Mysterious Hunting Ground

Chapter 291 281.Truth, Origin and Skill

After Dean used telekinesis to help these frightened students fall asleep, he quietly rushed outside the villa to continue observing Orion and completing the star runes and arrows.

Unfortunately, he spent too much time on other things tonight, leaving not enough time for stargazing. He added the runes to four-fifths of the completeness, and Orion disappeared.

Four-fifths of the way, the long and short index finger on the scales of the phantom snake, with a prismatic shape, a sharp barb at the tail, and the incomplete outline of the arrow in the lower left corner are clearly visible. Countless bright spots in it are floating with yellow and white light, and when they are connected, they are like a dark sky. Like stars in the sky.

Because the runes were incomplete, starlight still continued to radiate from the gap in the lower left corner, turning into wisps of sharp energy that could penetrate the soul, consuming the nearby life energy, thought power, light and heat, swallowing them up, forming An environment of silence similar to the vacuum of the universe.

Intuition told Dean that this unformed star rune and arrow could already pose a considerable threat to him, and even the "shadow" around him revealed a deep fear.

It's just that the scales are inconvenient for attacking, and it would be a waste to have the runes carved on them. However, the arrow runes naturally have to be carved on the arrows to have the greatest effect.

Dean then followed the pattern and carved arrow runes on the magic-breaking arrow he forged. After carving half of the incomplete runes, it was already past three o'clock in the morning.

Even if it is a semi-finished product, he can feel the destructive energy contained in the arrow. As long as the arrow is shot, not only the enemy, but also the arrow itself will be destroyed by the runes. This is a one-time killing weapon.

Dean thought about stocking up on a few more arrows and testing their power, so he packed up the weapon materials and stood there with his body relaxed and straight.

Experience another newly awakened feature.

Under the dark sky in the middle of the night, among the woods outside the villa.

With a thought in his mind, his life sublimated!

Boom!

Trillions of cells woke up from their slumber, roared, and released infinite life energy outwards, turning into platinum arcs that circled around Dean's body, alternating with each other, like ripples on the water's surface.

He closed his eyes and felt.

In the state of life sublimation, he can clearly observe every muscle and tissue in the body and on the body surface, and can use life energy at will to repair tiny damage that is difficult to detect with the naked eye, keeping the body at its peak at all times.

As soon as he thought, his heart stopped beating, his lungs expelled all the turbid air, his stomach's digestive efficiency doubled, his adrenal glands released a huge amount of adrenaline, and his wrists, ankles, knees, and neck each rotated [-] degrees... He It's as if the shackles of genes and instincts have been unlocked, and the body's limits have been completely broken.

then.

Without any movement from him, the radiated life energy created a strong wind around him. The ground cracked, and grass and soil flew around. The accumulated ice and snow seemed to be burned by the scorching sun, melting into water and evaporating into the air with a hissing sound. .

Dean, who was standing in the pit, clenched his right fist and swung it suddenly towards a pine forest ten meters away. As he swung his fist, the fine muscles and tendons under the skin of his body surged toward the front of his fist as if they were coming alive. The life energy then burst out from his right hand and condensed into a substantial platinum cyclone the size of a football in mid-air, hitting the woods.

Pah~~pah~~wow!

The energy cyclone penetrated a large area of ​​towering ancient trees without any hindrance, split them into two pieces with a loud bang, and then flew dozens of meters away without stopping, bombarding a large radioactive pattern on the snow and disappearing into the air. .

A large group of frightened birds and small animals fled from the woods frantically, leaving continuous footprints on the snow.

Dean watched the earthquake-like scene and slowly retracted his fist, thoughtfully - after the sublimation of life, the quantity and quality of the life energy that could not leave the living body were greatly improved, and it had the effect of temporarily leaving the body, enough to form Terrifying short-range energy impact!
  The direct impact and destructive power of the Platinum Cyclone far exceeds that of howitzers and rocket launchers...but it does not have the collateral damage of explosions and iron sheets.

Then, Dean tensed up, bent his knees, and jumped lightly!
  Huhu——

The wind was blowing hard.

The tail of white-gold flames pierced the dark earth and sky. In one second, Dean jumped hundreds of meters into the air with only the power of his body. Then, resisting gravity, he sprinted, jumped, and dodged forward, backward, and left out of thin air, making bursts of sound. , his speed was too fast, dragging a row of afterimages behind him like centipedes with thousands of arms and legs.

After he exhausted his staying power and landed on the ground, he used his mind power to curl up the Alpha Fang sword, cut off his own limbs, and turned himself into a human stick.

The sharp long knife continued to cut, chopping the skin, flesh, and bones of the hands and feet into vague balls of minced meat. At the same time, his mind created a high-temperature flame of thousands of degrees to scorch and evaporate the minced meat.

If it were an ordinary person, he would be disabled for life.

But Dean clearly felt that there was an unbreakable connection between himself and the blood, minced meat, and bones that were fragmented and far away from the torso.

They are like small but tenacious creatures, shouting in the storm——

Recovery, return!
  Strands of platinum threads visible to the naked eye reconstructed the charred flesh and blood, repairing them as before, and the regrown limbs automatically flew to the bloody incisions on Dean's body and were glued together.

The incision disappeared as soon as it was touched, and the skin returned to smooth and delicate, leaving no scars, as if the tragic injury to the stump had never happened.

Dean nodded with satisfaction. After sublimation, his self-healing ability increased several times. Most injuries could be healed instantly, almost giving him the illusion of "immortality". Of course, it was far from this level...

But it ended with ten seconds of sublimation.

The strong self-confidence disappeared, and fatigue, weakness, and hunger rushed in like a tide. Dean's muscles and bones groaned in pain, and even his toes were trembling. The life energy in his body was almost exhausted, so he had to slowly sit on the ground and take out a root from the space. Use the energy bar to satisfy your hunger, release the energy reserve of the chest crystal to replenish the state, and watch the watch to count the seconds.

After about two minutes, he returned to [-]% of his state. After five minutes, all discomfort disappeared. He returned to his peak state and could use "Sublimation" again.

"Ten seconds of sublimation requires at least a two-minute rest period."

Dean's face was solemn, "If the enemy is not killed before the state ends, he will fall into a crisis of weakness... so 'sublimation' must be used with caution. However, as the melee attributes increase, the weakness time should gradually decrease."

Try it with Lightning Reflex.

The night was spent in fulfilling training.

……

Early the next morning.

Dean and Catherine took Steve and six students and rushed to the Hawkins Police Station.

The operator, Aunt Flo, greeted her warmly, "You haven't had breakfast yet. Come and sit here. I've prepared hot coffee and donuts for you. By the way, your parents are on their way."

"Aunt Flo, do you have a darkroom? Can you lend it to me?" Jonathan raised the camera around his neck.
  "follow me."

After Dean and Catherine settled a group of students, they entered the director's office. Hope put out his cigarette butts and retracted his legs on the table, "Now you can tell me, what happened yesterday when I was asked to inform their parents?" Condition?"

"Chief, you've seen something supernatural, so I won't hide it." Dean handed Catherine's notebook about the "Hawkins Murder Case" that she had recorded in detail to the desk. "This case is not an ordinary murder. The murderer is not normal." Humanity."

Hope listened to Dean's story and picked up his notebook to read through it carefully. In less than a quarter of an hour, he had read all the details and inferences about the cave, the magic circle, the skeleton, the badge, the future killer, and the theory of parallel time and space. It was a bloated and rough book. A trace of absurdity flashed across his big face, "Say, man, you wouldn't deliberately make up a story to tease me, would you?"

"People's lives are at stake, I don't have time to joke." Dean stared at Hope and shook his head, "And I, Catherine, and the six students in the hall can all testify."

Hope patted his swollen brain, "I have been a detective and policeman all my life, and this is the first time I have encountered such a bizarre case that actually involves my future self? Well, even if I reluctantly accept this statement, what do you think to the families of the victims? , the townspeople of Hawkins, and other police officers will believe it?”

"It's better for ordinary people not to know about the supernatural." Dean said, "You have to use your brain to make up a reasonable and legal excuse based on the clues we found to appease the townspeople."

"You really gave me a big problem!" Hope had a headache and took out a camel and lit it on fire. "Do you have any substantive evidence?"

Catherine said, "During the attack last night, Jonathan took photos of several killers, which will be developed later."

Hope's eyes showed a hint of surprise, "Important evidence! What's the next plan?"

"The killer will continue to launch attacks, but I have to investigate and have no time to look after these high school students. They can only be left to you... Well, I suggest you transfer most of the police officers back for protection." Dean glanced through the blinds. Steve and others in the hall said, "All of you, as well as Steve and the other six, should be equipped with body armor and bulletproof helmets."

Hope raised his eyebrows, "Isn't this a bit of a fuss? Do you have to wrap all the students into turtle shells? Does the killer dare to attack the Hawkins Police Station?"

"It's not an exaggeration at all. At that time, they dropped from the sky to launch attacks. They were everywhere." Dean emphasized, "And both attacks occurred after the moon rose at night. You must be especially careful at night."

Hope thought for a moment and said, "Are you sure you want me and the brothers to stay in the bureau as nannies? You go out to investigate alone without assistance."

"Don't forget me." Catherine waved her pen, "I am Dean's best partner."

Hope's face became very complicated, "Well, you two, protect yourselves, and I hope you are not mistaken, otherwise I will inexplicably ask my colleagues to stop tracking the murderer and stay in the station doing nothing without achieving any results. I will be betrayed by the townspeople. Drowning in saliva, I will be the director to the end."

"Don't worry, you'll be proud of your wise decision."

……

"Jonathan, what happened?"

"Steve, are you hurt?"

"We're fine, no one was hurt, just scared."

"By the way, thanks to Dean this time."

There was a noise in the hall, but the parents of the high school students arrived at the police station one after another and surrounded them with concern.

The three of Dean walked out of the office.

"I don't know how to thank you," Joyce, who looked haggard, came forward excitedly and grabbed Dean's hand. "If it weren't for you, Jonathan would definitely be hurt."

"We are all from the same town, so we should help each other." Dean smiled and shook his head, "Besides, Jonathan and I are good friends."

"Young man, don't be modest when you have done good things. It is a fact that you bravely saved our children." A man in a suit and leather shoes with an aquiline nose full of elite style and majesty stretched out his hand, shook hands with Dean warmly and vigorously, and said He handed him a business card with titles such as "General Manager of Harrington Construction Company" written on it. "I owe you a favor. If you need any help, please come to me." As he said that, the man turned to Hope. , his face turned from sunny to gloomy,

"Director Hope, there are criminals who dared to attack a group of students with knives in broad daylight. Is this my hometown where no vicious incidents have happened in many years in my memory? And it's been a week! You haven't found the one who killed Marcus and Samantha. Killer of a poor kid, now my Steve is almost hurt,"

The man unceremoniously sprayed saliva all over the director's face.
  "If you don't give us an explanation that satisfies everyone, I will immediately withdraw my sponsorship of the Hawkins Police Department. In the next town election, I will do my best to elect another more capable and courageous chief!"

Hope faced the fellow villagers who were asking for punishment, and kept a stiff smile to explain,
  "Everyone, I'm sorry for frightening your children... Actually, we have found some clues about the murderer. He did not act alone and had accomplices, so it is very difficult. But I promise that we will catch them all in one week at most. After being arrested...I will call in the police to protect the children and ensure that not a hair of their head is missing."

Dean and Catherine took the opportunity to sneak up to a group of high school students, "Jonathan, Barbara... Steve, stay here while we go out to investigate clues."

"Don't leave us behind," Jonathan stood up immediately and clenched his fists eagerly, "Let's all act together."

"Yes, the badge has some connection with us," Barbara looked at Dean sincerely, "We can help you find it."

"Forget it," Steve said, "We don't have much fighting power. We are just a burden to Dean and will only hold him back. We might as well stay here honestly."

Golan and Hala nodded like garlic.

Nancy added, "But Dean, I hope that if you have any clues, you can tell everyone in time. It will be more efficient to come up with ideas together."

"OK, I'll see you again in the evening," Dean patted Jonathan on the shoulder and glanced at the six people. "Take care of yourself and remember not to take it lightly."

……

After Dean left the police station with Catherine, he drove back to the underground cave in the suburbs, preparing to study the magic circle again and try out a few psychic rituals.

After they arrived at their destination, they missed it and discovered an astonishing sight - the hole in the snow disappeared without a trace.

"What's going on? Did someone refill the hole after we left?" Catherine looked at the snow on the ground in shock.
  "No, there are no traces of plowing and filling on the ground." Dean squatted down, grabbed a handful of soil and crushed it. He scanned the ground from his perspective and saw igneous rocks composed of feldspar, quartz, mica and other minerals. It is high in hardness and wear-resistant. It firmly occupies the position of the previous underground cave and magic circle, leaving no gaps, and is consistent with the surrounding rock structure in the ground.

"This place seems to have remained naturally formed a long time ago, and the cave seems to have never existed."

"This makes no sense," Catherine hugged her trembling chest, "Did we hallucinate the day before yesterday?"

"Supernatural phenomena cannot be explained by common sense..." Dean pondered and suddenly looked at the BP machine at his waist. He remembered that after faxing the pattern of the magic circle to Aiden last time, the other party said that there would be news soon. Do the math. The time is almost up, "But maybe someone can answer us, let's go, find a place to make a call."

……

The two quickly rushed back to the town, and Dean dialed the number left by Professor Aiden last time in a public phone booth.
  "Well, Aiden, our investigation has reached a deadlock. I would like to ask about the progress of the interpretation of the magic circle."

"I was about to contact you. We have almost figured it out. This magic circle has an extraordinary origin." Aiden's surprised voice came from the microphone, "It is not a human thing."

Dean's eyelids twitched, "How do you say that?"

"Do you want to hear the condensed version or the detailed version?"

"The more detailed the better."

"Then I have to start with another concept. The Kufic script engraved in this magic circle contains a lot of mentions of a word called 'original land'."

"The original place?"

"That's right, I asked more than a dozen colleagues to find the relevant information in an antique book that was as obscure as a code -"

"The world that most of us humans live in is called the Eternal World, which is the world that we can know and see. But beyond this, there is another world that is beyond the secular world, hidden in multiple spaces, and invisible to most people. It’s called ‘original’.”

"The origin is composed of dotted islands and seas. It is inhabited by many indigenous people, and there are also all kinds of energies and creatures that do not exist in the world. They possess all kinds of miraculous skills."

Dean nodded. The other worlds he knew already included Leviathan Hell, Limbo Hell, and the Underworld. It would not be unusual to have another original place. "But what is the skill?"

"You can think of it as a permanent superpower, but with a greater impact."

Aiden said enviously,

"Once upon a time, some humans were lucky enough to enter the original land, see its beauty and splendor, and acquire 'skills'."

"According to the code book, the first human being to discover the original place was called Plato. He gained a lot of wisdom and called the original place Atlantis in "Timaeus". Many people later The knowledge about the origin has been passed down in the form of code."

Dean was greatly surprised when he heard that this incident was actually related to Plato and Atlantis, "Continue."

"And the four-pointed star formation you gave me to interpret does not belong to the normal world in which we humans live. It comes from the origin and is a special instrument made by the locals."

"According to the inscriptions on the magic circle, it was buried under the original ground and absorbed the special energy around it. This process is very slow and takes hundreds of years to complete. The magic circle continuously transmits the absorbed energy to the center. Used to condense the original badge."

"That badge is called the Original Badge!" Dean found that the system was shocked and the progress jumped to [-]%. "What's special about the Original Badge?"

Aiden suppressed his excitement and said, "The original badge contains an outstanding 'skill' from the original place."

Dean's eyes showed a hint of excitement. He and the students guessed correctly, the badge has magical power!
  "According to what you said, the four-pointed star formation and the badge belong to the original land, so how could they come to the ordinary world inexplicably?"

"This is their magic. After the magic circle successfully condenses the origin badge, it will leave the origin and be transported to a random place in the eternal world."

"So the magic circle can actually travel through space." Dean nodded, "Who is the skeleton wearing a white robe in the center of the magic circle? Why is the magic circle written in the Kufic script of Arabic script instead of the text of the original land?"

Professor Ayden's voice paused on the phone, "I guess that the place it was originally transmitted to was near the Arabian Desert and was discovered by a white-robed Arab. The magic circle will automatically transform into something familiar to the first batch of people who discovered it. words and forms to attract them closer.”

"In the Arab culture of YSL, the four-pointed star represents good deeds and beautiful things. When the white-robed people see the four-pointed star formation, they will naturally approach it."

Dean said, "It sounds like this magic circle and badge are like hunters, and they also set up bait? Then, why did the white-robed man die? Isn't it because he obtained the skills in the original badge?"

"It's not that simple. From ancient times to the present, many capable people have worked hard to enter the origin, or break into the magic circle to acquire skills, but only a few have succeeded." Aiden's voice had a hint of sadness about historical changes, "Skills Never identify with the weak and stupid.”

"If you want to obtain it and master it, you have to accept the trial."

"If the trial fails, the soul will become the nourishment of the original badge, and the body and bones may be absorbed by the magic circle. This is the price of power."

Dean nodded, "So the sudden disappearance of the skeleton in the magic circle is not because it left, but because it failed the trial and was absorbed by the magic circle between last Wednesday and now. No wonder there were no extra footprints at that time."

"Yeah." Aiden continued, "After the first batch of testers die, the magic circle will be randomly teleported to another permanent place to wait for the second batch of testers. Apparently it was teleported to you from the Arabian Desert. Where it is."

"What does batch mean? The tester is not limited to one person?"

"No limit. If several people appear near the magic circle and badge at the same time, then the skill may flow to all of them, and they will have to accept the trial whether they are willing or not."

After hearing this, Dean finally understood why there were a bunch of killers chasing Steve and eight people - they were all forced to accept the trial of the original badge after accidentally discovering the badge and the magic circle last Wednesday. This is The "hidden connection" that Barbara guessed!
  The system progress jumped to [-]%!

Aiden changed his voice again, "Each origin badge contains different skills and different tests."

"So what skills does this one of ours contain?"

"I can't decipher it just by looking at the inscriptions on the magic circle. I need to see the pattern of the badge."

"Wait a minute." Dean left the phone booth, called Catherine to find a store nearby, and transmitted the badge pattern collected from Marcus' home yesterday to Professor Aiden.

"God, it's so perfect!" Aiden exclaimed on the phone not long after reading, "Sixteen special runes form a circle, representing time and space... The pattern in the central cross-shaped ravine Bottom to top means the evolutionary process from single-celled organisms to gods, from left to right is the process from the known to the unknown, from the ordinary world to the original... combined with the magic circle..."

Aiden paused and revealed an incredible shock, "If I read it correctly, the skill condensed in this origin badge is to distort time and space and unify all things!"

Distort time and space and unify all things?

Dean was stunned for a moment, and Barbara's theory of parallel universes suddenly flashed through his mind. Could it be that the girl guessed correctly that the badge distorted time and space, opened a passage to parallel universes, and summoned the future killer to the current universe?

The more Dean thought about it, the more likely it seemed, and asked again, "I confirmed it not long ago. The magic circle disappeared and it was randomly teleported to other places?"

"Are all the testers dead?"

"No, most of them are alive."

"Then I guess the magic circle exhausted its energy, teleported back to its original place, and began to condense the next badge." Aiden said, "But now this badge is still with you, and it will continue to choose trialists. , until someone passes the trial and acquires the skills."

"Skills will reshape the body and spirit of the tester, making the good ones better, the evil ones worse, and invincible!"

When Dean heard this, he obviously felt that skills were much more powerful than ordinary superpowers, and possessed extremely rare space and time attributes. A desire arose in his heart. It happened that the current skill column was 8/9, and there was still an empty slot. .

"Where should I look for the badge?"

"Do you still remember the pattern of the four corners of the four-pointed star formation?"

Dean took Catherine's small notebook and looked through it, "Humans, animals, starry sky, and symmetrically arranged broken glass..."

"The 'symmetrically arranged broken glass' symbolizes the creation of dreams." Aiden explained, "So, this original badge is likely to appear in a place where there are humans, animals, stars, and creations of dreams at the same time. These four Planting something represents the infinite possibilities of the world, and will also bring about the true inheritors of the original badge skills."

(End of this chapter)