"Could it be that the boss left ahead of us?" Jiang Cheng offered a very normal hypothesis.

"No way." Wu Bin's tone was very certain. "The boss's suitcase is still in the room, and all the documents are there. Only the person is missing."

"More importantly, a leather shoe was left in the office, not far from the door." Wu Bin emphasized, "It's the pair the boss was wearing today. The employee recognized it at a glance."

"Furthermore, while waiting for the boss, this employee stayed at the front desk of the escape room, right next to the entrance. He didn't see the boss walk out either."

Choosing to call the police based on these vague things seemed a bit far-fetched. Jiang Cheng remained calm, knowing that Wu Bin still had something left unsaid.

"This employee associated the police visit today and the boss's abnormal behavior after the police left, and a bad feeling arose in his heart."

"He immediately took out his phone and dialed the boss's number."

Speaking of this, Wu Bin's tone faltered, and his breathing became rapid. Jiang Cheng subconsciously frowned slightly, knowing that the key point had arrived.

After about 5 seconds of silence, Wu Bin's voice became low and strange, and he said, "The phone... the boss's phone is ringing, right here in this office."

"Where?" Jiang Cheng asked cooperatively.

"Behind the door." Wu Bin said, "The phone's ringtone is coming from behind the door! The layout of this office isn't very good. The door can be opened very wide. After the door is pushed open from the outside, there's an angle between the door and the wall, which is a blind spot."

Jiang Cheng mentally pictured the scene at that time and asked after a long silence, "So... the owner of the escape room is hiding behind the door?"

Jiang Cheng originally intended to ask if the escape room owner's body was behind the door. After all, in such a situation, Jiang Cheng didn't think he could survive.

But in order not to stimulate Wu Bin, he chose to ask a more conservative question.

But the other party's answer was somewhat beyond his expectations. "No." Wu Bin answered very simply, "That corner is very small and can't hide a person at all. There... there is a painting, an oil painting, hanging behind the door, a very large oil painting!"

The moment he heard the words "oil painting," Jiang Cheng's expression changed. Xia Qiang and the others who were listening closely to the phone also changed their expressions. Huai Yi, recalling the scene that happened in Room 19, couldn't help but gasp, a chill running down his spine.

"What kind of oil painting?" Jiang Cheng's voice remained calm.

"It's a very old oil painting. I don't know how to describe it. Anyway, it's not the kind of style I like. It should be Western. The overall atmosphere looks particularly depressing. A police officer told me that the content of the painting looks like it's related to religion, sacrifices or something. I don't understand."

"What's even stranger is that this employee said that although he knew the boss was a cultured person and hung some paintings on the walls of the office as decoration, he didn't remember that there was a painting behind the door, and he had no impression of this painting at all."

"Once you've seen such a painting, you'll never forget it. It's a..." Wu Bin seemed to be thinking of a suitable word to describe it, but in the end, he gave up and continued, "Anyway, we also called a few other employees, and they all said they hadn't seen it."

"By the way, there is a red river on the painting, and there are many people in strange clothes bathing in the river. Their expressions are particularly strange, a half-smile, with the corners of their eyes tilted upwards..."

Jiang Cheng felt that Wu Bin on the other end of the phone was a little strange, talking for a long time without getting to the point, so he interrupted and said, "Captain Wu, you said just now that the phone rang behind the door."

"Yes, I was just about to tell you this!" Wu Bin's tone suddenly became excited, "The phone rang behind the door! But not behind the door, it's... it's in the painting, the ringtone is coming from the painting, from this oil painting hanging behind the door!"

"The ringtone came from the painting?" Zhou Tong was a little lost for a moment, which was beyond her comprehension.

"That's right, that's how it is! And... and we also saw something shining in an inconspicuous place in the oil painting."

"It's a phone!"

"The phone is tightly clenched in a person's hand, no, not right, to be precise, in half a person's hand. That person only has the upper half of his body left. Everything below the waist has disappeared!"

"It's the missing owner of the escape room. His upper body is being held up, and his lower body is a few meters away. On his feet... there is only one shoe left on his feet!" Wu Bin's voice trembled as he spoke, and it was imaginable what kind of psychological impact this veteran criminal police officer was suffering at this moment.

It is no exaggeration to say that his long-held worldview is collapsing.

Through Wu Bin's description, the ins and outs of the matter probably emerged in Jiang Cheng's mind. After they left, the Midnight Killer found the owner of the escape room.

The oil painting they had seen strangely appeared in the escape room owner's office and killed the owner of the escape room by incomprehensible means, then dragged his body into the painting, merging with the world in the oil painting.

"Thump!"

A muffled sound came from the other end of the microphone. Jiang Cheng heard it clearly. It sounded like a person hitting their head hard against the wall.

"Huh?" Wu Bin made a puzzled sound.

"What happened?" Jiang Cheng suddenly had a bad feeling. After all, judging from the conversation, Wu Bin and the others were at the scene.

Wu Bin did not answer Jiang Cheng, but shouted, "What's wrong over there?"

For a long time, there was no response.

"Dong Yong?" Wu Bin asked loudly.

Jiang Cheng heard the other side of the microphone was eerily quiet, leaving only Wu Bin's slightly rapid breathing. The chaotic sounds from before had disappeared at some point.

"What's going on?" Wu Bin's voice suddenly became panicked.

"Captain Wu, what happened there?" Jiang Cheng asked immediately.

"The lights, the lights in the corridor are off. It's very dark around here. There was a sound in the office just now, a very strange sound. My team members are still inside. I called them, but no one responded." Although Wu Bin was nervous, his thoughts were still clear. "I'll go back and find them."

Jiang Cheng had experienced similar situations many times. He immediately raised his voice and reminded, "Captain Wu, don't go back! Leave, get out of there quickly!"

"But my team members, and several employees, are all inside." Wu Bin's voice contained stubbornness. "I can't leave them behind."

"You're just going to die if you go now!" Jiang Cheng said sternly, "You have no idea what you're facing!"

The next second, a crisp "click" sound came from the other side of the microphone. Jiang Cheng's voice paused. He could tell that it was the sound of a handgun being cocked.

"Please help me tell Captain Xia that if you don't hear back from me within 10 minutes, please provide immediate support. This is a busy downtown area. I repeat, please provide immediate support!"

The phone was then hung up.