Chapter 152: Another Death!

Chapter 152 Another Death!

"Oh no!"

"Another incident! This time, a student!"

"What?!"

"My God!"

Before Quan Ruifeng could even contact the police, officers from the local precinct arrived again.

This time, the victim was a student, a female student, though not young—a woman in her forties or fifties. Her life had been one of hardship. Born into a wealthy family, she faced sudden misfortune when her family's circumstances changed, making her one of the first sent down to the countryside. Yet, despite years of bitter toil, she never gave up her studies or married in the village. She held onto hope, finally seizing her chance when the college entrance exams resumed. She successfully gained admission to Beijing University, escaping her past and returning to her hometown.

But fate is cruel; she was gone just like that.

All her efforts had come to naught.

"What happened?"

Jiang Huaimeng lived in the same dormitory building as Xia Xian. They had seen each other around, though they didn't know each other and had never exchanged greetings. Still, Xia Xian recognized her face.

Another death of someone nearby struck Xia Xian with sorrow, and others felt the same, compounded by growing fear.

"What on earth is going on?! Have they locked a serial killer in the school with us? If they can't catch the culprit, they should just open the gates and let us go home!"

Emotions were running high. The previous victim was just an old janitor; perhaps he had personal grudges, and rumors of ghosts circulated. Some dismissed these as superstition, and even those who believed felt safe, assuming no harm would come to them since they had no connection to the deceased. In short, people weren't overly terrified then. But now, another death—and a student this time!

How could anyone not be scared? Either a serial killer was striking indiscriminately, or a vengeful ghost was on a rampage. Either way, innocent people were at risk. Even those with clear consciences began to worry, and the mood turned volatile.

"Everyone, calm down! We are still investigating and will inform you once we have results!"

The precinct officers tried to maintain order and prevent people from disturbing the crime scene, but their reassurances fell on deaf ears.

Fortunately, with the help of Quan Ruifeng, Xia Xian, campus security, and the dormitory supervisor, they finally managed to disperse the students. The authorities promised to provide an answer by the next day; if the killer wasn't caught, they would temporarily close the school and send everyone home.

This approach risked letting the killer escape and causing panic to spread widely, but with the students so terrified, the school administration had no choice but to urge the police to find the culprit quickly.

Under these circumstances, Xia Xian and Quan Ruifeng's request to join the investigation became perfectly reasonable, and the police were more than eager for their help.

"I believe the same person committed both murders, and there's a strong connection to the female ghost sightings everyone is talking about. There must be some hidden secret behind this!"

One officer pounded the table, declaring dramatically—though his words were essentially stating the obvious. Everyone knew there was a connection, but what exactly was it? Was it the work of a human or a ghost?

"Do you have any leads? What have you uncovered so far?"

Quan Ruifeng ignored the theatrics, instead coolly inquiring about their current findings.

"We have some leads, but not many. Before Old Zhu's death, no one was on guard, so there were no witnesses. Only one student saw Old Zhu go up to the dormitory on Friday afternoon to collect trash, but whether he ever came back down is unclear."

"Moreover, he went up in the afternoon but didn't fall until midnight. It's hard to speculate what happened in between."

"As for Jiang Huaimeng, she had roommates. According to them, she was very reclusive, rarely spoke, but was extremely studious. Since the semester started, she was always carrying books and frequently went to the library. Even after Old Zhu's incident, she wasn't afraid and didn't stick with her roommates."

"Before her death, she had just returned from the library, grabbed her clothes, and was about to take a shower. It was late, and the bathhouse was nearly empty—that's when the killer struck, stabbing her once before pushing her from the second floor."

"Reportedly, after hearing a sound, people saw a fleeting ghostly figure—red dress, long hair, but no visible face."

"Jiang Huaimeng and Old Zhu weren't from the same place and had no interaction after the semester started. It's unlikely the killer knew both, so revenge as a motive doesn't fit. The killer must be selecting targets at random."

This explanation made much more sense.

The killer was definitely someone disguising themselves as a female ghost, planning a massacre on campus!

Since this wasn't a crime of passion, the killer must have a specific method for selecting victims. What did Old Zhu and Jiang Huaimeng have in common?

Xia Xian fell into deep thought.

"Let's share our findings first. My partner Xia Xian and I discovered something on the rooftop of a dormitory building in the East District..."

Quan Ruifeng presented their evidence—just a few strands of hair and an unidentified red stain. The moment he revealed them, someone scoffed.

"And this counts as a lead?"

Quan Ruifeng shot him a sharp glance before calmly explaining.

"These were found on the rooftop stairwell. The hair is 93 centimeters long—not easy to grow naturally, especially since it was found on a male dorm rooftop. Look closer—the strands are spliced together, varying in thickness, meticulously glued strand by strand."

Quan Ruifeng had thoroughly examined the hairs. They were very dry, lacking any natural oils, dyed with pigment, and painstakingly glued together—almost undetectable unless examined closely. Such artificial hair was fragile, which was why strands had fallen at the stairwell.

In other words, this wasn't real hair from someone's head; it came from a wig made of real human hair.

Why make such a wig?

It suggested deception—the real culprit was likely male!

"While everyone described the ghostly figure as having long hair, they overlooked the differences. Some saw hair nearly a meter long, others around 60 centimeters. People assumed fear caused the discrepancies, but that's not the case."

Quan Ruifeng's analysis was meticulous.

He was implying there were two wigs.

"So you're saying there are two killers? No wonder they coordinated so well—must be a man and a woman!"

"No, that's not it."

Just as excitement rose, Xia Xian quietly refuted.

"What?! Don't interrupt!"

"You don't get to speak here!"