Jiang Cheng finally defused the situation. "Alright, let's go." Jiang Cheng turned and walked towards the door.

On their way here, they had encountered two security guards patrolling, so an encounter now would likely lead to more trouble.

They already had enough trouble.

Back in the dorm, Fatty and Huai Yi immediately sat up straight, their eyes fixed on Jiang Cheng. Fatty licked his lips and said, "We're ready, Doctor. You can start."

"Jiang-ge," Huai Yi asked first, "What did Wang Qi mean by saying that Xiaolin didn't want to end the haunted story herself?"

Judging from Jiang Cheng's later words, Jiang Cheng agreed with Wang Qi's point of view. At first, Huai Yi thought Wang Qi was just talking nonsense.

Jiang Cheng sat down in his chair and, after a moment of thought, asked the first question: "How do you think Xiaolin died?"

Fatty raised his hand, "It definitely wasn't suicide. I remember you mentioning something about water stains, Doctor, like... like those found at the scene when... that person died."

Nodding, Jiang Cheng knew he was referring to the water stains on the doorknob found at the scene of Xiaoting's death in the medical building.

"You mean... it was done by that thing that's been following us?" Huai Yi stroked his chin, his gaze towards Jiang Cheng gradually changing.

Once could be a coincidence, but twice, to still explain it as a coincidence, would be self-deception.

"Jiang-ge, you're right. On the way to the playground today, I always felt like a pair of eyes were watching us, right behind us," Huai Yi recalled.

"I noticed it too, but couldn't pinpoint its exact location." Jiang Cheng's voice was deep. "But it should be that thing, it's been following us, just like last time."

The thing that left water stains first appeared outside the dorm door, then at the activity center, then at the medical building yesterday, and tonight it followed them all the way to the abandoned playground.

Only a ghost could do that.

But what they couldn't figure out before was the purpose of this stalking ghost.

But now, they had a new line of thought.

Jiang Cheng changed his posture, leaning forward as if to make himself more comfortable, "I was wondering before, what's its purpose in following us?"

"It's had many opportunities to attack us, but it hasn't."

"The medical building and the abandoned playground were both good opportunities for it to strike. If it had chosen to attack at those times, we would have had little chance of survival."

Fatty blinked, puzzled, "Doctor, didn't you say that at the activity center..."

"Yes, the only time this stalking ghost acted against us was at the activity center, but it only used ghost walls to trap the three of us." Jiang Cheng's eyes gradually changed, and his voice lowered, "But I can feel that it didn't want to kill us, it was just constantly putting pressure on us, with the aim of making us leave the things behind."

"The things belonging to those missing girls," Jiang Cheng emphasized.

"Like it's hiding something," Fatty said, expressing his inner thoughts, "Like criminals destroying evidence or something."

"This ghost, which has been following us but hasn't shown much hostility, isn't necessarily harmless. Perhaps... it's the most terrifying one in this entire mission." Huai Yi seemed to have grasped something crucial, but he only had a feeling, no evidence.

After a moment, Jiang Cheng spoke, but this time his tone made Fatty and Huai Yi have a bad feeling. "If everything goes smoothly, I think this ghost will keep following us, then find the remaining girls in the haunted story, and kill them one by one."

</span> "Then the mission will fail?" Fatty panicked after hearing this.

Huai Yi was obviously much calmer, which was related to his experience, and said after a moment, "Jiang-ge, you mean this stalking ghost is using us."

Jiang Cheng nodded, "I think so."

Huai Yi continued to analyze along this line of thought, "It wants to kill these girls, but it can't deal with the ghosts in the haunted story on its own, so it's using us to attract the attention of the ghosts in the haunted story, and then it goes to find those missing girls and kill them."

Hearing this, Jiang Cheng raised his head and looked at Huai Yi, his eyes showing a strange emotion, "Do you still think those girls are simply missing?"

Huai Yi was stunned, his pupils slightly constricted, and after a moment, he suddenly said, "No, they're not missing, they're... they're doing it on purpose, they're hiding in the haunted story to escape the pursuit of this stalking ghost!"

"They're protecting themselves!" Huai Yi said excitedly.

"This also explains why Meng Yumian's lost right eye is in Xiaolin's hands, but Xiaolin still chooses to stay in the haunted story, instead of using that eye to end the haunted story," Jiang Cheng said.

After listening for a while, Fatty gradually understood some things. "By the way, do you remember? Xiaoting's body was also found in the dissection room on the 5th floor, in the room of the Ghost-Faced Granny!"

"That's also the most dangerous place in the entire medical building. If she was just trying to avoid the ghosts in the medical building, she definitely wouldn't have chosen to stay there!" Fatty spoke faster and faster, his thoughts gradually connecting.

At the same time, he suddenly recalled the look Xiaoting gave him when she was still alive.

Now it seemed that it was not just a plea for help, but more of a helpless and pleading expression, hoping they wouldn't interfere.

His thoughts stopped there, and Fatty's emotions began to become unstable. "Doctor." He looked at Jiang Cheng abruptly, asking with a questioning look, "So... did we kill them?"

"If we hadn't meddled, then this stalking ghost wouldn't have been able to kill them, right?"

"Brother Fugui, don't say that." Huai Yi scratched his head, trying to find some words to persuade him. This Shen Hong seemed to be quite stubborn, and Huai Yi was worried that he would be overwhelmed.

"It wasn't us." Jiang Cheng said calmly, "Our information was all provided by Yuan Xiaoyi, and the time, location, and rules of the mission were all done according to what she said."

Speaking of Yuan Xiaoyi, Jiang Cheng's tone had a strange flavor to it, which Fatty and Huai Yi both caught.

It wasn't just resentment, but something deeper.

Huai Yi frowned and tentatively asked, "Jiang-ge, do you suspect Yuan Xiaoyi..."

Before he could finish, Jiang Cheng waved his hand, signaling, "It's too early to say that now, I still have some things to verify."

"Huh?" Fatty, sitting on the bed, seemed to have suddenly thought of something.

Jiang Cheng looked at him, "What's wrong?"

"Doctor, do you remember Wang Qi said something to Yuan Xiaoyi before, and then Yuan Xiaoyi seemed to be scared, and couldn't be coaxed no matter what?" Fatty said very seriously.

Huai Yi's eyes lit up, and he blurted out, "A guilty conscience needs no accuser."