The Last Mr. Dongguo

Zhang Tingyu tried to suppress his fear, but his legs trembled uncontrollably. The scene of his last meal with Feng Xin kept replaying in his mind. Feng Xin's outfit now was exactly the same as that day. Whether it was a hallucination or reality, Zhang Tingyu couldn't care less now. His hands were behind his back, groping for something on the table, hoping to grab onto something for self-defense, but there was nothing there.

"Are you disappointed?"

"You're really not dead? Did you orchestrate all of this?"

Zhang Tingyu managed to stand, but now he had his own ideas. Whether the person before him was human or ghost, he would fight. Having a clear goal gave Zhang Tingyu a little confidence.

"Haha, Zhang Tingyu, you're too naive. I'm already a dead man, how could I kill you? But if I don't kill you, someone else will. You won't leave here alive today." Feng Xin's contemptuous smile was like a sharp knife, leaving cuts on Zhang Tingyu's body. The knife tip pierced deep into his skin, causing him to bleed profusely.

dead!

Zhang Tingyu sensed an extraordinary power in Feng Xin's words. A dead person? No, but no, she must be bluffing me; there are no ghosts in this world.

It must be a hallucination. Zhang Tingyu kept pounding his forehead, hoping to wake himself from the hallucination, but all he felt was real pain.

popping.

Feng Xin clapped her hands twice, and the floor between the two suddenly began to rotate. Then, a section of the floor flipped ninety degrees, and a woman dressed exactly like Feng Xin appeared between them. However, the woman lay quietly on the ground, lifeless.

"I'm already dead. Do you remember how I died?" Feng Xin said, standing there. Her half-exposed face slowly curved into a smile, her ghostly gaze fixed on Zhang Tingyu.

The resemblance was astonishing; they were practically identical. A corpse appeared before Zhang Tingyu, plunging him into a state of bewildered despair once more.

Zhang Tingyu bent down, wanting to brush aside the corpse's long hair to examine its face more closely. However, his outstretched right hand trembled in mid-air; he lacked the courage to verify his thoughts, the courage to break free from his own inner demons.

When Zhang Tingyu turned his gaze back to Feng Xin, he discovered that Feng Xin had a gun in her hand, and the muzzle was pointed directly at him.

"Zhang Tingyu, do you still think this is the world you exist in? Haven't you noticed that everything here defies explanation by the principles of reality? Look closely, you will never leave this place, never."

"You're going to kill me?"

"No, I'm going to make you commit suicide, and I'll use this gun." Feng Xin switched hands, gripping the barrel, and slowly approached Zhang Tingyu. Zhang Tingyu felt waves of cold air slowly approaching, and when his hand touched the gun, the biting cold became even more real.

It's a gun, a real gun.

"You will be held accountable for what you've done, and I will be accountable for what I've done. The gun is in your hand now; do you have the guts to shoot?"

Zhang Tingyu quickly took the gun and gripped it tightly in his hand. The hand he had been searching for was now a gun in his grasp. A real gun.

Zhang Tingyu instantly turned the gun towards Feng Xin, feeling even more confident.

"Let me go, or I'll shoot."

"Go ahead and shoot. In the end, you'll only hit yourself. I told you, I won't kill you. I'll make you die by your own hand. You'll pay for what you've done."

"No, I won't die. I didn't kill anyone, I didn't kill you."

Zhang Tingyu hesitated, slowly lowering the gun in his hand, his eyes gradually drooping.

"This is all an illusion, I won't fall for it. Hmph, you want me to kill someone in front of you? I won't let you have your way." Zhang Tingyu threw the gun in his hand into the dark corner, slowly adjusting his breathing. "As long as I stop listening to your instigation, as long as I do nothing, you can't do anything about it. Tomorrow, as long as I hold on until tomorrow, my men will come here to find me, and then I will be saved. Haha, I'll still be the ultimate winner."

In another room.

Cheng Luan gently rubbed his temples, pacing back and forth in the room. The current situation had imprisoned his thinking; all the clues seemed to be right in front of him, yet they were like a tangled mess. His policeman's intuition told him that only by finding the last thread could he unravel all the mysteries.

The corpses in the hospital—yes, the corpses—are the beginning of everything.

Thinking of this, Cheng Luan took out his phone and opened his photo album. A series of photos of the hospital scene popped up. Cheng Luan carefully examined the photos, finally stopping at the body number plate, which clearly showed the body's name—Feng Xin. However, when Cheng Luan pulled up another photo of Feng Xin before her death, her appearance was strikingly similar to Liu Ting's.

Who exactly was the deceased? Cheng Luan realized that this might be a conspiracy that no one could have imagined.

Cheng Luan used a code to convey his questions to Fei Li and Li Mengying. After discussion, the three decided to take advantage of a special opportunity to meet in pairs.

The standoff between Zhang Tingyu and Feng Xin continues.

"Zhang Tingyu, have you really forgotten?"

Feng Xin's tone softened considerably, giving Zhang Tingyu a fleeting illusion of pity.

"It's time to wake up, it's time to wake up. There's no hurdle that can't be overcome. Everything and everyone has a cause and effect. Cause and effect are cyclical, and retribution is inevitable."

"I don't understand what you're talking about?"

Zhang Tingyu cautiously retreated, but the wall blocked his way. A strange sense of regret welled up inside him, as if he hadn't done something. Facing Feng Xin, he didn't know what to do. His earlier tension had eased, and his fear had turned into doubt.

"What exactly are you trying to say?"

Where is Liu Ting?

"Liu Ting?"

"Yes, do you remember where she was?"

"Nonsense, of course I remember. Aren't you just asking the obvious?" Zhang Tingyu felt like he'd been tricked.

"Think carefully, was the person who just came with you really Liu Ting?"

"What exactly are you trying to say?"

"Liu Ting is dead."

"No, that's impossible! What did you do to Liu Ting?"

Zhang Tingyu disregarded everything else; he abruptly stood up and grabbed Feng Xin's shoulder. The sensation he felt was the warmth of her body.

Where is Liu Ting? Who are you?

"She is Feng Xin, and the one lying on the ground is Liu Ting." A door opened in the darkness, and Cheng Luan slowly walked in. "The one who came with you is actually Feng Xin, and the body stolen from the hospital is Liu Ting. I think this is a scheme devised by Feng Xin and her brother."

Zhang Tingyu looked at the corpse on the ground again, and this time he saw it clearly—a pale and familiar face—Liu Ting.

"In the 'Ode to the Divine Crow,' the female crow is Liu Ting, the male crow is you, and the thieving bird is Feng Xin."