It's late at night.

Chapter 1: Marriage Diagnosis Triggers Crisis

It's 0:07 AM, in room 801 of the hotel.

There was no romantic or ambiguous atmosphere in the room, only a young man diligently DIYing.

Xia Yao glued the tiny, button-sized listening device to the bottom of the blind box of the paper cup, sealed the compartment, and then attached a festive red outer packaging.

From the outside, it looks like an ordinary paper cup; who would notice that there's a hidden compartment under the packaging?

The chilled cola was poured into a glass, capped, bagged, and secured.

Then, when served with pre-packaged hamburgers and fried chicken, it becomes the most common combination for a meal.

"Ms. Liu, please call your husband now and tell him that the late-night snack you ordered for him is about to be delivered."

While sending a voice message to a customer, Xia Yao put on a bright yellow uniform from a certain organization.

The message received a reply quickly; clicking on it revealed the sound of a woman making soft, murmuring noises.

"Teacher Xia, my husband's phone is off. He must be out on a date with some other woman. I work myself to the bone at home taking care of the family, how could he do this to me?"

Is it switched off instead of a missed call?

It does seem a bit strange in this era where we can't live without our phones.

"Ms. Liu, please don't worry, I will investigate this matter for you."

Xia Yao gave a perfunctory reply, then put on glasses with miniature surveillance cameras, grabbed her food, and went out.

He didn't go far, but went straight to room 804, which was diagonally opposite, and then knocked on the door.

"Hello, takeout."

The corridor was quiet, and the dim light cast a long shadow of him.

Clearly, he wasn't a food delivery driver; he was a relationship counselor at "Yuanlai Marriage and Relationship Consulting".

In addition to normal matchmaking and relationship counseling, they also secretly provide marriage diagnosis services to their clients.

To put it simply, it's about helping clients investigate their partners and collect evidence of infidelity.

Ms. Liu's husband is a mid-level manager who has been very cold towards his wife lately, often using overtime work and business trips as excuses not to come home.

Ms. Liu was away on a business trip today, which is why she urgently purchased a marriage diagnosis service, which led Xia Yao to come here.

"Knock knock knock~"

However, no one answered the door despite the knocking for a long time.

Just as Xia Yao was getting impatient and wanted to check with the front desk to see if anyone was in the room, the door finally opened a crack.

"Hello, your takeout is here."

Xia Yao smiled as she served the specially prepared meal, while subtly glancing around the room.

The door was only slightly ajar, so you could only see into the adjacent bathroom and couldn't be sure if anyone else was inside.

"You delivered to the wrong place. I didn't order takeout."

The man had a strange expression and was in a great hurry to close the door.

Xia Yao quickly blocked the door, pretending to glance at the meal ticket information.

"That's right. A lady answered the phone just now and said she would deliver it to you here. Why don't you call and verify?"

To make everything seem more authentic, he actually ordered takeout.

The address only included the floor number, and the contact information and phone number provided were Ms. Liu's.

No matter how you look at it, it's just a wife being considerate of her husband by ordering late-night snacks. Who would suspect that the deliveryman has ulterior motives?

The man glanced at his watch irritably. He seemed very anxious. Without saying a word, he took the things and quickly closed the door. Xia Yao didn't even have a chance to ask for a five-star review.

Xia Yao was certain: the man had a problem.

The man was dressed in casual sportswear, and did not look like he was about to rest.

Why did it take so long to open the door?

The bathroom near the door had no moisture or odor, so it was clearly not for showering or using the toilet.

Coupled with his phone being switched off to avoid his wife's calls, and even his strange behavior when accepting takeout orders, everything is left unsaid.

Xia Yao quickly returned to his room, eagerly turned on his computer, and put on his headphones to listen in.

Occasionally, I could hear footsteps in my headphones, but most of the time it was quiet.

There was no dialogue; the person on the other end must be a single individual.

There was no sound of the takeout bag being torn, so the man probably just put the food down without eating it.

After sitting for a while, Xia Yao stretched.

It was 0:24, and the target also needed to rest. He prepared to start recording, then take a shower and go to sleep.

Just as he was about to take off his headphones, a series of static noises passed by his ears, followed by a scream.

Xia Yao's pupils trembled, and her mind went blank for a moment.

What happened?

Could something have happened to the man?

But after that terrifying cry, there was only deathly silence.

The silence in his earpiece made Xia Yao extremely uneasy. He tried to dial the target number provided by the client, but the message "The number you dialed is currently switched off" amplified his anxiety.

The listening headphones were deathly silent; no cell phone rang.

After struggling with her thoughts for a few seconds, Xia Yao decided to go and take a look.

He grabbed a ketchup, ready to make an excuse that he had forgotten to deliver it.

But as he reached the door, reason made him hesitate, his hand halting as he tried to open it.

Considering the possibility of serious incidents, Xia Yao did not go out directly, but instead leaned against the door and looked out through the peephole.

It was pitch black outside, and the corridor lights had been turned off at some point, so only the outline of the door could be vaguely seen.

Xia Yao's heart skipped a beat; this looked even more like a heinous crime.

Did the assailant turn off the hallway lights beforehand and then attack the man when he wasn't looking?

If I go out now, will I be exposed and become the killer's next target?

Xia Yao thought for a moment, then rushed to the landline on the table and dialed the front desk.

"Hey? Is this the front desk? Why is there a power outage on the eighth floor? Please send security and an electrician up to take a look."

Xia Yao quickly stated his needs. He thought that the front desk and security guards could check for abnormalities through the surveillance cameras, and it would be safer to send more people up to check the opposite door.

After all, he couldn't confirm whether the other party had actually had an accident; it was just his speculation at the moment.

However, to Xia Yao's alarm, no one answered the phone after the call was connected.

It was quiet, just like the environment he had overheard after the screams.

Xia Yao felt a chill run down her spine. Had the receptionist also been controlled? Or were they working together?

He hurriedly hung up the landline and rushed to the door to fasten the security chain.

After all, if the front desk has been compromised, then the murderer must have room keys.

He took out his phone and dialed 110.

"Clatter~"

The lights went out without warning, plunging the room into darkness.

Xia Yao was shocked. Had the other party locked onto her so quickly?

He leaned against the wall behind the door, reached for his long-handled umbrella for self-defense, and took deep breaths to calm himself down quickly.

The police station is very close, and they respond to calls very quickly.

The hopeful phone call was quickly connected, but no warm greetings followed.

"Feed?"

Xia Yao tentatively spoke up.

Silence. The opposite side remained deathly silent.

A burst of noisy electrical noise flashed by, and a chill seeped into his pores, sending shivers down his spine.

Xia Yao moved the phone from her ear to her eyes, trying to confirm the number.

But even more striking than those three numbers was a deathly pale face.

Suddenly appearing behind the phone, her face was eerily white in the dim light of the screen.