Since it was daytime, past ten in the morning, the busiest time at the hospital, I wasn't particularly afraid, so I walked over and opened the door.

When I saw who was standing there, I nearly jumped out of my skin and hastily slammed the door shut again.

No one else in the room got a clear look at the person at the door, so everyone found my reaction strange.

Daxiong urgently asked me, "What's wrong?"

I didn't know how to explain, because what I saw was a person nearly two meters tall, wearing a trench coat, with a white oni mask covering their face!

Every single one of his features matched my guesses about that spectral figure from last night, and crucially, there was still some mud clinging to his sleeve that hadn't fully dried.

I stammered without speaking, and just then, the knocking resumed at the door.

This time, the person outside called out, "Open up, we are the police. We need your cooperation for an inquiry!"

I called back through the door, "What police? Nonsense! I’ve never seen the police wear a mask!"

The person outside replied, "This mask was found right outside your door. I was hoping you could tell me where it came from; it’s connected to a homicide case from a few days ago."

I froze for a moment. Hearing the deep, steady tone of his voice, he sounded like a real police officer.

And at that moment, both Daxiong and Xie Yuting were looking at me intently, which meant I absolutely couldn't make a fool of myself now.

I cleared my throat twice and said, "Hold on a moment, I'll open the door right away."

Even though I was gathering my courage to open the door, my palm was sweating.

I opened the door just a crack and saw a long, thin face smiling slightly at me from outside; he was also holding up a [redacted item].

Seeing that this man was handsome and refined, a stark contrast to that old man with white hair, I finally let him in with a sense of relief.

As soon as he entered, the officer cleared his throat and said, "Good morning. I am Officer Mu Mu from the nearby precinct. I'm here today to investigate a few matters."

"It must have been Hechuan Meizi who reported it yesterday, right?" Xie Yuting said blandly, without even looking at Officer Mu Mu.

Officer Mu Mu chuckled and replied, "That’s correct, though she didn't report it. Meizi is my fiancée. When I returned this morning, she told me about what happened at the hospital. Usually, the police don't get involved in supernatural incidents like this where leads are scarce, but out of duty, I decided to come take a look."

I rushed to offer him a seat, saying, "You are truly responsible. Have you made any findings yet?"

Officer Mu Mu declined my offer, seeming accustomed to standing, but his six-foot-three height still made him feel rather conspicuous.

He shook the mask in his hand and said, "This is my finding. I picked this up right outside your door just now, and there’s still some mud on it that hasn't dried. I was just comparing it to my own face to gauge the height of the other person, and I didn't expect you to walk in on me."

I gave an awkward laugh, noticing the mud on his sleeve was indeed freshly acquired, and felt a bit embarrassed.

To quickly change the subject, I asked, "Is there anything special about this mask?"

Officer Mu Mu nodded but hesitated, as if unsure where to begin, and finally said, "I’ll tell you about it slowly. You should look at what the surveillance footage captured last night first; I’ve already transferred it to my phone."

With that, he took out his phone, found the video, and pressed play.

The surveillance footage was angled down the corridor where our ward was located, and the time stamp read 9:30 PM.

Recalling that at 9:30, I wasn't at the hospital; I was walking toward the shrine with the two girls.

At that hour, the hospital corridor was packed with people—nurses and doctors constantly walking across the frame.

Daxiong leaned in, his eyes glued to the screen, while Xie Yuting pretended not to watch, lying back on the [redacted item] and smoking, yet still glancing over now and then.

The video played on and on. People moved back and forth, but there was absolutely no anomaly in the hallway.

The video played for about five minutes, the scene remaining monotonous with nothing out of the ordinary.

At this point, Daxiong grew impatient and said, "There’s nothing here! What are you making us watch?"

Officer Mu Mu glanced at Daxiong and chuckled, "That’s the difference between the police and ordinary people."

He paused the video, then reversed it at three times the speed. The people in the frame moved backward rapidly, yet still, nothing appeared amiss.

Daxiong grew anxious, sweat beading on his forehead, and asked, "Officer Mu Mu, stop playing games. What is going on?"

Officer Mu Mu smiled and said, "Look, this ward, 602, is the one you’re in now, right?"

I nodded and confirmed, "That's right..."

Officer Mu Mu gave a knowing smile and said, "Then watch that stool outside 602 closely." He rewound the footage again.

Honestly, I disliked people who loved to draw things out—it was called being mysterious if done well, but if done poorly, it was just showing off.

However, since this matter concerned me directly, I couldn't afford to get agitated. I reasoned that Officer Mu Mu must be a detective, perhaps one who had cracked major cases. At his age, solving significant crimes could lead to arrogance, making him want to flaunt his deductive skills to everyone.

Though I remained silent, Daxiong was impatient. I saw his expression growing grim, and since no strange imagery had appeared yet, I thought he was about to lose his temper.

But then, Daxiong’s expression suddenly shifted from annoyance to astonishment, and he exclaimed, "I think I see something."

I quickly asked, "See what?"

Daxiong pointed at the row of chairs in front of our room and said, "Look, the middle seat here has never been occupied."

I leaned closer and confirmed it. Indeed, there were three seats in the row outside our ward. Because the urine testing room was opposite us, people frequently sat on this row waiting for results. Yet, people came and went constantly, but only the two end seats were ever used; the middle one remained empty. On one occasion, three people arrived together, but two sat down, and the third, seeing the middle seat vacant, refused to sit there, preferring to wait standing up."

While this phenomenon seemed peculiar, I considered it, then decided it wasn't that strange—perhaps the middle seat was dirty, or maybe it was just coincidence.

That seat had surely been cleaned by the janitorial staff by now, so we couldn’t check for stains.

I voiced my doubt, but Officer Mu Mu shook his head and said, "You’ll understand if you watch this person closely."

He fast-forwarded the video to a specific point and pressed pause.

When the frame froze, we saw a young man in a leather jacket about to sit down. Seeing his multi-colored hair and the unlit cigarette dangling from his mouth, we knew he wasn't exactly model citizen material—the type who was usually arrogant and a bit of a punk, looking down on everyone.

Officer Mu Mu said, "Alright, don't say I didn't give you a hint. Pay attention to the cigarette in this man's mouth."

We remained silent, and after he finished speaking, he resumed playing the video.

We then watched the young man settle onto the seat, cross his legs, and seem to hum a tune.

After humming for a while, he suddenly began rummaging through his pockets.

Daxiong asked, "What’s he looking for? Did he drop his wallet?"

I shook my head and said, "His cigarette isn't lit; he’s looking for a lighter."

Daxiong heard me say that, noticed it too, and murmured in agreement.

Just then, we saw the man speak to the empty air in the middle seat. His head was turned to the side at the moment. But after waiting a few seconds, when his head turned back, the cigarette was lit.

Daxiong and I both gasped sharply and asked in unison, "Who lit his cigarette!"

In reality, we already suspected the answer. When Officer Mu Mu asked us to look at the empty bench, I realized there might be someone sitting there whom we simply couldn't see.

Officer Mu Mu didn't answer our question but continued scrolling the video forward, saying, "Look here next."

We focused intently on the screen as he spoke.

The surveillance clock now read 10:00 PM. The corridor was growing emptier. The seats were deserted.

Time ticked by, and occasionally we caught sight of a doctor or nurse leaving for the night, carrying a bag.

Though the visual was uneventful, we knew something unusual was about to happen, so we stared intently at the empty chair.

Sure enough, after a few seconds, we thought we saw a flicker of a dark shadow in the frame, and then a circular black mark appeared on the seat.

"What is that?" I asked, stunned.

Officer Mu Mu then produced a clear plastic bag and said, "This is the sample I collected this morning, before the cleaning staff got to it."

When I looked at the contents of the bag, I saw dried mud, and I instantly understood.

This was the mark left by the mud-caked figure where he had sat.

When he stood up from the chair, he left this imprint!

A question burned in my mind: why did that guy leave the seat? Where did he go?

Officer Mu Mu seemed to read my thoughts, turned off that video, and opened another one.

He said, "This is what another camera captured at the exact same time."

Because the angle was different, it took me a moment to realize that the row of chairs in the distance was the same one outside our door.

Just as we focused, we saw the otherwise calm footage begin to show significant electromagnetic interference, making it impossible to clearly make out what was happening on screen.

But after a few seconds, the picture suddenly stabilized again, revealing a sight that left us speechless.

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