The words on the iron gate of the community were full of malice. Regardless of whether the other party was really hiding among them, these words would plant the seeds of doubt in their hearts and disintegrate their alliance bit by bit.
"It's very much like Shadow's style. This word might have been left by him." Jia Ming touched Li Zheng's arm. "There is truth in falsehood and falsehood in truth. Shadow is very good at doing this kind of thing, just like when playing rock-paper-scissors, some people will clearly tell their opponents what they want to do. Shadow likes psychological warfare. He has possessed countless people, seen countless people's hearts, and experienced countless lives. He is a master of psychological warfare that no one can surpass."
"Then do you think Shadow is among us now?" Li Zheng tightly gripped his pistol. In a completely unknown environment, only the pistol could give him a sense of security.
"Based on what I know about him, he may have replaced one of us." Jia Ming slowed down his speech: "Everyone here could be him, including you and me, and I can also tell you with certainty that the person he chose must be the one you think is the least likely."
"Who do I think is the most unlikely person?" Li Zheng looked around and finally looked at Chen Ge. Among all the people, he only knew Chen Ge inside and out and was sure that Chen Ge could not be the shadow.
"When you think he is, he definitely isn't. When you think he isn't, he will kill you when you let your guard down and will never give you any chance to resist." Jia Ming said grimly.
"You've said so much, but it's like you haven't said anything. Why do I feel like you're deliberately confusing people?" Li Zheng frowned, "Are you trying to justify yourself? You're dragging everyone down with you to clear your suspicion."
"I've told you many times that the shadow has left my body long ago. Why don't you believe it? There is no good person here. We are the only two who came in from outside and know each other's background. In this case, we should put aside our prejudices and get to know each other again." Jia Ming didn't believe anyone except Li Zheng. He had been possessed by a shadow and knew how terrifying it was.
"I entered this damn place because of you. It's very likely that all of this was planned by you. You deliberately let me see everything. You wanted me to mistakenly think that Chen Ge was the shadow, and then make me a witness." Li Zheng replied coldly.
"I led you in out of helplessness. If I hadn't done what Shadow said, I wouldn't be alive today. Shadow is much scarier and more cruel than you can imagine. He will kill anyone who is useless to him without hesitation. Do you know? In his eyes, everything in this world that cannot be used by him may become an obstacle to him, so killing is the safest choice."
"I still can't trust you unless you can help me find Shadow." Li Zheng lowered his voice: "Shadow has been in you for a few years. You are the one who knows Shadow best. Who do you think he is most likely to replace now?"
"The most likely person is Chen Ge. Think about it, how could it be such a coincidence? We just happened to come in and see him? He is now frantically trying to whitewash himself, and asked me to bring you in as a witness. The result is very obvious." Jia Ming spread his hands: "This Chen Ge is fake. He plans to turn the fake into the real one, and then kill the real one, and the fake will become the real one."
After Jia Ming's repeated persuasion, Li Zheng's expression changed.
"You should have realized this a long time ago. Have you ever thought about this question? Why does Shadow look like Chen Ge? Why is he doing this behind the scenes?" Jia Ming was relieved when he saw that Li Zheng's attitude had changed. "You are the only one who followed me in here. The only people we can trust here are each other. Apart from you, anyone else could be Shadow."
"I still can't believe what you said. I will find a chance to test him later." Li Zheng looked at Chen Ge with complicated eyes.
"You can try as much as you want, but I just want you to remember one thing: the shadow will become the person we think is the least likely. He lives in the cracks of people's hearts. We are no match for him at all. If you want to survive, the best way is not to become his enemy." Jia Ming knew the relationship between Li Zheng and Chen Ge. He was thinking about how to convince Li Zheng when his eyes accidentally swept across Li Zheng's shadow.
"The most unexpected person..." Jia Ming's eyes suddenly widened. He quickly turned his head and pretended to look somewhere else to hide his panic.
"What's wrong with you? What tricks are you playing?" Li Zheng moved the muzzle of the gun on Jia Ming's back.
"Nothing, I just saw something in the building next to me and ran over there." Jia Ming did not turn his head back when he spoke. His heart was already filled with rage.
"The more impossible someone seems, the more likely he is Shadow. I brought Li Zheng in personally, and in my opinion he is the only person I can trust. But if I think about it from another perspective, could it be that he took the bait on purpose? He used me as a shield to disguise himself? In fact, he is the real Shadow, and I am just a pawn that he can abandon at any time. No one will believe what a criminal like me says, especially in front of the police."
The more Jia Ming thought about it, the more frightened he became. His neck seemed to be filled with plaster and he couldn't move at all. He didn't even have the courage to look at Li Zheng. He was worried that he would reveal his flaws and block Shadow's way.
"Don't waste time, let's go in first. Even if there is a shadow among us, it's no big deal." Chen Ge didn't like playing this kind of guessing game. If there were no acquaintances among them, he would directly use the elimination method he was best at to screen.
Ignoring the bloody words on the iron gate, Chen Ge was the first to enter the community.
"I know the door is on the first floor, but I need to search carefully to find out which room it is in." The tattooed man slowed down and followed behind. The human head tattoos on his arms all showed expressions of fear as he approached the buildings in the community.
Chen Ge had been to the neighborhood where Fan Cong lived several times, but the architectural layout here was somewhat different from what he remembered.
"This place seems to have retained the same look as it did a few years ago." Chen Ge looked at the surface of the residential building corroded by the blood mist. He could still vaguely see a few words on it: "Liwan Hospital Family Quarters? The community where Fan Cong lives was previously called this? Which private hospital is Liwan Hospital referring to?"
"That private hospital was built later. Liwan Hospital was demolished more than a decade ago." The tattooed man said, "Liwan Town used to have a hospital specializing in the treatment of infectious diseases, but it was later closed for some reason. Several of its more important departments were merged into Jiujiang People's Hospital and a hospital in Xinhai."