Replacing the Evil Way

Chapter 20: Invisible “Neighbours”

In the quiet atmosphere of Future Domain 404 Apartment, a gust of wind blew in from the balcony, causing Chong Zhen’s goosebumps to intensify.

“L-Lao He, don’t scare me like that! Cheng Zesheng is still lying in the autopsy room! How could it be him who wrote the note?”

He Wei beckoned to him, “Come and see for yourself. When he writes the character ‘丿’, he likes to add a tail to it, and the connections between strokes are also very similar. Isn’t the character ‘气’ identical?”

“I don’t need to look. This is copied handwriting, for sure!” Chong Zhen shook his head vigorously, “The person who left the note is malicious and cunning. They know we’re investigating this case, so they’re pretending to be a ghost to scare you off and make you give up!”

He Wei didn’t respond. He thought about the surveillance footage just now; it didn’t seem manipulated. If this was the original note, there was indeed a mysterious force within Apartment 404. Combined with the various phenomena before, it felt as if he was living under the same roof as an “invisible neighbor.”

“What are you thinking, Lao He? Say something! Your silence is giving me the creeps.”

After a moment, He Wei spoke slowly, “…Not thinking much, I’ll find out what’s really going on.”

Chong Zhen reached out and touched He Wei’s forehead, saying, “I see a dark spot on your forehead. How about going to the temple to pray? We often deal with cases involving unjustly deceased people. It wouldn’t be good if you got possessed by something dirty.”

He Wei felt a mixture of amusement and exasperation. He didn’t pay much attention to Chong Zhen’s suggestion. Chong Zhen grabbed his arm and earnestly said, “You really shouldn’t dismiss it. Believe it or not, I used to be just as skeptical about ghosts and gods. A few years ago, I fell seriously ill, had no strength in my body, and had a fever every day without a clear cause. Later, my grandmother got me a protective amulet from a temple. Then I got better! You saw this with your own eyes; it’s a true story!”

“…I think your recovery was probably due to adjusting to the different climate and environment in the southwest. After returning, your body naturally recovered.”

Chong Zhen was anxious; why was this guy so stubborn? It was better to believe than to disbelieve. Even if there were no deities, there might be something that could not be explained.

He Wei had an indifferent attitude. In his eyes, human nature was far more sinister than ghosts. If it truly was Cheng Zesheng’s spirit following him, He Wei believed he was seeking help to avenge his grievances, not to harm him.

After Chong Zhen left, He Wei carefully reviewed the surveillance footage again. He noticed that whenever there was electromagnetic interference, the screen would shake, and the items in the room would change slightly in the next moment. For example, the position of the cushion on the sofa, the sudden appearance of a sausage bag on the coffee table, the bathroom faucet opening and closing by itself, and so on. Using his imagination, He Wei could easily envision the normal daily life of a man, as if he were in his own home, casual and unrestricted.

He stared at the note and contemplated it for a long time. He retrieved a pen from a drawer on the coffee table and added a question below the note.

[Who are you?]

———

The testing of the DNA methylation differences in twin siblings was still ongoing. Jiang Tan submitted the report from the second autopsy, which was half as long as the previous one.

“I’ve thoroughly examined him from head to toe, including any injuries he suffered during his lifetime and possible illnesses he might have had. Anything that showed up in his body tissues is recorded here. Take a look.”

“You’ve worked hard.” Cheng Zesheng opened the report, while Jiang Tan sat opposite, arms crossed. “It’s just a small matter, but I can’t shake the guilt about the deceased. I told him if he wanted answers, he should come to you. It’s because you didn’t believe in my skills that I had to dissect the body all over again.”

“…It’s not that I don’t believe in your skills, but you’re aware of the strange occurrences. If there’s a logical explanation, why bother with genetic sequencing?”

Jiang Tan opened his mouth but couldn’t find any words. After this unprecedentedly detailed autopsy, he had to admit that there was a vast disparity between the information they had about He Wei and what lay before them. According to the data they had, He Wei was a weak and asthmatic office worker with a decade-long history of asthma, leading a quiet and uneventful life. However, the information gleaned from the body indicated that he was robust and had been engaging in regular physical activity. There were more than five old scars on his lower back, legs, and back, ranging from knife wounds to gunshot wounds to sports-related injuries. This left Jiang Tan astonished; the physical attributes were almost on par with those of an active-duty soldier.

Liu Renyu was recording the details on the side. As time passed, Jiang Tan furrowed his brows and became increasingly silent. He was simply relaying his thoughts into the voice recorder, evidently unable to provide a reasonable explanation for these bizarre occurrences, opting to retreat into silence.

If this wasn’t He Wei, it would be a different story, but the DNA and fingerprints all matched perfectly, leading to the conclusion that it was the same person. The most likely scenario was that He Wei presented himself as an office worker on the surface but engaged in some high-risk activities in secret. Similar to Cheng Zesheng, who spent years on the frontlines, he must have developed such a good physique.

Jiang Tan shared this inference with Cheng Zesheng, who stroked his chin and asked in response, “Xiao Tanzi, how likely do you think this possibility is?”

“How would I know? I’m only responsible for the autopsy. Solving the case is your domain, Vice Captain Cheng.” Jiang Tan leaned closer suddenly, “Hey, have you considered another perspective?”

“Hmm?”

“It’s about the two brothers. They might have switched identities many years ago—He Lu became He Wei, and He Wei became He Lu. It’s always been He Wei who went to the hospital, but it’s He Lu who died. Do you get what I’m saying?”

“I’ve had that suspicion, but we’ll have to wait for the results of the genetic sequencing to confirm it. The blood samples we brought back from the hospital should also be cross-referenced. Don’t forget about that.”

The case had reached a standstill, with no significant progress in the peripheral investigation. It was truly baffling – He Wei had gone out at 9 p.m. that night and seemed to have disappeared into thin air. His residence was in the old city area, which was complex both in terms of location and personnel. The exhaustive search was ongoing, but it hadn’t yielded any useful leads for the case.

The team in charge of the case wore grim expressions. Cheng Zesheng, recognizing the late hour, uncommonly decided against overtime and instructed everyone to go home and do what they needed to do, with plans to revisit the scene the next day. Le Zhengkai and Cheng Zesheng walked together, chatting about the new dormitory. Le Zhengkai asked, “How’s the new neighbor?”

“I haven’t met them yet, but they seem nice. Quite tidy – my place is spotless every time I come back home.”

“That’s good to hear. I was afraid your quick temper wouldn’t hold up and you’d resort to violence over a few words.”

Cheng Zesheng was speechless, and he playfully punched Le Zhengkai’s shoulder. “Am I really that kind of person? Stop making things up.”

Upon arriving home, Cheng Zesheng opened the door and changed his shoes in the hallway. He Wei was sitting on the couch when he noticed the door opening and slowly stood up.

He watched the door swing open and then shut, exactly as he had seen in the surveillance footage – as if someone was wearing Harry Potter’s invisibility cloak, boldly opening the door and entering.

Holding his breath, He Wei carefully distinguished the different sounds in the apartment. Shortly after, the door upstairs opened, and He Wei walked to the stairwell and looked up. He imagined a man coming down the stairs with light, quick steps, but where he would go next remained unknown.

Cheng Zesheng took his clothes off and went into the bathroom, only to find an unfamiliar bottle of shower gel on the shelf. He picked it up, unscrewed the cap, and a burst of peach scent wafted out, far more pleasant than the fragrance of the soap he usually used.

Tsk tsk, who would have thought that the neighbor would have such preferences? Well, people are entitled to their likes, and it’s better to mind one’s own business for a peaceful life.

The sound of water echoed from the bathroom. He Wei squinted his eyes and walked over, gently opening the bathroom’s outer door. The shower area was designed with wet and dry separation to protect the floor. There was also a frosted glass door. At this moment, He Wei saw only the shower faucet running with hot water, flowing out in a gush.

He stepped inside. The frosted glass door had double sliding doors, and he slid open the side near the showerhead, leaving a small gap. He reached inside and turned off the mixer valve.

“Huh?” Cheng Zesheng raised his head. Why did the water stop?

He looked down and saw that the mixer valve was turned off. He probably accidentally bumped into it while turning around to get the soap, so he lifted his hand to open it again.

This time, He Wei watched with his own eyes as the mixer valve was mysteriously turned on by an invisible force. He furrowed his brows, puzzled but not afraid. If it really was Cheng Zesheng, then even in death, he was wasting water and electricity at his place. Feeling rather annoyed, He Wei headed to the kitchen, opened the cabinet, and turned off the main water valve.

Cheng Zesheng looked up again, puzzled by the fact that the water had stopped once more.

The mixer valve was open, and the only explanation for this was a water supply cut. Thankfully, he had finished his shower quickly and was mostly done. Otherwise, being covered in soap suds would have been uncomfortable and embarrassing.

He stepped out of the bathroom, put on a T-shirt and shorts, dried his hair, and headed to the kitchen to address his dinner situation.

Droplets of water on the floor and wet shoeprints led He Wei to follow these traces all the way to the kitchen, stopping in front of the refrigerator.

With a towel draped around his neck, Cheng Zesheng noticed the note on the refrigerator was gone, indicating that his roommate had seen it and taken it. As his hand touched the refrigerator door, but before he had a chance to open it, he witnessed the refrigerator door slowly pulling itself open right in front of him, accompanied by the sound of the door opening chime.

Cheng Zesheng froze, noting that the angle at which the refrigerator door opened was perfectly aligned for someone to take food. A few seconds later, the door closed again, as if nothing had happened.

In that brief moment, he felt as if he heard an extremely faint breath brush past his ear. Reflexively taking a step back, he exclaimed, “Who’s there?!”

Unfortunately, the kitchen was empty except for Cheng Zesheng. He stared at the refrigerator, questioning what had just happened. Could his work-related stress really cause him to experience such illusions?

He walked over, his throat tight, and his hand abruptly pulled open the refrigerator door. He scanned the contents from top to bottom, left to right, and found nothing missing. It was truly odd – had he just been mistaken?

“Don’t freak yourself out.” Cheng Zesheng grabbed a can of cold beer and pressed it against his forehead to cool down. Then, he took out a box of instant noodles and placed it in the microwave before leaving the kitchen and returning to the living room.

He Wei stood with his arms crossed, watching the instant noodles rotate in the microwave and then glancing at the refrigerator. Did that darn ghost not notice the note? Or did he see it and just not care to respond?

“Ding.” Expressionless, He Wei opened the microwave, took out the steaming hot noodles, grabbed a pair of chopsticks, and went to the living room to eat.

Cheng Zesheng was engrossed in watching a soccer match on his phone, but when he heard that the noodles were ready, he went to the kitchen and was dumbfounded once again.

The microwave was empty, his instant noodles were gone. In the blink of an eye, how had they vanished?

Cheng Zesheng searched the small kitchen, but it was only a few square meters in size. Yet, the bowl of noodles had disappeared into thin air.

Recalling the earlier supernatural events, Cheng Zesheng’s heart raced with unease. In nearly thirty years of his life, he had never encountered something so bizarre. Suddenly, he remembered Jiang Tan mentioning dissecting the body again and saying, “If he wants answers, go find you.” The scene unfolding in his home was starting to resemble the supernatural scenes from those horror movies, wasn’t it?

However, he was a skeptic by nature. Angrily, he took out a cup of instant noodles, added water, carried it to the living room, and stared at it without blinking.

When He Wei turned his head, he noticed a cup of instant noodles, the braised beef flavor, on the coffee table. His brows furrowed even deeper. This was outrageously bold. The noodles were his, too. Had they been taken without his consent?

He freed up one hand to pick up the cup of instant noodles. Just then, the clock on the wall struck 9 o’clock sharp, and a piano melody played, marking the exact hour.

Both of them looked up at the wall clock simultaneously. After the chime, Cheng Zesheng lowered his head, and his pupils contracted sharply. He stood up with a “whoosh.”

Where were the noodles?! How could they just vanish like that?!

He went to the balcony and then to the entrance to check the locks, making sure no one had entered or left. The most bizarre thing was that he had been staring right at them the whole time. Yet, with just a momentary glance away, the noodles disappeared.

When he returned, there was a note on the coffee table –

[Don’t touch what I’ve bought.]

The signature at the bottom was just one character, “He.”