We stayed inside the car for hours, watching the salon from a distance. When 2 p.m. arrived, we continued waiting.
"Is she out yet?" the Captain asked, looking at the road while tapping the wheel.
"No, not yet," Damian replied, leaning forward to get a better view.
"Why don't we just use your siren song on them, Margaret, and make them spill the truth? I'm getting tired of waiting," Damian said, rubbing the back of his neck.
Margaret let out a small sigh. "I tried that earlier on the stylist when she was giving me a hairstyle. I tried to command her to do a backflip, but my siren song didn't work. She just laughed at me. I guess she has a strong mind or was using protection magic."
"Guys!" Theai suddenly said, raising her hand and pointing ahead.
We looked in the direction she was pointing and noticed a delivery truck that had recently arrived and parked near the salon.
A company name was written on the side of the truck. I looked at it and read, "Glow Beauty Co. Logistics."
We then saw the staff members collecting supplies from the delivery team.
"Is that where they get all their hair products?" Margaret asked, pointing at the truck.
"So if they make the products themselves, should we investigate them instead of the salon?" I asked, turning to the Captain.
"No, we should wait for the person you spoke to," the Captain replied.
"There she is! That's the young lady we met earlier," Theai said near the window, leaning forward and pointing at the woman walking with her head down.
"Let's follow her," the Captain said, starting the car engine.
We drove quietly behind the young lady, keeping a safe distance.
After a few minutes of walking along the roadside, she finally stopped in front of a restaurant and entered.
The Captain opened the car door. "Let's see what she has to say."
We followed him inside and slowly stepped into the restaurant, looking around for the lady.
The young lady stood up and raised her hand from the corner of the restaurant. She was sitting on a large rounded sofa with a small table in the center. When she saw us, she slowly adjusted her clothes.
We walked toward her and sat with her on the sofa.
"You are all Agents, right?" she asked, looking at each of us one by one.
We nodded.
She took a deep breath and placed her hands on her lap.
"I don't know where to start," she said, looking down for a moment. "But I think you need to know what really happened in our salon."
She glanced toward the glass wall of the restaurant ahead, then looked back at us.
"A few weeks ago, our salon was not doing well. Customers were leaving, and every day was tough for us. My boss was worried. We didn't earn much money, and we thought we might close soon."
She paused and swallowed.
"Then one day, a woman came to us. She introduced herself as the owner of a company called Glow Beauty Co. She said she wanted to help our business."
"She promised to send us hair treatment products for free. She said we could use them in the salon and also give them to customers."
"Everyone was happy. We accepted her offer. After we started using the products, many customers returned. The salon became busy again. People liked how their hair looked after the treatment. The products became very popular."
"But later, I noticed something strange."
Her voice became lower.
"I saw my boss sorting the hair treatment products. She separated them into two groups."
"She explained that one line was meant for young and beautiful customers, and the other line was for the rest."
"I felt uncomfortable about that. It didn't feel right. So I decided to check the products myself. One night, when no one was watching, I secretly took one product from the line meant for the young and beautiful customers."
"At first, everything looked perfect. My hair became very smooth and shiny. It looked better than ever. Customers even complimented me."
"But after using it, I felt something strange in my body. It was not pain. It felt like something was slowly draining me. I felt weaker and tired, like my energy was fading away."
She looked at us seriously.
"I became worried, so I stopped using it and tested the product on my dog. I used it on my dog every day. At first, my dog's fur also became shiny. But after some time, it became very thin. The dog started losing weight quickly."
Her hands tightened together.
"And then… my dog died."
She looked up at us again.
"When I checked its body, it was very skinny. It looked like all the strength had been taken away. That's when I realized the product was not normal. That is why I am here, telling all of this to you."
"Thank you for your bravery in telling us everything," Margaret said, placing her hand gently on the lady's shoulder.
The young lady gave a small nod, her eyes tearing up.
"Should we go talk to the owner of the salon?" I asked, turning to the Captain.
"No. This is enough," the Captain replied firmly. "We should head to the company that supplies them."
We stood up from the sofa and prepared to leave the restaurant.
"Again, thank you for telling us, and also don't forget to rate us. We are the Grim Stalkers, hehehe," the Captain said as we stepped outside the restaurant.
"You're welco—" Suddenly, the lady's expression changed.
She tried to speak, but no words came out.
She put her hands on her throat, like something was blocking her voice. She opened her mouth again, but only a weak sound came out.
Her breathing became uneven.
"What's wrong?" Theai asked, stepping closer.
The young lady tried to answer, but her throat felt tight, like something was stopping her from speaking.
Her body trembled.
Before we could react, she fell and collapsed onto the ground.
"Theai, check her!" the Captain ordered.
Theai rushed toward her and supported her body. She released thin vines that wrapped around the lady's neck, and the vines glowed with green light.
Margaret knelt beside her and tried to check her condition.
But suddenly—
The lady's body began to change.
Her body started to grow larger, stretching in an unnatural way. Her clothes tightened and tore apart.
The skin darkened, and the eyes widened. Her hair began to grow rapidly, becoming longer and thicker, spreading across the ground.
"She's transforming!" Damian shouted.
Captain Edmund grabbed Theai and Margaret, and we quickly stepped back to create distance.
In seconds, her body turned into a large, grotesque monster. Her hair moved on its own, lifting her body from the ground.
Without warning, the long hair lashed out everywhere.
Customers screamed inside the restaurant.
The monster swung its hair at us, trying to hit us, but we leapt backward.
"What happened to her? She was fine minutes ago!" Theai said, quickly raising her hand to summon her vines.
The restaurant was filled with panic as people rushed toward the exits, seizing the opportunity while the monster had not attacked yet.
"Raaaghhh!" the grotesque monster screamed.
"She's been cursed for telling the truth!" the Captain declared.
"I will try to return her body to normal," I said, stepping forward and raising my hand toward the monster.
"Temporal Shift!"
Temporal light energy burst from my palm and shot toward the monster. The bright light surrounded around her body, shining for a moment. But when the light faded, nothing had changed. Her body did not return to normal.
"She is cursed. There's nothing we can do for her," the Captain said, looking at the monster. "We should free her from her suffering by ending it."
I lowered my hand slowly and looked at her. I felt pity and regret. She was helping us just a few minutes ago.