Beneath the Dome, Sin within Sins

After Su Mo hung up the phone, it didn’t take long for Lu Xun to arrive. He came carrying a large bag of supplies, grumbling non-stop as he entered, “Are you two serious? Why do you need so much gear just to find one person?”

While changing into my protective suit, I said to Lu Xun, “The person inside might not be normal anymore, so we need to be fully prepared. We can’t afford to be caught off guard.”

Once we were fully suited up, Su Mo and I exchanged a glance. I nodded at him, and the guy pulled a master key from his pocket, slowly unlocking the door.

The moment the door opened, a strong stench of blood hit us. I frowned slightly and stepped in first. After confirming that it was safe, I waved to Su Mo, signaling him to follow.

When I flipped on the living room light, the first thing that caught my eye was a dog lying lifeless on the floor.

Su Mo cautiously made his way toward the bedroom. At that moment, both of us were on edge, nerves stretched taut like a bowstring. In the unseen corners of the house, someone-or something-could spring out and lunge at us at any moment.

As Su Mo reached for the bedroom door handle, I suddenly heard the bathroom door crash open. In the next instant, a figure lunged straight at me. Reacting instinctively, I dodged to the side and delivered a powerful kick. With a loud “thud,” the figure hit the ground hard.

Su Mo rushed over and quickly subdued the person. However, before we could catch a breath, the man twisted around and tried to sink his teeth into Su Mo’s arm. Luckily, Su Mo was wearing his protective suit; otherwise, his arm would have been ripped to shreds.

I stepped up quickly, grabbing an ashtray from the table and smashing it down on the man’s head with all my strength.

At that moment, I couldn’t afford to worry about whether he would survive the blow. If I hesitated even for a second, who knew what kind of dangerous move this crazed man might attempt next?

With the strike, the man immediately passed out. Su Mo glanced at the unconscious man, then at me, and commented, “Wow, you really don’t hold back, huh?”

“No time for jokes. Call someone to haul him out of here and have the place thoroughly investigated. There might be some clues lying around.”

Su Mo nodded and motioned for Lu Xun, who was waiting outside the door, to make the call for backup.

To prevent the man from waking up and causing trouble again, we tied him up securely with a rope for good measure.

As for me, I took the opportunity to thoroughly examine the man’s home.

Probably because the house hadn’t been tidied up in a long time, it was an absolute mess. However, in the bedroom, I found something interesting-a liquid labeled “Vampire Seduction.” Just from the decorative design of the bottle, I could tell it was a perfume.

I didn’t open the perfume but carefully placed it into a physical evidence bag. This needed to be sent to Lu Che for further investigation. There was a chance it might help us uncover an antiserum to suppress those monsters.

Additionally, I discovered an employment form inside the man’s briefcase. The form indicated the store where he worked. Judging by the zigzagging address, it was likely some obscure little workshop. This was probably where the man had been employed.

Not long after, officers from the police station arrived to take the man away. They also carried off the dog’s corpse, saying it would be used for research purposes.

Once they left, I handed the address I had found to Su Mo. After examining it for a while, Su Mo asked hesitantly, “Are we going there?”

I nodded. Of course, we had to check it out. And heading there at night would make it easier to keep our movements hidden. Driving to such a remote spot in broad daylight would only invite suspicion.

With that decision, Su Mo and I made our way to the small workshop where the man worked, using the cover of night to stay concealed.

Initially, I thought we’d just sneak in quietly and look around for clues. But to my surprise, we stumbled upon something far more intriguing.

The workshop was brightly illuminated, a clear sign that someone was inside. Through the window, I thought I caught sight of a familiar figure.

“Doesn’t that guy look familiar to you?” I whispered, patting Su Mo on the shoulder and indicating the direction with a nod.

Following my gaze, Su Mo’s expression quickly shifted. “Yeah, you’re right! The silhouette looks really familiar. I feel like I’ve seen him somewhere before!”

“Where? Can you remember?” I asked.

Su Mo furrowed his brow and thought hard for a moment, then shook his head. “I don’t know. It’s just this nagging feeling that I’ve seen him, but I can’t, for the life of me, remember where. What about you? Does it ring a bell?”

His question made me frown slightly. Was he joking? If I knew, I wouldn’t have asked him in the first place.

To figure out who the person was, Su Mo and I decided to get closer.

Just as we were about to creep up beneath the man’s window, he suddenly stood up. That single movement froze both Su Mo and me in place, as if we had been hit by some kind of immobilization spell.

But it also gave me a clear view of his face. I was just about to turn and tell Su Mo, but I saw him pointing at the man’s shadow, his mouth opening to speak. Without thinking, I clamped a hand over his mouth, lowering my voice to a whisper. “Shut up! Do you want the two of us to get into trouble?!”

“How can it be him?!” Su Mo whispered, utterly shocked.

Seeing the look on his face, I let out a sigh, suppressing my own surprise. Honestly, I was just as stunned as he was.

But given the situation, one of us needed to stay calm. And since Su Mo was clearly too impulsive to keep a cool head, the responsibility naturally fell to me.

“Yeah, I’m surprised too. He broke out of prison and instead of fleeing far away, he’s hiding in this godforsaken place.” After saying that, I turned my gaze to Su Mo. “Tell me this-after he escaped, did you guys not issue a wanted notice?”

The reason I asked was that the man inside wasn’t just any random criminal. He was none other than Jiang Wu, the cult leader who had escaped prison not long ago.

I had thought that after escaping, this guy would flee the country or disappear into some remote corner of the world. Who would’ve guessed that he’d take such a risky move, hiding right here in the city? I had to admit, it completely caught me off guard.

“Of course we issued a wanted notice!” Su Mo said, his tone filled with frustration. “The entire city was alerted! The only reason he hasn’t been caught is because he’s extremely good at hiding!”

As he spoke, I could see the fury burning in his eyes. Clearly, Su Mo held a much deeper grudge against Jiang Wu than I did.

“I’m going to take him down right now!” Su Mo muttered, his voice brimming with anger. He started to stand, but I quickly grabbed him and stopped him.

“What are you thinking? Are you trying to get yourself killed?” I said urgently.

Su Mo didn’t take my words well. Lowering his voice, he shot back angrily, “What’s that supposed to mean? Are you questioning my abilities?”

“Ha? How in the world did you come to that conclusion?” I replied, my voice still low but growing sharper. “I’m just worried about your safety. Do you really think you can just waltz in there and handle this guy?”

“And why not?!” Su Mo growled, his face set with determination. “Don’t forget-I’m a police officer. Right now, we have an extremely dangerous criminal hiding here. Do you expect me to just stand by and let him continue endangering innocent people?”

I stared at him, completely at a loss for words. His speech was full of righteous rhetoric, and now he’d dragged concepts like duty and public safety into the conversation. I didn’t even know how to respond.