It was hard to grasp the situation from a description alone.
Inspector Megure stood there blankly for a moment, then cleared his throat solemnly and said to Officer Takagi beside him, "Bring the masks over and try it!"
It was not that he did not understand. It was simply that, as a police officer, he had to treat cases rigorously and maintain a practical spirit.
Officer Takagi did not object. He had someone from the Forensics Department carry the pile of masks next door to the crime scene—he had not fully understood either, so this was a good chance to test it himself.
Soon, everyone was sitting or standing around the bedroom, watching Officer Takagi on the other side of the iron door feed one mask after another through the transom above it by their elastic straps.
Before long, a huge pile of bloodstained, deathly pale masks had accumulated by the door.
"That's all of them!" Officer Takagi wiped away sweat with a sense of accomplishment. "What now?"
Jiang Xia stepped farther away. "Now pull the elastic straps hard."
Officer Takagi followed instructions faithfully, straining with all his might as he heaved on the two straps threaded through a Knife and two hundred masks.
As the elastic tightened, one mask was pulled upward and caught on the transom.
Soon, the second mask was pulled up as well, locking tightly onto the first.
Amid a series of faint clicks, the masks became like a string of Pearls being pulled taut and compressed, gradually changing from a soft strip into something increasingly rigid. Finally, with one hard yank from Officer Takagi, the army of masks snapped its head like a long snake and stood upright in midair.
Watching this astonishing sight, everyone unconsciously held their breath.
It was as though a thick