Chapter 5: Surveillance

Chapter 5: Surveillance

The live stream chatroom was already covered with a row of bright red nationalistic slogans, followed by various shouts and yells.

"Who was it that said this was a horror or 'Walking into Science' film? [Hammer] get out here, I know you're lurking here as a covert planner."

"Damn it! I was almost scared to pee! Luckily it's daytime and I'm in my dorm."

"A pro is a pro. Even if they're cowardly inside, they still have to appear strong outside."

"Seriously. There was a moment when I really believed in this pro, if it weren't for Sanyao’s emotional fluctuation warning that was blinding, I couldn't believe she was that scared."

"Too many elements, I... I’ll just cheer them on first!"

"What's up with this dorm? Do they hate Wang Dongyan so much? They actually pulled this kind of stunt."

"A plot twist, after eliminating superstition, is it ultimately because of school bullying?"

"Could Zhou Nansong have been scared to death? [Pondering]"

"It's also possible it's revenge for Zhou Nansong? I feel like if you carefully analyze the first few sentences they said, it's quite interesting. And who turned on the light outside?"

"Is high school life really that eventful? I'm too ordinary."

Fang Qi was somewhat surprised. The strong physiological reaction from Qiong Cang indicated she had entered a state of stress, and it was no longer ordinary stress. Yet, there was no record of this in his files.

What triggered Qiong Cang's stress response? Was it a fear of ghosts or the dark? Or perhaps it was a sudden element in the scene—the sound of grinding teeth, or light and shadow.

The night in the game passed quickly, and sunlight emerged from the horizon. Everyone walked out of the dorm, enjoying the cool morning breeze, and the air had a fresh, faintly sweet scent.

The crowd moved from the dorms to the cafeteria, and then to the teaching building.

Qiong Cang, in an ungraceful position, squatted on a stone, meeting He Jueyun to recount what had happened the previous night.

He Jueyun rubbed his chin. "You're saying that your roommates, along with other students, were pretending to scare you... Wang Dongyan? And your suicide progress increased significantly."

Qiong Cang nodded.

He Jueyun tried to absorb the information. "Besides your roommates, who else?"

Qiong Cang shook her head.

He Jueyun was surprised. "Didn't you go out to check?"

Qiong Cang answered calmly, "I was too terrified."

Her expression when saying this was as matter-of-fact as saying, "Today’s dish is too salty," making it hard to believe.

He Jueyun looked at her seriously for a moment, unable to imagine this face expressing any fear. Or rather, what could scare her must be some world-class mystery.

After a moment of hesitation, he said, "...Your jokes are too dry. Not very funny."

"Oh, really?" Qiong Cang looked up, saying dryly, "I’m really disappointed."

He Jueyun met her gaze, lowering his eyes. Qiong Cang stared with wide, innocent eyes.

After a moment, He Jueyun exclaimed, "You’re serious?"

"Hmm." Qiong Cang said, "I'm afraid of the dark."

He Jueyun: "..."

Qiong Cang added, "Especially afraid."

He Jueyun struggled to find some adjectives to comfort her: "It’s... pretty normal?"

Qiong Cang said, "Yeah."

A dead silence.

Qiong Cang couldn't help but say, "Stop thinking so much, your brainstorming is too noisy, just constantly shouting 'Wow wow' and 'What to do, what to do'."

He Jueyun felt wronged: "Don't frame me!"

Qiong Cang: "It’s all over your face, it’s annoying to see."

He Jueyun thought to himself, how difficult this woman is. In all his years, this was the first time someone found him annoying, and that too when he hadn't said a single word.

"The way a straight man comforts..." Qiong Cang couldn't stop criticizing, "Would probably go something like, 'What's there to be afraid of in the dark?', 'There are no ghosts in this world.', 'Ghosts are probably afraid of you.', 'It's nothing, just psychological.' and so on."

"That's not just an ordinary straight man." He Jueyun took a deep breath, "I propose we classify straight men by levels. That’s a smear on my character."

Qiong Cang gave him a sidelong glance.

She thought this guy might be a bit slow.

He Jueyun also felt it was pretty dumb, he gestured downward: "Could you come down to talk?"

Qiong Cang jumped down from the stone and stood opposite him.

They stood in awkward silence.

He Jueyun raised his hand to scratch his hair.

Honestly, he had met many geniuses with peculiar temperaments. He had quite a few under him. But none of them stirred his heart like Qiong Cang did.

However, this wasn’t the usual flutter. His heart was enduring pain it shouldn’t bear.

Qiong Cang had already walked away.

He Jueyun followed and asked, "What's your evaluation of your roommates? Do you think Zhou Nansong might have experienced something similar?"

It was class time, and aside from them, no one else was around. At a glance, the entire school seemed deserted.

Qiong Cang: "From my earlier investigation, Wang Dongyan's relationship with her roommates was relatively okay before. The deterioration to this point clearly indicates other factors."

Qiong Cang thought for a moment and added, "Yesterday, when they mentioned ghosts, they also brought up Zhou Nansong. The tone was overly deliberate, clearly intended for me to overhear."

He Jueyun: "Let’s assume they believed Wang Dongyan was responsible for Zhou Nansong’s death and were trying to bring about justice."

"Hmm..." Qiong Cang said, "Their ghostly antics weren’t sophisticated enough to drive Wang Dongyan to suicide. And if it was just due to her roommates, given Wang Dongyan’s family background, she could have switched to being a day student to escape the bullying."

He Jueyun: "Unless..."

Qiong Cang: "Unless Wang Dongyan herself felt deeply guilty about Zhou Nansong’s death. Her roommates' actions just made her constantly recall what she had done, leading to mental self-punishment, and after prolonged torment, she chose to end her life."

He Jueyun went over it in his head and felt something was off, but Qiong Cang had already shaken her head: "But I don’t think someone with such a strong moral compass would take drastic or prolonged action without a trigger."

He Jueyun shifted his gaze to look at the fully grown female high school student next to him.

Admittedly, working with Qiong Cang could be quite enjoyable, as long as she didn’t suddenly crack a joke.

Without realizing it, the two of them had once again walked onto the road leading to that dormitory building.

Qiong Cang looked up at the old dormitory building.

Because of its age and lack of maintenance, vines covered the high walls on the side. The dark green leaves grew wildly in the shade, lacking the beauty of life and instead appearing somewhat eerie.

He Jueyun stood beside her, waiting.

After a moment, Qiong Cang asked, “Have you reviewed the surveillance footage near that dormitory building on the day Zhou Nansong died?”

“Yes, I have. Zhou Nansong came over alone that day. Based on the timing, she went to the rooftop after entering the building and jumped without hesitation. Wang Dongyan didn’t appear and has a solid alibi,” He Jueyun, knowing what she was about to say, confirmed. “Zhou Nansong definitely wasn’t directly killed by Wang Dongyan.”

Qiong Cang asked, “Which camera did you check?”

“A camera in front of the main entrance of the dormitory building and another camera on the small path, mounted on a pole. Both cameras could capture everyone entering and leaving. That dormitory building only has one entrance.” He Jueyun gestured to show her, and remembering the pain of reviewing the footage from yesterday, couldn’t help but press his fingers against the bridge of his nose. “But to be honest, those cameras are several years old, and since they only have basic recording functions, the pixels aren’t clear. It took me a long time to identify people using the timeline. It would be difficult to find detailed evidence. We might need additional technical means and time.”

Qiong Cang: “Is there only footage from the day of their deaths?”

“Yes. The physical evidence only contains video from that day,” He Jueyun answered diligently. “The surveillance footage from No.1 High School is only stored for about half a month to a month. By the time Wang Dongyan committed suicide, it was already May. Even if the police found something suspicious and tried to retrieve the footage, they wouldn’t be able to. So, the system doesn’t have the footage.”

Qiong Cang nodded and turned around to look at the small convenience store nearby.

She said, “I’ll go in and buy something.”

He Jueyun casually asked, “Buy what?”

Qiong Cang: “A dog-beating stick.”

He Jueyun looked confused. “Ah?”

The small convenience store was privately owned. Despite its small size, the store had a variety of items.

Qiong Cang first went to the broom section and picked a wooden broom, testing its weight in her hand. Finding it too heavy and hindering her performance, she then went to the clothes-drying pole section and chose a stainless steel long pole.

Light and easy to carry, this was good.

If anyone dares to come tonight, they’ll get a taste of my iron whip.

No, as an important plot point, they will definitely come.

After picking her weapon, Qiong Cang went to the aisle next door and bought a few snacks, stuffing them in her pocket before heading over to check out.

She placed her student card on the card reader, her eyes casually scanning the area as she listened to the electronic beeps. She raised an eyebrow and glanced at the store owner.

The store owner had glanced at her a few times while scanning the items, not with an ordinary gaze but with a bit of scrutiny.

Most people might just feel it. But Qiong Cang’s feelings were usually right.

She tentatively said, “Long time no see.”

The store owner vaguely replied, “Yeah.”

Qiong Cang paused, then asked, “Do you still have the things I usually buy?”

“Prank toys?” the store owner said, “Not much left. Bottom of the first shelf.”

Qiong Cang followed his indication and went over to take a look. The shelves were filled with relatively ordinary small toys, much like the novelties that were once popular on certain online shopping platforms. Their packaging appeared plain, with a small hidden mechanism inside the shelf.

She just glanced at them and did not make a purchase, walking back.

The owner handed her the bag after she paid, which Qiong Cang took before walking out of the door.

He Jueyun paced in circles on the empty space, bored.

Qiong Cang, with a yogurt in one hand, said, "Go inside and ask that shop owner some questions."

He Jueyun asked, "Huh? Ask what?"

Qiong Cang said, "Go and ask him. I think he remembers me."

He Jueyun glanced a few times at the golden cudgel behind her, suspecting that Qiong Cang had hit someone inside and was tricking him into cleaning up. Doubtfully, he walked toward the store.

The author has something to say:

"Military power penetrates the vast desert, the killing intent overshadows the heavens." The term 'Qiong Cang' has been around for ages; it’s not just a word order change.