“By the way, how are you planning to arrange your living situation? Should we prepare a room for you here, or…”

“……”

“No need, I plan to rent a place.”

William Carter shook his head with a smile and said, “It’s not far from here, but I might need Captain to put in a word for me.”

“Oh, oh.”

Captain Owen responded cheerfully, “No problem, the team will cover the cost. Where do you want to rent?”

William Carter thought for a moment, then smiled and said, “Apartment 302, No. 7, Block 15.”

“No. 7, Block 15, apartm…”

Captain Owen subconsciously repeated, then suddenly realized something, his expression turning slightly startled.

William Carter nodded gently and calmly at Captain, smiling, “Yes, that’s the place. If it’s inconvenient for the team, I can pay for it myself. It’s just that the situation there is a bit special, so Captain might need to notify the administrative office.”

As he spoke, he glanced at the time and said, “It’s still early, I have time to go over and tidy up.”

Captain Owen was silent for a moment, then suddenly smiled, “Alright.”

……

……

This time, Captain Owen handled things very efficiently—so much so that everyone in the team was a bit surprised.

Once he confirmed that William Carter really wanted to live there, he immediately called the administrative office of Scrap Iron City. Not long after, a rental contract was delivered to their small police station. After helping to clean up the dishes, William Carter confirmed there was nothing else he needed to stay for that afternoon, so he prepared to go tidy up the apartment.

He took all the necessary documents and the contract, got into the jeep parked at the police station entrance, and once again drove toward the building he had deliberately taken a long look at when entering the city. Along the way, the smile on his face gradually faded.

The jeep stopped downstairs. Still hungry, William Carter bought a jianbing guozi from a street vendor and ate as he went upstairs.

He couldn’t help but recall the scene from three years ago, when he had climbed these stairs.

He stood in front of the door for a while, slowly finishing the last piece of crispy dough.

Then he wiped his hands, took the key delivered by the administrative office, and slowly inserted it into the lock.

Click.

With a soft sound, the door opened.

A distinctive musty smell rushed out, mixed with some other strange odors.

In front of William Carter’s eyes, it seemed as if the smiling face of a beautiful woman in a red apron appeared—memories overlapping with reality.

The woman’s stunning beauty, and the later ferocity, had left a deep impression on him.

He slowly walked into the room, looking at the layers of dust covering the furniture in this dark old apartment.

The layout, deeply imprinted in his mind, began to flicker as memories were triggered one by one.

The withered plants, the dried-up fish tank with only fish bones left, the twisted chalk outlines of human figures on the floor, and the specially circled, now blackened, splattered bloodstains on the wall…

It felt as if a part of his brain was throbbing.

William Carter stood quietly in the room for a long time, then slowly paced around the apartment.

Living room, dining room, bathroom, bedroom, balcony…

Aside from the unforgettable large round table, he didn’t find anything noteworthy for the moment.

Not being able to find new clues was something William Carter had already mentally prepared for.

After all, it had been so long…

After making a round, he sat down on the dust-covered sofa in the room, quietly staring at the ceiling.

For a long, long time.

……

……

At the same time, after seeing William Carter off with a smile, Captain Owen’s expression suddenly changed. He turned and entered the small records room of the police station, rummaging for a long time among stacks of almost moldy old files. Finally, he found a thin folder, pulled out the papers inside, glanced over the contents, and let out a low breath.

“Is it him?”

At some point, a graceful figure in a qipao appeared outside the archive room, asking softly.

In the harsh, pale afternoon sunlight, she saw, in the shadow of the archive room, the old newspaper in Captain’s hand.

On the newspaper was a pale-faced young man, covered in blood, staring helplessly at the camera.

“Wasn’t he supposed to be dead already?”

“……”

The woman in the qipao was silent for a while, then said, “What does his file say?”

“Classified.”

Captain Owen gave a wry smile, “Aside from some things that sound like nonsense, the rest is all classified.”

Chapter 9 Abandoned Building

As night began to fall, streetlights lit up one by one. It started to drizzle in the afternoon, and the streets were filled with a damp atmosphere.

Central Avenue under the streetlights was even livelier than during the day.

The neon lights outside the bars were already shining, blending with the restaurants, karaoke bars, and foot massage parlors.

Seen through the falling rain, the neon lights twisted into dancing rainbows all along the street.