Chapter 15 Chapter 6 The Shadow of the Dead

After pulling out the VCD from the optical drive, he realized that it was already dark.Li Daqi was in the office of the police station. He and Ke Jianjie had just finished watching the movie "Disease of Carnal Desire", and an indescribable complex feeling stuck in their hearts. "How do you feel?" he asked the young assistant. "This... I can't tell, I don't feel anything special." Ke Jianjie clasped his hands behind his head, looking tired.The plot of this film narrates that the male and female protagonists fall in love, but the man has evil intentions, lures the woman to his own house, and then together with three friends abuses, rapes and kills the woman.The ghost of the woman came back to take revenge and killed the three friends with more cruel methods, but she was hesitant about the male protagonist. Although she knew that he had no so-called love for her, she finally let him go and went back to the underworld. up.This is a visually and artistically stylized movie. It is a good movie in itself, but the problem is that it still doesn't help the progress of the case after watching it.

"I don't like this kind of film very much, especially this film made us waste more than two hours," the young man complained, "I don't know what the director wants to express, too much focus on love, as if the world There is nothing else to worry about but love." "In short," Police Officer Li sighed, "Now is not the time for film reviews, we have to figure out what Shen Zhaopeng wants to tell us through this film." "It feels harder than an IQ test. How can we guess the mind of a dying person?" "Didn't you read some detective novels that have similar plots, I remember it's called before death... before death or something?"

"Leave a message before you die?" "Yes, it's a message before you die." Ke Jianjie and Li Daqi sighed, "The message before death in the novel is designed by the author, and it is a reasonable way to deduce, but in reality, we may not be able to figure out the answer, it may represent any part of the deceased. mean." "That's right... Your words can be listed as the motto of investigation, but it also means that we are circling in a maze with no exit." "Sorry, I really don't have any inspiration right now." Officer Li dragged the swivel chair to the computer, operated the mouse, and clicked on the webpage. The home page of "Ghost Buildings" appeared in the window.

"I haven't checked the message board yet," Li Daqi explained, "There may be some clues, and we'll go and comfort our stomachs after we're done." "Is this the supernatural website? It looks quite similar." Ke Jianjie approached the computer, seemingly forgetting his screaming stomach for a moment. After Li Daqi briefly introduced the website to Ke Jianjie, he also mentioned Su Kaiyun's supernatural photo explanation in the afternoon.The young assistant said disapprovingly: "I knew it was all a lie, this kind of thing is not credible."

Li Daqi clicked on the link of "Nonsense" and said: "This is the last clue about the relationship between people. Maybe some clues can be found here, but I think the possibility is very small. Please help me to take a closer look." "As long as we have dinner tonight, everything will be fine." Ke Jianjie pulled himself together and stared at the first message. There are quite a lot of messages on the message board, and the content is quite messy. Most of them are words of admiration, doubt, surprise or fear about the ghost photos. , but there are not many, and there is no abnormality.Even so, Li Daqi still asked his assistant to take a notebook and record those names, email addresses, and personal websites one by one, and asked Ke Jianjie to check these materials.

When they checked the records on June 15th, a message caught Li Daqi's attention, and he read it intently.This was left by Shen Zhaopeng. Instead of replying to anyone, he opened a new message. At the beginning of this month, the webmaster went to Thailand for a trip (the trip was actually a cover, mainly because he wanted to collect some materials), originally for a "spiritual event", to see if he could capture something, but he didn't expect that he actually met On the super weird event!And, take a picture like no other! After I have sorted out a batch of new photos at hand, I will put this "treasure" on the webpage together; because I have been very busy recently, and the update data also has a schedule, I will put the preview data in the next update, please be close Pay attention to the web page update day on the 5th of next month!

"What's wrong with this message?" Ke Jianjie asked.Apparently he also noticed something was wrong with Li Daqi. "Well, I just find it strange," Li Daqi murmured, "It's already past the 5th today, and it's true that there is an update on the homepage, but I remember that when I browsed the photos in the photo studio in the afternoon, I didn't see anything related to Thailand. Photo." "Could it have been overlooked?" "It's possible, I'll check and see." He pointed the cursor to the link of "Back to the Home Page", and then clicked on "Spiritual Portrait".In the photo area, the date when this batch of materials was posted on the webpage is marked, and there are other regulations in the update news section, so it is quite clear.The latest update on July 5 put fifteen photos. Li Daqi selected these photos one by one. Judging from the shooting locations above, none of them were in Thailand.

"This is really strange. July 5th was the first update after Shen Zhaopeng was killed; Shen Zhaopeng was killed on the 3rd, and this update was obviously done by Su Kaiyun. If Shen Zhaopeng really liked that photo so much, It should put that photo in the data to be updated, that is to say, the update on the 5th should have that photo." "Maybe he really forgot." "No, according to his fanatical interest in photography, it's impossible for him to forget, and it's impossible for him not to mention anything." Li Daqi left the computer desk, stood up, and walked around with his chin resting on his right hand.

Ke Jianjie seemed quite helpless. He knew that the officer obviously had other ideas, but to be honest, he just wanted to have a good meal at the moment. Not everyone is so enthusiastic about work at any time, even if it is a job he likes. "I want to make a call, bring me the investigation records and check Su Kaiyun's phone number." Not long after, Li Daqi held the microphone with his left hand, controlled the mouse with his right hand, and listened carefully.A woman's voice came through the microphone, a little harsh. "Hello, 'Third Eye' photo studio."

"I'm looking for Su Kaiyun." "Which one is it?" "I just met this afternoon. I'm the police officer." The other party was silent for a while. "Please wait a moment." The woman's hurried voice disappeared quickly.About twenty seconds later, Su Kaiyun's low, ascetic-like voice sounded. "Hey?" "Sorry, I want to ask a question. You did the website update on the 5th of this month, right?" "of course." "Who is usually responsible for updated data?" "Zhaopeng is in charge. I will give him the collected information two days before the update, and he will be responsible for the update."

"So the updated data on the 5th did not include Shen Zhaopeng's share?" "Of course not. I only uploaded my part. His data should still be in his home. A few days after Zhaopeng's death, I temporarily updated the news page on the front page to apologize to netizens, saying that something happened to the webmaster. Therefore, the updated data on his side will not be put in." "Understand...the question to be asked next is very important. Did you know that Shen Zhaopeng announced on the message board in mid-June that he had taken a supernatural photo in Thailand?" "I know that, but that's all. He didn't mention it at all." "Haven't you seen the picture?" "I know as much as you. Zhaopeng seems to want to make a special report on that photo, so he doesn't want to disclose it in advance." "So that's how it is," Li Daqi couldn't hide his disappointment, but he had encountered such clues of severed limbs too many times, "According to what you said, I should be able to find the necessary clues in Shen Zhaopeng's computer. update data." "Of course, but I don't know what kind of folder he stored it in. Also, if you're looking for the images and photos he took in the field recently, you can't find them in the computer." "why?" "Although Zhaopeng has a digital camera, he almost never uses it. He thinks that ghost photos can only be captured faithfully with traditional cameras... Isn't that a strange idea? But he has his own beliefs; for example, I heard that his family's darkroom There is a big mirror in it, few people put mirrors in the dark room, and he thinks the mirror is the medium of yin and yang, when he develops ghost photos, he may be able to see ghosts through the mirror... and so on. Ordinary people may think he is a weirdo , but he still has his own unique way. Anyway, he will put the photos into the computer before the update, so if you can't find the data in the computer, you may have to look for his photo book. " "Understood, thank you." "These things you ask are related to the murder?" "It's not clear yet... Will let you know if there are any significant developments. Good night." Li Daqi put down the microphone, thought for a while, and dialed another number after checking the information. "Hey?" "I'm Police Officer Li, please listen to the phone." After the other party took the phone, Li Daqi apologized, "I'm sorry to bother you so late. I want to ask a few questions. Is it convenient now?" "Okay." The voice sounded tired. "Did Shen Zhaopeng travel to Thailand in early June?" "Yes, I went with him." "It's great that you're with him, then do you know what his purpose is?" "For taking ghost photos. There will be no other reason." "Does he have any targets? It's just that he may not be able to shoot when he goes to Thailand." "He seems to have investigated in advance. There was a supernatural event in one of the hotels arranged by the travel agency. His target should be there." "So that's it. Did you encounter anything unusual during that trip?" The other party was silent suddenly, and Li Daqi felt that she was hesitating. "Something strange happened, but it's a long story." "Did Shen Zhaopeng tell you about any strange photos he took after the trip?" "No, the lens of his camera is never pointed at me, so I will not ask him about the photo." "...Are you saying that there were no photos of the two of you at all on that trip?" "If there are, there are not many, anyway, I'm not interested in seeing them." "Then the photo of going to Thailand has been developed?" "I don't know, but it should have been washed out from the perspective of time." "These photos should still be in the apartment, right?" "certainly." "Would you mind taking a moment to tell me what strange things happened to you in Thailand? Just a brief description." Jiang Mengli took some time to explain the supernatural event that happened in Thailand. A man jumped from the tenth floor of the hotel's swimming pool with his whole body on fire and disappeared mysteriously. Shen Zhaopeng seemed to have captured the scene of the man jumping off.Jiang Mengli spoke very concisely, but quite clearly. "Officer, do you suspect that the photos in Thailand are related to Zhaopeng's death?" Jiang Mengli asked in a calm tone. "I don't know yet, but it's possible," Li Daqi decided to leave it at that for now, "Thank you, Miss Jiang, I think I'll leave it at that, and I'll let you know if there's any major discovery, good night." He hung up the phone. Ke Jianjie looked at him blankly, and asked, "Sir, what exactly did you find?" "I'm afraid I have to go to Yangmingshan and go back to the scene of the crime. If you don't want to follow, you can go and get your dinner first, or you can buy it on the way." Before the other party answered, he had already rushed out of the office.
It was nearly ten o'clock in the evening when they arrived at "Yangming Judicial Residence". Li Daqi and Ke Jianjie jumped out of the car and ran all the way to the hall. The manager behind the counter glanced at the two of them, then lowered his head again, ignoring them. It was not the first time to return to the scene of a criminal case in the middle of the night, but for some reason, Li Daqi always felt that this time was different, and an indescribable sense of grotesque hit his heart. He opened the door with a key, and the two stepped into the living room. Ke Jianjie turned on the light in the living room to sweep away the darkness. Li Daqi walked directly to the corridor, and walked towards the end without even turning on the lights. His goal was the darkroom. Walking to the door of the darkroom, he opened the door and pressed the light switch, as if this was his bedroom. The lights in the darkroom were turned on, and the atmosphere still remained. Although Shen Zhaopeng's body was no longer there, the fact of death was lying in this closed space forever. Li Daqi walked slowly to the center of the room and looked around with sharp eyes. Ke Jianjie behind him scratched his head restlessly, looking bewildered. After looking at it for a while, Police Officer Li went directly to the cabinet against the wall. He squatted down, opened the cabinet door that opened to the left and right, and quickly counted the negatives folder with his fingers. "Look," he beckoned to Ke Jianjie, "Shen Zhaopeng is a very careful person. He systematically arranged the negatives in the order of shooting time. For example, this data was shot on May 3rd. the fifteenth of the month, and then the nineteenth of June..." He fell silent suddenly. "What's wrong? Is there something wrong?" The young assistant asked without knowing it. "Do you still remember that Shen Zhaopeng arrived in Thailand in early June? The negatives here, after May 15th, will be skipped to June 19th. Is there a copy missing in the middle?" "It seems to be," Ke Jianjie frowned, "So, could it be..." Li Daqi stood up, "I think we are in the right direction. The murderer came to this cabinet to search. Jiang Mengli also said that the data here cannot be placed in such a mess. The murderer's goal is the The negatives! The next step is to look for the photobook, if the photo has been developed and has not been taken away by the murderer, it must still be in the apartment!" Ke Jianjie seemed to be unable to keep up with Li Daqi's thinking for a while, so he had to follow the instructions and search for the photo books in the darkroom with the officer, but the cabinets were full of negatives, and there was a pile of photo development tools in the drawer of the workbench, and there was no The trace of this book. "It should be in their bedroom," Li Daqi pondered, "Let's search there." He went into the opposite room and turned on the light.This is a space with a completely different style from other rooms, and Li Daqi felt the atmosphere of "home" for the first time.There is a double bed against the wall on the right hand side of the door, covered with water blue sheets; on the left hand side is a dressing table, wardrobe, computer and computer desk. Although the overall space is large, it looks small and comfortable; Decorations, showing the care and taste of the hostess. "When you search later, try not to mess up the room. This is an informal search," he told his assistants. "The photo books are either placed in the drawers of the wardrobe or on the bookshelves. Judging from the condition of the room in good condition, The murderer probably didn't steal the photobook, probably because there wasn't enough time." So the two split up again.Skillful movements made the search very fast. Not long after, Ke Jianjie yelled, holding a thick photo book that he pulled out from the small bookshelf next to the computer desk.Li Daqi saw a label on the cover: "Spiritual Files". "Open it!" Li Daqi shouted excitedly.As soon as he opened the book, piles of supernatural photos came into view. Li Daqi had long been familiar with those grotesque pictures, but Ke Jianjie was obviously not used to it. His fingers sometimes hesitated and sometimes doubted when he flipped through the photos, but his mouth was full of surprises. Didn't say much. "Look, sir, there are dates on the photos, and they are arranged in chronological order." "Shen Zhaopeng's good habits helped us a lot. Turning from the back should be faster." Ke Jianjie inserted his finger into the next few pages, checked the date carefully, and turned back. "Yes!" He pointed to one of the pictures, which was a picture of several crocodiles gathered together. "June 6th, the time coincides. Look at the picture of the Buddha statue behind, it should be right." "The first few photos seem to be the same... But this doesn't seem to be a supernatural photo. Regardless of it, let's start from the first one." They found photos of the boundary between June 4th and May 15th. Apparently, Shen Zhaopeng also took supernatural photos on May 15th. It is not known whether the photos were taken on the spot or were synthesized.Li Daqi and the others started to look at the first one on June 4th. Most of the contents were landscape photos, and Jiang Mengli occasionally appeared, but very few; as for Shen Zhaopeng himself, he never appeared in the photos. In addition to landscape photos, the photos also included animals such as crocodiles, tigers, and dolphins; one of the photos that attracted Li Daqi's attention was the photo of the Buddha statue he had just seen.Take a closer look at the pattern of the Phnom Penh Buddha on half of the mountain wall. The people watching from below seem very small, and the picture is extremely spectacular.He suddenly remembered that he had seen it on TV. It seemed to be the famous Qizhen Buddha Mountain in Thailand.Originally, he thought that there would be some kind of spiritual light from the Buddha's manifestation, but after looking at it for a long time, he couldn't find anything supernatural. "Probably not, turn it back." After that, a building with more than ten floors appeared, which seemed to be a hotel building; the neon lights in the center of the floor outlined the two characters "Royal Land"; the layout of the building was that of each The rooms are all built with built-in balconies, which look very neat and tidy. "This was taken at night. Judging from the date, it looks like I stayed in the hotel on the third day." Ke Jianjie murmured. The next few photos are the photos of the hotel lobby, corridors and rooms. Judging from the decoration and furnishings, it is at least a four-star hotel. "There are still no ghost photos," the young assistant said dejectedly, "will it not be in this book?" "This book clearly says 'Spiritual Files', so it should be correct. It's just that the part about Thailand contains a lot of non-spiritual photos, and I don't know what the purpose is." "Maybe it's not clear yet." "Perhaps. By the way, I remembered Su Kaiyun saying that Shen Zhaopeng wanted to make a special topic on Thailand's ghost photos on the website. Maybe it was rare to take real ghost photos. He thought that all the photos taken this time may have a causal relationship or relationship with each other. Mystery, or he wanted to put all the photos to fully explain the ins and outs of the whole incident, so he first put all the photos in the 'Spirit Files' book." "It's possible anyway..." Ke Jianjie pointed to a photo after turning the page, "Look at this one!" Li Daqi froze.There was no doubt that he had found what he was looking for. That should be a photo taken at night. It was a direct photo taken on June 7th. The background was a balcony on a certain floor of the hotel. The photographer took the photo from an angle half facing the side of the balcony. A figure—facing the balcony, with his back to the photographer—stayed in mid-air, with blue light shining on the left and right sides of his upper body, with his arms raised high, and his body bent into a ㄑ shape opposite to the left and right.It is impossible to stay in mid-air. Judging from the degree of shaking of this figure, the picture captured by the photographer is a momentary picture of an action.That is to say, the people in the picture are photographed on the move. The figures in the midair are blurred, but the burning shadows with human silhouettes are much clearer; this should be because the former is moving and the latter is still. Fighting against invisible transparent people, being pushed down all the time... Jiang Mengli's story came to mind, the man who was burned by the ghost fire jumped onto the balcony wall, and then bounced back!So, does this photo capture the... The moment when "the ghost fire ghost pushed the man off the balcony"!The figure on fire kept swaying, and the image of the flames expanded more and more, covering his mind; the blank face like a white paper was burned on the retina like a red brand, but it was as cold as ice. This is a veritable ghost photo. Li Daqi remembered the weird incident Jiang Mengli had just mentioned on the phone.The man who was burned by the fire jumped off the building... That's right!This is the moment when the man fell from the building. The outline of the whole figure is blurred, but all the features can still be recognized that match the description of the incident.The most chilling image is not the shadow of the falling building, but another figure standing behind the balcony. The figure standing behind the balcony wall is located in the upper part of the photo, while the falling man occupies the lower part of the photo, which means that the photo covers the shooting range of the upper and lower floors; it may be that the aperture and the shutter are not the same. The relationship is adjusted so that the picture is slightly blurred.The figure on the balcony is a vast expanse of blue, but it is clearly recognizable as a human figure. A cylindrical relief is raised on the beautiful balcony wall, and the wall covers the lower body of the figure, so only the upper body can be seen, and the gender cannot be identified; "it" His facial features are not very clear, because "it" is shrouded in flames, and the hazy body can be vaguely seen as a silhouette-like image; standing upright, like a dead puppet, it is a blue flame burning all over its body. Will-o'-the-wisps, human-shaped shadows with blurred facial features...