Shi Xiaojie had headed out to the construction site early again. He seemed unaware that a body had been unearthed there previously; the construction company likely kept it quiet to prevent the workers from fleeing.
Shi Xiaojie was an honest kid who kept his head down and didn't pay much attention to gossip. Gu Xiang Kai didn't mention it either, instead asking about him leaving the previous day.
"Did someone follow you downstairs?"
Shi Xiaojie was slurping instant noodles in his room after returning for the evening. He looked a bit confused at the question. "No, I left by myself."
It was only a little past five then. Who would have gone with him?
"Oh, I thought I heard someone next door closing their door."
Shi Xiaojie didn't care; he was naturally carefree.
"Is that so? I didn't hear anything, and I didn't hear anyone following me down."
He finished the soup, smacking his lips with lingering satisfaction. "Hmm... maybe you misheard? Who would go out that early? I don't think anyone else here works at the construction site like I do."
Gu Xiang Kai smiled and changed the subject.
In the afternoon, Gu Xiang Kai ran into Wu Ming heading out. He called out a greeting, and the two chatted for a bit, both trying to fish for information.
The content of their probing was essentially: what do you do for a living?
In truth, Gu Xiang Kai had already seen through Wu Gang's limited skills; being a security guard was likely a cover, while scouting locations was the reality.
However, Wu Ming was far more ferocious than he appeared. Was he really just a petty thief following his brother?
Or did he have some peculiar interests of his own?
Wu Gang, meanwhile, found Gu Xiang Kai's identity quite strange. He looked like someone from the streets, yet he was inexplicably well-behaved.
He had expected a mad dog that would bite, but after interacting... could he be a police dog?
Someone like Wu Ming was exceptionally sensitive to the cops, yet Gu Xiang Kai undeniably carried an underworld air about him, which left Wu Ming puzzled.
Neither could pry anything out of the other, so they settled for some idle gossip about Oasis Community.
Wu Gang brought back word that the security from Oasis Community would be coming by with property management in the afternoon because a resident had never returned.
News of this quickly spread through the demolition area. Because Oasis Community was so prestigious, those who were dissatisfied were quickly intimidated into silence.
A slightly pudgy man was anxiously speaking to the leader of the group. Nan Yue guessed that one of his family members was missing.
The group consisted of police, security, property management, and some residents who had joined voluntarily. Upon arrival, most of the residents covered their noses and mouths, their disdain plain in their eyes.
"I told you this place shouldn't stay. All those workers and riff-raff are always wandering around here. If you don't keep a close eye on your kids for one second, it's terrifying. And mine is a girl."
"It's all because the developer is heartless. This place wasn't in the original plans when we bought our homes. Damn developers."
"Thankfully, there are only about ten days left until this place is forcibly leveled. Just endure it a bit longer."
"How pitiful. I heard he's only been married for six months, and now his wife is missing."
The residents had mostly come to watch the commotion, and once they arrived, they didn't hesitate to gossip openly.
Strictly speaking, they weren't trying to drive everyone here to their deaths; they had prejudices, but they also acted out of concern for their own safety.
More importantly, they felt a sense of imbalance. They had spent tens of millions on their homes, and having such an unstable factor nearby was something no one wanted to tolerate.
The people in the demolition area usually cursed the residents of Oasis Community, saying they had their eyes on the tops of their heads and looked down on everyone.
Now, however, they remained silent, standing together in a group.
The police first took statements from the permanent residents. But because the population was so transient and most were migrant workers, let alone abnormal behavior, few even had fixed nine-to-five schedules.
"Search."
Hearing this, the people in the demolition area began to protest. "On what grounds are you searching our place? We aren't criminals."
The police explained, "We are only searching the common areas first. If there are no issues, we won't enter your homes."
This barely extinguished the crowd's dissatisfaction.
Nan Yue watched coldly. The security and property management were certainly putting in the effort; this was a good time to perform. The residents wandered around and didn't leave; this place exceeded their imaginations.
The search lasted a long time. Although the area wasn't large, there were many nooks and crannies.
As dusk began to fall, a police officer approached with a grim face and whispered something to the leading officer. Both of their expressions turned solemn.
The pudgy man's face went white instantly. Even though the police told everyone not to follow, the crowd surged after them anyway.
The place where something had happened was the very dilapidated building where Nan Yue and the others lived.
The first floor.
The trash dump.
Most of the residents were blocked outside by the seemingly unsafe fire escape of the dilapidated building. Others managed to enter the interior and went down the internal stairs to the first floor, only to stop in their tracks.
The stench was so heavy that some began to retch.
Three or five police officers were already guarding the area. Since there were no lights in the building, they used flashlights to illuminate the scene.
Nan Yue followed behind, sensing something was wrong the moment she entered.
Gu Xiang Kai looked at Nan Yue and frowned. This smell was different from before.
It was the smell of a corpse.
And they did indeed see a body.
A rotting male corpse.
The crowd screamed and ran away. Soon, the forensic doctor arrived. Nan Yue and the others couldn't get close and could only watch from a distance.
This certainly wasn't the pudgy man's wife, but he had been dead for some time. There was a massive gash on the back of his head, a hole literally split open. It was impossible to tell how much force it took to cause such a wound.
The police, faces grim, surrounded everyone from the demolition area and questioned them one by one.
Did they recognize this person? Did they know anyone nearby who was missing? Had there been anything unusual lately?
The questioning continued until dawn without any results.
"This looks like..."
"He was a previous tenant."
In the end, it was Sister Deng who recognized him. She remembered the army green shirt the man was wearing.
Uncle Zhong was reluctantly hauled over for further questioning. He didn't know who the man was or what he did either; he could only vaguely say that he thought the man had checked out.
This man had previously lived in the room Gu Xiang Kai and the others were in. He had "checked out" eight days ago. He was an idle scoundrel with no steady job.
He frequently drank heavily; he was the one who used to howl like a wolf in the middle of the night.
Hearing this, everyone lost interest in investigating further. They assumed he had gotten drunk, gone to the first floor to use the toilet, slipped, and fell to his death.
The missing resident from Oasis Community wasn't found. Once everyone knew the deceased was just a scoundrel with no relatives whose life had been a public nuisance, their interest waned significantly.
The pudgy man cursed a few times before hurrying off to continue searching for his wife.
The scoundrel's body was taken away. There was nothing to note at the scene of an accidental fall, and the place was about to be demolished anyway.
After the crowd dispersed, the residents of the demolition area gathered to gossip.
One moment they said it was good the scoundrel was dead, and the next they said this dilapidated building had seen quite a few deaths and was a bit cursed.
Nan Yue and the others, however, felt something was wrong. Gu Xiang Kai, Yin Qian, and the others had all been to the first floor before. Although they hadn't looked closely, if the body had been there all along, it would have been impossible for them not to notice given a scavenger's familiarity with the smell of death.
Rate on N.U.
