Chapter 59: Summer Again

Zhang Huai'an was shocked by the change that had come over Zhou Mo. He could not understand why Zhou Mo, who had shown a complete lack of interest all the way here, had transformed so drastically upon arrival.

Yet, intimidated by the somewhat terrifying aura radiating from Zhou Mo, Zhang Huai'an did not quite dare to ask what exactly Zhou Mo had discovered.

The two of them arrived at the main entrance of the art gallery together, only to find a yellow police cordon cordoned off across the doorway.

After a moment of thought, Zhang Huai'an took out his phone and made a call. Before long, a middle-aged man in a purple suit hurried over. With a weeping, mournful expression, he called out to Zhang Huai'an, "Officer, you've finally remembered to handle the matter here! This art gallery really can't go on like this much longer. Even though this place doesn't make much money, it can't just be left in limbo like this."

"You must know that many renowned horror painters from all over the world are eager to exhibit their works here. It wouldn't matter if I'm the one who gets offended, but causing trouble for those famous artists could spell serious disaster."

Zhang Huai'an nodded solemnly. "You're well aware that several major cases occurred in the city recently, and the case at your establishment is somewhat tricky. The detective I brought along is specifically here to deal with your problem."

"Let me introduce you. This is Zhou Mo, a consultant hired by the City Guard."

Zhang Huai'an looked rather convincing when he put on a serious face, prompting the gallery director to hurriedly squeeze out a smile and extend a hand toward Zhou Mo. "N-Nice to meet you... I'm Yu Chun, the director here..."

When Yu Chun looked at Zhou Mo, he suddenly felt as though he had been seen through entirely. Goosebumps broke out across his back and arms, making him feel as though he were being stared down by some apex predator.

Zhou Mo chuckled lightly. "Hello, Director. Let's skip the pleasantries. I'd like to go inside as soon as possible and see what the situation is."

Feeling somewhat uneasy, Yu Chun took out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from his forehead. "Right this way, please... Please come in..."

Once the director unlocked the main doors and had the dim lights turned on, stepping inside revealed that the entire exhibition hall had been decorated in deep, sombre shades of gray. The lighting here cast a faint, bluish hue, sending an involuntary chill down anyone's spine.

Upon entering, one was immediately met with various artworks constructed primarily in black and red, with almost every single piece filled with bloody and horrifying scenes.

Not quite daring to meet Zhou Mo's gaze, Yu Chun spoke up, "These pieces represent the most popular horror art style of the present day. Every single painting displayed here is a masterpiece produced over the last decade or so."

As he spoke, Yu Chun seemed to become increasingly immersed in these works of art, a trace of fanaticism creeping into his eyes. "The very first moment you look at these pieces, you realize how they utilize color to channel humanity's most primal violent desires. These paintings not only awaken the terror buried deep within people's hearts, but they also offer a cathartic, exhilarating release akin to the aftermath of a fierce battle."

"The psychological impact delivered by this kind of art is far more direct than any other art form."

"Master Li Ying once said: Art has a threshold, but fear does not."

"When you are able to understand fear, you understand this art."

Having finished, the director looked back at Zhou Mo, seemingly hoping to catch an expression of terror on his face. However, the chilling illumination of the art gallery only made the contours of Zhou Mo's face look even gloomier.

Zhou Mo merely glanced coldly at the artworks. Perhaps due to his current mindless state, he was completely unable to sense any emotion of fear from these paintings.

Instead, he noticed that tiny, shimmering flakes seemed to be drifting through the air around them. In Zhou Mo's field of vision, Director Yu Chun's body was covered in those glittering powders.

Yet neither the director nor Zhang Huai'an had noticed this at all.

'This must be some kind of ability belonging to a subconscious monster.'

Zhou Mo could not help but raise his head to look upward, just in time to see a shadow flapping its wings vanish toward the ceiling.

Zhou Mo nodded slightly to himself, thinking: 'Could this be the scale powder from a moth's wings? Could it be that this director has been affected by these scales?'

Beside him, Zhang Huai'an hadn't felt much at first upon viewing these paintings, but the longer he looked, the more bizarre they felt. Shivering, he turned to look at Zhou Mo next to him and noticed that Zhou Mo had been staring upward the whole time. He asked, "What are you doing? Are you looking toward the direction of the crime scene?"

Without waiting for Zhou Mo to answer, he quickly added, "Let's go. Let's go take a look at the crime scene."

Director Yu Chun also forced a stiff smile and said, "Indeed, we should inspect the scene. Right this way, let's take the elevator up."

Taking the elevator all the way to the fifth floor, the moment the elevator doors opened, Zhou Mo's eyes narrowed.

Although he had no way of knowing what Zhang Huai'an and the other man were seeing, from his perspective, this hallway was densely covered in web-like threads, alongside a shattered insect cocoon!

The walls were crawling with moths the size of human heads, and upon their folded wings, a pair of eerie eyes could faintly be discerned.

The arrival of the three people seemed to displease these moths, as the vibrating of their wings shook off a cascade of scale powder.

When Zhang Huai'an and Director Yu Chun stepped out of the elevator, both of them inadvertently shuddered, their footsteps even faltering slightly.

Zhang Huai'an's eyelids twitched as he looked down the dim corridor, where only the green light of the emergency exit sign was flickering. He could not help remarking, "Director, is it really necessary to make this place look so terrifying?"

Zhang Huai'an had spent some time working at a funeral home just recently, yet he somehow felt that this art gallery was far more terrifying than a mortuary; he constantly felt as though some horrific entity was lurking and waiting at the end of the darkness.

The director looked even paler, his adrenaline surging. He ran over to the side and shoved open the heavy door of the emergency exit, allowing the sunlight from outside to flood in.

In Zhou Mo's eyes, everything changed completely. Outside the corridor door, a window appeared to have been opened, and a gust of wind blew in, carrying the scale powder from both the hallway and the director's body toward the very end of the hall.

The expressions on the two men's faces improved noticeably; that brief moment had caused a massive spike in their adrenaline.

However, Zhou Mo noticed that at the far end, a door was tightly sealed and even secured with two heavy iron chains.

Yet the doorframe was completely entwined with thick silk threads from insect cocoons. These threads looked exceedingly robust, and the dog-like brain inside his head seemed to be issuing a warning.

Inside that room lay a tremendously dangerous prey.

Looking at Yu Chun, Zhou Mo asked, "Why is that door at the end locked? What is in that room?"

Yu Chun let out a long breath. "The City Guard ordered me to seal that place off. It's just a storage room. They said it was too cluttered and would interfere with the investigation, so they sealed it up."

Standing beside him, Zhang Huai'an nodded heavily. "Our captain led us to search the place thoroughly. The clutter inside wasted a full two hours of our time, but when nothing was found in the end, the captain had us seal that door shut."

"In my opinion, it was completely unnecessary, but the captain seemed rather persistent about it."

Perhaps feeling that his earlier reaction had made him look weak, Zhang Huai'an forced himself to appear relaxed.

However, Zhou Mo noticed that Yu Chun's expression appeared somewhat nervous.

Heh...

It was Xia An again...