Fog City Detective

Chapter 25: Battle in the Haunted House (Part 1)

Liu Zhen was quite considerate, reporting a full 24 hours to Liang Xi when submitting the time, and even personally called to apologize. Liu Zhen told Liang Xi that Wang Shuang was a very important criminal, but unfortunately, there was no bounty, so he couldn't offer any additional reward to Liang Xi.

This call reminded Liang Xi of a job that would allow him to run a detective agency, engage in the detective profession that he was interested in, and still maintain his quality of life: bounty hunting.

Due to limited manpower and resources, Liang Xi couldn't investigate long-standing cases. However, even with new cases, once the police took over and funds were allocated for a reward, it became a long-standing case. When Liang Xi mentioned bounty hunting, he was referring to rewards where the information was not accepted by the police, no case was filed, and it seemed to be funded by the families of potential victims. These bounties were mainly for finding evidence to open a case, with police assistance in publishing them on the official police website. Because they were only looking for evidence to open a case, the amounts of these bounties were generally very low, with the highest being no more than two thousand pounds.

However, the official bounty website was a favorite among detective enthusiasts because clicking on each bounty allowed them to see the general details of the case. Someone specifically created a detective community for the bounty website, inviting detective enthusiasts to discuss cases together. The most famous of these groups was the Baker's Union. Comprising over twenty amateur detectives from the UK, they successfully helped twelve potential victims' families open cases in three years. They were called the Baker's Union because, without exception, they were all fans of Sherlock Holmes, and since Holmes's detective agency was on Baker Street, they named their joint team the Baker's Union.

Three years, over twenty people, and twelve cases opened—this demonstrated the difficulty of bounty hunting.

Case One: A lost handbag belonging to A. She believed her bag was left in a certain cosmetics store and that the owner and staff had claimed it as their own. After the police recorded statements, reviewed surveillance footage, and questioned suspects, there was no further progress. With permission from the police, A posted her situation on the bounty website to gather clues and eyewitnesses. If it could be proven that she had her bag before shopping and lost it after, successfully opening a case would earn her five hundred pounds. If she obtained theft-related clues, she could receive one thousand pounds. Providing evidence identifying the thief would earn her two thousand pounds.

This case required extensive footwork, with personnel conducting numerous visits to inquire about information from various businesses on the street. Once the case exceeds three days, people's memories will become fuzzy, making it nearly impossible to secure the bounty through conventional means. Unless there was a lead, finding the stolen bag and retracing steps to identify the thief step by step was the only way to claim the bounty.

Case Two: A high school student sustains eye injuries, claiming to have been assaulted by several classmates. The accused classmates deny the allegations, and the police have no evidence or leads, unable to rule out the possibility of the high school student making false accusations. In order to seek justice for his child and cover medical expenses, the student's father offers a reward of one thousand pounds.

Regardless of whether it's easy or difficult, Yuan Wang refuses to take on cases involving children. This is because children are just too adorable—so adorable that Yuan Wang doesn't want to see them, let alone deal with them.

As Liang Xi continues to browse, he realizes that either he can't handle cases alone or someone else has already taken care of them. There are plenty of idle people in London, so it looks like he'll have to set up a stall on the weekends.

When Liang Xi is about to close the webpage, he is drawn to one particular case.

The title is "Ghost," and upon clicking, there is only one sentence: The victim claims to be haunted by a ghost and is seeking the assistance of a medium. Heavy rewards are guaranteed. The promise of a substantial reward is enough to drive away many people. Similar to the farce of finding a lost dog for a house, once the dog is found, the owner claims that someone impersonated them to post the information, and as for the house, it's just impossible to provide. The dog has been found, so no house for you—what can you do about it? Therefore, bounties without specified amounts are considered rogue.

Involving mediums, ghosts, and related matters can sometimes be very complex, while other times it's extremely simple. What interests Liang Xi is the fact that the police would post a supernatural event on the bounty website, indicating that they have conducted some level of investigation and research. Because there are certain facts present, the police cannot rule out the possibility of a ghost, but they also don't have the correct answer.

Liang Xi dials the phone number and the person who answers claims to be Ari, a real estate agent. Ari briefly explains the situation in the house over the phone.

Lily, 27 years old this year, a single and beautiful woman, is a private banking manager. Two months ago, Lily began to feel that someone was invading her room while she slept at night. Lily reported it to the police twice, but they found no evidence or clues to prove the existence of an intruder. The police advised Lily to see a psychologist. With the advice and assistance of friends, Lily purchased and installed indoor surveillance.

For the following week, Lily slept very well. However, a week later, Lily felt that someone was invading her house again in her dreams. Lily reported it to the police again, and this time, they sent detectives to conduct a more comprehensive investigation, ruling out the suspicion of several suspects proposed by Lily. After the fourth report, the police forcibly conducted a urine test on Lily and found traces of m*******a.

Marijuana is in a semi-legal state of regulation in the UK. As long as you don't sell it or use it in front of the police, it is generally overlooked. After issuing a warning to Lily, the police released her and added her to the police's blacklist for false alarms. Although patrol officers would still respond to Lily's reports, there would be no dedicated investigation, and Lily might even face charges of obstructing justice.

Unable to endure the haunting, Lily handed the house over to the real estate agent and temporarily moved in with a friend. In principle, the bounty seemed ineffective, but the real estate agent played a language game of "heavy rewards guaranteed." He hoped someone could solve the ghost problem so that the house could be sold normally.

"I am a medium," Liang Xi told the real estate agent.

The real estate agent didn't care whether Liang Xi was a medium or not. If he got the job done, he'd get paid; if not, no money for him. Liang Xi drove over to meet the real estate agent, who explained the situation while also promoting the properties he had listed. After assessing that Liang Xi had no intention of buying a house, the real estate agent handed over the keys, allowing Liang Xi to investigate the haunted house himself. As they parted ways, the real estate agent informed Liang Xi that the haunted house was currently discounted by 40%, suggesting he should consider making a purchase.

...

The haunted house was located on Weyhill Street, on the outskirts of the city of London. It was a three-story villa built along the main road, lacking a front yard but featuring a spacious backyard. Well-maintained greenery such as bushes and trees separated the houses from each other. Each residence in the Weyhill Street residential area showcased architectural styles popular from pre-World War II to the present day.

The Target haunted house was constructed in the 1980s and was an inheritance from Lily's grandfather. From the surroundings, emotional perspective, and the real estate agent's introduction to Lily's financial situation, it was challenging to understand why Lily wanted to sell the haunted house. Based on this assessment, Liang Xi believed that Lily and the real estate agent were likely not lying; there really was a ghost in the haunted house, at least according to Lily's belief.