have you seen a little girl named Lele? She wears her hair in pigtails and is about six years old.”
Old Man Li still didn’t look up or speak. He simply shuffled to the side, attempting to bypass Zhao Lei and keep walking.
“Hey, Uncle, don’t ignore me!” Seeing this, Zhao Lei reached out, trying to grab Old Man Li’s arm. “You’ve seen her, right? Just talk to me!”
His movements were swift and sudden. Unable to dodge in time, Old Man Li had his arm grabbed. Zhao Lei’s fingers accidentally caught on the old man’s glove, and with a sharp rip, the glove was torn clean off and fell to the floor.
“Sorry, sorry! I didn’t mean to.” Zhao Lei quickly apologized, bending down to retrieve the glove.
Just then, Old Man Li suddenly lifted his head. Although his eyes were still obscured, Zhao Lei could distinctly feel an icy gaze fixing onto him.
A sudden chill shot up Zhao Lei’s spine, freezing him in place. His hand stopped mid-air, hovering over the glove.
“What are you doing?” a cold voice called out from the stairwell.
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