Chapter 1: The First Appearance of the Rusty Butterfly

In 2025, on a mist - filled morning, Ashen Town was as if enveloped by a thick layer of gloom. The streets and alleys were filled with fog, resembling a ghostly domain forgotten by time. In the distance, the chimneys of the abandoned steel factory loomed faintly in the mist, like silent giants, telling of the town's former glory and present decline. Those towering chimneys no longer billowed thick smoke; only the cold steel exteriors remained, exuding a chill in the mist.

Irene Crawford, a newly - promoted agent of the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit, drove a black SUV slowly into the town. Dressed in a black windbreaker, her capable short hair fluttered gently in the breeze. Her eyes were filled with determination and calmness. However, when her gaze swept over the familiar yet unfamiliar scenes of the town, a trace of complex emotions welled up deep inside her. Every corner here held her childhood memories, but now, these memories were veiled in a layer of mist, making her feel both familiar and distant.

Irene returned to Ashen Town this time to investigate a bizarre murder case. The car slowly stopped at the entrance of the abandoned factory. Irene pushed open the car door, and a pungent smell of rust and decay hit her face. She subconsciously frowned, and a sense of unease welled up in her heart. She took a deep breath, composed her thoughts, and walked firmly into the factory.

Inside the factory, there was a deathly silence. Only the sound of her footsteps echoed in the vast space. She searched the factory carefully, leaving no corner unexplored. Finally, in a dark corner of the factory, she discovered the spine - chilling corpse. The deceased was the forensic consultant of the explosion case back then. There was a rusty butterfly tattoo engraved on his chest, and his left thumb was missing. The scene was extremely eerie. Irene crouched down and carefully examined the corpse. Her brows furrowed tightly. Years of criminal investigation experience told her that this case was by no means simple.

Her gaze slowly moved over the corpse, not missing any detail. The rusty butterfly tattoo seemed like a mysterious symbol, hiding unknown secrets. Her fingers gently touched the tattoo, trying to find some clues. The missing thumb made her even more puzzled. What was the meaning behind it? Various possibilities flashed through her mind, but she couldn't be certain.

Beside the corpse, Irene found a yellowed photo. In the photo, a young her and her mother were posing in front of the steel factory. Seeing this photo, Irene's hand trembled slightly. Some vague memory fragments flashed through her mind, but she couldn't seem to grasp them. She remembered her mother's gentle smile, the faint perfume scent on her mother, and the noise of the steel factory. But these memories seemed to be covered by a layer of mist and couldn't be dispelled.

Irene carefully put the photo into the evidence bag and secretly vowed in her heart that she must uncover the truth behind this case and also figure out the secret hidden behind this photo. She stood up, looking at the dilapidated surroundings, filled with doubts and determination. She knew that she was about to step into a world full of darkness and secrets. The road ahead was filled with unknowns and challenges, but she was not afraid, for she firmly believed that the truth would always come to light.

She looked around again, trying to find some other clues from this dilapidated environment. Abandoned machine parts were scattered all over the ground, and the ground was covered with thick dust, as if telling the vicissitudes of time. Suddenly, she noticed a strange string of footprints on the ground. The shape and size of the footprints were different from those of ordinary people, which made her heart tighten. She followed the direction of the footprints and found that they extended to a corner of the factory, where there was a dilapidated door, half - open.

Irene cautiously approached the door. Her hand tightly grasped the pistol at her waist, filled with vigilance. She slowly pushed open the door, and an even stronger smell of decay hit her face. She frowned and covered her nose and mouth with her hand, then entered the room. The room was pitch - black. She groped around and found the switch on the wall. After pressing the switch, a dim light came on.

In the light, she found that the room was filled with all kinds of sundries, including old furniture, rusty tools, and some unknown items. She searched the room carefully, hoping to find some clues related to the case. Suddenly, she noticed a dilapidated box in the corner. The box was covered with dust. She walked up to it and gently opened the box, finding that it contained some documents and photos.

She picked up the documents and photos and carefully flipped through them. The documents recorded some information about the steel factory and some materials related to the explosion case back then. Among the photos, there were some pictures of the steel factory employees back then. One photo caught her attention. In the photo was a man with a fierce and cunning look in his eyes. Irene felt that this man looked familiar, but she couldn't remember where she had seen him for the moment.

She put the documents and photos into the evidence bag and continued to search the room. Just as she was about to leave the room, she suddenly heard a sound of footsteps outside. She immediately became vigilant and quickly hid behind the door, holding the gun tightly in her hand. The footsteps got closer and closer, and her heart beat faster and faster. The moment the person entered the room, she suddenly jumped out and pointed the gun at the person.

"Don't move!" she shouted loudly.

The person was startled by her actions and froze in place. After a while, the person slowly raised his hands and said, "Don't shoot. I'm a worker here."

Irene carefully sized up the person and found that he was indeed wearing worker's clothes, with a trace of fatigue on his face. She lowered the gun but still remained vigilant and asked, "What are you doing here?"

The person replied, "I came here to look for some tools. I heard there are some abandoned tools here that can be used."

Irene nodded and said, "Have you seen any suspicious people or things?"

The person shook his head and said, "No. There was no one here when I came."

Irene asked the person some more questions, and the person answered them one by one. She felt that there were no flaws in the person's answers, so she let the person leave. She knew that this case was more complicated than she had imagined. She needed more clues and evidence to uncover the truth behind it.

She walked out of the room, looking at the fog outside, filled with confusion in her heart. But she knew that she couldn't give up. She had to find the truth and seek justice for the deceased. She took a deep breath, turned around, and walked towards the outside of the factory, ready to start the next step of the investigation.