Midnight Thriller Live

In Jiangcheng, on Tingtang Road, inside a store named "Happy Peak," a high school girl stood, looking lost and pale."Full service for 9,900 yuan. The preliminary investigation requires a 1,000 yuan deposit," I said, holding a cigarette and eyeing the girl in front of me. Her small face, framed by her school uniform, looked especially youthful and innocent. She was thin, but her chest was oddly prominent.Under my gaze, the girl seemed very uncomfortable. "I only have 70 yuan... Can I pay the rest later when I have the money?""70 yuan is fine. Put the money on the table, and you can go. I'll give you a response in three days," I waved my hand dismissively."You... you're not a scammer, are you?" The girl asked with suspicion, the 70 yuan in her palm already soaked in sweat."I do the work I'm asked to do, and I do it with integrity. Real, efficient, trustworthy, and confidential — that's the principle of our business. What you just said is a challenge to my professionalism." I grabbed the money from her hand and waved her out of the store.At this point, many people might misunderstand me, thinking that I'm bullying a minor or luring young girls into danger. But that's not the case. Everything I did was to help her.My name is Gao Jian, the owner of this adult products store. Of course, "store owner" is just a cover. My real identity is a private investigator.I take all kinds of non-litigation cases: locating missing persons, finding bodies, industrial espionage, anti-counterfeiting, and infidelity investigations.The girl who just came to me for help is named Xia Qingzhi, a student at a local high school. The reason she ended up in my store is due to something incredibly bizarre."My brother, Xia Chi, disappeared a week ago. I suspect he's been killed." The girl entered, her face filled with panic and dread."You should've reported this to the police," I said casually, not paying much attention, thinking that this high school girl probably didn't have much capacity for this sort of thing."I tried, but it was useless. No one remembers my brother. Not even in the household registration records. It's as if he never existed — all traces of him have been erased," she explained urgently."You mean, the only memory of your brother exists in your mind?" She didn't seem to be lying, and that was the scariest part."Yes. Everyone has forgotten him. Only I remember..." Her eyes were filled with terror and helplessness.I lit a cigarette and took a long drag.If what she said was true, there could only be two possibilities: either a supernatural phenomenon, or she was suffering from severe dissociative identity disorder, and perhaps the personality of her "brother" was hidden within her."Did your brother do anything strange before he disappeared?" I didn't rush to conclusions but continued to gently probe for more information. "The night he disappeared, he went for an interview on a live streaming platform. He never came back." The girl took out a crumpled card from her pocket, looking like any other random flyer you might find on a street corner."Do you want to be the center of attention? Want to have millions of fans worship you?""Join the Hell Show and become a signed streamer. Open your own live streaming room.""As long as you have courage, talent, and time.""Make all your dreams come true from the comfort of your own home!""'Hell Show'..." I kept turning the card over in my hand, my suspicions growing that this was just some kind of prank. Forget the company name for now. I turned it over to the back. The interview time was from midnight to 3 AM, and the location was at No. 44, Lightless Street, 4th floor, Room 444. All these times and numbers didn't seem like they were meant for the living."Do you think I'm making this up?" The girl looked almost hopeless, and I could see the despair and fear in her eyes."No, no one can draw conclusions before investigating." I had to say this, even for the few dozen yuan she had. After all, my office hadn't received a case in two months, and with the rise of self-service condom machines, the adult store's business was getting worse. If this continued, I'd barely be able to pay the rent.So, I accepted this seemingly absurd request, and that's how the earlier scene unfolded."'Hell Show'..." Live streaming platforms had become incredibly popular in recent years, with people streaming food, games, and even flirtation to attract naïve fans. But "Hell Show" — this name gave absolutely no clue about what its content was."Could it be a live stream of the daily lives of the dead?" I shook my head and laughed, urging Xia Qingzhi to leave. She'd been in my adult store long enough to raise some unwanted suspicions, especially since she wasn't yet 18.As I opened the thick curtain made from military coats, just as Xia Qingzhi was about to leave, she collided with a woman radiating an almost palpable aura of temptation."Sorry, sorry," she stammered, realizing she shouldn't be there, and quickly ran out, her face hidden behind her backpack."You're selling stuff that even high school students buy?" The woman's voice was melodious, and there was something vaguely familiar about it."Buying or not is their choice. I have no right to interfere." The woman in front of me was definitely beautiful, her perfectly shaped ankle encased in a high-heeled sandal. Her slim calves tightened, and the lace hem of her dress fluttered. Despite the loose-fitting long dress, it couldn't hide her alluring curves. She exuded a refined elegance, but her face was hidden behind a mask and sunglasses.But I was used to it — most people who came to my store had their own secrets. If they didn't want to reveal their identity, I didn't press them. The business world operates on mutual respect. As long as they paid, everything was negotiable.The woman was dressed fashionably, her designer bag — likely Louis Vuitton — easily worth more than a year's rent for me."Do you need anything, beautiful? The store is closing soon due to poor business, and we're offering everything at 20% off.""Sorry, I don't need anything. I'm just looking for someone." She took off her mask and sunglasses, revealing a face I knew all too well: "Gao Jian, it's been five years. You haven't changed at all."The moment I saw her face, my cigarette fell to the ground. "Ye Bing?"She was my first love. Five years ago, at the police academy, we were the top two in everything.But later, I got involved in a serial murder case and was expelled from the academy. Meanwhile, she finished her studies and, with the help of a new boyfriend, went abroad for further education."Five years and you've turned from a sparrow into a phoenix. You look every bit the goddess," I lit another cigarette, watching the smoke swirl. "You changed your number and cut off all contact. I thought you had died in a plane crash over the Pacific.""Five years, and you still haven't changed your sharp tongue? I admit I did wrong, but I don't regret it." She smiled, radiating maturity and confidence. Every movement was laced with seduction."Really? So what are you here for? Trying to rekindle our old flame, relive the passion of the past?" I couldn't help but stare at her curvaceous body."I came to talk, but seeing your current situation, there's probably no need." She didn't answer directly but took a bank card from her bag and placed it on the table. "There's 100,000 yuan on this card, a token of my apology for disappearing five years ago. Gao Jian, we're not getting any younger. It's time to face reality and move on from the past.""Three days from now, I'm getting married to Jiang Shao at the Century New Park. If you're free, you're welcome to come. After all, I just returned to the country, and I don't have many friends here."Ye Bing's tone was calm, almost as if she were talking about a trivial matter. But in her eyes, I saw deep disdain and disappointment. In that moment, I found myself speechless.There was no anger, no pain, no hysteria. I simply took a drag from my cigarette and said, "Take your card. I'll be there in three days."I don't know when Ye Bing left. I only know that after finishing an entire pack of cigarettes, my lungs burned. There was nothing to complain about. After all, with just one card, she had wiped out everything I had. Rather than waste energy on futile anger, I decided to focus on the task at hand.I placed the flyer Xia Qingzhi had left on my desk. This was the only job I had in two months. Even though the client was a minor and might have mental issues, I couldn't afford to mess this up. Because I needed the money.