Starting with dissecting ghost stories

"Damn it! I didn't lose! Why did this bastard take my money too?"

"Damn it, he won all the money and ran away!"

Shen Xing turned and left, the sound of several people cursing and swearing coming from inside the room behind him.

Finding the permanent residence of a bankrupt gambler is quite difficult.

Shen Xing had no intention of asking the other gamblers. The more he interacted with others, the easier it would be to leave traces, not to mention that they were desperate for money now, and if he didn't leave quickly, he might be robbed.

Moreover, judging from what the people at the gambling table said earlier, this Li Ya probably still owes some creditors money.

After leaving the main building of the abandoned restaurant, Shen Xing did not leave. He stopped by a small cart selling glutinous rice cakes on the roadside, bought a serving, and ate it while waiting.

Within minutes, the gamblers left the hotel one after another and scattered in all directions.

Shen Xing had heard before he left that Li Ya had won almost all of their money, and the gambling game probably couldn't continue for a while, so Shen Xing was waiting for them to leave.

After counting the number of people and making sure everyone had left, Shen Xing finished eating the glutinous rice cake in his hand, threw the transparent plastic bag into the trash can, and walked back towards the abandoned restaurant.

The more you interact with people, the more traces you leave behind.

Shen Xing decided to try to find Li Ya himself first. If he couldn't find her, he would use the simplest method: call Grandma Zhang directly.

Compared to Granny Zhang, the other homeless gamblers were far too uncontrollable.

He went around a collapsed wall and came to the back of the restaurant—the side where Li Ya had jumped out of the window to escape.

This is a waist-high wasteland, with broken bricks and tiles scattered everywhere.

Shen Xing stood under the window, his gaze fixed on the muddy ground below the windowsill.

There was a deep footprint there, made by Li Ya when he landed. The soil around the edge of the footprint was turned up, and the toe of the shoe pointed to an area of ​​unfinished buildings to the west.

Shen Xing squatted down, but did not touch the soil. He simply observed the footprint and the trace left on the window frame up close.

The shoe print was badly worn, an old-fashioned Liberation shoe. A few fibers clung to the splinter on the window frame, probably left from when his pants were torn.

Shen Xing's gaze focused on the extremely fine gray fabric fiber hanging on the splinter, and a smear of dark red dust that had rubbed against the windowsill.

This dust is clearly not a "local specialty" of this abandoned hotel. The building here is in a grayish-blue concrete style, while that dark red dust is red brick dust.

In 2004, this small town was undergoing a large-scale urban renewal project. There were several areas with red brick walls, but they were all concentrated in the old town.

If I were still working as a forensic doctor in the provincial capital, and I or the forensic pathologist had this inference, the criminal police would have a target to investigate without me having to do it myself.

But now that I'm all alone, it's incredibly difficult to investigate so many places, and on-site trace analysis isn't a panacea either.

It was only at this point that Shen Xing began to feel the discomfort that came with leaving his job.

The knowledge I have acquired and the experience I have gained are too disconnected from daily life.

Shen Xing picked up the phone, scrolled through his contacts, found a landline number, and dialed it directly.

He dialed the shop's landline. It wasn't mealtime, so the shop wasn't busy. The phone was answered after only two rings.

Shen Xing, holding the phone, walked towards his bicycle and said into the phone, "Hello, is this Grandma Zhang? This is Shen Xing."

"It's nothing, I just wanted to ask you where Uncle Li lives now, there are some things I want to ask him."

"No, no, he doesn't owe me any money."

"Okay, thank you."

Shen Xing got the answer.

An old video store in the old town, now closed down. It used to be run by Grandma Zhang's husband, and after he passed away, it remained untouched as a memento.

That place was where Li Ya had grown up. When he was desperate, he would stay there and no one could get rid of him. However, Li Ya had no way to sell the video store, so Grandma Zhang let him stay there and even paid his water and electricity bills.

Although that place can no longer be used as a video arcade, it can still be used to sell snacks or do other business.

Although they said they had given up, they actually left him a way out, but Li Ya only used that place as a foothold.

Well, how should I put it? Parents' hearts are always full of love and worry.

It's not far from here, let's go take a look.

I should ask him why he runs away when he sees me.

Shen Xing had no grudge against him, so he shouldn't be afraid of him.

Now, Shen Xing is increasingly suspicious that the other party is connected to the anomaly.

Did he see something that others couldn't? From within himself?

Shen Xing turned around, hopped on the bicycle parked by the roadside, and rode toward his destination.

From as far back as he could remember until he started elementary school, Shen Xing lived in this area with his adoptive parents, so he was quite familiar with the place.

Shen Xing had been taken to that video store when he was a child, but his memories of it were a bit hazy, so it took him a little longer to find the place.

Coincidentally, because Shen Xing was riding a bicycle, he was much faster than a normal person walking or jogging, and he happened to see Li Ya frantically opening the door of the video arcade and walking in from a distance.

How should I put it? Should I just park the car at the entrance and frankly say that I want to talk to him about the doll?

Li Ya's mental state seems very unstable. Is he even able to listen to what I'm saying?

Shen Xing parked his car on the sidewalk not far from the video store. Below the sidewalk was a grassy slope sloping down, and five meters down was a river. A corridor had been built along the river, leading directly to the old town park not far away. The environment was quite nice.

Shen Xing parked the car on the grass on the reverse slope, a spot out of sight of the video arcade. Then, he wandered around casually, just like everyone else who came to the riverside for a weekend stroll.

His gaze remained fixed on the direction of the video rental store, observing the movements there.

Shen Xing wasn't in a hurry. He wanted to first ascertain Li Ya's movements to prevent her from escaping again.

They wandered around until noon, but Li Ya showed no sign of coming out.

At noon, Shen Xing ordered fried rice from a roadside stall not far away and ate while watching the show on a small stool by the roadside until after lunchtime, when Li Ya finally appeared.

The door to the video arcade opened, and Li Ya, after leaving the door slightly ajar, quickly walked to a small restaurant next door and went inside.

Shen Xing paid, got up, crossed the street, pushed open the half-closed door, entered the video arcade, and closed the door again.

He glanced around the video rental store, its outdated decor revealing a few benches pushed together to form a tattered bed. The floor was littered with aluminum cans and white plastic lunchboxes, a scene of utter disarray. The air inside reeked of cheap disinfectant and air freshener.

Shen Xing leaned against the door and waited. After a while, he heard the sound of running outside. Li Ya pushed the door open, quickly closed it behind her, and saw Shen Xing smiling behind the door.

"I thought this place was still open. Sorry."

"Uncle Li."