Although the old man was wary and his words flickered, Ding still learned the name of this enthusiastic young man who loved art through patient questioning: Wang Ash. That's all the information I can get from the old man, and if I ask to see his room or ID card, the old man will probably have to call the police to check on himself. Moreover, the most important place at this time should be the auditorium of Longsheng Manor.

Wang Ash, Wang Ash, with the word "ash", I am afraid it represents his state of mind. On the way to Longsheng Manor, Dante pondered. So why didn't he simply use the pseudonym "Ten Thousand Ashes" to imply that "all thoughts are ashes"?

As the night wore on, and beyond the still intoxicating lights, Ding realized that despite the proximity to the newly developed area, the designers of Longsheng Manor had created a relatively independent and tranquil space for the community. Also, this is a high-end residential community, how can the people who live in it in the future like to be noisy all day long? Tonight, however, this intimate environment theoretically provides an excellent cover for Zheng Haohui, whether he plans to do anything other than send paintings. If he had planned it all himself, Dante would have had to be impressed with him once again.

Isn't it better to hold an opening ceremony during the day? This can attract more customers, make it more lively, and promote yourself better. This is another thing Dante thinks about on the road. In fact, the opening party that the old man was talking about was an internal celebration held by the developer, which was small in scale and attended by no more than 100 people. Dante had already guessed this when he stood on the side of the road opposite the community and looked across the fence, because the houses were basically dark, indicating that no residents had moved in yet, and correspondingly, the supporting access control and monitoring were not officially activated, and the three entrances to the community - the south gate, the east gate and the west gate - each security booth were empty. With such fortunate conveniences, even if you don't have the skills of the White Snake, it is not difficult to sneak in smoothly and not be discovered.

The auditorium is located in the property building, and even if you don't know this, you haven't seen the floor plan of this "manor", and you will naturally be attracted to find a brightly lit house in the dark. The property building is located in the center of the entire Longsheng Manor, and is probably the most modest building in the area. The first floor of the five-storey building is not used for office purposes at all, but instead houses an event arena (presumably for square dancing) and an auditorium that can accommodate 200 people. At this moment, the wide parking lot in front of the main entrance of the building was full of luxury cars, and Dante also saw some people smoking and chatting with these cars, it seems that they are the drivers of the boss who did not drive himself, and did not get permission to enter.

From the direction of the main entrance, you can see the event field, but you can't see the auditorium and its gates, which are obviously blocked behind. Either way, it's really not appropriate to walk straight into the front door in front of the drivers. So, Dante made a detour and came to the back of the property. When I looked closer, there was a small door here, and a large van was parked outside the door. He suddenly felt that this might be the car that Zheng Haohui was riding in to transport paintings. He crept into the window of the car to take a look, and there was no one in the car and nothing in it.

This back door is a thick security door, originally Dante was worried that it would need to be swiped or called to open, but it turned out to be slightly open, and there was no lock at all. Is it an inadvertent trap or a deliberate trap? Dante is willing to believe the former, because believing in the latter is meaningless in the current situation.

The corridor was bright and quiet. Dante tried to keep the sound of his footsteps to a minimum, and walked slowly inside, for fear of suddenly bumping into someone. However, it seemed that luck had been good, and no one appeared until he touched the door of the auditorium.

The doors of the auditorium, two dark brown solid wood doors with gold patterns, now silently closed, the light seeping through the cracks allowed Dante to imagine the opulence or extravagance of the interior. He himself has never had much to do with this kind of boutique gathering of "high-end people", so he is afraid that he will cause unnecessary trouble by opening the door recklessly. So he put his ear to the door, but he felt that something was wrong: there seemed to be no loud sound in the room except melodious music. Although he has not attended this kind of occasion much, he has seen a lot of live videos and photos released by leaders and colleagues when he was working in the unit before, and it is said that at this time, the high-end people attending the meeting should be having a lively conversation, even if the music is relatively loud, it should not completely drown out the noisy conversation of people.

Dante subconsciously touched the doorknob, but the handle didn't move. He immediately grabbed them and twisted them, but they couldn't be twisted at all, indicating that the door was locked. This is even more strange because the doors of the party hall are generally not locked for the convenience of guests. At this time, Dante noticed a third anomaly—when he first picked up the door, he smelled a strange scent, like some kind of paint or paint, but he thought it was the smell of the door's material, but the smell gradually became heavier, and it was obviously not coming from the door. Is it from ...... Dante thought to himself, feeling more and more that the silence inside the door did not bode well.

Where's the key? He looked around but couldn't find it, and took out his phone, only to find that there was no signal at all. In a hurry, he couldn't think too much, so he raised his foot and kicked the door, but unfortunately the door didn't open suddenly like in the TV series, and he almost fell to the ground on his back. But just as his body was out of balance, he saw firefighting equipment on the wall of the corridor. He simply walked over and smashed the glass door, took out the fire extinguisher, and smashed the door lock with all his strength. He didn't know how he had gained so much strength at this moment, but the lock was really smashed open by his continuous slams. It was the first time in his life that he had scored a goal, and he was still instinctively a little excited at that moment.

Less than halfway through the door, the scent poured out, but it was not as rushed as expected, Dante covered his nose and waved his hand, feeling that the smell was still relatively light, probably some kind of perfume or air freshener used in the venue. At the same time, Dante visibly felt something slipping down the door on the side inside. When the door was fully opened, he took a big step back in fright—it was not a "thing", but a man, a man in a bright silver-gray suit, lying on the doorway, perhaps he had been kneeling against the door before. Blood oozed from the corners of his eyes, nostrils, and mouth, and Dante didn't dare to test if he was still breathing, but looked at the phone that had fallen on his hand. The phone is lit up, and the display is also no signal.

Such a person alone was not the most terrible, for the entire auditorium had fallen to the ground in all directions! They had left with different postures, movements, and even expressions, but they were as well-dressed as the man at the door, and they were just as bleeding as him.

Dante's limbs trembled, though he moved his legs closer to the center of the auditorium. He felt inexplicably hot, tugging at his collar and taking deeper and deeper breaths, scanning it all. There were more than forty people who fell, scattered in all corners of the auditorium, and none of them were still moving. The colorful lights in the auditorium are still shining, the banners and streamers are still welcoming the guests, the oil paintings arranged on the walls still exude an elegant atmosphere, and the hardcover drinks and delicate snacks are still placed in beautiful patterns on the table, and some are spilled and knocked to the ground as the guests are sprinkled, and they are accompanied by the melodious famous songs that are still playing on the sound loop, as if they have become the setting for the funeral of more than 40 people.

Who...... Who did it, and how? In extreme fear, Dante had a brief calmness, and his mind went straight to the crux of the scene in front of him. Unusually, almost all of the people were dressed in a way that showed no signs of serious messiness or damage, and as for the furnishings, although the tablecloths were torn off and a few chairs were overturned, it appeared that this was caused by the guests before they fell to the ground, and the room remained in general order. In other words, it doesn't look like a violent attack has happened.

Of course, it is not enough to judge the absence of violence based solely on circumstances. Dante's legs were no longer obedient enough to help him move among the servants of the land, so he barely stood up straight, his gaze extending from his feet to a farther position, so that his gaze lingered on every figure in his field of vision, and then he confirmed that there were more than a dozen of them, and that there was no blood from their chests, stomachs, wrists, etc.

Dante wiped the sweat from his forehead, rubbed his nose, and thought to himself, "So, it's poisoning, so the mouth, nose, eyes, and ears bleed?" He glanced at the food and wine on the table, and wondered: Is it here? Or is it through the vent? No, the poisonous smoke must not have cleared when I came in.

At this time, Dante noticed that he could not stand steadily, but it was not because his legs were weak, but because his hair was swollen! He touched his forehead with his hand, and took two sharp breaths, and suddenly exclaimed: Is it the fragrance? Yet, until this moment, he still felt that the fragrance was very light, not pungent at all.

He felt lightheaded, and his vision began to shake. He staggered backwards and turned, trying to escape the deadly auditorium immediately. Unfortunately, before he could escape to the door, his legs or his mind were out of order. With a thud, he fell to the side of a corpse, his eyes blurred. His ears buzzed at the sound of rapid breathing, and eventually his eyes went black and he lost consciousness......

He felt someone slapping his mouth, it hurt. As he slowly opened his eyes, he could clearly hear someone breathe.

He saw Zheng Haohui squatting beside him.

(End of chapter)