Chapter 69 Do You Think the Police Station Is Your Home?

The wardrobe was shut extremely tight, leaving not even the narrowest gap.

Lu Yuan couldn't even manage to peer outside through a crack.

"This wardrobe is a bit cold."

Lu Yuan shivered.

It wasn't a chill born of hatred.

Yet he could feel wisps of cold air creeping into his body, as if he had been shoved directly into a freezer.

Lu Yuan didn't pay it much mind.

His attention was entirely focused on the space outside the wardrobe.

After the footsteps entered the utility room, they didn't stop, but kept pacing back and forth, the sound monotonous enough to make Lu Yuan feel drowsy.

In his daze, Lu Yuan actually fell asleep.

After who knows how long, Lu Yuan felt a wave of comfort wash over his body—a rare, effortless sense of ease from a truly good night's sleep.

Slowly opening his eyes, Lu Yuan lay motionless on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling of the psychological clinic.

A moment later, he sighed.

"I fell asleep after all."

Actually, he hadn't wanted to fall asleep in the wardrobe; after all, there was still an eerie entity lurking in the utility room, and entering the nightmare dream world again next time certainly wouldn't be safe.

Originally, Lu Yuan's plan was to find an opportunity to slip out of the utility room and run to the bathroom to sleep.

Yet for some reason, he had drifted off right there inside the wardrobe, and vaguely, Lu Yuan seemed to recall a faint fragrance lingering within the closet.

The scent wasn't strong, but it seemed to possess hypnotic properties.

Lying in bed for a while, Lu Yuan glanced at the quartz clock on the wall; it was only seven o'clock in the morning, and once again an overcast day with no sun in sight.

"Xia Hai."

"Mingzhi Elementary School."

Lu Yuan closed his eyes in contemplation.

Xia Hai was an anomaly among the supernatural entities because he didn't even realize he was one. The hatred residing within Xia Hai was undoubtedly strong, but Lu Yuan had yet to figure out what object that hatred was anchored to.

If he wanted to leave Mingzhi Elementary School alive, he had to get on good terms with Xia Hai.

Lu Yuan took out his phone and searched the web for information regarding Mingzhi Elementary School. Just as before, the results were filled entirely with positive news.

Not a single negative story to be found!

"Can't find anything this way."

Digging up information wasn't his forte; he needed to enlist Wen Ke's help.

Wen Ke was the captain of the police precinct and possessed the authority to access all sorts of archival files and records. She would definitely be able to unearth information about Mingzhi Elementary School.

However, Lu Yuan needed to come up with a reason that would make Wen Ke willing to help him dig up those files and information of her own accord.

"Xia Hai."

Lu Yuan typed the name Xia Hai into the search bar.

The name Xia Hai was actually quite common; out of ten thousand people, there might be a hundred named Xia Hai. With the population of S City exceeding a million, the number of people sharing that name was bound to be substantial.

Lu Yuan was merely trying on a whim, not expecting to turn up any useful information, but to his utter surprise, the search actually yielded some news articles.

Lu Yuan sat straight up in bed instantly.

The very first search result that popped up was the exact same Xia Hai whom Lu Yuan had encountered in the nightmare dream world.

That face was far too familiar.

Lu Yuan clicked on the news article.

This Xia Hai was quite famous.

He had once been named one of the top ten outstanding citizen representatives of S City.

The news reports concerning him were entirely positive, with the earliest one dating back more than a decade, when both of Xia Hai's sons had been accepted into prestigious universities, one of them even as the top scorer of the province.

When reporters interviewed his sons, they incidentally interviewed Xia Hai as well.

Two outstanding talents from a single household.

Back then, Xia Hai was hailed as the benchmark for parents.

Infinite glory!

Later on, Xia Hai made the front pages of major news outlets once again, this time for rescuing a little girl who had accidentally fallen into the water, performing a courageous act of righteousness.

For a time, the name Xia Hai became the hottest treasure of the city.

Lu Yuan scrolled endlessly.

It was all positive news!

Xia Hai's life was like the school calendar of Mingzhi Elementary School—bright and glossy to the extreme, without a single flaw or blemish to pick on.

Suddenly, Lu Yuan's hand stopped.

He flipped to a news article whose headline announced that Xia Hai had passed away in an accident, with the cause of death being the rescue of others.

The moment he saw that headline, Lu Yuan felt not the slightest bit surprised.

Although it might not sound very pleasant to say, people who risk their lives for righteousness are bound to meet a bad end sooner or later.

Lu Yuan clicked on the article and began to read through it carefully.

A moment later, Lu Yuan had a rough understanding of Xia Hai's cause of death.

A car crash.

The news report stated it was a car crash.

As for whether the true cause of death was indeed a car crash, it remained unclear for the time being.

According to the report, a young child was crossing the street when suddenly a truck lost control and charged straight toward the child.

At the crucial moment, Xia Hai rushed forward and saved the child, only to be sent flying by the impact of the truck.

He died very cleanly and swiftly.

When the ambulance arrived at the scene, light postmortem lividity had already begun to appear on Xia Hai's corpse.

Seeing no point in attempting resuscitation, the ambulance crew directly reversed direction, hauled Xia Hai's body to the funeral parlor, and notified his two sons.

Lu Yuan frowned slightly.

Since Xia Hai could manifest within the nightmare dream world, it meant he undoubtedly harbored resentment in his heart, yet he had lost the memories pertaining to his own death.

Why was that?

Logically speaking, when a person harbors hatred in their heart, they should remember every single frame and second leading up to their death with exceptional clarity.

It was possible that Xia Hai hadn't voluntarily performed that act of righteousness, but had instead been pushed into it by someone else.

And precisely because of that reason, after Xia Hai died, hatred took root in his heart, leading to his appearance in the nightmare dream world.

"There aren't many photos in this news article."

"The surrounding conditions of the traffic accident scene cannot be seen."

Lu Yuan felt a sudden sense of regret.

After all, this incident had happened many years ago, and trying to retrace and investigate it now would likely require a tremendous amount of effort.

When all was said and done, he still had to rely on Wen Ke.

Right on cue!

Lu Yuan also planned to pay Wen Ke a visit.

He needed to take another look at the group photo in Wen Ke's office to see if there were any differences compared to the photo of the two of them together.

After eating breakfast, Lu Yuan spent some time reviewing his study materials; the upcoming exam could not be taken lightly. If he managed to pass, he would as good as have a secure, official position.

By noon, Lu Yuan left the psychological clinic and walked toward the police precinct.

While reviewing, he had thought of a decent excuse that could persuade Wen Ke to help him look into the files.

An hour later, Lu Yuan arrived at the police station.

The people at the police station had grown somewhat accustomed to seeing Lu Yuan. Ordinary people held a sense of awe toward the police and avoided coming unless necessary.

Only Lu Yuan treated the place like a local market, dropping by every few days.

The crucial point was that Lu Yuan had an excellent relationship with Wen Ke—a fact known to the entire precinct—so no one had any intention of stopping him.

Treating the place as if it were his own home, Lu Yuan walked straight to Wen Ke's office, knocked a few times, and only pushed the door open after Wen Ke told him to enter.

Upon looking up and seeing Lu Yuan, Wen Ke was startled at first, then helpless. "Why are you here again? Do you take the police station for your own living room?"

Wen Ke was utterly speechless.

"I have business."

Lu Yuan cut straight to the point.

After shutting the office door securely, Lu Yuan said with a solemn expression, "It's about Tang Wen."