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墨書 Inktalez
The game known as the Spirit Game is called the Four Corners Candle Game, which is said to be a Western pastime not widely known in this country. The preparations for this game are quite simple: find a place where no light can enter, gather five identical white candles, and recruit four brave Young Men to join you in this daring endeavor.
It is worth mentioning that only one person can see the ghost during this game; the others will not be able to see it.
The gameplay is as follows: when the five individuals arrive in this dark room, one Young Man is chosen to be the medium, standing in the center of the room while the other four stand in each corner, facing the walls with their eyes closed. During the game, these four must not open their eyes; otherwise, unexpected events may occur. They can only open their eyes once the medium has extinguished all the candles and sent the ghost away.
Once everyone is positioned, the Medium first faces the door and then lights the candles in a clockwise manner, placing them behind each Young Man. There is a rule for placing the candles: while holding a lit candle, the Medium must walk counterclockwise around each person before setting down the candle.
Under the flickering candlelight, shadows of the four individuals will be cast onto the ceiling above them. After completing this setup, the Medium raises the last candle without lighting it and repeatedly whispers “DEMON.” At this point, the Medium will begin to see shadows on the wall slowly transforming until a demon or ghost appears before them.
At this moment, regardless of what happens or any sounds that may arise, no one should panic or show fear. The four individuals in the corners must keep their eyes shut and remain still. Once the Medium sees the ghost, they must silently repeat “DAEMON.” After some time, the unlit candle will ignite on its own, indicating that Daemon has arrived and that the demon has left.
Only then can the Medium pick up each candle from the corners in a counterclockwise direction and walk clockwise behind each Young Man before blowing them out. Finally, the Medium extinguishes their own candle, signaling that Daemon has departed and bringing an end to the game.
After hearing this, everyone glanced around nervously at their surroundings. Juan Juan remarked, “It seems they didn’t complete this game successfully; I wonder if that young girl saw a demon.”
I replied, “The murdered girl saw a demon; that killer is indeed a demon. What could be more demonic than someone who takes another's life?”
At that moment, Mary raised her hand and said, “I want to try this spirit communication game!” She looked at everyone shyly with her big watery eyes blinking like a cute peach waiting to be picked. It was hard to refuse her request.
Seeing no one else speak up, Mary tugged at my sleeve and asked, “Brother Shao, aren’t you going to play?”
Her words made me feel weak-kneed. I quickly responded, “Well, Mary’s suggestion isn’t bad! Crime scene simulation is an effective method for realistically reconstructing crime scenes. If anyone wants to play—cough cough—experience it, please raise your hand…”
As soon as I finished speaking, Mary raised both her hands and waved them excitedly in the air. I slowly raised my hand too. Yan Junde declared, “I don’t believe there are ghosts or demons in this world!” He raised his hand as well. Seeing this, Juan Juan also raised her hand. We were still short one person when a slightly plump male forensic doctor raised his hand and said, “Everyone says I’m timid; I’ll prove them wrong this time!”
We found a spacious room and pulled down some tattered curtains. With Investigator’s help, we gathered five identical candles and began our Spirit Game. The Fat Forensic Doctor nervously said, “The demon won’t come here, right? After all, it’s an overseas demon; it’s quite a journey for it…”
Mary was performing a series of actions as the medium while I faced the wall with my eyes closed, contemplating details of this case. The victims were all female with objects inserted into their bodies; how did the Killer know their movements? The internet! That’s right—Sister Qi was live-streaming! This particular victim likely spread news about her nighttime adventure through online channels first. If that’s true, then it would explain how the Killer could stake out here and hide in wait to murder Sister Qi and Xiao Xiao.
That night when Sister Qi began her live stream about exploring, the Killer was already watching. Soon after, he arrived at this location before Sister Qi did and hid in darkness waiting for an opportunity to strike. Thus, if we can find someone who was watching Sister Qi’s stream from the beginning and who could quickly reach this area from within our city, it stands to reason that this person must be our Killer!
Not bad! For Mary, being a computer expert, finding these people shouldn't be too difficult! This could lead to a breakthrough in the case, and perhaps we could solve our assigned case before the other team, officially becoming part of the Special Investigation Team.
With this in mind, I planned to focus on two points after the Spirit Game ended. First, I would look for those who watched Sister Qi's livestream and could provide information about the deceased's activities online. Second, I would investigate all the bathhouses and hair salons in the city to find individuals with Special Preferences. If these three elements matched up, it would undoubtedly point to one of them being the Killer!
Moreover, during the Spirit Game, I suddenly thought of a final move. If the other Special Investigation Team was nearing the end of their investigation, I would use this last resort. At that time, we would surely crack the case before they did. However, this tactic carried significant risks; I couldn't make such a decision lightly unless absolutely necessary.
It seemed that Mary's decision to play the Spirit Game was indeed correct. In a silent and dark space, one could relax both body and mind, allowing for such thoughts to emerge. Just then, Mary suddenly shouted, and instinctively I opened my eyes, remembering that in the game one wasn't supposed to open their eyes. Could it be that we truly encountered a demon?
At this point, I quickly turned around and saw Yan Junde rushing toward Mary in a single leap, extinguishing several candles with his forceful wind. In the darkness, I heard Fat Forensic Doctor exclaim, "No! I'm not under your system's jurisdiction; I'm managed by the King of Hell in the east. The demons from the west have no control over my life or death..."
I felt both amused and exasperated. Taking a few steps aside, I shielded Yang Xiaojuan who was huddled in the corner. Feeling her grip on my arm eased my mind. Then I bent down to pick up a candle from the ground in front of her and took out my lighter to ignite it. The faint candlelight allowed us to see our surroundings clearly.
Fat Forensic Doctor was curled up in a corner, trembling with his head held low. Mary was protected behind Yan Junde, who was now crouched on the ground pressing down on something. Their bodies blocked my view of whatever it was while Yang Xiaojuan clung tightly to my arm.
Fat Forensic Doctor sensed the light and raised his head to look at Yan Junde, saying, "Did you catch an evil spirit from Magic City?"
Yan Junde released his grip and replied, "There are no demons in this world!"
The thing on the ground stood up as we looked closely; it was clearly not a demon but rather an Investigator from the Police Department who had brought us here earlier. After such a mix-up, everyone felt incredibly awkward. The Investigator joked, "I finally got to witness the skills of a martial arts champion..."
I quickly asked, "What’s going on? How did you suddenly come in here?"
Juan Juan relaxed her grip on my arm upon realizing there were no demons and listened as the Investigator explained: "We just received a call from Lingdong Police Station. Someone reported that their friend has been missing for two days. While taking statements at the precinct, they found it suspicious and called us at the Police Department. The friend who went missing should be this woman who died in the hospital!"
I nodded and said to Mary, "The four people you mentioned have been found!"
"What should we do next?" the Investigator asked me.
After thinking for a moment, I replied, "These four individuals likely saw or heard something important. Have them come to the Police Department tomorrow to give statements. Through their accounts at the precinct, we can clarify basic information about the deceased. Then Mary, you will be responsible for investigating who watched Sister Qi's livestream first that night and anyone who might know about this deceased person's online activities."
"There's no problem as long as we have information!" Mary said, patting the backpack on her back.
I nodded and continued, "Yan Junde, take some people and search through places like bathhouses for anyone with a deviant mindset. We need to find this person, no matter how deep we have to dig."
Yan Junde nodded, and the Investigator said, "It looks like our city is going to launch a large-scale crackdown on vice."
The crime scene had been thoroughly investigated, the body wrapped up and loaded into the vehicle. A few police officers were left to guard the area while the rest prepared to head back. Just then, a police car pulled up, and I took on the role of the driver. To my surprise, Juan Juan got into my car as well. I started the engine, leaving just the two of us inside.
I followed the police car back to the Police Department, noticing that Juan Juan was staring at me intently. I said, "If you have something to say, just say it. Why keep it bottled up?"
Juan Juan nodded lightly and then said, "Back in the house earlier, we didn't know what was happening. Yan Junde rushed in first. The first thing you should have done was light a candle instead of coming over to protect me. You should know better than I do as a detective. So why did you come to protect me first before lighting the candle?"
Usually, I could spout off sweet nothings without any pressure; it came easily to me. But when someone else was serious, it made it hard for me to respond—especially when I looked into Juan Juan's affectionate eyes, which made me feel flustered. I quickly lied, saying, "Oh, it's just that I accidentally kicked my candle away and didn't know where it went, so I came over to find yours..."
"I see," Juan Juan replied.
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