"Since you couldn't detect that some of those disappearances were 'unusual' before," Xia Yibing asked, "then what basis do you have for judging that some of the disappearances are related to this case?"
"It's simple. We collected all the missing persons files from the past two years and looked up their interpersonal relationships and heartbeats as much as possible. We found that they had all been close to Fran Middle School to some extent."
“Isn’t this abnormal?”
"This is so abnormal... Either there is something in there that is attracting them and making them subconsciously approach it, or they have planned it - they are subjectively approaching that place!"
"Organization?" Xia Yibing narrowed her eyes. "You mean they are in the same group? The so-called disappearance does not necessarily mean death..."
"It's hard to say." The man shook his head. "I've thought about this possibility... For example, 'They are actually pawns of the Eclipse Cult hidden in society, usually disguised as ordinary residents, and they approached Fran Middle School because they found out there is something they want to get.'"
"But it's impossible!" He immediately shook his head, "It can't be like this! ... Because we have checked their family relationships, many of them have settled here for more than ten years, or even decades ago. The time is uneven, and there is no pattern at present... In short, I quickly overturned this idea. They may be people from the eclipse, but they are not lurking in advance."
"That's interesting." Xia Yibing showed a sarcastic smile, "Since they were not lurking in advance, how did the Eclipse Church control them and make them do things without alerting us?"
It is not difficult to control a person. As long as that person has a weakness, something or someone he cares about, Shadow Lion has the means to control that person to do his work.
But the problem is that it is difficult to do this without being noticed by the local Nightingales and Black Clothes, who are specifically tailored to follow these strange situations. If you only control a few people, they may not notice it, but this time the scope is so wide and the number of people involved is so large - according to what Matt Hill said, if we add all the cases in previous years, that means hundreds of people are involved.
You have to control and incite so many people. Won't their families, relatives and friends notice anything unusual during this period?
Wouldn’t someone find it strange and report it to the police?
Even if you kill all the witnesses, there will always be traces left. It is impossible to conceal it.
"That's the problem!" The man pulled a handful of hair hard, "So they sent you here, didn't they? ... The famous detective, Aisun Hitzfeld... Oh, by the way, if I really see her, I should call her 'Your Excellency'..."
"That is to say." Xia Yibing thought for a moment and summarized the information she provided to the man. "You discovered that there were people a long time ago... and it is likely that they were those who abandoned their families and disappeared without any warning. They were instigated to covet the bronze statue hidden in Fran Middle School."
"Yes." The man nodded.
"Although you don't know how they did it, the fact is that they did it. You suspect that the disappearance and murder cases in the Xixinna Government Building and Manion are related to this group of people, and they are likely to launch another raid here tonight."
"Yes!" the man nodded vigorously.
"That's why I chose this time to meet here," he said. "If something really happens, I can help a little... To be honest, you shouldn't have brought so few people here. There were 500 soldiers surrounding this place, but those things still got in."
"What are those things?"
"do not know."
"You haven't found out what you're fighting against yet?"
"Yes, otherwise you wouldn't have to come."
"Five hundred people are enough to fill up the front and back yards." Xia Yibing narrowed her eyes. "Even if they just stand there motionless, the grid formed by their gazes is enough to cover the night sky here."
"Excuse me, Mr. Xilai, are you a transcendent?"
"Just call me Matt." The man's expression was a little stiff, and then he said: "I... can barely be considered a transcendent. It takes spiritual perception to reach this position... But I am limited to the level of spiritual perception. I am not very proficient in some advanced techniques."
That's right.
Xia Yibing confirmed her guess.
It's not like they haven't encountered Nightingale before.
Mechanic Russell, one of the partners in exploring the Dragon Kingdom of Tarinion, is a member of the Nightingale. His body has been mechanically modified, but he does not know how to enter dreams with spirits.
This shows that Nightingale does not have a rule that "all members must be extraordinary people". The most important thing for this group is loyalty, and loyalty is more important than ability when determining qualifications.
"Then this is not your area of expertise, Matt." She said bluntly, "If you have checked the tunnel, I think there is only one possibility for someone to sneak in and kidnap someone by bypassing the line of sight of 500 people."
"From a dream...right." Matt narrowed his eyes.
It's not that he hadn't thought about this possibility, but he could only barely sleep. After seeking help from the local black-clothed people, he found no results, so he didn't continue to explore this path.
Nightmare.
That makes sense... This is indeed the area that these two people are best at, no wonder they were sent here.
Xia Yibing didn't respond because that wasn't a question to her. Matt already had his thoughts in mind.
Her attention fell on the book stuck on the tea table, and when she saw the title, she picked it up.
A huge snake covered in taut human skin came into view.
"The body-eating phantom snake." Matt said.
"After eating something, the snake's body will grow snake skin in the shape of the victim's skin, which looks like it has peeled off the victim's skin and sewn it onto its own skin... This kind of snake still exists today, but the longest is only as long as a forearm. Legend has it that its ancient species could grow as big as the one in the picture. Many native tribes believe that this snake is the incarnation of God. This is because they are afraid of death. Whenever there are injuries or deaths in the tribe, they will offer them to the giant snake, so that the giant snake can grow their face skin on its body after swallowing them. In this way, they feel that these people are immortal to some extent."
"You've researched a lot of different things." Xia Yibing flipped through the book and put it back. "I have to go."
"If you really are here to help, you'd better not leave right away."
"I brought half of the people." Matt understood her hint, "About twenty people... and two of your subordinates, both level six agents. These people are on standby outside at any time."
Nodding, Xia Yibing walked back the way she came.
If Matt's concerns were real, then as expected, this short way up the stairs would probably have some twists and turns.
Matt watched her back disappear into the darkness, and he also walked to the opposite corridor and slowly backed away, completely hiding his entire figure.
Suddenly - without any warning, the lights in the lounge went out.
All the candles in the corridor were blown out by some mysterious influence, and the lounge and the corridors at both ends fell into endless darkness.
Then I came to the right place.
Muttering to himself, Matt immediately turned around and ran in the direction Xia Yibing left.
At the same time, the woman had just reached the fourth floor.
The lights here were also turned off, and the surroundings fell into darkness. Her eyesight was temporarily affected and she couldn't even grasp the outline of the stairs.
Almost the next moment the lights went out, the attack on her came.
She didn't know what it was, but she could hear it whistling through the air.
Xia Yibing did two things at the same time.
First, dodge sideways.
Second, take off the blindfold.
The plane flew past her almost brushing her back, and she heard a slight noise - probably the surface of her coat was scratched.
That's a bit too much, you guys.
This is my favorite winter coat.
Close your right eye.
The left eye is open.
The surrounding environment and even the outline of the attacker instantly appeared in her eyes.
It was hard to describe what this thing was… From the outline alone, it looked like a giant combination of a human and a mosquito-like insect. It had a human torso and limbs, two bulging bumps on its head that should be compound eyes, and spikes sprouting from its entire body, making it look like a failed hybrid of a human and an insect.
It's impossible for something like this to sneak in without being seen from downstairs.
Xia Yibing confirmed her inner thoughts that the enemy must have come from the dream world.
Determined to catch him alive, she pulled out a large-caliber specially made Langlun-style sword with her left hand, and dragged out a long and narrow shadow from the dream world with her right hand.
After forging, Changxia is no longer the dazzling white light as before when he first appeared.
It had completely lost that glow, and no longer even shone, becoming so dark that it seemed to blend into the shadows, and even the attacking monsters didn't notice it.
"boom!"
The woman raised her hand and shot at the monster.
Not dodged.
The bullet should have hit, but the opponent's forward momentum was only paused for a moment, and two pairs of pincer-like limbs came quickly towards this side in the darkness.
Xia Yibing did not retreat but instead moved forward, taking a step forward, just in time to avoid the clamp's double-team while thrusting forward fiercely with the knife raised.
"Pfft!"
"Snapped!"
The sound of the blade cutting into the shell and the sound of the light switch being pressed were heard almost simultaneously.
Matt stood at the bottom of the corridor, panting, one hand on the switch, his eyes wide open, watching in shock as she turned and kicked the indescribable ugly creature sideways, sending it flying.
The monster's vitality was very terrifying, and this knife was obviously not enough to make it lose its ability to move. But the sudden turn on of the light had a certain impact on it. Xia Yibing closed her left eye and opened her right eye, taking advantage of this fleeting opportunity to pounce on it, and with a few slashes, she cut off several pairs of its sharp claws.
Including the two large front legs that looked like crab claws, which were also chopped off by her.
"What exactly is this?"
Matt walked up to the landing in amazement, looked at the monster twitching on the ground and shook his head.
"I don't know, but it's definitely related to the gray fog."
Xia Yibing sent Changxia back to the dream world, her eyes still fixed on the monster.
"You can gather people here now. I think there might be danger up there. I have to—"
She didn't finish her sentence.
There was no sign of her spiritual warning - all she could do was raise her foot and kick Matt down the stairs, then dive down herself.
"Kacha kacha——"
The next moment after she did so, a strange sound of a shell being squeezed and crushed suddenly came from the corridor platform where the man-worm monster was lying.
Xia Yibing tried her best to turn her head in mid-air and observed with her peripheral vision that... the body of this monster was expanding rapidly.
The huge body cracked the building in an instant, and most of the corridor platform was crushed... For a moment, the entire floor was shaking, and earth, rocks and dust fell down.
"Cough cough cough..."
After the two men finally climbed out of the rubble, they came to the broken gap and looked down. They could only see the lights flashing everywhere downstairs and the crowds of people.
"I changed my mind Matt. It's not your fault that you can't find out what's going on."
Xia Yibing clenched her fists slightly.
"For you, it is safest if you cannot find out."
Chapter 18: Dream of the Void (I) (Two in One)
Dawn is about to break, and the first night since the envoy team arrived in Xixinna is about to pass.
But they were not in the mood to sleep at this moment. They gathered in the green-carpeted lounge and discussed the next decision intensely.
"Are you the Nightingale leader of Xixinna?" Frick frowned and stared at Matt. "I've heard a lot of legends about you, but I didn't expect this organization to really exist."
"You're being a bit rude, Frick Gold." Matt frowned. "The profile says you're very smooth in dealing with people. I hope your behavior just now was just because you were scared."
Before Frick could say anything, Darent, who was chewing an apple nearby, popped his head out and said, "Oh, don't blame him. It's because these tin cans don't like people who hide their true colors. It's like some kind of occupational disease. It's not directed at you."
Frick looked at Darent helplessly, "You rarely speak human language."
The truth is actually more radical than Mu Ren’s explanation, which is that he doubts whether the other party is really Nightingale.
Of course, there was no need to talk about this kind of thing. Others' evaluation of his smooth personality was true. He thought that this person should have just had contact with Xiasha-Imaer. Since the director of the Security Bureau did not think there was anything wrong with him, it would be a waste of time to bring it up.
Carlo was not as cunning as him. He asked Matt directly: "Can we see your ID?"
"Have you ever seen a spy carrying something that can prove his identity?" Matt laughed. "When you are captured by the enemy and decide not to reveal your identity no matter how you are tortured, someone takes out a small notebook from your pocket with everything about you on it... Don't you think this is very stupid?"
The others did not respond to this, but just looked behind him at the same time.
Matt suddenly sensed a warning and turned sideways, just in time to see Xia Yibing walking past him.
What level is this woman?
He was really frightened.
The combat power of that deformed monster of human-insect hybrid must be very strong. They can directly invade reality from the dream world, bypass all defense measures, and theoretically even appear directly in the encrypted vault of the bank. In addition, with its hideous shell and sharp and powerful pincers, close combat will almost kill anyone who touches it, and will injure anyone who touches it.
But the level that Xia Yibing displayed in that confrontation can only be described as unfathomable. There was not a single flaw in either the hand-to-hand combat or the response strategy. Coupled with the sense of threat she had just given him, her spiritual power must have been enormous.
This meant that if the knife was her spirit, then the power he saw was probably less than one percent of what it could actually do.
"How is Miss Angel?" Darent had already stepped forward to greet the woman.
"Still sleeping." Xia Yibing briefly explained the situation.
"Dairy was hiding beside her to protect her, so when the building shook, she was the first one to be carried out with the quilt. She hasn't woken up yet."
"Is this normal?" Matt frowned. He considered the extent of the shaking in the building at the time and felt that not many people could survive such a large fluctuation and still continue to sleep soundly.
