Chapter 48: The Search

The gate to Chen Yonggui’s courtyard was tightly locked. Lü Yang found a good spot and looked from afar. He saw that in front of Chen Yonggui’s house was a small yard, and behind it was a three-story building. The house seemed empty. If he wanted to find something, he had to act fast. Sneaking in now was the best chance.

But it was broad daylight, and the street was busy with people. If he climbed over the wall just like that, he would definitely catch the attention of passersby.

Who knew that to complete these Supernatural Tasks, he not only had to be a freak but also a thief?

There was one easy way to get in without being seen. That was to spend three Eerie Points to exchange for an Invisibility Card. Ten minutes would be enough for Lü Yang to climb over the wall, enter the yard, and get into Chen Yonggui’s house. But wasting three precious Eerie Points on such a small matter was definitely not okay, so Lü Yang didn’t even consider it.

Lü Yang walked a big loop around Chen Yonggui’s house. The front faced the main street, but the back was a narrow alley. In the more than ten minutes he watched, not a single person passed through the back alley.

All the windows on the back of Chen Yonggui’s small building had security bars. But from Lü Yang’s observation, all he needed was a rope with a weight tied to one end. He could throw it up to the third-floor Rooftop. If it got stuck on the iron railings at the corner, he could use the rope to climb up the security bars and air conditioner mounts outside the windows. Getting to the third-floor Rooftop should be very easy.

Once he reached the Rooftop, finding a way into the house shouldn’t be too hard. But there were many small houses nearby. Someone might be watching from a window. If they noticed him climbing and called the police, he could end up in jail.

However, besides taking the risk and climbing up the back of the building, Lü Yang couldn’t think of any better way to break in right now.

If he kept hesitating, he wouldn’t find a better method. And if he was discovered, the worst outcome would just be spending three Eerie Points for an Invisibility Card to escape. Or he could use something like a Get-Out-of-Jail-Free Card to make the police and everyone forget everything Lü Yang did. Since that was the case, he shouldn’t hesitate any longer.

Once Lü Yang made up his mind, he didn’t delay. He took a taxi to a store a few streets away. He bought a large tool bag, gloves, shoe covers, a rope, a hammer, and iron pliers. He also went to a clothing store and bought a set of clothes. Then he took a taxi back to the alley behind Chen Yonggui’s house.

Deep down, Lü Yang felt a hint of danger hiding in some unseen corner, watching him. But when he looked around, he found nothing.

Maybe it was just his imagination?

Lü Yang calmed his mind and carefully observed the windows of all the nearby houses again. Everything seemed very quiet. The chance of someone being near a window was very small. Gritting his teeth, Lü Yang threw the rope with the weighted end forcefully up to the third-floor Rooftop.

He succeeded on the first try. The weight got stuck securely on the iron railing. Lü Yang pulled hard on the rope to make sure it was firm. Then, holding the rope with both hands, he quickly climbed toward the Rooftop. This kind of climbing was easy for someone like Lü Yang, who had worked in construction, installed air conditioners, and later worked as a decorator. In less than half a minute, he climbed from the ground to the third-floor Rooftop.

On the third-floor Rooftop, he retrieved the rope and hid himself. His heart was still pounding. After all, this was his first time illegally entering someone else’s home. In a way, what he was doing now was already a crime.

There was a small room on the Rooftop. Its thick wooden door was locked from the inside with an iron padlock. But this kind of lock was no match for Lü Yang. He inserted the iron pliers into the door gap, then slammed the hammer in his other hand onto the pliers. He easily broke the iron padlock clean off from behind the door.

Lü Yang quietly opened the wooden door. He nailed the broken lock back in place to restore its appearance. Then he headed down the Staircase. The house was very quiet everywhere. The sound of breaking the lock hadn’t disturbed anyone. It seemed no one was really home at Chen Yonggui’s place.

Lü Yang closed his eyes and checked the final video clip in the Supernatural Task attachment again. He confirmed his search target: a Safe hidden behind a wooden Cabinet in the wall.

Chen Yonggui’s house wasn’t very big. The third floor had only four rooms, all unlocked. Lü Yang went into each one to check. These rooms were mostly for storing miscellaneous items. One room even had a memorial tablet for an elderly family member, which felt a bit eerie. But none of these rooms had a wooden Cabinet of the color and style shown in the video.

After checking the third floor, Lü Yang went down to the second floor. This was clearly the floor with the master bedroom. All rooms were unlocked too. Lü Yang opened every Cabinet he could find, checking and comparing repeatedly. He spent over half an hour but found nothing.

Finally, Lü Yang was almost certain: the Safe couldn’t be on the second floor.

Something that valuable normally wouldn’t be kept on the first floor. But since he couldn’t find it on the second or third floors, Lü Yang had to go down to the first floor and search around.

The first-floor hall had many colored lights hanging and scattered colored paper on the floor, making it look messy, as if many people had been there. A large, unopened birthday cake sat on the table in the center of the room. It looked like someone in Chen Yonggui’s family was having a birthday today. This made Lü Yang pause for a moment, clearly thinking of Yi Yi.

Was she still trapped in darkness? That endless darkness like a nightmare, unable to wake up… How terrifying and cruel that must be for her…

For a moment, that feeling of dangerous palpitations he felt outside returned. Lü Yang quickly ran to the window and looked out, but he still saw nothing.

Damn it!

After a brief moment of distraction, Lü Yang quickly recovered. He searched the first floor carefully, but he couldn’t find any Cabinet resembling the style and color from the video.

Maybe… he was wrong from the start? The Iron Box wasn’t with Chen Yonggui?

Or maybe Chen Yonggui didn’t hide the Iron Box at home?

Lü Yang couldn’t help but feel discouraged. If Chen Yonggui didn’t keep the Iron Box at home, finding it might mean he had to forcefully restrain Chen Yonggui and interrogate him under torture.

That would make too much noise and could lead the situation into uncontrollable danger.

Standing in Chen Yonggui’s Kitchen, Lü Yang the decorator instinctively observed the Kitchen’s decor. Suddenly, he frowned slightly. He walked over and pulled open the two Cabinet doors under the sink.

After counting the pipes and valves under the sink, he noticed one pipe leading down into the ground inside the Cabinet. A cold smile appeared on Lü Yang’s lips. He crouched down, turned the valve on and off, carefully listening to the water flow in the pipes. He also gently tapped that pipe with his hammer and listened again to the sound it made.

Others might not have noticed anything, but this couldn’t escape Lü Yang’s eyes and ears.

This house had a Basement.

After tapping and exploring around the Kitchen some more, Lü Yang finally determined that the passage to the Basement should be in the bathroom opposite the Kitchen on the first floor. But in the first-floor bathroom, he couldn’t find the hidden door to the Basement anywhere.