HPDBC Chapter 150 The Rubik's Cube Haunted House
Chapter 150 The Rubik's Cube Haunted House
Chapter 150 The Rubik's Cube Haunted House
Director's Office.
Despite having his abdominal wound bandaged and treated, Song Zhixing remained steadfast at his post.
Now is the time for him to make amends, and he dares not be careless in the slightest.
Li Jiuhe carefully reviewed the files of Su Qin and the other two investigators, then asked Song Zhixing, "Are these two the strongest investigators in your department?"
Song Zhixing shook his head in confusion: "No, the strongest investigation team is my special operations team. These two investigators are from the regular team."
"What cases are they handling lately?" Li Jiuhe asked again.
Song Zhixing immediately had his subordinates print out a detailed list of cases and hand it to Li Jiuhe.
The list includes not only the cases handled by these two investigators, but also cases handled by all other investigators in the department.
However, Li Jiuhe only focused on these two investigators and discovered that they were not only in the same team, but also had both handled one of the most notable cases.
His brow furrowed slightly when he saw the contents of the case.
Luo Shuo also leaned over, glanced at it, and exclaimed in surprise, "Isn't this the second tricky case we're preparing to handle?"
Song Zhixing looked at the same list in his hand and nodded: "That's right. We reported the Rubik's Cube haunted house case to the Northwest Regional Investigation Bureau a long time ago. We've also completely sealed off the park where the haunted house is located. We've built high walls around the park and have the police guarding it. No one is allowed to enter."
This "Rubik's Cube Haunted House" is the second case that Li Jiuhe and his team have to deal with after handling the murderer You Hong, a case that is giving the Yuanmeng City Investigation Bureau a major headache.
The park where the haunted house is located is called "White Stone Park", and there are several activity areas in the park.
Next to the children's play area is a project called "Magic Cube Haunted House," but three months ago, the haunted house project suddenly underwent a strange change.
It seems that someone died inside due to an accident at first, and then during the investigation, a police officer also died inside. The case was then handed over to the investigation bureau.
When the investigation bureau sent investigators in to check, they almost couldn't escape either.
The investigators who went to investigate were the two who are now missing. According to them, the scene inside was no longer the original haunted house; it had been completely changed.
However, one thing is certain: this haunted house has indeed started to haunt.
However, according to the common understanding of these sequencers in the past, they do not believe that there are ghosts in this world, because Yin and Yang do not communicate with each other. This is a "common sense" passed down from generation to generation of order revisers.
Regardless of whether this common sense is correct, there has been no strong evidence to refute it.
So the investigation bureau quickly came to the conclusion that the ghost in the haunted house was not real, but rather a problem with the entire "Rubik's Cube Haunted House".
In other words, the Rubik's Cube Haunted House will most likely awaken into a terrifying sequence object.
Because the haunted house was only in its awakening stage at the time, even after it transformed into a sequence object, its abilities were not very strong, which allowed the two investigators to escape.
Otherwise, according to these two, if the haunted house had fully awakened and become stable, they would have certainly died at that time.
The haunted house has been awakened for more than three months now, and it is speculated that it has already stabilized, and its sequence ability may still be growing.
Later, the Yuanmeng City Investigation Bureau discovered that although the haunted house was terrifying, it was fortunate that it was fixed in the park area and would not move on its own.
As long as you don't get close or go inside, the haunted house will not pose a threat to others.
Therefore, just in case, the entire park has been sealed off. The official message is that the area will be demolished, all facilities are currently closed, and entry is strictly prohibited.
After reading the case file of the "Rubik's Cube Haunted House", Li Jiuhe and Luo Shuo both showed an incredulous expression.
"The case reports you submitted to the Northwest Regional Investigation Bureau and our headquarters are not like this at all."
As Luo Shuo spoke, he took out his phone, logged into the General Administration's app, and then opened the case details about the "Rubik's Cube Haunted House" that he had received in his email. He then handed the phone to Song Zhixing to look at.
The information Li Jiuhe received was the same as Luo Shuo's.
Song Zhixing looked astonished after seeing it: "How could this be?"
The case received by the headquarters involved several murders that occurred in the "Cube Haunted House," which were suspected to be related to a vicious Sequencer among the employees dressed as ghosts.
The perpetrator may have initially disguised his true identity as a staff member at the haunted house, but after committing the crimes, he killed several people in succession.
The Bureau of Investigation then sealed off the haunted house, trapping the Sequencer inside.
Because there's an office inside the haunted house, which may contain a lot of food and daily necessities, the person in the sequence can't get out, but they also won't die.
Moreover, the individuals in this sequence are powerful, so they requested support from the Southwest Regional Investigation Bureau or the Capital Headquarters.
Song Zhixing shook his head in confusion: "The materials we submitted are definitely not this—"
At this point, he was suddenly startled, recalling the scene where he was controlled by the Silent Singer.
Li Jiuhe and Luo Shuo also realized this.
"So—these guys took control of your Investigation Bureau and police station because of the Rubik's Cube haunted house?"
"If the higher-ups knew that the haunted house had awakened into a powerful sequence item, they would have sent people long ago, instead of waiting until now."
Song Zhixing slammed his hand on the desk: "Let's go to the containment room. We have to pry those two we just grabbed out of their mouths!"
No sooner had the words been spoken than an investigator rushed into the office, looking flustered.
"Chief, the two people we just arrested are both dead. The cause of death is suspicious, and by the time we realized something was wrong, it was too late to save them!"
Everyone was surprised.
"Send Qi Xiaojun, the investigator from Group Three, to investigate. He can determine the cause and time of death of these people," Song Zhixing hurriedly ordered.
The subordinate nodded and said, "Yes, I saw it. He was just near the detention room. He was the one who told us that the two criminals had only been dead for a short time."
Song Zhixing hastily ordered: "Seal off the office building! No one is allowed to leave without my permission!"
"Yes!" The subordinate immediately turned and left.
At the same moment, Song Zhixing opened a drawer in his desk, reached inside, and pressed a button hidden within.
A piercing alarm blared, echoing throughout the Bureau of Investigation building.
At the same time, the sound of metal scraping came from all the windows. Inside the windows, alloy panels stretched down from above, sealing off the entire building.
The dense friction sounds came from all directions, and all the exits to the outside had been blocked by these thick and sturdy alloy plates.
No one in the building can leave for the time being.
The investigators quickly split into groups and began their investigation, while Song Zhixing and Li Jiuhe went to the temporary containment room on the third basement level to check.
The Silent Singer and his accomplice were found dead in the containment chamber, their bodies riddled with tiny black holes, as if they had been shot at close range.
However, the holes in each small hole were significantly larger than the diameter of a bullet hole, and it is unknown what caused this.
The two men were already seriously injured, and after being brought here, they had just undergone surgery to remove the rune bullets from their bodies.
Even if they are sequencers, it would be impossible for them to fully recover in less than ten days to half a month.
Both men were lying on the bed with IV bags and oxygen cylinders attached, but only their bodies had small holes; the bed, oxygen cylinders, and IV bags were undamaged.
Soon, Li Jiuhe and the others arrived at the monitoring room and retrieved the surveillance footage.
The footage shows that about five minutes earlier, the two opened their eyes almost simultaneously in their respective containment cells, tilting their heads upwards as if trying to see the direction of the containment cell door.
But there was no one on the other side of the door, and no one could be seen on the surveillance cameras outside the door.
About ten seconds later, the two began to tremble, not from fear, but as if they had been attacked by some invisible force.
A moment later, the bodies of the two men simultaneously burst open, revealing small black holes.
A disgusting scene unfolded as countless tiny holes swarmed with worms, each about the size of a thumb.
After the insects crawled out, their wings, which were clinging to their bodies, unfolded, making them look like moths. They then took flight and flew towards the door.
"The Moth Woman? This must be one of her methods," Li Jiuhe said softly.
Luo Shuo said to Song Zhixing, "Director Song, please have someone search for the moths that flew out of the containment room immediately. As long as you find one and give it to me, I can locate the Moth Girl."
"Okay." Song Zhixing immediately turned around and gave the instructions.
The previous Moth Girl was very careful and did not leave any personal traces on Su Qin's desk.
It now appears that she never actually entered the Bureau of Investigation building, but instead used those moths to kill and silence witnesses.
The methods of manipulation are somewhat similar to those used by Ma Li, since they are both Sequencers at the same biological level.
So even if the building is sealed off, the murderer who killed the two Silent Singers will not be found. However, as long as one moth that escapes can be found, the rest of the work can be left to Luo Shuo.
Li Jiuhe glanced at Luo Shuo and said, "I think I can guess where the Moth Woman is. If those two investigators are not dead, they are probably there too."
Luo Shuo clearly knew what he was thinking and nodded: "I guessed it too, but the search is only to further confirm this guess."
Everyone returned to the director's office.
The investigation bureau building was quickly searched, but no trace of the Moth Woman or any other outsiders was found.
Half an hour later, two dead moths were found in the ventilation vent on the top floor.
These moths probably wanted to fly away from here, but a few died here for some unknown reason and failed to escape.
Before long, the two dead moths were placed in a glass bottle and presented to Luo Shuo.
Luo Shuo was actually in great pain at this moment. Not only had he not rested last night, but his tracking ability had also not recovered. Instead, he was constantly pushing his abilities to their limits.
He believed that if a bed were placed in front of him right now, he could lie down and fall asleep instantly, without wasting a single second.
And it might take two days and two nights of sleep to fully recover from this sleep.
"Just hang in there a little longer!" he encouraged himself silently.
He opened the glass bottle, poured out the corpse of one of the moths, held it in his hand, and then picked up the missing persons investigator's office supplies. He quickly squinted.
Gritting his teeth, he used up all the remaining tracking energy, and soon received feedback on the tracking results.
Luo Shuo struggled to open his eyes, lifted his eyelids, and looked at Li Jiuhe: "Brother Li, our guess was right, the Moth Woman—including those two investigators."
"Understood." Li Jiuhe nodded, then turned to Song Zhixing and said, "Director Song, please provide my colleague with a single dormitory room immediately; he needs to rest."
Song Zhixing pointed to the room next to his office: "I usually rest in the lounge next door, and he can use it now."
Luo Shuo stood up, feeling like he could barely open his eyes, took the keys from Director Song, and walked out.
As he walked, he said, "Brother Li, how about we go together after I've rested?"
Li Jiuhe shook his head: "No need, you just need to rest. Ma Li and I are here, along with other investigators from the bureau to assist you."
"Okay, be careful." Luo Shuo said no more and quickly went next door.
Song Zhixing turned to look at Li Jiuhe and tentatively asked, "So this 'Moth Woman' and those two investigators from my department—are really—"
"Hmm, the Rubik's Cube haunted house."
Li Jiuhe confirmed his guess and analyzed, "That haunted house can't be moved, so if their target is the Rubik's Cube haunted house, they will most likely be hiding nearby or even inside the haunted house."
He stared into Song Zhixing's eyes: "The haunted house is definitely not as simple as you initially guessed. It may possess some unexpected special abilities. Since they went to such great lengths to investigate secretly instead of having you notify headquarters to cause trouble, they certainly won't give up now."
Song Zhixing nodded: "Whether it's the Moth Woman or someone else hiding behind this case, they won't be willing to let us take control of the haunted house now."
He then picked up the phone, made a call, and gave the order: "Notify the police station to assist, and send two teams and investigators from my special operations team to White Stone Park, where the Rubik's Cube haunted house is located, to surround the area."
After hanging up the phone, Song Zhixing asked Li Jiuhe, "Investigator Li, you've been working non-stop since you arrived in Yuanmeng City yesterday. Aren't you going to take a break?"
Li Jiuhe shook his head: "No need, missing one night's sleep won't matter."
Ma Li whispered, "Handsome, you still need to get some sleep. You can take a nap in the car first, and I'll go check things out."
Since joining the investigation bureau, she has rarely spoken, trying her best not to attract the attention of others.
After all, she was a non-human being, and there were many investigators with various abilities here. She was worried that she would inevitably be seen through.
In fact, Ma Li's ability to conceal herself was even better than that of Moth Girl. Even Moth Girl was not discovered by anyone, so the probability of others discovering her true identity was even lower.
She was just used to being careful and cautious.
Li Jiuhe smiled at her but didn't say anything.
Just then, a string of familiar words suddenly appeared before his eyes. It was the Death Pass that broke the silence and showed Li Jiuhe its thoughts.
I think you'd better not touch the Rubik's Cube haunted house until you're fully prepared.
Li Jiuhe was taken aback, and replied mentally, "Why?"
[As a sequencer, you naturally wouldn't understand, but I am a sequenced object, and a rare one at that. I can sense that the sequence state of the haunted house is very unstable.]
"So, the Rubik's Cube Haunted House is also a rare sequence item, just like you? That's why you sense it."
【No, no, the space inside the haunted house is somewhat like the place where yin and yang meet, as you described, but not entirely. The instability means you might enter the "Abyss," or some other place I don't even know about, so it's best to be careful. I don't want to lose such a high-ranking individual for nothing.】
Li Jiuhe hesitated for a moment, then said, "I'll go take a look first."
White Stone Park.
The entire park was deserted. The original bluestone-paved internal paths were overgrown with weeds, some of which were as tall as an adult's knees.
Most of the ground was covered with moss, and many of the playground equipment in the children's playground area were not only covered with dust, but had also turned yellow and black after being exposed to the wind and sun, and had begun to show signs of corrosion.
A gentle breeze swept through, revealing the desolate landscape of White Stone Park.
In a corner not far from the amusement park, a haunted house stands quietly.
The exterior of the haunted house features numerous images of legendary ghosts and monsters, each with its own distinct appearance and menacing features.
The words "Rubik's Cube Haunted House" are written at the top of the door in the form of flowing blood, making it look ferocious and terrifying.
The two doors were originally closed, but for some reason one half had fallen off, revealing a dark passageway inside. The other half of the door was also crooked and could break at any moment.
As you venture deeper into the dilapidated gate, near the entrance to the haunted house, a young woman stands looking at another young man with a lazy demeanor and thick dark circles under his eyes.
This woman was none other than the Moth Maiden, disguised as Su Qin.
The young man was dressed casually, with his back to the entrance of the haunted house. He had handsome features and medium-length, slightly wavy hair, exuding an extremely natural sense of laziness.
If it weren't for his very noticeable dark circles, his overall appearance and demeanor would be several points higher.
Even so, this guy would probably still turn heads among young women on the street.
"I thought you'd get caught by the Bureau of Investigation."
The young man's lips curled into a smile, seemingly unconcerned about whether the Moth Woman would be captured.
The Moth Woman looked at the young man with concern, seemingly oblivious to the coldness in his tone.
"I was very careful. Those moth eggs were already inside them. I only needed to activate them when necessary to eliminate them; I didn't need to get close to the investigation bureau at all." The Moth Woman hesitated. "But the singers are all dead now. Won't your family punish you?"
The young man scoffed: "Punishment? Would your parents punish you for killing a few guard dogs?"
The Moth Woman's expression froze, and she was speechless for a moment.
The man waved his hand: "They're just abandoned members of the Spiritual Awakening Party who were taken in by our family, they're insignificant. As long as our information isn't leaked, at least my Guo family still has official dealings with the authorities, so we won't fall out. Now you just need to guard this place well, don't leak my information, and don't let anyone break into the haunted house."
"Husband—" Moth Girl saw him turn to go back into the haunted house and quickly reminded him, "You must be careful, don't rush. I'll keep watch outside for you!"
The man, with his back to the woman, gave a cold smile, but replied gently, "I know, you need to take care of yourself too. If there's an emergency you can't handle, just throw this card on the ground."
As soon as he finished speaking, he casually tossed something behind him, which landed right in the Moth Woman's hand.
The moth girl looked down into her hand and saw that it was a black and white imp from a deck of cards.
Sensing the eerie aura emanating from it, she was slightly startled and blurted out, "The Black and White Joker!"