Strange Investigations Team

The moon hung in the sky, flickering. The quiet school campus emitted a strange aura.

Uncle Liu and I searched the main areas of the campus, but there was no trace of Zhenzhen. When I called her phone, there was still no answer. I called Xueqing, but she reported that Zhenzhen hadn’t gone to find her. Also, since Prof Xiao had already gone to sleep, so she would meet up with us to look for Zhenzhen.

Although Zhenzhen was of the weaker s.e.x, she was also a mixed martial arts champion. The usual hooligans wouldn’t be able to bother her in the slightest. What I was worried about though, was that she would meet something out of the ordinary– The female ghost with a baby.

Tonight wasn’t actually the full moon, but it looked pretty close. Zhenzhen may have gone to check out the camphor woods behind the female dormitory, and there was a high chance that she’d run into some trouble. Xueqing didn’t agree with my guess, but neither did she oppose it, so I took it as a tacit agreement.

I decided to head to the woods to search for Zhenzhen. Without any hesitation, Xueqing followed along, but Uncle Liu didn’t dare walk around the woods at this time. He warned us again that if we headed into the woods right now, we might run into danger. He was right, but we couldn’t ignore that Zhenzhen’s life might be at stake. Although she treated me as a punching bag, we were still partners in the end.

I told Uncle Liu to return to the security room and wait, and then to call me if Zhenzhen came back. Then Xueqing and I got ready to start searching the woods for Zhenzhen. Uncle Liu handed me his flashlight and reminded us again to be extremely careful in the woods. If we saw anything white, we should leave immediately. I thanked him and then Xueqing and I headed to the mysterious area behind the female dormitory.

As we entered the camphor woods, I felt a sudden chill. Although I’d been there before, it had been during the daytime. The nighttime camphor woods had this indescribably eerie feeling. Large camphor trees blocked out most of the light. Despite how bright the moon was, it was still hard to see your own fingers in the woods. Only occasionally, you would be able to see a streak of moonlight through the leaves, like the moon G.o.ddess shooting an arrow to the ground.

The tall trees in the midst of the night looked like a monster baring its claws. It really intimidated and scared a person. But what really filled your heart with dread was the possibility that hiding behind a camphor tree was a white clothed female ghost, with disheveled hair and an ominous gaze, carrying a baby in her arms. And she could make her surprise attack at any moment.

Once we entered the woods, Xueqing walked ahead of me, instead of behind me as usual. It seemed like she wanted to protect me, and although having a woman protecting me left me a bit ashamed, there wasn’t anything else to be done. If the female ghost suddenly appeared, I might not be able to escape. I only barely pa.s.sed the last fitness exam, and my right leg always seems to start cramping in the most critical moments.

The flashlight was very bright, but in these dark woods, it suddenly felt very insignificant, only able to shine on a small area. Because the range of the flashlight was so limited, it actually made a person even more scared.

My nerves were like a taut bowstring. Xueqing suddenly stopped in front of me, and as I had been looking around, I unintentionally b.u.mped into her. A soft female body. Even through her clothes, I could feel her baby-tender skin. This might just have been my own feeling, but there was a light jasmine fragrance on her body that sent me into a peaceful daydream.

But this wasn’t the time to be daydreaming, because danger was currently lurking all around us. Xueqing stood silently in front of me, looking around at her surroundings. I quietly turned off the flashlight, lest someone discover our presence. With my eyes closed, I started to listen. Then I heard a female voice softly sing, “…Hiss, hiss, hiss, the white snake immortal …With unlimited powers, a thousand years old …Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, the chilling wind blows …A fresh, tasty heart into its belly goes …Wheeze, wheeze, wheeze, paying no heed …In the immortal tomb, a hundred years of sleep …Rumble, rumble, rumble, a guest is here …Instead of bringing gifts, they’re ready to sear you …”

When I opened my eyes, I realized that Xueqing had tensed up, looking towards 10 o’clock. Following her gaze, I saw a white figure deep inside the woods, like a white cloth draped over the trees. I thought, we’d found it… the ghost we were searching for.

Xueqing didn’t make a sound. She didn’t turn around either, her eyes fixed on the figure ahead. She slowly raised her hand and pointed, signaling her intent to head that way. As before, she didn’t give me the chance to oppose or agree. I followed behind her quietly. Her walk was very relaxed, no different to how one usually walks down the street. She didn’t intentionally slow her pace, and yet, her steps didn’t make a sound.

When we were about 30m away from the white figure, with the help of the moonlight streaming through the leaves, I barely spotted a woman leaning against a camphor tree, dressed in a clean, white patient’s gown. Her loose hair nearly covered her entire face, only revealing a beast-like, shining, red left eye and a slightly upturned mouth. Although her hair was disheveled, it didn’t seem as if it had been ungroomed for a long time. Under the moonlight, I could see it shine. In her arms, she held a three month old baby, naked and with oddly pale skin. The baby’s skin was very white and lacked l.u.s.ter, as if it had long ago dried up, but its body was plump like any other baby. This was, without a doubt, the legendary female ghost.

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As we approached, we caught her attention. She stopped singing and slowly turned her head. Facing us, her smile grew wider, exposing an extremely eerie smile.

My heart skipped a beat as I considered whether or not I should run. But Xueqing was already prepared for an attack– Her body tilted slightly to the right and reached into her coat, behind her waist. As she raised the gun in her right hand to the female ghost, she used her left hand to steady her aim. All of this happened in an instant. If I had to describe it with one word, it would have to be ‘cool.’ I thought that if she were to open fire right now, the female ghost would be shot before she could even react. But was a gun effective on a ghost?

Indeed, the female ghost didn’t show any alarm, and her lips were still lifted up high. From between her hair, her left eye still flickered with a blood, thirsty ferocity. She stroked the dead baby in her arms. Her right hand, missing half a middle finger, ran over the small head, but her blade-like fingers didn’t appear to cause any harm. She spoke lightly, “If you want to save your partner, you have to immediately stop your investigation. Otherwise, your entire team will die!” She emphasized the word ‘die,’ and my heart started to beat faster as if her ghost claws had already dug into my back, about to pull out my heart.

Although my heart was enveloped in terror, I couldn’t just give up here. I took a deep breath and then presented my police ID, though in this darkness, the ID looked like any other name card. Then I started reciting in a calm tone, “Don’t move, we’re the police! We suspect that you’re involved with several murder cases. Please return to the police station with us for further investigation.”

“Heeheehee…” The female ghost’s laughter echoed in the dark. After a moment, she said, “You’re inviting me for investigations? Heeheehee… Do you think you have the ability to bring in a ghost for investigations? Heeheehee…” Her laughter made my hair stand on end. She laughed and laughed, and then suddenly sprung at Xueqing.

The female ghost’s motion was very fast, so fast that it didn’t seem like running, but rather it was as if her feet had left the ground and she was flying towards Xueqing like a bullet. The 30m distance suddenly became just one meter. With a sudden attack like that, most people wouldn’t be quick enough to react. But Xueqing wasn’t just an ordinary person.

Bang! The crisp sound of gunfire rang through the woods. The female ghost that had been flying at Xueqing a moment ago was suddenly on her way to the ground. Her right shoulder had been hit by the bullet and fresh blood was seeping onto her white clothes. The 54 pistol was a powerful weapon at close distances. Although it had only hit a shoulder, it was enough to stop the other party from retaliating. But the female ghost on the ground wasn’t just any ordinary person, so Xueqing didn’t relax, her gun still pointed at the ghost.

The female ghost had already been shot once, but she didn’t show any signs of being in pain. Her lips were still curved up in a smile. “You can’t kill me, because I’m a ghost. A human killing ghost…” She tilted her head to the right. Xueqing realized that she was intending to run away and immediately fired.

Because the ghost was too fast, the bullet missed and only grazed her left arm. However, the force of the bullet caused the ghost to lose her balance and she fell to the ground, the dead baby in her arms flying several steps forward. She seemed to be very worried for the baby and immediately climbed up to retrieve it, but Xueqing didn’t give her that opportunity. She opened fire again, but with the low lighting and increased distance between them, the bullet was unable to take a life.

The female ghost seemed to realize how difficult it would be to retrieve the baby now and flashed back behind a camphor tree. Using it as a barricade, she took the chance to run away.

Xueqing glanced over at me and then over to the dead baby on the ground. Without a word, she started chasing after in the direction of the female ghost. Although she hadn’t said anything, I wasn’t a fool. Of course I knew what she’d intended. I took off my coat and crouched down, quickly wrapping up the dead baby.

The ghost had always been carrying the baby, so I’d never gotten a look at its feet before. Seeing it clearly now, I was taken aback– The dead baby’s feet were joined together, like a mermaid!

Xueqing had already headed quite some way away. It was dangerous here and I shouldn’t stay long, so without any more thoughts, I carried the dead baby, about to run off after Xueqing. But when I stood up, I suddenly felt something rush by behind me.

I turned around and turned on my flashlight, revealing a white clothed female ghost before me. She seemed to be having trouble adjusting to the brightness of the flashlight as she held up her hand to cover her eyes. I took advantage of the time and kicked her in the abdomen, casing her to fall over. Then I ran away as fast as I could. I ran for my life without turning back. I could hear her chasing after me, but her speed wasn’t that fast and she wasn’t able to catch up to me.

My right leg was cramping and I was nearly out of breath, but thankfully I’d already run out of the woods. I looked around and didn’t see a trace of the female ghost. It seemed that she’d given up when I was about to exit the woods. Underneath the moon’s beams, I felt a kind of feeling as if I’d just narrowly escaped death. It seemed I was pretty afraid of death too. I was rarely met with this kind of situation when Xiao Xiang was my partner. With him by my side, I always felt safe.

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“Ah Mu.” The sudden and cold female voice made me jump. I looked over to where the sound came from and my heart calmed slightly, because it was Xueqing. She saw me breathing heavily and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“I was chased out by a female ghost.” I continued breathing heavily.

A shade of doubt appeared on Xueqing’s face. “Female ghost? I chased her all the way back here before she disappeared. How could she have been behind you?”

When my breathing finally returned to normal, I responded, “It was a different female ghost. Although they looked very similar, with the same white clothes and long hair covering their face, the ghost chasing me was a bit shorter and she seemed overall smaller. And her clothes didn’t have any blood on them, so she probably hadn’t been shot. Most importantly, her motions were a lot slower than the first ghost, otherwise you’d be collecting my corpse now.”

“I’ll make a note in the report that I was unable to protect you.” Although Xueqing’s voice sounded very cold, I supposed she was apologizing to me.

“I’m not hurt, so forget about the report for now. Where did you lose your ghost?”

“When I got out of the forest, I didn’t see her anymore, so I probably lost her around here. I already checked the surrounding areas, but I didn’t find anything.” Despite Xueqing’s still-cold tone, she seemed a bit warmer than earlier.

Then I took a serious look around us. There were no camphor trees to hide behind and the moonlight shined down leaving a silver sheen on everything. Without anything hindering my field of vision, I immediately knew we were right behind the female dormitory, with the window of room 106 right in front of us.

Between the dorm and the woods was a field of empty s.p.a.ce with nothing to hide behind. Did the ghost enter room 106 from the window? I walked over to the window and tried to push it open, but no matter how much strength I used, it wouldn’t open. Just then, my phone started ringing. The security room’s number showed up on the screen.

“Where did you run off to?” Zhenzhen’s voice sounded from the phone.

“I should the one asking that! When I called you, you didn’t answer. Xueqing and I have been searching for you all this while.”

“I think I left my phone in the car…”

“You win. Hurry over to the female dorm. We’ve found something.”

Xueqing and I headed around to the entrance of the female dorm, and I started to unwrap the dead baby in my coat, taking a careful look at the abnormality with conjoined legs. I hadn’t been able to see it clearly earlier, so I’d thought it was a baby’s corpse, but looking at it now, I saw that it was actually a stuffed doll, soft as a pillow. Because I didn’t know if the body was covered with some sort of venom or other harmful substance, I didn’t touch it directly. Inspecting its appearance alone, it appeared to made from human skin, the complete skin of a baby. I only saw a single seam along its back, but nowhere else. This piece of human skin was very pale though. Forget Asians, even white people couldn’t be that pale, though there was the possibility that it had been bleached. There were no obvious reproductive organs on its lower body, though it was likely not male. Because its legs were conjoined, it wasn’t clear whether it was female or inters.e.x. Upon more careful inspection, its head and neck were a bit odd. The neck was a bit longer than an ordinary baby’s would be, and its mouth area protruded ever so slightly.

Because of our limited tools, it would have been difficult to uncover any clues from the terrifying human-skinned doll, so I could only wrap it back up in my coat and wait for the technical team to examine it tomorrow.

We waited in front of the female dormitory, and a moment later, Zhenzhen came bustling over. I asked her where she’d run off to earlier, and she said Supervisor Yu invited her out to eat—

I got bored watching you play chess with Uncle Liu, and I didn’t know how long it would take, so I went out for a walk and to see if I could find some clues. Unexpectedly, I ran into Supervisor Yu. She had such a long face the last time we saw her, so I don’t know what happened, but she actually walked over from pretty far away to greet me. She even started chatting with me enthusiastically.

After chatting awhile, she invited me to have dinner. Since we were working all day, I only had a few buns at lunch, and then when she asked, my stomach grumbled. She said that there was a restaurant in front of the school gate that her man opened, and then she said she’d treat me to a meal. I originally didn’t think it would be good to go, but after she said she would tell me a bit about the female dorm, I followed along.

After we got to the restaurant, she brought me into a private room and had her husband personally cook me several dishes. Then we ate and chat. But everything she told me was very trivial and irrelevant to the case. Still, her husband’s cooking was delicious. After I finished eating, I realized it had gotten pretty late. And then when I got back to the security room, I found out you guys were looking for me…

Why was Supervisor Yu suddenly so enthusiastic towards Zhenzhen? Did this have something to do with the two female ghosts? The first ghost we saw disclosed that she knew we were searching for Zhenzhen. Other than Uncle Liu, only the person who lured Zhenzhen off the campus would know about that.

After we entered the woods, Uncle Liu tried to dissuade us from going in, so the likelihood of him being involved with the female ghost was unlikely. On the other hand, Supervisor Yu’s uncharacteristic enthusiasm was rather suspicious. Perhaps we ought to look into her background a bit.

Whether or not Supervisor Yu was involved, what we had to do now was search room 106 and confirm whether or not the female ghost had entered it. I asked Zhenzhen if Supervisor Yu was still at the restaurant, and she said that they’d left together. She said she was heading back to the female dorm to lock the doors. She should have gone inside shortly before we walked around front.

This case was becoming increasingly complicated and confusing, and more and more people were becoming involved. But I believe that there is only one truth, and that truth might be hiding in room 106.