Chapter 157: A Deadly Threat from Rose, the Hidden Room for Making Human Skin Masks is Found!

Inside the Red Rose Beauty Salon.

Rose’s rhetorical question—“Do I still have a chance?”—made everyone present narrow their eyes at the same time, momentarily at a loss for how to respond.

Because just like she said—A chance?

What chance did she have left?

Even putting aside the murder she committed five years ago, just her involvement in drug trafficking and possession over the years—the amount of drugs and the money involved—was enough to earn her hundreds of “peanuts.”

There was no room for a reduced sentence.

No matter how much she cooperated or how many fellow members she betrayed, it was impossible to bring the sentence down to life imprisonment, let alone a suspended death sentence.

So, the moment she was arrested by the police…

It was already destined that Rose would have to pay for everything she had done—with her life.

……

At this moment—

Gao Chao, known for his impartiality and a lifelong dedication to solving crimes, spoke expressionlessly.

“Rose.”

“Cooperating with us now is your best option. Even if the outcome won’t change, you still have a chance to suffer less. I think you should grasp that.”

“And in your current situation, is there really any point in protecting them? Do you really expect them to come save you?”

“Face reality. Tell us everything about your organization, and you might still get some preferential treatment in the detention center. Your life might be a little better.”

This wasn’t a threat—it was a rational, straightforward persuasion.

Because a criminal suspect who hasn’t been sentenced won’t be sent directly to prison but instead temporarily held in a detention center.

Only after trial—

Will the court decide the final sentence and assign them to a corresponding prison.

But considering the severity of Rose’s crimes…

An immediate death sentence was unavoidable. There wasn’t even a need to send her to prison.

She would likely be chained hand and foot in the detention center until the day she was taken to the execution grounds.

In terms of living conditions—

A detention center was far worse than a prison.

You might still see a piece of meat in prison meals, but in the detention center, it was mostly boiled cabbage. Getting beaten or abused by fellow inmates was also incredibly common.

Of course—

If she had police protection, her time in the detention center could be more bearable—maybe even a little more dignified.

Upon hearing Gao Chao’s words—

Rose, eyes red with rage, slowly raised her head. Her gaze was filled with hatred and self-mockery as she looked at Gao Chao and said:

“Face reality?”

“Officer Gao, is the reality you want me to face really just…”

“If I rat them out, I might occasionally get a chicken leg, get some attention from the guards, and not get bullied by my cellmates?”

“Sorry, but that kind of deal doesn’t tempt me at all.”

“I’ve endured even worse days than this before—days where I survived by picking over corpses. What do I need some dying-day perks for?”

“Heh. Officer Gao, rather than your so-called meaningless perks, I’d rather thank the person who pulled me out of the abyss. Do you understand?”

“These past five years, I’ve experienced a joy I never knew before. I could walk down the street and get envious stares—some looked at my face, some at my Hermès bags.”

“Living like a queen for five years—dying now feels worth it.”

“But, Officer Gao… if you agree to one thing, I might consider—”

Before she could finish—

Su Ming frowned and directly interrupted her without a hint of hesitation.

“Director Gao, don’t waste your time.”

“Judging from Rose’s personality, while her criminal skills might be lacking, her resilience and endurance are far stronger than average. And now she’s completely given up.”

“If we don’t apply pressure, she’s not going to give up any intel on the organization.”

“We need to move quickly, before their leader realizes she’s been caught and warns the others. We have to extract key info fast and launch a wide-scale operation.”

“Start by searching the suite in the beauty salon. That’s definitely where she made the human skin masks.”

“In my opinion…”

“There’s a high chance she created a hidden room, like Zhou Shirui did. And to further increase concealment, it’s probably hidden somewhere in the bedroom.”

“A woman’s bedroom—no one would enter without permission.”

The moment he said this—

Rose, who had been trying to buy time, glanced at Su Ming, who stood beside her with a cold gaze. She suddenly remembered how he had pinned her down and shoved two fingers into her mouth earlier—

She immediately spat on the ground, her elegant socialite act vanishing completely. Her hair disheveled, she glared viciously at Su Ming and coldly threatened:

“Officer Su.”

“You better be careful. Smart people don’t usually live long.”

“If you end up getting a ‘peanut’ before I do, then everyone wins. When I walk to the execution ground, I might even be smiling…”

Before she could finish—

Su Ming reached out and grabbed her jaw, yanking it down forcefully.

“Crack—”

The sound of her jaw dislocating rang out again, enough to make anyone’s teeth ache.

Don’t want to talk?

Then don’t talk at all.

Rose, who had just been cursing the police in anger, could no longer make a sound. Even her jaw couldn’t move—she could only glare at Su Ming furiously with her eyes.

Without hesitation—

Lin Tian and Gao Chao both approved of Su Ming’s approach. They had no time to waste with Rose.

The group immediately escorted Rose to the top floor of the beauty salon.

Half of the area there was office space for finance and marketing staff. The other half was locked off—it was Rose’s personal suite.

Though she refused to speak or provide any leads—

They still had to bring her along. One reason was to identify the scene and determine the ownership of the high-purity drugs. The other was to see…

If Rose would finally give up her arrogance and cooperate after seeing all the evidence pile up.

Once they reached the top floor—

Just as Su Ming had predicted, once they opened the locked suite, everyone rushed to the bedroom and began searching carefully, looking for any sign of a hidden room.

While everyone was searching the bedroom—

Su Ming didn’t join them immediately. Instead, he kept watching Rose out of the corner of his eye.

He noticed something interesting…

In just thirty seconds, Rose’s eyes—or subtle movements—glanced toward the wardrobe three times.

And besides that—

She didn’t look at any other part of the room.

According to criminal psychology—

Even if someone tries to hide or suppress it, their internal concern will still leak through small unconscious behaviors—especially under stress and outside influence.

At that moment—

Su Ming turned to the wardrobe, already opened, and slowly walked over. After examining it carefully with his flashlight—

He reached out and found a raised button. Turning to Lin Tian and Gao Chao, he said:

“Director Lin, Director Gao.”

“I’ve found the hidden room.”

As soon as he finished speaking,

Su Ming immediately pressed the raised button.

“Ka—ka—ka—”

The sound of shifting wooden panels suddenly echoed through the bedroom…