Chapter 57 The Deserted Factory
Hearing this, Liu Haoyu asked Ma Jianhua, “Did you go and check that old industrial district?”
Logically, when the police receive such a clue, they would go to the scene immediately to confirm the situation.
In fact, Ma Jianhua was no exception. He calmed his nerves, took a deep breath, and continued, “That’s a given. After receiving the clue, several other officers and I drove to the old industrial district immediately. For some reason, that place was particularly cold and the wind howled like ghosts crying.”
Ma Jianhua recalled the scene and looked somewhat terrified. “At that time, one of the officers suddenly pointed at the corner of the wall and said to me, ‘Captain Ma, look quickly!'”
“Hearing his voice, we immediately turned to look. There was indeed a person squatting in the corner, with their back to us. Their hair was messy, and it should have been a woman.”
“I instinctively called out, ‘Is that Shirley Lai?'”
“Perhaps hearing my voice, the person slowly turned their head, but the problem was that their face was blank, without any facial features. Their neck was cut to the point where only a trace of flesh remained, and their head dangled as if it could fall off at any moment. The appearance was extremely bizarre…”
Just hearing Ma Jianhua’s description made Liu Haoyu’s heart inexplicably chill. Qin Liu, who had been hiding in the corner, was so scared that her small face turned pale.
Ma Jianhua took a moment to compose himself and continued, “This monster was wearing Shirley Lai’s clothes, and its build was also very similar to hers. But the situation at that time was too terrifying, and my colleagues and I almost instinctively bolted.”
“That thing kept chasing us, its footsteps ‘thump thump thump,’ like it was pounding on our hearts. By the time we all got into the car, we didn’t care about anything else. We stepped on the accelerator and didn’t dare to look back.”
“You may not believe me, but as police officers, we naturally don’t believe in ghosts and monsters. But what we encountered last night was indeed a bit too strange.”
After hearing Ma Jianhua’s account, Liu Haoyu fell into deep thought. His gaze was sharp, and he squinted as if deep in thought. If Liu Haoyu guessed correctly, Shirley Lai had most likely met an unfortunate end. It was too difficult to survive when targeted by a fierce ghost like Gu Qianyang.
Liu Haoyu sighed and said to Ma Jianhua with a smile, “Officer Ma, it’s not good to come all the way here to tell me such a scary story, is it? I’ve only met Shirley Lai once, you can’t suspect me, can you?”
Although he said that, Liu Haoyu had already decided to go to the old industrial district tonight to check the situation.
Ma Jianhua looked fixedly at the man in front of him. He was not stupid; anyone who could reach his position would not be foolish. Combined with Liu Haoyu’s actions in Jiangliu City a few months ago and what Wang Wenqi had said this morning, he could conclude that the man who looked very worn out and pale was likely the rumored Daoist. After all, no matter how much he didn’t believe in ghosts, his personal experience last night forced him to believe that there were strange things in this world that science couldn’t explain.
Before coming, Wang Wenqi had specifically instructed him to just tell this man about the matter, not to investigate him too deeply, and not to force him to help. Moreover, Wang Wenqi had repeatedly emphasized that the man’s identity was unknown and uninvestigable.
Ma Jianhua could understand this. He had also heard from some rumors that the country had special personnel to deal with such matters, called the Special Task Force. He assumed that the man named Liu Haoyu was of a similar profession.
“It’s fine, we just came to understand the situation with Mr. Liu. After ruling out your suspicion, we must leave.”
After speaking, Ma Jianhua and his men got into the police car and left the place.
Liu Haoyu watched the police car speeding away, somewhat confused. Normally, the police wouldn’t handle such matters in this manner. From their expressions, it was clear they recognized his identity as a ghost exorcist. Telling him about it was also meant to get him to resolve the situation.
“I came all the way here just to work for someone else’s achievement?” Liu Haoyu sighed, but he didn’t think much of it and turned back into the room to pack his things. It was already afternoon, and if he delayed further, he wouldn’t have enough time to get there.
Turning around, Liu Haoyu saw Qin Liu standing behind him. The young girl’s eyes were clear and very determined.
“I’m going too.” Qin Liu’s strength was no longer what it used to be, and perhaps she could help if she came. However, her aura was a bit too conspicuous. Just standing there, it was like a loudspeaker, and ghosts within a kilometer radius would detect her presence.
But seeing this, Liu Haoyu could only compromise. His intuition told him that if he didn’t let Qin Liu come along, even more dangerous things might happen. Especially knowing that this little ghost had a bit of a yandere tendency. He was afraid that if he went out alone and came back, he might not see the normal Qin Liu.
“Alright, but if you’re in danger, you have to hide in Hong Yu and not use your guide ability, understand?”
“That’s no problem at all!” Qin Liu nodded happily.
***
That night, Liu Haoyu spent a great deal of effort and finally managed to get a taxi. After getting out of the car, Liu Haoyu was speechless watching the driver turn around and flee. He didn’t know what was going on, but there were really fewer and fewer taxis at night recently.
While complaining, Liu Haoyu walked towards the old industrial district. There was no moon tonight, and thick clouds covered the entire sky, making the environment eerily dark. The streetlights in the old industrial district had been broken for a long time, and only a few old residential buildings by the roadside still had a few yellowish light bulbs on. As he went deeper, the traces of human activity became scarcer. It was like stepping into an industrial district in a post-apocalyptic wasteland.
Finally, the light in the surroundings completely disappeared, and Liu Haoyu had to turn on his flashlight to continue. The rusted factory gate was half-open, and due to years of disrepair, it could no longer be pushed. Liu Haoyu squeezed through the gap and entered the factory.
As soon as he entered, he felt that something was wrong. The air inside the factory was particularly cold, like entering a freezer, and even the air he exhaled could be seen as white mist. The factory was filled with a strong smell of mold and decay. Broken glass and rusted parts were scattered on the ground. Fortunately, Liu Haoyu was wearing military boots, otherwise, it would have been difficult to walk.
The beam of his flashlight roamed inside the factory. After searching for a while, he saw that a black silhouette suddenly appeared in the beam of his flashlight. But there was no sign of anyone in his field of vision.
