The red moon returns

Chapter 1 Five hours of remaining life

Lynch has planned two small goals for himself.

First, find out the real cause of your death.

Second, get off the rope hanging from your neck.

Second priority.

He was kneeling on the ground upright, with a white candle burning in front of him, and a rope hanging from his neck connected to the top.

Lynch proved last time that this posture can really hang yourself.

Fortunately, he regained consciousness for a moment when his soul changed, and he was able to straighten his body while pressing his painful neck.

Feeling the deep strangulation marks, Lin Qi was confused for a moment.

He only remembered that after his death on earth, he was floating in a red mist, accompanied only by a red moon hanging high in the sky.

It seems to have been floating for a long time, so long that time has lost its meaning.

Suddenly I woke up in this body.

A memory emerged out of thin air.

Lynch Leviv.

We lived in an era when steam engines had just begun to enter public life.

A down-and-out private detective in Rhine City, the Kingdom of Rand in Middle-earth.

This place looks like the Victorian era of my hometown, but there always seem to be countless indescribable unknowns hidden in the darkness, spreading weirdness and mystery to reality.

As for what is weird and mysterious, it was difficult for Lynch to understand before.

But now he understands.

In his memory, he received a commission to help someone obtain a strange statue.

After getting the mission items, the original owner of the body had a big meal at the best restaurant nearby and ordered a bottle of wine to enjoy tomorrow. He happily greeted every neighbor on the way and returned home happily. .

Then he hung himself from the gas pipe in a ritualistic gesture.

Ok?
  The reason?
  I can't find a reason even after searching through my memory, it's like this is what I should do in the first place.

It makes no sense.

Lin Qi felt a chill in his heart. He knew he had to find out what happened to him.

Otherwise, if it happens again, the hard-won second life will be over.

Using memory, he groped to the wall and pulled the switch on the wall.

The roar of gas flow came from the wall, and dim yellow light quickly illuminated the room.

There is no decoration on the yellowed walls, the old floor is black and shiny, the wooden desk with peeling paint on the outside and the sofa with some white cloth are placed inside, making the whole room exude a light wood. The smell of decay.

Several gas pipes with peeling paint snaked along the walls, and the gas nozzles at the ends spurted orange flames, spreading light through the stained glass lampshades. The dim lights added a bit of warmth to the place.

Sure enough, it was still the age of gaslighting, at most the level of the eighteenth century.

Is this my new home? The family is surrounded by walls.

With a slight sigh, Lin Qi quickly walked to the desk outside. A red moon-shaped pendant was placed on the table.

It was the necklace I had worn since I was a child, and I took it off just before committing suicide.

Lin Qi put on the pendant again as a habit, feeling much more at ease, and then opened the drawer.

The commissioned item I got in the afternoon is... hiss.

A chill came out of his back.

The statue that was supposed to lie inside was missing.

The statue is as big as a hand and cannot be covered by anything.

Lin Qi searched nervously inside and out, but found nothing.

what happened?

In my memory, the statue was still there before the hanging. How could it disappear in just a few minutes?
  Has anyone come in? Or did the statue go away on its own?
  Lin Qi felt that his throat was a little dry and he quickly checked the doors and windows. They were all still closed.

This is weird. Could it be that this thing caused me to hang myself inexplicably?
  I'm just a dead otaku. Do you want me to face such a weird thing without knowing anything?

Couldn't this thing be the weirdness and mystery in this world?

The marks on his neck clearly told him that death was no joke. For a moment, Lin Qi was confused.

[Yes, the awakened one, that is the mystery. 】

A gentle female voice suddenly sounded from Lin Qi's ear.

It was too abrupt, so Lin Qi subconsciously picked up the pen on the table, but did not move rashly. He just tensed his muscles and stood there holding his breath.

But he immediately realized that that was not the real sound at all.

The so-called sound appears directly from one's own consciousness.

Soft and soothing, like a sweet serenade.

The language used does not belong to any language known to Lynch, including the five languages ​​originally mastered by the new body.

Rather than saying it is language, it is more like a pure pronunciation, directly expressing a certain will, but my own brain cannot understand this behavior and misinterprets it as the concept of 'language'.

Just from the process of 'trying to understand', Lynch already felt stabbing pains coming from his brain, as if it was about to explode, and he had to immediately give up delving into this issue.

"system?"

[You can understand it this way, Awakener. 】

"Then it's not a system anymore. What on earth are you?"

There was silence in my mind for a long time.

fine. Lynch considers himself a very ordinary otaku who is proficient in games, movies, novels and animations. He accepted the reality as quickly as possible and asked: "Why are you in my consciousness?"

[I will accompany you and witness your journey of awakening in this extraordinary world full of weirdness and mystery. 】

"Just watching? Then what can you do for me?"

[I will guide you to discover the mysteries on the journey, understand their characteristics, and look directly at their essence. That's what I can do for you, at least for now. 】

"Isn't that just a tour guide? Mysterious tips plus information identification, right? It's just the first stage. It feels very dangerous. Forget it, it's better than nothing. At least I have one more companion in this strange world."

For some reason, Lin Qi's already confused heart suddenly calmed down. It was not a relaxation after having someone to rely on, but more like a habit. He thought with interest:
  "But after talking for a long time, what is the mystery?"     [Besides reality, there is the dreamland, which is the embodiment of tens of thousands of years of memories of real creatures. The dirty memories of the dream seep into reality and form a mystery. The mystery is the echo from yesterday. 】

"So, the statue I came into contact with is... huh?"

boom.

Suddenly there was a loud bang at the outer door.

The door was kicked open, and a black figure rushed in.

Just for a moment, Lin Qi felt like the world was spinning.

He was picked up and pushed to the ground.

I heard a voice in my ear.

"Lynch Leviv, I'm arresting you for illegal possession of dangerous goods."

His arms were twisted behind his back and his body was pressed tightly to the floor. The person behind him was so powerful that it made Lynch feel like even moving was a luxury. His consciousness went blank. Before he could recover from the shock, he heard the other party continuing to shout:
  "If you want to live, hand over the statue you got immediately. Otherwise, I can guarantee you that you will die in the most bizarre way within five hours."

Ok?
  He sounds like a policeman, and he obviously knows something. Although his behavior is rough, his emotions are obviously kind, so he still can't find a way to struggle... Only five hours?

To scare people?
  But after experiencing the bizarre suicide by hanging, Lynch no longer dared to think that the other party was an alarmist.

Within three seconds, Lynch had made up his mind to get closer to the other person first. At least he could make me understand my situation.

The previous life was not considered social fear. Lynch naturally asked in the language of his original body:

"What if I die within five hours? Will I come back to die again?"

"As long as you are not really dead in concept, death will not stop... No, what are you talking about, hiss..."

Lynch deliberately twisted his neck, exposing half of his neck to the opponent's sight.

The deep marks on his neck were shocking.

"Already started?"

The other party quickly looked around, his eyes stayed on the rope and candle for a moment, and then released Lin Qi's hand.

"You, get up and talk."

As he spoke, a sheathed sword was stretched out in front of Lynch, indicating that Lynch should pull it and stand up.

What we want is this effect. Now that we have changed from a suspect to a victim suspect, it will be easier to handle.

Lynch breathed a sigh of relief, and while standing up with his sword in hand, his eyes focused on the weapon.

It was probably because he didn't have the opportunity to carefully observe such dangerous items in his previous life. Lin Qi felt a little flustered and couldn't help but take a few more glances.

When his consciousness was focused on the sword, Lin Qi saw a strange scene in front of his eyes.

A lonely figure in a windbreaker and top hat is holding this weapon and struggling to kill among countless weird monsters.

[Mysterious object, Wei Jin’s trial, the weapon used by Judge Wei Jin to kill evildoers until he accidentally injured an innocent person. 】

The screen was cut off, and a soft female voice suddenly appeared. Lin Qi subconsciously looked at the intruder. Seeing that there was no reaction from the intruder, he slowed down and climbed up, patted the dirt on his body, and asked in his mind: "Can you give me more details?" Some? And what are the mysterious objects?"

[Mysterious objects are mysterious items that have special functions. Some of them can be used, but they are considered very dangerous by living creatures, especially fatal to ordinary people. If you continue to touch the body of the strange object and pay enough price, you can listen to deeper memories. 】

A very distinctive inner experience, like someone whispering in your ear while you are half asleep. Small and gentle, it makes people indulge in it unconsciously and leave them wanting more.

Forget it, let’s treat it as a system first.

Lynch withdrew his attention from consciousness and took a serious look at the intruder in front of him for the first time.

It was a lady dressed in men's clothing, wearing a blue windbreaker and formal clothes, wearing a top hat and carrying a sword.

She is tall, has slender legs, and has wavy chestnut hair. She looks pretty, but her face is sharp and angular, which makes her look a bit fierce.

Carrying a mysterious and strange object with terrifying power, this person might be an outlier himself.

[Yes, soul-shifters, humans who gain extraordinary power through alienated souls. 】

Lynch found that he had become accustomed to a voice suddenly popping up in his head. He was not distracted by it at all, but looked directly at the intruding lady. He hated this feeling of knowing nothing, so he took the initiative to ask:
  "I don't deny that I got a statue and I am willing to cooperate, but I need to know what happened, what the statue is, and why do I only have five hours left?"

"At least I didn't pretend to be stupid and deny it."

The lady's expression softened slightly, but she still said impatiently:
  "For ordinary people like you, that is knowledge beyond common sense and does not require exposure."

"But at least it makes me understand that this is my life, and I don't want to spend the last five hours in a daze."

"That's your idea, it has nothing to do with me."

"Whether we cooperate or not is also my idea, and it has nothing to do with you?"

The lady opened her mouth, but was speechless for a long time.

Lynch had already taken out a notebook from the desk drawer and sat on the sofa.

"You are wasting your last time, and the more you know, the sooner you will die, but since you persist."

The lady couldn't refute, so she simply sat down across from the sofa and said with a straight face:
  "Lynch Leviv was born on December 1378, 12 in the Fifth Age. He is twenty years old. He graduated from the Royal Vocational Secondary Education School in Rhine City and studied natural history and archeology. After graduation, he became a private detective looking for collectibles. This is you"

Lynch nodded.

"We received the exact information, you got one..."

"you?"

"I come from the Catcher in the Rye, a mysterious hunter agency directly under the Rand Court. I am Officer Natalie Angel..."

"Wait, I must declare in advance that the statue is gone."

Officer Natalie's face fell.

"Although it sounds like an excuse, what I said is true."

"I have no doubts about the authenticity. Strange objects disappear during incidents from time to time. Although it is a bit strange that you disappeared before you died. Disappearance is the most troublesome and makes the problem difficult to solve."

"What is the specific problem? What about five hours? I will die with my eyes open."

"For some reason, you have been associated with a dangerous object. It is now known that there are seven associated persons involved in this matter, and each of them died within eight hours after the association was established."

The police officer took out his pocket watch, looked at it, and looked at Lynch with regret.

第五纪1399年5月13日，19点15分。

"Based on this, you have four hours and forty-five minutes left to live, at most."

　It has been submitted internally and there is no big problem. I am a newbie with a new book. Please support me and I hope you will read it.

　　
  　
  (End of this chapter)