This kind of teammate manifesting signs of life or death was exactly what triggered Jiang Siyan's madness.
Nan Yue subconsciously gripped Jiang Siyan's hand. "Don't hurt yourself next time."
Jiang Siyan paused, the corners of his mouth drooping slightly in a helpless manner.
"Sorry..."
Nan Yue tightened her grip on his somewhat cold hand.
"Don't say that. I'm worried about you."
Jiang Siyan turned his gaze toward her. His eyes, which were usually clear and bright, were now bloodshot, looking somewhat terrifying.
But Nan Yue looked at him with a normal expression, her gaze filled with concern.
It's only natural, Nan Yue thought. Jiang Siyan is my teammate.
The thought of him hurting himself made her feel very uncomfortable.
So she added another sentence.
"I don't like it when you hurt yourself."
The corners of Jiang Siyan's bloodshot eyes curved slightly. "Alright. I won't do it again."
The congestion in Nan Yue's heart dissipated a bit. Jiang Siyan was a man of his word; if he said it, he would do it.
Nan Yue withdrew her hand and patted his shoulder.
Jiang Siyan's hand curled slightly, then slowly clenched into a fist.
"Found it."
Jiang Siyan pulled out a piece of paper and placed it in front of Nan Yue.
"Is it him?"
Nan Yue had seen Zhou An once, so she recognized the man.
"Yes."
Her gaze moved to the remarks section, where someone had written in pen: Raped and murdered a female worker. Transferred to the public security bureau. To minimize the impact, no public announcement was made.
Nan Yue's gentle expression turned cold.
It went without saying who Zhou An had murdered.
Zhao Yao.
But that scavenger had never mentioned it. They likely thought that since Zhao Yao was a ghost, Zhao Yao's teammates couldn't be trusted either.
She still needed to find Wen Xiang Yuan to see if there was anything unusual about Zhou An.
What had he done to trigger his death?
Without needing Nan Yue to speak, Jiang Siyan said softly, "I'll go and ask her for details."
Nan Yue nodded. Once they figured out why Tang Yu killed Li Hui and how Li Hui killed Xiang Guang, the lines for those two would be clear.
Zhu Xi Ning's side was basically complete. It seemed Zhao Mingming's psyche had been twisted by her disfigurement, and she had dressed as a ghost to scare Song Chunhua to death for the sake of Zhong Guochao.
As for Gu Xiang Kai's side, why Wen Xiang Yuan wanted to kill Li Wang was still a bit strange.
They had two days left. They had to deduce the causal links for everyone and meet up with Wen Xiang Yuan during the movie screening to clarify what she knew about the pollution world.
Then, they would leave as soon as possible.
After Nan Yue left, a cold voice drifted from the office door. Chi He walked in with an exaggerated smile on his face.
"Tsk, tsk. Purposely showing a weakness to make her feel sorry for you. Bai Yao, I didn't realize you were so manipulative."
Jiang Siyan remained indifferent.
Chi He rubbed his chin, sizing up the man before him who looked exceptionally outstanding by any standard.
But having completed several missions with him, Chi He knew better than anyone that this man was not normal.
He was too paranoid and dark, crazy enough to not hesitate to harm himself.
To be loved by someone like this...
"But then again, Little Yueyue is entirely focused on the mission and is a bit slow when it comes to feelings. You actually chose the most effective method."
Jiang Siyan finally looked up at Chi He. That single, nonchalant glance successfully made Chi He's expression change.
"Hey, I think I have a clue about Zhong Guochao. Hiss... what was it again..."
Chi He hurried out of the office while talking to himself.
Jiang Siyan's cold expression softened slightly.
Chi He was right, but it was precisely because he was right that Jiang Siyan felt uncomfortable.
He acted as if he understood Nan Yue very well.
However, Nan Yue indeed didn't have any thoughts in that direction. No one taught scavengers how to love; they had to discover everything themselves.
This was the most stable method Jiang Siyan could think of.
Even if Nan Yue didn't realize it for a while, it didn't matter. They had plenty of time, and he would watch over her.
When Nan Yue returned to the warehouse, Zhu Xi Ning told her some news.
She had met with Gu Xiang Kai.
In the factory, Zhao Mingming was now the type of character whose actions surprised no one. She had found Gu Xiang Kai and spoken a few words to him under the pretext of machine maintenance.
Unexpectedly, she discovered that the woman haunting Gu Xiang Kai was Yang Xufen.
After hearing what Li Wang might have done to Yang Xufen, Zhu Xi Ning felt no sympathy at all.
What surprised her was something one of Li Wang's lackeys had mentioned as a joke.
He said the reason Zhao Mingming's face was disfigured back then was because of Yang Xufen.
They had all seen it when the movie ended. Yang Xufen had taken advantage of the chaos to push Zhao Mingming, causing her to fall into the crowd and get her face injured in the stampede.
Yang Xufen's only possible reason for targeting Zhao Mingming was Zhong Guochao.
Yang Xufen caused Zhao Mingming's disfigurement. Zhao Mingming didn't know who had harmed her at first. She initially thought it was Li Hui, but she likely realized later that Li Hui wouldn't do that to her, so she shifted her gaze to Song Chunhua and Yang Xufen, who were her competitors.
But Yang Xufen had been murdered by Li Wang and was considered missing in the factory, so Zhao Mingming chose to scare Song Chunhua to death instead.
And now, the vengeful spirits were generating pollution within this time-locked pollution world.
The murderers had become victims, and the original victims' vengeful spirits had raised their butcher knives.
Song Chunhua's spirit was haunting Zhao Mingming, while the murdered Yang Xufen was haunting Li Wang.
And based on logical deduction, the scavenger playing Yang Xufen must have been killed by Zhao Mingming's vengeful spirit.
Everything was strung together by an invisible hand using the threads of karma, and it was eerily hair-raising.
"A person like Li Wang doesn't seem to need a reason to do things to young girls," Gu Xiang Kai said, now fully immersed in his role, a cigarette tucked behind his ear.
"But what I'm curious about is why Yang Xufen was at the abandoned factory so late at night."
"It's absolutely impossible that she was there to meet Li Wang. Everyone knows what kind of slacker he is. Who would go to a late-night meeting with him?"
The reason Yang Xufen went to the abandoned factory was the missing piece in Li Wang's story.
"Actually... now that you mention it, I find it a bit strange too," Zhu Xi Ning frowned slightly. "Yang Xufen, Song Chunhua, and Zhao Mingming—how did these three know about each other's existence?"
Zhu Xi Ning rephrased her thought. "I mean, in this era, girls are reserved. Even if they wrote love letters, they would definitely keep them hidden."
"Hardly anyone in the factory even knew Zhao Mingming liked Zhong Guochao. So how did the three of them know about each other?"
The two looked at each other, finally identifying the person missing from their causal links.
Zhong Guochao.
So Zhu Xi Ning went to find Chi He.
At that moment, Chi He was loitering outside the factory office, unsure of what he was doing. When he saw Zhu Xi Ning coming, he led her to the side of the corridor.
Hearing Zhu Xi Ning's question, Chi He's expression became very serious.
"Comrade Zhao, I must say your deduction is correct, swift, and effective. I do indeed have a clue regarding that."
Zhu Xi Ning didn't have the patience for his nonsense. "Who is the vengeful spirit haunting you at night?"
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