Chapter Two: The Dead Man Knows the Way

The note said: *Do not knock. Leave the food outside the studio. If you hear crying, leave immediately.* There was no food inside, only hundreds of dusty portraits. White paint had erased every face, and every date ended seven years ago. At the room's center stood a portrait of a short-haired girl in a white dress, a pale brown beauty mark beneath her left eye. Her face had not been erased. As Lin approached, wet letters rose on the surface: LIN MO, DO NOT PAINT ME. A camera shutter clicked behind him. The intruders stood at the end of the street. Their leader removed his mask, revealing Gu Wenzhou's assistant. He raised a silver canister. White mist touched the wall, and the shops flickered like a corrupted video.