The waiter said, "Wait a moment," then headed back to the staff room to get something. Wang Dali looked worried and asked, "What if this guy runs off?"
"No worries, he won't dare. I know these scaredy-cats pretty well," Huang Xiaotao said with a sly smile, casting a meaningful glance at Wang Dali.
Seeing everyone's pale faces, Huang Xiaotao grew curious. "What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost. Did something happen just now?"
I recapped the autopsy results. Huang Xiaotao scoffed, "A bunch of grown men scared of this?"
Wang Dali said, "Xiaotao, you talk easy, but why don't you go check it out yourself and see if you can handle it!"
"I'm not falling for your tricks," Huang Xiaotao sneered.
Soon, the waiter returned carrying a large USB drive—about the size of a wallet, probably a portable hard drive. Huang Xiaotao snorted, "Quite the collection!"
The waiter scratched his head awkwardly, "It's all unedited raw footage. If you want the highlights, I have that too."
Huang Xiaotao flushed red, scolding, "Get lost, perv! Nobody wants your 'highlight reel'!"
…
The hotel had no computer, but a wall-mounted TV with a USB port. Huang Xiaotao plugged in the hard drive and started browsing with the remote. There were hundreds of files. I thought to myself, if the police really wanted to press charges, this evidence could keep the guy locked up for months.
Each video file was labeled with room number and date. Huang Xiaotao found the footage from the crime day and opened it.
Wang Dali suddenly ducked behind me. I laughed, "What are you afraid of? No Sadako's gonna jump out."
"No, I'm worried about what crazy stuff might show up. Better safe than sorry!" Wang Dali nervously replied.
I chuckled—this was nothing to be scared of, it's not like a cursed tape. I watch horror movies all the time without flinching.
The video lasted six hours. The start was just a dark empty room. Huang Xiaotao fast-forwarded until a woman in a red slip dress with a small purse entered, followed by a man.
Their outfits were a stark contrast: the man wore a black hoodie, a mask, and sunglasses.
Xiao Zhou exclaimed, "Song Yang was right! That's exactly how he dresses!"
Huang Xiaotao sighed, "It's a top-down angle, can't see his face clearly."
"Wait and see," I said.
The woman sat on the bed, chatting with the man. The camera had no audio, only video.
They talked for five minutes. The woman lit a cigarette. Wang Dali impatiently said, "Aren't they gonna get to the point?"
Everyone shot Wang Dali a dirty look. He looked embarrassed and lowered his head.
The man disappeared for a bit. The woman played on her phone. Huang Xiaotao jotted down her number to look up later.
After a while, the woman started undressing. The man reappeared—completely naked. Everyone gasped.
He was hairless, his skin pale as paper, and his body gaunt.
Wang Dali blurted, "Damn, he really is a vampire!"
Xiao Zhou explained, "No, that's from years without sunlight—lack of melanin."
Huang Xiaotao joked, "Wish I had skin that white." Noticing everyone staring, she pouted, "Just saying, keep watching."
"Look!" Wang Dali excitedly pointed.
The woman was tied up—silk ribbons binding her hands and feet, hanging off-screen.
Huang Xiaotao said, "Weird, the victim actually accepted being tied up. I thought it was forced."
"Maybe she got paid extra? They were probably negotiating," I said. The thought of her trapped in a death trap made me sad.
The man didn't nail anything to the wall—was it already prepared?
He laid on top of her. Most of us were men, and even though this was a case, it was hard not to react. Only Huang Xiaotao blushed and handed me the remote.
"Fast forward! Fast forward!"
Pressing fast forward, I could almost hear disappointed sighs.
Fifteen minutes later, he bent down and bit the woman's neck!
She struggled in pain, but tied tight and pressed down, it was useless.
No sound, but the image was horrifying.
Suddenly, a terrifying face filled the screen—pitch black, with blood-red eyes and long fangs.
"Ah!!!"
Wang Dali screamed. I wasn't scared, but his shout startled me.
The face covered the whole screen. I paused and said, "That's not a human face!"
"A…a vampire?" Xiao Zhou stammered.
I thought, You're a PhD returning from abroad, why keep saying vampire?
"It's a bat," a nearby older man said calmly.
We all realized it was indeed a bat. I resumed playback—the bat wrapped itself with wings, blocking the camera, frustrating everyone.
I fast-forwarded several hours. When the bat vanished, the room was dark; the killer had checked out, the bed tidy.
"Damn bat!" Huang Xiaotao cursed. "Just when we needed it, it blocked the killer's face."
"It's definitely a vampire! Why else would a bat appear in a hotel?" Xiao Zhou was nervous.
"Can you be realistic? Always talking vampires," Huang Xiaotao rolled her eyes.
"Vampires might exist. I read a book abroad studying their history—they're a rare species, nocturnal, afraid of sunlight, survive by drinking blood. If they exist in the West, maybe in China too," Xiao Zhou said seriously.
I said, "I'll prove he's just putting on a show."
Pointing at Huang Xiaotao, I said, "Xiaotao, rewind the video and check if anyone entered before them. Dali, come with me to the crime scene again."