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95.24% Days as a Spiritual Mentor in American Comics / Chapter 4085: Chapter 3194: The Detective Will Die (8)

章節 4085: Chapter 3194: The Detective Will Die (8)

Madeline's manuscript chronicled her investigation process.

In her records, she arrived at the village on the 18th, and, thanks to her status as former clergy, was allowed to stay in the village's Church, where the villagers welcomed her warmly.

Here, she wrote, "…This is a very peaceful small village, the villagers are a bit vigilant, but I can understand them. After I introduced myself, they were quite enthusiastic…"

Regarding the village, that's all she described, then the rest is mainly about the description of the Wandering, that monster.

Madeline emphasized that this was not her first encounter with the Wandering; the last time was when she was nine, which was also the last recorded appearance of the Wandering.

Like the detective's corpse had provided, Madeline mentioned that 30 years ago, there was a heavy snowfall. She and her family were spending Christmas in their holiday villa, but it was during that very night when the dreadful Wandering appeared, and her family fell victim to its malice, leaving only her and her youngest sister alive.

Since then, she has been pursuing this monster, but there never was a particular pattern to the strange occurrences, nor did the Wandering always come with each snowy weather, so she was always at a loss.

However, this did not mean she had no successful outcome in her research; on the contrary, after becoming an official member of the clergy, she used the Church's resources to identify several characteristics of these strange entities.

First of all, not all the monsters among the strange phenomena could do as they pleased; they were subject to certain restrictions.

This was good news for Shiller, of course. If they were truly invincible, there would be no point in playing this game. There are no unrestricted beings in the world, not even God.

But the more Shiller read, the heavier his heart sank.

Because the second point mentioned that the monsters were not just monsters; they were sly Demons with their own cognitive abilities, possibly even smarter than the Human race. They could use their Wisdom to circumvent their restrictions and go on a rampage.

In other words, the Human race wasn't just fighting a system but another group of cunning Intelligent Creatures. As one could imagine, the difficulty was immense.

And the last and most important point was that humans could not use firearms to resolve the aberrations.

So-called firearms included not just modern weapons but also those old-fashioned muskets; simply put, firearms were ineffective and only Cold Weapons could solve the issue.

Madeline mentioned that firearms not only failed to hit the monsters, rendering the attacks ineffective, but also everyone who tried to use firearms against the monsters would be cursed and immediately plunge into madness.

Finally, Madeline added that all the monsters were intangible; they were a concept and didn't truly exist in this world.

To accomplish certain things, they had to use a host, usually Humans or animals. In places where the strange entities appeared, one could not trust anything that breathed.

Shiller continued to flip through, but the content below comprised mainly Madeline's speculations, without any real evidence, mostly about the Wandering.

Madeline also noted that the bodies affected by the Wandering moved in exceptionally strange ways: some walked on hands, some on their heads, and some wriggled on their bellies—none used their feet.

And yet these monsters would only appear in snowy weather, which led one to speculate whether the Wandering didn't want to leave footprints in the snow.

Following this line of thought from Madeline, Shiller continued to deduce.

Madeline's notes mentioned that all monsters were bodiless, capable only of possessing Humans or animals.

The greatest danger of this situation wasn't the monsters themselves being so terrible, but rather the impossibility of distinguishing who was a monster.

When an anomaly descended upon an area, your mother, child, daughter, or even your pet might already be possessed, and you wouldn't be able to tell. They could even take advantage of your affection for them, leading you astray so they could ignore the restrictions and slaughter everyone.

Thus, the so-called restrictions might also be the monsters' flaws, the aspects in which they differed from normal people.

For example, they might have special markings on their bodies that needed to be hidden to avoid detection or move in odd ways, requiring excuses to go unnoticed.

Did this mean that the Wandering's restriction was that its footprints differed from normal individuals? And that its method of overcoming this restriction was not to walk on feet?

Shiller thought about it and felt it couldn't be that simple. If it could avoid leaving distinctive footprints just by not walking on feet, how could that really be considered a restriction?

It could simply possess a person, make them commit suicide, and when others came to check the body, it could possess that person to commit suicide again. By doing this, it wouldn't have to move at all and thus would not leave any footprints.

Shiller felt there must be another restriction for this monster, which might have to do with what the Researcher had just done.

Assuming Madeline was conscious, she attracted everyone over and then committed suicide, which could be another kind of limitation.

The detective who wasn't supposed to die in the cabin, ended up there; the person who died in the kitchen, yet had the reed diary's owner; the researcher who came to investigate the Wandering and ultimately committed suicide on the second floor…

Countless clues wandered through Shiller's brain like a mathematical problem searching for a pattern; his own thinking didn't spark any inspiration, so he shared the content of his notes and his hypotheses.

This didn't count as breaking character because their purpose here was to investigate the Wandering, and discussing clues was only natural.

"The invisible monster…" Primary Universe Batman muttered, as if he was pondering.

"I think we need to clear up one issue," Bruce said, "Is the monster something that can be killed?"

"Madeline didn't mention it, but I'm pessimistic," Shiller said, "The existence of something intangible and formless means that the human race can't even observe them, let alone eliminate them."

"So, it's a kind of natural disaster," Greed said, stroking his chin, "Humans can't prevent the occurrence of natural disasters, and the most we can do is minimize the loss. Maybe it's the same when facing the monster."

"I think we can analyze the gains and losses from the perspectives of both humans and the monster," the pale knight spoke, "For humans, of course, the greatest benefit is to survive under the monster's hand; as for the monster, although I don't know their purposes yet, they seem to want to kill more humans."

"The more humans that survive, it means fewer humans are killed by the monster, and vice versa. This is a zero-sum game, an irreconcilable contradiction. Humans struggle for survival with all their might, while monsters unscrupulously kill. This is the conflict of interests between the two parties."

"Thus, any method that can reduce human losses must surely be disadvantageous to the monster, and I think the most lethal would be to find the pattern of the monster's possession."

Shiller immediately realized he was on the same page as the pale knight – the best way to mitigate the threat of this kind of invisible monster was to figure out who they had possessed.

Of course, the possessed person could likely not escape, but if it's clear who was possessed, then the others could still run.

At least in Madeline's research, there wasn't any kind of monster that could physically fly or be omni-capable; most had some methods of attack that were beyond human comprehension, but they were limited by distance. They were fast and strong, but with due caution, it wasn't impossible to escape.

In this case, as long as the characteristics of the possessed could be understood, then most people could be saved.

So, the monster's core interest must be to prevent itself from being discovered.

Therefore, a possible restriction against the monster could be to let people discover its traits.

Based on this logical deduction combined with the state of the corpses, a point at which this so-called Wandering could easily be discovered by people might potentially be the footprints.

Shiller posed a question he had previously considered, "If it doesn't use feet to walk, it won't leave footprints; in that case, it could simply use a wheelchair or not walk at all but wait in one spot and kill whoever comes."

"There must be other restrictions," the pale knight said.

Universe Batman nodded, "I think another possible restriction could be forced movement."

Shiller's interest was piqued, and he said, "How so?"

"This monster has to move after possessing someone," Universe Batman made a bold conjecture, "The detective could have been possessed, but he still carried out the invitation of the diary owner and arrived at the cabin; the diary owner might also have been possessed, but he still managed to go to the pond, caught a lot of fish, and ate them."

Hearing Universe Batman explain this, Shiller suddenly had an epiphany, "The detective's last goal before death was to find his friend in the cabin; the diary owner's last wish before death was to eat the fish he caught… Could the Wandering be required to help the possessed person fulfill their last wish?"

"I think it's probably the last action," Bruce said, "The detective's last action was to go to the cabin; the diary owner's last action was to go out fishing. After possession, the Wandering helped them complete these actions."

"I get it," Greed snapped his fingers, "The restriction against the Wandering is made up of two simultaneous restrictions."

"The Wandering leaves footprints when moving, and humans can observe who has different footprints to find out who is possessed. The Wandering must complete the last action of humans before death, which means it has to move and therefore has to leave footprints, giving humans a chance to find the possessed."

"But obviously, the Wandering isn't content with these restrictions," Shiller continued, "That's why we see the cadavers posed so strangely."

"But is it really true that no footprints will be left if it doesn't use human feet to walk?" Night Owl raised the question.

Everyone thought this was absurd; if all it took not to leave footprints was not using feet to walk, then this monster would be suitable for possessing a paraplegic and killing people in a wheelchair.

Joker snorted lightly and said, "I'm afraid it's not that simple; I guess it would definitely leave footprints as soon as it moves. But if you were a murderer, wouldn't you want to cover up your tracks to avoid exposure?"

Everyone fell into thought again, and Shiller felt Joker had a point. It's possible that the Wandering controlling the corpse to make all those elaborate poses wasn't necessarily to avoid leaving any footprints at all, but rather to obscure them.


next chapter

章節 4086: Chapter 3195: The Detective Will Die (9)

Shiller suddenly had an epiphany. He said, "Blood."

"What?" Greed turned to look at him.

"Wandering seems to be able to use human blood to cover its own tracks," Shiller said. "It split the detective's upper body and then walked backward, so as it walked, the blood would spray onto the ground."

"Similarly, it chopped off the limbs of the diary's owner and crawled forward; as it moved, the blood flowing from behind would cover its tracks from arrival."

Shiller actually had no evidence; this was merely a bold conjecture, but he felt there was some truth to it.

"Generally speaking, blood at a murder scene becomes crucial evidence to determine how the murderer struck. If there are bloodstains from footprints, you can of course guess how the murderer left the scene," the pale knight spoke up. "Considering his profession as a lawyer, it's normal for him to know such information."

He continued, "If a murderer doesn't want to expose themselves, then they must properly handle the large amount of blood inside a human body. If they want to move a body to another location without being discovered, they either have to use a bloodless method of killing or carefully wrap up the body during transportation."

"In conclusion, if you don't want to expose yourself, you should avoid bloody scenes as much as possible, but Mr. Wandering here is doing the exact opposite, either splitting people open or chopping off limbs. This clearly doesn't align with his goal to conceal himself, unless... this helps him hide his presence."

Shiller was growing more and more appreciative of the pale knight. His line of thought always matched his own. Thinking of the pale knight in the comics, who seemed to suppress the virus with drugs, maybe he could find a way to help prolong the effects of the medication.

Shiller looked again at Madeline, lying in the corner. He said, "This lady mentioned that Wandering had already arrived just before she died, which proves she might have been the next possession target for Wandering. Then the question arises, how does Wandering intend to carry out his next move?"

The others were all startled, realizing suddenly that Madeline had come prepared.

This researcher was not unguarded, yet she still chose to commit suicide. What did that imply?

Greed immediately understood the key point. He said, "Her last action was suicide, but since she's already dead, would Wandering help her complete this act of suicide? I mean, kill Wandering itself?"

Shiller also fell into contemplation.

It was clear that in the worldview of this world, the strange was not a recent appearance; the human race seemed to always coexist with these monsters, with even global, professional organizations like the Church specifically dealing with these creatures. They were not rookies, but experienced hunters.

Even if Madeline was a retired member of the clergy, she would definitely not be helpless without resistance. At least, Shiller hadn't seen too much desperation in her notes; she remained as calm as ever.

Since it wasn't a suicide caused by losing control, it proved that Madeline did it intentionally, but what could compel a mentally firm researcher to trade her own life?

To expel the beast? To save the villagers?

Shiller thought it was neither. He knew many scientists like her, many of whom lacked a conventional sense of good and evil. They were only interested in their research projects, and everything they did was for the sake of research results.

What if she traded her life for Wandering's?

In Madeline's own records, it seemed that historically, no one had ever killed the beast. How to completely kill a monster is the highest goal for every researcher. If there was a chance to put it into practice, then perhaps the cost of life was also acceptable.

"Do you think she can succeed?" Joker nudged Shiller with his elbow, asking him.

Shiller slowly shook his head.

He admitted that the spirit of dedication to science was moving, but Madeline seemed to have forgotten something—the Beast cannot be killed by firearms.

"Beasts cannot be killed by firearms," Primary Universe Batman thought in unison with Shiller, saying, "Madeline committed suicide with a revolver, and if we assume that the Wandering must complete her last action, the best outcome would be to shoot herself in the head..."

At this point, Shiller and Primary Universe Batman suddenly exchanged glances.

"That's her purpose!" they exclaimed in unison.

Shiller spoke rapidly, explaining, "Anyone who kills the Beast with a firearm will be cursed, so what if the Beast uses a firearm against itself? Who will be cursed then? That's the real answer she wanted to know!"

"But if we hadn't come, and she had died, then no one would have witnessed this," Bruce said.

"This proves she knew we would definitely come," Greed was good at speculating about such things, and he said, "It seems like we met here by chance, but maybe she arranged it, don't you think?"

"It's not impossible," Night Owl spoke, "The timing of us coming together here is too coincidental. Perhaps it was through a series of coincidences that she invited us here, then made a commotion to draw us to her side, so we could witness the fruits of her experiment."

"So, what should we do?" Bruce asked.

Shiller, however, breathed a sigh of relief, thinking to himself that although the game had many restrictions, the guidance for beginners was clear enough. They weren't faced with confronting the Beast right away but were allowed to observe their predecessors' research achievements to better understand the existence of the strange.

But if he walked through this beginner's course so calmly, he wouldn't be Shiller.

"I think the room is a bit dark," Shiller said, "In order to better observe the body's changes, I'll go downstairs and bring the kerosene lamp."

Greed immediately looked over at him, his eyes asking, "What are you up to?"

"In case of emergency," Shiller responded with a look.

Shiller went downstairs, remembering that when he felt the drawer key, he found the kerosene lamp fixed to the column was detachable; he unscrewed a screw from the back and took the lamp off the table.

There was still plenty of oil in the lamp, enough to last the night, but Shiller didn't simply take the kerosene lamp upstairs. Instead, he opened the lantern's lid and splashed more than half of the oil onto the carpet.

Then he went to the wall where the wood was stored, tossed the already split logs onto the living room's floor, scattering them evenly—pretty much everywhere.

Next, he walked over to the window, tore down the living room's curtains, along with the kitchen curtains, and piled them on the kitchen floor, throwing the last few logs into the pile of curtains.

He opened the back door by the staircase and then threw the animal skins hanging on the walls of the cabin's living room out into the snow through the back door. After he finished tossing them out, he didn't close the door, allowing the cold wind to blow inside continuously.

"What are you doing?" the Transcendent asked in his mind.

"I'm taking some preventive measures."

"Preventing what?"

"Experimental failure."

"I remind you, this house is very remote, you need to walk at least 20 minutes to find the next building."

"I also remind you, next time you make a map, don't make the buildings entirely out of wood easy to ignite, hard to extinguish."

"You can't burn down the house, otherwise, you'll freeze to death on the road."

"If we freeze to death on the road, what about the Wandering?"

"What?"

"Why didn't the detective die?"

"What?"

"That detective was cut in half, why is he still alive and able to move?"

"What do you think?"

"Because it's very likely there's a third limitation, that he can only possess living people, at least during the possession process, the person has to be alive, Madeline probably isn't completely dead either."

Shiller packed up while speaking rapidly, "If he can only move by possessing living people, then within a few kilometers, it's just down to the few of us alive, if he lets us die, wouldn't he be trapped here forever?"

Shiller didn't keep listening to the Transcendent but quickly went upstairs. He didn't say anything unnecessary, simply stating urgently, "If any situation arises later, run straight for the back door."

No sooner had he finished than Madeline's corpse began to move.

She had been shot in the brain, but every other part of her limbs was intact. After shaky standing up, she suddenly lunged at Greed.

Greed immediately realized it was because he was holding the revolver Madeline had used to commit suicide.

"The gun!" Night Owl reminded. His intention was for Greed to throw the gun away because it was only by the Wandering shooting itself that they could see if the Curse would take effect.

But Shiller curved his lips, he had Greed touch the corpse not only because his dexterity attribute was high but because once anything got into Greed's hands, don't expect him to hand it over again.

The red dice appeared again, signaling Greed needed to dodge. At the critical moment, the agility check was successful; 26 > 23, Greed narrowly escaped.

"You want my stuff? Dream on!" Greed cursed, directly drawing the gun from Night Owl's waist, taking a stand, aiming, firing.

Bang! The bullet shot straight into Madeline's body.

"What are you doing?!" Night Owl was shocked, yelling at Shiller, "Didn't you say attacking monsters with firearms would invoke a curse?!"

"How will you know without trying?!"

"Then why don't you use your gun??"

"I'm afraid of the Curse!"

No sooner had Greed spoken, he felt a swift gust coming right at his face. He threw the dice again, 28 > 25, and the judgment was successful again.

Shiller could only think his dexterity points were indeed very high.

Greed rolled to the side, adeptly avoiding the attack, and the sharp gust hit the wall, cutting a sharp gash. Greed looked back, then said, "Looks like that's the culprit who sliced the detective open."

In a flash, Madeline lunged again, a hint of mischievous malice in Greed's eyes.

Whoosh!

He directly threw the revolver out the window that Madeline's first shot had broken.

Madeline leaped out of the window.

"Does this count as an emergency?" Bruce asked, looking at Shiller.

Shiller turned and ran downstairs, with everyone following behind. When they saw the setup on the first floor, they were all startled.

Not hesitating for a moment, Shiller gestured them to leave through the back door while grabbing the kerosene lamp from the table and tossing it to the floor.

Whoosh! Flames leaped up, and with flammable materials everywhere and the house's wooden structure, the fire grew uncontrollable within seconds.

Everyone ran out into the snowy ground through the back door.

Madeline just happened to fall beside them. Though the second floor wasn't very high, Madeline hadn't paid attention to her form as she plunged, and her legs were clearly broken.

Just then, as she awkwardly propped herself up with her hands, because not enough blood had flowed, she crawled forward one step, and Shiller saw a black hoofprint appear on the ground.

It was the shape of a goat's hoof.


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