Chapter 982: The Scene at Isabel |
Unfortunately, Bai Liang didn't carry out a "night raid" on Liu Xing and the others.
Early the next morning, Liu Xing and his two companions were woken up by Dio.
Looking at the man standing before him, Liu Xing couldn't help but feel exasperated as he asked, "So, Dio, why do you have the key to my house?!"
Dio dodged the question with a grin, "Uh, I heard Mai Yuqiang managed to get his hands on a tuna today, so how about we go to his place for lunch?"
Seeing Dio play dumb, Liu Xing could only sigh and relent, "Alright, fine. We'll go crash Mai Yuqiang's place for lunch. But, seriously, why did you show up so early? Don’t tell me it’s just to invite us to lunch."
Dio chuckled and pulled out a small black stone from his pocket, "This is an advance payment from the Morio Town Protection Association for your patrol today."
"And what exactly does this stone do?" Liu Xing asked, not bothering to hide his disinterest. "Or better yet, just tell me what restrictions or drawbacks it has."
After getting that short sword yesterday, Liu Xing had already figured that he shouldn’t expect any high-quality rewards from the Morio Town Protection Association.
And, unsurprisingly, he was right.
Liu Xing raised an eyebrow, surprised by the tiny stone's potential. If he remembered correctly, a standard swimming pool holds over a hundred tons of water.
But this revelation also reminded Liu Xing of Cross Lake. He wondered if "Watanabe Ryuusei" had managed to extract everything hidden there.
Of course, Liu Xing already suspected there was a catch with this stone.
"Well, there’s definitely a downside, right?" Liu Xing guessed. "Otherwise, the mythical creatures of Dreamrealm would have flooded their enemies with these stones ages ago."
Dio nodded, a bit embarrassed. "You're spot on. The stone’s weight increases proportionally with the amount of water it absorbs. So, the one I'm holding is completely dry. Additionally, both the absorption and discharge rates are painfully slow—it can only absorb or release about ten pounds of water per hour..."
By the end, Dio’s voice grew softer and softer.
One ton equals two thousand pounds… So, filling this stone to its capacity would take over two years.
Liu Xing sighed and shook his head, "So, what use does this stone have for me? I can't exactly carry it around as a portable water bottle, can I?"
Dio forced a laugh, then added, "Actually, the best way to use this stone is for filtering impurities from water. Just let it absorb and release, and you’ll have perfectly purified water!"
Liu Xing nodded. That did sound somewhat useful. If he ever found himself in a situation where he needed to purify water, it could come in handy.
That said, in all his time within the Cthulhu Role-Playing Game Hall, he hadn’t once needed to filter water... Liu Xing figured that after the Public-Military Conflict was over, he could take this stone back to the real world and give it to his parents as a water purifier. At least that way, it wouldn’t go to waste.
Taking the stone from Dio, Liu Xing joked, "So let me ask you one more thing, Dio—don't you think you're being a bit too stingy, only giving us this little rock?"
Dio shrugged helplessly, "Hey, even landlords are running low on supplies! You have to understand, while these stones may be relatively common on Dreamrealm's moon, it's not exactly an easy place to access. It’s swarming with mythical creatures, like the Moon Beasts, which are extremely hostile to humans. So, even getting our hands on a stone like this is no small feat... not that many people even want one, to be honest."
After a bit more banter, Liu Xing and the others finished the breakfast of buns Dio had brought and set off in their car toward Morio Town’s city center.
However, Dio insisted Liu Xing ride with him.
On the way, Dio brought up the fire from the previous night, "We did a more thorough investigation of the scene overnight and discovered something strange—there were odd, transparent crystals left behind. These don’t look like glass formed from sand heated by high temperatures, so we’ve already sent samples to Nagoya University for analysis. But we suspect these crystals are linked to the arsonist."
Dio gestured toward the glove compartment, and Liu Xing pulled out a photograph.
The photo showed several irregularly shaped transparent crystals, which gave Liu Xing an odd feeling he couldn’t quite put his finger on.
Dio continued, "Take a closer look, Liu Xing. You’ll see that these crystals can actually fit together."
After Dio’s hint, Liu Xing noticed that while the crystals seemed randomly shaped, the edges had patterns that suggested they could connect.
"You’re saying these crystals were originally one piece?" Liu Xing asked, furrowing his brow.
Dio nodded seriously, "Yes, at least that’s what I believe. But we can't confirm it yet. So far, we’ve found only a few dozen of these crystals scattered in the forest. While they seem like they could fit together, none of them actually interlock."
As soon as Dio finished speaking, the car radio crackled to life. "Attention, everyone. We’ve discovered a damaged wooden boat along the coast. There’s nothing particularly distinctive about it, but given the circumstances, we suspect it might be significant. If you’re nearby, please come to the coordinates at D22 for support."
Dio’s expression turned serious as he said to Liu Xing, "Call Li Hanxing and the others and have them follow us."
Clearly, Dio intended to investigate the boat.
After Liu Xing made the call, Dio explained, "Like I mentioned yesterday, sometimes the Swollen Woman leaves us clues, and other times, assassins abandon their vehicles after entering Morio Town. Just recently, one assassin left his car in a parking lot, and we managed to gather a lot of useful intel from it."
"So, you suspect this killer came by boat this time?" Liu Xing asked.
Dio turned onto a narrow road and replied earnestly, "Exactly. Morio Town has a long coastline, and most of it is covered with coarse gravel, leaving only a small area for recreational use. The rest is deserted and rarely visited by locals... What’s more crucial is that there are many rocky sections along the shore, making them perfect hiding spots."
"Ever since Morio Town was established, every so often, a ship would dock along the coastline. Some of these vessels were merely abandoned wrecks carried here by the currents, but of course, not all of them were innocent. Quite a few were indeed linked to the assassins. Whenever we discovered one of these ships, we would always check it out. However, if this particular ship indeed belongs to one of those killers, then it might imply that we now have two assassins operating in Morio Town," Dio explained as he noticed Liu Xing's puzzled expression.
Continuing, Dio added, "Here's the thing: the assassins sent by the 'Swollen Woman' tend to follow a certain pattern. If they arrive by sea, their methods are usually water-related. For instance, one assassin who came via water killed people by drowning them in their baths. Another before that used ice knives as his weapon. So, a fire-obsessed assassin wouldn’t have arrived by ship."
Liu Xing nodded, surprised by how "principled" the assassins dispatched by the Swollen Woman seemed to be.
Dio sighed. "Even so, the ways these killers operate are becoming more unpredictable. It's getting increasingly difficult to anticipate their next move. I can’t even begin to guess how this assassin will creatively weaponize water."
Just as Dio finished speaking, Liu Xing noticed a few vehicles parked not far away, with a cordon set up around them.
Upon getting out of the car, Liu Xing observed five members of the Morio Town Protection Association on the scene, none of whom he recognized. However, the members clearly recognized Liu Xing and his group. This was because Dio had already submitted their photos while applying for temporary worker status for them.
As the “social butterfly” of the association, Dio was on friendly terms with the five members. After a brief conversation, he led Liu Xing and the others toward the old wooden ship.
The ship was wedged between two large rocks, meaning that to board it, they either had to swim across or leap down from the rocks—a height of about four meters. Though it didn’t seem particularly high, the wooden ship appeared rather fragile and weathered, a relic of sorts.
In modern times, ships are typically reinforced with iron plating to enhance durability and resistance to corrosion, making pure wooden vessels rare, especially along the coast where the sea's harsh conditions would quickly wear them down. But this ship had clearly been at the mercy of the sea for quite some time, its wooden hull showing signs of severe saltwater damage. Liu Xing doubted whether it could even hold his weight, let alone survive someone jumping onto it.
After exchanging uncertain glances, Liu Xing patted Dio on the shoulder and said earnestly, "Mr. Dio, if I recall correctly, you know how to swim, right? How about swimming over first to check if the ship is sturdy? You can even livestream it on your mobile phone for us."
Dio immediately shook his head and flatly refused, "No way! Have you ever seen a Ghoul swim? We Ghouls are four times weaker in water."
Li Hanxing couldn't resist teasing, "Dio, you're not some armored rhino. How can you be four times weaker in water? I've never heard of you mythical creatures having elemental weaknesses."
Dio sighed in resignation, taking off his outer coat before leaping down. Transforming into his Ghoul form, he clawed his way onto the wooden ship. To everyone’s surprise, the ship was sturdier than expected, capable of withstanding the force of his claws.
However, just as Dio took a few steps on the deck, he promptly broke through a plank, stumbling awkwardly.
Watching him struggle, Liu Xing and the others couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
After pulling his leg free, Dio shot a middle finger at the trio before heading into the cabin to investigate. Within two minutes, he re-emerged, saying, "It looks like this ship did indeed belong to an assassin. There are quite a few recently opened food packages inside, along with clear signs of human activity."
Dio then used his claws to latch onto the rocky wall and began climbing back up. Halfway up, he suddenly paused and said, "There are fresh scratch marks on this rock. It seems that the assassin also climbed ashore from here."
Liu Xing leaned down to take a closer look and indeed saw several deep gouges on the rock face, suggesting that the killer was equipped with climbing tools like an ice axe.
At that moment, a few more members of the Morio Town Protection Association arrived on the scene.
"Isabella?!"
Liu Xing stared in shock at the new arrival. Yes, it was indeed Isabella standing right in front of him.
Equally surprised, Isabella asked, "Liu Xing, when did you join the Morio Town Protection Association?"
From her question, Liu Xing quickly deduced that Isabella wasn't part of the association. After a bit of catching up, he learned that Isabella had only arrived in Morio Town a few days ago. As for why she had abruptly left England and come all the way here, it was to search for a missing friend.
Apparently, Isabella’s friend was once a member of the Morio Town Protection Association. After meeting the three required quotas two years ago, they had left Morio Town, only to vanish without a trace recently. Isabella had tracked the clues all the way to this mysterious town.
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Chapter 983: No Nesting Dolls Allowed