There's a saying: "Once you do something, you become familiar with it, and the more you do it, the more comfortable you become." The first time you try something, it may be challenging, but it gets much smoother the second time. This principle holds true for hacking as well.
With the backdoor left from the previous attempt, infiltrating the system of the madhouse was significantly easier this time. There was no need for the remote control master to physically access the human server again. The barriers that once stood tall were now mere hurdles, easily bypassed.
Using the portable computer on his glove, equipped with screen projection, Charlie quickly dove into the digital labyrinth that was the madhouse's system. The shadows of encrypted data and layers of security peeled away like an onion, revealing the core of the information he sought.
The investigators in charge of the current incident were still deep in their work, piecing together the puzzle. However, they had already made a preliminary determination: the incident was vector-based, with the infection spreading through the strange tentacles and nauseating liquid that Charlie had witnessed in the coffee shop.
Unlike airborne pathogens, this type of infection required direct consumption of the infected medium. The working theory was that the tentacle-like snacks or the cup of sinister liquid provided at the shop were the culprits.
Charlie was puzzled. He had seen strange things in his time, but the idea that anyone would willingly consume those twitching tentacles or that foul-smelling liquid seemed absurd. Could anyone really be tricked into swallowing something so grotesque?
But then, he recalled the number of infected people he had seen in the shop that night. This realization led him to question the increasingly bizarre tastes and preferences that had developed in this twisted version of reality. The line between what was acceptable and what was repulsive seemed to have blurred.
As he continued digging, Charlie found a supplementary note in the investigation files. It explained that, while the true appearance of the tentacles and viscous liquid might drive most people to madness, in the eyes of those under the influence, these items could appear as the most tempting of delicacies.
It was like an illusion—a cruel trick of the mind. People thought they were consuming something desirable, only to realize too late that they had ingested something horrifying. It was as if the very nature of perception had been twisted, like in old tales where a seemingly perfect path led straight into a trap.
The source of the infection remained elusive. It was confirmed that the infected were mostly the clerks and customers from the shop, but the origin of the contamination was still under investigation.
A new piece of information caught Charlie's eye: the owner of the coffee shop had disappeared several days ago.
The FBI had received a missing person report and sent an agent to investigate, but there had been no progress. What could have been a routine case of disappearance had now taken on new, sinister significance in light of the infection incident at the shop.
The investigators from the Ninth Division naturally included this disappearance in their inquiry. After finishing their work at the coffee shop, their next destination was the owner's residence.
Charlie decided he would get there first.
Batman sprang into action. In the dead of night, a flurry of black wings flew across the city, making their way to the quiet, locked blocks where the owner's home was located.
The owner lived in a modest house, around 60 square meters in size. A quick scan using detective mode revealed the structure of the entire building. It confirmed what Charlie had suspected—there was no one inside.
Ordinary tumbler locks were no match for Batman's skills. He easily picked the lock, and the door creaked open. Charlie stepped inside, his boots sinking slightly into the soft carpet as he entered the dimly lit home.
According to the reports, the owner, Ferb, and his wife lived here. They had been seen entering the house one evening, but after that, they simply vanished. The next day, neither of them showed up for work, and their absence had led to the initial missing person report.
What could have happened that night? The house seemed ordinary, but the air was thick with unease. It was as if something terrible had occurred here, something that left no visible trace but still lingered in the atmosphere.
Due to the time that had passed, this case was different from Charlie's last investigation, where he had followed Ivan within a day. Many clues might have faded or been covered up by newer ones. The longer the interval, the fewer traces there were to find, and the harder it became to piece together the truth.
But Batman's keen eyes found something. The detective mode highlighted suspicious areas, marking them with glowing indicators. It was as if the house itself was guiding him, revealing its secrets to the master detective.
The first clue that drew his attention was in the kitchen sink.
The edge of the drain was marked by the detective mode with faint, almost imperceptible orange-red traces. They were scattered around the drain, reminiscent of drops of spilled orange juice. But Charlie knew better than to dismiss them as something so innocuous.
He entered detective mode, scanning the area. The Batcomputer quickly analyzed the residue, comparing it to known samples.
The results were chilling. The traces had a chemical composition similar to the tentacles and viscous liquid found in the coffee shop. It seemed likely that something similar had been in this sink, or perhaps a liquid of the same origin had been poured down the drain.
This was evidence enough to suggest that the infection had reached this home. Given that the reaction occurred in the kitchen, it was plausible that someone had unknowingly used the infected medium while preparing food.
It was highly probable that both Ferb and his wife had become infected.
But this discovery didn't answer the most pressing questions: why had they disappeared, and where had they gone?
Charlie stepped out of the first-person perspective, his mind racing as he continued to explore the house in detective mode.
The house was eerily silent, as if it were holding its breath, waiting for something. The cold night air seeped through the cracks in the windows, making them creak and groan, adding to the oppressive atmosphere.
Batman opened a cupboard, and another object was highlighted in the detective mode—a small cup with cartoon patterns, clearly designed for a child.
At first glance, it seemed like a harmless piece of kitchenware, but it gnawed at Charlie's mind. He knew something was off.
The reports had clearly stated that only Ferb and his wife lived here. They had no children. So why was there a child's cup in the house?
The detective mode had flagged the cup because it stood out in an otherwise mundane scene.
While it was possible for adults to use children's cups, when taken in conjunction with other clues, the implications became more troubling.
Batman continued searching the house and found more evidence. There were three toothbrushes by the sink—two for adults and one small toothbrush clearly meant for a child.
He opened a cabinet and found three bowls—one large, one medium-sized, and a small one, the latter with cartoon characters printed on the rim.
It was as if the house was whispering to him, telling him that a child had lived there.
But who was this child? And why was there no record of them?
Charlie re-entered scanning mode, allowing Batman to extract DNA samples from the bowls, cups, toothbrushes, and combs. The Batcomputer could then cross-reference this data with the Service Division's database. If there was a match, they could identify the child and possibly unravel the mystery.
But just as Charlie was about to begin the scan, his instincts flared—danger was near.
The screen snapped out of the first-person perspective as a sudden noise, like a blunt object smashing through a wall, echoed through the house. The sound was followed by a blur of movement, and before Charlie could react, a massive figure burst through the wall.
The creature was enormous, its hulking frame moving with unnatural speed. Its eyes glowed with a malevolent light, and a dangerous, bright red exclamation mark appeared above its head—a clear indication of hostility in the detective mode.
The beast lunged at Batman, claws outstretched, its growl reverberating through the small house. The walls shook as the creature charged, its sheer size and strength overwhelming.
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