After using telekinesis to help the frightened students fall asleep, Dean quietly rushed outside the villa to continue observing Orion and completing the Star Runes and Arrows.

Unfortunately, he spent too much time on other things tonight, leaving not enough time for stargazing, so he added the runes to four-fifths of the completeness, and Orion vanished.

Four-fifths of the way, the length of the index finger, the prismatic shape, the sharp barb on the tail, and the outline of the mutilated arrow in the lower left corner were clearly visible, and countless bright spots were floating with yellow and white light, hooked together, like stars in the dark sky.

Due to the incomplete runes, the starlight continued to radiate from the gap in the lower left corner, turning into wisps of sharp qi that pierced the soul, consuming the nearby life energy, telekinesis, light and heat, engulfing it, forming an environment of silence similar to the vacuum of the universe.

Intuition told Dean that this unformed star rune arrow could already pose a big threat to him, and even the "shadow" around him revealed a deep fear.

It's just that the scales are inconvenient to attack, and the runes are a bit wasteful to be engraved on them, and the arrow runes naturally have to be carved on the arrows to exert the greatest effect.

Dean then referred to the pattern and engraved the arrow rune on the demon-breaking arrow he forged, and after carving half of the broken rune, the time had come to more than three o'clock in the morning.

Even if it is a half-finished product, he can feel the destructive energy contained in the arrow, as long as the arrow is shot, not only the enemy, but also the arrow itself will be destroyed by the rune, which is a one-time killing weapon.

Dean pondered stocking up on stocking up on a few more arrows to test the power, so he packed up his weapon materials and stood in place relaxed and straight.

Experience another of the newly awakened traits.

In the second half of the night, under the dark sky, among the trees outside the villa.

His mind moved, and his life sublimated!

Bang!

Trillions of cells awoke from their slumber, roaring and roaring, releasing infinite life energy outward, turning into platinum arcs of light that swirled around Dean's body, alternating circles like ripples on the surface of the water.

He closed his eyes and felt.

In the state of life sublimation, he can clearly observe every muscle and tissue in the body and on the surface of the body, and call on life energy at will to repair small injuries that are difficult to distinguish with the naked eye, so that the body can always maintain its peak.

As soon as his mind moved, his heart stopped beating, his lungs expelled all the turbidity, his stomach doubled its digestion efficiency, and his adrenalines released huge amounts of adrenaline, wrists, ankles, knees, and necks, each of which rotated seven hundred and twenty degrees... It was as if he had untied the shackles of genes and instincts, and completely broke the limits of his body.

Then.

Without seeing him make any movements, the radiant life energy created a strong gust of wind around him, the earth cracked, the grass and dirt flew around, and the accumulated ice and snow seemed to be scorched by the scorching sun, melting into water and evaporating into the air, hissing.

Standing in the pit, Dean clenched his right fist and slammed it out towards a pine forest ten meters away, and in the middle of the punch, the fine muscles and tendons under the skin of his whole body rushed to the fist as if they were alive, and the surging life energy burst out from his right hand, condensing into a football-sized, materialized platinum cyclone in mid-air, and hit the woods.

Puff~~Smack~~Wow!

The energy cyclone pierced through a large area of towering ancient trees without hindrance, split them in two with a loud bang, and flew out dozens of meters with residual momentum, blasting a large radioactive pattern on the snow and disappearing into the air.

A large flock of frightened birds and small animals fled madly from the woods, leaving a trail on the snow.

Dean watched this earthquake-like scene and slowly withdrew his fist, thoughtfully-after the sublimation of life, the quantity and quality of life energy that could not leave the living body were greatly improved, and it had the effect of being out of the body for a short time, which was enough to form a terrifying short-distance energy impact!

The direct impact and destructive power of the platinum cyclone far exceeds that of howitzers and bazookas... It's just that there is no explosion and the collateral lethality of the iron piece inside.

Then, Dean tensed, bent his knees, and jumped lightly!

Whew-

The wind is blowing.

The white-gold flame tail cut through the pitch-black earth and sky, Dean jumped to a height of 100 meters in a second with only the strength of his body, and then resisted gravity, sprinting, jumping, and dodging left and right out of thin air.

When he exhausted his stagnant power and landed, he used his telekinesis to roll up the alpha wolf fanged long knife, cut off his limbs, and turned himself into a human stick.

The sharp long knife continued to cut, smashing the flesh and bones of the hands and feet into a blurry mass of minced meat, and at the same time, the telekinesis created a high-temperature flame of thousands of degrees, scorching and vaporizing these minced meat.

If you replace ordinary people, they will be disabled for life.

Dean clearly felt an unbreakable connection between himself and the blood, flesh, and bones that were broken and far away from his torso.

They are like small but tenacious creatures, letting out the cry of a storm—

Restoration, Return!

Wisps of visible white gold threads reconstructed the charred flesh, repairing them as they were new, and the regrown limbs flew automatically towards the bloody incisions on Dean's body, gluing them together.

The incision is fleeting, and the skin returns to smooth and delicate without leaving a scar, as if the previous terrible stump injury had never happened.

Dean nodded with satisfaction, his self-healing ability under sublimation has multiplied several times, and most of his injuries can heal instantly, almost giving him the illusion of "immortality and immortality", of course, it is far from this level...

But with the end of ten seconds of sublimation.

The powerful self-confidence disappeared, tiredness, weakness, and hunger rushed in, Dean moaned in pain all over his body, even his toes were trembling, and the life energy in his body was almost exhausted, so he had to sit on the ground slowly, take out the energy bars in the space to fill his hunger, release the reserve energy of the chest crystal, and look at his watch to count the seconds.

After about two minutes, he returned to fifty percent of his state, and after five minutes, all discomfort disappeared, he returned to his peak state, and he could use "sublimation" again.

"Ten seconds of sublimation requires at least a two-minute rest period."

Dean's face was solemn, "If the enemy is not killed before the state ends, he will fall into a weak crisis... So 'sublimation' must be used sparingly. However, as the melee stat increases, the duration of weakness should gradually decrease. ”

Then try it with the lightning reflex.

Evenings were spent in a fulfilling training session.

……

Early the next morning.

Dean and Catherine rushed to the Hawkins police station with six students from Steve.

Aunt Flo, the operator, greeted her warmly, "You haven't eaten breakfast, come and sit here, I've prepared hot coffee and doughnuts for you, by the way, your parents are on their way." ”

"Aunt Flo, is there a darkroom, can you lend it to me?" Jonathan held up the camera around his neck,

"Follow me."

After Dean and Catherine settled a group of students, they entered the director's office, only to see Hope snuff out his cigarette butt and retract his leg on the table, "Now you can say, what happened to me yesterday when I had to inform their parents?" ”

"Director, you've seen the supernatural, so I won't hide it," Dean handed Catherine's notebook about the "Hawkins Murder" to his desk, "This case is not an ordinary homicide, and the murderer is not a normal human. ”

Hope listened to Dean's narration, picked up his notebook and looked carefully, in less than a quarter of an hour, after reading all the details and inferences of the cave in the ground, the circle, the skeleton, the badge, the future killer, and the theory of parallel time and space, a trace of absurdity flashed on his bloated and rough face, "I said man, you don't deliberately make up a story to amuse me, do you?" ”

"Lives matter, I don't have the time to joke." Dean stared at Hope and shook his head, "And me, Catherine, and the six students in the hall can all testify." ”

Hope patted his swollen brain, "I've been a detective and a police officer all my life, and the first time I encountered such a bizarre case, it actually involved my future self?" Well, even if I reluctantly accept this statement, do you think the families of the victims, the townspeople of Hawkins, and other police officers will believe it? ”

"Ordinary people still don't want to know the supernatural." Dean said, "You'll have to use your brains to come up with a plausible excuse to appease the townspeople based on the clues we've found." ”

"You're really a big problem for me!" Hope slapped a camel and lit it with a headache, "Do you have any substantial evidence?" ”

"When I was attacked last night, Jonathan took pictures of a couple of killers, and I'll be able to wash them out later," Catherine said. ”

Hope's eyes showed a hint of surprise, "Important evidence!" What's next? ”

"The killers will continue to attack, but I have to investigate, I don't have time to take care of this group of high school students, they can only be handed over to you... Well, I suggest you bring most of the officers back to protection. Dean looked through the blinds at Steve and the others in the hall, "All of you, as well as Steve and the six of them, should be equipped with body armor and bulletproof helmets. ”

Hope raised an eyebrow, "That's a bit of a fuss, right, do you have to wrap the students in turtle shells?" Does the killer still dare to attack the Hawkins police station? ”

"It's not too much, they fell from the sky and attacked, they were almost everywhere." Dean stressed, "And both attacks occurred at night after the moon had risen, so be especially careful at night." ”

Hope pondered for a moment, "Are you sure I will let my brothers and I stay in the bureau as nannies, and you will go out alone to investigate, and you don't need assistance." ”

"Don't forget me." Catherine waved her pen, "I'm Dean's best partner. ”

Hope's face became very complicated, "Then the two, protect yourself, and I hope you are not mistaken, otherwise I will inexplicably ask my colleagues to stop tracking down the murderer, stay in the bureau and do nothing, and there is no result, I will be drowned in the saliva of the townspeople, and I, the director, will also be the end." ”

"Rest assured, you will be proud of your wise decision."

……

"Jonathan, what's wrong?"

"Steve, are you hurt?"

"We're fine, no one was hurt, just scared."

"By the way, this time thanks to Dean."

There was a commotion in the hall, but it was the parents of the high school students who arrived at the police station one after another, surrounding them and showing concern.

Dean and the three walked out of the office.

"I don't know how to thank you," a haggard-looking Joyce excitedly greeted him and grabbed Dean's hand, "If it weren't for you, Jonathan would definitely be hurt." ”

"It's all in the same town, and it's right to help each other." Dean smiled and shook his head, "Besides, Jonathan and I are good friends. ”

"Young man, don't be modest when you do good deeds, it's a fact that you bravely saved our children." A man in a suit and leather shoes, with a hooked nose full of elite style and majesty, reached out and shook Dean warmly and forcefully, and handed him a business card with a bunch of titles such as "General Manager of Harrington Construction Company", "I owe you a favor, if you need help, please come to me." ”

As he spoke, the man turned to Hope, his face turning from sunny to cloudy,

"Director Hope, there are criminals who dare to attack a group of students with knives in broad daylight, is this still my hometown where no vicious incidents have occurred for many years? And it's been a week! You didn't find the poor boy who killed Marcus and Samantha, and now my Steve was almost hurt,"

The man unceremoniously sprayed the director's face full of saliva,

"If you don't give an explanation that satisfies everyone, I will immediately withdraw my sponsorship of the Hawkins Police Department, and in the next town election, I will do my best to nominate another more capable and courageous chief!"

Hope faced the father and old folks who asked the teacher to ask for sin, and maintained a stiff smile to explain,

"Guys, I'm sorry to frighten your children... In fact, we have found a little clue about the murderer, he is not acting alone, and there are accomplices, so it is very tricky. But I promise that I will be able to arrest them all in a week at most... The next step is to call in the police to protect the children and make sure they don't lose a single hair. ”

And Dean and Catherine take the opportunity to sneak up on a group of high school students, "Jonathan, Barbara... Stay here, Steve, let's go out and investigate clues. ”

"Don't leave us behind," Jonathan immediately stood up and clenched his fists eagerly, "Let's do it together." ”

"Yes, the badge has something to do with us," Barbara looked at Dean earnestly, "we can help you find it." ”

"Forget it," said Steve, "we don't have much combat power, and it's just a burden to Dean, and it will only drag him back, so it's better to stay honestly." ”

Goran and Hala nodded like garlic.

Nancy added, "But Dean, I hope you can tell everyone any clues in time, and it is more efficient to come up with ideas together." ”

"Okay, I'll see you again in the evening," Dean patted Jonathan on the shoulder, his gaze sweeping over the six, "Take care of yourself, and don't take it lightly." ”

……

After Dean left the police station with Catherine, he drove back to the location of the cave in the suburbs, preparing to study the magic circle again, and try a few psychic rituals by the way.

When they arrived at their destination, they pounced and discovered an astonishing sight - the hole in the snow disappeared without a trace.

"What's going on, did someone refill the hole after we left?" Catherine looked at the snow on the ground with a shocked expression,

"No, there is no sign of the ground being turned over and pressed." Dean crouched down, grabbed a handful of dirt and crushed it, and scanned it underground, sweeping the igneous rock composed of minerals such as feldspar, quartz, and mica, which was high hardness and wear-resistant, and strictly occupied the position of the previous cave and magic circle, leaving no gaps, and consistent with the rock structure of the surrounding underground.

"It seems like this place has remained in a natural state for a long time, and it seems that the cavern never existed."

"It doesn't make sense," Catherine wrapped her arms around her trembling chest, "did we hallucinate the day before yesterday?" ”

"Supernatural phenomena, can't be explained by common sense..."Dean pondered, and suddenly looked at the BP machine on his waist, he remembered that after faxing the pattern of the magic circle to Aiden last time, the other party said that there would be news soon, and the calculation time was about the same, "But maybe someone can answer us, let's go, find a place to call." ”

……

The two quickly rushed back to town, and Dean dialed the phone number left by Professor Aiden last time in a public phone booth.

"Well, Aiden, the investigation on our side is deadlocked, and I want to ask about the progress of the interpretation of the circle."

"I was about to contact you, and we've pretty much figured it out, this circle has an extraordinary origin." Aiden's astonishment came from the microphone, "It's not a human thing. ”

Dean's eyelids jumped, "What do you say?" ”

"Do you want to listen to the lite version or the detailed version?"

"The more detailed, the better."

"Then I have to start with another concept, in the Kufa body engraved in this circle, there is a lot of mention of a word called 'Origin Land'."

"Where it was?"

"That's right, I specifically asked a dozen of my peers, and then found the information in an antique book as obscure as a code—"

"The world that most of us humans live in is called the perennial world, that is, the world that we can know and see, but in addition to this, there is another world that is beyond the mundane and hidden in many spaces, which is invisible and inaccessible to the vast majority of people, called 'primordial'."

"Originally composed of islands and seas, it is inhabited by many indigenous peoples, as well as all kinds of energies and creatures that do not exist in the world, and they have all kinds of magical skills."

Dean bowed his head, the other world he had learned about included Leviathan Hell, Soul Thin Hell, and the Underworld, and it was not uncommon to have one more original place, "But what is the skill?" ”

"You can think of it as a perennial superpower, but it's more impactful."

Aiden said enviously,

"There was once a part of human beings who were lucky enough to enter the original land, saw the magnificence and splendor of it, and obtained the 'skill'."

"According to the code, the first human to discover the original land was called Plato, and he acquired a great deal of wisdom, and in the Timaeus he called the original land Atlantis, and a lot of knowledge about the original has been passed down in the form of ciphers."

Dean was amazed to hear that this incident had a connection with Plato and Atlantis, "Go on." ”

"And the four-pointed star circle you gave me to interpret does not belong to the ordinary world where we humans live, it comes from the original and is a special instrument made by the locals."

"According to the inscription on the circle, it is buried in the original ground, absorbing the special energy around it, and the process is very slow, and it will take hundreds of years to complete. The circle continuously transmits the absorbed energy to the center, which is used to condense the original badge. ”

"That badge is called the Motohara Badge!" Dean found that the system was shocked, and his progress jumped to eighty-five percent, "What is the peculiarity of the original badge?" ”

Aiden suppressed his excitement and said, "The Origin Badge contains a remarkable 'skill' from the Origin Land. ”

Dean's eyes showed a hint of excitement, he and the group of students guessed correctly, the badge has magical powers!

"According to what you say, the four-pointed star circle and the emblem all belong to the original place, how could they come to the ordinary world inexplicably?"

"That's the magic of them, after the circle successfully condenses the original badge, it will leave the original and teleport to a random place in the eternal world."

"So the array can actually travel through space." Dean nodded, "Who is the white-robed skeleton in the center of the circle?" Why did the circle be written in the Arabic script of Kufi instead of the script of the original land? ”

Professor Aiden's voice paused on the phone, "I suspect that the place where it was first teleported was near the Arabian Desert and was discovered by a white-robed man. The circle automatically transforms into words and forms familiar to the first people who discover it, drawing them closer. ”

"In the YSL religion of Arabic culture, the four-pointed star represents good deeds and good things, and when the white-robed people see the four-pointed star array, they will naturally approach."

Dean said, "Sounds like the circle and the badge are like hunters, and they set up bait?" Then, why did the white-robed man die, shouldn't it be to obtain the skills in the original badge? ”

"How can it be so simple, from ancient times to the present, many capable people with lofty ideals have worked hard to enter the origin, or break into the magic circle to obtain skills, but few have succeeded." There was a hint of historical change in Aiden's voice, "Skill will never recognize the weak and stupid. ”

"If you want to get it, if you want to master it, then you have to go through the trial."

"If the trial fails, the soul will become the nourishment of the original badge, and the body and bones may be absorbed by the magic circle, and this is the price of power."

Dean nodded, "So the sudden disappearance of the skeleton in the circle is not because it left, but because it failed in the trial, and it was absorbed by the circle from last Wednesday to now, no wonder there were no extra footprints at that time." ”

"Hmm." Aiden continued, "And after the first batch of trialists dies, the circle will randomly teleport to another eternal place, waiting for the second batch of trialists, apparently from the Arabian desert to where you are. ”

"What does a batch mean, the trialist is not limited to just one person?"

"Unlimited. If several people are present near the circle and the badge at the same time, then the skill may flow to all of them, and they will have to be put to the test whether they want it or not. ”

Hearing this, Dean finally understood why there were a bunch of killers chasing down Steve's eight people - they were all forced to accept the trial of the original badge after they accidentally discovered the badge and the circle last Wednesday, which is the "hidden connection" that Barbara guessed!

The progress of the system jumped to 90 percent!

Aiden changed his voice again, "The skills contained in each original badge are different, and the tests are also different. ”

"And what kind of skill does this one have?"

"I can't decipher the inscription of the circle alone, I need to see the pattern of the badge."

"Wait a minute." Dean left the phone booth and called Catherine to find a nearby store and transmitted the badge pattern collected from Marcus' house yesterday to Professor Aiden.

"Oh my God, it's perfect!" Not long after Aiden finished reading it, he let out a huge exclamation on the phone, "Sixteen special runes form a circle, representing time and space... The pattern in the central cross-shaped ravine, from bottom to top, symbolizes the evolution from single-celled organisms to gods, from left to right is the process from the known to the unknown, from the ordinary to the primordial... Combined with the Circle..."

Aiden's voice paused, revealing an unbelievable shock, "If I'm not mistaken, the technique of condensing this primordial badge is to distort time and space and unify all things!" ”

Distort time and space to unify all things?

Dean was stunned for a moment, and Barbara's speculation of the parallel universe theory suddenly flashed in her mind, could it be that this girl guessed correctly, the badge distorted time and space to open the passage of the parallel universe, summoning the future killer to the current universe?

The more Dean thought about it, the more he thought it was possible, and asked, "I confirmed it not long ago, and the circle disappeared, and it was randomly teleported to other places?" ”

"Are all the trialists dead?"

"No, mostly alive."

"Then I guess the circle runs out of energy, teleports back to its original place, and begins to condense the next emblem." "But now that the badge is still on your side, it will keep selecting the trialists until someone passes the trials and acquires the skills in it." ”

"Skill will reshape the body and spirit of the trialist, making the good more good, the evil more evil, and invincible!"

When Dean heard this, he obviously felt that the skill was much more powerful than ordinary superpowers, and it had extremely rare space and time attributes, and a desire surged in his heart, and it happened that the skill column was currently 8/9, and there was still a vacant seat.

"Where should I go to find the badge?"

"Remember the pattern of the four corners of the four-pointed star circle?"

Dean took Catherine's small notebook and flipped through it, "Humans, animals, starry sky, and symmetrically arranged broken glass..."

"The symmetrical arrangement of broken glass symbolizes the creation of dreams." Aiden explained, "So, it's likely that this Primordial Badge will appear in a place where there are creatures of humans, animals, stars, and dreams at the same time, and these four things represent the infinite possibilities of the world, and will also bring the true inheritors of the Primordial Badge technique." ”

(End of chapter)