The truth behind it all

Earlier, Li Wei had regretted that Henry had not brought more soldiers inside.

Now he had to count himself lucky that Henry had not brought any soldiers in.

Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!!

The four of them rushed out of the room as fast as they could. A volley of bullets flew out behind them, striking the opposite wall.

"Well, this just got complicated."

Gun in hand, Li Wei stole a glance inside. Five or six soldiers were aiming their weapons at the doorway. They were carrying carbines, not pistols, and the door was hardly wide. Charging through it would only turn him into a target for a firing squad.

"Who are those soldiers?"

Katie asked, clutching her head, still shaken. Anthony rubbed his chin.

"Well, judging by their uniforms, they should belong to the same unit as the soldiers outside..."

"Stop talking!"

Henry cut Anthony off coldly. He was clearly in a terrible mood. Then he looked at Li Wei.

"Is there any way we can save them?"

"...If you think I can resurrect people who've had their bellies cut open and their guts pulled out, you give me far too much credit, Mr. Henry."

Li Wei was at a loss for words, too.

"Personally, all I can offer them right now is my deepest condolences... Run!"

Before Li Wei finished speaking, a smoking stick flew out of the room and landed in front of them. One glance was enough for him to recognize it-a grenade!

"Aaah!"

Katie screamed, covered her head, and rolled away. The others hurried to retreat as well, and then an explosion thundered behind them. Had they been any slower, that blast would have spelled disaster for all four.

Then, to the sound of perfectly synchronized footsteps, the soldiers emerged from the doorway and aimed their weapons at them again.

Bang!

Li Wei raised his gun and fired. The bullet struck the lead soldier in the head, driving straight into his forehead. But his head merely tipped back slightly before returning to its original position. Then the soldiers raised their carbines again and aimed ahead.

Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!

"I knew we shouldn't have brought anyone!"

Li Wei complained as he ran. The others were hardly faring any better. They were effectively under attack by an entire squad of fully armed, well-trained soldiers-and their enemies could not die!

Good thing I came prepared.

Li Wei flicked his right hand, ejecting the Persuader's cylinder. Spent casings smelling of gunpowder clattered to the floor. At the same time, he reached into his pocket, pulled out a simple speedloader, and loaded its red bullets into the cylinder. Then he raised the Persuader and looked back. The soldiers had reached the corner and were taking aim at them.

"As the old saying goes-let fire cleanse everything!"

With those words, Li Wei pulled the trigger again.

Bang!

The scarlet bullet spun through the narrow corridor and struck the lead soldier squarely in the head.

Then the bullet burst.

White flames blossomed like fireworks, engulfing the soldier in an instant. The fire spread rapidly, turning him into a human torch within moments.

Anyone else would probably have been rolling on the floor in agony. But the soldier seemed incapable of feeling pain. He ignored the flames scorching his clothes and body, simply raising his gun to aim at his target before pulling the trigger again.

This time, however, no bullet emerged. Perhaps because of the flames, the entire carbine exploded the moment the soldier Doll pulled the trigger. The blast hurled him backward into his companions before he slammed heavily onto the floor.

By now, fierce flames covered his body, and he looked as though he were melting like a wax figure. He clearly could no longer move.

But this did nothing to affect the other soldiers. They did not even glance at their burning comrade and continued attacking Li Wei and the others.

The four had no choice but to scramble for cover again, rushing into a nearby room to escape the storm of gunfire.

"This really is a pain."

Li Wei frowned. He actually enjoyed the thrill of tearing through a battlefield alone with a single gun in an FPS, but unfortunately, it seemed he would not get to experience that here-which was only natural. In the real world, simply catching your breath did not restore your health.

"Mr. Henry, do we have any way to deal with those soldiers?"

Anthony leaned warily against the door, listening to the sounds outside as he asked. Henry hesitated, then shook his head.

"I didn't bring many weapons, and... they're my soldiers, after all."

"That's exactly why you need to put them to rest."

Li Wei spun the cylinder, the clicking easing his nerves a little.

"If they pin us down in this room, we're dead."

"I don't think so."

Just then, a voice rang out from inside the room. Startled, everyone turned toward it. They saw a woman in an aristocratic gown sitting on the sofa.

And she was none other than...

"Miss Elizabeth? What are you doing here?"

Katie was clearly surprised to see Elizabeth.

"I thought you'd..."

"Been turned into a Doll by that child?"

Elizabeth remained quite calm, at least compared to everyone else's panic.

"He will do it, but because I'm his most beloved 'mother,' he's left me until last."

"You still have your own consciousness?"

Li Wei was more concerned about that. Earlier, Katie, Anthony, and Henry had all seemed completely possessed by those ghosts. Elizabeth, however, was different. Although her body appeared to be under someone else's control, her consciousness still seemed very much intact.

"The Holy Lord protects me. My faith is my shield."

Had she been able to move, Elizabeth probably would have made a gesture praising the Holy Lord. As it was, her expressionless face, coupled with her voice brimming with conviction, was rather unsettling.

"After being imprisoned within this shell, I could feel her sorrow, her pain, and everything she had experienced..."

As Elizabeth spoke, she looked at Li Wei.

"Mr. Detective, please be careful. That child is not our true enemy."

"Now that's interesting. What do you mean?"

Li Wei glanced at Anthony, who watched the doorway and shook his head. Apparently, the soldiers were still content to maintain the standoff-so he did not mind using this time to gather some important information.

"Please get to the point."

"Of course."

Perhaps because she was a nun, Elizabeth was an excellent storyteller. In just a few words, she explained how the whole affair had unfolded.

It had begun before Stephen's family moved here. Back then, Stephen was addicted to gambling and had squandered almost everything his family owned. Naturally, his wife had tried several times to persuade him to quit-but convincing a compulsive gambler was harder than slaying a god. Finally, Stephen lost his temper one day and had a furious argument with his wife. As they shoved each other, Stephen knocked into their young child. The child's head struck the corner of a table, and he fell unconscious.

After that, the child never woke up. His wife consulted doctor after doctor, but none could help. Stephen, meanwhile, showed no concern at all, and his wife gradually sank into despair.

Just when she no longer knew what to do, someone came to her door, claiming he could save her child. But he had one condition: she had to give him a ring belonging to the Lancaster Family in exchange. That ring was in a secret room in the Lancaster Family's residence.

Although she did not know who the man was, or how he knew about a secret room in the Lancaster Family's residence that even she had never heard of, her desperation to save her child drove her to agree. Following his instructions, she found the ring in the secret room and handed it to him.

After receiving the ring, he gave her a Doll. He told her that if she placed it beside her child, he would wake up on his own.

She did not know whether his claim was true, but in her despair, she finally decided to do as he said. Then a miracle happened: her child woke up the following morning.

"However, every gift comes with a price."

Elizabeth sighed as she reached this point.

Afterward, the wife noticed that something was wrong with her child. He became withdrawn, rarely spoke, and seldom went outside. At first, she thought these were merely lingering effects of his injury. But gradually, she found her child growing stranger and stranger... until, at last, she realized he was no longer her child.

Unfortunately, by then it was too late.

"An interesting story."

After hearing Elizabeth's account, Li Wei offered that assessment. He did not doubt its truth. Back in that room, his [Soul Sight] really had revealed something hidden behind the bloody light. He simply had not known what it was.

He had suspected something was wrong even then. After all, no matter how twisted that child was, it would have been difficult for him to become a major boss.

Now it seemed Li Wei's suspicions had been correct.

Still, could that ring have been Crimson Temptation? But if Elizabeth's information was right, shouldn't it already have been taken away? Why would it turn up on a later guest? Was it some kind of mystical treasure that found its way to whoever was destined to possess it?

"Let's deal with the immediate problem first."

Seeing Anthony's rapid hand signals beside the crack in the door, Li Wei brought his attention back to the present. Then he heard synchronized footsteps approaching from nearby.

This time, however, Li Wei already had a plan.