At his words, the sheriffs, as if waking from a dream, rushed forward, pinned the woman to the ground, and handcuffed her.
"What's going on?" Mr. Huang strode forward. "Why can you move? Didn't you get affected by that mist?"
"I don't know either." Sun Hang shrugged and handed the pistol to Mr. Huang, "Mr. Huang, your gun."
The sheriffs had already pulled down the hood from the woman's head. She was a middle-aged woman between forty and fifty years old, her cheeks covered in tattoo symbols of unclear meaning, and a pair of bloodshot eyes staring intently at Sun Hang, who stood nearby.
"Name?" the sheriff pressing on her asked sharply.
The woman didn't speak.
"Those missing people, do you know where they are?" the sheriff asked again.
The woman continued to remain silent.
The sheriff lifted his head and glanced at Mr. Huang, his eyes seeming to seek some kind of permission.
Mr. Huang glanced at the corpse of his subordinate on the ground, then studied the woman before taking a deep breath and finally shaking his head, saying, "Take the suspect back to the bureau first and interrogate her later... Also, clean up the scene."
As the sheriffs were cleaning the scene, Sun Hang had already walked around the expansive basement once and finally stood in front of the large oil painting hanging on the wall.
It was a Western-style portrait with a retro style, depicting a young woman of European descent in a fiery red court gown, her beauty extraordinary—even though it was merely an oil painting, Sun Hang could still sense her inherent seductive charm.
Especially those eyes, no matter which angle Sun Hang looked from, the figure in the painting seemed to be staring back at him.
Sun Hang walked closer and reached out to touch the surface of the oil painting.
This gigantic oil painting, over two meters both in length and width, was not framed; a thin layer of dust lay on its coarse canvas.
Sun Hang bent his fingers and gave a light knock on the canvas surface.
"Thud."
"Mr. Huang." Sun Hang turned around and looked at Mr. Huang, who was dazing in front of the fallen sheriff's body, "There's nothing behind this painting."
"What did you say?!" Mr. Huang, who initially appeared weary, suddenly lifted his head, his eyes bursting with energy, "What did you just say? Say it again!"
"There's nothing behind this oil painting." Sun Hang repeated.
Mr. Huang took a deep breath and walked swiftly forward, also knocking on the canvas surface with his fingers.
"Everyone, come here!" Mr. Huang said in a deep voice, "Bring the suspect over too!"
The middle-aged woman with tattoos on her face was brought over by two sheriffs on either side, and Mr. Huang grabbed her collar, asking, word by word, "Behind the oil painting… what's there?"
To the sheriffs' surprise, this time, the middle-aged woman didn't remain silent but instead glanced at the woman in the painting before saying slowly, "...it's His palace."
"Mr. Huang, those missing women... including Hu, they are likely in there." the trace expert said urgently, "Their footprints disappeared outside the basement, unless there is a secret passage behind the oil painting leading to the outside world, otherwise..."
"Wait a minute!" 0401 suddenly interrupted the trace expert, "Have you forgotten about the mist just now? It's clearly supernatural! Whether it's this woman or this series of cases, they're obviously related to some mysterious entity! Our task is complete; now it should be reported to the Investigation Bureau for them to send 'specialists' to handle it!"
"I've already reported it." 0398 put the issued phone back in his pocket and said lightly, "They told us that 'Hunter' will arrive in twenty minutes."
"So, let's not let our curiosity get the better of us!" 0401 emphasized again, "Let the professionals handle the professional matters. We only need to wait here for twenty minutes until the 'Hunter' arrives and then we can call it a day!"
Mr. Huang glanced at the two temporary investigators and then at his subordinates before shaking his head, "For me, my task isn't over... Bring the chainsaw over!"
"Are you out of your mind?" 0401 shouted, "If you don't care about your own life, there's no need to drag us down with you."
Mr. Huang didn't respond, instead pulling the handcuff keys from his pocket and tossing them to 0401.
0401 was stunned for a moment, then quickly picked up the keys and unlocked his handcuffs.
"...uh, I'd advise you not to leave." the young sheriff who was relatively kind to Sun Hang and others whispered, "If you leave now, you'll be considered abandoning your post..."
"I know!" 0401 said indignantly, "I just don't understand why your captain is so stubborn, insists on risking everything... unless he finds those missing people!"
"The missing intern sheriff is actually Mr. Huang's niece." the young sheriff whispered into 0401's ear, "Mr. Huang watched her grow up."
...
A few minutes later, a sheriff came over carrying a chainsaw, pulled the cord twice, and with a low roar of the engine, the sharp saw chain began spinning rapidly.
Mr. Huang nodded to him and stepped aside.
The sheriff stepped forward, lifted the chainsaw, and sawed into the oil painting.
The thick fiber canvas was instantly torn apart, the wooden frame beneath also cut through, wood shavings flying everywhere.
A one-meter square cut appeared on the oil painting, behind which lay a deep passage, the end unknown.
"You two, stay here and watch the suspect, the rest follow me."
Mr. Huang, holding a flashlight in one hand and a pistol in the other, was the first to venture into the passage.
Sun Hang followed closely, the second to enter the passage.
To Sun Hang's slight surprise, amidst a soft murmuring of complaints, 0401 and 0398 also entered the passage.
"Curiosity killed the cat... killed the cat..." 0401 muttered quietly as he examined the walls of the passage.
"Aren't you afraid there might be something sinister in there?" Sun Hang asked.
"I am." 0401 admitted, "But I still feel that staying with that crazy woman is more dangerous... after all, she's already killed a sheriff."
"Why did the mist avoid you?" 0398 flicked the hair away from his eyes, looking at Sun Hang intently, "I saw distinctly that as you walked by, the mist parted for you."