Soon, they arrive at the police station. Liang Wei stood in front of the police chief's office and saw that Chief Chad and his subordinates were all staring intently at a computer screen.
"Ahem, Chad, got any new leads?" Liang Wei knocked on the door and asked.
"Oh, you're here. You guys, out," the police chief looked up and, upon seeing the ninjas, motioned for his subordinates to leave.
"Yes, come and take a look at this." Once the officers had left, Chad placed a file on the table.
"What's this?" Liang Wei picked up the file and began flipping through it. The others leaned in to see as well.
"I found it placed at the entrance when I arrived this morning," Chad said as he sipped his coffee.
"I skimmed through it—it's filled with records and criminal data. The strange thing is, none of these records can be found in the police database. That's what makes it suspicious. The file's subject is Zachary—the victim from yesterday. According to this, he conned over 200 people into joining an illegal experiment run by a secret organization. The exact nature of the experiment is unclear, but it resulted in many deaths," Chad explained as he leaned back in his chair and propped his feet up on the desk.
"So the killer was actually delivering justice?" Kon asked in disbelief.
"Murder is wrong no matter the reason," Jed said, turning his head.
"Well… here's the question. First, how does the killer know so much about Zacharys' crimes? Even the police system has no trace of them. Second, if the killer only wanted Zachary dead, why go to such lengths to target us as well?" Chad asked.
"If we're guessing why the killer knows Zacharys' crimes, I have two theories," Mark began. "First, the killer and Zachary were both part of the secret organization. So it's not surprising that he knows about the crimes. Maybe some conflict broke out internally, and he killed Zachary out of rage. Second, the killer was actually a victim of the experiment, lured into it by Zachary. He barely escaped with his life and returned to take revenge. That would also explain the writing we saw on the wall at the crime scene yesterday."
"Interesting theory," Liang Wei said, setting the file down. "But there's still no way to explain why we're involved. Why are we the killer's ultimate targets?"
"Is it possible this file is fake? That it was planted just to throw us off?" Jed suggested.
"It's not impossible," Chad nodded. "But a lead is a lead. Real or fake, we need to investigate."
"I think the killer left it for us on purpose," Mark argued. "He even said in the letter he wants to play a game with us."
"Wait, letter? What letter?" Chad immediately sat up.
"This one. It showed up at our doorstep this morning." Liang Wei handed the mysterious letter to Jed, who passed it to Chad. Chad eagerly began reading.
"Either way, once we catch the culprit, all these mysteries will be solved," Liang Wei said, slumping onto the couch.
"Hey Chad, your entrance probably has surveillance cameras, right? If the file was placed there, the footage might've caught who did it. It could be the killer or his accomplice," Jed said with a sudden realization.
"Yeah, the cameras did capture someone. But after reviewing the footage with my team, we didn't find anything useful," Chad replied.
"How's that possible? If someone was recorded, there has to be a clue! Show us," Jed insisted.
Chad turned his monitor toward the ninjas and hit play: it was a seemingly normal night, with heavy rain obscuring the streetlights and dimming the entrance. The footage was dark and unclear. Soon, a suspicious figure in a long purple cloak appeared. His cloak was long enough to cover his entire body. He walked steadily through the rain toward the entrance, then carefully pulled the file from under his coat and placed it on the ground. He looked around, seemingly searching for something.
Then he looked directly at the camera—perfectly revealing his masked face. But he was cautious and had already donned a "Mad Demon" mask. He waved mockingly at the camera as if taunting them for failing to catch him, then turned and walked away.
"He looks to be about 1.8 meters tall, and he's wearing a Mad Demon mask," Mark noted. "That's all we've got."
"Those masks are everywhere—sold in tons of stores. We can't track anything from that. And a height of 1.8 meters? That's basically one in eight people!" Jed sighed in frustration.
"The letter says he'll be putting on a performance next week… what should we do?" Chad asked, setting the letter down.
"I don't know either… Just make sure your team is on standby. We need to respond the moment something happens," Liang Wei instructed.
"Yes, sir!"
Inside the dimly lit dressing room, a figure in a purple cloak sat motionless in front of a cracked mirror.
On the makeup table before him sat a devil mask—its sharp horns and sinister grin gleaming under the flickering fluorescent light. The air was thick with the scent of greasepaint and old wood.
"Did you hear? Tonight's show is packed with celebrities and billionaires," someone gossiped outside the door.
"No wonder the boss told us to be on our best behavior. Turns out it's not just any night," another replied, a cigarette dangling from his lips.
The words slipped through the door like smoke. The man in the cloak heard every word.
A twisted smile curled on his lips as he stared at his reflection—cold, hollow, yet brimming with something dark.