The Desolate Forest Town

When we drove out of the midnight bar, Yuanxiao was already asleep, and Alessa's eyes held a hint of expectant excitement:

"Another case?"

Qin Jin nodded and merged the Dodge into the traffic:

"This is a bit tricky because it might not be a physical entity," he said, carefully shoving the Dodge between the two cars.

"As you know, we can kill anything with a physical form, whether it's a demon, a monster, an angel, an exorcist, or a saint... but pure spirits, whether it's you or me, are a bit more difficult..."

He glanced in his rearview mirror, began to change lanes, and prepared to overtake, his tone tinged with a hint of helplessness:

"Although they can't do anything to us, we can't let you expand your territory every time, can we? It's too noisy and could easily cause them to lose their minds and go berserk!"

Alessa listened quietly; the concern in Qin Jin's words made her feel comfortable and happy, but faced with Qin Jin's troubles...

Aresa tilted her head and thought for a few seconds before speaking calmly in a matter-of-fact tone:

"No matter what it is, if you encounter it, take it one step at a time, and you can solve it!"

The logic is simple and direct, revealing indifference and unconditional support for Qin Jin!

Looking at her earnest little face, Qin Jin's usual lazy smile appeared on his lips, and the helplessness he felt seemed to dissipate somewhat:

"Ha, you're right. Whatever it is, we'll deal with it as it comes. We'll take it one step at a time."

Alessa's purity and directness are sometimes the most effective reassurance.

The car drove into the parking lot of the Canyon Precinct police station, where the office lights were still on.

Pushing open the door, I saw Catherine engrossed in organizing data on her computer; some had already been printed, while others were still being processed.

"Qin! Hi, Alessa!" Catherine looked up, her eyes focused:

"I've almost gathered all the information. Take a look. If there's nothing else, I'll go back and pack my things..."

Before she could finish speaking, the office door was pushed open again, and Constantine strolled in, a cigarette dangling from his lips, followed by several colleagues from the forensic department and team one, carrying several heavy boxes of evidence.

"Oh, everyone's here?"

Constantine stubbed out his cigarette on the trash can outside the door.

"I've sent Johnny out. If he puts in his best effort these next two days, he should be able to get some clues. Look, the evidence from the scene has arrived."

Almost simultaneously, the office phone rang, and Catherine picked it up and listened for a few seconds:

"The first report is out, come over immediately."

Just as one group of members was comparing the list with that of Dante, Qin Jin asked Herman about the situation on site, and sure enough, it was as expected—

There were more than just these two bodies buried underground. As they dug deeper, they discovered six more skeletons, each in a different state of decay, the oldest of which was over a year old.

It seems the forensic pathologist won't be able to produce all the reports by tomorrow morning.

When the forensic team and their group left, Catherine's computer had already received the first autopsy report, which was also Zhan Mapeng's report.

After forensic examination, Zhan Mapeng's various indicators were found to be very detailed:

Cause of death: It is likely that he ingested some kind of special poison, which contains a variety of biological toxins and alkaloids. Based on this, it should be considered suicide.

Time of death: around 10 days. It is likely that the toxins in the body played a slight role in delaying the death, but it was not very effective.

Zhan Mapeng had no external injuries, but her kidneys were in severe failure, likely in the late stage of uremia. She also had multiple skin diseases. Even if she didn't commit suicide, she probably wouldn't last more than a year.

The strangest discovery was in the stomach sac:

The stomach contents contained a large number of foreign objects, which were identified as human hair from a mixed source, estimated to have originated from at least four different individuals. The hair ranged in length from 0.5 to 3 cm and was accompanied by a small amount of undigested glutinous rice and unidentified plant fiber residue.

"His stomach is stuffed with... bits of hair?" Constantine leaned closer for a look, then frowned.

"What does this mean? As far as I know, demons or evil spirits don't have this habit; they're more inclined to eat people..." He nudged Qin Jin with his shoulder:

"Did you find anything over there?"

Qin Jin looked up from the report and shook his head:

"I forgot to mention this! I never imagined someone would stuff hair clippings into their stomach... I'll have to deal with that later."

Qin Jin knew that, according to the sorcerer Chachai, and considering the situation at the scene, what Zhan Mapeng did before his death was definitely not a simple funeral arrangement, but an extremely cruel and mysterious huge conspiracy!

It seems the secret lies in the cabin in the mountains where the five young people disappeared!

Constanze and Catherine went back to get their things, while Qin Jin, having already brought his own, was too lazy to go back and spent the night in his office, deciding to leave the next day.

Aresa, holding Yuanxiao, also fell asleep on the office sofa.

The following morning, the two SUVs drove away from the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles and plunged into the embrace of the Santa Ana Mountains.

Qin Jin drove the Dodge in front, while Alessa sat quietly in the passenger seat, holding a Frankenstein doll in her arms. Yuanxiao's little head peeked out from the zipper, curiously gazing at the mountain scenery rushing past the window.

Constantine followed closely behind in a police-issue Chevrolet Blazer, with Catherine in the passenger seat, documents spread out on her lap.

"Linhai Town used to be a bustling place, but after a new highway was built seventy or eighty years ago, business here plummeted. Young people didn't want to stay, and the town slowly declined. Now... it's said that the permanent residents can probably be counted on two hands, mostly elderly people who don't want to leave or have nowhere else to go..."

After Catherine's introduction, everyone gained a certain understanding of the place. Qin Jin then shared the information he had obtained at the midnight bar the previous day, emphasizing that it was definitely some kind of evil magic. Therefore, in addition to remaining vigilant, everyone needed to do one more thing:

"Stop being so curious, just shoot if you see something strange!" Qin Jin's method was simple and brutal:

"If you see something strange, don't try to figure out what it is, just shoot it! Don't worry about clues! Clues are only useful if people are safe; otherwise, everything is for nothing!"

As dusk fell and the afterglow of the setting sun painted the mountains with a poignant golden-red hue, they finally arrived at their destination.

Michael's holiday home stands alone on a hillside with a wide view, overlooking the small town in the forest below, which looks like a forgotten chessboard with sparse and dim lights.

The entire town was shrouded in an almost deathly twilight, with only a few houses emitting faint light, like solitary lamps about to go out on a dark sea.

They found the key under a stone by the door and opened the door to the holiday home.

The heavy oak door creaked and groaned, and a smell of expensive wooden furniture, dust, and a faint musty odor wafted out.

As Congressman Michael said, the interior is neat and even luxurious. Although it is a holiday home, it still uses high-quality furniture. Although the decor is old-fashioned, you can see the exquisite craftsmanship.

A woman's coat was casually draped over the sofa in the living room. A half-empty water glass and several fashion magazines sat on the coffee table. A backpack bulged in the corner, and an Apple laptop sat on the desk next to it.

Everything was kept in a state as if the owner could return at any moment, yet it exuded a stagnant, deathly aura.

Qin Jin and Aresa almost simultaneously twitched their nostrils slightly.

There was no fresh smell of blood, no sulfurous or putrid odor characteristic of demons, and no noticeable chilling remnants of vengeful spirits.

Constantine also took out his lighter, lit it gently, and the flame burned steadily without any abnormal fluctuations or color changes.

"It's a bit too clean," Constantine muttered, putting away his lighter.

Qin Jin looked around:

"Let's split up and take a look, paying attention to the details."

The four men quickly and carefully inspected the entire house:

The bed in the bedroom was a bit messy, as if it hadn't been made after getting up;

There was a lot of food in the kitchen refrigerator, some of which had been opened and were already expired.

The towels in the bathroom were damp, not because they had just been used, but because the temperature in the mountains was low and they hadn't dried completely yet...

There were signs of habitation in all four rooms. Judging from the miscellaneous items left in each room, Congressman Michael was right: Ethan and Sarah lived together, while Amy, Lina, and Mark lived alone. However—

In Mark's room, Constantine astutely found two used raincoats among the clutter.

"It seems their relationship isn't as simple as it appears," Constantine said with utter disdain. "This must be infidelity, right? I just wonder who's with whom."

"It's most likely Lina, or rather, it's practically certain it's Lina," Catherine explained with certainty.

"If it were Amy, he and Mark could live together openly; if it were Sarah, Ethan couldn't have missed it—don't forget, they have plenty of condoms in their room, they've already used a whole box!"

After this brief interlude, the three continued their search. There were no signs of a struggle, no bloodstains, no signs of a struggle, and not even any clues left behind in the entire building.

Five living people, along with their cell phones, simply vanished into thin air.