Before it was completely dark, the town of Madison finally appeared in front of Rorschach, with only a little edge of the sun visible behind the mountains.

Located in the Mojave Desert on the west bank of the Cordorola River, near the border between Arizona and Nevada and just 110 miles from Las Vegas, Madison can get hot during the summer months.

Rorschach turned off Highway 40 and drove along the fork in the road toward Madison, which was lined with only loess and bare mountains in the distance, with the occasional few dead trees, but they were also brittle and hard from the heat.

The town of Madison is not large, and the whole town has a population of more than 5,000 people, probably because of its proximity to the desert, most of the residents live in the town, but the town is full of greenery, which is in stark contrast to the desolate scenery outside the town.

Rorschach pulled up in front of an old three-story inn and looked up to see that the two floors were pitch black, except for the hall on the first floor, which was lit up, and it seemed that business was not doing well.

It was getting late, and Rorschach stepped out of the car and walked to the door of the hotel with his travel bag.

Rorschach pushed the door and walked into the hotel lobby, the doorbell rang, behind the front desk, a white female receptionist sitting on a high chair leaning on the back of the chair dozing was awakened, she turned her head to see Rorschach walking into the hotel, and quickly showed a professional smile.

The hostess was not very old, that is, in her early twenties, with long blond hair tied in a ponytail and tied behind her head.

Rorschach nodded at her and said:

"I need a room, how much does it cost for a night?"

"Twenty-six knives."

After saying that, the receptionist jumped off the high chair and leaned in front of the front desk.

"Okay."

Rorschach pulled the money out of his wallet and was about to hand it to the hostess, when a chubby orange cat trotted up to his leg and rubbed it again, then jumped up to the front desk and made a coquettish "meow, meow" to the hostess.

Rorschach glanced at the chubby orange cat, put the banknote on the front desk, and asked:

"Is this your cat?"

"Yes, sir."

The hostess nodded, put away the banknotes, and stroked the orange cat's head as she said, "It's strange, it's usually afraid of strangers." ”

"Maybe it likes me better."

Rorschach shrugged his shoulders and smiled, "Can you tell me your name?" ”

"Erica."

The hostess smiled slightly, "Are you going to Las Vegas?" ”

"It's not."

Rorschach shook his head and pulled out a copy of paper from his pocket with a photo of the missing field agent, "Have you ever seen this person?" ”

Erica took the copy paper, looked at it carefully, shook her head, and said:

"No, haven't seen it, is he?"

"He's my friend."

Rorschach sighed, "This guy was passing by here the other day and lost contact. ”

Erica frowned and said:

"I'm sorry, I really haven't met him."

"It's okay."

Rorschach asked, "Did you grow up here?" ”

"Yes."

Erica nodded, "My parents had an accident when I was 9 years old, and my aunt and uncle raised me, and this hotel is theirs. ”

"Then they're so kind."

"Everyone here is kind."

Erica smiled.

Rorschach nodded and said with a smile:

"Then this town is really good."

"yes, I love it here."

"Are there any legends or rumors here?"

"What do you mean?"

Erica looked at him puzzled.

Rorschach explained with a smile:

"It's just folklore, I travel a lot, and I like to collect stories like this."

"You're not going to be home, are you?" Erica laughed.

"No, no."

Rorschach hurriedly shook his head, "At most, I have a hobby in this area." ”

"Nope."

Erica shrugged, "I'm sorry to disappoint you, this town doesn't have that weird lore. ”

"Didn't you?"

"Yes, it's just an ordinary town."

"I see."

Taking the key from Erica, Rorschach waved his hand, "Thank you, I'll go to the guest room first." ”

"No thanks, I wish you a good rest."

……

Arriving at the guest room, Rorschach took out his laptop and agent headset from his travel bag, put the agent headset on, logged into the S.H.I.E.L.D. system on the laptop, and began to wait for Agent Hand to go online.

A rustling sound sounded in the agent's headphones, and after a few moments, a woman's voice rang out.

"Hello, Agent Rorschach."

At this moment, a video window pops up on the laptop screen, and a young Caucasian woman with black-rimmed glasses and long brown hair appears on the screen, her eyes are slightly cold, giving the impression of being old-fashioned, but two strands of hair hanging down the sides of her cheeks are dyed red, revealing her actual real age.

Rorschach looked at Agent Hand on the screen and waved his hand, and said with a smile:

"Hello, Agent Hand."

"You're a little later than I thought."

"I'm sorry."

Rorschach shrugged, "There was a bit of a traffic jam on the road. ”

"Okay."

Agent Hand lowered her head, as if reading the papers, and after a moment, she looked up at Rorschach, "Actually, I don't like a layman agent like you who has not been systematically trained and assessed. ”

Rorschach smiled slightly, he didn't expect Agent Hand to be so outspoken, but such people are often easier to deal with.

He nodded:

"I'm sorry, but the mission has begun."

"Yes."

Agent Hand stared at Rorschach and said, "I've read your information, as a sheriff, you are very good, but agents are not like police officers, especially since you are still under investigation by the police commission, although you have eliminated a drug cartel, but your use of force in the incident is also beyond the scope of ordinary police officers." ”

"I'm sorry."

Rorschach explained, "There was no way around the situation. ”

"I can understand that."

Agent Hande nodded, "But this is a covert investigation, and I want you to put away your habits as a sheriff, especially the use of force to solve problems." ”

"No problem."

"You've already seen the mission information."

"Yes, I've seen it."

"On the highway near Madisontown, there have been sudden and frequent monster attacks on passing vehicles since half a year ago, but fortunately there were no casualties, we searched the surrounding area, but did not find any clues, through analysis, we suspect that the monster is from within Madison Town."

"What kind of monster the hell?"

"Eyewitness accounts are mixed, some say it's a werewolf, some say it's a gorilla, and some say it's a ghost......"

Rorschach frowned and asked:

"Not a monster?"

"Yes."

Agent Hand glanced at the file and said, "No, we think it's a ghost from a guy with supernatural powers, and he's probably good at hallucinating." ”

"And what is his purpose?"

"Probably a prank......"

Agent Hand lifted his glasses, "We sent agents into Madison to investigate, but he's missing now. ”

"Was it that guy with supernatural powers who discovered our agent? kidnap him or ......"

"It's not clear yet, so in order to avoid the situation getting worse, Agent Rorschach must investigate carefully, and if you find any unusual clues, notify me as soon as possible, and I will decide on the next move."

"No problem."

Rorschach nodded.

"You don't have to say yes so soon......"

Agent Hand's eyes narrowed, "If you discover the existence of a supernatural force, don't act on your own, don't use force to provoke him, and most importantly, don't reveal your identity. ”

"Okay."

Rorschach smiled slightly, "I will do what you instruct." ”

"I hope so."