C12 Red Eye Disease(12)

I shuttled through the night, jumping between the roofs of buildings one after another, and finally arrived at one of the five strongholds marked on the map.

Bang.

I jumped onto the ground, making the sound of something heavy landing on the ground.

Then, I looked at the stronghold in front of me.

This stronghold is a large supermarket with no lights on inside. It was pitch black. I took out the torchlight I prepared beforehand and shone it on it. There were traces of destruction everywhere in this supermarket, and the front door had been dismantled without a trace. The interior was also a mess. Even if I stood outside, I could see that the counters and shelves inside were all broken, and the floor was full of bumps and hollows. It is as if two modern troops from different camps have fought inside.

And for some reason, there are obvious signs of deformation in the interior. I'm not talking about the deformation of missing pieces, but the one with more pieces. Some places became strangely long, some places became distorted.

What's going on?

I thought this was the stronghold of the evil cult, or the stronghold of the sick, but there were no members of the evil cult here, nor were there sick people. There were only ruins left behind after the battle.

The sound of messy running could be heard from behind.

I turned around to look.

The ones running towards me were a few patients with red eyes. They were all attracted by me on my way to the stronghold. Although my speed is fast enough to get rid of most of the patients, However, there were still a few patients who followed me. The patients who are following me are originally near the supermarket, and I arrived at the stronghold before I could get rid of them.

In the darkness of the night, these pairs of glowing red eyes were so terrifying.

They are approaching me with weapons that can be used to retrieve materials from the ground.

I know that their chances of recovering to their original state are very low. Perhaps they will be like this for the rest of their lives. But I still don't intend to kill them. On one hand, it's because I'm unwilling to kill people easily. On the other hand, I have the spare time to deal with the situation even if I don't kill people. If the battle is so intense that even I don't have the strength to hold back, then even if the opponent is a human... I won't hold back either.

With a thought, a palm print appeared on the necks of the patients who were approaching me.

Thirty seconds later, the patients who were still full of energy before were all knocked unconscious on the ground.

I took out my black phone, opened the text interface, and enlarged the map attached to the text.

With this look, I found something strange.

There are a total of five strongholds on the map. They are located in the northwest, northeast, southeast, southwest and south. They are marked with red pitchforks, and I am currently located in the southwest; however, for some reason, The red pitchfork in the southwest has already disappeared, leaving only four strongholds on the map.

Originally there were five strongholds, but now one has disappeared.

Combined with the scenery I saw, it's not hard to deduce that the reason why the coordinates of the southwest stronghold disappeared on the map was because this stronghold had already been destroyed.

Then, who destroyed it?

One. A name appeared in my mind - Alphonse Elric.

That's right, it's most likely him.

Since Aoba and I have received the message from the Black Hand, then this third person should have received it as well. From the conversation between me and the late office worker, the third person is a superhero who is passionate about serving justice. Whether it is the stronghold of the sick or the stronghold of a cult, he has a sufficient motive to destroy this place. Furthermore, he also has a powerful Superpower. In terms of strength, he is definitely the only one. The reason why the interior of the supermarket is so strange... It was also because of the Superpower that could change the terrain, right?

I just don't know why he has always been unwilling to contact us. Even if he is a superhero, sometimes he would act in a team, right?

I entered the interior of this large supermarket that was destroyed and did a simple investigation.

In the end, there was nothing. There was no one here, nor were there any other clues. There were only debris and dust. The only suspicious thing was that there was a fire in the open space in the middle of the supermarket. Now that the fire had been extinguished, it had completely cooled down.

Because I didn't find anything, I had no choice but to leave the supermarket.

At the entrance of the supermarket, I took out another ordinary phone and checked the time.

Un, it's still early.

My purpose for coming here is to investigate the stronghold. If it is convenient, I will even carry out the Black Hand's orders. However, the task of destroying the stronghold has already been completed by the third person who arrived earlier, leaving behind only a large area of ruins that was not worth investigating after the battle. I also did not have the ability to extract clues from these ruins to analyze the overall situation of the situation. My trip here was in vain.

If I go back now, it would be too disappointing.

I confirmed the location of the other strongholds, turned around, and set off for the southern strongholds.

...

45 minutes later, I arrived at my destination.

Jumping on top of the building's rooftop, I was able to ignore the twists and turns of the road below me. Using a straight line, I headed straight for my destination at high speed. Although I don't have a timer or a speed measuring machine, based on my personal feelings, My movement speed should be at 40 kilometers per hour, which is an easy to understand value, which is 11 meters per second. It was slightly faster than the world sprint record. This speed is obviously not my limit, but what I am doing right now is to focus on the endurance of the long-distance running. And not the explosiveness of a sprint, so I don't need to raise my speed to a high level. Because my running speed is mainly because of the Psychokinesis pushing my body forward, while my legs are actually only responsible for adjusting my balance. So I only sweated a little while running.

After stopping, I casually pinched a few patients who were attracted over and fainted them. Then, I quickly hid in the shadows at the side.

The building 40 meters in front of me is the stronghold to the south of the map.

This stronghold is a gymnasium. The interior is brightly lit. There are also a few black-robed Heretic patrolling outside. It is completely different from the supermarket stronghold I found earlier.

Indeed, the strongholds on the map are all set up by Heretic.

In order to avoid being discovered and alerting the enemy, I can only observe from the shadows for the time being.

Heretic, who was patrolling outside the gymnasium, was different from the people who attacked me with fireballs during the day. They wore black robes without red totem patterns. It was just a plain black color, and none of them wore masks. Their faces were exposed.

He didn't know if they would shoot fireballs or use other types of Supernatural Power.

I don't think so - I have to admit, at least thirty percent of this thought was because I don't want to see the Supernatural Power overflow. I hope that the person who can use the Supernatural Power is rare. This way, I will naturally stand on the side of rare. I don't know how to describe this mentality in detail. How should I put it? It's like as long as someone like me is rare, rare, and can be counted on one's fingers, I am noble... No, it would be too much to say. I don't think I am noble, I just don't want to be cheap. Yes, I've thought it through. Although having a Supernatural Power isn't necessarily noble, once it's overflowing, it will definitely become cheap. And a Superpower is my only specialty, so I cannot accept its value becoming lower.

Speaking of which, do I really feel that I am not noble? Now that there's no one around who knows how to read minds, I won't speak the truth. There's no need to lie to me just because of my sense of shame. When I look back, I feel inferior when I don't have the Superpower. The excitement when he awakened the Superpower, as well as the way he looked at the people around him... Didn't I feel superior?

Because I have the Superpower, I feel that I am superior to them. This kind of arrogance and narrowness is something that I disdain, but it seems to be hiding in my heart.

No, what am I thinking? Right now, the priority is to investigate the stronghold, right?

I threw my thoughts away and returned to the current situation.

Two Heretic were stationed at the main entrance of the gymnasium. They did not seem to be slacking off. They were standing guard very seriously. It was also very easy to bypass them to hide inside the gymnasium. As long as they entered through the window, it would be fine. But I don't intend to rush in right now.

After going around half a circle, I quietly arrived at the back of the coliseum and stared at Heretic, who was patrolling in a group of two.

They were holding torchlights to illuminate their surroundings as they patrolled in all seriousness.

I checked the surroundings and confirmed that no one else was looking in this direction. Then, I used the Psychokinesis and grabbed the necks of these two people.

They immediately felt suffocated.

Before they fainted, they tried to make some small movements and make some noise. I didn't get careless and immediately used the Psychokinesis to suppress their small movements. I made them unable to move and eventually fainted.

After that, After that, I carried the two of them to a convenience store a few hundred meters away and splashed them with mineral water to wake them up.

They woke up and saw me. They wanted to attack me, but I tied them up with a rope and they couldn't even stand up.

"Who are you?"

"Let us go. Do you know what the consequences will be?"

"Alright, enough with the nonsense." I said, "Tell me, was it you guys who caused the disaster in Beaver City?"

"So what if it was?" One of them sneered.

Although I have captured them, their attitudes are very arrogant.

I immediately kicked this person in the face.

To make it clear, I really don't have any violent tendencies. I only did this to emphasize my position in the upper hand so that I would have a psychological advantage in the upcoming interrogation.

"It seems like you still don't know your situation." After I finished speaking to him, I looked at another person. "I hope you're more honest than him. Tell me, did you cause a disaster in Beaver City? Yes or no, I only allow you to answer these two questions. "

" Yes. " The other person looked at me expressionlessly. "So what if you know? You... There are others who will sooner or later become the nourishment of the gods."

"The claws and teeth of the emissary are the people who contracted the Red Eye, right?" I continued to ask, "Then, what is the emissary?"

"The emissary is not an object." The person that I kicked lying on the ground said, "The emissary is... the stomach acid of a deity, turning a group of sinners into their own sharp teeth and fangs. Killing another group of sinners... an emissary, not only by the side of a god, but also within the claws and teeth..."

He spoke in a strange and incomprehensible manner.

I simply digested this sentence and understood that Messengers are something similar to a virus, they can turn ordinary people into patients.

"We can't leave Beaver City because this city is in the stomach of a god?" I asked.

"You know quite a lot." Another person's expression was cold, "That's right, the stomach of a god is located in a different dimension from the real world"

"Not long after that... all the sinners in Beaver City will either become their claws or be killed by their claws and claws..." The fellow who was kicked by me laughs in a horrifying manner, "When there are only claws left in the city, the claws will commit suicide. At that time... the digestion of the gods will be completed."

Translator, his meaning is that if there are only sick people left in the city, the sick people will commit suicide, and no one will be able to survive.

Considering that the Red Eye could not be guarded against, this situation seemed to only be a matter of time.

"How to prevent the Red Eye?" I asked.

Both of them were silent.

They were honestly answering my question before. It seemed like they were submitting to the current situation, but now it seems like that wasn't the case. They probably thought that it didn't matter even if those things were said out loud, so they told me.

"How can I leave the stomach of a god?" I ask again.

The two of them remained silent.

Looks like I need to use some extreme methods.

...

Two hours later, my interrogation ended in failure.

During the interrogation, I used some inhumane methods, such as adding different external injuries to different locations. To make them feel pain, or to use Psychokinesis to strangle their necks, giving them only one or two seconds to catch their breath. To make them suffer from the pain of not being able to get enough oxygen for a long time, or to divide them into two different rooms, and later tell one of them that your companions have already confessed, so no matter how hard you resist, it will be useless to try to sow discord between them. All in all, in order to get the information that I want, I used a lot of methods. But they all failed.

Even when it comes to torturing others, I don't have any special abilities. I only use the content I saw on the internet in the past.

"No... It's useless..." One of them is already covered in blood and is in a state of delirium. However, he did not submit to me.

I am clearly the one who tortures others but at this moment I feel a chill down my spine.

To be honest, in these two hours, my mentality has already gone out of control. Using torture to torture others will also have a huge negative effect on my mental state. In the future, I will definitely not forget what I have done here today. I even feel that I need to go and see a psychiatrist. If not for the pressure from the Red Eye, I would not have done such a thing. However, it was already too late to say this now. Furthermore, it felt like he was looking for an excuse for his evil deeds.

They are members of the evil cult that turned Beaver City into hell on earth. They deserve to be tortured, but how can I be any better after using such a method?

I don't regret hurting them. I just feel that I'm no longer the same person who did such a thing in the past.

At this time, I thought of Yukio. Back when she tried to shoot the people from the research institute, I stopped her because I was afraid that after she killed someone, her mentality would completely go out of control. I will never be able to return to my past self. But now, I am missing someone who can stop me. It was only after I did it that I suddenly realized that I had lost my mind.

It was as if I had crossed a moral bottom line that shouldn't be crossed. I couldn't see it before, and I could only see it after I crossed it. Some things that I am used to, only when I have lost it, will I be able to clearly feel its existence.

The two of them who were tortured by me stared coldly at me.

I left this place, and before I left, I killed them.

Eliminating the roots... this isn't quite right. Although it's true that I was eradicating the root of the grass, the motive behind my killing of them... More importantly, I am eradicating the evidence. I am deeply disgusted by myself, who is torturing others. I am extremely disgusted that this matter is known by others.

...

After leaving the convenience store where I interrogated the two of them, I arrived at the outer perimeter of the stadium stronghold. Using the Psychokinesis, I floated up and entered through the window on the second floor.

What I entered was a bright locker room. Inside, there was a Heretic who was sitting on a bench and resting.

The moment I entered, he immediately discovered me and planned to shout for help.

Before he could shout, I used the Psychokinesis to strangle his neck and knocked him out.

After that, I changed into the black robe that Heretic was wearing and left the changing room. I walked to an empty corridor.

I don't know the internal structure of the gymnasium, so I could only choose a random direction to walk in.

On the way, I met another Heretic. I should have lowered my head and walked past, not letting him see my face. However, out of an experimental mindset, I purposely let him see my face. I walked past him in an upright and upright manner. In the end, he didn't realize that I wasn't a member of this cult's stronghold.

If he did, I would have dealt with him before he made a sound.

The results of this experiment showed that the evil cult members in the stronghold weren't familiar with each other. Even if I didn't cover my face, I would be able to muddle my way through as long as I wore Heretic's clothes.

Of course, in order to avoid meeting those fellows who can remember all the faces in the stronghold because of their excellent memory, I will still be cautious and walk through the stronghold.

There weren't many people in the stronghold, and only one of them would occasionally be seen in the corridor.

After a short observation and the experience of capturing those two people, After a short observation, coupled with the experience of capturing the two of them, I can almost conclude that... ordinary Heretic does not have supernatural powers. During the day, I met a special case, probably a senior member of this cult.

Other than that, I also discovered another thing.

The inside of this gymnasium, for some unknown reason, was in tatters. There were many traces of destruction, as if an intense battle had occurred not too long ago. Moreover, there were also many traces of deformation on the floor and walls. Yes, it is the kind of deformation that I saw in the supermarket. More than a dozen Heretic were in charge of cleaning the debris and filling up the gaps, trying to restore the place to its original state.

The late office worker once mentioned that Alphonse Elric has a Superpower that can change the terrain. The destruction of the supermarket's stronghold and the situation here match the description of this Superpower.

He had been here before?

But this place was not completely destroyed, it still played the normal function of the stronghold. In other words, he had failed?

He wouldn't have died here, right?

He is a natural ally of Aoba and me. He has decent strength. If he dies, that would be bad news.

I passed through another corridor and arrived at an indoor basketball court with spectators.

This place was empty. There was only a bare-chested strong man sitting on the floor in the middle of the basketball court. In front of him was a raging fire.

My intuition tells me that this person is very dangerous. He is definitely not an ordinary Heretic.

He is most likely an advanced member who can cast spells.

I immediately hid.

He's the only one here, and there's no other Heretic. This means that this might be a place that ordinary disciples are not allowed to enter. If I was discovered, I would definitely be questioned. This way, it would be difficult to deal with.

As I hid, I squatted down and quietly walked to the front row of the audience seats.

Since it might be a place where ordinary disciples are not allowed to enter, then there is a high possibility that there is a secret hidden there. My motive for entering this stadium is to investigate. Naturally, I cannot let go of such a suspicious place.

I look at the fire.

Only when I got closer did I realize that there was a crude iron sword in the middle of the fire. The sword was burning red.

"This is the node of the ceremony." The strong man suddenly said.

Who was he talking to?

"There are a total of five nodes in the ceremony. They are distributed to the northwest, northeast, southeast, southwest and south of Beaver City. They are in the shape of a reverse-five-pointed star." As long as three of the five nodes are destroyed, and the most important core is destroyed," the brawny man said. We can break down the ritual and save the Beaver City..."

I looked around and didn't find the person he was talking to.

But then again, he did say a lot of interesting things. As long as he destroyed three of the five nodes and the core, he would be able to save Beaver City? Does this mean that Beaver City can be freed from the stomach of the gods?

If that was the case, it would be great news.

"Before coming to this stronghold, that armored man called Alphonse Elric had asked me a question. This is the answer I gave at that time." The brawny man continued to speak, "I think... you might ask the same question, so before you ask it, I'll tell you first, so that you won't die with everlasting regret. Don't you think so? The one hiding in the audience stands?"

I was shocked. He was actually talking to me?

But, could he be lying to me? What I mean is, although he noticed my existence, he actually didn't know my exact location, so he wanted to trick me through words?

I can't act rashly.

"My spell is body strengthening." The brawny man slowly said, "My comrades' first impression of this spell is to increase strength and defense, but actually... it's not limited to that. This spell can also strengthen my sight, hearing, smell, and so on... Sensory ability is also a part of the body's ability, and I can now hear the extra heartbeat here, and smell the extra odor here. I can even identify its location."

He suddenly looked towards my side.

" Stop hiding, come out "

... ""

Looks like it's not a scam.

I stood up and looked at him.

"So that's how it is, pretending to be one of us?" He looked at the black robe I was wearing, "This attire suits you quite well, don't you think?"

"I don't think so." I'm ready for battle.

"What a pity." He said.

Then, he also stood up and put on a strong and powerful boxing stance.

"Then let's fight it out!"