North of Hawkins, on the outskirts.

Clusters of silver-clad pine trees are like white beacons, illuminating a clear row of footprints in the vast snow.

At the end of the footprints, Dean crouched beside a raised rock, cutting through the thick snow on the ground and digging a dark hole.

"Jonathan, was this the place you were here last time?"

Jonathan, who was peering through the woods, ran over gasping for air, and with a dazzling look, he found a small triangular notch near the entrance of the cave, "Yes! I left this mark on the ground at the time. ”

"I'll go down and have a look." Dean jumped straight into the hole, the light dimmed, his body felt slightly warmer, and he landed smoothly to the ground, scanning around from God's perspective.

The four walls of the cave about the size of a living room are uneven rocks, cave plants, and vines, undecorated or painted, as if they had been dug out by hand.

Dean frowned, and there was nothing as far as the eye could see.

"Dean, I'll come down and take a look too, catch me." Catherine whispered and jumped down, fell into the man's arms, brushed a strand of blonde hair to her ear, turned on the flashlight to light left and right, and then Jonathan jumped down with a grit of teeth.

"That's what happened down here," Jonathan shook his head in disappointment, "why don't you even have a spider or a snake?" ”

"Yes, what about the remains?" Catherine asked, "Why didn't I see it?" ”

"I don't know," Jonathan looked dazed, "At that time, it was only the three Marcus who said that there were skeletons, and I didn't see them with my own eyes... Are they lying to scare the girls? ”

"Not necessarily, stand still." Dean God's perspective continues to scan, and as his perception improves, his insight ability greatly increases, and even a speck of dust will not be missed.

There was nothing on the ceiling or the surrounding walls, but there was a large blurry shoe print on the ground, which should have been left recently, and there were three kinds of shoe prints at the entrance of the cavern, scattered in all directions, and finally formed a circle in the center of the cavern.

Dean bowed, this should be the footprints of the three Marcus.

And there must be something in the middle of the cave that will attract the three of them to walk over.

He leaned over, crouched down and picked up some clay on the ground, crushing it, "If there were skeletons, they should have been lying here." ”

Jonathan asked, "Then why did it disappear?" After we left, someone else found out that they had taken it? ”

"No, there are only three recent footprints left in the cave, which matches your description that only Marcus, Steve, and Goran entered." Dean rolled his gaze and said, "This means that no one else has come down recently except for them and us. ”

Jonathan and Catherine's eyes were sour and they couldn't see any shoe prints on the ground, but they both trusted Dean very much, so they had a guess,

"You mean after we left last week, Marcus and the others returned to the cave and secretly took the skeleton with them?"

"You'll have to ask them face to face, but I don't think it's very likely, there's no reason for three teenagers to kidnap a skeleton."

"They didn't take it," Catherine leaned close to Dean's arm, "it can't be the skeleton crawling out on its own, right?" ”

"No, even if the skeleton survived and escaped, it should have left traces, but no." Dean groaned.

Jonathan listened to the ridiculous discussion between the two, and suddenly felt a cold wind blowing on his back, and couldn't help but shrink his neck, "Two, since there is no clue, let's leave, it's weird here, I'm a little uncomfortable." ”

Catherine stroked her chest, "Yes, my chest is tight. ”

Dean heard this, his heart moved, he also felt a trace of abnormality, less than five minutes after entering the cave, the active life energy and spiritual power in his body became slightly disobedient, as if there was some kind of invisible force field that was sucking energy out, and the shadow next to him also conveyed similar feelings to him through telepathy.

Dean felt the direction of the energy loss, lying on the ground, his hands quickly brushing away the dust and dirt on the ground.

In the dust, the ground gradually revealed a deep line in the stone, Dean opened the perspective of God and looked down from top to bottom to find that it was a black four-pointed star with a diameter of more than five meters, and strange shapes were depicted at the four sharp corners, which were humans, animals, starry sky, and symmetrically arranged broken glass... Four types of graphics, exuding an indescribable mystery.

The rest of the four-pointed star is filled with a strange black font.

Dean carefully recognized that it was not English, Chinese, or Latin that he had remembered, but the fonts looked simple and square, angular and beautifully curved, like a row of thickened notes, and like tadpoles with their tails raised and coiled their bodies in a circle.

In the center of the four-pointed star is a circle like a coin, which is where the footprints meet, and Dean deduces that the skeleton is most likely to appear.

The moment this strange pattern was revealed from the dust, some mysterious power radiated around, and the light in the cave became dim, and Catherine and Jonathan couldn't help but take a step back towards the exit of the cave.

Dean sensed that the energy in his body was converging more quickly through his feet that were in contact with the ground, and towards the four-pointed star.

At the same time, the progress of "Hawkins Homicide" in the system has jumped to 30%, the difficulty has changed from unknown to "at least moderate", and the reward has been increased from at least 80 points to at least 160 points + special rewards.

Medium, there is a supernatural element, so there is a mysterious power hidden in this figure?

Some kind of circle?

God's perspective looked down under the four-pointed star, but he saw only solid rock.

"What's going on now?" Jonathan looked like he was hell, "Why is there such a weird pattern in the cave?" ”

"I've seen similar graphics in a handful of feature articles, a bit like Satan, a circle of demon worshippers performing rituals, a six-pointed star, and so on." Catherine took out a pen and paper from her handbag and deftly recorded it, as a professional reporter and editor, her drawing skills were very good, and she quickly drew the patterns on the ground.

Jonather's face turned pale, "Dean, what kind of demon summoning circle is this?" ”

Dean shook his head, and the figure of Professor Aiden welled up in his mind, "I don't understand it for the time being, so let's do it first, take a picture of the magic circle, wash the photo for me, and I will ask a professional to help me check it." ”

Jonathan nodded, and in the flash of clicking, the camera focused on the four-pointed star for a burst of shots.

……

Soon, the three of them crawled out of the hole, breathed in the fresh and cool air, and all felt a sense of joy to get out of prison and see the light of day again.

Jonathan's fingers pinching the camera shook twice, his face turned blue, "This damn hole, I'm never going into it again." ”

Catherine smiled and said in the tone of an old-timer, "Young people, if you are so timid, you can't become a reporter after you are so young, and a real journalist must have the courage to face all the unknown and mysterious." ”

Jonathan shook his head, "I'm not a journalist, I'm going to take pictures of nature, wildlife, and beautiful ladies." ”

"It's a big ambition, but it's important to get down to business now," Dean picked up and blocked the entrance with snow and dead branches again, "Let's go wash out the pictures first, Catherine, you know where the fax machine is?" ”

"We have a fax machine in our newspaper office, and we also have a darkroom for washing photos, so let's go together?"

……

The trio drove out of the northern suburbs and arrived at the daily newspaper office in the center of Hawkins, a one-story bungalow, before the sun had completely set.

In the evening, the leaders of the newspaper had already left work, leaving only a few reporters and editors to work overtime in the office area.

As soon as Catherine entered the door, she grabbed Dean's arm intimately, crossed the office area in a hurry, and handed out the freshly packed burgers and coffee to her colleagues.

"Bryce, Bent, Olivia, please have coffee... By the way, I'm going to use a darkroom, there's no one in it, right? ”

"No one, just use it, we'll clean it up afterwards." Several people took the coffee and drank it in small sips, but when their eyes swept over the man beside Catherine, their faces swelled with curiosity and jealousy, "Catherine, who is this gentleman?" ”

"My boyfriend, come and visit my workplace." Catherine said and walked away.

Several single male colleagues turned gloomy and sighed, commemorating the love that had been lost before it even began.

Catherine entered the room and covered her back against the wall and smiled like a fox.

Dean read out what was in her heart, "These colleagues have been pestering you? ”

"Yes, they often show their hospitality in front of me, but now that they see my boyfriend, they should be able to retreat."

Dean parted a handful of blonde hair from her forehead, "Wrap up with you again, say it, and I'll help you solve the problem." ”

"Hmm."

Jonathan, who was next to him, watched this scene enviously, secretly wondering when he would be so close to the goddess of his dreams, and then took the camera into the darkroom.

……

"Okay, Dean, does the death of Marcus and Samantha really have anything to do with the circle and the skeleton?" Catherine placed the hand-drawn pattern on the table, propped her chin and examined it carefully,

"I don't want to lie to you, there is."

Catherine's eyes lit up, and she lowered her voice and said, "You mean there's a supernatural element here?" ”

"Well, so don't get overly involved, or you risk unpredictable."

"Two, I'm done," Jonathan walked out with a freshly washed black and white photo,

Dean took the photo and borrowed the newspaper's phone number to contact Professor Aiden, explaining the difficulties encountered, and then asked for the other party's fax number, and faxed the photo.

"Aiden, find out the specific purpose of this circle, and call me immediately, can you understand?"

"Well, there should be news in the next three or two days."

"So fast?"

"If I'm not mistaken, the text in the four-pointed star is the Kufi script popular in the Arabian Peninsula."

"Kufi?" Dean found that the system's progress had jumped to thirty-two percent.

"It's the calligraphy of the Arabic script, and the four-pointed star itself has a special meaning in that culture."

Dean was even more puzzled about why there were words and symbols related to the Arabian Peninsula in the forests outside Hawkins in the north-central United States, and he had never heard Hope say that there were Arab immigrants in the town.

"As a professional history professor, I'll wait for your good news, by the way, I'll pay you when the matter is resolved."

"Don't insult me, you've saved my lives in Mexico, it's a rare opportunity to help you, and after this time, I'll be able to show off to the Goko brothers for a whole month, not to mention that we now belong to a mutual aid association." Aiden in the microphone couldn't help but laugh, "If you have any supernatural questions, don't hesitate to contact me immediately, I and a group of experts and professors behind me who are interested in the occult are your strong backing." ”

"Then I'm not polite, and then help me look up the legends of 'Leviathan' and 'Bapho Annihilation', but pay attention to safety, and stop immediately if anything goes wrong."

The sound of the tip of a pen rubbing against paper was heard in the microphone.

"Remember, wait for my good news."

……

Hanging up the phone, Dean analyzed the current situation.

The four-pointed star circle related to the "Hawkins Murder" is in charge of Professor Aiden.

The murderer, dressed in a black robe with a wrist tattoo, handed over to Hope and the police to search.

So you should be responsible for finding that skeleton, and where to find it?

Dean looked at Jonathan with sharp eyes, "Do me a favor, Marcus and Samantha are already dead among the eight people you went to the suburbs together, but there are a few people left, Steve, Golan, Harrah, Nancy, and Barbara are all important witnesses, and it is likely that they have key information, and even know the whereabouts of the skeleton." ”

"You help me gather them... Well... It's getting late today, you call them tomorrow morning. ”

Jonathan lowered his head and looked embarrassed, "Man, I'd love to help you, but I'm just an insignificant little transparent, I don't have prestige among that group, I beat up Golan last time, I can't speak at all, they won't listen to me." ”

Dean patted him on the shoulder and handed over a few beautiful knives, "Then tell them that the murderers who haven't been caught yet are likely to have something to do with the skeletons they found in the cave, and their lives are in danger if they don't come!" By the way, this is your activity funding, use it as you like. ”

Danger to life?

Jonathan thought of his classmate who died tragically, his lips turned white, his fingers trembled into fists, and Nancy's image flashed irrepressibly in his mind.

"Good!" Jonathan took the money and gritted his teeth, his slightly darkened eyes shot a resolute look, like a knight who was about to attack to protect the princess, "But tomorrow there is a class at school, how about meeting at the cafeteria outside the middle school at half past four in the afternoon?" I promise to help you get everyone out! ”

“OK。”

……

All arrangements were made for the case, and the moon rose into the sky.

Dean drove Jonathan into Mrs. Joyce's hands, and it was back at Catherine's house.

As soon as the woman opened the door, she couldn't help but throw her clothes and handbag on the sofa, ran barefoot to the record player, and put in a record.

Intense, exciting, and vibrant jazz reverberates in the living room.

Catherine grabbed Dean's hand and began to dance, without any rules, just shrugged her shoulders and twisted her hips to the music, her petite body released a huge amount of energy, her charming cheeks flushed with heat, and waves under her white sweater, "What do you want to eat at night?" ”

Dean was infected, took Catherine's little hand and made her flutter around, and fell into his arms, "I like everything you do." ”

"And we're together?"

The two twisted to the kitchen, Catherine put the frying pan on the stove, and Dean took out the steaks, carrots, green peppers from the fridge... The buttocks closed the door and chopped the vegetables, and then the four hands overlapped, the feet swayed from side to side, and they cooperated with each other to make two servings of black pepper steak pasta, served to the table, opened the red wine, and poured a glass for each person.

Catherine picked up the cup, her face was full of happy smiles, and her eyes under her eyelashes were dark and deep,

"Dean, after meeting you, I feel like I have been favored by God, I have gotten rid of the group of obsessed old men in Las Vegas, I have gotten rid of the 'devil' who has followed me since I was a child, and I have a job that I love, with the people I like to work with me, and investigate exciting and mysterious events."

"That's the life I've been pursuing."

Catherine looked at him with tender and loving eyes,

"It's like a dream."

"Then I'll never wake you up."

Dean and she had a drink, enjoyed dinner, and danced to the music, the living room was so hot that they sweated so hot, they jumped on the living room table, and then from the living room to the bathroom, and from the bathroom to the couch, to the floor-to-ceiling windows.

Finally collapsed on the carpet exhausted, Catherine pillowed in the crook of his arm, and a satisfied smile appeared on her little face, "Dean, let's act together tomorrow." ”

Dean nodded, gently rubbing her sweaty hair and soft, smooth skin, a huge amount of life energy through her fingertips like a scalpel to remove the damage accumulated in her body.

Catherine seemed to soak in a hot spring, and a warmth soaked her skin to cleanse away the fatigue of her body and mind, making her more relaxed and comfortable than ever, and she snored unconsciously.

"Sleep."

Dean lightly put her on the bed, and now that she was at the peak of her body, mind, and spirit, she recalled the investigation of her own day, touching the three elements of the progress of the "Hawkins Murder", the four-pointed star circle, the vanishing skeleton, and the murderer in the black robe ghost mask.

Then he got up and jumped out of the windowsill, came to the courtyard, honed his life energy and telekinesis that had improved since killing the Hell Monk last time, and repaired and maintained his weapons and equipment, and all kinds of strange things.

When the stars began to twinkle in the night sky, he set up the astronomical telescope he bought from Mr. Owen's house during the day, and then transformed into a snake demon to observe the starry sky.

On winter nights, the constellation Orion stands out, and with the aid of an astronomical telescope, Dean can clearly see the details of the star clusters and the rapidly rotating stars.

But unfortunately, after watching it for an hour, he didn't find the magical pattern that resembled an arrow that he needed.

"Sure enough, you can't see the pattern with an astronomical telescope alone."

Dean began to writhe snake demon body into meditation, and Orion's arrow reappeared next to the "red dragon".

And this time, it's even clearer than last night.

Dean carefully recorded some of the details, then took out an illusion snake scale from the space and used the alpha wolf fangs to carve a figure on it.

A third of the arrows took shape without any burning of the paper they had transcribed yesterday.

And only a third of it, the arrows on the snake scales possessed a magical power, circulating a breathing luster that echoed the Orion stars in the night sky, leading to a wisp of yellowish-white starlight that flowed endlessly in this pattern.

Dean suppressed his excitement and continued to meditate, observe, and sculpt.

Half the night passed quietly.

(End of chapter)