I have a ghost diary

"Driver! Stop the car! Stop the car!"

The slightly overweight taxi driver looked at Chu Jiang strangely, but still pulled the car over to the side of the road. "What's wrong?"

Chu Jiang frowned deeply and tapped his head. "What... was I supposed to do again?"

The driver looked the young man up and down. He looked very energetic and didn't seem like he had any mental problems.

"Didn't you say you lost something and were going back to look for it?"

The driver's words left Chu Jiang even more confused. He checked his backpack and then his pockets, only to find that he hadn't lost anything.

"But I didn't lose anything! Did I just say I lost anything?"

The chubby driver shook his head. "You only said it was very important, and you even offered to pay extra to make me drive faster. You haven't forgotten all that, have you??"

Chu Jiang thought back for a moment and it seemed that there was indeed such a thing. "I didn't forget. I just... suddenly remembered that I didn't lose anything."

This made the driver look at Chu Jiang even more strangely. "You're not trying to renege on your fare, are you? My meter remembers everything." He pointed with his chubby hand to the meter in the car, which was displaying red numbers.

"I'll pay now, please take me back to the Linjiang Hotel," Chu Jiang said with a smile, his brow unfurrowed.

Although he thought the young man was a bit eccentric, the chubby driver didn't say anything after seeing that the other party paid the money readily. He turned the car around and drove Chu Jiang back.

Throughout the process, Chu Jiang kept his head down, biting his fingernails as he pondered something.

Something's not right...something's really not right!

What exactly happened? Why do I feel like I'm possessed?

After regaining his senses, Chu Jiang realized just how terrifying what had just happened to him had been.

He inexplicably felt that he had lost something and wanted to go back to look for it, even hurriedly hailing a taxi on the roadside.

However, halfway back, Chu Jiang suddenly emerged from his possessed state, to the point that for a short time he was even a little confused about the logic behind his actions.

This is very likely due to the influence of a ghost...

When did it start? Was it because of that ghost that peeked out from behind the window?

Did you have direct physical contact with it, which led to the other party planting a psychological suggestion in you?

Chu Jiang's face grew increasingly grim as he thought about it. Would he suddenly enter that inexplicable state again? This was a huge hidden danger, and he even felt a serious threat to his life.

Wait, something's not right!

Chu Jiang recalled a detail: after dropping him off, the ride-hailing driver seemed distracted and drove back quite fast.

At that time, Chu Jiang had no suspicions; he just thought the other party might have to go back to give a statement.

Now that I think about it, could it be that the driver had also entered the same state as me? But he hadn't had any contact with the ghost head at all, had he?

Thinking of this, Chu Jiang immediately dialed the driver's number.

He had a phone call with the other party when they picked him up at the station before.

The call was answered shortly afterward. "Hello."

Chapter Thirty: The Mysterious Hotel

Hearing the driver's perfectly normal tone, Chu Jiang breathed a sigh of relief. "Hello, I'm the passenger from earlier. Is everything alright on your end? Why did you drive back in such a hurry?"

"Nothing's wrong, I wasn't in a rush," the driver said, sounding a little puzzled.

"Have the police arrived yet?" Chu Jiang continued to ask.

"Oh dear, I almost forgot. Wait a minute, a new call is coming in, it should be from the police."

The driver then hung up the phone.

Chu Jiang hesitated for a moment, then stopped dialing. After the chubby driver dropped him off, he stood by the roadside and dialed the contact number left by the local person in charge on the paranormal forum.

The call was quickly connected, and a woman with a pleasant voice answered, "Hello, how can I help you?"

"Hello, I have some information about the 'Ghost Peek' incident that I'd like to sell to you."

The other party was not surprised, but responded in a businesslike tone, "Please go ahead, I've got it all in mind."

This made Chu Jiang realize that the person who answered the phone was probably not the person in charge, but just one of their subordinates.

That makes sense, really. A city leader can't be a lone wolf; it's just that I hadn't met Li Bu Huo and Xu Bing's team before.

Then, Chu Jiang gave a brief account of his experience.

Of course, he didn't reveal his abilities, only saying that he encountered Gui Tou while hitchhiking and had physical contact with him.

Finally, he described in detail his experience of suddenly wanting to go back to find something, as well as his doubts about the driver.

The person answering the phone took careful notes, then asked, "Anything else?"

"Nothing."

"Yes, sir. I will report the information you provided to my superiors. However, the corresponding reward will not be issued to you immediately. There is a verification process, and the time is uncertain. Please be patient."

Chu Jiang agreed and then hung up the phone.

His reason for selling this information was simple: the ghost in the ghost peeking out incident was even more terrifying than he had imagined.

Its killing patterns are definitely not limited to targeting drivers/passengers; or rather, Ghost Head has some undiscovered special abilities, making it extremely dangerous.

Therefore, rather than taking the risk yourself, it's better to leave the matter to the local person in charge to handle.

Don't risk your life to solve the paranormal event, only to end up with a meager share of the spoils, while the other party gets all the credit.

Moreover, Chu Jiang sold the intelligence to the person in charge in the hope that the other party could get rid of Gui Tou as soon as possible.

If the problem can't be resolved in the end, Chu Jiang might have to take matters into his own hands, because he's worried that this ghost might have further consequences for him.

After checking his mental state again and writing down some keywords on his phone and in his palm to remind himself, Chu Jiang finally entered the Linjiang Hotel.

Another noteworthy point is that, after Chu Jiang's right hand was separated from the ghost head, the signs of decay gradually returned to normal after being constantly washed away by blood.

This is the only good news.

Upon entering the hotel, at the front desk, there was only one woman sitting behind her wearing a pale yellow shirt.

She had her hair tied in a ponytail, and her features were fairly delicate, but she had heavy dark circles under her eyes; moreover, her eyes were red, as if she had just been crying not long ago.

The woman didn't notice Chu Jiang when he came in; she only realized what was happening when he got closer.

"Hello, do you need accommodation?" The woman seemed to be the receptionist here; her voice was a little hoarse.

"Yes."

Chu Jiang booked a room for three days initially at a very cheap price of less than 300 yuan. The room number he finally got was 303.

It must be said that this hotel was rather quiet. While the two were talking, there wasn't a sound in the entire hotel, as if it were an empty, haunted house.

Although Chu Jiang knew beforehand that this was a budget hotel in a less-than-ideal location, he still didn't expect it to be so empty. He jingled his key and asked, "You don't mean I'm the only guest here, do you?"

The receptionist forced a smile. "Of course not, people stay on the first, second, and third floors."

Chu Jiang nodded, didn't ask any more questions, and took the elevator directly to the third floor.

It's obvious that the receptionist has a story to tell, and she's probably not in a good mood lately, but that has nothing to do with Chu Jiang.

Chu Jiang's only wish is that his hotel won't be haunted. If that happens, he'll wonder if he has Conan-like qualities, causing people to die wherever he goes.

......

The old-fashioned elevator doors with railings are a bit rusty, and the advertisements posted inside the elevator are yellowed. Standing inside, it slowly rises, accompanied by creaking mechanical sounds, giving you the feeling of being in the 1980s or 90s.

The hotel was small, with only six or seven rooms on each floor. When Chu Jiang passed by room 302, he heard a young woman's voice coming from inside. She seemed to be on the phone with someone, arguing loudly.

"I'm not going back! I'd rather die than go back."

"You won't find me; I've already moved to another city..."

As I approached 303 and prepared to open the door, I heard a man talking to himself coming from 304.

Because the volume wasn't loud, Chu Jiang couldn't hear very clearly, only that someone was rambling on and on, seemingly saying, "I'm not sick, I'm not sick, I'm not sick..."

Shaking his head helplessly, Chu Jiang opened the door and went inside. He felt more and more that something was wrong with this hotel.

The hotel room was fairly clean, and there was no unpleasant smell in the air. Apart from the small room size, everything was great, even the air conditioning was available.

So Chu Jiang put down his luggage, lay down on the big bed, and carefully recalled all the details of his encounter with Gui Tou.

----------------------------

Meanwhile, at the previous crime scene, several police cars were parked on the roadside, and the previous ride-hailing driver took a sip of water and said impatiently, "That's all. Can I leave now?"

The nearby police officers seemed a bit distracted; they kept asking trivial questions, as if they were stalling for time.

The driver wasn't stupid; he immediately noticed that these people seemed a bit strange, and he regretted calling the police.

So he threw the mineral water bottle down and said, "Excuse me, gentlemen, please don't delay my money-making any longer. I promise I won't call the police next time, okay?"

The lead officer wiped the sweat from his brow and said with a smile, "Don't say that. If we really wanted to cause you trouble, we would have taken you to the police station long ago."

"The reason we're not letting you leave is because a leader is taking this matter very seriously, and Mr. Li, you were the first witness, so the leader wants to come over in person to ask you about some details."

"Please wait a little longer, ten minutes, no, five minutes, that person will be here soon."

Chapter Thirty-One: The Person in Charge Takes Action

The driver rubbed his neck in annoyance and turned his head. "Then hurry up. What kind of leader are you, acting all high and mighty?"

Just then, a black car drove up on the road, which hadn't seen any vehicles for at least ten minutes.

Upon seeing the car, all the police officers couldn't help but relax.

However, the lead officer did not let his guard down and continued to observe the driver's every move.

Soon, the car stopped, and a young man in a black suit got out of the driver's seat, while a man in a gray overcoat and sunglasses got out of the passenger seat.

He took off his sunglasses, tossed them to his subordinate, and walked straight toward them.

The man had a hooked nose, a fierce look in his features, and a scar on his left cheek, making him seem like someone who wasn't easy to get along with.

As he walked over, he waved his right hand, as if shooing away a swarm of flies.