Chapter 158: Investigation
Chapter 158: Investigation
Upon returning to his school dormitory, Chen Chuan called the Patrol Bureau and reported the incident with the crossbow, as someone had fired an arrow at him, which was rather impolite.
After freshening up, he called Cheng Zitong to discuss the Skull Splitter Demon, but the conversation only added to his confusion, leaving him with more questions than answers.
At around 9 pm that night, the phone suddenly rang.
Chen Chuan picked up the receiver, and Ren Su's voice came through, "Expert Chen, someone from the Bloodstain Gang is here again. It's said that another boss had his brain removed by the Skull Splitter Demon. We hope you can come to the scene and take a look."
Chen Chuan's heart stirred, and he asked, "Where is it?"
"It's an underground fighting arena run by the Bloodstain Gang, located at the border between Baofeng and Daping Districts, not far from Wu Yi Academy."
Chen Chuan felt a sense of familiarity and asked, "What's the name of the boss who died?"
"Fu Shouxin."
So, it was him.
Chen Chuan nodded, recalling that he had indeed met this man. When he and Ren Xiaotian took on a mission to retrieve a wealthy young lady, it was at this arena that Ren Xiaotian drew his weapon, forcing this boss to surrender the girl. Little did he know that Fu Shouxin would also fall victim to the Skull Splitter Demon.
Chen Chuan paused for a moment and said, "I'll go and take a look." After hanging up, he thought for a while and made another call to the Baofeng District Patrol Bureau. Only then did he set off from the school with Xuejun Blade.
When they arrived at the entrance, Master Xiao Wei was already waiting. Chen Chuan got into the car, and after just over ten minutes, they reached the vicinity of the underground arena.
Although it was already 9:30 pm, the arena was brightly lit, with hundreds of vehicles packed in the square outside. Bloodstain Gang members were everywhere, some standing and others sitting, all wearing clothing with five bloodstained claw marks on the chest, and carrying various knives and weapons at their waists.
Master Xiao Wei was startled and turned to ask, "Expert Chen?"
Chen Chuan remained calm and said, "It's fine, drive on."
Master Xiao Wei agreed and slightly reduced the car's speed as they approached the square. The Bloodstain Gang members nearby noticed, and some of them surrounded the car, but they were soon shouted away. A burly man with a bare chest, shaved temples, and a tuft of hair on top, emerged.
As soon as the car stopped, Chen Chuan stepped out. The burly man approached, scanning Chen Chuan up and down, and lifted his chin towards him. "Expert Chen?"
"It's me," Chen Chuan confirmed.
"My boss has been waiting for you for a long time. Come with me," the boss gestured and led the way into the arena.
Chen Chuan turned to Master Xiao Wei and said, "Master Xiao Wei, you can go back. I'll call you when I'm done."
The driver, Master Xiao Wei, didn't insist and replied, "Okay, Expert Chen."
Chen Chuan strode forward, holding Xuejun Blade, following the boss. Inside, they encountered more Bloodstain Gang members, but they seemed divided into two groups. One group was crouched against the wall, while the other kept watch, occasionally kicking the first group.
Chen Chuan asked at this point, "Which one is your boss?"
"The Bloodstain Gang has the Five Claws. Have you heard of them?" the boss replied.
"I have," Chen Chuan acknowledged.
The Bloodstain Gang, despite running companies, had a notorious reputation.
The boss pointed upwards with his thumb, "My boss is one of the Five Claws, Zhuo Bao."
Chen Chuan had only heard rumors of the Five Claws and merely hummed in response. The boss seemed dissatisfied with Chen Chuan's indifference and grunted, quickening his pace to the upper floor, directly to the spot where Fu Shouxin had met Ren Xiaotian before.
The boss said to Chen Chuan, "He's inside." He opened the door and called out, "Boss, the person is here."
Inside, a man in his thirties sat leaning against the left, with his elbow resting on the armrest and his hand supporting his chin, which was raised towards his nose.
He wore an unbuttoned shirt, revealing a sturdy chest marked with five crimson scars. Hearing the commotion, his eyes shifted to Chen Chuan, and the cold glint in his gaze made Chen Chuan feel a chill.
"Since you're here, take a look," the man said.
The boss turned and said, "Expert Chen, my boss wants you to take a look. Please."
Chen Chuan walked forward, glancing at the corner where Bloodstain Gang members were crouched. Ignoring them, he continued to the sofa directly ahead, where another person sat.
This person had both hands resting on the sofa armrests, head tilted back, and mouth wide open. As Chen Chuan approached, he could clearly see that the upper half of the man's skull was split open.
This was Fu Shouxin, whom Chen Chuan had met before. He still wore a respectable imported suit, with polished shoes and meticulously groomed nails.
After a glance, Chen Chuan walked behind the sofa. Looking down, he could see that the man's head was empty, just like in the photos, almost identical.
Chen Chuan recalled that the last time they parted ways, Fu Shouxin had said he never wanted to see them again.
To some extent, he had kept his promise and lived up to his name.
He approached Fu Shouxin's back and stared at the empty skull for a while, asking, "When did you find this?"
The gang leader snapped out of his daze and roared at the Bloodstain Gang members crouching nearby, "When did you find this?"
One of the gang members replied, "About two hours ago."
The leader repeated to Chen Chuan, "Two hours ago."
Chen Chuan examined Fu Shouxin's body and confirmed that it hadn't been long since his death. He paid attention to his second self and noticed no signs of virtualization.
All the hauntings he had encountered so far carried a special sense of violation, and more often than not, they triggered virtualization in his second self. But here, he saw no such signs. Was it because the haunting itself was no longer present?
The last time he only saw photos, but this time, upon close observation, he realized that the skull seemed to have been broken open from the inside, unlike his previous assumption that it was opened from the outside. It was as if the brain had escaped on its own, a phenomenon somewhat reminiscent of hauntings. It was difficult to explain using common sense.
He asked, "Where had he been before this?"
The leader shouted at the henchmen below, "You, when did you find this?"
"No, Boss, he's been here this whole month, never left."
Chen Chuan asked further, "Has anyone visited in the past month?"
◇9◇Book◇Bar
Before the leader could roar at him again, a henchman quickly answered, "Yes, yes, some of the big shots from our gang came by, and they drank and watched a match together."
At that moment, Zhuo Bao, sitting on the sofa, spoke up, "Which ones?"
"Han Boss, Iron Boss, and also, Xiao Boss, oh, and Liu Boss..." The henchmen added, naming a total of six or seven people.
Chen Chuan asked for more details and discovered that three of them were precisely the Bloodstain Gang leaders who had been targeted by the Skull Splitter Demon. Was this a coincidence, or was there another reason? Did they encounter someone during their gathering? If so, were the remaining survivors next in line?
Despite these thoughts, he didn't voice his concerns.
It was difficult to ascertain the situation, and the Bloodstain Gang members might have had their suspicions as well. Moreover, the gang members were all scumbags, especially the leaders. Executing them wouldn't be a miscarriage of justice.
He stared at the skull for a while, and for some reason, he instinctively felt that this wasn't a haunting. He couldn't explain it logically, but that's how he felt.
However, he had another way to verify his suspicions.
When it came to hauntings or objects related to hauntings, if the time gap wasn't too long, bringing a remnant of another haunting and making slight contact with it would usually trigger a weak reaction, confirming the presence of a haunting.
Remnants of powerful hauntings were even more likely to react.
This method was summarized by those who had previously eliminated hauntings. After all, they didn't have a second self and could only rely on this approach. While it wasn't 100% accurate, it had proven to be effective.
This time, he had also brought along a remnant.
He took out a strand of hair from his pocket, left behind by the Flying Head Monster, and wrapped it around his finger a few times. Then, he extended his hand and touched the inside of Fu Shouxin's head.
The gang leader, upon seeing this action, couldn't help but smirk, and the henchmen, upon witnessing this, widened their eyes in surprise. Only Zhuo Bao, sitting on the side, didn't react much.
Chen Chuan waited for a while, and when he withdrew his hand, there was no reaction.
Now, he could almost confirm that this matter had little to do with hauntings, and using haunting-finding methods to find the murderer was out of the question.
Given this, this matter was no longer within his scope of handling.
He quickly put away the strand of hair and said, "This thing was probably not caused by a haunting. If you want to find the murderer, think if you've offended anyone recently."
After saying this, he picked up the Xuejun Blade and walked out. The gang leader was at a loss, glanced around, and scratched his head, saying, "You're leaving just like that?"
Just as Chen Chuan was about to reach the door, Zhuo Bao's voice came from behind, "Wait a moment."
Zhuo Bao stood up from the sofa. While he couldn't tell when sitting, he realized upon standing that he and Chen Chuan were of similar height. He stood there and said, "We've been waiting for you for so long, and you're leaving with just a few words? Don't you take our Bloodstain Gang seriously?"
Chen Chuan said, "I've already given you the answer. This matter wasn't caused by a haunting."
Zhuo Bao waved his hand, and the gang leader immediately passed him a cigarette, lighting it for him. He took a puff and exhaled a long trail of smoke, "Does it matter if it's the Skull Splitter Demon or something else? Since you're the expert, you must find the murderer for us!"
Upon hearing this, Chen Chuan turned around and said calmly, "You might have misunderstood something. I came here not to solve your problems or find your murderer, but because the haunting itself piqued my interest. As for the matters of your Bloodstain Gang, they have nothing to do with me."
(End of Chapter)
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