Chad directly grabbed the shovel leaning against the vehicle and smashed it toward the side padlock, which, already rusty, unsurprisingly broke off in one hit.

Chad opened the lid with his hand, and a bunch of threads floated out of the box. "Back off," Jimmy shouted, pulling Chad back a few steps. The threads floated upwards from the box, then scattered in the sunlight and disappeared.

They hadn't gotten a clear look at the contents of the box, but what was on top was quite horrifying—a skull that had been reduced to bone.

Chad, startled by Jimmy's tug, composed himself as he saw the contents of the box and turned to Jimmy, "Thanks."

Jimmy watched as the threads disappeared completely. It seemed that no one else noticed, but that made sense. Jimmy had only seen them after "Heart Eye" had been upgraded; under normal circumstances, they would certainly be invisible.

They took a few steps back to the box, not reaching in but just looking. On top was a skull, and beneath were some decayed fabric products and a few objects that resembled books. The skull must have been whole when placed in the box, but as the material decayed, everything underneath got stained and stuck together.

Chad looked at the box and clenched his teeth. He had thought he'd find a treasure hidden away years ago, like something from a treasure hunt. But now, there was just a dilapidated box, a skull, and a mess of things inside. He had no idea how long they had been there and how much time the investigation would take.

How could such a mess happen in his jurisdiction? Without a doubt, this was related to a cold case. Just finding this skull was trouble enough.

Chad turned to Jimmy, "How about you at the FBI take over?"

Jimmy shook his head. He knew this was no simple matter—the drifting threads were evidence enough. The contents of the box were definitely related to a supernatural event. If they investigated further, perhaps they would discover something new.

But clearly, this box had nothing to do with the missing person case he was investigating. Better not to take on more work. If another incident occurred, he might end up spending his probationary period in Dallas.

Suddenly, Jimmy shivered, that feeling of heart palpitations returning. He turned his gaze toward the north, in the direction of Red River, which seemed to be fogging up, faintly visible and distinct from its surroundings.

Jimmy drew his revolver and, facing toward Red River to the north, told Chad and the others, "Get in the vehicle and move back, now. Move quickly."

Still confused, Chad was about to ask what was happening when Jimmy raised his revolver with his right hand, aiming at the thin mist.

The fog didn't disperse but drifted towards them. Except for Jimmy, it seemed like no one else could see it.

The fog got closer, and Jimmy could see it clearer once it entered the "Heart Eye" range. He noticed a few white dots within the fog—similar to those he'd seen on the smoke-like creature during the Exorcism Ceremony in Si-Time. The dots kept moving, and without further waiting, he shot at one that was moving more slowly.

As soon as Jimmy fired, Chad turned and ran. Not sure what was happening, but when an FBI agent started shooting at the air, it was definitely not normal. Safety first, run.

"Hayden, Nora, run," Chad, still principled, called out to his own people as he ran. They reached the last police car and took cover behind it, drawing their guns and watching Jimmy, who was left standing alone firing at the air.

After Jimmy fired that first shot, the white dot faded and seemed about to disappear but then it revived. Jimmy ignored the other fast-moving dots, tracking the slow one and shooting. After unloading a six-shot round, the white dot finally did not come back.

After the white dot vanished, the fog seemed to change, with some areas fading more than before; only Jimmy had no time to observe any longer—he needed to retreat quickly now.

The fog had drawn very near Jimmy, leaving just over ten meters. He finished shooting, turned, and ran, reloading his revolver while on the move. As soon as he was done, he turned around to shoot again, now not worrying about the guidance of the bright trajectories, but instead focusing on the slowest of the remaining five white dots in the air.

At that moment, Jimmy couldn't care less about Chad and the others. The fog closed in rapidly, and by the time he finished the second round of shooting, there was only a distance of seven or eight meters. The good news was that the fog was dissipating with the disappearance of a white dot, which was becoming increasingly evident. The bad news was that the fog was too near to Jimmy; running back to reload might be too late.

Jimmy stood his ground, taking out bullets from his pocket to reload while keeping his eyes fixed on the white dots, completely ignoring his own reloading movements, and emptied a third round of six shots in one second. This round was the most successful, reducing the white dots from five to two.

Right when the fog was about to reach Jimmy, it suddenly pulled back and contracted, rushing into the box and disappearing.

Jimmy had just finished loading the fourth round when the target was gone. He looked around—indeed, the strange fog had vanished, and there were no signs of anything unusual, except for the box that the fog had retreated into and hadn't emerged from again.

Seeing Jimmy stop shooting, Chad shouted from a distance, "What happened? Why did you shoot?"

Jimmy confirmed his surroundings multiple times before finally lowering his arm and holstering his revolver. He turned to look at Chad and the others—comical, all huddling behind the car, peeping at him, guns all aimed at Jimmy. By their actions, no doubt, they hadn't seen the eerie fog just moments before. Otherwise, they wouldn't be asking.

"No worries, put the guns down," Jimmy said, watching the three of them aim at him and not daring to move. He could only raise his hands to gesture.

Chad still didn't lower his gun but shouted, "Are you out of your mind? Why did you shoot?"

"Eyes playing tricks, nothing wrong, all good now. I've holstered my weapon," Jimmy assured repeatedly that he was fine and not going mad. Finally, Chad and the others lowered the guns aimed at him and moved towards Jimmy.

"Jimmy, I think it's best if you take a break," Chad said, approaching Jimmy.

Jimmy shook his head, "I'm fine. Let's just get someone to check this box." This box was the real trouble. Chad and the others lifted the box into the pickup's truck bed and drove back to the station.

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