Chapter Thirty-Three: Haunted by Spirits?

“What was that?” I was also thoroughly frightened, leaning against the car, trembling as I scanned the surroundings.

Li Hong wanted to chase after it, but I stopped him.

I was worried that this was a ploy to lure us away from safety.

The white shadow didn’t reappear, so I immediately asked Mr. Lin if he was alright. He shook his head in pain, saying he was fine, but suggested we check on Mouse first.

I quickly had Mr. Lin open the front car door and glanced at Mouse in the driver’s seat. Mouse was injured even more severely than Old Mo, his head covered in blood. Although the car was equipped with airbags, none had deployed, and even the seatbelt hadn’t functioned.

I was panicked and shouted, “Mouse, hang in there!”

Mouse raised his head, opened his eyes to look at me, and uttered in pain, “I’m sorry,” before drifting back into unconsciousness.

I hurriedly pulled Mouse out and had Li Hong accompany him to the hospital.

Li Hong still seemed worried about our safety, but I reassured him, saying I’d drive the Toyota back later. The Toyota was reliable; as long as the engine didn’t fall out, there shouldn’t be any problems.

Li Hong agreed and told me to call him if anything happened, then helped Mouse into the car and left.

I immediately turned to Mr. Lin and asked what had happened.

Mr. Lin sighed and said, “This isn’t the time to talk. Let’s head back first. And keep today’s events confidential. I suspect our actions have been exposed.”

I nodded. Seeing Tang Jingjing was unharmed, I started the police car.

The car could still drive, but the engine trembled violently, making the whole vehicle shake. Luckily, I managed to reach the city center, parked in a designated spot, hailed a taxi, and rushed to the hospital.

On the way, I reported the situation to Chief Wang. He was furious, threatening to make trouble for me when I got back. I retorted, telling him he could dismiss me if he wanted, but right now he needed to call the hospital and have them ready!

Chief Wang wanted to send an ambulance, but I said it wasn’t necessary—no one was seriously hurt, and we could go ourselves.

I was deeply worried about Mr. Lin, afraid this incident would impact his health, making it hard for him to maintain his previous work state.

When we arrived at the hospital, a doctor was already waiting for us. Tang Jingjing had only minor injuries and a scare, and was recovering well by the time we arrived.

But Mr. Lin kept clutching his chest throughout the journey, so I insisted that they check Old Mo first, fearing Mr. Lin might have heart trouble.

By the time everything was arranged, it was already one in the morning. I was exhausted, but still earnestly asked Tang Jingjing what had happened. How could Mouse, such a professional driver, have had an accident?

Tang Jingjing sighed, telling me that if it weren’t for Mouse’s exceptional driving skills, we’d all be dead by now.

I quickly asked why.

Tang Jingjing looked around nervously, saying, “This isn’t the place to talk. Chief Wang will surely question us soon. Let’s wait for that.”

I nodded, but was even more puzzled. Tang Jingjing had always been outspoken, but now she hesitated.

It must have been something extraordinary, enough to cause public panic.

Sure enough, before long Chief Wang stormed in, his face dark with anger. After checking that Mr. Lin and Mouse weren’t in serious danger, he called Tang Jingjing and me into the car and asked coldly what had happened.

I told him what I’d seen and deduced on the bus.

After listening, Chief Wang snapped, “I don’t care about the case right now. I want to know how Mr. Lin got hurt. If you keep wasting my time, I’ll make sure you never graduate.”

Clearly, Chief Wang’s protective nature would never change; to him, his subordinates mattered more than any major crime. Though I was angry, I felt a wave of warmth.

Unexpectedly, Tang Jingjing spoke up for me: “Report, Chief Wang, this operation was planned by the entire Major Case Squad. The mishap occurred due to unforeseen circumstances, and Comrade Xiaoyang wasn’t present at the scene…”

“Stop defending him!” Chief Wang barked. “He’s a grown man—he doesn’t need you, a young girl, to plead for him… You said he wasn’t at the scene? Tell me everything.”

Just then, Li Hong came to report. Chief Wang had him sit in the passenger seat, and let Tang Jingjing recount the events.

It turned out that after Mouse picked up Tang Jingjing, they followed Bus Route Eight.

Mouse was well-rested and focused, joking that if he lost the trail again, they could just call him ‘Rat’ from then on.

Everyone laughed it off.

Suddenly, Mr. Lin’s eyes widened and he shouted, “My God, what is that?”

His exclamation drew everyone’s attention. Following his pointing finger, they saw a white shadow drift out of the bus. It moved quickly—at first glance, it looked like a ghost in white.

Mr. Lin immediately judged it suspicious and ordered Mouse to abandon the original plan and follow the direction the white shadow was headed.

Tang Jingjing decided to call me.

But as she tried, something unexpected happened: all three phones in the car lost signal.

No one thought much of it, assuming the poor reception was due to being in the suburbs. Of course, perhaps they were fooling themselves. But the situation was urgent, and there was no time for anything else.

Along the way, the white shadow remained intermittently visible, as if leading them somewhere.

Halfway through, Mouse became nervous, asking Mr. Lin if they should stop—he feared continuing would mean falling into a trap.

Mr. Lin refused, so they kept pursuing.

After about ten minutes, the white shadow vanished. As they searched for it, suddenly a girl appeared in front of the car, dressed in white and waving at them.

It was a dangerous moment. Mouse slammed on the brakes without hesitation, steering the car into a pile of construction debris on the left, bringing the vehicle to a halt.

Luckily, Mouse veered left; if he’d gone straight ahead, they would have crashed into a bulldozer. Mouse would have been killed, and nobody could guarantee survival.

Hearing Tang Jingjing’s account, I broke out in cold sweat.

Chief Wang was furious, his eyes reddening as he glared at Tang Jingjing. “How did Mouse get hurt? What about the airbags? The seatbelt? How could he be so badly injured?”

Tang Jingjing replied, “It seemed the seatbelt and airbags were tampered with—they didn’t function when needed.”

Chief Wang immediately pulled out his phone and called the department’s vehicle maintenance driver, berating him and threatening to fire him if he couldn’t find the cause.

I knew the blame wasn’t on the maintenance staff, but kept quiet to avoid trouble.

After the call, Chief Wang looked at Tang Jingjing, his eyes still red. “Tang Jingjing, you’re a veteran. You keep mentioning this white shadow, making it sound so mysterious—you’d better be responsible for your words.”

Tang Jingjing raised her right hand and swore, “Chief, I swear by the name of the Chinese police, if there’s any falsehood in what I just said…”

“Enough,” Chief Wang waved her off and turned to me. “Xiaoyang, what do you think?”

I replied, “Chief Wang, I saw the white shadow too. What I said earlier matches Tang Jingjing’s description in many ways. For example, I heard a woman crying in the bus’s tape recorder, and Tang Jingjing saw a girl’s figure drift out of the bus.”

Chief Wang asked, “So you believe it’s the work of a ghost?”