After several cars left Galveston Island, they parted ways on the road and went their separate ways.

Dean drove southwest into a roadside motel and booked three rooms, where Juana and Salma rushed into the bathroom to shower.

Dean bought a lot of food and called Teresa to his room, who humbly and sincerely emphasized, "I don't know how to thank you, sir." ”

"Tell me everything about her, sitting on the other end of the couch with a cornflake in one hand and a pen on paper with the other hand, drawing a woman with a feather crown and a white gold python around her neck." ”

"Well, you've fulfilled your promise, now it's my turn... In my ancestors' tales this lady was a very powerful goddess of demigods," Teresa said with some nervousness and apprehension, "a fanatical patron saint of the Blood Sacrifice Gang." ”

"What kind of organization is the Blood Sacrifice Gang?" Dean noticed that the progress of "bloodline" jumped to thirty-four percent,

"It has a long history." Teresa stared into the air, her eyes became reverent, and her voice was full of awe, "My ancestors built Castillo in the 9th and 12th centuries in the ancient ruins of the city of Chichen Itza, a stepped pyramid surrounded by protruding radial staircases with huge handrails on either side. ”

"Every year on March 21, when the sun rises, the sun shines on the stairs of the pyramid, and the shadows cast by the sun move along the edge of the handrail of the stairs, indicating that Kukulkan, the god of Quetzalcoatl, is descending to earth."

"Although the snake god hates the blood sacrifice of the living."

"But a few ancient believers believed that there was another side to Him in darkness, longing for blood and death, so they brought human sacrifices to the top of the pyramid, crushed hearts, released blood, and sacrificed to the serpent god who was coming."

"The dark side of the serpent god will accept blood sacrifices, grant their wishes, and grant them otherworldly wisdom and power."

"This group of fanatical believers is still active all over Mexico, continuing this ancient tradition, known to ordinary people as the Blood Sacrifice Gang."

"In the sacrificial system of the Blood Sacrifice Gang, blood is an eternal theme, with a meaning far greater than air, and bloodshed is sacred and necessary."

……

"The Blood Sacrifice Gang, sacrificing a living person to the dark side of Quetzalcoatl, it sounds a bit evil..."Di An'an had a bad premonition, Lena and the patron saint of this gang are involved, I'm afraid it's not a good thing, "Since the gang worships the snake god, why is their patron god this goddess?" ”

"The goddess is the lover of the snake god, working for the snake god, protecting his followers and keeping the blood sacrifice ritual running properly."

"No one knows her real name, but there are stories that have survived to this day," Teresa began, "and at first she was just a mortal, but her glamorous fame spread far and wide, so the serpent god wanted to possess her, and sent his followers to capture her and bring her back to the Holy Land for sacrifice." ”

"The believers threw the woman into a snake cave and let the terrifying serpents devour and transform her."

Hiss –

Dean suddenly felt a cold wind blowing from the back of his neck, and he felt cold all over his body.

The snake god wants to possess someone and force her to accept the transformation of ten thousand snake phages?

Cruel and evil.

The love of the gods is truly unbearable for mortals.

In addition, a strong feeling welled up in Di'an's head that this half-human, half-god woman was more of a prisoner of the dark side of Quetzalcoatl than a goddess.

But why did she end up in a strip club?

Theresa's eyes flashed with a strange brilliance, and she continued, "After the transformation, she became the lover of the night, the guardian of the demigods, the prophet of the next new era, she can see you and me, these mortals can't see, what is to come in the future. ”

"Prophecy" ability.

Dean looked around and listened intently, the shadow of the aurora in his eyes.

Lena also has a certain degree of prophetic power, and there is something in common between her and the goddess, so there is a connection and they come together?

Hoping that the goddess did not harm Lena, Dian prayed with his head in peace.

Otherwise, even if she is a god, she will pay the price!

The progress of "bloodline" quietly jumped to forty percent.

"How do I find this snake god's lover?" Dean patted the scraps of corn flakes from his hands and stared into Teresa's eyes, "Or how did you find the location of the Blood Sacrifice Gang she guarded?" ”

"I'm not a believer and have no way of knowing about these important locations," Teresa thought, "but the Blood Rites are widely distributed, with small gatherings all over Mexico, especially along the crime-ridden U.S.-Mexico border, such as Juarez across the El Paso Strait." ”

"Okay, El Paso at the border..."Dean took out the map and sketched out the specific location of El Paso with a pen, the place is not small, and it will take a lot of effort to complete the investigation, but if it is locked on the strip club, it will greatly save time.

"By the way, I've seen the statue of this goddess, you can take a look." Teresa took Dean's pen and sketched a vivid picture of a woman seated in a circle of candles and offerings, dressed in a green sundress, a colorful headdress with delicate patterns and emeralds, and a multicolored crown of feathers, a python wrapped around her torso and thighs, and a slender snake wrapped around her arms.

Her left hand is down to the left knee, palm facing outward, right hand is held upright on her chest, her thumb, ring finger and little finger are lightly clasped, and the index and middle fingers are straightened, as if to make some special handprint.

Her skin was slightly yellow, her face was expressionless, and her snake-like pupils stared straight into a place in the void, shimmering with a wise light that saw the past and the future.

Compassion and evil are intertwined.

Dean suddenly saw the dark version of the Guanyin statue.

The progress was shocked, jumping to 42 percent.

"Patron goddess of the Blood Sacrifice Gang, I'll find you." Dean put away the portrait,

Teresa reminded, "Mr. Andy, most of the followers of this group of Blood Sacrifice Gang are dangerous and fanatical, so you must be cautious if you want to deal with them. ”

"Rest assured, I can take care of myself." Dean made an Oak gesture and asked a few more questions to make sure the other party had no more clues, "The deal is complete, you will take Juana back to your hometown tomorrow, and don't come to Galveston again in the short term." ”

"Yes. This is the address and phone number of my house," Teresa warmly handed Dean a note, "You are welcome to come and taste my best teppanyaki at any time..."

"If you have the chance, you will come."

Dean watched the woman leave the guest room, closed her eyes and digested the information in her mind, and took out Lena's photo and searched it again from God's perspective, confirming that she was in the southwest.

The next step was to enter Mexico via El Paso in the southwest.

He scanned the next two rooms again.

Juana, dressed in a bathrobe, grabbed her mother, who had just returned to the room, and chatted warmly.

And Salma, with her plump and delicate body, clasped her knees with her hands, sat in the bathtub, her shoulders trembling and sobbing lowly, her cry was full of grievances and sourness, and her black hair, wet with hot water, slid down her back, splashing with moisture.

Obviously, the girl will not be able to recover from the injuries of being abducted anytime soon.

"It's all the work of you kidnappers."

Dean turned off the lights and windows, took out the board and the divination suit, and the translucent soul of the thick-eyed cowboy flew out and fell in front of him with a stupid expression.

"Tell me, what is the purpose of your kidnapping of such a large group of women?"

The ghost replied dumbly, "Through the port of Galveston, it was shipped to Mexico and sold to a group of locals." ”

Shipped to Mexico instead of Europe?

Di An'an looked at the head, "Who are you selling to?" ”

"We are only responsible for arresting people, transporting people to the dock, collecting money, and we don't know any identity information about our customers."

"Why do you want women?"

"The client asks for a young and beautiful woman, and she must be cleaned up for a period of time before it is shipped over, eat clean, simple and nutritious food, prohibit alcohol, tobacco, prohibit intimate relations with men, and keep it pure."

Dean narrowed his eyes in confusion, a request that reminded him of some common sense in his previous life - for some freshwater fish, the chef would raise them in clean water for a period of time before cooking, so that the fish would expel dirty things and earthy smells.

"Is the customer going to pick up the tubes for the goods?"

"I don't know, but I don't feel like it—" A palpitation flashed in Cowboy's dark eyes, "maybe something more sinister." ”

Thirty beautiful women, shipped to Mexico.

Something more evil than a picker tube?

A few key pieces of information flashed through my mind.

Dean couldn't help but think of the history of the Blood Sacrifice Gang that Teresa had given him science just now.

"It can't be such a coincidence, is it the Mexican Blood Sacrifice Gang who bought this shipment from Texas and is going to sacrifice it to the snake god? Or the patron goddess? ”

"No, not necessarily, Teresa never mentioned that the sacrifice had to be a woman, ask her again tomorrow morning."

……

Dean let go of his cumbersome thoughts and looked at the ghost again,

"What is your agreed delivery time?"

"A month later, at ten o'clock in the evening on November 25th, in the port of Houston, a blue freighter..."

"A month is too long." Dean still has to go to Lena, and it is impossible to delay Galveston for a month in order to catch the source of this trafficker, so he can only put this message down for the time being.

"How many shipments have you sold in the past?"

"Three batches were sent to the docks, a total of 125 people, and some 'milk powder' was received from the steamer and sold in Texas."

"It sold more than 100 people, and it also sold milk powder part-time." Dean looked at the ghost's eyes with a cold glow, "Hell can't hold you. How did such a filthy den survive so long on the island? ”

"We bought off the management of the dock and the top brass of the Galveston police department, gave them a share of the profits, and promised not to touch the locals."

"I knew it." Dean nodded, pulled out his notes, and began to note, "Tell me their names, identities, and looks." ”

After remembering the five names, he thought for a moment.

After all, police officers are different from criminals, and the disappearance of one is enough to cause a huge commotion, and the group of women who have just escaped from prison should not immediately attract their attention.

"Let you live a little longer, and then I'll get another wave of experience when I come back from Mexico."

Making a decision, Dean looked at the shadow of a hamster eating potato chips like a hamster watching the TV, "This guy is handed over to you, don't let him die too happily, half an hour." ”

"Shadow" nodded, wiped his mouth, and gently closed his five fingers at the ghost of the thick-eyebrow cowboy, the ghost suddenly shrank inward into a translucent sphere, a trace of electric arcs, sparks flickered, its stiff and illusory cheeks slowly distorted, it screamed, wailed, and the soul peeled off piece by piece like a soaked wall skin, life was worse than death, but all the sounds were firmly wrapped in telekinesis, and not a drop of water leaked.

Dean sat back on the bed, twisted his limbs, and meditated on the red dragon in the starry sky.

……

"Mr. Andy, we will never forget your help... Be sure to come to Houston and see us. ”

At seven o'clock the next morning, Teresa's mother and daughter, who were worried about the long night, got up early, hugged Dean, and set out on the journey back to Houston in a second-hand car bought from the innkeeper and the remaining 17,000 dollars.

In addition, Teresa denied Dean's inference last night, and the blood sacrifice of the Blood Sacrifice Gang does not require that it must be a clean woman, so the identity of the customer of this shipment on the island is unknown.

Outside the parking lot today, next to the stolen white Volvo 240 car, there are still Dean and Salma munching on tortillas, the young Latin American woman has changed into a crimson dress, revealing a plump and good figure, it is the age of vitality, and the skin is also delicate and shiny.

Dark straight hair, eyes, curly eyelashes, deep sunken eye sockets and a straight nose bridge make her facial features layered and very beautiful.

With a hint of a smile on the corner of Salma's mouth, she couldn't see the sadness of sobbing alone in the bathtub yesterday, and she cautiously made a request,

"Can I come with you, Mr. Andy?"

"You're not going home?" Dean looked at her calmly,

"I don't have a home, I have nowhere to go."

"I'm sorry... I hadn't had a chance to ask," Dean leaned into the car, biting down on a tortilla and looking at her bright face, "How did you get caught by those guys?" ”

"I stayed in a small hotel for one night while I was traveling in San Antonio, and I woke up and was imprisoned." Salma said angrily and fearfully, "If you hadn't saved me, I can't imagine what would have happened." By the way, I would venture to ask, what do you do, how do you get rid of those villains? ”

"A private detective who knows how to fight and shoot." Dean said casually,

"You're so humble, you must be very good and successful in this business." Salma's eyes showed a look of envy and adoration, and she lamented, "It's not like me, who always messes things up and messes up life beyond recognition." ”

"Don't say that, you're young and pretty, and you have a lot of time for trial and error." Dean comforted her and handed her a cup of coffee, "What did you do before you were caught?" ”

Salma sat on the front lid of the car with her coffee cup in her hands, curled up on her legs, and exhaled, "No regular work." I dropped out of high school, wandered from north to south, coast to coast, odd jobs, met a lot of people, good and bad, but almost all wanted something out of me, I never met a good person as selflessly good as you. ”

She looked at Dean and said sincerely, "It's like the sun shining brightly, illuminating the people around you, which is very reassuring, so I want to follow you, Mr. Andy, I want to thank you and repay you." ”

Dean had never encountered such a direct woman and strange request, and his eyelids jumped,

"I appreciate your gratitude, but I don't need to repay it, I'm too busy to take care of you. You might as well take that money and drive this Volvo, go anywhere, and live the life you want. ”

"You don't have to take care of me." Salma just looked up at him, blinking her dark eyes, gentle and enthusiastic, "As long as you don't like it or get tired of it, you can leave me on the side of the road at any time, please let me go with you, I can return 20,000 knives to you." ”

Dean got into the car, "I'm going to El Paso, the westernmost part of Texas, and the most I can do is get you there, and you can come with me if you want." ”

"I will be obedient!" Salma grinned, quickly sat in the passenger seat, and fastened his seat belt.

Volvo drove away from the motel and headed southwest.

……

At the same time.

Galveston Island, Tuna Bar.

In the morning, the hall was empty with no guests, only the proprietor carefully wiping down the bottles of expensive liquor in the wine cabinet.

There was a sudden bang behind him, and the cowboy door was pushed open.

A tall man came to the bar, wearing a black denim jacket, black pants, leather boots, and a strange mushroom head, his face was so pale as if he had been smeared with powder, his big eyes bulged out slightly, his cheeks were full, and he exuded a strange joy and gloom.

The weirdest thing is that he also carries a strange pair of tools that look like a blue vertical tube attached to a red rubber tube to pump a bicycle tire.

He grinned and showed eight teeth, smiled softly at the boss, and put down a portrait, "Boss, have you seen this person recently, about 30 years old, white, blonde hair and blue eyes, a ring of beard around his mouth, gray tracksuits..."

"I'm sorry, Galveston is a tourist destination, my bar welcomes hundreds of customers every day, I can't remember every single one, I've never seen this one you mentioned." The boss lifted his cowboy hat and glanced at the portrait, "Would you like a drink?" ”

"I don't drink, this guy is weird," the weirdo stared straight at his boss and continued to say to himself, "He's different from ordinary people, he has a unique temperament, he may not even be the face or the tracksuit I described, but when you see him, you will be impressed and remembered for a long time." ”

Weird? Can there be strange for you?

The boss's beard trembled, and his lips moved, but the mushroom head's smiling expression made him stunned inexplicably, and he replied honestly,

"Last night a young man came, and he ate four special dinners by himself, four servings! Each one could easily fill the belly of a strong cowboy or a sailor who had worked hard for a day, but he was swept away in less than five minutes. ”

The corners of the mushroom head's mouth opened even more,

"Very well, do you know where he went?"

"He went to help an elderly Mexican-American woman named Teresa who had lost her daughter... I could see that he was a young man with a sense of justice. ”

"That's right, he's a good guy who is willing to save people!" The mushroom head nodded, his eyes more excited, "Thank you for your answer, now sir, please lean your head a little bit." ”

"What?" The boss was surprised, but instinctively complied with the mushroom head's request and leaned his head slightly across the bar.

"Very well, stand still, don't move... Right away. The mushroom head held the red metal nozzle like an inflatable gun in his right hand and aimed it at the boss's forehead, and gently pressed the button of the nozzle in the other party's blank eyes.

Burst!

The boss shook at the slight sound of the nail piercing through the wood, and a hole in his forehead that exposed broken bones and brains fell backwards to the ground, knocking over a bottle of red wine.

His eyes widened and he lost his breath, and his expression was filled with deep confusion and incomprehension.

The killer mushroom head retracted the exaggerated smirk at the corner of his mouth, slowly and gloomily took out a map of Texas, spread it out, and took out a dark yellow coin from his bosom and threw it on the corpse behind the bar.

A frantic and fierce gnawing, chewing, tearing sound erupted, and the corpse quickly vanished, leaving only a blood-stained coin.

"Have you eaten enough, tell me quickly where the telekinesis of New Orleans have gone on the island."

Bang dang.

The coin was tossed high by the mushroom head and landed in a remote warehouse in the southwest of the map island.

(End of chapter)