Chapter 81: Gathering Evidence

After leaving a backdoor last time, getting into the service's system and breaking in again wasn't as tough. This time, Chu Cheng didn't need to use a remote-controlled server; he accessed it directly through the portable computer on Batman's glove.

He quickly dug up the relevant information about the incident.

The detectives handling the case were still investigating, but they had preliminary concluded that the infection was spread through some creepy tentacles and disgusting tea Chu Cheng saw at the milk tea shop. However, this infection didn't spread through the air. Instead, the target had to ingest the tentacles or the gross liquid to get infected.

Chu Cheng was puzzled. Even though people have weird tastes, he couldn't imagine anyone willingly swallowing those tentacles or that foul-smelling liquid. It made him wonder if anyone would actually fall for this.

But after thinking about it, he remembered how many infected people he had seen in the shop. So, he started questioning people's taste in food these days.

He soon found a note that explained it. While the tentacles and liquid looked disgusting to normal people, to those under the spell, they appeared as irresistible delicacies.

It was like getting tricked into something you thought was a good deal, only to find out later it was all a scam.

The source of the infection was still being investigated. It was confirmed that the infected people were the clerks and customers Chu Cheng encountered in the shop, but where the infection started was still unknown.

One more interesting point: the owner of the milk tea shop disappeared a few days ago.

The local authorities received a report and sent someone to investigate, but there had been no progress. What might have been just a simple missing person's case suddenly became more intriguing, given the infection incident.

The investigators at the Secret Service Nine were also looking into the disappearance. After checking out the shop, their next stop was the owner's residence.

So Chu Cheng decided to head there first.

Batman quickly arrived at the owner's house.

The owner's name was Yoshimura, and he lived in a row house. The place wasn't large, about 650 square feet, and Batman's detective mode quickly mapped out the whole building. There was no sign of anyone inside.

For Batman, regular locks were no problem. He easily picked the lock, stepped onto the soft carpet, and walked inside.

According to the local authorities, the Yoshimura couple lived there. The last time they were seen was by a neighbor. They had returned home late one night, and the neighbor, who was taking out the trash, saw them enter the house. But the next day, neither of them showed up for work.

No one knows exactly what happened when they returned home that night, but after that, they all disappeared.

Because so much time had passed, unlike the last time when he tracked Agent Luo and found clues within a day, there were fewer traces left to scan.

Time might have erased them, or maybe new activities had covered them up. The longer the gap, the fewer clues there were to find.

But Batman still discovered something in the house.

Detective mode only highlighted traces or objects that Batman found suspicious. Chu Cheng, as the player, just followed the Caped Crusader's lead.

So for Chu Cheng, it wasn't so much a detective game as it was a game of "spot the difference." He had to find the traces and objects Batman highlighted and try to piece together their meaning.

The first clue appeared in the kitchen sink.

The detective mode highlighted the edge of the sink drain with a faint orange-red color, scattered like drops of orange juice.

Chu Cheng entered detective mode and scanned the area. Soon, the computer fed back the results.

It was similar to the reaction from the tentacles and sticky liquid found in the milk tea shop. Maybe something similar had been placed in the sink, or a similar liquid was poured down the drain.

This suggested that the infection vector had indeed been present in the house. Based on what was found in the milk tea shop, and since this reaction came from the kitchen sink, someone might have used the infection vector in cooking.

It was highly likely that both residents were infected.

But that didn't explain their disappearance or where they went.

Chu Cheng finished scanning and continued to explore the house in detective mode.

The empty home seemed to tell a silent, eerie story. The cold night wind made the windows creak.

Batman opened a cupboard, and an object highlighted in orange appeared on the detective mode screen.

Chu Cheng had Batman pick it up. It was a small cup with cartoon patterns on it—likely a child's cup.

But something about this cup didn't sit right with Chu Cheng.

According to the information, only a couple lived in this house, and it was stated that they had no children.

Yet this cup was clearly for a child.

That's why the cup was highlighted in detective mode—it made Batman suspicious.

Of course, a child's cup alone didn't prove anything. Adults could use such a cup, after all. But, when combined with other clues, it might mean something more.

For example, the detective mode also highlighted two adult toothbrushes and one child's toothbrush by the sink—three toothbrushes in total.

Or the bowls used for eating: a large bowl, a medium-sized bowl, and a small children's bowl with a cartoon pattern.

All these clues hinted that there was not only a couple living here but also a child.

An unidentified child.

Chu Cheng switched back to the scanning mode. Batman could try to extract DNA from the bowls, mugs, toothbrushes, and comb.

The Batcomputer could then cross-reference the data with the Secret Service Nine's database. If the child's DNA was recorded, Batman could identify them.

But just as Chu Cheng was about to start scanning, the screen suddenly shifted out of first-person mode.

There was a loud crash from the side of the house, and a burly figure burst through the wall. A bright red exclamation mark appeared over the intruder's head, and the figure lunged at Batman with claws bared.