Chapter 24: How tall are you?

"What should I do next?" Tao Zizhan asked.

He glanced at Jiang Muyu on the screen, then looked around the room. It looked normal enough now, but he couldn't shake a creepy, unsettling feeling that something was wrong. Still, Jiang Muyu was right; he had never done anything to compromise his conscience, and with his uniform on, he had nothing to fear.

"Hold the hammer and walk inside. Stop at the first wall."

Tao Zizhan didn't say a word. He strode forward and stopped exactly where Jiang Muyu had directed.

"See the wall in front of you?" Jiang asked.

Tao Zizhan was silent for a moment before retorting, "I'm not blind."

- [Hahahaha, can you two stop being so funny?]
- [I was so scared I curled up under my blanket, and then you guys made me laugh...]
- [I love this kind of deadpan humor.]
- [Enough, let's get down to business.]

Tao Zizhan ignored the comments and examined the wall. It was a raw, unfinished wall; the white plaster hadn't been applied yet, leaving only the grey lime concrete visible.

"Are you saying there's something inside this wall?"

Jiang Muyu waved her hand. "No, no, don't just start hacking away at it. I just wanted to tell you that it's a load-bearing wall."

Tao Zizhan: "..."

"Now turn around... yes, that’s the wall. How tall are you?"

"Does that have anything to do with the situation at hand?" Tao Zizhan glanced at the screen. Seeing that her expression wasn't mocking, he replied, "184 centimeters."

"184..." Jiang Muyu paused for a moment, then became excited. "Girls! Do you like that?"

- [I love it! I knew Officer Tao was handsome, but I didn't expect his height to be top-tier either! Hehehe.]
- [Hello, Officer Tao. I'm 165cm, and my weight is...]
- [Officer Tao, are you single? We should get to know each other~]
- [Enough! Can you guys focus on the task? Officer Tao, feel free to add me on WeChat.]

Seeing the flood of comments on the screen, Tao Zizhan's face flushed bright red. He knew Jiang Muyu was up to no good—she had been waiting for this.

"You!"

Fearing she might actually annoy him, Jiang Muyu quickly said, "Don't be impatient! Since you're 184cm, reach out your hand... yes, right there. Just strike it."

Tao Zizhan aimed at his phone, his face cold. "You'd better not be lying to me this time."

***

After saying that, he tucked the phone into his chest pocket. The clothing partially obstructed the camera, but the view remained somewhat clear. The audience in the livestream was terrified yet unable to look away, with many spamming the chat to bolster their courage.

Tao Zizhan raised the hammer high and struck with force.

With a deafening crash, a large hole was smashed into the wall.

- [Is the quality of this building really that poor?]
- [Who is the developer? Isn't this a 'tofu-dreg' project?]
- [I'm not buying it. I'll just keep renting.]
- [A big hole from just one strike? It looks like there’s something inside...]

Clearly, Tao Zizhan, standing outside the camera's view, had also noticed the contents of the wall. The moment it was broken open, a stench filled the air, a hundred times stronger than before.

Tao Zizhan was startled and cautiously approached the hole. When he saw what was inside, he nearly retched.

"Officer Tao, what’s wrong?"

"What is that smell? *Ugh...*"

"There really is something! There's something in the wall! *Ugh!*"

The scene descended into chaos, and the livestream was no better.

- [I think I just saw a clump of hair. Are those human remains?]
- [How are your eyes so sharp? It’s pitch black, I can’t see anything.]
- [God, I'm terrified...]
- [Heh, glad I didn't look. I knew the host wouldn't have him smash that wall for no reason.]

Tao Zizhan had already backed away from the wall, his face pale as he called the forensics team and his department. He glanced at the people vomiting by the door and Brother Liu, who looked deathly pale, and said, "Call your person in charge and tell them to get here."

Brother Liu quickly agreed, but after taking two steps, he remembered something and turned back.

Tao Zizhan asked, "What is it?"

Brother Liu pointed at him. "My phone..."

Tao Zizhan: "..."

He quickly pulled out his phone and handed it back to Brother Liu. The screen still showed Jiang Muyu’s stream, filled with comments about how terrifying the situation was.

***

Tao Zizhan felt a headache coming on. If his superiors found out about the massive public stir this was causing, he would surely be reprimanded.

"Host, we really found something! The officer told me to call the person in charge, so I'm going to hang up now!" Liu Guang said, walking toward the side.

Jiang Muyu nodded. "Alright, alright. You all should go home and take a hot bath. If anything else happens, remember to send me a private message."

"Thank you, host! Thank you, master!"

The connection ended. Jiang Muyu let out a breath and sighed, thinking about what she had just seen.

- [Why did they hang up? What's going on?]
- [Who is the person in the wall? Haven't they figured it out yet?]
- [I brought out my snacks, and this is all I get?]
- [Do you have X-ray vision, host? How did you know there was something in the wall?]
- [Little Feather is a master! She hasn't been wrong in any of her streams, okay?]

Jiang Muyu sipped water from a large mug and said, "I do know a little bit, but if I tell you, you'll be too scared to sleep tonight..."

"After all, everyone in this stream is my baby. If you’re too scared to sleep, my heart will ache."

She put on a pained expression as she said this. Behind her, Jiang Muqing frowned slightly. She was acting again.

However, Jiang Muqing was also curious about how Jiang Muyu knew there was something in that wall. Did she really have X-ray vision? Or was she some kind of hidden expert?

- [Tell us, Little Feather! We’re dying to know!]
- [Don't make us wait for an official announcement! We came to this stream for this!]
- [Seconded! Tell us, host!]

Jiang Muyu thought about it and decided it made sense. She had already helped Brother Liu for free; what was there to hide? If they couldn't catch the culprit, Officer Tao would probably drag her in for questioning anyway.

"Alright, since everyone wants to know, I'll give you the short version."

"Five months ago, when the construction site was still active, someone brought his girlfriend there for a thrill. An accident happened, and he didn't know how to dispose of the body, so he hid her in the wall. The weather has been hot lately, which is why the smell started to seep through."

"Let me calculate... The girl should be from Jing City, surnamed Li, twenty-three years old."

- [Whoa, you aren't just making this up, are you? How did you calculate that?]
- [They're probably still smashing the wall, and you already know the identity?]
- [I just checked the official missing persons register. There really is a twenty-three-year-old girl named Li!]