Mysterious Hunting Ground

Chapter 23 23. Experiment
In the early morning, a golden sun shines through the window.

"A wonderful Sunday."

Dean got up from the sofa, stretched his waist, refreshed, the fatigue from last night disappeared, he checked the wound on his left shoulder, and the bleeding has been completely stopped, but there is no way to carry out combat training in the next three or four days, otherwise the wound will It will split again.

Dean went into the kitchen, toasted bread, fried eggs, prepared milk and called Ruster downstairs.

"How did you sleep last night?"

"Well... not bad... I had a sweet dream. I dreamed that the two of us were successfully admitted to the University of Arizona, the Department of Astronomy..." Ruster gnawed on a steamed bun. Compared with the pig's head with a bruised nose and a swollen face last night, his complexion looked much better today, but Still a little puffy,

"Why Arizona Department of Astronomy? Shouldn't it be a police academy to continue the glory of our detective duo?" Dean took a sip of milk with a joke, picked up the remote control and turned on the TV, an old CRT TV It was smashed by the group of thugs who broke into the house, but Uncle Paqui went to the city to buy a second-hand one.

Ruster smiled weakly, thinking that you have killed a pervert, and you are still going to the police academy, throwing yourself into the trap?

"You forgot...I used to love looking up at the stars in the countryside in Alaska...Maybe I'll be an astronaut someday."

"I wish your dreams come true."

...

"Urgent report, a homicide occurred on the top of Mon Carlo Mountain in the southern area of ​​Vegas last night!"

A magnetic female voice on the TV interrupted the conversation between the two.

Two eyes swept over.

A luxurious villa gate appeared on the screen.

A row of police SUVs blocked the gate, and Vegas police officers with flashing lvpd badges on their chests were pulling a cordon to seal off the building.

Several news camera crews stood guard outside the line and the camera flashes kept flashing.

Soon, a broad-minded female reporter appeared in the center of the screen,

"The deceased Bob Lowe, the owner of the villa, just turned 22 years old."

"According to the young people who participated in the party, Bob is warm and friendly on weekdays, and he is loved by his teammates on the baseball team and the teachers and students of the middle school next door... Bob Lowe held a birthday party last night. Hundreds of invitees were present. There are many people involved. Lvpd mobilized A large number of police forces are urgently investigating."

"Bah! Nonsense!"

Ruster disdainfully chewed the bacon in his mouth, as if he was biting Bob's meat,
"Bob's father is James Lowe, a well-known hotel tycoon in Las Vegas. He has a lot of assets under his name. In addition to running hotels and theaters in Las Vegas, he also has industries on the West Coast."

The female reporter's eyes lit up, and she pursed her slightly thick lips. "James Lowe has only one son, Bob Lowe."

"Dude, you've made a big hole." Rust muttered curiously. "If the only son dies, who will the inheritance of this rich man be left to?"

"Maybe this hotel tycoon has an illegitimate child outside?" Dean guessed.

"The tycoon has received the news, and is suffering from the loss of his son, and is flying back to Vegas from the east coast."

The female reporter broadcasts,
"According to insiders, the murderer's modus operandi is extremely brutal, and seems to involve some kind of mysterious religious ceremony... If you have more clues... please call 432... Contact the news station, there will be a lot of money."

"Vegas morning news reporter Catherine Medici is broadcasting for you, please continue to pay attention to this station for more news..."

……

Click.

Dean changed the station.

Marine animal records --

Ooo——

Seagulls sing.

A dolphin gracefully jumped out of the sea, the smooth blue sea, and a round of red sun slowly rising from the horizon complement each other, the scenery is too beautiful to behold.

Phew—a strange cold wind blows from here.

Ruster's whole body trembled, and he felt a little uncomfortable inexplicably, as if a pair of unknown eyes were staring at him in the dark.

What's wrong with me?
He took a sip of milk to suppress his shock, looked at Dean across the table,
"An accident happened to a rich family, and the COP acted as fast as his own father! But I'm curious, how did you get rid of Bob? Why do you describe the big-breasted woman in the news as particularly vicious?"

"He suffered much less than Mona."

Dean's face was calm, and he glanced at the empty place on the table between the two.

The shadow of the past that was summoned was sitting there cross-legged, staring at the portrait of Mona on the wall.

The sunlight coming in from the window fell on it, like falling into a black hole, and was completely absorbed.

Rust knew nothing about it.

Dean nodded.

After verification, ordinary people cannot see the shadow of the past with naked eyes, and it is not afraid of the sun.

He then let Yingfei return to his body.

……

"Dude... Grace is off night shift, I have to go back and check so she doesn't worry."

"Then let's do the confession again, and I'll play the role of COP."

The two quickly rehearsed three times, which was more fluid than last night.

"By the way, Ruster, bring Nikon to school the day after tomorrow."

Dean thought, the human eye cannot see shadows, so what about other imaging devices?

He wants to continue to verify.

Lust made an OK gesture.

"Man, remember that we are on the same front." Dean put his arms around his shoulders and said, "Also, what happened yesterday made me realize some of my mistakes in the past, and I can no longer let others casually Bullying you, do you want to learn something new?"

"what?"

"How do you think I got rid of that strong man Bob?" Dean lowered his weight and stretched out his arms, making a wrestling posture, and then a clean straight right punch, the wind of the fist made Ruster blink Blinking, "My uncle taught me some new tricks, do you want to learn?"

Ruster suddenly opened his mouth wide in surprise, impatiently,
"How about starting at school the day after tomorrow?"

……

Ruster leaves.

Dean took a lighter, a kitchen knife, a tape measure...and a Colt M1911A1 with two bullets left and headed out.

He did not return to the crime scene.

There is a theory in Criminal Minds that the murderer must return to the scene of the crime, and he has done everything he has to do, and he will never return to show his flaws.

Dean took the initiative to visit his neighbor across the road.

The bearded fat man is tidying up his garden with a pair of pruning shears,

"Good morning, Uncle Jacob, I'm going on a weekend hike, but I'm afraid I'll lose track of time, can you lend me your watch?"

"On a sunny weekend, it's time to go out for a walk."

Jacob put down the pruning shears and went inside to pull out an old quartz watch.

"Here, boy... I heard from Tang Ya that you had a crazy time yesterday? I didn't see anyone all night, and the apple pie she prepared was wasted."

Jacob rubbed Dean's head with his big, hairy hands and winked at him, who fought back the discomfort of being treated like a child.
"Yesterday I went home around five o'clock in the afternoon. I started to sleep when I entered the house, and I didn't wake up hungry until the early hours of the morning."

Dean puts a slight emphasis on five.

"Oh, five o'clock. Then you missed a big meal."

"How about showing me your and Tang Ya's skills tonight?"

……

Cleverly match the confession with the neighbors.

Dean left the community, followed the quiet path, entered the forest behind, and walked for about half an hour.

Found a lonely forest.

Start the experiment in the middle of the clearing.

Cloak-like black smoke drifted out from Dean's back, and landed in front of him, turning into a blurry human figure with a constantly flashing surface.

"In order to avoid name confusion, from today onwards, you are called Ying." Dean said in his heart.

Glancing at the watch, remember the initial time of the summoning.

"as you wish."

Its voice rang in Dean's heart.

It can't speak in a normal way, and can only communicate with Dean telepathically.

"How much of the past do you remember?" Dean asked.

It sent back an incomprehensible emotion with a dull face, and crouched on the ground foolishly bathing in the sunlight falling from the forest.

"After becoming a ghost, my thinking ability becomes lower, so I can't understand too complicated problems."

Dean thought so, feeling a little sympathetic to his predecessor.

But that's not a bad thing for him.

After all, if there is a normal person's soul living in his body, he will feel that he is being watched and has no privacy.

……

Next, Dean issued multiple commands to "Shadow" to test its strength and speed.

The results surprised him.

Although this guy is just a ghost with low intelligence, his combat effectiveness is quite good.

Its strength is about twice that of Dean. During the wrestling, it easily defeated and suppressed Dean. The phantom's slender arms lifted Dean above his head with all his strength, and it would not damage the body due to excessive force like a living body. .

It has no endurance. As long as it is in the summoned state, it can always output power at its maximum power, holding Dean and running around the forest.

……

Dean did a rough test with a tape measure and a watch.

Its fastest speed can reach almost 20m/s, which is also more than twice its own, but when it moves at the fastest speed, it can no longer be called running.

Instead, it turned into a black cloud suspended in the air and flew directly.

Dean rubbed his temples and looked around with all his eyesight, only to see a vague black shadow flying between the cracks of Populus euphratica like a black ribbon.

Incredibly fast.

But once "Shadow" was ten meters away from Dean's body, it seemed to hit a wall and couldn't move forward.

"So, Shadow can only move within a radius of ten meters around me."

Is this the limit after the system naturalizes it?The limit is very large, but it is abnormal enough, such amazing strength and speed, combined with the ability of invisibility.

"Shadow" can easily kill a bunch of ordinary people in close combat.

"Next is resilience."

Dean resisted the discomfort in his brain and held the Colt M1911A1.

The shooting skill took effect, and relevant information naturally appeared in his mind.

This pistol is an improved version of the M1911 that is still used by the police on a large scale, Browning's favorite work.

Semi-automatic with an effective range of 50 meters.

It fires 0-inch automatic pistol ammunition and uses 45 rounds of single-column box magazines to feed ammunition. It has strong stopping power and poor penetrating power, suitable for close-range killing.

The recoil and power of the M1911A1 should not be underestimated, as long as a shot hits the human torso, it is likely to be fatal.

Bob had loaded the gun last night, no need to repeat.

Dean held the curved gun handle with anti-skid pattern in his right hand. With his thumb, he broke off the manual safety on the left rear of the slide, and with his index finger, the distal knuckle pressed the trigger, aiming at the "shadow" 7 or 8 meters away.

At present, Dean's shooting level is too low, and the distance is too far, and there is a high probability of shooting in the air, let alone hitting a certain body part.

boom!
A short shot rang out in the woods.

The shell casings flew.

The moment the bullet hit Ying.

Dean's wrists visibly trembled, and then his eyes widened.

Ying's whole body undergoes strange changes, suddenly loses his human form, collapses and shrinks inward, and his body condenses into an irregular black sphere.

When the warhead entered it, it was like being tightly wrapped by an extremely tough sponge, and the power was removed, and it fell to the ground instantly weightless.

In the next second, Ying returned to human form, seemingly intact.

"Consolidate your body and increase your resistance to physical blows, enough to resist firearms."

"The M1911A1 is more powerful than ordinary pistols. Since it can withstand it, it shouldn't be a problem for melee weapons such as daggers and clubs."

Then, in a critical situation of last resort——

Dean's eyes lit up with excitement,
"I can definitely summon Shadow, use it as a shield to block guns for me, or simply let it transform into an armor that covers the body in all directions."

Dean did what he thought, and ordered Yingfei to come over and wrap his body. Except for the breathing hole left between the mouth and nose, Dean put on an invisible "armor".

This layer of armor is almost weightless and does not affect Dean's body movements. When he reaches out and touches it, he can feel a layer of cool air, as if putting his hand in cotton.

Dean gripped a sharp Swiss knife tightly, and the tip of the knife stabbed the forearm of his left hand in a flash.

But the blade was like poking the tough cowhide, and it was bounced off instantly, without even scratching the skin.

"The defense is good. The shadow is essentially a ghost, so this move is called 'ghost armor'."

"Looking at it now, Ying can not only manipulate weapons invisibly and fight in close quarters, but also act as a shield and armor, which is indeed a super power."

And there are other uses waiting to be discovered.

Dean's heart was excited, and inspiration flooded in his mind.

"Since the body can be solidified, what about the reverse operation?"

boom!
Dean pulled the trigger again.

This time the shadow changes very differently, the black body suddenly gasifies and spreads out towards the surroundings, the color changes from black to gray.

The bullet went straight through the gray mist and hit a Populus euphratica tree trunk behind it.

"Change body, switch between virtual and real, this ability is not weaker than invisibility."

"Now, blur your facial features, don't be like me again."

Dean continued to give orders,
Shadow did as he said, and its facial contours instantly became flat, like a pitch-black faceless man.

"You will remain like this from now on."

In this way, even if there are other special groups, such as the legendary psychic eyes and spiritual vision, who see the shadow, they cannot immediately connect it with Dean based on its appearance.

Dean took a deep breath.

The temples have begun to swell and sting intensely.

But the testing isn't over yet.

After the physical attack, it's the energy attack's turn.

Dean put away the pistol, the bullets were exhausted, he had no extra bullets on hand, and now was a sensitive period when Bob had just died, and it was not suitable to buy bullets, so he had to put it on hold temporarily.

He lit a dead branch picked up in the forest with a lighter, and waved the burning branch towards Ying.

After being burned by the flames for less than two seconds, the shadow immediately disintegrated into a gray mist.

Frantically struggling and wriggling in mid-air like a living creature in the mist, Dean let out a mournful howl in his heart!
Dean extinguished the flame.

The gray mist turned into a translucent human figure again, crawling on the ground, the figure blurred, as if it was about to disappear at any time.

"Sorry, buddy."

Dean immediately squatted down, put his arms around "Shadow"'s shoulders, and solemnly promised,
"I swear, I will never hurt you in the future. But the pain this time is not in vain. If we understand the weaknesses in advance, we can take targeted precautions."

Dean made a conclusion in his mind.

Therefore, the shadow has a strong melee ability and anti-strike ability.

But the disadvantage is equally obvious, fear of flames.

Dean doesn't mind, it's normal to have something to gain and something to lose.

"You have a good rest first."

The shadow scattered into a ball and flew into his body again.

Dean looked at the quartz watch with a tired face. It was exactly 5 minutes before his eyes turned black, as if he hadn't slept all day and night. Waves of needle-like stings hit his brain, and he began to lose his mind frequently.

At most ten seconds more, he will definitely faint on the spot.

"So my current 12-point spirit can summon Shadow for 5 minutes at most, which means it can only be used as a trump card and cannot be normalized."

And today's 5 minutes, plus the time spent abusing Bob last night.

The status of Shadow of the Past is still lv0 (0/100), and the proficiency has not increased by 1 point.

As a super power, it is far more difficult to upgrade than fighting and shooting.

"Improving the shadow is undoubtedly a long process. I have to make a plan, how to train so that it will not affect the normal schedule during the day."

Dean put his hands on the back of his head, lay in the forest, bathed in the breeze, and looked up at the faint white light between the forest gaps.

Quickly think of an extreme exercise method.

If he summons the shadow to the maximum time limit in one breath, he loses his mind and passes out, and when he recovers, will his spirit increase?
"Well, just before going to bed tonight, try extreme exercise."

After realizing the power of the new ability.

Dean felt a strong urge, as if a devil was whispering in his ear.

Why not use superpowers to kill, rob, steal, and earn money?
Ordinary people can't see the shadow anyway.

Dean can do whatever he wants.

A red light flashed in his eyes.

Dean took a deep breath and rejected this greedy idea with great perseverance.

First of all, doing so violated the bottom line of being a human being that he had cultivated in the Celestial Dynasty in his previous life.

In addition, the most important point, since he has awakened superpowers, there is a high probability that there are other superpowers in this world.

What is their attitude towards themselves, whether they are benevolent or malicious, and how will they speculate on themselves?

Dean couldn't be sure, so he could only temporarily obey the superpower version of the Dark Forest Law, keep a low profile and keep a low profile, and keep himself firmly hidden from the sight of other superpower users.

Observe in the dark.

If it is not necessary, try not to use "shadow" in public places or when there are too many people.

Don't use it to do evil.

Keep training every day.

After making up his mind, Dean breathed a sigh of relief.

"Next, after the limelight of Bob's death has passed, I should find a way to earn money to buy guns and ammunition, and then buy a car. I can't always use Ruster's car."

(End of this chapter)