Chapter 10 The Old Photo

With a preliminary analysis of the case, their search was now more targeted.

Fatty stuck close to Jiang Cheng, as always. Fan Li complained that his large frame blocked his view and told him off several times, but Fatty just pretended not to understand. No one could do anything about him.

Soon, they made a discovery in the master bedroom.

A wooden photo frame hung on the wall next to the bed. Inside was an old photograph.

The photo looked like it had been soaked in water, and the background was yellowed. Only the center was clear enough to see a family of four standing together.

The parents stood in the middle. The mother had her hands on the shoulders of a girl with two braids, who stood obediently in front of her.

The other girl, who looked taller and slimmer, was obviously more rebellious. The cuffs of her pants and sleeves were rolled up, and there seemed to be a tattoo on her exposed slender wrist.

She stood next to the man, chin raised high.

It seemed that this was the family of four living in the villa.

But strangely, everyone's face was very blurry, as was the background, making it impossible to tell where they were when the photo was taken.

Chen Xiaomeng stared at the photo, stunned, then suddenly became excited. "I remember this photo wasn't here this morning! This wall was blank!"

Warm Sister was calmer, explaining that this was normal, as such things often happened in the dream world.

"We must have found some correct clues, which triggered the next stage of the plot," Fan Li said.

Jiang Cheng glanced at him. "Like a stage reward in a game?"

"More or less."

Next, they found a pair of pliers in the room where Xie Yu's body was discovered, along with a flat, round tin box, like the kind that held hard candies.

Fatty picked up the tin box and shook it. A rattling sound came from inside.

"What is it?"

Just as he was about to open the box with his chubby hands, Jiang Cheng grabbed him. He held onto Fatty while staring at the pliers, his face gradually turning strange.

"What's wrong?" Fatty was inexplicably afraid.

Jiang Cheng's expression slowly returned to normal, and then he said, "It's nothing. I suddenly thought there might be some clues in the bedroom. I'll go take a look first."

"Oh, okay," Fatty nodded. He had wanted to go with Jiang Cheng anyway, but he couldn't resist the itch of curiosity about what was in the box.

Three seconds after Jiang Cheng left, Fatty finally twisted open the box.

His eyes went from curiosity to doubt, then bulged out little by little, until they were about to pop out of their sockets. "Ah…! Ah… ah…!"

By the time Jiang Cheng came in, covering his ears, Fatty could no longer scream. Fan Li was covering his mouth, disgustedly dragging the trembling Fatty to the side.

Jiang Cheng peered over and saw that the box had been turned upside down on the floor, and several milky-white little things were scattered around it.

"Sure enough, they're teeth," Jiang Cheng said, nodding as if to say, "I knew I wasn't wrong."

Fan Li and Warm Sister seemed to have guessed what was in the box, so their faces weren't too surprised. Chen Xiaomeng, on the other hand, was pale, and her teeth seemed to be chattering.

"Men are all the same," Warm Sister said coldly. "They're all beasts!"

Hearing this, Jiang Cheng looked up at Fan Li.

Fan Li was stunned, then protested, "Why are you looking at me?"

Jiang Cheng had no choice but to retreat and turn to look at Fatty in the corner. He didn't expect to meet the latter's resentful gaze. Jiang Cheng touched his chin and shifted his gaze away, feeling a little embarrassed.

There were no more clues nearby, so Jiang Cheng suggested checking behind the door on the third floor. Fan Li stopped him and pointed out the window.

It was getting dark.

Darkness was approaching again.

Exploring an unknown area at night was not a wise choice, so after discussion, everyone decided to stop searching and go back to rest.

Fatty had thought that after last night's incident, everyone would sleep together tonight for safety's sake.

But Warm Sister not only didn't have that intention, but also kicked Fan Li out.

The door slammed shut.

Fan Li stood in front of the master bedroom door, holding a quilt, like a homeless husband who had been kicked out.

He also had a floral pillow slung over his shoulder.

"It's okay, buddy," Fatty consoled him. "You can sleep in our room."

"No need. You guys sleep. I'll sleep downstairs," Fan Li said, and he really did go downstairs with his quilt and pillow. The sound of footsteps echoed on the stairs.

Jiang Cheng turned around and went into the previous bedroom. Fatty thought for a while and followed him with a brave face.

After entering the bedroom, Jiang Cheng turned on all the lights and leaned against the door, as if listening for movement outside.

After a while, Jiang Cheng slowly retreated, walked to the sofa, and sat down.

"Brother, we're not staying here tonight, are we?" Fatty's face was pale, and his eyes kept darting under the bed. He remembered that the ghost from last night had crawled out from under this bed.

"Of course not. I'll go to the study later," Jiang Cheng said bluntly.

"I'll go too!"

About ten minutes passed, and it was completely dark outside the window. Jiang Cheng looked at the watch on his wrist, then stood up and walked to the door, gently opening it.

Then he tiptoed to another room and slowly pushed the door open, slipping inside.

Fatty followed close behind him.

After closing the door, they each found a chair to sit on. Fatty wanted to turn on the light, but Jiang Cheng stopped him.

Fatty looked around at the darkness, cold sweat pouring out, and couldn't help but say, "You should let me turn on the light, or I feel like there are ghosts everywhere."

This time, Jiang Cheng didn't insist and nodded. "Okay…"

Fatty moved his body and finally found a switch on the wall. Just as he was about to press it, Jiang Cheng's voice floated from behind him, "Now the ghost won't have to worry about not finding you."

"…"

In the master bedroom, on the bed.

Chen Xiaomeng hugged a pillow and sobbed softly.

The ghost in this mission was much more outrageous and terrifying than the one in her last mission.

She couldn't stop trembling at the thought of those terrifying tools and the teeth in the box.

Warm Sister sat on the sofa, her eyes not as arrogant as before. Chen Xiaomeng, this cute girl, reminded her of her younger self.

"Okay, don't cry," she comforted. "You should be able to see that the ghosts in this villa are targeting men. Once we drove away Fan Li, we're safe."

Chen Xiaomeng raised her head, her eyes red. "Wouldn't the remaining three be very dangerous?"

"Don't be silly. It's good enough to protect yourself in a mission. How can you worry about others?" Warm Sister glanced at the door, as if thinking of something bad, her face turned ugly. Then she turned her head back, paused, and continued, "And in the dream world, you have to be careful not only of ghosts, but also of the people around you."