Chapter 36: What Does It Mean to Solve a Case at the Speed of Light?

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The fifth day without my brain. I miss it.

Early the next morning, Zhou Mo woke up, finished his morning routine, and prepared to head to the Heyuan City Television Station. However, just before stepping out the door, Zhou Mo suddenly found himself plagued by a dilemma like a woman deciding what to wear.

"Which brain should I take with me today?"

Looking at his three brains, he pondered for a long time before finally addressing Brain Brother: "How about you come out with me today?"

Brain Brother, who was curled up on the pillow, rose reluctantly. Its two eyeballs stretched forward forcefully, while its two hind legs pushed back with equal effort. After a satisfying stretch, it crawled onto Zhou Mo’s head. It raised a fist, smashed open the skull cap, and was just about to slide inside when it hit a snag—Sun Yue had tightened the stitches earlier, causing the skull cap to snap shut like a spring!

Caught off guard, Brain Brother was clamped firmly between the skull cap and Zhou Mo’s head. Half-awake and disoriented, Brain Brother kicked its legs in a panic before finally realizing what had happened. With its fiery temper, how could it swallow such an insult?

It slammed an eyeball against the inside of the skull cap, but because the stitches were so secure, the cap just slammed back down.

Thump.

Brain Brother: ...

Brain Brother: !!!!

ORA ORA ORA!

As Zhou Mo stood before the mirror adjusting his clothes, he felt his scalp twitching rhythmically. He felt like he was the one who hadn't woken up yet.

Oh no!

First thing in the morning, my brain and my skull cap are fighting!

Wait, that’s not my brain...

Never mind, then.

Feeling the force of Brain Brother’s blows increasing, Zhou Mo hurriedly reached up and lifted the cap: "Brother, please, go right in."

Brain Brother, still fuming, finally relented and stopped wrestling with the skull cap for Zhou Mo’s sake.

Only after the crack on his forehead slowly healed did Zhou Mo let out a sigh of relief, though he winced, "Why does my skull ache a bit after reconnecting..."

After this ordeal, Zhou Mo finally left, riding his electric scooter to the Heyuan City Television Station downtown. The moment he entered the main gate, he was stopped by a security guard: "Hello, we don't allow visitors. May I ask what your business is?"

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Zhou Mo took the letter of certification written by Xia An from his pocket and handed it over: "Hello, I am a detective commissioned by the City Guard. I’m here to investigate a few matters."

The guard glanced at the document and immediately went to call his superiors. Within ten minutes, a refined-looking middle-aged man walked over, smiling and extending his hand: "Hello, I am Wang Jianghe, the Deputy Station Manager of HY City TV."

Zhou Mo shook his hand and said with a smile: "Hello, I’m Zhou Mo. I’m a detective, after all."

Wang Jianghe gave a troubled smile: "You’ve finally arrived. This matter has been bothering us for a long time. Let’s head inside so we can talk properly and I can brief you on the situation."

Wang Jianghe led Zhou Mo to the elevator and up to the 14th floor. Since it was early morning, only a few maintenance staff were around. Wang Jianghe brought Zhou Mo into a breakroom, had someone bring two coffees, and looked at Zhou Mo with a bitter expression.

"The station is in complete chaos now. If we don’t resolve this issue, I’m afraid the staff will all quit. I assume you’ve already read the files?"

Seeing Wang Jianghe’s impatient look, Zhou Mo nodded: "I’ve only read the transcripts."

The crying in the news broadcast room was arguably the most baffling of the three cases in the file. It started during a live news broadcast when a female anchor, while rehearsing her script, suddenly saw a female ghost clinging to the ceiling, weeping bitterly. The anchor then began screaming in a panic on live television. She shouted things like, "Stop crying!" The City Guard investigated, but neither their instruments nor their personnel could find anything amiss. After several failed attempts to find a cause, the case had been shelved until now.

Wang Jianghe sighed: "Since you’ve read the files, I won’t go into the details, but the situation has changed."

"At first, everyone thought the anchor had just gone insane, but later, more than one person saw the female ghost."

Wang Jianghe nervously picked up his cup and took a sip of coffee, as if recalling something terrifying.

Zhou Mo frowned: "Did you see it too, Deputy Manager?"

Wang Jianghe nodded heavily: "I did. Ever since I saw her, I’ve been able to hear a woman’s weeping in my ears constantly."

Zhou Mo thought for a moment and asked: "Has anyone been attacked during this time?"

Wang Jianghe looked at Zhou Mo in surprise: "You mean the female ghost? No, nothing like that. So far, many of us have been frightened, but no one has been physically attacked."

Just frightened?

That’s interesting...

After such a long time, not a single victim? Could it be a subconscious monster that just likes to scare people?

Zhou Mo asked: "When does the female ghost usually appear?"

Wang Jianghe frowned and recalled: "Usually during the noon news segment, though she has been seen at other times as well, just less frequently."

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Listening to this, Zhou Mo felt a bit confused. This subconscious monster seemed rather unusual.

'Forget it, that’s not important.'

'In any case, my intention isn't really to investigate the subconscious monster.'

Zhou Mo nodded, feigning deep thought, and said to Wang Jianghe: "I understand now. I’ll start the investigation today. Could you let me see all the programs you’ve recorded over the past few months?"

Wang Jianghe looked at Zhou Mo strangely: "I don't mind showing you, but why do you want to see those?"

Zhou Mo put on a serious expression: "Subconscious monsters always follow certain patterns. I suspect it hasn't only appeared during that one broadcast; perhaps there are other clues hidden elsewhere."

Watching programs instead of surveillance footage?

Wang Jianghe didn't quite understand the detective’s line of reasoning, but he nodded generously: "No problem. We keep backups of all our content. I’ll have someone bring them to you right away."

With that, Wang Jianghe took out his phone and made a call: "Ma Jiao, please bring over the hard drive containing the program summaries from the last four months. I have a use for it. Yes, as soon as possible."

Not long after, a tall woman with subtle makeup walked in carrying a hard drive: "Deputy Manager, this is what you asked for."

Zhou Mo’s eyes were immediately drawn to the hard drive in the woman’s hand, but then he noticed a female ghost with disheveled hair, dressed in white, clinging to the ceiling directly above her!

Strands of hair hung down from the ceiling, brushing against Zhou Mo and Wang Jianghe.

Unsure of the situation, Zhou Mo suppressed his discomfort and pretended as if nothing was wrong. As the strands of hair touched him, he heard the faint, ghostly weeping lingering in his ears.

The woman set the hard drive down and left. Wang Jianghe squeezed out a smile and said to Zhou Mo: "Here is the video footage you wanted. Do you need me to bring you a computer?"

Zhou Mo glanced at the hair on his shoulder, then nodded and asked: "That would be best. By the way, may I ask who that lady was?"

Upon hearing Zhou Mo's question, Wang Jianghe sighed deeply.

"That’s Ma Jiao. She was the first anchor to see the female ghost."

"She recently transferred to administration and is in charge of the noon news."

The corners of Zhou Mo’s mouth twitched. Is solving a case really this simple?

But I haven’t even started watching the videos yet...