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墨書 Inktalez
Living Funeral
At that moment, her face twisted in a grotesque expression, her eyes seemingly filled with resentment.
Although I felt a bit intimidated, I still managed to ask, "What are you doing here?"
But she didn't respond at all. In the next second, she grabbed my throat, intent on choking me. Her voice was filled with madness...
I struggled, but her strength was overwhelming.
Just when I thought I was about to be choked to death, I opened my eyes. The light had slightly brightened, and I was drenched in cold sweat...
Damn it, I had just experienced a nightmare, and it was about the wife of Huang Boss.
What the hell? I wiped the beads of cold sweat from my forehead. I got out of bed; this dream was strange. I had only met Huang Boss's wife twice—why would I dream about her? It was truly bizarre.
I pulled out my phone to check the time; it was already seven in the morning. At that moment, there was a notification for an unread message.
It was from Zhang Xun. I quickly opened it and saw that the message said something like, "The ashes haven't been found yet; keep your spirits up."
I replied, "How's it going on your end? Is the urn really impossible to find?"
After sending the message, I instinctively tried to shove my phone into my pocket. However, this time, I received a quick reply—a picture with the number 198 written on it.
I had always been curious about what those four digits represented. Seeing Zhang Xun send them made me inexplicably excited.
So I quickly asked, "Did you discover the secret behind those four digits?"
But there was no response from Zhang Xun. I waited for a long time but still received nothing. Sighing, I felt an itch of curiosity in my heart, unsure of the answer.
After I stepped outside, I noticed that the bowl of blood in the living room was empty, and the Three Incense Sticks had inexplicably turned to ash.
Later, I asked if Gao Ling had lit them, but it wasn't him.
Since I was going to Boss Huang's house tonight to collect money, Gao Ling woke up particularly early, too excited to sleep.
Damn it, indeed! With so much money involved, I couldn't sleep either!
I waited until the afternoon without receiving a reply from Zhang Xun, but I did get a call from Fu Yan.
On the phone, Fu Yan said there was a lead on the Murderer and asked me to come over.
I had nothing else to do that afternoon, so Gao Ling went with me to the police station. Upon meeting Fu Yan, he informed me that the suspect's name was Li Qiang, a man from Hunan who had previously worked at a funeral home.
I had discussed this with Fu Yan before, but his tone quickly changed. Strangely enough, he had started working in 1960. That meant he had been employed for over thirty years now; by age calculation, he should be in his fifties. However, from the surveillance footage, he looked no older than twenty-five.
Fu Yan wasn't mistaken about this; people who have worked in the police station for a long time definitely have their own methods of assessing others.
In fact, Brother Li had once told me he was only twenty-five.
Yet he had supposedly started working in 1960.
Seeing my surprise, Fu Yan said, "This information is a bit outdated; there might be errors."
I nodded in response.
Fu Yan then told me that he had another list for me to take a look at.
I leaned in for a closer look, and just a single glance left me stunned. It was a list of funeral home staff members.
The photos above were all in black and white.
Fu Yan mentioned that this list was quite old, as the people from the Civil Affairs Department said they were among the first batch of employees.
I felt a surge of excitement because there were some documents at the Civil Affairs Department that I couldn't access.
However, it was much easier for Fu Yan, being a police officer, to request the information.
The reason for my shock was that the very first photo on the list was of Zhang Xun...
There were only four or five names listed, followed by Brother Li and a few others. I was completely taken aback, waves of confusion washing over me.
But when I turned to the next page, I saw a section without a photo, and the information had been "blacked out."
Fu Yan said to me, "This information is quite old, so it's normal for there to be some missing details. Can you identify anyone you could reach out to?"
I was curious too; logically speaking, since Fu Yan had investigated this far, he should have known that the funeral home staff had all died out.
It seemed that the secrets of the funeral home were tightly sealed, with not even a whisper escaping!
There must be someone behind this funeral home, I thought as my hand casually rested on one of the photos.
Fu Yan then said, "That person? You definitely can't reach him. In 198, there was a fire at the funeral home, and he was burned to death. He was one of the people from the Civil Affairs Department."
Fu Yan's words jolted me back to reality.
I immediately looked at the photo and saw my hand resting on Zhang Xun's picture.
"Is it him?" I asked.
"That's him!" Fu Yan replied.
Damn, Gao Ling was right next to me, about to say something. I kicked Gao Ling's foot and said, "Go get me a glass of water."
Gao Ling's eyes widened in surprise.
Since Gao Ling had seen Zhang Xun before, I was worried that he might accidentally let something slip. But could it really be this eerie? Zhang Xun is dead? Died in 198?
At that moment, my heart raced, and I felt inexplicably nervous.
I was sweating in the palm of my hand. Could it be that the people I had seen these past few days were not alive but dead?
Gao Ling was also smart; after pouring me a glass of water, he fell silent.
I turned to Fu Yan and asked, "Is he really dead?"
Fu Yan said, "Generally, it wouldn't be wrong. An old employee from the funeral home told me this. He apparently committed suicide."
I was stunned. Fu Yan looked at me and asked, "Do you know him?"
I shook my head; I didn't know him.
Fu Yan continued, "All the people on this list are currently employed. Can you think of anyone you might know?" I shook my head again; I had only been on the job for a little over half a month and wasn't familiar with many people there.
After I finished speaking, Fu Yan looked a bit disappointed and said, "Well, I guess I'll have to investigate on my own. The contact information here is all outdated."
I thanked Fu Yan for her efforts, though I was actually trying to maintain my composure. Inside, I was feeling a surge of excitement mixed with a chilling dread that crept up my spine.
Goosebumps prickled my skin; it was truly terrifying to think about.
As we left the police station, Fu Yan reminded me to keep my phone on.
"Okay," I replied.
Once Gao Ling and I got into the car, she exclaimed, "How is that possible? Wasn't that photo of your friend? How could he be dead?"
I told Gao Ling to drive first and we would talk later.
As soon as Gao Ling stepped on the gas, my mind was racing. How could Zhang Xun have died in 198? What did the numbers he sent me this morning mean?
I intended to pull out my phone and check the message again, but just then, my phone rang. The caller ID displayed "Zhang Xun."
I quickly answered the call, but with Gao Ling beside me, I couldn't directly ask anything.
So I cautiously said, "Is there something you need?"
On the other end, Zhang Xun replied, "I've uncovered some secrets about the funeral home."
The secret of the funeral home was that Fat Zhang and Brother Li had died mysteriously and then bizarrely come back to life.
Since it was getting late, Gao Ling drove straight toward Boss Huang's upscale area.
I asked Zhang Xun, "What secret have you discovered?" I forced myself to suppress my tension and curiosity. Damn it, I really wanted to ask if you died in 198, are you dead or alive?
But with Gao Ling here, it was really inconvenient to ask.
After a moment of silence, Zhang Xun replied, "The secret is the number 198. Haven't you been asking me about it?"
I looked at Zhang Xun and thought to myself.
Zhang Xun then said, "Your tone seems a bit off. Is something happening on your end?"
I could no longer contain my desire to know the secret, so I turned to Gao Ling and said, "Pull over for a moment; I need to buy a pack of cigarettes."
Once Gao Ling parked the car, I hurriedly got out and walked away. Finally, unable to hold back any longer, I spoke up, "I've discovered the secret of 198 as well."
He asked, "What did you find out?"
I replied, "In 198, there was a fire at the funeral home, and a person named Zhang Xun was burned to death..."
As soon as I finished speaking, my heart raced. I waited for his response, but there was a long silence on the other end...
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