"What if that shadow... is really a supernatural entity?" 0401 said worriedly.
"If it truly is a supernatural entity, then report it to the Investigation Bureau and have them send a 'Hunter' over," Mr. Huang replied. "But first, you need to be certain that it really is a supernatural entity, otherwise..."
"Otherwise what?" 0401 asked curiously.
"You wouldn't want to know," Mr. Huang shook his head with a stern face, as if the so-called 'hunters' were a taboo subject.
"Hunters, are they the 'experts in dealing with supernatural entities' mentioned in the mission information?" Sun Hang asked.
To his limited knowledge, the profession of an investigator had some fragmented descriptions, but for the word 'hunter,' what came to his mind was simply someone who hunts for a living.
Clearly, the 'hunter' Mr. Huang spoke of was not the hunter Sun Hang understood.
"Indeed... but honestly, I'd rather face vicious fugitives than deal with those things." Mr. Huang sighed as he spoke.
Sun Hang noticed that Mr. Huang referred to the 'hunters' as 'those things' instead of 'those people.'
Two Sheriffs had already walked to the spot where that figure had been standing. Their flashlights pointed to the ground, revealing a clear set of footprints on the dust-covered floor, leading in the direction the figure had fled.
"Judging by the size and shape of the footprints, it seems to be a woman, barefoot, with flat feet, and a missing little toe on the right foot," a Sheriff skilled in trace analysis quickly analyzed.
"Pursue," Mr. Huang ordered succinctly.
The group immediately followed the footprints. Thanks to the expert in trace analysis, they managed to keep the target in sight, despite the many other footprints in the passage. They followed from the second floor to the first floor, eventually reaching the basement of the haunted house.
During this pursuit, the Sheriffs also obtained a surprising clue.
Among the chaotic footprints, they found the footprints of the missing intern sheriff!
"Size 38 outdoor tactical boots, it's Hu Lijun," the trace expert nodded to Mr. Huang. "She went into the basement and never came back out."
The barefoot woman in the cloak had also fled all the way into this basement room.
For some reason, Sun Hang felt something was off.
Before entering the haunted house, he had caught a glance at the advertisements painted on the walls, which detailed the various attractions inside, including the thematic escape room on the first floor and the vintage maze on the second floor, but nowhere did it mention a basement.
"Does the haunted house include the basement?" Sun Hang voiced his doubts. "Why isn't it mentioned in the attraction descriptions outside?"
"It's probably the utility room, surveillance room, or control room," 0398, who had returned to normal, said. "These places aren't open to visitors, so it's normal they're not mentioned in the descriptions."
The basement entrance was a locked iron door, covered with rust and some suspicious reddish-brown marks, uncertain if it was water mixed with rust or some creature's blood.
"Bang!!"
A dull thud as a battering ram shattered the lock, and two Sheriffs holding riot shields rammed the iron door open, charging inside with their shields up.
The remaining Sheriffs drew their guns.
About ten meters from the entrance, the barefoot woman in the cloak stood beneath a giant wall-hanging, head bowed, murmuring something indistinguishable.
Only then did everyone see clearly that she was holding a vintage-style oil lamp, the weak flame flickering unsteadily at the lamp's tip.
"Don't move!" Mr. Huang shouted authoritatively. "Put down what's in your hand! Take off your hood! Raise your hands!"
The opponent ignored Mr. Huang and quickened her chanting instead.
An odd fragrance permeated the basement, and the next moment, dark red mist surged from the floor gaps, instantly engulfing everyone.
"Restrain her!" Mr. Huang ordered.
The two shield-bearing Sheriffs wanted to advance, but found themselves frozen in place, unable to move forward despite all efforts.
"Mr. Huang... I can't move!" the Sheriff holding the shield said with a hint of fear. "What's happening?"
"Is the mist poisonous?" Mr. Huang instinctively raised a hand to cover his nose and mouth, pointing his gun with the other hand, but just as he was about to pull the trigger, his wrist went weak, dropping the gun to the ground.
Another Sheriff also attempted to shoot, but an even scarier event occurred—he aimed at the robed person's knee but suddenly turned the gun on a colleague just before firing.
"Bang!"
The gunshot echoed in the basement, and the shooter was splattered with his colleague's blood, looking at the corpse by his feet with horror and screaming in terror.
Everyone in the team seemed to have lost control of their bodies, except for one person.
Sun Hang checked his wrists curiously, bent down, and picked up Mr. Huang's fallen gun.
He noticed that the dark red mist emerging from the floor seemed to maintain a few centimeters of distance from him, creating a human-shaped "void" wherever he went, as if the mist was actively avoiding him.
Are they... afraid of me?
Sun Hang tilted his head, thought for a moment, before walking directly up to the robed woman.
He smiled at her, then raised his hand and slapped her across the face.
"Smack!"
The sharp sound of the slap resonated throughout the basement.
Everyone was stunned, including the robed woman herself.
After two seconds, she spoke in a sharp, trembling voice, "How dare you..."
"Smack!!"
Another resounding slap stopped her mid-sentence, even knocking the oil lamp from her hands to the ground.
The moment the lamp went out, the blood-like fog dissipated into thin air.
"You... unforgivable! He will bring down puni—"
"Smack! Smack, smack, smack!!!"
A series of loud slaps rang out, forcing the robed woman to retreat continuously, until she had to crouch down, raising her arms to shield her face.
"Stop... stop hitting..."
Sun Hang rubbed his reddened and slightly swollen hand, musing internally—indeed, the force of action is always mutual.
He turned back, looked at the dazed people around him, and shouted, "What are you all standing there for? Come and cuff her!"