"This body is in the shape of a human being, wearing armor. Where there is no armor, there are writhing shadows. If you look at the real face under the hat, you can see countless small mouths, and there are bloody sounds coming from them, and the body is often dripping with blood.
, the trickle does not stop.”
——Description of "disgusting shadow"
At 9:34 pm on September 16, 2020 in the Blue Star Calendar, the screams belonging to humans finally stopped.
The gray fog is still lingering, the dark alleys, the cold autumn wind, and the clanking of armor and iron blades on the streets of this villa area designed in the Western style of the 19th century.
"So that's it. I'm sorry, Mr. Dagger, it's us who have dragged you down."
The four members of the "Shadow Kill" who were accidentally injured were sitting against the wall. Two of them were seriously injured and were unconscious. The remaining two exchanged information with Lin Shuwen after clarifying the current situation.
One had his hand cut off by Lin Shuwen, and the other had half his shoulder cut off by the waning moon. If he hadn't often developed the healing ability of "dark" elements, Lin Shuwen might have regretted it afterwards.
"But as you said, we...have never seen that "disgusting shadow" that looks like a warrior."
Lin Shuwen folded his arms and leaned against the opposite wall, his scarlet eyes filled with the luster of thought.
"So, why did you ask me for help, or what happened after you evacuated from the enemy's lair?"
Considering time and efficiency, Lin Shuwen decided to complete the unknown timeline first. Whether it is writing a novel or doing specific things, without a specific timeline framework, many details will be missed, thinking will diverge, and ultimately lead to confusion, especially in execution.
When it comes to tasks like this, confusion and a lack of detail can lead to the worst consequences.
"Yes, after the Alpha team was completely wiped out, our original twenty-person reconnaissance team only had twelve people left. All the Shadow Clan warriors who originally belonged to our three teams were killed, leaving only the current group of four.
There are three teams. The four of us are Beta, and the rest, hum, you should have guessed it, are Gamma and Delta respectively."
"This can be regarded as some kind of tradition. It is named with Greek letters. If you include me, then I should be Epsilon (the fifth one). Hahaha."
(Note: The Greek letters in this work refer to symbols invented by people named "Greek".)
Appropriate jokes and ridicule can temporarily relieve fear and panic. In battlefields where tragedies and tragedies occur all the time, soldiers must learn to use verbal venting such as ridicule and curses to adjust their mood.
It is said that the essence of joy is sadness.
"Hahaha, you really have a wide range of knowledge, just like the rumors. Ahem, after we escaped from the villa, the street was filled with gray smoke, and all the five senses and electronic equipment were disturbed.
Even I, a psychic, can't communicate with "spirit"."
"Island."
"Yes. A very classic island situation."
The "Shadow Kill" warrior sitting on the ground looked slightly relieved, and then turned his attention to the waning moon at the entrance of the alley. Lin Shuwen found that he was looking for light and security.
"Meet a monster?"
"Well, the black liquid humanoid monster is just like the hornless sheep you met in Xushan."
In his eyes, Lin Shuwen saw the despair and silence that belong to human beings. It was not the fear and fear after witnessing death everywhere, but a despair that could not even be understood.
Yes, like a vegetative person who dreams of despair.
"We have tried all methods, from technology to mystery. We even set fire and discharged electricity to destroy a ten-square-meter road, but it was of no use. Under our attack, the four monsters continued to grow limbs and devour everything.
It became huge and screamed. It was obvious that we were the ones being preyed on, but we felt guilty and sad..."
Mental defense is on the verge of reaching its limit, emotional and cognitive impairment, if not
After these things happen, these people will soon go crazy.
"Then, you saw me?"
"Yes, when we were forced into this alley to hide, you came in with a sword and cut through the fog with one sword. We were able to see your face clearly. After that, we all knew that we were saved.
…”
Lin Shuwen stopped asking. After knowing what was going to happen, he chose to give these people some time to calm down.
He did feel guilty, but it was just a feeling of guilt. On such a battlefield that was incomprehensible to human beings, extra emotions were unnecessary.
(Even if you don't cut them, they will be killed by "disgusting shadows" or "dark residents".)
He thought like this, giving himself a reason not to care.
(Rather than being killed using the methods of an alien god, wouldn’t it be better to kill him neatly like this?)
But why is his gaze always fixed on their wounds?
Maybe you are just judging your own treatment methods?
The sound of human footsteps came from outside the alley, and Zangyue's hands turned into claws, warily watching the figure that gradually became clearer.
"How's the situation?"
The body surrounded by silver light dispersed the gray fog. Lin Shuwen looked at Qianhe, who had arrived late, and frowned slightly.
"Where have you been?"
"To make up the barrier between here and myself, this technique comes from Roentgen in the Kingdom of Glen in the 19th century. It was a technique used by witches at that time to protect themselves."
Qianhe walked into the alley, squatted in front of the wounded, and carefully inspected their injuries.
"If I remember correctly, according to records, the "Nasty Shadow" should be operating in overseas countries, right?"
Lin Shuwen discovered the blind spot, and the corners of Qianhe's mouth raised a high arc.
"Yes, under normal circumstances, "disgusting shadows" only move around foreign countries. So the witches in Roentgen City are not guarding against "disgusting shadows". So, what would they be guarding against in the "late nineteenth century"?
"
After checking the last person, Qianhe stood up from the ground and turned to look at Lin Shuwen who straightened up. Lin Shuwen clearly felt a sense of inconsistency in his persuasive and patient look.
But it was only a moment of discomfort, and then he followed Chiwa's gaze and noticed another key detail:
"A Western-style street surrounded by gray fog."
"You mean..."Jack the Ripper"?"
"That's it."
Blue Star Calendar In the late 1880s, in the city of Roentgen, Granland, a city shrouded in thick fog all year round, several cases of torture and murder against women occurred, which later became widely known as "Jack the Ripper".
"During that period, Jack's targets had the following characteristics: women wandering around late at night, homeless without families, and moderately alcoholic."
"You overlooked one thing, they are all engaged in sex work."
"No, that's not a characteristic of him."
"Why?"
The reason why "Jack the Ripper" is well-known is that in addition to the unknown identity of the murderer and the brutal torture method, it is the high-profile provocation and the victims are all low-level sex workers.
The last one, because it greatly satisfied human beings' bad tastes, became the direct cause of the huge repercussions of this case and the huge number of secondary injuries.
But Chiwa says this most famous stripe is not a characteristic of Jack.
"It is true that the victims are all low-level sex workers, but this is just a commonality driven by the bad taste of Jack and his imitators. They are like gladiators in the arena who are accustomed to raising their arms after being knocked down, because they will gain topicality, and
He gave up the pressure-killing last-ditch attack and chose to do an action like raising his arms to expose his weaknesses."
Qianhe laughed scornfully and said contemptuously:
"This is how stupid and boring humans are."
"That's right, it's as if you are not a human being."
Lin Shuwen suddenly pulled out the "Shadow" sword and put it directly on Qianhe's neck. If the feeling of disharmony in getting along just now was just a guess, these words that clearly despised human beings directly raised the level of suspicion of Qianhe in front of him.
Several levels.
"What? It's not enough to hurt Xi Nian, now you want to hurt me?!"
Chiwa's smile turned into a fake smile that hinted at anger, but this reaction made him less suspicious.
Lin Shuwen put away his sword and put on an apologetic smile.
"Sorry, because the other party is a faceless god, so I am a little nervous."
"snort……!"
"Crack!"
The back fist that rushed towards Renzhong was firmly caught by Lin Shuwen. He held Qianhe's fist tightly with his "left hand", and his doubts about it gradually decreased in his heart.
Moreover, the thing that puzzled him now came from his left arm. After receiving the punch, he could clearly feel that his left arm was gradually heating up, accompanied by tingling pain.
"Sorry, I saw a phantom just now. I thought it was the tentacles of an alien god, so I was a bit nervous."
"Um."
After releasing Qianhe's fist, Lin Shuwen looked down at his left arm where the heat had subsided, labeling Qianhe a "melee mage" in his heart.
"Huh... So, these characteristics, unfortunately, are very consistent with the witches. Especially after the appearance of a witch victim that has not yet been reported, they began to develop spells to protect themselves. In the end,
That’s it.”
Chiwa touched the back of her hand and continued the explanation just now.
"The principle is very simple. The essence of this spell is a kind of induced light. The witches use this small light that can be reflected in the fog to interfere with Jack, making him unable to take shape, or unable to "unknown"."
"For the human Jack, these lights prevent him from "perfectly committing crimes", and the human Jack cannot defeat the witch, which is equivalent to an early warning. But for the alien Jack..."
"Yes, directly destroy its body, or seal the exit."
"You mean ShadowClan?"
Invisible in the shadows, skilled in techniques, and defeated by the light, these series of principles naturally made Lin Shuwen think of one of the core families of "Shadow Kill": the "Shadow Clan".
"According to the investigation of "Shadow Kill", hundreds of years ago, there was a top killer of the "Shadow Clan" who disappeared in the Kingdom of Gran. The mission was to assassinate a female mage from the Magic Association of the Gran Kingdom. As a result,
Contact was lost after a certain operation, and then Jack the Ripper appeared."
Qianhe confirmed Lin Shuwen's guess, but then he directly skipped the detailed explanation and went to the conclusion of the topic:
"I once told you that the "disgusting shadow" appearing here is probably not the real incarnation of Naia, but some kind of soft product. Now, after the spell against Jack the Ripper can interfere with the opponent, I have confirmed it.
My own guess."
Qianhe turned around and looked at Zangetsu, who was entering a fighting posture at the entrance of the alley. In front of her, a figure in black armor was condensing into shape.
Lin Shuwen finally noticed a decisive detail: the "look" that was common among Western traveling doctors in the 19th century: a bird's beak and a ghost face.
"Now, the last characteristic also fits: "Failed ShadowClan slayer"."
Qianhe clasped his hands together, and the silver-white light shuttled through the gray fog in the entire alley. The "disgusting shadow" that had just condensed silently melted into the fog after seeing this light.
In an unknown corner of the alley, several blue-black butterflies fluttered their wings quietly.