Chapter 40: Preparation Before Catching Ghosts
"When the doll left, it didn't kindly untie the ropes for me. I was still bound."
"But luckily, there was no longer anyone in the room who posed a threat to me, and there was a knife lying on the ground."
"I put in a lot of effort. With the handle of the knife between my legs, I placed my hands on the blade and slowly wore away the rope around my wrists."
"And so, step by step, I regained my freedom and finally peeled off the transparent tape that was stuck to my mouth."
"But after gaining my freedom, instead of calling the police, I turned around and ran to find surveillance cameras, and locked the door behind me."
"Just like I said before, all the surveillance related to the thief was destroyed. I couldn't prove that this guy wanted to rob me and harm me."
"All I had was blood all over the room and a body that was broken into pieces."
"In that moment, I helplessly crouched down on the ground. I couldn't prove to others that there were ghosts in the hotel. Even if it was discovered later that the man had a criminal record, with his brutal death, I could never be judged as acting in self-defense."
"So I had no choice but to reluctantly become an accomplice to the doll, helping it little by little to bring out and dispose of the thief's body."
"Now you understand why I can't sleep at night and cry every night, right?" Sun Xiaoman finally revealed the secret that had been suppressed in her heart for a long time. She looked both exhausted and relieved at the same time.
Seeing that Chu Jiang showed no signs of fear or disbelief, he just pondered.
Sun Xiaoman found the strength to continue, saying, "That's not even the worst part. I believe you've noticed the worst part too."
"After the lifelike doll killed the man, it didn't leave my side."
"I don't understand either. It had clearly studied the man's physical structure and even killed him. In that case, wouldn't it be better for it to live on in his identity in the future?"
"Don't tell me, it's because the man has a criminal record and might get arrested by the police. I don't believe this strange thing exists and could be scared of the police."
"That puppet is like a ghost, still lingering around me to this day. I don't know what it wants to do, but I do know that eventually, I will die at its hands..."
Sun Xiaoman's story has finished, very clear and complete.
Through these detailed descriptions, Chu Jiang also gathered a lot of information about this ghost.
The first thought that came to his mind was: a ghost that protects humans??
No, no, no, ghosts don't intentionally protect the living.
It can only be said that the robber triggered the ghost's rule of killing, while Sun Xiaoman didn't. So it appears as if the ghost is protecting the person.
Based on this line of thinking, Chu Jiang's previous guess was wrong. The goal of the ghost is not to replace Sun Xiaoman.
In fact, at this point, Chu Jiang has almost been able to analyze the complete killing rule of the lifelike puppet, he just needs to verify it now.
Thinking about this, Chu Jiang looked up at Sun Xiaoman and said, "You've worked hard, I believe what you said."
Seeing this, Sun Xiaoman breathed a sigh of relief and she looked much better.
"That's it then, please don't ask anymore. It's better for you to leave my side early to avoid any unfortunate events. I'll also refund your room fee."
Chu Jiang smiled and asked, "If I say I can help you, would you believe me?"
Sun Xiaoman hesitated for a moment, unsure about the ideas of this young man in front of her.
Is he still a student? Maybe a college student or something, but he looks very calm with a hint of gloominess.
"Aren't you curious? Normal people would either think you're crazy or get scared and leave when they hear what you just said."
"But I'm different, I'm interested in the ghost beside you. Or you can say, my job is related to this kind of thing."
"So, if you believe me, come to room 401 on the fourth floor of the hotel after it closes tonight. I'll take away the realistic doll beside you."
After speaking, Chu Jiang stood up and said, "Of course, catching ghosts isn't that simple. Right now, I need to go out and do some preparation work."
"That's it then, good luck to you!" Chu Jiang said and left confidently.
"Wait!" Sun Xiaoman hesitated for a moment but still chased after him.
However, Chu Jiang didn't turn around or stop. He just waved his hand to signal the other person to wait patiently.
.........
In the following day, Chu Jiang went to several places. He kept going back and forth, bringing back several cardboard boxes to the hotel. The boxes varied in size, and it was unclear what they contained.
Sun Xiaoman stayed in the hotel the whole time, either chatting with the guests, completing administrative tasks, or conversing with the cleaning ladies to assign them to different rooms.
In short, Sun Xiaoman and Chu Jiang crossed paths a few times. Sun Xiaoman wanted to ask something but was afraid of disrupting Chu Jiang's plans.
And so, another day passed without any unexpected situations for Chu Jiang. He never had the thought of losing something, and the local authorities didn't come looking for him.
After it got dark, Chu Jiang asked Sun Xiaoman for the key to Room 401, and he moved all his things in there and never came out again.
It's worth mentioning that because Chu Jiang was running around, the girl in Room 302 became interested in him and even helped him move a few things.
The girl looked very young, dressed in a white t-shirt and jeans, and she wore a baseball cap on her head, pulling it down low, afraid that someone would recognize her.
Although the girl kept her head down, Chu Jiang couldn't see her face clearly; but he noticed that she seemed to be wearing designer clothes, even the bracelet she wore was from a famous luxury brand overseas.
Well, maybe she's a runaway rich lady. But that has nothing to do with Chu Jiang, because if he ever needs money, he'll never be short of it.
Chu Jiang asked around on a paranormal forum and found out that even the most ordinary C-class ghost, based on the acquisition price of the research institute, is valued in millions.
As for higher-level ghosts, sometimes it's hard to measure their worth in terms of money; you can't even buy a sealed top-tier ghost for ten billion.
Although ghosts aren't useful for ordinary people, big powers like the research institute have ways to harness their power.
Chu Jiang heard people say that the research institute even keeps ghosts imprisoned to study their patterns of killing and the essence of their powers, in the hopes of finding a way to solve the global paranormal resurgence.
This kind of thing is not only done by Research Institute No. 21, but also by various official organizations in different countries around the world. Research Institute No. 21 is just one of the top supernatural organizations, even if you look at the whole world.
