nycdaug Chapter 65 Haunted House, or Mahjong Room?
Chapter 65 Haunted House, or Mahjong Room?
Room 403.
The scene inside was presented to us without any concealment.
There was no bloody scene as expected.
There were no scattered murder weapons.
No hostages were unconscious...
There were no terrifying images associated with the "haunted house"...
Yes... none at all.
What appeared before me was... a chess and card room that could be described as quaint and cozy.
The walls are covered with wallpaper featuring a delicate floral pattern; although it's a bit old, it's very clean.
The clean floor was covered with a dark red synthetic fiber carpet.
Most noticeably, in the center of the room, there was a mahjong table surrounded by five chairs.
On the table, the mahjong tiles were already arranged, neatly stacked in four rows.
Four people were sitting at the table.
Four elderly people, with a woman who still looks quite attractive wearing a dark red silk top beside them.
One man, with his meticulously combed gray hair, sat upright in a grey Zhongshan suit; another, slightly overweight, wore a loose Tang suit and held a string of Buddhist prayer beads in his hand; and a third, thin and frail, wore reading glasses and held a card, seemingly deep in thought. To the side, another man had his head down, apparently boiling water.
The woman sat near the door, a slender cigarette between her fingers, smoke curling upwards.
She wore a half-smile on her face, her gaze fixed on Cheng Jing, who stood dumbfounded at the doorway.
Next to the mahjong table was a small tea table with a purple clay teapot and several teacups on it.
The aroma of tea wafts out subtly after being steeped for a long time.
Warm lighting, the faint aroma of tea and cigarettes, and the orderly arrangement of mahjong tiles—all these elements combine to create an ordinary scene in a late-night mahjong parlor in the old town.
The contrast with the darkness, ruin, and bloodstains outside the door was utterly absurd!
Or, it has absolutely nothing to do with a recent live broadcast scene!
"Who's looking for 403?" the woman with the cigarette asked, her voice laced with a hint of languor and just the right amount of curiosity. Her gaze swept over the police officers one by one, finally settling on Cheng Jing's face.
He paused for a moment, the smile on his lips seeming to deepen slightly, "We are the residents of 403. It's so late, officer, what can we do for you?"
Cheng Jing's hand was still gripping the gun handle.
Her mind went almost blank for a moment.
403...resident? A card room? Four elderly people and this woman? Warm lighting? Mahjong tiles?
What happened to everything in the live stream? What happened to Cheng Tan's nightmare? What happened to the scattered murder weapon? What happened to Liu Li's body? What happened to Li Kai and the others being trapped? What happened to the bloodstains on the door?!
Could it be... that they went to the wrong place from the start?
Room 403, Building 7, Anpingli, is not the room shown in the live stream at all.
Or is everything in the live stream fake? A huge, elaborate scam?
But how do you explain the bloodstains on the door?
How do we interpret what that old man said?
How can Cheng Tan's experience be explained?
Countless questions churned and collided in her mind like boiling water.
Years of experience as a criminal investigator forced her to quickly calm down. No matter how absurd the scene before her was, she had to first control the situation and gather information.
She slowly lowered the muzzle of her gun, signaling the police behind her to relax their guard.
She took a step forward, her sharp gaze scrutinizing everyone in the room, especially the woman who had spoken.
"We are from the Municipal Public Security Bureau." Cheng Jing flashed her badge, her voice calm but authoritative. "We have received multiple reports that this room is involved in a serious criminal case, including illegal detention, attempted murder, and the dissemination of violent and terrorist information online. We need to search this room, and we ask that you return to assist with the investigation. Please cooperate."
Her gaze swept across the mahjong table, then over the elderly men with their varied expressions, before finally settling on the woman's face: "Also, may I ask, who is the owner or manager of this place? How long have you been living here? Tonight, have you heard or seen anything unusual? For example, loud noises, strangers coming and going, or... live streaming equipment?"
The woman with the cigarette flicked off the ash, her face still bearing that ambiguous smile.
Instead of answering Cheng Jing's question directly, she took a drag of her cigarette, slowly exhaled, and the smoke dissipated in front of her.
"Officer, are you... mistaken?" Her voice was soft, yet strangely penetrating. "We old folks have been playing mahjong and drinking tea here for years. This house is rented by me, Fang-jie." She pointed to herself. "Almost ten years. It's just a few of us old neighbors coming over for a chat, quiet and peaceful. There's no illegal detention, no murder, no live streaming!"
She laughed, the fine lines at the corners of her eyes curving upwards. "We're not even very good with smartphones yet. It's an unusual situation..."
She paused, her gaze seemingly casually glancing at the dark corridor outside the door, then at the police officers behind Cheng Jing who looked as if they were facing a formidable enemy.
"The only unusual thing tonight," Fang said slowly, stubbing out her cigarette in the ashtray next to her, "is that you police officers made such a big fuss, it scared us old folks."
Cheng Jing's heart sank.
This woman is so calm.
She was unusually calm. Her answer was impeccable, even carrying the perfect amount of surprise, helplessness, and cooperation that an ordinary citizen would show when faced with a police raid.
But Cheng Jing saw a very subtle...mockery deep in her eyes.
And then there are those old people.
From the moment they entered until now, apart from an initial glance, the elderly men showed almost no reaction. Some were playing cards, others were drinking tea, as if everything happening at the door had nothing to do with them.
This indifference, in this context, is itself abnormal.
"...Five people, just like that, appearing right in front of us, along with this card room? As if it were meant to be here... and we... shouldn't be here at all!"
Cheng Jing lit another cigarette, looked at Cheng Tan who was staring in astonishment with his mouth agape, thought for a moment, and then put the cigarette into his mouth.
She then lit the cigarette with a "click" using a lighter.
"A woman smoking! Four old men playing mahjong? This is absurd!" Cheng Tan took a deep drag on his cigarette. "These five people don't even look like assassins! Did you check their identities? Did you look into their housing information? I absolutely don't believe they've always been in that... mahjong parlor!"
"You think the police are all just sitting around doing nothing... Come on... keep watching!" Cheng Jing said arrogantly.
The body camera turned on, and the footage reappeared:
"We need to check this room and the relevant documents," Cheng Jing said firmly. "Please do not leave your seats for now. Chen Ming, check their identification documents. Xiao Li, Xiao Zhang, search the room, paying attention to any suspicious items, especially electronic devices, ropes, knives, or... items related to the Li Wan murder case thirteen years ago."
"Li Wan? I don't know her!" Sister Fang raised an eyebrow. "Officer, this is a mahjong room, not a crime scene!"