Frank stepped into Yu Mo's penthouse, his eyes widening at the opulent surroundings. Floor-to-ceiling windows offered a breathtaking view of Guangzhou's skyline, the city sprawling out beneath them like a glittering tapestry.

Yu Mo gestured for them to sit on sleek leather couches. "Welcome to my humble abode," he said, a hint of irony in his voice. "I suppose proper introductions are in order. I'm Yu Mo, senior disciple of the Tangmen clan and manager of dust distribution for Jiuling."

"Dust distribution?" A familiar word rang out. Frank leaned forward, his curiosity piqued.

Yu Mo nodded. "Guangzhou is our central hub for our world wide distribution. Most of the dust exported to other countries passes through here." He paused, his expression darkening. "Though I must admit, I'm not fond of Ryan's methods."

"Ryan?" Frank asked, recalling the name from their investigation.

"Yes, Ryan Huang," Yu Mo confirmed. "You see, dust is precious. It should be kept in China to increase our power for potential disasters. But..." He sighed heavily. "Rifts have become more frequent in the past decade. Ryan's plan to distribute dust globally... I reluctantly agreed."

Frank's brow furrowed. "What's this gotta to do with finding Ian Huang?"

Yu Mo ignored the question, continuing his monologue as if Frank hadn't spoken. "I don't like foreigners meddling in our business, but circumstances have forced my hand." He fixed Frank with a piercing stare. "Ian is one of the few people who can process what we call 'Origin'. Recently, some of these individuals have been murdered."

Frank's interest sharpened at this new information. Yu Mo went on, "I created a team to investigate Ian's disappearance. Unfortunately, they were stopped just yesterday by someone interfering with our efforts."

Frank's jaw tightened as he recalled the scene with the little girl. He couldn't let it slide.

"Look, you were chasing a little girl and I'm a cop." Frank's voice rose slightly, his frustration evident.

Yu Mo's expression remained impassive. "It could've been a little girl, or it might not have been. Either way, she was suspicious."

Frank's eyebrows shot up. "Suspicious? Because she stole a piece of paper?"

"That piece of paper," Yu Mo said, his tone measured, "was the last remaining one that Ian Huang wrote."

Frank paused, processing this information, confirming his initial suspicion. Then, without a word, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the yellow slip with red Chinese characters. Yu Mo's eyes widened in surprise as Frank held it out to him.

"You see?" Frank said, a hint of triumph in his voice. "It's not suspicious. She gave it to me immediately." Frank didn't bother telling him that he needed to bribe her with chocolates, candy, and food.

Yu Mo hesitated for a moment before reaching out to take the paper. His fingers trembled slightly as he held it, his eyes scanning the characters intently.

"This is... unexpected," Yu Mo murmured, more to himself than to Frank. He looked up, his gaze sharp. "How did you come by this?"

Frank leaned back, crossing his arms. "Like I said, the girl gave it to me. No fuss, no fight. She said it felt weird, so she took it. Her name is Mai by the way."

Yu Mo's brow furrowed as he studied the paper again. "Interesting. Very interesting indeed."

Yu Mo sighed, "Regardless, it's difficult to deal with this issue right now. Ryan's breathing down my neck to solve it quickly." He ran a hand through his hair, frustration evident in his gesture. Shen Li walked in from the kitchen and handed him a tea cup. He sipped it before continuing.

"There are numerous rifts inside the city, and we're trying to clear them out and close them as fast as possible."

"You did a great job with the one you threw us in," Ollie butted in, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"You're right," Yu Mo's eyes narrowed at Ollie's comment. "To be honest, you weren't supposed to survive that rift. At least, not Frank and Alan."

Frank felt a chill run down his spine at Yu Mo's casual admission. He glanced at Alan, who looked equally shocked.

Yu Mo continued, his tone matter-of-fact. "If you had followed the traces of battle, you would've met up with an existing team. There was already an expedition inside that rift you were sent into, trying to crack the rift's core."

Frank leaned forward, his mind racing. "Wait, you're saying you sent us into a death trap?" he asked, anger creeping into his voice.

Yu Mo met Frank's gaze steadily. "It wasn't personal. I just wanted to get even. Again, lets let bygones be bygones."

Yu Mo's phone rang, cutting through the tense atmosphere. He answered immediately, his expression shifting as he listened intently. "Yes... I see... Understood," he said, nodding a few times before his gaze returned to Frank's group.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

As Yu Mo's eyes swept over them, Alan hiccupped once, breaking the silence. Yu Mo's brow furrowed as he pocketed his phone.

"There's been an accident at the warehouse," he announced, his voice tight. "One of our dust processors was found dead in the facility."

Frank straightened, his detective instincts kicking in. Yu Mo continued, "You should be familiar with that facility. It's the spa you recently trespassed into."

Frank leaned forward, his mind already racing with questions. He coughed before putting on his professional detective tone, "What's the deets?"

Yu Mo's lips thinned. "It appears to be a heart attack," he said, his voice laced with frustration. "This is the third one since Ian Huang disappeared."

Frank's eyebrows shot up at this information. Yu Mo's face darkened as he continued, "Those who can process dust are rare. They're usually disciples of the Tangmen."

Yu Mo's fists clenched at his sides, anger radiating from him. "This loss... We can't afford to lose any more of my brothers and sisters."

Frank processed this information, his mind connecting the dots between Ian's disappearance, the mysterious deaths, and the valuable dust. The case was growing more complex by the day, and he couldn't shake the feeling that they were only scratching the surface of something much bigger. A small bit of dread crept into his mind, remembering the red silhouette in the video. Maybe that was the mastermind, but he had no proof. He couldn't even do anything against the red silhouette even if he wanted to.

***

Frank stepped into the backroom of the spa, his eyes immediately drawn to the lifeless form on the floor. The young woman, barely in her twenties, lay motionless. He scanned the room, noting the two familiar doors—one leading to the front entryway, the other a back exit. Everything else remained as he remembered from his previous visit, including the bags of dust perched atop their box.

The detective in him kicked into high gear as he turned to the reception lady, who stood nervously by the doorway.

"When did you find her?" Frank asked, his voice steady and professional.

The woman wrung her hands. "About an hour ago. I came to check on her when she didn't report back."

Frank nodded, jotting notes in his small pad. "Did you notice anything unusual before she entered? Any complaints about feeling unwell?"

"No, nothing like that. She seemed fine all morning."

Frank's gaze swept the room again. "Has anything been moved since you found her?"

The receptionist shook her head. "No, I didn't touch anything. I just called the authorities right away."

"Good," Frank murmured. He gestured towards the dust. "Has anyone accessed these supplies recently?"

She bit her lip, then nodded. "Yes, she was processing a batch this morning. It's part of her regular duties."

"I see," Frank said, making another note. "Did she have any visitors today? Anyone asking for her specifically?"

"No, no one. at least not that I can recall," the receptionist replied. "It was a quiet morning."

Frank's mind raced with possibilities. No signs of struggle, no visible injuries—it all pointed to something more insidious. He thought back to Yu Mo's words about heart attacks.

"One last question," Frank said, his voice low. "Has anything unusual happened in the spa lately? Any equipment malfunctions, strange noises, anything out of the ordinary at all?"

The woman's eyes widened slightly. "Well, now that you mention it..."

The woman's eyes darted nervously around the room before she leaned in closer to Frank. "Well, now that you mention it... lately, I've felt like this place might be haunted."

Frank's eyebrows shot up, his mind immediately flashing back to the eerie occurrences in his own neighborhood. The ghostly figures, the strange noises—it all came rushing back in vivid detail. He gestured for the receptionist to continue, his interest piqued.

"There have been these odd knocks on the door," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "And sometimes, late at night, I swear I can hear giggles echoing down the hallway."

Frank's pen hovered over his notepad, waiting for more details. But to his surprise, the woman's demeanor suddenly shifted. She shrugged, a casual smile replacing her earlier nervousness.

"But you know, it's not really a big deal," she said, waving her hand dismissively. "We're used to that kind of thing in Aur. Spirits and whatnot—it's just part of life here."

Frank blinked, taken aback by her nonchalant attitude. "You're not concerned about these... occurrences?"

The woman chuckled, reaching into her pocket. "Oh, not at all. I've studied some Taoist sutras." She pulled out a small bundle of papers covered in intricate Chinese characters. "I keep these with me at all times. They offer protection against any mischievous spirits."

Frank stared at the sutras, his mind racing. The casual acceptance of supernatural events in this world still caught him off guard. He thought back to his own encounters, the terror he'd felt. Yet here was this woman, treating it all as if it were no more concerning than a change in the weather.

"You think you can sell some of these to me?" Frank jested.

"50 RmB each, no less than that." The woman replied with no hesitation. Her demeanor seemed to think that she was the one ripping him off.

Frank then fished out a hundred dollar bill from his wallet. "How many will this get me?"

"I'll give you 6, no refunds." The woman casually swiped off the bill from Frank's hands and gave him 6 yellow sutras.

The sutras weren't as intricate as Ian Huang's but it should do the job. He assumed these are specifically for haunted anomalies as he folded and put them in his pocket.

"Frank, aren't we supposed to be doing work?" Alan casually gestured. They both looked back at the body.

"Right, ok let's see what we got here" Frank reached down and inspected the body more carefully.

Frank knelt beside the body, his eyes scanning for any visible signs of trauma or struggle. The young woman's skin was pale, but not unnaturally so. Her limbs were relaxed, showing no signs of rigor mortis yet.

"Time of death can't be more than a few hours ago," Frank muttered, more to himself than anyone else.

He gently lifted one of her eyelids, noting the lack of petechial hemorrhaging. "No signs of strangulation or suffocation."

Alan crouched on the other side of the body, his brow furrowed in concentration. "Frank, look at her fingertips," he said, pointing to the woman's hands.

Frank leaned in closer, noticing a faint blue tinge to her nail beds. "Good catch, Alan. Cyanosis. Could indicate heart or respiratory failure."

"There's something else," Alan added, gesturing to the woman's neck. "What are those marks?"

Frank tilted his head, spotting the barely visible red lines Alan had pointed out. They were so subtle he might have missed them if Alan hadn't mentioned them. He extended his hand to her throat and probed the area where the crimson lines were visible. Beneath the surface, he felt a metallic object. As he applied pressure, the spectral roots emerged from its hidden location, extruding from the flesh.

"Now we're getting somewhere." Frank whispered.