After the news of Alex's disappearance broke, people in the streets, alleys, restaurants and bars of major cities in the United States talked about this bizarre disappearance case and speculated a lot, and it seemed that every American had his own set of theories to explain the case.

Some people say that Alex just went into hiding and didn't go missing.

Some people also said that Alex must have been torn up by the kidnappers.

Some people say that the kidnapper's purpose is to extort money, and he usually does not tear up the ticket easily, and it must be Alex who resisted in the process, so he was injured by mistake.

Some people also said that this is all nonsense, and it is definitely not a kidnapping, otherwise someone would have called to ask for a ransom. Someone must have offended the Carpenters, and then someone came to seek revenge, killed Alex and buried him.

There are also some people who deduce that Alex must have had some accident, such as a car accident, an argument with someone and someone killed him, etc. As a result, the body was disposed of, so people could not find it, and no one called to extort money.

There are all sorts of speculations, and there are those who deliberately provide false information to newspapers, the police and family members. There were even people who called to pretend to be kidnappers and demanded ransom from Carpenter's family.

The variety of sources has excited the news media, alarmed the Carpenter's family, and kept the police busy like headless flies.

The case was soon compared to the kidnapping of Lindbergh's son, which was brought up because it was a landmark in the history of the FBI.

It gave the F.B.I. its first authority over local cases — Congress passed the Lindbergh Act, which bears Lindbergh's name.

The Act stipulates that if a kidnapping is not solved after a week, the kidnapper is presumed to have crossed the state border. The FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) automatically has jurisdiction over the case.

Alex has been missing for more than a week, giving Director Hoover the authority to order the FBI to intervene in the case.

When the news media started to report it. This news is not only being followed by Americans, but even overseas media have begun to report on it. In the headlines of those media. Alex is referred to as "Magic Boy" or "Wonder Boy".

Telegrams, flowers, letters, and gifts flew like snowflakes from all over the world, and people wanted to express their love for Alex in this way.

Alex's daily life, including the breakfast he eats, the clothes he wears, the items he uses, etc., have become the news that major newspapers rush to. This made the Carpenter family extremely disgusted with the media, and in order to escape the media harassment, they even moved out of their New York mansion and spent money to buy a new residence.

At this time, Alex was being locked up in an unknown basement.

The place is spacious, and even though there are a lot of clutter, there is still a lot of open space. There is a pillar in the center. His feet were chained to his feet, and the other end of the chain was attached to a pillar.

The chain is very long, six or seven meters long. But there was still no way for him to go up the stairs to the door of the basement.

There is a small bed against the wall with a damp quilt on it, which can make people feel a little cold when you sleep at night. There was a light bulb in the middle of the basement, which had been glowing yellow, and he didn't know it was day or night.

The place was quiet and never heard a car passing by. Probably in a very remote location. Otherwise, he could feel the slightest movement around him.

At first, Alex was a little flustered, he didn't know what the two bandits were going to do. I thought the other party was trying to kidnap and ransom, but they didn't let him call home at all. Demand a ransom payment of something.

So Alex thought that someone was trying to kill him, such as the Ku Klux Klux Klan, but it just felt a little wrong. If you wanted to kill him, you should have done it a long time ago. Wouldn't have taken that much risk to imprison him.

Of course, the other party may be completely sure that he will not be able to escape. But judging from the fact that they didn't kill the killer in the first place, things should have a turnaround. It's just that he thought about it, but he still didn't know what the other party's intentions were. Human beings always have a sense of fear of unknown fate, and he is no exception.

"Forget it, let's take one step at a time! Now that I'm thinking about what to do, if I have a chance to copy each other's dolls, then everything will be clear. ”

In the end, Alex decided not to think about it anymore and to solve the immediate problem first. He began to look at the basement and noticed that there was a vent in which the fan was constantly turning to bring in fresh air. As for the clutter, it's all something that isn't needed.

In addition, there is a cardboard box at the head of the bed, and when I open it, I see that there is some food and water inside, as well as paper towels or something. It seems that the other party has been prepared and wants to imprison him for a while, but this makes him feel much more at ease. The other party really has no intention of killing immediately, and he can still survive.

There was a plastic bucket next to the pillar, and at first Alex didn't know what it was for. After he was anxious, he realized that this was used to go to the toilet.

During these few days of captivity, physical torture was secondary, and mental pressure was always there. In order to ensure that he has enough energy, he insists on doing seven-minute exercise every day. In order to relieve mental stress, he will lie in bed and enter the mental space to soothe himself.

By recalling the books, movies, and music he had seen in the past, Alex was able to persevere, and he seemed to be back to his old life as an otaku, entertaining himself alone in his room. It is estimated that they were locked up for more than a week or so, and the two kidnappers finally appeared.

He was lying in bed that day, focusing on his mental space, when the door to the basement suddenly opened.

Alex reacted immediately, sat up straight, and looked at the stairs leading to the door. He can now do two things, and when his eyes are in the mental space, he can also pay attention to the situation in the outside world.

"It's finally here, let me see who is so bold. Just let me copy to their dolls. Then you can understand their motives, so that you can find a chance to escape from this hellish place. Alex thought with some excitement in his heart.

What I didn't expect was. The two men who came in were covered with black hoods, and they couldn't see their true faces at all. This made Alex, who was already ready to reach out and copy the other party's soul information. I was a little surprised.

The other party is really careful, but this just shows that they don't want to kill.

He felt a little relieved and a little disappointed. Sadly, the kidnappers did not intend to kill him, and were disappointed not to see the true face of the other party. His ability to copy the puppet must see the appearance of the other party, and then model it in the mental space, and touch the opponent's body at the most extreme to be successful.

Alex is not very clear about what he must see the true face of the other party. When it first started. He felt that the limitations of this ability were really a bit inexplicable.

For example, the appearance of people with makeup and without makeup looks completely different, and some makeup techniques can even make a big man become a big beauty. There are various other factors, such as changing his hairstyle, shaving his eyebrows, etc., whether or not it will affect his ability to reproduce.

He had studied before that the change of hair and eyebrows, or the presence or not, would not affect his puppet replication, but once it came to the camouflage of skin color, body shape, and face, his replication success rate would plummet. It takes several times to reach out and copy before it is possible to copy successfully. In particular, he deliberately asked some people who had undergone plastic surgery to test, and he found that the success rate of that kind of replication was related to the length of plastic surgery.

For people who have just undergone plastic surgery, it is difficult for Alex to copy the soul information from that person. If it is a person who has undergone plastic surgery for several years, then it is very easy to be copied successfully. Even if it's the same person. There will also be such cases.

In response to this strange comparison of success rates, Alex believes that the soul message he copied was actually a spirit puppet overlapping with the self-conscious image of the copied target. If the doll and the image have a high degree of overlap, then the success rate of copying is high. Otherwise, the replication success rate is low. It may not even be possible to replicate it.

When Kane and the crazy old eight appear with their heads and faces covered, it makes Alex feel a little depressed. How did this make it impossible for him to model their appearance, let alone the problem of the replication rate.

"We've got to find a way to get them to take the mask off!" Alex thought to himself.

The two men had come to deliver daily necessities, and one of them, a tall man, had a box of things in one hand and placed it in front of him.

Another skinny man went to dispose of the feces in the plastic bucket, probably because it was so smelly, and he muttered, "Don't let me do this next time!" The two of us take turns, this time I'll pour the feces, and next time you'll come. ”

Alex yelled at them, "Hey! Whatever you want to do, if you want money, I can give it to you! ”

The two men looked at him, didn't say anything, and continued to walk outside, leaving Alex alone to shout below.

After coming outside, the crazy old eight took off his hood: "It's so sulky! Isn't it okay not to wear such a thing? ”

Kane also took off his hood, explaining, "If you don't wear this, you'll be in trouble if you're seen." Do you really want to kill this kid? ”

"Not really! I guess we've dressed up, so we don't have to worry about him recognizing us. ”

"It's better to be careful! I heard that this kid is very smart, if he can really recognize you, you won't have time to cry by then. ”

"Cut! I'm confident in my disguise technique. Even acquaintances can't recognize each other face-to-face, let alone strangers. ”

Kane shrugged his shoulders and said no more. He knew that the crazy old man was a conceited person, but he also believed that the other party had the ability to make Alex absolutely unrecognizable. He packed his things and prepared to leave the place.

The crazy old man asked impatiently: "You say, what are those people doing with him?" Neither for money nor for life, is there really that guy who has a crush on this kid's asshole? Do you think those people are so disgusting that they like men! ”

Kane felt that the crazy bastard's words were too vulgar, and smiled: "Don't guess, we don't have to worry so much about the employer's affairs." Anyway, they'll send someone to pick him up, so we just need to make sure this kid is okay before then. ”

"Whatever you want, I feel like this business is losing money right now. I read the newspaper these days, and I realized that the Carpenter family was so rich. If only we had kidnappers, we would have been able to get more than tens of millions of dollars. ”

"I've said it all. We're killers, plumbers, mechanics or something, but we're not kidnappers! Don't be verbose. Later, you will take care of him. I have something to leave, and my employer seems to want to extend the delivery time, and they are worried that the limelight is tight right now, and they are worried that they will be found out. ”

"Alright! Go ahead with confidence, I'll raise this kid to be fat. ”

After Kane left, the only one left in this place was the crazy old eight. The place is a detached villa surrounded by fields where corn is grown, and the road is some distance from the place.

He watched TV in the house for a while, then went to the gym to boxing and working out. The crazy old eight learned Chinese kung fu is very miscellaneous. He has practiced almost everything, he has also practiced judo, karate, boxing, Muay Thai, and many more. Although he has learned so many punches, his martial arts are far more powerful than Kane.

Both of them were taught by the same master, and they began to practice martial arts and train various killing techniques from a young age. Crazy Old Eight practiced martial arts earlier than Kane, and as a Chinese, he was very keen on kung fu.

At first, Kane wasn't a match for the crazy old eight at all. Every time he played, Kane would quickly be knocked to the ground by him. Soon Kane relied on the fact that the Westerners were physically stronger than the Easterners, and he could defeat him in a year.

In less than a few years. Kane can punch loudly, and every punch that hits out can shake people's internal organs, and if someone who is almost physically close will be punched by Kane, he will have to vomit blood. If he attacks with all his might. The most ferocious punches are capable of making a snapping sound like a whip breaking through the air.

The master said that this symbolizes that Kane has practiced to the peak of Ming Jin, and being able to make a crisp sound is equivalent to an ancient martial arts master. Kane is in good physical condition. Energetic, of course, able to reach this level very quickly.

Modern boxing inside. Those boxers who are more powerful rely on their physical fitness. This effect can be achieved with every punch thrown during the match. As they stood beside them, a whip-like whip could be heard. However, if you hit each blow with all your might, you can't hold on for a few minutes at most. After all, the human body is still flesh and blood, and it will feel tired.

Seeing Kane coming from behind, the crazy eighth felt very unconvinced. Obviously, he learned martial arts first, and Kane was not an opponent at all at the beginning, but he didn't expect to lose in just one year, and after a few years, he reached the so-called peak of Mingjin. If he continues like this, he will not be overpowered by Kane all the time.

It's a pity that Westerners do have better physical fitness than Easterners. So the crazy old man kept practicing boxing, learned a lot of boxing techniques, and tried to make up for the gap with moves. Kane didn't care about it, he just dropped ten times at once, and he beat him in the competition for several years.

Until one day, when the crazy old eight can also make a crisp sound, he knows that he has reached that realm. Even if the physical fitness is still relatively poor, it can be regarded as a hard work. Sure enough, Kane could no longer suppress him in the competition, and soon the situation reversed, and the crazy old eight won.

Since then, the crazy old eight has always been able to convince Kane in kung fu. Now that the crazy old eight is already at the peak of the next level of realm, Kane is still at the level of the so-called Ming Jin.

After all, Kane is a Westerner, and his understanding of China's national art is still separated by a membrane. The key thing is that Kane is not as obsessed with kung fu as the crazy eight. For every ten points of time invested by the crazy eight, Kane only spent one point.

"Hand-to-hand combat or something is outdated, no matter how good the kung fu is, knock it down with one shot!" Kane said so, and he thought so.

He divided his time between other skills, such as driving, firearms, language, disguise, assassination, reconnaissance, lying, physical fitness, and so on. He has developed more well-rounded than the crazy eight, which has also made him attract attention in the organization. Every time he acts, he is asked to lead the team and the crazy eight assists.

For a while, Kane thought that as long as he had a gun in his hand, no one would be able to beat him. Soon he realized that this was a wrong idea, and the master was able to knock him down with his bare hands. With just one move, he flew sideways, even if he shot, it was useless.

The master was able to dodge bullets at close range, and Kane was no match at all, no matter how many times he tried, the result was the same.

After seeing it, the crazy old man felt a great increase in confidence: "I will definitely be able to reach this state in the future, even if you have a gun in your hand, it is useless." Ha Lu Ha! ”

With such a purpose, the crazy old eight worked hard to practice boxing every day. His master Ba Xia said that martial arts have three strengths. Bright energy, dark energy, chemical energy. The so-called peak of Ming Jin is Kane's level, which can make a crisp sound, as for how many crisp sounds can be made, it depends on the physical fitness of the person.

The dark energy is also called internal strength, and it can be lifted to the ground silently and lightly touched. But he was able to crush a large square brick. The dark energy is silent, pivotal from the heart, and can kill people between gestures.

Kane hasn't been able to reach this level, and as for the crazy eight himself, he's different. A year ago, he could occasionally punch a punch or two, but he couldn't do it as he pleased, and he couldn't use it in actual combat. In the last month or two, he already feels like he's had a breakthrough. Every gesture can emit the so-called dark energy.

In fact, dark energy is not mysterious, it is the "qi" that Chinese often talk about, as long as the qi is concentrated to a point of explosion, the effect of dark energy can be achieved.

He practiced boxing for a while. I feel that I am a little more proficient in mastering dark energy today. He was quite satisfied, but he suddenly stopped. Lend an hear.

"It's the sound of chains!"

The sound, he thought, was coming from the basement window. Originally, ordinary people couldn't hear such a subtle sound. But the crazy old eight is not an ordinary person.

At first, the crazy old man didn't know what Lu Dao meant, but he quickly reacted. It must have been Alex trying to break free from the chain. He cursed secretly, quickly picked up the mask to cover his head and face, and hurried to the basement.

As soon as he pushed the door, the sound of chains stopped, and he went down to see Alex lying on the bed pretending to be asleep. He was secretly amused in his heart, Shi Shiran walked by, and when he was about to kick it, Alex, who was lying on the bed, suddenly burst out.

"Whoa! Crash! ”

Alex clutched the chain tightly in his hand and threw out a perfect parabola, ready to use it to strangle the crazy old eight. He was convinced that his movements were fast, and that he was unprepared for a surprise, and that he would be able to hit them with one blow.

But the other party reacted faster, the chain was not wrapped around the opponent's neck, Alex only felt a flower in front of him, did not lasso the target, and then took a kick in the lower abdomen, and the whole person was kicked into the air.

"Bang dang!" With a loud bang, Alex slammed into the wall and then fell onto the bed.

Alex, who was hit hard, only felt unbearable pain in his stomach, and he bent over, lying on his side on the bed and moaning.

"Don't come again! If you don't want to suffer, don't do such stupid things. ”

The crazy old eight chirped and snorted, thinking that Alex was simply overwhelmed. At this time, he felt that his face was a little sweaty, and his mask was wet, which was very unpleasant. The sweat came from the boxing practice just now, and it made him feel a little itchy, so he took off his mask.

His face was now disguised, with a dark complexion, a broad forehead, and a somewhat collapsed nose, which made him look like a Filipino in appearance.

looked at Alex who was lying there, and felt as if he had fainted, and the crazy old man was a little worried that he was too heavy, so he walked over, intending to see how the injury was.

"Hey, hey! You're fine, wake up, wake up! ”

Unexpectedly, as soon as he reached out to touch Alex's pulse, the other party woke up. Seeing Alex staring at his face made him feel very uncomfortable.

"Look at what! Look again and blindfold you! When you have nothing to do, sit up, don't lie down and pretend to be dead. ”

Alex was silent, a hint of disappointment in his eyes. Just now, he modeled and tried to copy the soul information of the crazy old eight, but it failed, and the model also collapsed because of the failure of copying, and completely turned into nothingness.

If you want to rebuild the model and copy it, you have to wait for a while before you have the energy. The key thing is that he is sure that the current appearance of the crazy old eight is not the real face, at least not the image of the crazy old eight's self-consciousness.

You have to see him for what he really is! Alex struggled to sit up, thinking if there was anything he could do.

"Falling flowers cover the moonlight, borrow a cup to recommend the phoenix platform. The emperor's daughter brings tears to incense, and she is willing to die and return to thank her father. I peeked and looked at ......"

The crazy old eight hummed a little song and walked out of the basement. Hearing this Cantonese opera song, Alex's body shook and suddenly woke up.

"This guy is definitely not from Southeast Asia, nine times out of ten he is from Guangdong." Alex thought to himself, but he felt a little uncertain: "Maybe it's a Chinese who knows Cantonese, and he should be one meter eight meters tall." Maybe it's the northerners. ”

With a direction in mind, he stopped thinking about it and lay down and fell asleep. He wants to recover his energy as soon as possible so that he can try to build the model before the other person returns, and copy the soul information of the other person. (To be continued......)