INHA Chapter 45

The immediate priority now is to find Chen Dachao. However, before that, Tian Ze needs to clarify something.

Tian Ze crouched down and looked directly at the stuffed bear. “Do you remember how you died?”

Generally speaking, ghost babies are the best materials for corpse refinement, especially those who die at birth or in the womb, as they harbor intense resentment.

However, such ghost babies can also be very dangerous if they retaliate.

On the other hand, children under nine who die accidentally or are murdered are easier to control because they still have feelings for their parents. They rarely retaliate.

But they also have obvious weaknesses: they aren’t as powerful as ghost babies and don’t have as much potential for growth.

Therefore, if they recklessly go after Chen Dachao, he might command the ghost child to attack them without hesitation.

Although Tian Ze has a bad temper, he always shows great compassion towards children, especially those like the ghost baby earlier and this child, who are still ignorant of the world and don’t understand right from wrong.

Thus, placing all the blame on them would be too cruel.

The stuffed bear’s voice was wary, “Bad person, I won’t tell you.”

Lin Jingyun had already frozen, her mind taking a moment to register the meaning of Tian Ze’s words.

The child possessing the stuffed bear… was it a ghost?

Lin Jingyun couldn’t help but shudder, looking at the stuffed bear with fear.

Although Xu Dongyou didn’t know why Tian Ze was asking, he tried to ease the ghost child’s tension and defensiveness, whispering, “We just want to know, how old are you? We want to see if you’re an older, sensible child.”

Perhaps because Xu Dongyou’s appearance naturally attracted children’s goodwill, the child hesitated before saying, “Guoguo is just four years old.”

Four years old?

Tian Ze’s expression darkened further.

Four is associated with death because it sounds similar in Chinese, and children who die at this age are more likely to become ghost children. However, ordinary ghost children don’t have the ability to possess stuffed bears.

Especially a ghost child who can appear during the day, indicating an unknown corpse refinement method was used. They must capture Chen Dachao and prevent this method from spreading.

Tian Ze quickly stood up, went to a corner, and contacted Yan Jingnan to find Chen Dachao’s current location and notify the police for assistance in apprehending him.

Yan Jingnan, also watching the live broadcast, immediately responded, saying he would handle it.

Xu Dongyou continued to comfort the stuffed bear while trying to extract more information.

But the stuffed bear wouldn’t say anything else, repeatedly stating, “Bad person, I won’t tell you.”

Lin Jingyun hesitated for a few seconds before mustering the courage to approach.

Xu Dongyou looked up, puzzled. “Miss Lin?”

“Um, it… really…” Lin Jingyun didn’t finish her sentence, feeling that mentioning “death” in front of a child, even one who had become a ghost, was inappropriate.

Xu Dongyou nodded.

Lin Jingyun’s expression was hard to read, but she couldn’t bring herself to blame the child anymore.

Even though this child had driven her nearly to madness.

Every grievance has a source, and this was all Chen Dachao’s doing. Lin Jingyun mustered the courage to ask, “So, what are you going to do next?”

“What to do? Of course, we have to catch Chen Dachao!” Tian Ze’s temper flared, his face dark and stormy. This immediately made the stuffed bear, which had been calm, struggle again. The mechanical voice kept repeating, “Don’t you dare bully my dad!”

The child’s emotions were extremely agitated, the red eyes seemed to flash with a strange light, and the cyan bullets stuffed in the cotton started to burn rapidly.

Xu Dongyou was stunned for a moment but quickly reacted. He hurriedly pulled out a talisman, activated it with spiritual energy and a chant, and then stuck it on the stuffed bear.

The whole process took only a few seconds. Tian Ze, who was about to draw his gun, paused and then said to Xu Dongyou, “I’ve already had Yan Jingnan contact the police. We’ll catch Chen Dachao together soon. You stay here and watch over it.”

Just then, Tian Ze’s spiritual energy watch chimed, indicating a message from Yan Jingnan.

Xu Dongyou obediently nodded, then carefully picked up the stuffed bear, gently patting it, and apologized, “I’m sorry, but I had to immobilize you.”

The stuffed bear’s voice kept repeating, “You’re all bad people.”

The live stream’s comment section continued to light up.

【Oh, the guy is so cute! He seems so gentle when comforting.】

【Even though I can’t remember his face, I still felt how sweet he looked when he nodded.】

【What? Is this it? Where are the special effects?】

【Yeah, I was expecting more! I don’t need it to be as amazing as that monster fish video, but this is disappointing. I came here for the special effects, and I’m let down.】

【The people behind this livestream don’t seem to know what they’re doing. You hired such an impressive special effects team so don’t hold back. Give us something big, please.】

【I think it’s fine. The script and effects might not be great, but you’re setting high standards because of that monster fish video. At least the actors are staying in character, and that’s something.】

Seeing that Tian Ze was about to leave, Lin Jingyun hurriedly asked, “What about me?”

Tian Ze glanced at Lin Jingyun and said, “You stay here. We might not be able to protect you if things get rough.”

Lin Jingyun nodded quickly. “Alright, thank you very much.”

Tian Ze waved his hand and left the doll shop without looking back. The concealment talisman would typically last at least three hours, as long as no resentful spirits attacked.

Xu Dongyou wasn’t worried about anyone else coming in. Unfortunately, the stuffed bear was now so angry that it wouldn’t respond to him.

Xu Dongyou sat there quietly, and Lin Jingyun didn’t speak either. The doll shop was silent, except for the occasional mechanical voice from the stuffed bear, “Bad people! Big bad guys!”

Lin Jingyun’s eyes flickered, and she softly murmured, “Am I really a bad person?”

The stuffed bear immediately echoed, “Bad sister.”

Lin Jingyun bit her lip, recalling the mental torment of the past month. Not to mention how much money she lost from closing the shop, she said to the stuffed bear, “Let me ask you. If you had a good friend whose candy tasted better than yours and all the other kids liked to eat theirs but not yours, would you think your good friend was a bad kid?”

It took a while for the stuffed bear to process Lin Jingyun’s words. Its mechanical voice was puzzled, “Of course not, but I would be very sad.”

Lin Jingyun nodded. “And when you’re sad, would you get angry and throw away your friend’s candy, making them sad and scared too?”

The stuffed bear immediately replied that it wouldn’t.

Lin Jingyun slowly spoke, “But now, everyone likes my stuffed bears while no one likes your dad’s toys. Yet, your dad made you come here to destroy my stuffed bears and scare me. Do you think that’s right?”

Xu Dongyou also gently said, “Even though you’re still a child, you should know that doing this is wrong, right?”

The stuffed bear was silent for a while before replying, “Dad is wrong.”

Lin Jingyun quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

Xu Dongyou nodded, gently patting the stuffed bear’s head. “Guoguo, you’re indeed a good child. So, since Dad did something wrong, shouldn’t we stop him from making more mistakes?”

The stuffed bear was silent again, then said, “But… I have to listen to Dad; otherwise, Mom will cry.”

“Huh?” Xu Dongyou was taken aback. He and Lin Jingyun both sensed something odd in that statement. “Why would Mom cry if Guoguo doesn’t listen?”

The stuffed bear’s voice remained mechanical. “Because if I don’t listen, Dad will wave the little flag, and then Mom will hold me and cry very sadly.”

“Holding you?” Xu Dongyou quickly asked, “Guoguo, tell me, where is your body? Are you still alive?”

“In a white room, and many angel sisters come to talk to me.” The stuffed bear couldn’t fully grasp the concept of being alive but did its best to describe its surroundings.

“It’s a hospital!” Xu Dongyou immediately sat up straight. This child, Guoguo, was still alive. Although they didn’t know what the little flag Chen Dachao had was for, at least the child was alive.

Xu Dongyou quickly set the stuffed bear down and contacted Tian Ze with his spiritual energy watch, explaining the situation.

Tian Ze’s voice was more serious. “Good work. I’ll have Yan Jingnan check it out. I’ll update you when we have more information. Keep an eye on the child and let me know if anything happens.”

“Understood, Captain.”

Lin Jingyun, feeling excited, asked Xu Dongyou again, “Is the child really still alive?”

Xu Dongyou nodded. “It seems very likely. The Captain is already looking into it and will inform me once there’s news.”

Lin Jingyun was genuinely relieved by this outcome.

After a short while, Tian Ze sent a message. Xu Dongyou read it, then, with a look of relief, turned to Lin Jingyun. “They found the child. She’s alive. They’ve also captured Chen Dachao. He was at the hospital at the time.”

Lin Jingyun exclaimed, “That’s great! So, what will happen to Chen Dachao now? Am I safe?”

Xu Dongyou nodded. “I’m not sure what will happen to him, but you’re definitely safe now.”

Lin Jingyun let out a deep breath, thanking Xu Dongyou, “Thank you. Without your help, I don’t know if I could have gotten through this.”

She might have lost her mind.

Xu Dongyou shook his head and said to the stuffed bear, “Next, we’re going to see your mom and dad. You need to behave during this time, okay?”

The stuffed bear, eager to see its mom, quickly agreed to behave.

In the live stream chat.

【What’s this? Even in a live stream, we can’t escape the ending of a horror movie? It might seem scary at first, but they’ll probably say it was all tricks and there were no real ghosts.】

【Well, it’s a harmonious society after all, no ghosts allowed!】

【This feels like watching an episode of ‘Approaching Science’. I’m guessing the plot will turn out to be that the host and this boss named Miss Lin went crazy and everything was just their imagination.】

【That could actually be the case!】

The handler from the Bureau watched the comments, falling silent once again.

The branch bureau director called again, his tone calm and certain, “Are the live stream viewers accepting the existence of ghosts well?”

The handler from the Bureau struggled to reply, “They… don’t believe in ghosts even more now.”

Branch Bureau Director: “???”

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