The Anomalous Electrical Shaft

The interrogation, lasting approximately half an hour, concluded. Old Wang and Old Xu were dismissed to attend to their own duties, leaving Zhao Yunzhong alone in the office.

Old Wang had not only recounted the events of the previous night but also detailed Chen Jinquan’s prior reports.

On the white paper before Zhao Yunzhong, several keywords were scrawled: “photographs,” “self-harm,” “22:00 sharp,” “mind control,” “mental assault”…

Zhao Yunzhong lowered his head, lost in thought as he gazed at the words.

A moment later, he looked up and penned a new phrase on the paper:

“Realistic mannequin.”

This was a detail Old Wang and the others hadn’t paid much attention to, merely mentioning it in passing during their account: a high-end realistic doll found in Chen Jinquan’s home.

Next, Zhao Yunzhong added another word:

“Anomalous object.”

His pen hovered for a moment, then added a question mark. Rising from his chair, hands tucked into his pockets, Zhao Yunzhong resolved to investigate the estate himself.

At the office doorway, he encountered two individuals.

“Is there something you need?” Zhao Yunzhong inquired, seeing the two young police officers from the hospital last night hesitating to speak.

Li Dong and Cao Yun exchanged a glance, then Li Dong spoke. “Team Leader Zhao, we’d like to apply to be your assistants!”

Zhao Yunzhong paused, slightly taken aback, before responding with immediate coldness. “You two? You’re not qualified.”

Dismissing the two disappointed officers, he sought out Director Zhao for a vehicle and left the police station alone.

Zhao Yunzhong drove swiftly to the vicinity of the estate, choosing not to enter directly. It took him a good ten minutes to locate a parking spot and settle his car.

The estate’s gate control proved to be a mere formality. With a simple declaration of “looking for someone,” the guard allowed Zhao Yunzhong entry.

According to the officers stationed outside, Chen Jinquan had still left for work that morning.

This implied his home was currently empty.

Arriving at the building where Chen Jinquan resided, Zhao Yunzhong gazed up at the entire structure. Once inside, he pressed the elevator button, and while waiting, he produced his Ghost Detector.

The Ghost Detector’s display indicated the presence of a ghost within the building.

This was expected, yet Zhao Yunzhong’s brow furrowed slightly.

The Ghost Detector showed readings between 30 and 50, with two red dots indicating activity on the fifth and eighth floors respectively.

However, Chen Jinquan lived on the twelfth floor.

On the Ghost Detector, the twelfth floor showed no anomalies.

“Ding-dong~” The elevator doors parted slowly, revealing several elderly individuals and children. They cast a cursory glance at Zhao Yunzhong before continuing their conversations and departing.

Stepping into the elevator, Zhao Yunzhong pressed the button for the fifth floor.

Inside the elevator, with only Zhao Yunzhong present, the sole sound was the advertisement playing on a small LCD screen.

Soon, another “ding-dong” chimed, and the elevator doors slowly opened. Zhao Yunzhong stepped out, and behind him, the doors gently closed once more.

Zhao Yunzhong glanced at his Ghost Detector, then walked directly towards the electrical shaft on the fifth floor.

It was an ordinary electrical shaft, yet what made it unusual was its door – a heavy, reinforced security door.

As he approached the security door, Zhao Yunzhong faintly heard the sound of crying.

Producing an unlocking device, he disengaged the lock and slowly pulled open the security door.

Behind it, a small boy was huddled in the electrical shaft, head clutched in his hands, whimpering softly.

“Little one, your mom’s calling you home for dinner,” Zhao Yunzhong stated, his expression serious. The small boy suddenly lifted his head.

His tender, adorable face was streaked with dirty tear tracks, making him appear utterly pathetic.

The small boy shakily rose to his feet. He seemed to have been trapped inside for an unknown duration, clearly on the verge of collapse.

“Hug… hug…” The small boy’s young, faint voice repeated.

“Come out, Uncle will give you a hug.” Zhao Yunzhong stood outside the doorway, extending a hand to the boy.

“Hug… hug…” The boy tilted his head, then abruptly lunged at Zhao Yunzhong, all traces of his previous weakness vanishing.

Zhao Yunzhong’s expression remained unchanged. He met the charging boy with a swift uppercut.

The small boy shattered into a wisp of grey mist, which then slowly dispersed.

“Sir?” A woman, about to leave her apartment, passed by. Seeing Zhao Yunzhong still holding his uppercut posture, her face was etched with confusion.

“I’m an electrician,” Zhao Yunzhong stated calmly, lowering his stance. “It’s fixed, just celebrating.”

“Oh, Master, please close the electrical shaft door quickly! This shaft is terribly eerie…” The woman’s expression turned somewhat fearful as she spoke. “Half a year ago, it was just a wooden door, but a child locked themselves inside. They were found, but couldn’t be saved. After that, all the electrical shaft doors in the estate were replaced with security doors.”

“Then, about a month ago, I tell you, we started hearing children crying from inside! We called management to open it, but there was nothing! A few days later, the crying started again. Isn’t that strange? I always run past here.”

“The strangest thing is, a week ago, a property manager collapsed here. When they woke up in the hospital, they were a complete fool!”

“Someone collapsed, and you didn’t call the police?” Zhao Yunzhong asked, closing the security door.

“The property management reduced our fees by two years, so they wouldn’t let us…” The woman was a chatterbox, but she quickly realized she’d spoken out of turn. Raising her voice, she added, “Call the police? What good would that do? Oh dear! I’m going to be late for work!”

The woman checked her phone, feigned panic, and then hurried away.

“These fools!” Zhao Yunzhong cursed, watching the woman depart.

Yet, he shook his head moments later.

Most ordinary people would probably react the same way. Upon hearing or witnessing something strange, fear might be present, but more often, such incidents would become bragging rights. Especially when coupled with a significant benefit like two years of reduced property fees—only a fool would call the police!

Perhaps some even wished for more such incidents, so long as they didn’t personally experience them.

Dismissing these thoughts, Zhao Yunzhong took the elevator to the eighth floor.

However, the moment the elevator doors opened, Zhao Yunzhong froze.

Directly outside the elevator was a wooden wall.

What’s going on?

Puzzled, Zhao Yunzhong pressed the button for the twelfth floor instead.

I’ll go to the twelfth floor first, he decided.

Upon reaching the twelfth floor, Zhao Yunzhong headed towards “1204,” Chen Jinquan’s apartment.

Arriving at the door of “1204,” Zhao Yunzhong once again retrieved his Ghost Detector.

The Ghost Detector still showed everything as normal.

Zhao Yunzhong’s brows furrowed deeply.

Just then, the sound of a door opening echoed from behind him.

Zhao Yunzhong turned, observing a middle-aged man emerge from the apartment directly opposite “1204.”

“Hmm?” The middle-aged man simply uttered a questioning sound, not pressing further. After closing his own door, he prepared to head downstairs.

“Hello, sir! I’m Chen Jinquan’s cousin, my surname is Zhao. May I ask yours?” Zhao Yunzhong greeted proactively.

The middle-aged man couldn’t very well ignore him. “My surname is Wang,” he replied, “no need for ‘honorable’ with me. Hello, Mr. Zhao!”

Neighbor Old Wang, showing a hint of regret, continued, “If you’re looking for Chen Jinquan, this isn’t a good time. He left for work early this morning.”

“Is that so?” Zhao Yunzhong feigned indignation. “You rascal, Chen Jinquan! You invited me over today, then ran off to work yourself! Fine, I’ll come back tonight! How dare you stand me up? Just wait until I get my hands on you tonight!”

Neighbor Old Wang’s eyes widened in admiration. “You two brothers have such a good relationship!”

“Haha, never mind. I’ll head downstairs with you, Mr. Wang.”

“No need for formalities,” Old Wang said. “My full name is Wang Jun. Just call me Old Wang, like Old Chen does!”

“Alright! My full name is Zhao Yunzhong.”

As they chatted, the elevator arrived.

Inside the elevator were a man and a woman. Zhao Yunzhong entered, stood before the floor buttons, and with what seemed like a casual lean, illuminated the button for the eighth floor.

The man and woman appeared quite familiar with each other, conversing in low tones.

The elevator started, slowly descending.

Eleventh floor, tenth floor, ninth floor, eighth floor.

“Ding-dong~” The elevator halted.

Presuming someone else was about to enter, the man, the woman, and Wang Jun all shifted inward. Zhao Yunzhong naturally followed suit.

Then, the elevator doors slowly parted.

The two who had been speaking fell abruptly silent.

A trace of terror also appeared on Wang Jun’s face.

“What… what’s going on?” Zhao Yunzhong asked, feigning surprise and confusion.