Chapter 226: The Triggered Severe Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Ghosts Haunting the Hotel

At this moment.

On the top floor of Xingsheng Building in Cangshan District, Luzhou City.

K, whose tense emotions had been eased by a phone call, was still leisurely reclining on a lounge chair.

His left hand held the phone he had just hung up, while his right hand gently swirled a glass of fine red wine.

Without any trace of tension, he took a small sip of the wine and looked over at Priest, who was leaning against the rooftop railing with a cigar in his mouth. K spoke softly.

“Priest.”

“Demon Witch has taken Aunt Jiang home, and for now, it’s confirmed that no plainclothes police are following them.”

“I plan to immediately arrange her escape plan. No matter if she gets caught or not in the end, at least she won’t be easily captured.”

“As for Aunt Jiang, I plan to have someone from the district committee take care of her first, and later I’ll find a chance to send her to a high-end nursing home where she can be 100% guaranteed to not be bullied, and even live a better life.”

“How do you feel about this arrangement?”

It was clear that K held a great deal of respect and care for the Priest assigned to him by that person.

If it were any other organization member, K, who was usually confident, wouldn’t have asked such a question.

Once a command was issued, the only options were to execute it or die. There were no other choices.

Upon hearing K’s question, Priest didn’t respond immediately. Instead, he took a deep puff of his cigar, exhaled the smoke to obscure his face, and then, in his deep, rumbling voice, spoke.

“What about Jiang Sumei?”

“Based on previous assumptions, if they were able to let Demon Witch go, those cops must be trying to find another breakthrough from somewhere else.”

“There’s no other way.” K thought carefully for two seconds, then sighed and continued.

“Sister Jiang, ever since she wasn’t satisfied with the three million dollars that could have supported her for retirement and decided to open a company to earn more money, her fate was pretty much sealed.”

“If the organization could have kept hiding, then Sister Jiang, who depends on us to survive, might not have faced any danger and could have continued being her rich lady.”

“But now… the organization has been torn open, so we can’t protect her anymore.”

“But there’s no need to worry too much. The information Sister Jiang knows is basically non-existent. She doesn’t even know the organization exists.”

“Previously, we only contacted her unilaterally, never letting her know anything that could lead to severe punishment. So even if she is sentenced, she’ll probably only be convicted of money laundering assistance.”

“With leniency for confession, her sentence might only be 3 to 4 years, which is an acceptable outcome.”

After hearing K’s words, Priest didn’t say anything further. After a few seconds of silence, he picked up the heavy sniper rifle that was leaning beside him.

It seemed like he was simulating the action, or just trying to get a feel for it, as he stared through the scope at the nearby Cangshan Criminal Investigation Brigade.

He bit down on his cigar with his molars and, while looking through the scope, spoke in a firm, low tone.

“K.”

“I’m ready. I can destroy their core personnel at any time.”

K sat up from the lounge chair, squinting his eyes as he looked at the back of Priest, his voice leaving no room for doubt.

“Not yet, Priest. I don’t want you to go for the one-for-one exchange just yet.”

“The situation is still under control. Aside from that one person, the other officers are completely useless and pose no real threat to us.”

“So, I’ve decided that once he targets other members of our organization and arrives at the city they are hiding in…”

“Instead of letting them wait to be exposed, wouldn’t it be better to have them take the initiative, try the one-for-one exchange?”

“Killings are a simple matter.”

“I think… when they joined the organization, they must have considered sacrificing their precious heads to protect the organization.”

K suddenly paused for two seconds, then shook the glass of red wine in his hand, and with a hint of emotion, he shook his head and said.

“Such a pity…”

“I guess it will be quite a while before I can drink such good wine again.”

…

At the same time.

On the highway leading to Jiahe City.

A private car with Modu plates was speeding at the maximum speed of the highway.

Inside the car.

Xu Changsheng was looking straight ahead, both hands gripping the steering wheel, pressing the accelerator to the floor, proving his position as the second racer in the Huaihai Criminal Investigation Brigade.

In the back seat, Guo Ping, a burly man, was resting with his eyes closed.

Meanwhile, Su Ming was sitting in the passenger seat, a laptop placed on his lap, repeatedly playing the footage of Lan Cai’er in the elevator.

Also,

He was browsing through Lan Cai’er’s personal profile.

Aside from the three of them, the other members of the Special Task Force who had previously captured Butcher were heading to Jinling from another direction.

They were preparing to use the few clues Butcher had provided to unearth the hidden Demon Witch.

While driving, Xu Changsheng glanced at Su Ming, who was carefully watching the video, and asked with some confusion.

“Xiao Ming.”

“I see you’ve been watching this elevator video over and over. Have you found something?”

Su Ming pressed the space bar, paused the strange elevator video of Lan Cai’er, gently rubbed his chin, thought for two seconds, and then spoke slowly.

“At the moment, I can’t say I’ve found anything.”

“However, based on Lan Cai’er’s behavior, I can definitely confirm that her mental state was abnormal at the time.”

“Of course, in the case files, it’s already noted that Lan Cai’er has severe obsessive-compulsive disorder and persecutory delusions.”

“The obsessive-compulsive disorder is evident from how Lan Cai’er runs out of the elevator every time to maintain a pathological sense of balance.”

“When the elevator stopped on the third floor, Lan Cai’er suddenly ran out, only to immediately return.”

“And after she came back, she not only pressed the close button quickly but also lit up the buttons for other floors.”

“Most notably, every time the elevator door opened, Lan Cai’er would rush out of the elevator and then return, continuing until she reached her target floor.”

“Brother Sheng, do you think it’s possible that… someone on the third floor pressed the up button, then hid?”

“With her persecutory delusions, Lan Cai’er, squeezed into the corner of the elevator, didn’t see the indicator at the top, so she hurriedly stepped out.”

“But when she stepped out, she realized it was only the third floor, not her intended thirteenth floor.”

“Her obsessive-compulsive disorder flared up, and in order to maintain balance and consistency in her actions, she pressed the buttons for other floors and deliberately ran out and came back.”

“The problem now is…”

“The elevator only had Lan Cai’er in it, so who could have pressed the up button for the internal-use elevator on the third floor? Could it be… Ghosts are appearing?”

“Did this trigger Lan Caier’s flaws, amplifying her mental issues, and creating the perfect opportunity for the crime?”

“And I’m even more curious…”

At this point.

Su Ming squinted his eyes, lightly tapping the metal edge of the laptop with his finger, and said seriously.

“Lan Cai’er, as a reporter, what crucial clue did she discover…”