It took Ye Bing and Lingling nearly an hour by car to reach the residential area in District A where a large number of pets had died.
After Lingling presented her commission proof and her Hunter Master's badge, she successfully obtained the surveillance footage from the day of the incident in the residential area.
After Lingling quickly watched it from beginning to end, Ye Bing asked, "Lingling, have you found any clues?"
Lingling pondered for a moment before saying, "This might not be the work of a demon."
"Not a demon? Could it be human-made?" Ye Bing asked in surprise.
"It's very possible. Follow me!"
Lingling led Ye Bing to a corner of the residential area, took out a packet of powder, and said, "This is a special powder that can detect traces of demons. As long as it hasn't rained, you can usually see some traces."
After Lingling finished speaking, she scattered the packet of powder into the air. The powder slowly fell, and nothing happened.
"Ye Bing, look around some corners of the residential area to see if you can find any food residue. Bring back anything you find," Lingling instructed.
"Okay," Ye Bing responded, then began searching the various corners of the residential area.
Two hours later~
Ye Bing found some cake-like remnants. He sniffed them under his nose and could still smell a sweet scent, along with some mint-like fragrance.
"Lingling, I found some, but very little," Ye Bing handed the scarce food remnants to Lingling. These remnants were mostly the size of rice grains; if Ye Bing's five senses hadn't been strong, he wouldn't have found them.
Lingling sniffed them and said, "That's right, this is it. It's a mixture of several spices that have a fatal allure to cats and dogs."
"But how did he do it? Could no one discover him? And didn't the commission say there were bite marks?" Ye Bing asked, frowning.
"Perhaps it was a group effort. And those bite marks, couldn't they just be imitated easily? We just need to catch them."
After Lingling finished speaking, she took Ye Bing to visit the affected property owners. After asking a few questions, Lingling compiled a list of over a dozen suspects.
"Alright, Ye Bing, call the police," Lingling's words surprised Ye Bing.
"Call the police?"
"Otherwise? We are demon hunters, not private detectives. We know this isn't the work of a demon, and we've found evidence. The rest can be left to the police. The commission fee won't be less. Time is precious; let's go to the hospital in District A, quickly, quickly!" Lingling urged.
Ye Bing called the police, who quickly arrived at the area. After handing over the evidence to the police, Ye Bing and Lingling took a car again to the hospital in District A.
As soon as they arrived at the hospital, Ye Bing sensed that something was wrong. The hospital was deathly silent, and even the security guards looked pale and listless.
After Ye Bing and Lingling exchanged glances, they both saw a look of solemnity in each other's eyes.
"This hospital has something unclean," Lingling said.
"Ghosts? Undead?" Ye Bing asked.
"Not sure, but these security guards have clearly lost some of their vitality. We just don't know if that kind of unclean thing came here by accident or was deliberately placed here. Ye Bing, go gather some information," Lingling said.
Ye Bing nodded, approached one of the security guards, and with a handsome smile, said, "Hello, security guard brother."
The security guard brother saw a handsome young man come up to greet him. Although he was listless, he still managed to force a smile and replied, "Hello, is there anything I can help you with?"
"Oh, it's like this, has something happened at your hospital? Why do I feel so sleepy, didn't you sleep well?"
"Sigh, I don't know what's been happening these past few days. I clearly slept 8-9 hours a day, the kind of deep sleep, but every day when I wake up, I feel like I've done an intense workout, sore and weak. And it's not just me; the entire security team is like this. It's really strange," the security guard brother said.
"So that's how it is. Thank you!"
After Ye Bing and Lingling walked a bit further away, Ye Bing asked, "Lingling, what do you think?"
"Feeling sore and weak all over after waking up, could it be a nightmare demon? Not very sure, let's go see the patients first," Lingling suggested.
Ye Bing and Lingling arrived at the inpatient ward. The patients' conditions were even more worrying. Most of them were drowsy, lying in bed, and even the medical staff were yawning constantly, with dark circles under their eyes.
Lingling found an empty corridor, took out a packet of the powder she had used before, and sprinkled it into the air. As the powder fell, it automatically gathered together in mid-air, forming a shape.
"It is indeed a nightmare demon. It's a type of demon that absorbs human vitality. And seeing the entire hospital like this, there should be a considerable number of nightmare demons hidden within the hospital."
"Deliberately placed?" Ye Bing asked.
"Very likely. We still need more information," Lingling said.
"I'll go," Ye Bing chose a relatively young nurse, about 20 years old, as his target.
"Hello, nurse sister, has something happened at the hospital recently? My grandfather and others also look very haggard and drowsy," Ye Bing said to the young nurse with a sad expression.
The young nurse looked left and right, then whispered to Ye Bing, "You must not tell anyone else, our hospital has been very strange recently. Nurses and doctors on night shifts, and inpatients, all seem to be possessed. It's best to transfer your grandfather to another hospital. Many patients have already transferred and don't dare to stay here. I heard that patrolling nurses even saw several red lights fluctuating in the hospital corridor at night."
Ye Bing was stunned. Red lights? He remembered there was another commission related to red lights, and that street seemed not far from this hospital.
"May I ask which floor those red lights were seen on?"
"It seems to be the third basement level. That's the morgue, and usually no one dares to go near there," the young nurse thought for a moment and said.
"Okay, thank you, nurse sister."
Ye Bing then sought out another nurse, and the information he received was largely similar to what the young nurse had just said. After getting the information, Ye Bing returned to Lingling's side.
"Red lights? The morgue, huh? I understand. Let's come back tonight," Lingling said.
Late at night.
Ye Bing and Lingling were hidden within the hospital. The hospital at night was even more eerie, with gusts of cold wind blowing. Lingling shivered and pulled her small cotton jacket tighter, but her eyes never left the surveillance cameras on the tablet.
Lingling suddenly exclaimed, "They've appeared! It's indeed a nightmare demon!"
Upon hearing this, Ye Bing's gaze fell on the tablet in Lingling's hand. Among dozens of screens, one showed a strangely shaped demon, like a ball of flesh with a single eye.
"Didn't you say there were red lights? How come…" Ye Bing asked, confused.
"The red lights were probably to conceal their true identity. It's clear that these were deliberately placed. Ye Bing, let's go to the morgue. The mastermind should be there!" Lingling said.
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