Chapter 11: Mental Illness X Billboard

  At night, I locked myself in the room, wide awake. Starting from Yang Hong's mysterious death on his own bed at home, people who appeared included Dr. Ruan Defeng from the Chinese hospital, security guard Xiao Lai from the Fuli Building property management office, cleaning lady Cai Ayi, Guo Meili who deeply loved Yang Hong, retired traditional Chinese medicine practitioner Pan Mengliang, and He Jiali who was infatuated with Yang Hong... These people should not be the murderer. At least based on all the information currently available, they were not that perverted person who cut open a hole in Yang Hong's abdomen with a knife and pulled out his intestines.

  Please stop investigating Yang Hong's case anymore. Yang Hong's death has nothing to do with anyone, it was a curse.

  The sentence that He Jiali left on the iron gate flashed in my mind again. When He Jiali wrote this sentence, her spirit should not have been disordered yet. So, during the process of leaving the house and arriving at Starlight Avenue, what kind of stimulation did she receive that caused her spirit to suddenly become disordered?

  I called Ruan Defeng and asked about the relevant content of spiritual disorder.

  Ruan De Feng said: "Regarding mental disorder, I'm not an expert, but I know some things. People with sensitive, suspicious and weak personalities are prone to illness. Patients with mental disorders have mild consciousness disorder, tend to fantasize, so they can't distinguish between the outside world and their own state, but still aware of their thinking, but lack systematization. Due to incoherent speech, naturally in a state of confusion. If the condition develops, it will talk nonsense, if the condition is lighter, it will tend to fantasy. Generally, some memories can be retained during this period. What's wrong, great detective? You won't become mentally ill investigating Yang Hong's case, do you need me to prescribe some Risperidone, Olanzapine, Quetiapine or Ziprasidone for you?"

  I said: "I'm very healthy, by the way, I want to ask, a person is normal, but after a while, he suddenly goes crazy, what conditions will lead to this situation?"

  "Wei Da said, 'Your question is really a lot, mainly because it was stimulated by the outside world, such as language, intimidation or seeing some pictures that can stimulate his brain nerves.'"

  "Thanks, sorry for disturbing you, bye."

  I dialed Chen Qiuyang's mobile phone again and asked him to ask his friends in Hong Kong to do something for me. The next day, Chen Qiuyang returned to Wu Xie Society and handed me a stack of materials, saying: "President, you have to raise my salary! My efficiency is really too fast!"

  I smiled and said: "Salary? Actually, it's Zou Guan Jia who pays the salary. I don't have any money at all."

  I sat on the sofa, going through the materials Chen Qiuyang had brought back. In fact, I had asked him to investigate He Jiali's route from Mong Kok to Starlight Avenue. Due to He Jiali's suicide in Hong Kong causing a stir, her whereabouts that day had long been investigated by Hong Kong's all-pervasive journalists and were already out in the open:

  After leaving Mong Kok, Ho Ka Lai got on a taxi and told the driver to go to Starlight Avenue.

  The driver sized up He Jiali, didn't think anything was out of the ordinary, and started driving. However, he felt that He Jiali became strange when they passed by an advertisement board. Because when they passed by the advertisement board, He Jiali suddenly asked him to slow down, then she shouted a few times at the advertisement board outside the car window, her voice was very strange. He Jiali became somewhat tearful and laughed to herself, muttering to herself. Fortunately, they soon arrived at their destination, after dropping off He Jiali and collecting the fare, the driver quickly left. It wasn't until later when he watched the news and the police found him for investigation and took a statement that he knew this strange passenger had committed suicide with a syringe in a mental hospital.

  This billboard is very popular in Hong Kong and can be seen everywhere, it's an outdoor advertisement of a very famous foreign brand. On the billboard, apart from the logo of the product and bilingual text, there is also a picture: an opened tin can with its lid rolled up, and colorful food rushing out of the can.

  Most advertisements for foreign goods are simple and elegant, unlike some of our current advertisements that are gaudy and full of bad taste. The question is, why did He Jiali become stimulated and develop mental disorder after seeing such a simple advertisement? Iron box can, open... Is it because this picture resembles Yang Hong's cut-open belly, and those colorful foods rushing out resemble Yang Hong's pulled-out intestines?

  My speculation is not unreasonable, but this speculation has a premise ——

  He Jiali has seen the real appearance of Yang Hong's death. There are two possibilities for this speculation: one is that He Jiali is the murderer who killed Yang Hong, and she cut open Yang Hong's abdomen with a knife and pulled out his intestines; the other is that He Jiali is an eyewitness, and she saw the scene of Yang Hong being murdered, which shocked her mentally.

  However, the camera in the corridor did not capture any footage of He Jiali entering or leaving Yang Hong's home. These contradictory speculations are giving me a headache, I'm really not cut out to be a detective!

  Chen Qiuyang saw that I was at my wit's end and comforted me, saying: "Director, this case is indeed a bit inexplicable. I feel that it's not something an ordinary person can crack."

  "I said: 'Yes, I've just taken office, why do I have to deal with such a bizarre case as my first one? This should be the most difficult and bizarre case, shouldn't it?'"

  When I said that, I had no idea that the subsequent series of bizarre cases would exceed my acceptable range. Now, Yang Hong's case is simply insignificant compared to those later cases.

  I asked Zou Guanjia: "Is there any news from the east? They should be more professional than us and should be able to find some new clues."

  Zou Guanjia was wiping a silver wine cup with a white silk glove, completely ignoring me.

  I once again flipped through the photos on my phone, in Mong Kok, He Jiali took a photo of Yang Hong, these secretly taken photos don't know how much thought He Jiali put into taking them.

  "Director Chen said: "Director, you said why He Jiali didn't confess to Yang Hong? I saw these photos, all of which were secretly taken, not a single one was formally photographed, she's really pitiful."

  I smiled wryly: "I'm not a girl, how can I guess what's on He Jiali's mind? Maybe she's self-abased, or maybe she's afraid that if she confesses, Yang Hong will be scared off. Or perhaps He Jiali simply enjoys the thrill of unrequited love."

  Chen Qiuyang said, "These photos can also serve as investigation materials. I'll help you export them from your phone to the computer and print them out in color. Who knows, maybe we can find some clues about Yang Hong's daily habits or something new."

  Chen Qiuyang connected my phone and computer with a data cable, exported the photos, and printed them out one by one. I took them over and examined each one carefully. In the photos, Yang Hong was plump and fair-skinned, often wearing checked shirts and Western-style pants, with a refined expression and sometimes a smile, looking like a gentle-natured man. But I couldn't see what charm he had that could attract so many girls to love him to death, including Guo Meili and He Jiali, who both lost their lives because of this man.

  I had looked at more than 10 of them, but there was no clue, and my eyes were also sore and aching. I put the photos on the coffee table, but unexpectedly, Kui Ruo Lan burst in through the door with a gust of wind, blowing the colored photos off the coffee table onto the floor.

  "Can't you be a bit more gentle?" I bent down to pick up the photos.

  The first photo I picked up was one that I had seen before, but at the time I hadn't noticed anything unusual about it. However, now as I bent down to pick it up, I suddenly caught a glimpse of something.

  I'm extremely regretful that such an obvious clue was overlooked so many times right in front of our three pairs of eyes. It seems that being too focused on minute details isn't always the best approach either.

  I excitedly held up the photo and said, "There's a new clue! I found the new clue - the video mentioned by He Jiali. I finally know now!"