Starting with dissecting ghost stories

On his way home, Shen Xing was thinking about the external hiring team.

According to Wen Yan, this outsourced team, officially called the Outsourced Assistance Team, has no official position or contract, receives a substantial monthly allowance, has no mandatory tasks, and enjoys some privileges that are only available to the Ninth Detachment.

For example, the city police force can be temporarily requisitioned for assistance, and the confidentiality of files and identities is ensured. There is also a set of identification documents and weapons issued by the Ninth Division—excluding firearms.

The difference between you and a regular member of the Ninth Detachment is that you will have a dedicated liaison officer to handle your requests. Every kind of support you want will have to be approved by the Ninth Detachment.

It sounds like a high-paying, sluggish job where you could quit your job and just lie at home waiting for a stipend after joining the outsourced team. But nobody usually does that.

Because the external hiring team is not selected, but invited.

The invitees are all top talents in their respective fields, or capable individuals who have made significant contributions to society—but they all share a common characteristic: a strong sense of social responsibility.

Moreover, the external investigators do not directly search for strange things like the frontline staff, but are more focused on research.

For example, one of the tasks Wen Yan was invited to this small town was to visit those who were aware of the pollution caused by chandelier burl and to help find solutions to the pollution.

This task is not mandatory, but people with a strong sense of social responsibility, who are capable of doing so, will generally not refuse a task that could directly save thousands of lives.

Perhaps Shen Xing could apply for an abandoned factory or a house in the suburbs to use as his laboratory.

Of course, this comes at a price.

It's true that the other members of the external team have a strong sense of social responsibility.

But the key problem is that Shen Xing lacks a sense of social responsibility.

If I refuse too many similar requests for assistance in investigations, it will likely affect my internal evaluation within the Ninth Detachment, which could lead to the revocation of my privileges or even the reopening of the investigation.

Should we pick some that interest us to do? And secretly cut off a section for ourselves while we're dissecting abnormalities for them?

I don't know if it will work.

However, speaking of Wen Yan just now...

Shen Xing was skeptical that Wen Yan would have a sense of social responsibility.

Wen Yan was very good at small talk, even managing to pique Shen Xing's interest. But at the very end, when Shen Xing answered a question about the family annihilation case... although it was less than a second, Shen Xing still caught a glimpse of a smirk on Wen Yan's lips.

This is an arrogant and conceited person. He probably discovered something that I didn't, and he's quite pleased with himself for it.

Wen Yan did not always display an arrogant attitude, but judging from his consistent control of the conversation, he was the kind of person who liked to be in control.

Shen Xing couldn't analyze anything more; all he knew was that the other party was underestimating him.

That's good.

Shen Xing was also worried that the other party would focus on him, and if he had to deal with a serious psychology expert all the time, he would really have a hard time keeping up.

Pretending to be a wooden doll might be okay once or twice, but doing it too often will arouse suspicion.

The next step is to learn to smile bitterly, wear a mask of pain for a while, and then return to normal.

Shen Xing returned home with the nearly cold tea and snacks. As soon as he opened the door, he saw his younger sister, Shen Yuan, sitting on the sofa with her arms crossed, staring intently at the television as if she had a grudge against it.

Who has upset her again?

After changing into indoor slippers, Shen Xing placed the tea and snacks on the table and said, "I brought back dinner, it's a bit cold, do you want me to heat it up for you?" "No need, it's better when it's cold, it'll help calm my temper." Shen Yuan got up, quickly walked to the dining table, sat down, and started eating after opening the packaging. She acted very angry in front of him, as if she really wanted him to ask her why she was so angry.

But clearly, Shen Xing wasn't going to make a fool of himself. He ignored his sister, who looked like a ticking time bomb, and headed straight for his room.

Before Shen Xing could even leave, Shen Yuan, realizing her brother hadn't asked what had happened, couldn't help herself and blurted out while chewing on her shumai, "You know what? I ran into a lunatic today! In my class."

Shen Yuan wasn't originally this angry, but she only replied with "Get lost" in the morning, without cursing back or insulting the other party's parents, which made her angrier the more she thought about it.

Throughout the day in class, Shen Yuan was reviewing her actions from the morning, feeling that saying one thing would definitely get her scolded to death, while saying another would leave her speechless.

Then, just thinking about how all she had said was "get lost," Shen Yuan wanted to punch herself.

Hehe, if I hadn't been close to the other person's mother, I definitely would have cursed back right then and there.

She had been holding in her anger all day and wanted to vent to her brother about that woman, to curse her out together, so that she could at least feel a little better.

"Do you know what she said? She actually asked me directly, 'Are your parents dead?' If it weren't for her..." Shen Yuan chattered on, even embellishing the landlady's complaints about her daughter.

In her description, the other person seemed to be a crazy old woman who had escaped from a mental hospital wearing a patient gown and was causing trouble everywhere.

Shen Yuan herself was a saint whose power was sealed by friendship, and she was broad-minded, which is why she didn't bother with idiots.

Shen Xing was forced to stay in place, and it was not appropriate for him to continue walking towards the room. So he simply stopped, turned around, and listened to his sister finish speaking.

My younger sister used to not tell me what happened at school, but now our relationship has improved a lot?

Shen Xing had been listening silently, not intending to offer any opinion, as he was thinking about other things.

But even though it was all going in one ear and out the other, Shen Xing caught a crucial piece of information. He then focused his attention and listened attentively. Although the girl Shen Yuan was talking about was somewhat neurotic, she had only started consistently causing trouble two weeks ago. And that girl only angered his mother and Shen Yuan; she never went out of her way to bother anyone else.

Is it because she's not good at expressing herself? She's the one who provokes the closest people, just like Shen Yuan before, a bully at home but not at home?

Shen Xing felt something was amiss.

The timing is too coincidental.

The video store that Shen Yuan frequents is on Anning Street. Coincidentally, Wang Xinran also loves watching movies and TV series. Is it possible that Wang Xinran has rented DVDs there? The girl knows that Shen Yuan often goes to the video store. Could it be that she deliberately provoked Shen Yuan to see if Shen Yuan would get angry?

Shen Xing remembered his method for removing Shen Yuan's influence: constantly mentioning deceased relatives and friends to make Shen Yuan negative and detach her from that happy mood.

The girl knew that the abnormality was affecting her emotions, so she deliberately provoked her mother to get her out of that state.

It might just be a coincidence... After all, this is just a small town. Shen Xing himself couldn't believe that so many unusual things would happen around him in such a short time.

But the seed of doubt had already been planted, and Shen Xing would definitely have to take the time to check it out.

However, Shen Xing needs to get rid of his sister first, because he wants to go back to his room to see how [02-Doll] is recovering.

Based on Shen Xing's previous observations of his younger sister, in situations like this, reasoning with her wouldn't work; he just needed to go along with her emotions and agree with what she said, regardless of right or wrong.

"Her parents are dead too," Shen Xing chimed in.

"How could you talk about Auntie like that?" Shen Yuan glared at Shen Xing.

Shen Xing: "

There's nothing else I can do.