By 10:00 AM on the fourth day, September 25, Amelia was watching television out of sheer boredom. Suddenly, Li Yunlong-who had been sitting cross-legged on the floor-rose to his feet. He walked over to the window, parted the curtains just a fraction, and peered outside. Turning back, he addressed Amelia with an extraordinarily grave expression. «They're here.»
Amelia nodded and drew a deep breath. Retrieving her necklace, she swallowed the potion mounted upon it without the slightest hesitation. She then pulled out her phone and dialed the Los Angeles Police Department. «Hello? Is this the police? I need to report an emergency!» Over the past two days, Amelia had prepared exhaustively for this very scenario; now, it was simply a matter of executing her plan step-by-step. Li Yunlong offered her a brief nod before sitting back down in his chair. Clasping his hands over his stomach, he lowered his head and closed his eyes, settling quietly into deep reflection.
As his second-in-command, Adonis was responsible for liaising with various teams and coordinating any issues that arose, which included handling seemingly non-urgent intelligence. Adonis weighed the report he had just received before approaching his superior right before the operation commenced. «Captain Wales, the LAPD just forwarded an emergency call. A Ms. Amelia called stating she is in immediate danger and requested police assistance.»
Captain Wales rested his chin on his hand, musing for a moment. A knowing smile touched his lips. «Adonis, we just located Ms. Amelia as our key suspect, and she happens to place an emergency call right on cue. Do you believe in such coincidences?»
«I do not believe this is a coincidence, sir,» Adonis replied without hesitation.
Captain Wales opened his comms channel. «Is the strike team in position?» Upon receiving a confirmation, he instructed, «Stand by. On my mark, move in.» He turned to Adonis. «Have someone fetch two sets of body armor. Let's go meet this Ms. Amelia together.»
A knock sounded at the door. Amelia glanced over at Li Yunlong, but seeing him sitting as still as a carved wooden statue, she had no choice but to call out herself. «Come in, it's unlocked.»
The door swung open, and Captain Wales strode inside with steady, deliberate steps, followed closely by a vigilant Adonis. Both men wore heavy body armor.
Amelia spoke up before they could say a word. «Stop right there! Whoever you are and whichever faction you represent, if you want any useful information out of me, keep your distance! Do not break the magic circle at my feet. If it is disrupted, the curse suppressed inside me will detonate instantly. I assume none of us want to see that happen, do we?»
Captain Wales paused, and Adonis halted right behind him. With deliberate slowness, Wales scanned the entire room, his eyes concealed behind dark sunglasses that nevertheless radiated a deeply unsettling demeanor. «Ms. Amelia,» he said, before turning his gaze toward Li Yunlong by the window. «And Mr. Brook Lee. I am Captain Wales of the FBI 17th Division. I am here on behalf of the federal government to handle the September 22nd mass disappearance in Los Angeles.»
As he spoke, Captain Wales kept his eyes fixed entirely on Li Yunlong, clearly aware of who held the real weight between the two.
Li Yunlong, however, acted as if he hadn't heard a word, remaining completely motionless in his chair.
Captain Wales raised an eyebrow and scanned the room once more, his eyes lingering on the magic circle at Amelia's feet before he turned back to Li Yunlong, his tone sharpening. «Mr. Brook Lee.»
Li Yunlong remained unresponsive, still sitting like a lifeless wooden statue.
Captain Wales's brow furrowed tightly. He tapped his communicator and ordered, «Move in!» At his command, a fully armed tactical team swarmed the converted RV motel room within a minute. Four operatives sealed off the entrance, while others forcefully ripped open the windows from the outside. To save costs, this model of RV had been manufactured with oversized windows under the guise of maximizing natural light; now stripped of its glass, the room was completely breached from all sides. Even the roof skylight was breached, with two heavily armed agents training their rifles downward into the space. This overwhelming force was the source of Captain Wales's confidence. For this operation, he had brought two tactical assault squads-twenty-four professional operatives armed to the teeth. They possessed enough firepower to breach a fortified compound or take on an armed gang of over a hundred men. Against a single room in a rundown motel and a woman whose threat level was virtually zero, this level of force would have seemed utterly absurd-were it not for the possibility that Li Yunlong, an occult researcher, possessed unknown tricks up his sleeve. Captain Wales had witnessed too many anomalies in the field, making him prefer the ruthless precision of a lion crushing a rabbit to eliminate any potential surprises.
Yet Li Yunlong appeared entirely oblivious to the chaos around him, remaining frozen in his original posture.
By now, anyone could tell something was wrong. Captain Wales frowned heavily, drew a deep breath, and shouted loudly, «Mr. Brook Lee!» Li Yunlong remained motionless, giving no response whatsoever. Suppressing a growing surge of unease, Captain Wales signaled the tactical operative near the window.
The operative nodded and shoved the barrel of his rifle aggressively into Li Yunlong's shoulder. Acting tough, are we? Give me an excuse, and I'll pull the trigger. But the moment the barrel made contact, the agent suddenly stumbled forward, nearly losing his balance. Had he not been thoroughly trained, his finger might have accidentally pulled the trigger in the stumble. Even so, the sight sent a shockwave through everyone in the room.
To the onlookers, the operative's gun barrel appeared to slice right into Li Yunlong's body, forcing its way down from his shoulder straight through to his abdomen. Amelia nearly gasped in horror, but what followed was even more surreal. Li Yunlong's figure began to dissolve, bleeding away like ink dispersing into the ocean, before vanishing entirely. The chair was completely empty-save for a tiny paper figure leaning against the backrest. Instinct took over, and Amelia shrieked, «A Paper Puppet!»
Drawn by her scream, Captain Wales whipped his head toward her, but an immediate sense of danger made him snap his gaze back to the chair-just in time to see the paper figure burst into self-combusting flames! It was a tiny, meticulously crafted paper figure, cut carefully to match human proportions. Features, hair, and intricate clothing had been painted onto it with fine pigments, though the delicate charm runes inked across its surface somewhat ruined its charming appearance. In the span of a single breath, the delicate figure burned away from the inside out, turning to ash before anyone could react. They watched helplessly as a gust of wind swept through the breached room, blowing the ashes away until nothing remained. Strangely, the wooden chair showed no scorch marks at all.
Captain Wales forcefully bit down on his rage at being played. «Maintain formation! Do not panic! Use all equipment to hunt down Brook Lee!» Though he had been outmaneuvered, Captain Wales still believed he held the upper hand. Invisibility and hypnosis might seem magical, but such tricks were only effective against an isolated individual; against a squad of disciplined, highly trained soldiers, he doubted those abilities would hold up. Furthermore, he had brought an array of specialized gear to counter unforeseen threats-thermal imagers, portable radar systems, and synthetic electronic tracking devices. Magic might deceive human perception, but how would it fare against machines?
Thanks to their rigorous training, the team quickly regained their composure under Wales's steady leadership, seamlessly coordinating their search efforts.
Watching his men move with crisp efficiency, Captain Wales felt his mood lift slightly. He pulled over the chair Li Yunlong had occupied moments before, dusted off imaginary debris with his hand, and sat down. Looking at Amelia, he adopted a conversational tone. «Ms. Amelia, it appears you know a great deal more than I do.» He gestured toward his subordinates, who were busy operating their various devices. «I believe we have plenty of time for a chat.» Adonis stepped up behind Wales, ready to act as a temporary scribe.
Amelia possessed impressive mental resilience; having had time to process what just happened, she composed herself and offered Captain Wales a helpless, bitter smile. «I spent all this time believing Brook Lee was right beside me! How foolish I was… I couldn't even tell whether he was real or not!»
«Because of that 'Paper Puppet' you mentioned?» Captain Wales asked.
«Yes!» Amelia replied. «I had no idea Brook Lee's Paper Puppets could be so lifelike! It was indistinguishable from a real human! Can you imagine? I was talking to him right before you broke in-he even pulled back the curtain to look outside!»
Captain Wales felt a chill run down his spine at the thought. As a professional, his mind immediately leaped to the tactical implications: if Li Yunlong could use such convincing paper decoys to impersonate himself, could he use the same method to impersonate others? The thought alone was enough to drive a security officer mad. Wales forced himself to push those thoughts aside; dwelling on unconfirmed possibilities would only derail his focus. Right now, he needed to concentrate on what was within his control. Capturing Li Yunlong would be ideal, though the chances now seemed slim-he had clearly underestimated the man's capabilities. «Ms. Amelia,» Captain Wales said, leaning forward. «Just how much do you know about these 'Paper Puppets'?»