Chapter 11 Fang Xiaocao: Oh mom...
"Alright, thanks, sis."
Upon hearing this, Fang Xiaocao smiled and thanked her.
It's free, why not take it!
Such a large villa, having a thorough cleaning would cost quite a bit of money.
Fang Xiaocao certainly wouldn't refuse.
"I'll call the property management over to register you, and take the opportunity to check the wiring and facilities again."
"If there are any issues, we'll repair them immediately."
"This is all I can do within my rights as your sister."
Liu Feifei said, smiling.
"Sis, thank you~"
Fang Xiaocao smiled and expressed her thanks again.
Liu Feifei nodded and made a phone call.
Half an hour later, both the property and cleaning staff arrived.
Liu Feifei communicated separately with the property and cleaning staff, then waved goodbye to Fang Xiaocao, and left Villa No. 5 in a sightseeing cart.
"Ms. Fang, hello."
"I am your property manager, Sun Jie."
The property manager greeted Fang Xiaocao with a smile.
"Hello, what do you need to register?"
Fang Xiaocao asked politely, smiling.
"We need to register your basic information, any vehicles under your name, and the number of residents, as well as their basic information," said Sun Jie, smiling politely.
"No problem, let's go inside and talk,"
Fang Xiaocao nodded and said smilingly.
"Cleaning auntie, just go ahead with your work, don't mind me. Whatever you usually do, just do that."
Fang Xiaocao told the cleaning lady.
"Alright, rest assured," the cleaning lady replied with a smile.
"Mmm,"
Fang Xiaocao acknowledged and entered the living room with the property manager.
After filling out the forms, the property manager began to bring in staff to inspect the villa's facilities.
Fang Xiaocao took the opportunity to slip into the basement and locked the basement door behind her to continue her treasure hunt.
Setting up the ladder, Fang Xiaocao climbed up with effort, beginning to search for hidden compartments.
The entire basement was as large as a floor.
It was empty and very clean.
This time, Fang Xiaocao's luck was still poor.
Only on the last wall did she hear a faint "thud."
Fang Xiaocao almost cried out.
The search had exhausted her.
She pressed hard, and a compartment popped open.
A safe embedded in the wall appeared before Fang Xiaocao's eyes.
The safe was dual-operational, with both a keypad and a key.
The keypad could unlock it, and so could the key.
Normally, the keypad was more convenient.
If the safe's battery was dead, then the key was needed.
Seeing the safe, Fang Xiaocao's eyes lit up.
"Could there be some treasure inside?"
Fang Xiaocao muttered, impatiently pulling out the key from her pocket.
She tried inserting the key into the keyhole…
Hey, it's the matching one~
Fang Xiaocao felt a surge of joy and began to turn the key.
After three turns, the safe made a light "click."
The door of the safe automatically sprang open.
The moment the safe door popped open, a foul smell akin to rotten eggs hit her face.
"Oh~"
Fang Xiaocao gagged at the smell, nearly vomiting on the spot.
A bad feeling rose from the pit of her stomach.
This smell, it was suspicious!
With a nervous heart, Fang Xiaocao slowly opened the door of the safe…
"Oh my goodness~"
Fang Xiaocao screamed in horror, slipped, and fell off the ladder, landing on her bottom.
Fang Xiaocao sat on the ground, staring in horror at the open safe, her little face deathly pale, retreating continuously with hands and feet.
Fang Xiaocao crouched in the corner, her body uncontrollably shivering, her eyes lifelessly gazing at the ground, terrified by the contents of the safe.
In the safe...
A decomposed head, with its hollow eye sockets staring at Fang Xiaocao!
The dark-brown corpse fluid flowed down from the open safe, dripping onto the floor, making a "drip, drip" sound.
"Thud, thud, thud!"
The basement door was knocked on.
Fang Xiaocao snapped to her senses, scrambled to the door, and unlocked it.
"Ugh~"
The basement door opened, and a foul smell wafted in, accompanied by a bout of retching from outside.
"Ms. Fang, what happened?"
The property manager, covering his nose and mouth, looked at the disheveled Fang Xiaocao and asked anxiously.
It turned out that the noise of Fang Xiaocao's fall had alarmed Sun Jie, who was coincidentally inspecting near the basement door.
"Quick..."
"Call the police..."
Fang Xiaocao ran out of the basement, shut the door, and stammered.
The excitement of treasure hunting by opening the safe met with the gaze of a rotting head, a visual impact too intense to describe.
That Fang Xiaocao didn't go mad on the spot was a testament to her sturdy mental constitution.
The commotion from Fang Xiaocao attracted a maintenance worker and a cleaning lady as well.
Smelling the stench in the air, another wave of retching occurred.
The cleaning lady ran to the LCD control, pressed a few times, and the villa's ventilation system kicked in. The foul smell in the corridor dissipated much, freshening the air slightly.
"Ms. Fang, what happened?"
Looking at Fang Xiaocao's pale face, Sun Jie did not call the police but asked with concern.
"A… a head..."
"Call the police..."
Fang Xiaocao said tremblingly.
"What?"
Hearing Fang Xiaocao's words, the crowd erupted in astonishment.
By then, Fang Xiaocao had calmed down somewhat.
Seeing Sun Jie's skeptical look and no intention to call the police, Fang Xiaocao didn't bother with her and directly pulled out her phone to call Li Qiang.
Minutes later, the noisy siren broke the tranquility of the villa area.
Several police cars stopped in front of Villa No. 5.
Wang Qiang, in plain clothes, rang the villa's doorbell.
Hearing the doorbell, Fang Xiaocao felt relieved, welcoming Wang Qiang into the villa, as if greeting a savior.
Wang Qiang called over a female officer to take Fang Xiaocao's statement, while he donned a mask with a technical team and a forensic doctor, and went into the basement.
[Ding Dong!]
As Fang Xiaocao was having her statement taken, a notification sound came from her phone.
Fang Xiaocao took out her phone and glanced at it; it was a WeChat message.
[Hot Noodles: Surprise or not, unexpected right?]
"I, damn it, unexpected my ass!"
"Are you, damn it, doing this on purpose?"
Seeing the message from Hot Noodles, Fang Xiaocao cursed outright.
[Hot Noodles: Calm down, you wouldn't want the police to suspect you, right?]
[Hot Noodles: Beneath the attic mezzanine, there's a piece of paper that lists the purpose of the key and the location of the safe, which can be handy for answering the police's questions.]
The message from Hot Noodles instantly calmed Fang Xiaocao down.
She reflexively looked up at the female officer taking her statement.
Noticing the officer's suspicious gaze, Fang Xiaocao gave a sheepish smile and put away her phone.
"Sorry, I got a bit emotional."
Fang Xiaocao said to the female officer, pulling a smile more pained than crying.
"It's okay, I understand."
"Can we continue with your statement?"
The female officer asked indifferently.
"Yes, we can."
Fang Xiaocao nodded and answered.
"Okay, can you tell me how you knew about the safe in the basement?"
The female officer gazed at Fang Xiaocao intently and asked.
Hearing the officer's question, Fang Xiaocao's heart skipped a beat.
"Good thing the message came just in time…"
Fang Xiaocao thought to herself, feeling relieved.