Chapter 20 Clues in the Bathroom

　　Jiang Cheng had visited the second floor yesterday, which matched what the innocent girl had said.

　　It was easy to distinguish the boy's and girl's bedrooms. One was filled with all kinds of dolls, while the other had posters of various military weapons on the walls and military magazines on the desk, giving it a strong military enthusiast vibe.

　　The next two groups turned their attention to Jiang Cheng and the innocent girl.

　　"The family atmosphere wasn't very harmonious. We found a lot of broken plates and cups in the trash can, some with bloodstains on them," Jiang Cheng said.

　　The innocent girl added, "There are also some marks on the wooden staircase handrail. We think they might be fingernail scratches."

　　This was a clue that couldn't be ignored. The group went to the stairs and, following the innocent girl's finger, found some traces of friction.

　　The strong man went up and touched it, his expression changing slightly. "That's right, they're scratches."

　　A family of four, a bad family atmosphere, broken dishes, scratches, a captive young girl...

　　No matter how you put it together, it seemed to point to a family tragedy.

　　There used to be an abused girl here.

　　"So what do we need to do next?" the male clerk muttered softly. "Rescue this poor girl?"

　　"Whatever happened here is in the past. We can't change the past," said the woman with a mole on her lip. "All we can do is find out the truth and end the mission."

　　"But haven't we already figured out the truth?"

　　The strong man became increasingly impatient. "Figured out my ass! How was the girl abused, who was involved in the abuse, is the girl dead or alive? How can we end the mission without knowing these things!"

　　The male clerk was so frightened by the strong man's roar that he didn't dare to say a word.

　　The innocent girl looked at the male clerk with pity.

　　Gurgle...

　　Gurgle...

　　Everyone looked at the source of the sound. The fatty covered his stomach a little embarrassedly. "That..."

　　"Forget it, we've searched the first floor pretty thoroughly. Let's get ready to eat," the strong man said, feeling a little hungry after a morning of tossing and turning.

　　Just as everyone was about to cook, a voice came from behind, "That place hasn't been checked yet." Jiang Cheng pointed to the bathroom where the middle-aged man's body was. "I think there might be clues there."

　　Hearing this, everyone's expression became serious. Everyone knew what Jiang Cheng was thinking, but it was hard to convince themselves to check it out.

　　After all, someone had already died there, and it was hard to say whether entering the bathroom would trigger the taboo that led to death.

　　When assigning search areas, everyone tacitly avoided it.

　　In the end, reason prevailed over fear. The strong man took a deep breath and said, "He's right, there might be clues hidden there. Although there are some risks, we'll all die if we don't solve the mission."

　　The woman with a mole on her lip rarely retorted, as she obviously understood the stakes, but she still said in a strange tone, "So who's going?"

　　At this time, Jiang Cheng interjected, "Who's been to the first floor bathroom?"

　　Everyone raised their hands.

　　Jiang Cheng counted the number of people and continued, "Then everyone may have triggered the death taboo, so this is not just about finding clues, but also about saving your own lives."

　　The innocent girl frowned and asked, "Then we can't all go in together, right?"

　　The strong man rubbed the stubble on his chin and nodded. "The space inside is too small. If too many people go in, it'll be difficult to do anything if something happens."

　　"That's right," Jiang Cheng nodded. "I reckon two people are enough."

　　"Then... who's willing to go in?" the male clerk, who was hiding at the back, said excitedly.

　　Everyone was silent.

　　"Okay, let's draw lots. That's fair to everyone," Jiang Cheng spread out his hand.

　　"Good!"

　　"I agree."

　　......

　　After some preparation, Jiang Cheng took out a few pieces of paper, two of which were shorter. He then crumpled the pieces of paper into small rolls in front of everyone and placed them in his palm one by one. "The people who draw the short pieces of paper go in, okay?"

　　"This method is definitely fine, but..." The fatty stared at the small rolls of paper in Jiang Cheng's hand and swallowed. "But how come there are only 5 rolls of paper? There are 6 people now."

　　The others also noticed the problem and looked at Jiang Cheng in confusion.

　　"Because I'm not drawing," Jiang Cheng said naturally.

　　Everyone was stunned, and then a little angry. The strong man shouted loudly, "Why aren't you drawing?"

　　"Because I haven't been to the bathroom."

　　"You've been here for a day and a night, and you've drunk so much water. How is it possible that you haven't gone to the bathroom?" The male clerk seemed to have found a way to vent his anger and shouted hysterically, "You just want to cheat! Just let him go in alone!"

　　The woman with a mole on her lip stared at Jiang Cheng with an unkind expression and sneered, "There's a price to pay for being slippery here."

　　"I know," Jiang Cheng said without changing his expression. "But I really haven't been to the bathroom. I have evidence."

　　He raised his hand and pointed in a direction, probably towards the windowsill. At this moment, a gust of wind blew in, lifting a corner of the curtain, revealing two mineral water bottles placed behind it.

　　One bottle was full, and the other was only half full, both with a light yellow color that was definitely not normal mineral water.

　　They radiated an alluring glow in the morning light.

　　"This is..." The male clerk's eyes suddenly widened.

　　"Uh-huh," Jiang Cheng nodded, admitting their guess with some embarrassment. "I thought it was dark in the bathroom, so I..."

　　The strong man looked at Jiang Cheng with a complicated expression. "..."

　　Then the woman: "..."

　　The male clerk: "..."

　　The innocent girl: "..."

　　The fatty: "...You're really a clever little devil!"

　　Since Jiang Cheng hadn't been to the bathroom, everyone didn't say anything. The remaining five people drew lots, and Jiang Cheng craned his neck to watch.

　　In the end, the strong man and the male clerk were luckily selected.

　　When the two of them opened the bathroom door, they found that the middle-aged man's body was gone.

　　The bathroom wasn't big, and it couldn't hide an adult's body at all.

　　"This is not the world we're in," the woman behind them suddenly said. "It's normal for some incomprehensible things to happen. You'll get used to it."

　　Just like she said, there was no surprise on the strong man's face. It was just hard on the male clerk, who赖 (lai - rely on/hang around) cried and赖 (lai - rely on/hang around) hung around at the door, and was kicked in by the strong man.

　　The rest of the people waited outside.

　　The search was very efficient. In less than 5 minutes, the two came out. The strong man was holding a piece of white tissue paper.

　　After closing the bathroom door, everyone walked to the living room. The strong man unfolded the tissue paper, and inside was a strand of hair.

　　"I found it in the bathtub in the bathroom. It wasn't there yesterday."

　　The strong man was very cautious and didn't even touch the hair.

　　The hair was very long, and you could tell it belonged to a woman.