Late at night, a heavy snowstorm swept across central Ohio.
Located in Columbus, Germantown in the south, the red brick walled buildings that stood in the 19th century are covered with a thick layer of silver cotton-padded jackets.
A row of long, light footprints were imprinted on the pavement next to the building, extending from the road out of the city to 24 Fifth Avenue in a remote corner, a ruined building.
Covered in snow, collapsed roofs, damaged walls, and broken wooden beams outline the skeleton-like outline of a giant beast.
Dean, who was wearing a light blue down jacket and transformed into the snake demon Seth, squatted down and took out a brick from the ruins. The brick was completely black, with traces of being burned by the raging fire.
"It's too late. There was a fire here." Dean's eyes showed a trace of helplessness. He spent less than half an hour at night and traveled hundreds of kilometers from Hawkins Town to Columbus City. Unexpectedly, he was waiting here. kind of result.
Reluctantly, he repeatedly searched every corner of the ruins with his God's perspective. Unfortunately, the fire probably happened not long ago. Except for the broken roof trusses, everything was swept away, not even a piece of paper was left.
There are no clues at the scene.
He looked left and followed the night to another brick-walled villa on the roadside a few hundred meters away, and knocked on the door.
"Bang bang."
"Kaz..."
The door opened, and an aunt wearing thick pajamas peeked out from behind the anti-theft chain. She looked at the visitor's brown hair, brown eyes, beard, and standard Mexican face with "not to be trifled with" written on it. "Who are you?"
"Hello, I'm Kenny from New Mexico..." Dean smiled and glanced at the aunt's stubby chin, a hint of telepathy flashed in his eyes, "I have something to do with William White, the owner of the house next door at No. 24. But why is his house gone? Can you tell me what happened?"
The aunt blinked in a daze, and suddenly felt that the man had become as pleasing to her eyes as her nephew. She quickly opened the anti-theft chain, lovingly welcomed him to the sofa in the living room, and offered him a cup of hot chocolate.
"Mr. Kenny, you came too late," the aunt said regretfully as she looked out the window. "The house No. 24 where William lived had a fire six months ago and was completely burned. Unfortunately, he himself was also killed in the flames."
Dean's eyes narrowed, and his hands holding the cup tightened, "William is actually dead, are you sure?"
"Well, I remember it was two or three o'clock in the morning in the summer. There was no one on this remote street for a long time. The neighbors were also asleep and failed to put out the fire in time." The aunt said fearfully, stroking her plump chest. , "When I heard the fire brigade's movement and got up to look, the flames had been extinguished, and a black and smoking body was carried out on the stretcher of the ambulance."
Dean took a sip of hot chocolate and narrowed his eyes in contentment. "Is the fire an accident or arson?"
"How could it be arson?" The aunt was startled by this bold statement and shook her head to deny it. "The security in Germantown has always been good, and the police's announcement later said that the fire was caused by the aging wiring of the house."
Dean rubbed his temples and was silent for a moment.
"Then what kind of person is William?"
"To be honest, I don't have much contact with him. The rare impression I have is that he is a vegetarian and works as a professor at Ohio State University. He is also very busy at ordinary times. He leaves early and comes home late. He never interacts with the neighbors." The aunt rubbed Rubbing the swollen bags under his eyes, he looked at the fireplace opposite the living room and recalled, "I once invited him to be a guest at home, but he declined because he didn't eat meat. He is really not easy to deal with and is serious and rigid."
Dean nodded, "Are there any relatives who will accept his inheritance, such as his wife?"
The aunt's expression changed, "I heard that his wife passed away twenty years ago, but they have a son named Adam White, who is in his twenties. He dropped out of high school before graduating, and has not found a regular job. He stays up all day long. Wander around the city, and if you don’t have any money, go home and ask William for it.”
"A professor's son dropped out of high school before graduating?" Dean asked with questioning eyes.
"Who knows, maybe it's because Adam lacks his mother's company and care?" the aunt said uncertainly, "and children from single-parent families are usually more rebellious."
"I can't remember how many times the two fathers and sons pointed at each other's noses and yelled curses at the door of their home, and almost started to fight... I'm really worried that one day William will be so angry that he will suffer from brain congestion and faint to death."
"Does this father-son relationship have a bad relationship?"
"Well, the most chilling thing is that after William died, Adam only came back once to ask us neighbors about the fire, but never mentioned holding a funeral for his father!"
The aunt put her hands on the waist of the bucket and roared angrily at the fireplace, her face as red as a tomato.
"Poor old William, a decent university professor, didn't get a glorious funeral for half a year after his death, and his soul can't rest in peace!"
What an aunt with a sense of justice.
"Calm down, don't make yourself angry." Dean interrupted the aunt's sigh, "Do you have Adam's specific address?"
"How can he afford to buy a house without a job or income? The only house was destroyed by fire and has not been rebuilt yet." The aunt poked the flame of the fireplace with her carrot-thick finger, as if she wanted to kill the bastard, "Maybe He rented a house somewhere else, but I don’t know the specific address..."
Dean asked again, "So you have a picture of Adam?"
"without."
"how does he look like?"
"Brown hair, blue eyes, thin lips, about 5.9 feet tall, quite handsome... If you have to find him, try your luck in the old Franklin district west of the city center. I heard that the brat used to hang out in that area. "
Dean listened to her description, closed his eyes and entered the dark space of his mind, and then exited with regret in less than a minute.
There are no real photos or portraits as reference, and just a few words of description are not enough to connect Dean's spiritual power with the target.
"OK, thank you for your patient answers and hospitality. This is your reward." Dean put down the empty cup in his hand and stood up. He patted the aunt on the shoulder gently and injected a small amount of life energy to treat her old and sick body. Body, "Notice blood pressure later."
The heat washed over her whole body, and the aunt fell softly on the sofa, her chubby cheeks became like red cloth, she closed her eyes and snored regularly.
Dean put a thick blanket on her, opened the door and re-entered the ice and snow.
The left pocket fidgeted a few times, and the round badge flew to his shoulder. "Master, although this old lady is just an ordinary person, she has a lot of emotional energy, which gave me a good suck."
"When you're full, do some practical work." Dean ordered, "Let your guys go to Franklin District to find Adam."
"Good master!" Qiantan jumped off his shoulders, turned into a stream of light and flew over every house on the street, every sewer manhole cover, and every street tree, making a sharp and harsh chirp and croak.
Hundreds of birds responded to the call of the shallows and flew out of the trees, passing through the gray sky, rushing towards the mission destination, while thousands of black-furred rats swung their long tails and got through basement grates and sewer manhole covers. Come out and climb into the north Franklin area against the snowy wall.
If someone happens to pass by, they will find a group of rats forming a black stream running endlessly under the night.
But the heavy snow covered up all abnormal movements.
Densely packed small animals quietly dispersed to the glass windows and chimneys of houses, sticking their little heads out, staring at the scene in the house with wide black eyes, searching for "Adam White".
Dean took advantage of the break to visit other houses near Room 24, but failed to find photos of William and his son, and the information he learned overlapped with his aunt's.
He simply returned to the ruins and held a spiritual ceremony. It turned out that the house was too dilapidated and leaky to be considered a house, and the souls of the dead did not listen to the call at all.
But there is also good news. The group of little animals found Adam's whereabouts within half an hour of setting off.
…
Franklin District, the confluence of the Scioto and Olentengi rivers. Many places in this area are lower than the river level, so riverside dams are needed to prevent flooding.
But it was January, the dry season, and the temperature was below zero, but not as high as the frozen river surface. The shallow water surface was covered with ice floes, white in color, flashing in the moonlight, like pieces of crystallized salt fields. .
Beside the salt fields and behind the river embankment, there are rows of maple trees, oak trees, oak trees, and walnut trees wrapped in silver. Their white branches are swaying in the cold wind. Just looking at them makes your teeth chatter.
But there happened to be a solitary bright yellow tent placed in such a harsh environment.
Lying in the tent was a homeless man with high cheekbones and dirty, knotted hair covered in ice shards.
His blue eyes stared blankly into the dark sky in the tent, like the button eyes of a dummy, lifeless. His skinny body was tightly wrapped in a blanket, trembling from time to time, as if It could be blown off by the cold wind outside the tent at any time.
Swipe and pull——
The tent's zipper suddenly opened.
A faint yellow light penetrated the howling cold wind, accompanied by a burst of furnace-like heat, which instantly warmed the homeless man's frozen body, but the face reflected in the yellow light made the homeless man sit up in shock. He stood up, grabbed the blanket in front of him like lightning, and covered his butt.
"Who? Get away, all my things have been robbed, there is nothing left! It's gone!"
"Don't be nervous, Adam White. I have no ill intentions towards you, and I won't hurt you." The Mexican spoke, his voice warm and warm, like an old friend he hadn't seen for a long time, but his eyes looked at him covering his butt strangely. He glanced at his hand and said, "I am Kenny from Alamo University in New Mexico. I once met your father, William White, at an academic exchange meeting. We are considered old friends. I am very interested in his research topic. This I passed Columbus the first time and planned to have a chat with him, but I didn’t expect to see anything but ruins.”
"By the way, how did you become a tramp?" The man stared deeply into the eyes of Adam, the tramp. Even though he was so downcast, his light of life was stronger than that of ordinary people, but it was dimmed a lot on his left arm. , the left hand was broken starting from the elbow. Because it was not corrected correctly, the bones grew directly crooked, like a crooked-necked tree sapling. "Why is your hand broken?"
Complexity flashed in Adam's eyes, and then he awkwardly retracted his left hand and clamped it under his arm, "I don't have a job, so I have been relying on the old man to support me. He died six months ago, and I cut off my financial resources, so naturally I became a homeless person." Tramps. Isn’t it normal for tramps to fight for territory and break bones and muscles?”
Dean glanced at the man's face and saw at a glance the handsome features under the sloppy beard. If he shaved off his beard and groomed it properly, he would become a handsome young man and find a rich woman to feed him easily. On the streets, "local areas" are guarded with fear all day long.
"Where are the research materials that your father, William White, devoted his whole life to? Are they just burned to ashes? Give them to me, and I will help you get out of trouble and heal your hands."
Adam asked with disdain, "Data, are you talking about those non-existent mythical creatures Leviathan and Baphomet?"
"That's right..." Dean put the flashlight by his feet, squatted down, sat by the tent, took out a cold hot dog from his arms, heated it with his mind and threw it over, "Do you know the specific content?"
"I don't know, I'm not interested either." After Adam took it, he took out the sausage in the bread and threw it away. Then he ate it in big gulps, hissing and spitting out the hot air. He kept opening and closing his mouth, and it was all gone in the blink of an eye. More than half of it,
Dean's eyelids twitched, "Why don't you eat sausages?"
"I'm a vegetarian and never eat meat." Adam licked his fingers that were stained with black dirt and oil and said calmly, "The information you are looking for is all false and ridiculous. William studied it obsessively. There has been no results for half a lifetime. Moreover, all his books and materials were stored in the study and burned together with the fire, otherwise I would definitely sell them to you at a high price."
"Where's the rest of his legacy to you?"
Adam grinned bitterly, with a hint of sarcasm in his eyes, "That old guy had invested all his money and energy in his own research, and now even his house has been burned down. The only inheritance I got was-a thousand dollars and freedom? Never again. A bad old man scolds me every now and then for not doing my job properly."
Dean carefully looked into his eyes and confirmed that there was no sympathy or warmth in his expression. He described him as if he was just a stranger.
"Why do you hate your father so much?"
"Man, do you want to preach to me?" Adam glanced at Dean sarcastically, "You want me to respect a man who only cares about his own research and has ignored his son for twenty years?"
"Didn't he give you a living allowance every once in a while?"
"That's the compensation he gave me. After he gave birth to me, he will be responsible for me to the end!" Adam's voice was full of complaints.
Dean raised his left eyebrow. This was the first time he saw such a person who spoke so confidently.
"Look, man, I can't help you," Adam looked directly into Dean's eyes, then looked at the tent's exit, "but to thank you for the meal, I'll give you a suggestion, go to the history department at Ohio State University Ask William's colleagues and students who might know something."
"Department of History?" Dean nodded, but his body was as motionless as a statue. "I will investigate, but before that, I need an explanation about the lies you told?"
"I don't know what you mean." Adam's eyelids twitched and he nervously raised his buttocks and moved back.
"Adam, although you pretend to be very good on the surface and don't blink when you lie, your heartbeat will speed up. Especially when you say 'he died six months ago'." Dean said with a smile, "So William White didn't die in the fire half a year ago, right? The charred corpse belongs to someone else, right?"
"Don't lie to me. If you don't tell me, I have at least three ways to get you to tell the truth, but then the atmosphere won't be so friendly and harmonious."
"Do you believe it or not?"
Believe it or not?
The calm voice echoed in the tent, and the light of the flashlight also changed between light and dark.
Thump thump thump.
There was a heart-stopping depression in the air.
Adam White shook his head vigorously in the midst of a dizzy and suffocating feeling. Then he opened his eyes and looked at the bearded face close at hand. His face was dull for a while, then he lowered his head dejectedly and sighed longly.
"I don't know who you are, but my intuition tells me that you are not an enemy, otherwise you wouldn't have to beat around the bush with me and be so patient with me. Since you have guessed it, I will tell the truth."
"That old man William White is most likely not dead." Adam said with a heavy voice, "When I identified his burnt body at the police station six months ago, I checked the deceased's teeth and there were no signs of filling. Very neat and natural.”
"And I remember clearly that my father William had multiple fillings in his teeth because he was greedy when he was a child and didn't brush his teeth frequently..."
"The two are obviously not the same person. Someone is creating the illusion of his death to confuse the public. In order to get his research."
Dean suddenly realized, no wonder this guy didn't hold a funeral for his father, "Why didn't you call the police?"
"I dare not say anything. William reminded me a few years ago that his research is full of unpredictable risks. He may die unexpectedly or disappear at any time. When the time comes, I must accept everything calmly."
"I did as he asked." Adam stroked his broken left hand with his right hand, looked past Dean to the gap behind him, his eyes were cold and hateful, and he gritted his teeth and said, "But the people who caused the fire still didn't In order to let me go, they sent people to torture me, break my hands, and ask questions from my mouth about William's research."
"I did not say anything."
Adam laughed at himself,
"I thought I was going to die on a winter night. And early the next morning, my body was found frozen into a popsicle by a snow plow driver."
"But Kenny, since I met you and you want William's research, can we make an exchange?" Adam tied up his left hand with difficulty and asked word by word, "You help find William's true whereabouts. I Convince him to share his research with you."
As Adam's words fell, Dean opened a reminder - the event "William White's Secret Research"
William White, a scholar of Baphomet and Leviathan and a history professor at Ohio State University, died in a fire six months ago.
But after you find his son, you find that this is just an illusion. He may still be alive somewhere.
Now find a way to find William White and get his research.
Event Difficulty: At least Moderate
Progress: (10/100)
Deadline: one week
Reward: At least 150 experience points
(End of chapter)
