Chapter 283: One-Person Hide-and-Seek

Before seeing the directory of haunting incidents Jiang Li was responsible for, Lu Yibei always thought that the members of Hua City’s Midnight Watchers Society were just a bunch of salary thieves who only knew how to slack off.

A group of people living off government and social sponsorships, spending their days clubbing, racing cars, gambling, collecting haunting organs, and cosplaying as mushrooms…

Oh, and there was even one person who collected a salary, shirked work, and never showed their face!

In any case, they never did anything serious, indulging in all sorts of vices.

He even felt that if he stayed with this group long enough, he’d eventually turn from a vibrant young man into a stubborn old bean.

Is this kind of life, where you can see the end from the start, without any dreams, really a life worth living?

This is the kind of life that only appears in dreams, the life of a deity!

However, when he opened the box Bai Kai handed him and saw the directory inside, with over eight hundred pages, each page containing five to seven summaries of haunting incidents, the dream shattered.

“Are all these haunting incidents Jiang Li is responsible for?”

“Not all of them,” Bai Kai shrugged.

Lu Yibei was about to breathe a sigh of relief when he heard Bai Kai add, “Some incidents with high confidentiality and danger levels, considering your lack of combat ability, have not been assigned to you.”

Lu Yibei, “???”

Stunned, this isn’t everything?

How do you guys keep coming up with new tasks for me every few moments?

Once again, Lu Yibei felt the malicious intent from the Midnight Watchers Society.

“How is this possible?” Lu Yibei asked seriously.

“Hmm?”

“I mean, how does Jiang Li manage to handle so many haunting incidents? Where does she find the time?”

She clearly spends all her time playing Mahjong! Lu Yibei thought.

“This question…”

Bai Kai paused and explained, “Although she’s not easy to deal with, she’s never had any issues with her daily work.”

“As far as I know, she works about thirteen to fourteen hours a day and only sleeps for five hours.”

If she wasn’t so dedicated, I wouldn’t have been caught red-handed when I went to mess with her… Bai Kai thought.

Suddenly, Lu Yibei felt a bit sympathetic towards Jiang Li, and the anger he felt because she left a mess for him to clean up and went off to enjoy herself dissipated somewhat.

It seems that the main operators of the Midnight Watchers Society aren’t as lazy as he imagined; most of the time, they’re working hard in places he can’t see. Lu Yibei thought.

However, there’s one problem!

“Working thirteen to fourteen hours, five hours of sleep…” He counted on his fingers and asked, “What about the other five to six hours?”

“Handling daily life necessities and… you know,” Bai Kai smirked, waving his hands in the air.

Lu Yibei sighed, “Got it, playing Mahjong, right?”

I would call her a master of time management!

“Exactly,” Bai Kai shrugged, “Besides those five to six hours, she always finds time to play a few rounds while on the way to a case or during stakeouts.”

“You should see her directing the special task force members to deliver warmth to the haunting organ smuggling organization, it’s quite a sight!”

As Bai Kai spoke, he couldn’t help but picture the girl with the metal prosthetic standing in the abandoned factory filled with rusty machinery, calmly playing Mahjong on her phone while gunfire from the special task force and smugglers echoed in the distance.

“But since the nights started getting longer, it’s been at most five or six years. Just the haunting incidents Jiang Li is responsible for exceed five thousand, isn’t that too many?” Lu Yibei frowned.

According to Bai Kai’s explanation and the number of haunting incidents Jiang Li handled, he imagined Hua City was filled with hauntings with psychic energy fluctuation levels of at least Class A, lurking, wandering, and waiting for the right moment, which made him shiver.

Bai Kai looked at Lu Yibei’s puzzled eyes, shook his head, and slowly fumbled around the desk, pulling out a heart-shaped ashtray and a pack of rose-flavored cigarettes, lighting one up and taking a deep drag.

“Yibei.”

Bai Kai said seriously, “There’s a saying that goes, ‘Above are seventy-eight trillion gods, below are ninety trillion ghosts,’ according to the Midnight Watchers Society’s standards, these all count as hauntings…”

The mix of tobacco and rose scent wafted into Lu Yibei’s nose, and he glanced at the ashtray on Bai Kai’s desk, frowning.

He wasn’t particularly bothered by the smell of tobacco or roses, but the ashtray belonged to his father.

To be precise, it was a gift from a potential match he’d found for his father.

As for why the ashtray was in Bai Kai’s possession, that’s a rather frustrating and melodramatic love story.

“Besides, think about it, each operator handles different areas, so the number of haunting incidents they encounter daily varies.”

“Adding them all up, there’s an average of ten or so incidents a day, including repeated offenses by the same haunting, incidents without direct contact or attacks, and false alarms…”

“Wait!” Lu Yibei interrupted, “I understand the first two, but what’s this about false alarms?”

“For example, a case transferred from the police station on Longevity Road a few days ago, reported by an elderly woman, claimed there was a place near her community where many stray dogs and cats’ bodies were piled up.”

“And every day, stray dogs and cats passing by that area suddenly died. Guess what our special task force found when they went to check?”

Lu Yibei frowned, “Someone poisoning them, an animal abuse maniac?”

I’ve heard Meow Xiaoqi was born because of such things… Lu Yibei thought.

Bai Kai shook his head, extinguished the cigarette in the ashtray, and waved his hand, “Not at all! It was some guy stealing wires, causing the underground high-voltage lines to leak electricity!”

Lu Yibei, “…” What a disaster! Gu Qianqian, did you see that? The thief stealing electricity, that’s you!

“So, Yibei, you don’t need to be too tense,” Bai Kai comforted, “Even though Jiang Li’s directory is thick, there aren’t many dangerous haunting incidents.”

“Moreover, some incidents with higher confidentiality and danger levels have been temporarily reassigned to us operators.”

Lu Yibei pondered Bai Kai’s words and said expressionlessly, “So, Jiang Li’s usual work is like being both a detective and a community officer, and during my temporary stint, I only need to handle the community officer part, right?”

“That’s about right,” Bai Kai nodded, “The hauntings you’ll face are usually small fry with psychic energy fluctuation levels of Class D or Non-graded, very simple.”

That’s the normal procedure… Lu Yibei thought. If most hauntings hidden in the city are like the small ones residing in apartments, it’s more reasonable and easier to accept.

However.

If this job is really that simple, I’ll be thanking the heavens.

When it comes to luck, Lu Yibei is quite confident; encountering elite monsters while grinding small ones and facing bosses while dealing with elites has become routine.

Yes, I can’t trust Shui-Ge’s words; when encountering hauntings, I still need to maintain the necessary caution. Lu Yibei thought.

As he pondered, Bai Kai glanced at his watch, and his expression suddenly became serious.

Seeing this, Lu Yibei asked, “What’s wrong, Shui-Ge? Is there something special happening?”

“Yes,” Bai Kai nodded, “In about an hour, the club will open, and if I don’t go now, I’ll miss the first wave of excitement.”

“Yibei, that’s it for now!” As he spoke, he pulled out a dusty set of keys from the drawer and pushed them towards Lu Yibei.

“These are the keys to your temporary office; everything else should be inside. Check it out later, I’m off.”

“Remember to lock the door when you leave!”

With that, he stood up, casually tossed his pink and white suit jacket over his shoulder, and jogged out of the office, flexing his hips with agility as he went.

Like a stallion let loose.

From afar, a loud cheer echoed.

“Woohoo~ Off work~! Lily, Jenna, Xiaoyu, Baby… my darlings! I’m coming!”

“…”

Lu Yibei watched Bai Kai’s departing figure, listening to the string of names he muttered, and his expression grew complicated.

I was wrong, I was really wrong, I shouldn’t have believed this group of people were seriously completing the Midnight Watchers Society’s work.

At least…

Shui-Ge definitely isn’t!

Lu Yibei muttered a few complaints in his heart, shook his head, and silently picked up the keys on the desk, along with Jiang Li’s haunting incident directory, and headed towards his temporary office.

Lu Yibei’s temporary office was arranged within the Hua City Folk Culture Administration Bureau, in that long corridor, in the long-unused “Room 8.”

The door to Room 8 hadn’t been decorated according to the operator’s personal preferences yet; the heavy iron door was studded with round-headed rivets, presenting a silver-gray hue, and the door handle was covered in a thin layer of dust.

“Click, click, clack-!”

Perhaps due to the office being unused for so long, the door lock was somewhat aged. Lu Yibei inserted the key into the lock, twisting it several times before hearing the soft sound of springs and mechanisms turning.

With a gentle push, the heavy iron door creaked open, revealing a dimly lit interior with closed curtains and the scent of dust lingering in the air.

An old three-blade ceiling fan hung from the ceiling, with one blade bent downward, as if someone had once hung themselves there.

“Hello, I’m coming in!” Lu Yibei said softly, fumbling for the light switch, and entered the room.

The office was empty, with only a desk, a chair, a computer, and a cardboard box, completely different from what he had imagined.

The desk was old, even though it had been repainted, faint traces of chaotic carvings made with a small knife could still be seen.

The chair was also old, with signs of wear on its edges. Lu Yibei carefully pressed on the chair, ensuring it wouldn’t result in a painful gas rod accident before sitting down.

Surveying the surroundings, Lu Yibei sighed silently, “At least the computer is new; after all, it’s just temporary, no need for too many demands.”

With that, he pressed the power button on the computer in front of him, staring at the screen for a moment before realizing there was no power…

After a few seconds of silence, Lu Yibei shrugged, making a compromise.

“Alright, I’m here to familiarize myself with the work; power can wait.”

He comforted himself, “Rip!” tearing open the tape on the cardboard box, revealing a set of pure black uniform resembling a Zhongshan suit and a badge, along with a thoughtfully prepared note from Shui-Ge.

[Little Bei, apart from the uniform and badge, you’ve already received the standard equipment for a Midnight Watchers Society operator. The uniform is generally not required, but the badge might be useful when dealing with haunting incidents involving the police, so it’s recommended to carry it with you.

Regards, Godfather.]

After reading, Lu Yibei smirked, put away the note, and muttered to himself, “Well then, let’s see what needs to be done!”

With that, he opened Jiang Li’s haunting incident directory and began studying it carefully.

He spent an hour skimming through the directory, feeling a sense of warmth.

Jiang Li might not be a great partner, but she’s definitely a great leader.

In the directory she left, she meticulously marked various points for Lu Yibei, accompanied by neat annotations.

Which areas are hotspots for haunting incidents, recommended for night patrols.

Which hauntings are temporarily harmless and can be used as informants for gathering intelligence.

Which hauntings have conflicts or friendships that can be leveraged to avoid risks.

…

In short, all the details were filled in, giving a sense of assurance that as long as he followed the steps, barring any accidents, he could smoothly complete the month-long temporary assignment.

After reading a few pages, he noticed a handmade bookmark by Jiang Li, tucked within the directory, with a crude drawing of a heart emoji and the words “Good luck!” written on it.

He couldn’t help but smile unconsciously.

“Pfft-!”

“This is so ugly! I really thought she was an all-rounder beauty who could do anything! Her persona is collapsing!”

Late at night, in Hua City, in a rental apartment a street away from Fuchun Road.

In the darkness, a man huddled under the covers, staring intently at his phone, watching the messages scroll up on a chat app.

Suddenly, a message about the gameplay of a haunting game caught his attention.

“One-person hide-and-seek? This sounds interesting! Makes it seem like it’s real.” The man muttered to himself.

Watching the discussion among group members about the haunting game, he imagined it in his mind, growing more excited, and any hint of sleepiness vanished.

Soon, he got up, deciding to try out the game that seemed thrilling.

In this world, there are always people unafraid of death, even in the current age where haunting rumors are rampant. Many still hold the belief that “if you haven’t seen it, it doesn’t exist,” and the man was one of the more extreme believers among them.

He not only didn’t believe in hauntings but also constantly sought ways to prove their nonexistence.

Turning on the light, he searched around the room for a while before picking up the stuffed toy placed on the windowsill.

The toy was won from a claw machine by him and his girlfriend a few days ago, poorly made and somewhat ugly, so his girlfriend casually left it on the windowsill.

Holding the toy, the man carefully used scissors to cut a slit in its abdomen, just large enough to fit his hand inside, and then slowly removed all the stuffing.

After completing this task, he paused briefly, picked up his phone, and confirmed the game’s process once more before taking the prepared rice and clipped nails, stuffing them into the hollowed toy, and using red thread to sew up the slit.

A moment later, the man rested his chin on his hand, staring at the modified toy, muttering, “I need to give it a name, what a hassle! What should I call it?”

After pondering for a while, he picked up a marker from the table and wrote “Little Knife” on the toy’s chest. Then, glancing at the wall clock, seeing it was past midnight, he took the toy and headed to the bathroom.

“Whoosh-creak-!”

Seeing the sink filled with water, the man turned off the faucet and, following the online process, placed the toy in the water. As soon as it touched the water, the writing on the toy’s chest began to blur, resembling blood spreading, becoming distorted.

“Tsk! Shouldn’t have used that pen,” the man muttered, turned off the light, and retreated to the bathroom door.

Just as he was about to speak to the toy in the bathroom, he suddenly froze, staring at it.

In the dim bathroom, illuminated by the living room light, the white tiles reflected a faint glow, and the toy’s glass button eyes seemed to shift, as if they were turning.

“Overthinking, overthinking,” the man repeated three times, calming himself, and said, “The new body is here, please use it.”

Then.

He added, “Alright, let’s play! I’ll be the ghost first.”

With that, he turned and quickly returned to the bedroom, finding a corner against the wall to sit in, picking up his phone, and watching the time, quietly waiting.

Ten minutes later, he got up, went to the living room to grab a fruit knife, returned to the bathroom, and said to the toy in the sink, “Now it’s your turn, come find me! Find me and I’ll give you life.”

With that, he raised the fruit knife in his hand and stabbed it into the toy’s chest in the sink, then turned and left the bathroom.

“Whoosh-!”

Perhaps due to the man’s excessive force, water overflowed from the sink, splashing onto the floor with a splash, and the toy in the sink bobbed up and down with the water, as if struggling, floating and drifting.

Finally, it gently leaned against the edge of the sink, its deep glass button eyes reflecting the faint light, staring at the man’s departing back…