Nightmare Assault

Chapter 389: Painter

“So…” Fatty’s eyes widened. “Lin Chen’s corpse walked out on its own?!”

Hua Luo’s eyes froze. “Lin Chen?”

“Yes.” Jiang Cheng nodded. “We just found that out. The woman who lived in Room 808 is called Lin Chen. She was Lee Maoshen’s girlfriend.” Hua Luo didn’t say anything. Jiang Cheng continued to watch the screen, and his eyes shifted. “Hmm?”

“What’s wrong?” Fatty turned to the Doctor. Jiang Cheng took over the phone and fast-forwarded the video. He seemed to have noticed something. However, the screen was blocked by a hand.

“Let me.” Hua Luo seemed to know what Jiang Cheng was looking for. He fixed the video and showed it to everyone. In the video, the travellers can see that Lin Chen doesn’t appear alone. There was a black shadow beside her. Due to the rain, no one noticed this at first. Upon closer inspection, it appeared to be the silhouette of a person.

Chu Jiu narrowed her eyes and leaned closer. It was a person wearing black. He was quite tall. He was at least a head taller than Lin Chen. He walked beside Lin Chen with the same gait. It gave the feeling that he was Lin Chen’s shadow.

Unfortunately, they couldn’t get a good look at his face. At this point, Banana Wolf started to shake. “It’s him?!” His tone suggested he knew who this man in black was.

“Who is it?” Hua Luo turned to him. “Be clear.”

“I… I don’t know who he is, but Sister Qing has mentioned him to me. Before Lin Chen fell off the building, there was an incident.” Wen Qing knew about the relationship between Lee Maoshen and Lin Chen. This twisted love was the trigger to Wen Qing’s suicide.

“Clearly, Wen Qing didn’t believe it. It is weird. They loved the same man, but Wen Qing didn’t hate Lin Chen. She pitied Lin Chen. The girl came alone from the countryside to the big city to make a better life for herself. She had no one to rely on. Plus, Lee Maoshen didn’t treat her well. She was often trapped at home alone. She was very lonely.

“Lin Chen was an honest girl. She was very introverted. She rarely left her home. She wouldn’t cheat on Lee Maoshen. Wen Qing thought Lee Maoshen was crazy because he often suspected that his partners were cheating on him. He probably projected his insecurity on others because he was doing the same thing.

“One time, when Wen Qing went to Building Three to collect rent, she passed by Room 808 and heard an argument coming from inside. It was between a man and a woman. The argument was heated. The woman was Lin Chen, but the man’s voice…” Banana Wolf swallowed. “It was not Lee Maoshen.”

“Who was it?”

“Wen Qing was curious, but she didn’t plan to mind other people’s business. However, Lee Maoshen stomped back angrily at that moment. A busybody neighbour had probably informed him of the argument.

“Lee Maoshen didn’t even knock. He opened the door with his key and charged in. However, Lin Chen was at home alone. Lee Maoshen kicked Lin Chen and slapped her several times. Lin Chen was knocked to the ground. He interrogated her about the man.

“If Wen Qing hadn’t pulled him back, Lin Chen would have suffered more. However, Lin Chen refused to admit there was someone else there. She told him to search the home if he didn’t believe her. Lee Maoshen closed the front door and found a bat. He ransacked the place. He checked every corner and found nothing. He even looked out the window. He got nothing. Lee Maoshen was stumped. He forced Lin Chen to admit that the man had escaped after he heard that he was coming back.

“In the end, it was Wen Qing who pleaded for Lin Chen. However, after this incident, Wen Qing kept feeling that something was wrong. She was certain she heard a man. It was not from a phone or a television. It was too real. There was a man in her room!” Banana Wolf concluded.

Jiang Cheng tried to get him to calm down. He asked, “Did Wen Qing get more clues after that?”

Banana Wolf’s eyes darted out and admitted, “I asked the same thing, but Sister Qing’s memory appeared to stop here. I could sense that she must have found something, but she insisted that she didn’t remember anything.” A few seconds later, he added, “I don’t think she wanted to hide anything. She really can’t remember.”

“Something obscured that part of her memory.” Hua Luo scratched her chin. “Some kind of mysterious power.” His analysis was quite reasonable.

“Is it the rule?” Chu Jiu probed.

Jiang Cheng thought about it and shook his head. “It doesn’t sound like it. If it were the rules, she wouldn’t have this blurry feeling. She would have forgotten the whole incident.”

Some of the travellers were experienced enough to know that the rules had a dominating effect.

“Then, what could it be?” Fatty blinked. “Could it be…”

“It’s the man in black!” Hua Luo claimed confidently. “He influenced Wen Qing’s memory. He was also the man in Room 808. He went to the police station to take Lin Chen away…” He paused because he didn’t know how to describe Lin Chen. She was too real to be a ghost, but she wasn’t really a corpse. In any case, everything should be related to this man in black.

Plus… based on the autopsy report, Lin Chen had died more than a month ago before jumping off the building. So, how was she alive for another month before she killed herself? Clearly, the man in black was involved.

All the suspicions pointed towards this man who had appeared in Room 808 and shared an unusual relationship with Lin Chen. Finding him would end this mission.

Since the man knew Lin Chen, they should start with her. Lin Chen had a simple life. It wouldn’t be too hard to investigate her.

“By the way,” Jiang Cheng turned to Banana Wolf. “What did Lin Chen do for work?” Lee Maoshen wouldn’t keep a woman around if she didn’t know how to earn money for him.

“I heard she was a creative person.” Banana Wolf tried to remember. “I believe… she was an illustrator. Sister Qing mentioned seeing a large canvas in Room 808.”