Hua Jinyan looked at the photo, his eyebrows knitted tightly together as he pointed at the ticket seller’s position, then at the ghost face mask on the wall in the picture, "Something’s not right!"
"What’s not right?" Xiangxiang asked, puzzled.
Hua Jinyan opened another photo, pointed at the position of the ticket seller, and then at the wall in the picture.
In the previous photo, the wall was covered with ghost face masks; in the latter photo, it was just a wall painted grey—barren and bare.
"How can this be..." Xiangxiang’s eyes widened as she studied both photos.
Mo Haihao said, "The position of the wall hasn’t changed; what has changed is the counter’s position, and the ticket seller!"
Second Team Captain asked, "Is it possible that there were two ticket sellers present?"
"Didn’t you also bring back the container? Go check the position of the front desk at that time," Hua Jinyan suggested.
To the west of the ancient castle lay a wasteland; according to Second Team Captain, all this land had been bought by Shen Cang.
Many cars were piled up on the wasteland.
"These are cars related to some cases, unclaimed by anyone," Second Team Captain said.
He led the group to the front of the container, whose large door was locked with a heavy padlock, which Second Team Captain then removed.
As the door opened, a musty smell wafted out.
"Just one week..." Mo Haihao was the first to enter, only to immediately exit with an unpleasant expression: "The inside is covered in a black fungal species."
Mo Haihao didn’t let the children climb up; he and Second Team Captain put on gas masks before entering.
After taking several photos, the two of them came out.
Looking at the photos, the walls were covered with fungi that had black caps and white stems.
"Why aren’t there any on the counter?" Xiangxiang inquired.
Second Team Captain picked a piece of the fungus, placing it in a sealed jar, "We’ll analyze the specifics after Second Team Captain checks it."
In the lab, Second Team Captain was busy; seeing Second Team Captain’s gestures through the glass, he came out to meet him.
Seeing the fungal species in the glass container, Second Team Captain said, "Ink Ghost Umbrella, also known as Ghost Cap, Ghost Umbrella, Haunted House, Ghost Fungus, or Morning Earth Cap."
"The Ink Ghost Umbrella starts out egg-shaped to bell-shaped; when it opens, it generally begins to liquefy, releasing an ink-like fluid."
"It grows from spring to autumn, in places where there’s rotting wood underground—such as forests, fields, roadsides, villages, and parks."
"Ink Ghost Umbrella, when consumed with alcohol, is toxic. Symptoms include flushing, nausea, vomiting, and heart palpitations, appearing 20 minutes to 2 hours after ingestion."
"Where did you find it?"
Second Team Captain looked solemn: "Inside the container. It’s only been a week, and it’s filled with this stuff."
Second Team Captain became interested: "Scraps of metal don’t grow this. Let me take a look!"
After Second Team Captain’s inspection, he found that wood panels were attached to every wall, with fungal bodies on the grey boards.
"This must have been prepared in advance, right?" Second Team Captain said gravely: "This is also a method of tampering with evidence. Something that couldn’t be found initially—re-examined later—will be found covered in fungi, and nothing can be found anymore, all destroyed by the black liquid."
"It’s a method only a repeat offender would think of." Second Team Captain told Second Team Captain, "Old Four, I suggest you check the archives to see if there are any similar incidents. It’s very possible they were committed by the same person."
"Alright, I’ll look into it."
It was getting late; Mo Haihao advised the two little ones to head back first. Hua Jinyan, watching Little Taotie yawning, nodded in agreement.
Mo Haihao drove the two little ones back to the villa.
Little Taotie dared not sleep yet—her weekly journal... wasn’t finished!