Chapter Thirty-Four: Accomplishing What Even the Police Couldn't

What he had yet to figure out was how to communicate with the soul of the blade. Holding the Demon-Banishing Sword, he tried every method imaginable to summon Fang Liang, but nothing worked; he could only leave this puzzle for future exploration.

Descending to the living room on the first floor, he was met by a large group of police officers rushing in. The two leading officers were tall and appeared to be in their forties. The one on the left had sharply defined features, reminiscent of Yuan Rushuang, with piercing eyes and an air of competence. The officer on the right had a sallow complexion and deep wrinkles; his eyes were small but held a profound gaze.

“Hello, Shang Yi, I am Yuan Qi, and this is Officer Feng,” Yuan Qi said. “I’ve heard about you from Shuangshuang, but at first I couldn’t quite believe it. After watching your livestream and the videos you sent, I realized you were far beyond my expectations. You accomplished things even the police couldn’t manage.”

Shang Yi hurried forward, shaking hands and exchanging greetings with Captain Yuan and Officer Feng. “I came here to livestream and gather some material, but I never expected to encounter criminals. As a citizen of Donghai, it’s my duty, and it’s an honor to assist you.”

“There are four suspects in total,” Shang Yi continued. “Two are on the second floor, one is in the southeast corner of the courtyard, and one escaped before you arrived—his name is Zhang Kun. There’s also a witness on the fourth floor.”

Without further discussion, Shang Yi led the officers to the three criminals still in the apartment and then took a few police upstairs to find Xing Jie. Once he saw the police had secured the entire apartment, he signaled the three invisible ghosts beside him to return to their rooms and not reveal themselves any further.

Captain Yuan, the ace detective of the West Suburb Precinct, was precise and seasoned, never wasting time. With Shang Yi’s assistance, he quickly grasped the situation at Luen Apartments. He swiftly allocated officers, conducted on-site investigations, finished all necessary procedures, left several officers to guard the scene, and submitted a warrant for Zhang Kun’s arrest to headquarters. Then Shang Yi, Xing Jie, and the three suspects were taken back to the station in police cars.

Thanks to the video testimony provided by Shang Yi, the interrogation of Bao Lif and Huang Liu went smoothly. The officers quickly obtained detailed confessions. Matching their statements with Xing Jie’s account and the numerous skeletal remains found in the apartment, the police soon confirmed the two had committed murder and rape.

Blue Dye, the Hanged Man, proved harder to deal with. After waking, he feigned insanity, speaking nonsense and making the interrogation impossible. Captain Yuan and Officer Feng personally questioned him for a long time but made little progress. The Hanged Man was known to have the closest contact with his superior, the Fool. If they couldn’t learn the Fool’s identity and the true motive behind the remote-controlled killings from him, the mystery of the Yongan Apartments massacre would remain unsolved.

The case had troubled the West Suburb Precinct for over two years, becoming a notorious cold case and placing immense pressure on every officer involved. This time, thanks to Shang Yi’s daring, he almost single-handedly wiped out the ruthless criminals at Luen Apartments, earning the admiration of all the police.

Because the Donghai Police Department placed great importance on the case, Shang Yi had to undergo detailed questioning from both the West Suburb Precinct and the Donghai Police Department, making two sets of statements. From the moment he got in the police car, Shang Yi pondered how to respond. Stealing the forbidden zone detector, impersonating the Hanged Man, tricking Bao Lif and Huang Liu into confessing—none of these could be told truthfully. In the end, he told a small lie, claiming he’d learned some hypnosis techniques, which had enabled the suspects to confess so readily.

Given Shang Yi’s crucial role in solving the case, the officers taking his statement didn’t press him too hard about the details of his non-police involvement. Moreover, Officer Yuan praised Shang Yi in front of the city police, helping his minor inconsistencies pass unnoticed.

Shang Yi remained at the West Suburb Precinct until four in the morning, when Officer Feng personally drove him back to Dreamland Park.

Before parting, Officer Feng, after once again thanking Shang Yi for his brave actions, warned him that Zhang Kun was still at large. Since Shang Yi had destroyed his hideout and helped catch his leader and accomplices, Zhang Kun surely bore a grudge. Especially since Shang Yi had met Zhang Kun face-to-face and knew what he looked like, if Zhang Kun came near the park with ill intent, Shang Yi’s safety would not be assured. Officer Feng urged him to be vigilant and call the police at once if anything seemed amiss, giving him both his and Captain Yuan’s personal phone numbers.

Thanking Officer Feng for his concern, Shang Yi returned to the haunted house. He discovered that after the system awarded him ten points of resilience, his energy was unusually abundant. After a night of soul-chasing terror and desperate combat, he felt neither tired nor sleepy.

He remembered that he had just borrowed the underground parking lot for free from Chairman Ni yesterday but hadn’t yet explored it. So, he walked to the staircase in the haunted house that led to the underground parking garage.

Going down two flights, he pushed open an iron door and entered the first level of the parking lot. The vast space was covered in thick dust, with cobwebs hanging in the corners—clearly unused and uncleared for a long time. Though dirty, the area was spacious enough.

Returning to the corridor and closing the iron door, he immediately heard the system chime. Shang Yi entered the system interface in his mind.

[Luen Apartments Scenario]
Main quest: Blade Soul.
Quest description: Activate the Klein Realm Blade Soul, capable of devouring infinite ghosts; the Demon-Banishing Sword can slay even primordial spirits.
Quest location: First-floor bathroom of Luen Apartments Scenario.
Completion requirements: At 2:40 a.m., enter the quest location, fill the bathtub with water, turn off the lights at 3:00, bite the Demon-Banishing Sword, hold your breath, close your eyes, sink to the bottom, silently recite Fang Liang’s name until he appears or for sixty seconds.
Limitations: Must be completed alone.
Quest hint: Make good use of your special employees.

Besides the new quest, Shang Yi noticed the haunted house scenario interface had changed.

Donghai West Suburb Dreamland Park Haunted House
Number of scenarios: 2
Regular employees: Tang Chi, Xu Yin, Baobao
Core employee: Tang Ya (5.5%)
Special employees: Tang Bohu, Fang Liang (pending activation)
Items: Skull Hammer, Demon-Banishing Sword (F, 0/3)
Skills: Portable Space, Ghost Hand, Ghost Tongue, Left Eye, Right Eye
Attributes: HP, Stamina, Strength, Agility, Resilience, Resistance

[Jiuyin Mountain Prison Scenario]
Physical scenario: Fully arranged
Horror index: Adjustable, 1 to 3 stars
Internal employees: 35
Visitors today: None
Total visitors: 86

[Luen Apartments Scenario]
Physical scenario: Fully arranged

Horror index: Adjustable, 1 to 3 stars
Internal employees: 20
Visitors today: None
Total visitors: None

Shang Yi noticed Tang Ya’s awakening progress displayed in the interface—yesterday, when he departed, it was only 0.001%, but now it had risen to 5.5%. He wasn’t sure if this was due purely to the passage of time or if having Tang Bohu participate in combat had contributed; it would require further observation.

Seeing the Luen Apartments scenario fully arranged with internal employees listed, and based on prior experience, he knew the setup must have been completed instantaneously.

He pushed open the iron door again, and the grand iron gate and towering walls of Luen Apartments appeared before him. Entering, the shadowy courtyard was faithfully recreated, with black-windowed warehouses on either side. The four-story main building now showed only the first-floor living room, while the other three stories extended downward, connecting to the second level of the underground parking lot.

After touring the original fourth floor, he could exit directly through the parking lot’s second-level staircase.

Using his left eye, he saw many invisible ghosts wandering the courtyard. Entering the bungalow on the right, he opened the door and used his left eye to spot the hidden Tan Gong.

Seeing Shang Yi enter, Tan Gong immediately revealed himself and greeted, “Boss, you finally came.”

Now the manager of this scenario, Shang Yi’s status was different from his previous role as an adventurer. He smiled, “How did you get here?”

Tan Gong smiled back, stepping forward, “After dying in Luen Apartments, our souls couldn’t leave. After you departed, we roamed the building. Just now, I felt a tremor in my spirit, as if a concept was implanted in my consciousness: the essence of Luen Apartments has migrated to the haunted house at Dreamland Park in West Donghai. We’ve all become actors in the haunted house and must now follow your orders, so I waited here for you.”

“So that’s how it works,” Shang Yi finally understood how ghostly employees in a scenario recognized him as their boss.

He quickly toured all areas of Luen Apartments, summoning all twenty ghost employees. They fell into two groups: Fang Liang’s family, housekeeper, and security, and those guests killed by the Hanged Man’s gang.

With his previous experience managing the prison scenario, Shang Yi was now even more adept at employee management and professional training.

As the owner of a large haunted house, Shang Yi clearly couldn’t handle everything personally. After giving brief instructions and basic demonstrations, he brought Xu Yin, Tang Chi, and Baobao from the prison scenario as temporary instructors. With their experience of serving various visitors multiple times in a single day, they were now skilled actors.

Shang Yi quietly observed their training methods, occasionally interjecting with reminders. Soon, Xu Yin and the others fully mastered the role of trainers.

He appointed Xue Ling, Tan Gong, and Xiong Xia as team leaders for the Luen Apartments scenario, instilling them with a sense of responsibility. The rest he left to Xu Yin and the others, estimating that at the current pace, they should be ready for public operations by two in the afternoon.