If the "human world" is compared to ice floes on the sea, then the "abyss" is the unfathomable ocean beneath the ice floes.
For intelligent races on ice floes, threats from the depths of the ocean are everywhere.
First, there are predators that live in shallow seas. They are collectively called "weird" and may jump out of the sea at any time, invade the "ice world" and attack humans.
Secondly, there are the huge monsters that swim in the deep sea. They are called "gods". Although their destructive power is much greater than the weird ones, they are far enough away from the ice floes on the sea surface and the frequency of attacks is very low, so they are not as threatening as the weird ones.
The last, and most serious source of fear is the ocean itself - the abyss.
The first characteristic of the abyss: the more you understand the abyss, the closer you are to the abyss. This phenomenon is called "spiritual pollution" and is much more dangerous than the weirdness itself.
The severity of mental pollution, that is, the "depth" of sinking into the abyss, is officially called the "spiritual vision value."
Most humans who know nothing about the mysterious world have accepted the mainstream concept that "ghosts do not exist in the world", so their psychic vision values are safe at 0.
But even the simplest "witnessing a strange existence" causes this belief to begin to waver, which will also increase the spiritual vision value to 1-2, making it more likely to be attacked by various low-level weirdness in the future.
Therefore, the mission of the Countermeasure Section 6 of the Public Security Department where Chen Ziang is located is to "serve as a firewall that separates civilized society from the mysterious world" and "ensure that the people know nothing about weirdness" and "thus avoiding large-scale spiritual pollution."
When the shop window was smashed from the inside and the ghoul on all fours raised its head, Chen Ziang had already shouted quickly:
"Moon Palace!"
Suzuna Tsukimiya made a quick decision, quickly raised her pistol, and fired three consecutive rounds at the monster.
Violent gunfire echoed in the room, and the surrounding customers who had not had time to evacuate were suddenly frightened, crawling for cover, and rushed downstairs as if fleeing for their lives.
The purpose of shooting at this time is twofold: first, to intimidate the customers stranded on the scene as soon as possible and tell them to hide quickly to avoid looking directly at the strange body, which will cause mental pollution and increase spiritual vision.
The second is to use the "exorcism seal" on the bullet to try to banish the ghoul back into the abyss.
Suzuna Tsukimiya was able to pass the entrance test of Countermeasures Course 6, and her marksmanship was also extremely accurate. All three bullets hit the ghoul's head, causing its body to retreat with a huge thrust, emitting a sharp sound that seemed to penetrate gold and crack stone.
Scream.
The howl of the ghoul is also lethal, so nearby customers who have not had time to leave will basically lose consciousness in an instant and fall into an uncontrollable coma.
Because Chen Ziang and Suzuna Tsukinomiya were wearing headphones, they were not seriously attacked by sound waves and just endured dizziness.
Suzuna Tsukimiya continued to shoot, and bullets with exorcism seals were continuously shot into her body. Chen Ziang approached from another direction and pulled out a long sword from his windbreaker.
That long sword is not the common samurai sword of the island people. The style is closer to the ancient Bafang Han sword of the mainland people. The sword is engraved with complex and exquisite patterns, like blooming mandala flowers.
That's...the Mandala Sword!
The moment she witnessed this scene, Suzuna Tsukimiya felt like she was struck by lightning. This is impossible!
How could senior possess the Mandala Magic Sword at this point in time?!
Chen Ziang didn't know how frightened and horrified she felt, but while the ghoul was still resisting the exorcism seal, he stabbed the long sword into its chest accurately and neatly.
The surface skin of a ghoul is extremely tough, and it is difficult for ordinary sharp weapons to pierce it. However, the Mandala Sword has its own special features. The moment it breaks into the ghoul's chest, it dries up like a deflated balloon.
.
At the same time, in the field of vision that only the sword holder could see, several black light spots floated around the sword from the ghoul's corpse like fireflies, and finally poured into the back of Chen Ziang's hand holding the sword.
Tinder.
A long time ago, Chen Ziang discovered that this long sword with exquisite patterns was very powerful against the strange creatures in the abyss.
And after killing the monsters, the so-called "fire" will be looted from their corpses.
Chen Ziang is still studying the specific functions of fire in private, but one thing he has discovered so far is that these fires can be used to "make wishes."
As long as you think about "wanting to become stronger", "wanting to increase reaction speed", "wanting to have an intuition for danger", etc., the fire you get will be consumed, and at the same time, the ability to make a wish will be enhanced——
Although each fire type can only exchange for a negligible enhancement, the long-term accumulated effect is quite impressive.
Although part of his current strong strength comes from the internal training of Countermeasures Course 6 and the accumulation of experience in actual combat, most of it comes from consuming fire and making wishes.
After getting rid of the ghouls neatly, Chen Ziang turned around and went back. Seeing Yuegong Suzuna in a daze again, he quickly reminded her:
"Follow me."
"Ah, oh." Tsukimiya Suzuna came back to her senses and quickly followed.
Whether the dead ghoul is the target Kawai Cizuo can only be left to the forensic personnel of the Intelligence Department. The first priority at the moment is to interrupt the inner deity ritual as soon as possible!
The two people rushed into the store and saw many gold and jade ornaments scattered on the floor. It was obvious that the store here should be a jewelry store.
Chen Ziang rushed into the inner room where the jewelry was appraised and saw a circle of large and small pearls on the table in the center.
Around the outer ring of the pearl ring, various filthy and ominous words were smeared with blood, and many of the strokes had traces of dragging and skewing, as if the writer was enduring great pain.
There were three candles standing evenly on the ring, two short and one long, and their flames flickered ominously.
Placed in the center of the ring is a palm-sized shell.
There was an ivory-colored sculpture placed in the shell, which seemed to be human-shaped, but the moment Chen Ziang and Tsukimiya Suzuna saw it, they looked away as if they were electrocuted.
"The ceremony address was discovered." Chen Ziang quickly reported to the command center. At the same time, he removed the law enforcement recorder from his chest and pointed the camera lens at the table. "There are suspected relics of gods."
There was silence for a moment in the command center, and suddenly an indifferent female voice sounded:
"Chen Zi'ang, it's me."
This voice...is the secret keeper of the Countermeasure Section 6 Intelligence Team, Rio Hokaze.
"Listen up, I don't have time to repeat it a second time." Hokaze Rio's voice was clear and low, "During the entire next journey, you are not allowed to look directly at the statue in the shell, nor are you allowed to destroy the incantation near the pearl ring.
.”
"First, blow out the lower left candle."
Chen Ziang did as he was told. The moment the candle was extinguished, he felt as if he was being stared at by something, and a huge sense of danger came over him.
"Then, blow out the lower right candle."
The candle on the lower right has also been extinguished, and now only the longest candle is left burning.
"Then, recite after me." Suifeng Lisu paused for a moment and recited, "Dreams rise and fall like the tide, and I beg you to return to the dream, Lord of the Deep Sea."
"Dreams rise and fall like the tide, and I beg you to return to the dream, Lord of the Deep Sea." Chen Ziang chanted in a low voice.
I don't know if it was his misunderstanding, but a soft, old chuckle suddenly sounded in his ears, which made Chen Zi'ang horrified.
He could only force himself to remain calm, as if he heard nothing, and continued to listen to the instructions in the headset:
"Well, judging from your situation, it should be fine." After a moment of pause, Honikaze Rio said, "Close the shell, shut the statue inside, and then leave the room quickly, remembering to close the door."
Chen Ziang stretched out his hand like lightning, snapped the shell containing the statue shut, and then pulled Tsukimiya Suzuna away.
After closing the door to the room, he breathed a long sigh of relief, only to hear Suzuna Tsukimiya suddenly ask:
"Then what will happen if something goes wrong after reciting?"
"Yue Gong, don't ask what you shouldn't ask!" Chen Ziang stopped her sternly.
"It's okay." Hokaze Rio said into the headset, "This is low-risk information that can be disclosed."
"The Lord of the Great Deep Sea is a relatively kind god and can usually send him away smoothly. In only a few cases, he will invite the summoner to be a guest in his divine domain. If he agrees, he will fall into a long lethargy and the time to wake up will be short.
Not sure... Anyway, just stay outside and wait for our intelligence team to come and deal with the scene."
There was silence on the other side of the headset, while Chen Ziang and Tsukinomiya Suzuna stood guard at the door of the store, preventing anyone from approaching.
But thanks to the ghoul's previous roar, most of the customers stranded on this floor had passed out, so it didn't cause much trouble.
"Senior." Tsukimiya Suzuna suddenly asked.
"What's wrong?"
"Can I ask you a question?"
"Ask." Chen Ziang responded casually.
"What would you do if you... traveled back in time?"