When she reached this point, the woman's tears flowed uncontrollably, her eyes filled with fear.
She continued.
"My husband treated me very well. Arguments between married couples are normal, and we used to argue too, but he'd never argued with me over something like this before. We had a huge fight that day, and then my husband went out to work, leaving me home alone to clean up."
"I cried as I cleaned. Later, I called my son. He could hear that I was crying and asked what had happened. I didn't tell him about the argument. I just said it was nothing. Then, as we chatted, the conversation turned to the wardrobe at home."
"My son said the wardrobe at Grandma's house was so big and could hold so many clothes, while ours was so small. He didn't like our wardrobe either and asked me to replace it."
"I just casually said, 'Your dad won't agree to that.'"
"Then my son said he'd come second in his class on his final exams this time, so his dad would definitely agree."
"We hung up after that, and I felt a little better. When my husband came home that evening, he suddenly told me he missed our son and asked me to bring him home."
"I didn't think much of it and brought our son home. Later, I don't know when it started, but I felt that my son had changed. He became quiet and withdrawn, stopped liking to talk, and started liking to attack other children."
When she reached this point, Lu Ding interrupted for the first time. "So how did you discover that your husband and son had been replaced? And what happened to your parents-in-law? Weren't they staying somewhere else? How did they get replaced too?"
As for what had happened to her son, Lu Ding could roughly piece it together. After hanging up with the woman, the boy had probably turned around and told his father about it.
Then, because the child had touched on the taboo subject of replacing the wardrobe, his father, who had been replaced, had the woman bring the child home, and the monster replaced him.
But what about the others?
What had happened to them?
The woman looked up. All the color had drained from her lips, leaving them deathly pale.
"I remember it very clearly. It was a Thursday. My son was playing in the residential complex and bit another child, badly. Property management notified my husband and me. I got there first. When I arrived, I apologized to the other child's parents, then asked my son why he'd bitten another child."
"He... he said the other children smelled so good that he couldn't resist taking a bite. By then, I'd already realized something was wrong, but I still hadn't thought of the key."
"On the way home, my son seemed very afraid of my husband. I even joked with him, asking if he'd scared our son. My husband said no, then suddenly changed his tune and said he missed his parents, and our son missed his grandparents too. He asked me to call the two of them over to stay for a while."
"I thought that would be good. I happened to be mentally exhausted during that period, and with Mom and Dad helping me look after the child, I could get some rest too. The next day, I called them over."
"My husband was at work, and Mom and Dad were looking after the child, so I could finally rest easy. That very day, when I woke up from an afternoon nap, I found that my child, my husband, and Mom and Dad were all gone. I called and messaged them, but not one of them answered."
"I was a little worried, so I opened the parental control app on my phone that could manage my son's smartwatch."
"The app lets me see my son's movements and location, and it can also silently turn on a live call. I bought it because I used to worry all the time about him being abducted by human traffickers."
"When I opened it, I saw that my son's location was right at home. But I'd clearly already searched the house, and nobody was there. So I turned on the watch's live call function. Before I could speak, I heard my son's voice coming from the other end."
The woman swallowed. "He... he said Grandpa and Grandma's meat was too tough and didn't taste good."
"Then my husband said he couldn't just eat people, and if he couldn't keep his mouth under control again, my husband would stuff him back inside."
"When I heard that, I instinctively thought of our wardrobe. I rushed over and opened it, but there was nothing inside. All those tangled thoughts in my head connected at that moment. My husband and my son seemed to no longer be human."
"I was terrified. I ran to the Linhua Street Public Security Management Office and explained what had happened. I could tell they didn't believe me, but they still went home with me. The moment we opened the door, I saw Mom and Dad watching TV at home with my son."
"I couldn't believe it, but I didn't understand. Mom and Dad had clearly been eaten, so why were they standing there alive and well? The public security officers said I was under too much stress, and my husband said the same thing and told me to stop going to work. But when I turned my head, I could see Mom and Dad staring at me sinisterly."
"Those eyes looked like they wanted nothing more than to swallow me alive and skin me!!!"
"They locked me up at home and wouldn't let me go anywhere. They even had a doctor prescribe medicine for me. Then one day, they were out again. I knew it, I knew it!!! They must have gone to eat people again!!! I knew that had to be it, so I broke free of the ropes and ran out."
"Look, look! These are marks, marks from the ropes! I'm not lying! They definitely aren't my family! Save my son, save my husband! Please, I'm begging you, begging you! Nobody believes me! Please believe me! There really are monsters in this world, there really are!!!!"
Agitated, the woman raised her hands to show everyone the rope marks on them.
At that moment, the room fell silent.
Of course they knew there were monsters in the world, but they couldn't admit it.
Lu Ding now understood the details of what had happened.
He took out his credentials and gently reassured her. "Ma'am, don't be afraid, and don't be nervous. I'm with State Security. You know State Security, right?"
The woman snatched the credentials from him and carefully leafed through them, examining the embossed seal and the official photograph matching the young man before her.
She nodded, the light of hope in her eyes almost bursting forth. "I do. I know State Security. I know."
"Good. Now, wait here, and I'll go to your home to investigate the situation on-site. As for that wardrobe you mentioned, whether it's a real monster or a fake one, I'll smash it to pieces. I hope you won't make me pay for it, all right?"
The woman nodded repeatedly. "I won't, I won't. I won't make you pay for it."
She didn't want Lu Ding to agree so readily with her that there were monsters in the world. Although she had experienced this herself, she had never actually seen her son and husband turn into real monsters. Everything she had been taught since childhood told her there were no monsters in the world.
But she didn't want Lu Ding to deny what she said either, because she truly couldn't explain any of it without monsters, and she firmly believed she wasn't mad.
So when Lu Ding said he would smash the wardrobe, the woman couldn't help bending forward and sobbing, unable to utter a word.
He gestured for the female public security officer beside her to look after the woman.
Lu Ding walked out of the room, and Gao Zhengliang followed.
"Director Gao, sorry for the trouble, but please keep a close eye on the person who reported this and her emotional state. I'm going to the Dinghao Residential Complex. If anything happens, go get Yan Feifan."