HPDBC Chapter 215 The Columbus of the Detective World
Chapter 215 The Columbus of the Detective World
Peng Guanhai's voice lowered, like a string that had been stretched for too long finally being released.
"Seven years ago, the Public Security Bureau commissioned me to find a Xia Yi named Lu Tao."
他 说:
"I have that mirror, so finding someone couldn't be easier."
The mirror told me that Lu Tao was no longer alive.
I also reported this discovery to the police department.
Peng Zhenni frowned.
What does finding someone have to do with a mirror?
But she didn't interrupt.
She knew about this case—the one that had made her grandfather start acting strangely.
Peng Guanhai's brows furrowed even more deeply:
Later, Lu Tao died.
However, the time of his death was wrong.
The forensic doctor said that Lu Tao had been dead for three days and was killed by a car. The driver who caused the accident has also been found.
But that's impossible!
The Public Security Bureau contacted me for help a week ago, by which time Lu Tao was already dead!
This, this is completely illogical!
His brow slowly relaxed, replaced by a deep-seated fear.
"unless."
His voice was lowered even further:
"There is something that can move the dead and keep them alive."
This thing is like a ghost that possesses a human in a horror movie.
To verify this hypothesis, I began searching for the missing person day and night.
As expected, Lu Tao was not the only one.
I spent a year finding the remaining three missing persons whose deaths were attributed to incorrect times.
"Therefore, 'ghosts' exist."
Peng Guanhai spoke slowly and deliberately:
"They definitely exist."
Peng Zhenni's eyes narrowed slightly.
She could try her best to understand what her grandfather was saying.
But starting with the word "ghost," those idealistic ideas were something she simply couldn't accept.
How can there be ghosts in this world?
Grandpa must be possessed; he's having another episode.
Peng Guanhai's breathing became rapid:
"If such ghosts exist in the world, where do they come from?"
They couldn't have just appeared out of thin air!
Jiang Chaosheng narrowed his eyes:
"The Avici Hell".
Peng Guanhai's eyes lit up immediately.
It was the light that a drowning person grasps at driftwood, the light that comes from finally meeting a fellow traveler after a seven-year arduous journey.
"Yes, yes! It's hell!"
No one will believe him in this lifetime.
He dared not tell anyone else about the secret he had discovered.
For seven years, Jiang Chaosheng has been the only person who can understand what he is saying.
Peng Zhenni looked at Jiang Chaosheng in astonishment.
Avici Hell? How come he went mad too?
Peng Guanhai continued, his speech becoming increasingly rapid, as if something that had been pent up for too long had finally found an outlet:
"That's not all. I've also been wondering, where do people go after they die?"
To verify that hell really exists, I started conducting experiments again.
I placed the belongings and hair of a dying person on the mirror.
When a person is alive, a mirror can show where they are.
Of course, this is inevitable, because a mirror can find any living being in the human world.
But after a person dies, the mirror turns a dark red.
I used to think that dark red represented death, but…”
He paused, a near-fanatical light flashing in his eyes:
"Could the dark red color represent hell? The mirror actually found the person, and that person is in hell!"
Jiang Chaosheng's mind raced, and he said softly, "Continue."
He had always wanted to find news about hell.
Unexpectedly, information about hell was discovered by a mortal detective.
But... what did he discover that would earn him a warning from hell?
Peng Guanhai swallowed hard:
"If hell exists in the world, where is it?"
How can a mortal enter hell?
So I continued with the experiment.
I discovered that within a second after a person loses vital signs, the "Looking-Homeward Mirror" shows that the deceased is still alive.
I wonder, could that be the time it takes for the deceased's soul to travel to hell within a single second?
Later, I discovered that when I refined this time to the millisecond, the time it took for people from different states to reach hell was different.
His voice trembled slightly with excitement:
"This major discovery excites me."
The fact that people from different regions take different amounts of time to travel to hell indicates that the distance to hell varies from region to region.
The entrance to hell can be found!
I began a world tour, searching for the closest place to hell.
Peng Zhenni frowned:
"That's utter nonsense! You can't possibly succeed!"
How can there be a hell in this world?
"Is it because of this crazy act of searching for hell that your whole family has to cut back on food and clothing?"
Peng Guanhai suddenly widened his eyes, his pupils bloodshot and red, like an old beast cornered:
"No way! Think about how your parents died?!"
"It's because I'm too close to the truth that they're warning me!"
Peng Zhenni was stunned for a moment:
"You mean, because you're almost at hell, something's warning you to stop looking? That's insane!"
Peng Guanhai did not answer.
He shakily reached into his waistband and pulled out a neatly folded piece of paper.
It was a map made of linen, the edges of which were worn and frayed.
The creases were a deep brown, the marks left by countless unfoldings and foldings.
"This map contains sixty-three regions."
He handed the map to Jiang Chaosheng:
"These sixty-three regions are the closest places to hell."
Because the time it takes for the dead from these sixty-three regions to reach hell is within milliseconds.
I don't have the specialized equipment to calculate units below milliseconds.
Jiang Chaosheng took the paper.
The document is densely filled with records of regions from all over the world—the United States, the Philippines, the East Asia, the Xia Kingdom, and so on.
Things in the extraordinary world are just that wondrous.
An ordinary detective, using a mirror and seven years...
They drew a map between the human world and hell.
Peng Guanhai let out a long breath, as if he had finally unloaded a burden he had carried for seven years:
"I'll relax if I give you this."
He chuckled coldly twice, a laugh that contained so much—anger, sorrow, and the ruthlessness of a small person forced into a corner.
"They killed my child, they killed my dog, they are utterly inhuman!"
Did they think that I, a mere mortal, had no way to take revenge on them?
Wrong, terribly wrong!
I will act like a paparazzi reporter and expose everything I know!
You think you can hide? Dream on!
They must know the wrath of a famous detective!
Peng Zhenni shook her head:
"You're insane."
Peng Guanhai looked at his granddaughter, tears streaming down his face. The tears flowed down his deeply lined cheeks, dripping onto his hospital gown and spreading into a small dark patch.
"Jenny, none of you understand me. You all think I'm crazy!"
His voice was hoarse:
"But I'm right, this is the only way to save your mother!"
Your mother has a terminal illness, and I think I must rely on supernatural forces to save her life.
I can only gamble my entire life on the possibility of hell!
What he didn't say was that hell and the antique shop were the only two extraordinary things he knew.
Antiques are so valuable that you have to risk your life to buy them, but what my daughter lacks most is longevity!
Peng Zhenni remained silent, a hint of sadness in her eyes.
Grandpa went mad because of Mom.
She knew, she always knew, which is why she couldn't bring herself to hate him.
Peng Guanhai suddenly remembered something, and his tone became urgent:
"By the way, I have a notebook in my studio, which is a record of my years of searching for hell."
Sir, you'll definitely find this useful!
He discovered that Jiang Chaosheng knew about the Avici Hell, but didn't know where it was, and was searching for it.
Therefore, I should tell him everything in the most detailed way.
Peng Guanhai shoved his granddaughter, his movements as hurried as a child's:
"Go quickly, it's in my safe, a leather notebook."
Peng Zhenni couldn't refuse her grandfather, so she looked at Jiang Chaosheng and asked, "Then, brother, shall I take you?"
Jiang Chaosheng nodded: "Okay."
On the road, Peng Zhenni was driving.
The streetlights outside the car window flashed by one after another, casting interplay of light and shadow on her exotic face.
"Thank you, sir," she said suddenly.
Jiang Chaosheng asked, "What?"
Peng Zhenni glanced at him and smiled, "You must be an expert in psychology, right?"
From the moment Jiang Chaosheng entered the house, Grandpa would do whatever he said.
Even if he is the son of an old friend and thus possesses the demeanor of an ancient person, Jiang Chaosheng should still understand some advanced psychological techniques.
He used psychological suggestion or hypnosis to make his grandfather obey him.
Furthermore, Jiang Chaosheng listened to his grandfather's far-fetched stories and responded to them very seriously.
Generally speaking, this is the psychotherapy method used by psychologists.
"Thank you for always agreeing with Grandpa."
Her voice softened:
"Grandpa is very happy today, I can feel it."
Jiang Chaosheng remained silent for a while.
Outside the car window, the night was as thick as ink that couldn't be dissolved.
"Don't think your grandfather is crazy."
He spoke, his tone serious:
"He is a great man."
He could imagine a seeker searching for a region in the real world that does not exist in order to pursue the truth.
That area is real, but it's not within the human realm.
In a sense, this is great, almost on par with Columbus discovering the New World.
Peng Zhenni chuckled softly and shook her head:
"Hell? That's insane, I don't believe it."
Don't try to fool me like you did with my grandfather.
Jiang Chaosheng said nothing more.
Those things can kill people on earth, so Peng Zhenni doesn't believe in hell. Knowing less about it is good for her.
But... why didn't those things choose to kill Peng Guanhai directly, but instead chose to harm Peng Guanhai's family?
caveat?
Why the warning?
Why not just kill the main character and everything would be over?
"Sizzle—!"
Peng Zhenni slammed on the brakes, the tires screeching as they dragged across the ground.
Not far away, a car traveling in the wrong direction, like an out-of-control beast, was hurtling straight toward them.
The headlights were so bright they made it hard to open one's eyes, and the roar of the engine shattered the tranquility of the night.
Peng Zhenni is very skilled.
She jerked the steering wheel, narrowly avoiding the other car by scraping its side.
The wild beast, traveling in the wrong direction, crashed into the green belt with a loud, muffled thud.
Peng Zhenni gasped for breath, her chest heaving, still shaken: "How could you drive like that?!"
She unbuckled her seatbelt, pushed open the door, and got out of the car to check if there were any injured people in the car that was driving in the wrong direction.
The door of the car traveling in the wrong direction was pushed open from the inside.
An elderly woman in a hospital gown staggered out.
Her movements were very unnatural, like a puppet being led by strings.
Every movement of the joint carried an inexplicable sense of unease.
A smile graced her face.
The smile on the face of an elderly man who had just crawled out of a car accident looked completely out of place.
Peng Zhenni quickly stepped forward:
"Grandma, how are you? Should we call an ambulance?"
As she spoke, she walked toward the old woman.
A hand suddenly landed on her shoulder.
The force wasn't strong, but it was like a wall, pinning her to the spot.
Peng Zhenni turned around and looked at Jiang Chaosheng with suspicion.
Under the streetlights, his face was half in light and half in shadow, revealing no expression.
"W-what's wrong?"
Jiang Chaosheng glanced down at her:
"Didn't you question what your grandfather was pursuing?" he said.
Peng Zhenni blinked.
What Grandpa was pursuing...hell?
Jiang Chaosheng turned his gaze to the old woman in the hospital gown, his eyes scrutinizing her as if she were an interesting object.
"This is the first time I've ever seen one," he said. "A killer from hell."
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