The neighbors' emotions were stirred. Everyone was worried that their secret would be exposed. Everyone wanted to capture the killer who killed through the window as soon as possible.
Chen Ge was satisfied with this reaction. He was about to say something else when the middle-aged man with the female underwear suddenly spoke again.
"Wait a minute, I do not object to us searching for the killer one by one, but for the sake of security, I think we should go and ask the landlord first." The middle-aged man had met Chen Ge before. He knew that Chen Ge had spoken with Wu You, so he had not placed much trust in Chen Ge.
"No problem, we will go and find the landlord now." Chen Ge covered the middle-aged man's mouth directly. He did not want to waste time on pointless questions in case an accident happened. "We need to hurry. The earlier we apprehend this murderer, the more lives we can save."
Everything happened so suddenly. Chen Ge did not give the neighbors much time to think. He dragged Wen Qing and Qu Yin directly into the stairwell.
Even though he had the upper hand now, once the neighbors calmed down, he would still be in a dangerous situation.
He had to make use of this time to divide the tenants as quickly as possible to ensure his own safety.
"Qu Yin, why do you think the killer targeted your family? Who has your family feuded with recently? Why would he want to destroy your whole family? " To guide the neighbors' thoughts, Chen Ge took the initiative to ask Qu Yin. Of course, the questions he asked were all related to the murder case. In fact, they sounded like they were going straight to the heart of the case.
Qu Yin had no idea why the 'killer' wanted to destroy his whole family, but to not expose himself as the murderer, he had to play along with Chen Ge.
After thinking about it, Qu Yin shook his head. "I also have no idea why the killer wants to kill my family. Our family has always kept a very low profile, and we have not offended anyone before."
"Think about it carefully. Do you have any conflicts with the tenants here?" Chen Ge pressed on. Obviously, to protect himself, he tossed all the questions to Qu Yin.
He was forcing a murderer to come up with a reason why he wanted to kill himself.
If Qu Yin could not come up with an answer, or if he gave a random name, that person would become the prime suspect.
If it was any other neighborhood, it wouldn't be a big deal even if he became a suspect. However, it was a completely different story here.
Almost no one in this neighborhood was "clean". Everyone had secrets that they could not tell others.
In other words, no one here could withstand investigation and exposure. Normally, they could do whatever they wanted behind closed doors, but at times like this, the secrets hidden in their hearts would become the rope that would kill them.
"I really can't think of one." Qu Yin did not want to be used by Chen Ge, and the neighbors who had secrets in their hearts also knew their place.
They were very clear that the wisest choice at this time was to keep their mouths shut, because it was very likely that they would draw fire to themselves if they spoke carelessly.
"I remember a few nights ago, when you were arguing with your father, many of the neighbors complained that you were too loud. Later, an uncle on the fifth floor even went to warn you. By the way, the electrician on the eighth floor seems to have had a conflict with your father before. It seems like it was because of a problem with the wiring. They even got into a fight in the corridor. At the time, the electrician even threatened your father … "Xiao Sun was serious about catching the culprit. He casually mentioned a few names." What's wrong? Why are you all looking at me? Did I say something wrong? "
Xiao Sun had no idea what these neighbors were like in private. He merely shared some of the things that he had seen. In a way, this proved that he was one of the few 'normal' people in this neighborhood. He was not afraid that he would be investigated.
"The clues that you have given us are too important! After we find the landlord, we will immediately go to these few people's homes to take a look! " Chen Ge admired Xiao Sun greatly. It was fine that Qu Yin refused to cooperate. Xiao Sun helped Chen Ge tear open a gap among the tenants.
The few tenants that Xiao Sun had mentioned earlier would be the first victims. Xiao Sun did a good job, but it also put him in a very dangerous situation.
The residential building had ten floors in total. The landlord lived alone on the ninth floor, and the tenth floor was unoccupied. All the rooms were locked.
The group arrived at Room 901. Qu Yin knocked on the door several times, but there was no answer.
"The landlord is probably not in the room. Let's go somewhere else first."
"Wait a minute!" Chen Ge grabbed Qu Yin by his arm. "A tenant has been murdered inside the building. That created such a big commotion, but the landlord did not even react. Do you think that is normal?"
"It is not normal. I believe the landlord is not in the building. He has probably gone to another part of the residential area. The landlords of these few buildings will have a regular meetup. Perhaps the landlord is currently in one of the other buildings. "
"A meetup?" Chen Ge discovered another important clue from Qu Yin's revelation.
"They will gather together to discuss issues like rent and the environment of the residential area."
"You have a point there, but you have missed something very important." Chen Ge slowed down. "I've been to the first floor. I saw that the door to the stairwell was locked, and the lock was locked from the inside!"
"But what can that prove?"
"Only the landlord has the key to the stairwell, and the lock was locked from the inside. In other words, the landlord is still inside this building!" Chen Ge's logic was impeccable. His words made all the neighbors realize a very serious problem!
"The landlord is still inside the building, but he did not react to the murder at all. I suspect that he has already been murdered."
The landlord's murder was completely different from Qu Gui's murder because the landlord might have the spare keys to all the doors inside the building.
Now, even Qu Yin's face had darkened greatly. Things had developed out of his expectation.
"It's fine if you don't believe me. We'll break the lock and see for ourselves." Chen Ge carried his backpack and glanced at the front door. He did not want to take out the hammer at a time like this. "Do any of you have any tools at home? Like I said, this is a human life. We were forced to do this because we had no other choice. If nothing happened to the landlord, I believe he would understand our decision. "
"My home is under renovation, and I have a full set of tools. Wait a minute, I'll go get them now." Auntie Ding was the first to speak. Her tone was urgent. It sounded like she was going back to get the tools, but in reality, she was going back to do something else. That was just an excuse.
"I have lockpicking tools as well. I'll go look for them at home." A few more tenants left. Chen Ge knew what they were up to, but he did not stop them.
It was not that hard to deal with the 'secret' inside one's own home in a short amount of time, but the hard part was not to leave behind any clues.
Several minutes later, the few neighbors returned one after another. They were holding various tools in their hands.
With the group's cooperation, they used almost half an hour to open the front door of Room 901.
"This is so troublesome. If only all the doors were wooden." Chen Ge pushed Qu Yin into the room first. Qu Yin was angry, but he did not dare say anything.
"The interior of the room is very neat. There is no sign of struggle or blood. Looks like we've been overthinking things." Qu Yin walked at the front. This was probably his first time in the landlord's home. He appeared rather cautious and did not dare touch anything in the room.
Chen Ge followed Qu Yin like a ghost. His voice drifted into Qu Yin's ears. "You appear to be very afraid of the landlord."
"That's not true. Don't make things up."
"Is that so?" Chen Ge studied Qu Yin. He realized how important the landlord was to the tenants. Qu Yin's strange behavior was a good proof of that.
Not wanting to dwell on this issue, Chen Ge helped the neighbors search the room. They pushed open all the doors, and finally, everyone stopped inside the bathroom.
Pulling back the shower curtain, there was no shower or bathtub installed. Instead, there was a very small television set.
Chen Ge tried to switch the television on. The television started up normally, but there was only black and white static on the screen.
"Why would there be a television in the bathroom?" Qu Yin was confused.
"The content on this television should be something that can't see the light of day." Chen Ge looked around. There were no windows in the bathroom. After closing the bathroom door and pulling the shower curtain, this was a completely enclosed space. The people outside would have no idea what the landlord was doing inside.
Moving the television, Chen Ge noticed that there was a large network of wires behind the television. He followed the wires and realized that all the wires led upstairs.
The wires in Room 901 and 1001 were connected to each other. The landlord's secret should be hidden in Room 1001 on the tenth floor.
Chen Ge did not share his discovery with others. He saw the problem from the wires. A normal home appliance would not require such complicated wires. Chen Ge suspected that the landlord had installed surveillance cameras in the building.
The landlord was hiding inside the bathroom, crazily prying into other people's lives.
Chen Ge had a general idea of the landlord's secret, but the question was, where was the landlord?
If the landlord had seen the monster from the cursed hospital through the surveillance, he would have been prepared.
So, it was the monster from the cursed hospital who killed the landlord?
But if it was them, after killing the landlord, they would have gotten the key, and there would be no need for them to come to a deal with Qu Yin.
That was the key to the problem. The monster from the cursed hospital had probably gone to find the landlord, but they were unable to find him. Therefore, they settled for the next best thing and found Qu Yin. They planned to slowly form an alliance with the tenants.
Chen Ge slowly understood everything. Someone in the building should have known that the landlord was spying on them. To prevent their secret from being exposed, one or more of them had worked together to kill the landlord.
To be able to know that there was a problem with the wires, and to be good at it …
Chen Ge was instantly reminded of the electrician that Xiao Sun had mentioned earlier. The electrician lived on the eighth floor, and he was very close to the landlord's room on the ninth floor. He was the prime suspect.
"Look at this!" Auntie Ding opened the closet in the landlord's bedroom. After she moved the clothes away, she realized that there were many nails on the inner wall of the closet. Each nail had a room number written on it, from Room 101 to Room 1006.
"The nails should be the keys to every room. The landlord has hidden all the keys to every room!" Auntie Ding appeared to be purposely telling others this. Her expression was one of shock, but this kind of shock was too fake for Chen Ge.
The widening of her eyes, the gaping of her mouth — it was all on the surface.
After seeing the keys, Chen Ge also subconsciously expressed his shock.
Chen Ge's shock practically came from all five of his senses. He was able to control his emotions easily.
What was shock? This was real shock.
"Looks like the culprit has taken all the keys to every room. This is not good news for us." Chen Ge soon regained his composure. He knew that Auntie Ding was hiding some secrets, but he did not expose her.
"Then, what should we do now? The culprit has no respect for the law. He has killed my family, and he is related to the landlord's disappearance … "Qu Yin really did not expect things to develop like this. He felt like he had been dragged into a giant trap by Chen Ge.
The other tenants started to panic as well. When Qu Gui was killed, they did not feel that threatened, but now that the landlord might have been murdered as well, most of them started to feel uneasy. A strange emotion started to spread among the tenants.
"Let's go to the electrician's house on the eighth floor first. Didn't your father get into an argument with him earlier?" Chen Ge and Qu Yin were about to leave Room 901 when the middle-aged man who had hidden the female underwear in his house suddenly stepped forward.
He blocked the living room door, and his eyes were glued to Chen Ge.
"How can I help you?" Chen Ge's expression did not change. His heart was too strong. He was standing in the middle of a group of crazed people, but his expression was flawless.
"Even though there is a high turnover of tenants in this building, with new people moving in and old people leaving silently, but …" The middle-aged man walked to stand before Chen Ge. "I do not think I have seen you before. Are you a new tenant? If so, you should have met the landlord before, and you should be the last person to meet the landlord. "
"The last person to meet the landlord is the culprit, not me." Chen Ge pulled Wen Qing to his side. "There is a child living in Room 401. His name is Xiang Nuan. You should know that, right?"
When Chen Ge was talking, his brain was turning. He went through the few scenarios that he had come up with earlier in his mind.
"Yes, the child lives alone in Room 401. His father is dead, and his mother is a vixen. She is being taken care of by other men. She no longer lives here. Occasionally, he would leave the residential area to go find his mother. "The middle-aged man's words made Wen Qing shiver with anger.
"My big sister and I were hired by Xiang Nuan's mother to take care of Xiang Nuan. The child is sick, and there is something wrong with his mind. I am the psychiatrist who is responsible for his treatment, and my big sister is responsible for taking care of him." Chen Ge continued to share many things about Xiang Nuan before the middle-aged man slowly moved away.
"Looks like the child's mother has found him a good father. Now, he does not need to worry about money anymore." The middle-aged man's eyes stayed on Wen Qing for a long time.
Chen Ge stood between the middle-aged man and Wen Qing, and there was still a smile on his face. "You have been looking for trouble with me since earlier. Is it because you are afraid of something?"
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