World-saving Plan: The Only Savior

"Ah…?"

Pei Laoliu was baffled by this sudden question, he paused a good while before he could respond.

July 7, wasn't that the day when he encountered the ghost-faced man?

"That day I went to Fat Fish Villa District to check the Feng Shui for a client…"

Pei Laoliu felt a bit nervous, he wasn't really afraid to speak out, since he hadn't done anything guilty during that time.

However, he was also worried that if the ghost had killed someone, it might implicate him.

He truly had entered that house, but feared it would backfire horribly.

The square-faced police officer seemed to detect the old man's tension and smiled reassuringly,

"You don't have to worry, we just have a few questions to ask you."

"Oh, alright, Officer, go ahead and ask."

Hearing this, Pei Laoliu felt a bit more at ease.

"What exactly did you see in building 27 of Fat Fish Villa District on the evening of the 7th?"

The middle-aged police officer cut to the chase.

Pei Laoliu hesitated on hearing this, he thought for a moment, then said:

"Officer, do you want to hear the truth, or a lie?"

"Pfft…"

The young police officer standing behind suddenly laughed, saying:

"Old man, you are quite funny. We, police officers, of course need to hear the truth; who listens to lies when investigating a case?"

Pei Laoliu's face looked somewhat embarrassed.

"Hearing the truth is right, but you can't punish me with a re-education session afterward…"

The middle-aged police officer waved his hand, guaranteeing him,

"Rest assured, just tell us what you saw. We are not concerned with anything else, and no one is going to take you for an educational talk."

Regardless of what Pei Laoliu was thinking now, Zhang Xiaoman next to him was filled with swirling thoughts.

There were certain things Master Liu might not understand, but Zhang Xiaoman had some clues.

These things, perhaps, were not the so-called ghosts...

If she hadn't guessed wrong, they hadn't always been there, but had only appeared recently.

"He just said they don't handle other affairs... does that mean they are a department specifically responsible for such cases… or is that just a polite phrase, and I'm overthinking it…"

Zhang Xiaoman continued to analyze in her mind while listening to Pei Laoliu explaining the situation.

"Judging by their demeanor, they seem to already know the real situation, now they are just here to confirm their investigation…"

Thinking this, Zhang Xiaoman couldn't help but take another look at the two officers.

Unfortunately, she could not see anything unusual about them.

At least, for her, a regular employee who rarely interacted with the government, it wasn't obvious.

Pei Laoliu went on and on, repeating the story he had just told to Zhang Xiaoman.

However, this time he was much more concise, finishing in no time.

After drinking some water, Pei Laoliu looked at the young police officer who was still seriously taking notes, a curious expression crossed his face.

"Officer, do you actually believe what I've said?"

He ventured.

The middle-aged police officer's face showed a half-smile,

"What's the matter? Wasn't what the old man just said the truth?"

"No, no."

Pei Laoliu quickly waved his hands.

"I'm just curious why you guys don't seem skeptical at all. After all, what I said sounds so mystic, I reckon anyone who hears it might think, might think..."

"Think you're telling a ghost story, huh?"

The middle-aged police officer interjected, "You don't need to use your imagination. We have already conducted a preliminary investigation of this case and found that it was not caused by any so-called ghost."

"However, as for what it specifically is, I can't disclose that to you. What's important is that you can't go around spreading rumors about this matter; I need to make that very clear to you."

He paused then, shifting his gaze to Zhang Xiaoman.

Zhang Xiaoman quickly understood and immediately responded,

"Officer, rest assured, I won't speak of it either. My grandfather often told me these kinds of stories, I always took them as just stories."

The middle-aged police officer nodded.

"That's good. With today's advanced technology, whether in reality or online, all words and actions can be traced. I hope you understand that."

The elder and the younger both nodded in agreement.

"Well, I've asked everything I needed to, and I've taken up plenty of your time. I won't bother you any further and will be on my way."

After finishing, the middle-aged police officer stood up, and the young officer next to him also stopped writing at this moment.

"Um... Officer, could you tell me what happened to the house afterward?"

Pei Laoliu suddenly asked.

The middle-aged police officer, who was about to leave, paused. He turned his head to look at Pei Laoliu for a moment before responding,

"As for the specifics, I'm not at liberty to tell you. All I can tell you is that right after you left, the owner of the house immediately called the police, and the scene was quickly brought under control with no casualties."

Pei Laoliu breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing there were no issues at the homeowner's house.

"Thank you, officer, now I can relax."

"It's nothing; it's part of our job," the middle-aged police officer said and waved his hand before heading towards the door.

However, when he nearly reached the rather shabby door, he suddenly turned around.

"By the way, those... tools of yours, we'll need to run some tests on them, so I can't return them to you just yet. Oh, and that thing... don't randomly splash dog's blood on people anymore. When our patrolling officers saw the homeowner, they almost sent them directly to the hospital for emergency treatment."

"Ah? Oh, okay..."

Pei Laoliu was taken aback upon hearing this and his expression gradually shifted from perplexed to embarrassed; even his thick-skinned face, usually immune to shame, reddened slightly.

"Master Liu, he has left."

Zhang Xiaoman saw him still standing there, dazed, and promptly reminded him.

Pei Laoliu turned around and glared as he scolded,

"Stinker, I know they've left. Stop being an eyesore here and let me have some peace."

"..."

On the street, a police car was driving down the middle of the road.

Inside the car, the young officer who was at Pei Laoliu's house was driving.

On the passenger seat beside him, the middle-aged officer with a square face was leaning back in his seat with his eyes closed.

"Captain Hu, hearing that fortune teller's story, I feel even more like it was a ghost..."

The middle-aged officer named Captain Hu also opened his eyes at this point and said,

"Xiao Wu, even the old fortune teller doesn't know; how can you still not understand? Are there really such things as ghosts in the world? If it were a ghost, could we have killed it with just one shot?"

Xiao Wu shrank his neck upon hearing this.

"Captain Hu, I've never seen such things before. You said it could move, yell, and even spew out so much stench, what exactly is it?"

Captain Hu sat up straight, pinched the bridge of his nose, and shook his head,

"It's my first time encountering it too... There's never been any record of such a thing in internal files... Anyway, the leadership said, we can't rule out the possibility of such events happening again in the future..."

"So, we need to intensify our investigation now and try to figure out where that thing came from and why it appeared in Mr. Li's basement," Xiao Wu quickly nodded in agreement.

Yet Captain Hu leaned back into his seat again, sighed, and said,

"Ah, I hope this incident is just an isolated case..."