Noon, Goat Town
In a certain unlucky guy's house, a gramophone plays unknown classical music, like that played by an orchestra, sometimes passionate, sometimes soothing.
The hard work along the way seemed to have exhausted Nika. While everyone was still discussing the next step, he silently huddled in the corner of the sofa and fell asleep. Even the music played by Ethan could not distract him. Wake up.
When it was time to eat, Reina and Toma went to the kitchen to find some useful ingredients. In order not to disturb Nika's sleep, Jiang Chenchuan and Ethan went upstairs to find a study room to discuss.
Ethan did not agree with Thomas's point of view. Goat Town is already remote, and with its geographical advantage, there is little contact with the outside world. Even if something happens, there is no need to leave an empty town. What's more, the town has not been attacked. Mark of.
"So...what do you think?"
"Two possibilities. My initial idea was to evacuate all of them. For some reason, they abandoned the town and moved away collectively. But as you can see, the clothes in the closet are still there, and even the suitcases are intact. They are placed in the room, and countless traces tell me that they have not left."
It could be seen that Ethan was serious and a very reliable person. Jiang Chenchuan raised his hand and motioned for him to continue speaking.
"After in-depth investigation, I thought of another possibility. Could there be... a mysterious force that wiped out all the citizens of Goat Town!"
Ethan's low voice seemed to be narrating a terrible horror story. An icy cold air filled the town. The language seemed to have magic power, and a silent strangeness slowly emerged from the shadows.
Not all bloody stories have tragic endings. Jiang Chenchuan pondered for a while, then shook his head and said:
"I don't think...it's a mystery."
"Mystery" is really a versatile term. Just like when humans were enlightened, they could write all unexplained natural phenomena into myths and use supernatural stories to cover their own ignorance.
But with the development and progress of the times, human beings continue to break through the unexplainable unknown through science and technology, and then the hazy veil called "mystery" has been lifted.
"Say what you think, Evel."
Ethan leaned forward, looking interested.
"Listen Ethan, we came all the way, passing shops, schools, residential areas..."
As memories continued to emerge, Jiang Chenchuan began to explain his reasoning:
"The business hours posted outside the store are closed from 8 am to 8 pm, and there are no signs of damage. The school is very clean, with only yellow leaves left on the ground, and the chain on the door is intact. Therefore, something happened to the townspeople. The time should be after eight o'clock that night, when the students have returned home."
Along with Jiang Chenchuan's words, the scenes seemed to really appear in front of Ethan's eyes, walking on the streets of Goat Town, observing the details that were easily overlooked.
"Most of the doors in residential areas are intact, but after investigating a few nearby houses, I just found that the door locks of almost every house have traces of being violently opened. Even if someone deliberately repairs them later, it can be seen. Was in a hurry to leave, very rushed.
And I also used some extraordinary means. After entering several houses to investigate, I confirmed that a fight had indeed occurred in the house and found traces of the handling scene. "
Jiang Chenchuan slowly exhaled before expressing his conclusion:
"Ethan, I doubt those townspeople are still here."
Turning to look out the window, gray fog surrounded the mountains, and the sky was emitting a dark light. The soft words were like a bomb, exploding the truth hidden under Goat Town.
"You mean..."
Ethan understood what he meant.
"Someone has captured them. The only hope now is that the townspeople are still alive, but they are locked up somewhere in the town. If we are lucky, we may be able to rescue them. Of course, this also means that the enemy In the dark, he may be hiding somewhere right now and watching us.”
"Wow, that's scary."
Ethan said with a smile, it seemed that he really didn't care.
"Then, now we should get to the point, Yvel, you...are also here to find the 'Black Goat Horns', right?"
"certainly."
Jiang Chenchuan did not deny it.
Everyone comes with their own purposes. Whether to cooperate or make enemies depends solely on the conflicts between interests.
"But you have also discovered that although this place is called Goat Town, due to environmental and geographical problems, not even a single sheep can be raised, let alone the horns of black goats."
Ethan's words were a little disappointed. He thought that as long as he came to Goat Town, he would be able to get what he wanted. Unexpectedly, it backfired. He searched the entire town and couldn't find the rare alchemy raw materials.
What a headache.
"So, you want to..."
Jiang Chenchuan said tentatively.
"Cooperate, Evel, there are only five of us alive in the town, there is no need to be hostile to each other."
Ethan looked sincere, and Jiang Chenchuan would not refuse. Coupled with his whimsical ideas, there might be some unexpected gains.
The two people upstairs had a pleasant conversation, but Reina's experience downstairs was not so lucky. As soon as she came out of the kitchen with a hot meal, she saw that Nika had woken up and he was sitting upright on the sofa. He looked around with confusion on his face.
"You're awake, do you want to come get something to eat?"
Lena greeted kindly.
But Nica seemed not to hear, and sat motionless without replying.
Sudden,
"vomit--"
Nika held his stomach in pain, as if he had eaten something bad, but he vomited for a long time and nothing came out.
"Nika, are you okay?"
Reina wanted to care about Nika's condition, but Thomas called from the kitchen, asking her to help turn off the fire, so Reina had to turn around and go back.
Blood-red eyes suddenly opened, and sticky tentacles emerged from her body, crawling slowly on the floor and walls, extending from the ceiling of the kitchen, and landed on Reina's back, gently wrapping around her white hair. Neck.
Coincidentally, Thomas turned his head and saw this scene.
"ah!--"
The screams alarmed everyone.
The tentacles instantly tightened, and Reina felt suffocated. Just as she was strangling, the tentacles seemed to be burned by something, making a "sizzling" burning sound, and let go of Reina.
Rena fell to the ground, gasping for breath, and Toma was so frightened that he froze in place and couldn't move.
The two people upstairs heard the noise. Jiang Chenchuan grabbed his cane and rushed out of the room, followed closely by Ethan. They only saw a pool of sticky blood on the floor in the living room. The door was wide open, and Nika was gone.
"Thoma?"
Ethan came to the kitchen and saw a trembling Thomas huddled in the corner, and a frightened Reina.
"What happened? Is anyone hurt?"
"Touch... tentacles!"
Thomas said in panic.
"Is it Nika?" Jiang Chenchuan appeared at the door and said in a calm voice, "He is missing."
Thomas shook his head and said he didn't see anything.
"Got to find him."
Indescribable emotions rolled through his blue eyes.
