Chapter 12: The Website Editor-in-Chief Breaks into the Haunted House at Night

"Captain Lin, don't you think this case is getting more and more bizarre as we investigate?"

Li Li took a bite of the pancake he bought on the way. "We have the suicide note, which suggests suicide, but we can't find any motive for it. Sun Fangfang mentioned that Zhou Xinyu had been in a bad mood recently, but she couldn't explain why. That mysterious milk bottle appeared at the scene, hinting at homicide, but we can't even find a major suspect. Do you think we might be overcomplicating things? Maybe Zhou Xinyu's depression suddenly worsened, and she just took her own life?"

"Suddenly?"

Lin Che's gaze fell on the flickering elevator floor numbers as he spoke calmly. "Why would her condition suddenly worsen? Why would she suddenly decide to end her life? There must be a reason. Or are you suggesting she was possessed by a ghost?"

Just as Li Li was about to retort with a joke, the elevator doors opened, and a shadowy figure darted into Zhou Xinyu's apartment. "C-Captain Lin... could there really be a ghost...?" Li Li stammered. Lin Che also caught a glimpse of the fleeting shadow, but he had never believed in ghosts or spirits. Whoever was at the crime scene at this hour must be connected to the case! "Contact Binjiang Road Police Station and have them send backup immediately."

Though he couldn't make out the person's identity, the figure appeared to be a man. Despite Lin Che's exceptional combat skills, which had earned him awards in national police competitions, he knew better than to act recklessly. He needed to be fully prepared before making a move. Glancing at the garden outside the corridor, he whispered, "Notify the fire department to prepare an inflatable cushion outside the apartment window, just in case the suspect tries to jump. Also, secure all exits of this building."

"Got it. Captain Lin, be careful," Li Li replied, his usual playful demeanor replaced by seriousness as he immediately carried out Lin Che's orders.

Lin Che pressed himself against the wall and approached the apartment door, which was slightly ajar. The lights were off inside, and the place was eerily silent, as if the shadow that had slipped in was indeed a ghost. Gripping the door handle, Lin Che slipped inside and stood by the shoe rack, holding his breath to listen. He heard faint clicking sounds coming from the bedroom, intermittent but distinct.

Lin Che grabbed a vase from the shoe rack and moved quietly toward the bedroom, making no sound. The apartment was so quiet it was suffocating, and the faint clicking noises only added to the eerie atmosphere. Lin Che pressed his back against the wall beside the bedroom door, his presence unnoticed by the shadow inside. He shifted his position to get a better view—a man in a baseball cap was sitting at the computer, frantically opening and closing folders on the desktop, as if searching for something. The clicking sounds came from his mouse clicks.

In the dimly lit bedroom, the glow from the computer screen cast an ominous light on the man's face. He seemed nervous, wiping sweat from his forehead several times in just a few minutes. "Got it!" the man in the baseball cap muttered under his breath, his voice low but filled with excitement. He quickly inserted a USB drive and copied something.

Seeing the man shut down the computer and stand up, presumably preparing to leave, Lin Che repositioned himself behind the wall of the opposite room. As soon as the man stepped out, Lin Che could subdue him from behind. But the man seemed to remember something. He took off his jacket and used it to wipe the keyboard and mouse he had touched. Then, crouching down, he began wiping the floor as he moved toward the door, muttering something under his breath. Lin Che couldn't make out most of it but caught Zhou Xinyu's name.

Seeing the man crouched on the floor, Lin Che didn't hesitate. He kicked the man, sending him sprawling, and pinned him down with his foot. Before Lin Che could fully restrain the suspect, the man let out a piercing scream, trembling uncontrollably and offering no resistance.

"Captain Lin!" Hearing the scream, Li Li rushed in and turned on the lights, ready to assist in subduing the suspect. But the scene before him was their captain standing over a man who had wet himself in fear, clearly needing no help. And by "wet himself," Li Li meant it literally...

Li Li looked at Lin Che, his expression a mix of curiosity and disbelief, as if wondering what their captain had done to scare the suspect so badly. "Let's see who you are—" Li Li bent down and yanked off the baseball cap. "Wang Qiong?!"

Wang Qiong's face was pale, drenched in sweat, and he was too terrified to speak. Li Li was speechless. All the effort he had put into calling for backup and arranging the inflatable cushion had been wasted on such a coward.

The officers from Binjiang Road Police Station escorted Wang Qiong to the criminal police headquarters. As Lin Che checked his phone, he noticed several missed calls from Zhou Yun. He was about to call back when another call came in. "Captain Lin! Bad news, Wang Qiong has escaped!"

Compared to Zhou Yun's panic, Lin Che's response was calm. "It's fine, we've already caught him. Hurry back."

"Caught him?! How?" Zhou Yun and Da Zhuang exchanged bewildered looks.

-Interrogation Room

Perhaps still traumatized from earlier, Wang Qiong shuddered involuntarily when Lin Che walked in. Li Li and Lao Du had already gathered the basic information.

"Officer, Zhou Xinyu's death really has nothing to do with me! I already explained everything to the police in Yucheng this morning. I was just venting and said some nonsense! Even if I had the intention, I wouldn't have the guts!" Wang Qiong slapped his own mouth twice in regret. "It's all because of this big mouth of mine!"

"You've got quite the nerve, sneaking into a haunted house in the dead of night. And you even knew to wipe your fingerprints—quite meticulous, aren't you?"

"I learned that from TV, Officer. To be honest, my courage is smaller than a needle's tip. If it weren't for desperate circumstances, I wouldn't dare set foot in a place where someone died, let alone walk down a dark alley!" Wang Qiong glanced at Lin Che, his face flushed with shame. "Otherwise, I wouldn't have wet myself when that officer suddenly appeared. I thought Zhou Xinyu had come back as a ghost to haunt me..."

"If Zhou Xinyu's death has nothing to do with you, then why were you so scared?"

"It has nothing to do with me, but who wouldn't be scared of a ghost? That's a ghost we're talking about! Aren't you scared, Officer?"

Li Li snorted. "I haven't done anything wrong. With a clear conscience, I'm not afraid of any ghosts or demons."

"I haven't done anything wrong either..." Wang Qiong's voice trailed off, clearly lacking conviction.

"Then tell us, what were you looking for on Zhou Xinyu's computer? Were you trying to destroy evidence of the murder? Speak!"

"No, no! I didn't kill anyone!"

Some stubborn suspects needed a bit of intimidation during interrogation, but Wang Qiong's fear was genuine. Li Li worried that raising his voice any further might cause the man to wet himself again, and the station didn't have spare pants in his size. Wang Qiong, slightly overweight, was already drenched in sweat after less than half an hour of questioning, whether from fear or poor health.

"I... I was looking for her unpublished drafts..."