Starting with dissecting ghost stories

Shen Xing entered the interrogation room and glanced around.

The surveillance cameras were off, the DV camera next to them wasn't on, and no one was taking notes... Clearly, what Wen Yan was interrogating was probably not about robbery.

After escorting Shen Xing to the interrogation room door, Chen Liming stopped, seemingly unwilling to get involved in the matter.

Shen Xing turned around and asked Chen Liming for the key to the handcuffs.

After getting the key, he closed the interrogation room door, walked to Wu Xiaoting's side, and used the key to unlock her handcuffs. The noise seemed to wake Wu Xiaoting; she groggily opened her eyes, looked up at Shen Xing, and her face seemed to hold two question marks. "Didn't I tell you everything..." Wu Xiaoting said weakly.

"I'm not a policeman, I'm Xiaoyuan's brother. You should have heard Xiaoyuan mention me. My name is Shen Xing." Shen Xing revealed his signature harmless smile and immediately tried to get close to her.

"Are you Shen Yuan's brother?" Hearing this, Wu Xiaoting seemed to perk up. She sat up straight and asked curiously, "You're not a policeman, how did you get in?"

"Magic," Shen Xing casually replied, making it up.

Revealing that you and Wen Yan belong to the same department now might cause her to feel resentful. It would be better to approach her by claiming to be her friend's brother, which would be more likely to win her favor.

But to Shen Xing's surprise, the other party believed his casual remark about "magic".

"What type of magic? Hypnotic magic?" Wu Xiaoting looked up at Shen Xing, her sleepiness completely gone, her eyes sparkling. She didn't look like she was being interrogated, and... Wen Yan probably had a good chat with her.

"Was that Professor Wen talking to you just now?" Shen Xing asked with a smile.

"Yes, he said his surname is Wen... Do I need to chant a spell?" Wu Xiaoting yawned and continued to ask Shen Xing. She had been punished by standing all afternoon in class and hadn't had any time to catch up on sleep. Now she was so sleepy she was dizzy.

"What did he talk to you about? Can you tell me?" Shen Xing continued to ask.

"Hmm... He said he's here to help me. He knows some bad things have happened to me, and I can tell him everything. He'll help me explain to the police that I haven't committed any crimes, and he can even help me resolve my problems... Haha... You can cast spells without chanting incantations? I feel like I'm going to fall asleep again."

Wu Xiaoting yawned repeatedly, but she still relentlessly pressed Shen Xing about his magic.

Shen Xing was speechless after hearing what Wu Xiaoting said.

Wen Yan had the detachment play the bad cop while he played the good cop during the interrogation, thus gaining Wu Xiaoting's trust directly.

For a young girl who hasn't experienced much of the world, it's indeed an easy way to gain her trust... ...but it's a little too unethical.

Shen Xing still had a strong sense of principle. When dealing with Li Ya, he neither let others sing nor played the good cop nor the bad cop, and he sang all the songs himself.

But the key question now is, what did Wu Xiaoting say to Wen Yan?

Shen Xing continued to press for answers, and after hearing Wu Xiaoting's subsequent response, Shen Xing fell into deep thought once again.

Wu Xiaoting's mental health issues... are indeed influenced by an anomaly, and it is highly likely that she resisted the parasitic swarm of chandelier worms because of that anomaly.

Wen Yan has now gone to Wu Xiaoting's residence.

I was a step too slow.

Shen Xing left the interrogation room, found Chen Liming, and asked him if Wen Yan had led a team to Wu Xiaoting's house.

"No, he just asked Wu Xiaoting's mother for the key and then left on his own, leaving us to keep the person under control here..." Chen Liming was somewhat puzzled, but still answered truthfully.

Wen Yan, did you go alone?

Why?

Did he inform the Ninth Detachment about this?

Chen Liming helped Shen Xing find the police officer who led the arrest team at the time.

After questioning them one by one, Shen Xing learned that Wen Yan had been doing all of this by himself from beginning to end... seemingly without going through the Ninth Detachment at all.

Now, Wen Yan, like himself, enjoys the same privileges as the Ninth Detachment, so there's no need for him to hide these things from the Ninth Detachment. But the fact is, he did.

Why?

Recalling Wen Yan's previous intentional or unintentional instigation, Shen Xing vaguely sensed that something was amiss.

From his previous words, Shen Xing could sense that Wen Yan didn't seem to approve of the Ninth Detachment's way of doing things.

What exactly does he want to do?

When Wen Yan returns, he will surely know that he was here and that he interrogated Wu Xiaoting.

Under Wen Yan's persuasive words, Wu Xiaoting would definitely reveal what she had talked about with her. Moreover, Shen Yuan was present, and Wen Yan knew that Shen Xing would definitely find out.

Will he become hostile towards him because of this? Because Shen Xing found out about him?

Before the other party finds out, Shen Xing needs to be open about this matter directly, at least to gain the upper hand.

He went to the brigade's restroom, took out his phone, and after gathering his emotions, dialed Wen Yan's number directly.

The phone rang several times, and just when Shen Xing thought the other party wouldn't answer, the call was finally connected.

"Feed?"

Wen Yan's voice came through the phone. There was a lot of wind noise nearby, so it seemed to be in a taxi with the window open.

"Why did you have my sister's friend arrested?" Shen Xing's voice was filled with anger. He immediately accused her, "She's just a child! You had the police sentence her for robbery? You know what happened on that street!"

"Don't get agitated, Ah Xing, I'm trying to help her." Wen Yan's voice carried a gentle smile. "Once this is resolved, she can be released without charge. Haven't you asked her what happened?"

"What happened?" Shen Xing asked, seemingly completely unaware of what had occurred.

"I suspect her mental health issues are related to strange occurrences. I plan to investigate further and then report to the Ninth Detachment..."

A taxi is driving on the road.

Inside the dimly lit car, Wen Yan's face, sitting in the back seat, was not clearly visible.

He was carrying a bulging backpack, seemingly filled with something. In his other hand, he held his phone to his ear and chuckled twice. "Haha... But it seems like it was a misunderstanding. There's nothing strange inside. Let the police release them. I'll personally visit them another day to apologize. I'll personally compensate them for their emotional distress, ten thousand each."

"Is everything alright? Okay, if there's nothing else, take them back. Thank you for your help."

"Oh, by the way, it seems we've got some leads on that copycat case from before. The police are already issuing a warrant for his arrest. Our guesses were mostly correct. Good job."

"Ha... okay, let's eat another day."

Wen Yan hung up the phone, and the smile on his lips slowly faded.

He slowly unzipped his backpack, glanced out the car window, and saw thunder rumbling outside.

Inside the backpack lay a clock shaped like a wooden house.