The Mystery of K Newspaper

Chapter 10

"Hehe, I didn't see anything that made me faint. I just stayed up all night last night and was so tired this morning that I accidentally fell asleep on the floor with a 'thud.' Ha... who knew they would overreact and think I was... haha..."

"Good lad, you're really something. I didn't know you could fake illness and fool people! You even fooled me! Haha..."

Upon hearing Zheng Qi's explanation, Mo Han felt both amused and annoyed, and couldn't help but laugh along.

"Hey, senior brother, you know what, this time, I was actually fooled!"

Zheng Qi's expression gradually became serious, and he continued speaking to his senior brother.

"At first, I thought I was really embarrassed! I was wondering what to do when I suddenly heard them talking about Chen Gang!"

"Chen Gang? What were they talking about regarding Chen Gang?"

Upon hearing Chen Gang's name, Mo Han suddenly perked up and leaned closer to Zheng Qi while sitting on the edge of the bed.

"When I collapsed to the ground, Old Dong asked everyone in a low voice, 'Do you think Xiao Zheng is the same as Chen Gang?' Immediately afterward, Meng Ping said, 'I told you long ago, you can't sit in the seat opposite her, it's weird!' So, I took advantage of this accidental encounter to turn the tables on her."

At this point, Zheng Qi proudly gestured with his chin towards Mo Han. Mo Han knew this was his moment to show off, so she ignored him and let him continue his boasting. She'd see what he had to say next.

Zheng Qi continued:

"I once read a story about a diplomat who suddenly got diarrhea on the day he was receiving foreign guests. Later, at an important moment, he didn't have time to go to the toilet, and ended up defecating and urinating in his pants in front of the guests. He was terrified at first, but then he had a flash of inspiration and pretended that he had fainted due to overwork and incontinence. Guess what he did after that?"

Zheng Qi asked Mo Han with a smile.

"I have no idea what happened to that diplomat after he was done. But I do know now that you've gone off-topic!"

Mo Han, holding Shuangbo, slowly spoke to Zheng Qi, who was beaming with pride.

Zheng Qi blushed, glanced at him, pursed her lips and ignored him, continuing to speak along her own train of thought.

"The diplomat who made this fool of himself was ultimately considered to be working despite being ill, and he received unanimous praise from everyone, unexpectedly getting promoted three ranks! Haha, how about that, turning misfortune into blessing! As for me, I was just thinking quickly and going with the flow, trying to imitate him, but who would have thought that this move would turn out to be a two-birds-with-one-stone strategy!"

Zheng Qi smugly shook his head at Mo Han.

"Hmm? What kind of two-birds-with-one-stone strategy? Tell me about it?"

Mo Han couldn't stand his smugness and asked in a disdainful tone.

"From their conversation, we can infer that everyone at the newspaper knew about Chen Gang's death, but they all seemed to prefer to avoid trouble and were reluctant to speak out. Moreover, their words suggest that they all unanimously believed that the culprit was that beautiful woman, Luo Min. I think I can take this opportunity to play tricks on them and scare them a bit, and then try to get some information out of them. Senior brother, what do you think of this method?"

"Heh, I didn't realize you were so capable!"

Mo Han smiled and lightly punched Zheng Qi, then nodded and said:

"Yes, I think that's a good idea!"

"So, how do you plan to pull this trick?"

Mo Han then asked with a smile,

"Haha, I have a brilliant plan! By the way, senior brother, do you have any ideas?"

"Hmm, I plan to check out that trash can at the entrance of Lion Lane tonight. I have a feeling we might find something there!"

"Alright then, let's split up and investigate that vengeful spirit today!"

Night fell silently, the clouds pressing in thick, dark clouds obscuring the sky, preventing even a sliver of moonlight or starlight from penetrating. The whole world seemed to be sucked into a bottomless black hole; the air was hot and humid, the wind was picking up, and a downpour seemed imminent.

Mo Han dressed in his night clothes, hesitated for a moment before leaving, but finally turned back and put the talismans on the table into his pocket. Then he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, opened the door, and strode out, disappearing into the vast night in no time.

The trash can at the entrance of Lion Lane was actually near the newspaper office, at most only about a hundred meters apart. After visiting Zheng Qi at the hospital during the day, Mo Han went there specifically to scout out the location and check it out in preparation for the night's operation.

It was past 1 a.m., and the streetlights on the roadside were dimly emitting a reddish-orange glow, casting a hazy, desolate light on the deserted and silent street.

On Lion Lane, the occasional sound of a car speeding by could be heard, followed by the hollow "tap-tap" of a pedestrian walking on the bluestone pavement.

Mo Han quietly arrived at the garbage collection point at the entrance of Lion Lane. It was a small, green garbage collection point, about three square meters in size. It was already late at night, long past the time for garbage disposal, and a large, rusty iron padlock hung on the door of the garbage collection point.

Mo Han cautiously looked around; there wasn't a single pedestrian in the streets. He quickly pulled a master key from his pocket, skillfully unlocked the large iron lock, gently pulled the door open, and then darted into the garbage room.

The garbage room reeked of a nauseating stench of rotting debris. Mo Han frowned in disgust and pressed her nose hard with her hand.

According to the newspaper report, the two bodies that died suddenly were discovered here by the sanitation workers who came to clean up the garbage that morning. Mo Han secretly analyzed that these two bodies must have been frightened to death elsewhere by someone or a vengeful spirit, and then transported here. In other words, a thief would never want to steal from a garbage room. But according to Chen Qing's point of view, why were all the people who died in the past also transported to this garbage room?

Mo Han pondered deeply all night and finally came to a conclusion: this garbage room must contain some unknown secret related to the cause of their deaths.

Thinking of this, Mo Han slowly ran her hand along the walls of the garbage room. The walls were greasy and slippery, indicating that they hadn't been cleaned for quite some time. After running her hand around the room, Mo Han didn't find anything amiss.

Then, he used his feet to clear away the piles of garbage under his feet, and carefully stepped on the three square meters of floor tiles, not even missing the corners of the walls. But in the end, Mo Han still couldn't find anything wrong with the garbage room.

Mo Han stood angrily in the stinking garbage room, her expression somewhat gloomy.

Suddenly, a thought struck him. He stood solemnly, head bowed, brows furrowed, and used his left palm to support his right hand, bending it slightly while making a finger gesture with his right hand, chanting incantations. After a moment, he slowly opened his eyes and pointed his finger directly at the wall opposite the garbage room door. A beam of blue light suddenly flashed before his eyes, and a small door emitting a faint silver glow appeared on the wall.

Mo Han smiled and, without thinking, closed her eyes and leaped into the small silver door.

When Mo Han opened his eyes, he found himself in a secret underground passage. The passage was very narrow, and the surroundings were pitch black, giving it a cold and damp feel.

A chilling and solemn murderous aura emanated from the air in the passageway.

Mo Han dared not be careless and did not dare to turn on the flashlight in the bag. He closed his eyes tightly, secretly circulating the internal energy in his abdomen, and slowly moved forward along the passage by feeling the soles of his feet. After walking for about fifteen minutes, Mo Han's toes suddenly touched something hard. He stopped, raised his hand and gently reached forward, then expanded the area he touched. He realized that he had touched a blue stone wall.

Having learned from his previous experience of entering the passage, Mo Han calmly began to perform the same ritual as before, slowly facing the bluestone wall.

A moment later, a small door appeared before Mo Han's eyes, the same kind that emitted a faint silver light when she came in.

Mo Han paused for a moment, pondered for a while, then his expression turned solemn. He pursed his chapped lips, closed his eyes, gritted his teeth, and leaped into the small silver door.

A cold wind blew ominously onto Mo Han, causing him to shiver. He opened his tightly closed eyes and saw that his feet, clad in Taoist shoes, had firmly touched the ground.

It was pitch black all around, but with his naked eye and the dim light from the streetlights streaming in through the window, he could vaguely make out some things inside: a desk and chair, a computer, a bookcase, a sofa, and a coffee table. On the bare, white wall facing north, there was a foreign portrait painting hanging. It seemed the owner of this room was quite a person of taste.

In that instant, Mo Han realized that he was standing in a room that resembled an office.

Outside the window, a torrential downpour began, I don't know when it started.

The gale howled intermittently in mid-air, causing the aluminum alloy windows to creak and rattle. Occasionally, a flash of lightning, accompanied by a muffled rumble of thunder, would streak across the sky, illuminating everything inside the room in a blinding light.

Mo Han quickly scanned the room several times using the flash of lightning, and then confirmed that she was indeed standing in an office.

"But where is this office?" Mo Han wondered to himself.

After a pause, Mo Han quietly took a small flashlight out of his pocket, adjusted the beam to its lowest setting, and then gently circled the room a few times, giving it a general overview. It was just an ordinary office, with furnishings no different from any other office layout.