Time enters the junction of afternoon and evening.

The light in the environment began to dim, but the snow stopped.

Dean walked along the lakeside path next to the old lady's house to 102 Lakeside on the east side.

Along the way, small wooden docks and docks appeared along the lake.

Dean can imagine the thaw on the lake, boats roaming in the turquoise waters, tourists fishing, lying on boats looking up at the sky, jumping into the lake to swim.

"When I rescue Lu Guangming, I will find a lake area with excellent scenery and buy a lakeside villa, or a seaside villa." Dean couldn't help but have a thought in his mind, "Another boat, fishing tools, and family, beloved woman..."

With a light reverie, Dean arrived at Villa 102, much more imposing than the old lady Medina's house, with a white main body and a black gable top, with a total of three floors, which should have been painted not long ago, and was new and glowing.

In front of the villa, there are flower beds, swings, climbing poles, children's slides, and even a tree house on the pine tree.

In the porch, a middle-aged man in a gray down jacket stood facing the glacier lake, drawing on a drawing board the outline of the snow-covered lake and the black distant mountains.

It's just a simple oil painting, but with his skill, the lake seems to come to life, surging with white mist and reflecting the colorful sunset, which is fascinating.

It makes people unconsciously stare at the mountains in the white mist and guess what lives in them.

The man placed his brush on the paint plate and rubbed his chin with his left hand, clearly dissatisfied with the painting.

"It's fantastic, it's a true masterpiece."

A cold sigh of admiration came from behind him.

The painter was startled, and turned his head to see a completely strange man standing behind him at some point.

"Hello, Mr. David Drayton, I'm Kenny Fantesi, a reporter for the Portland Daily News..."

"Journalists?" David looked at the documents carefully for five seconds, "I don't remember what happened at home recently, and it is worth a reporter's interview." And, sir, it is not polite for you to walk without making a sound, and to enter a private yard without permission. ”

"I'm sorry, but I've just paid a visit to Mrs. Fanny Medina and made an interview about the tragic death of her granddaughter, Martha," Dean was not embarrassed, and took a step back to explain, "and you are neighbors, and you may know a little bit about that night?" Can you talk about it? ”

"Martha, a beautiful and sensible child, but unfortunately fate is unfair to her, and she has broken her wings before she can spread her wings." A hint of gloom flashed in David's eyes, his chin was covered with blue stubble, and his face was somewhat casual and unruly, his eyes became unkind, and his tone was implied with displeasure, "But this matter has long been concluded, this is an accident that no one wants, a month has passed, and it is about to be buried in the long lake, it should not be dug up again at such a time, tearing open the healed scars of Madame Medina, and making her heartbroken." ”

Dean raised an eyebrow, looked directly into the other's eyes, and applied a psychological cue to continue speaking.

Bang dang.

The door behind the porch pushed open, and a slender woman in a tight white sweater walked out.

"David, why are you so loud, is the paint choking in your mouth? You're about to scare Billy. The woman's gaze turned to Dean, "Who is this gentleman?" ”

"A reporter, Kenny Fantesi," David lowered his voice a few bits, as he was swayed by the suggestion, "to interview us about Martha." ”

"Oh, Mr. Fantesi... I'm David's wife, Stephen, please forgive him for his temper tantrum and he can't control his emotions while painting. The hostess smiled apologetically, stretched out her fingertips and touched Dean, her attitude was much gentler than that of her husband, "Everyone is sorry about Martha, when it first happened, my family Billy was so sad that he didn't go to school for two days and almost got sick. ”

"We don't want to rub salt in his wounds, so I'm sorry, sir, we can't be interviewed. But you can go to the Bridge Pier Town Police Department to interview the officers in charge of the case, and their statements are more authoritative and representative. ”

"That's right, man, it's getting late," David said, glancing at the dim sky, "you can drive back to town just in time for dinner." ”

"That's a pity," said Dean, looking through the glass window into the house, meaningfully, "I'll leave, but please be sure to keep an eye on the children." ”

"What do you mean?" David grabbed his paintbrush, as strong as a rugby player, and took a step closer to Dean, "Are you threatening me, sir?" ”

"Don't get me wrong, I've seen similar incidents in other places... Death in the mist. Dean's gaze swept over the two of them with tense faces, and he said solemnly, "Martha also happened to be foggy on the night she left, right?" I don't think it's an isolated incident, it's not going to be just one, and you and she are neighbors, so take care of Billy,"

Dean turned and was about to walk up the stairs.

"Wait, sir," Stephen suddenly beckoned to him, "Why don't you come in the house for a cup of coffee and continue talking?" ”

And David also bowed his head and was silent, and his worry about his son's safety suppressed the dissatisfaction in his heart.

"It's an honor."

……

The lights are bright.

The steaming water of coffee filled the small table next to the couch, blurring Dean's eyes.

Across from him, David held a cup and said, "I'm sorry for what happened, I don't have the inspiration to create something new worthwhile... There is no income without works..."

David looked up the stairs to the second floor, where his wife was accompanying Billy in the bedroom on the second floor.

"Without income, Stephen can't buy clothes to his heart's content, and my child Billy can't enjoy those expensive and delicate toys.

Dean looked at the studio behind David, the frames were messily arranged, "I know that art creators are more painful and tormented when they run out of inspiration than various addictions, so can you talk about that night?" ”

David, who was recognized, softened his eyes a little when he looked at Dean,

"At nine o'clock that night, I sat on the porch, looking at the water under the moon and emptying my mind, waiting for a glimmer of inspiration to spring up in my mind. It gave me a cloud of fog, like a cloud in the moonlight, and I thought I was dazzled by the cold and hallucinated. ”

"The lake was frozen that night, and the temperature was so low that it shouldn't have been foggy, which was contrary to common sense, but it did appear, and it came in the direction of the town of Rock, or the town of Harrison, or the town of Naples, and I looked through my binoculars, and it was extremely white, like the snow that had just fallen under the pure and immaculate sapphire sky of winter."

"But it's not reflective at all, and it's expanding at an astonishing rate, expanding in all directions, as if something in the fog is blowing it forward."

Dean nodded, and found that the progress in the system had jumped from twenty-five percent to twenty-six percent.

David continued,

"To be honest, I grew up by the Long Lake, went to university at the age of 19, and came back at the age of 30 to settle down and concentrate on creation. "I've never seen such a peculiar fog as if it weren't a natural product," David said firmly. ”

Progress jumped to 27 percent.

"After watching it for a long time, I panicked, and inexplicably thought that something bad was going to happen, so I went back to the house from the porch."

"The next morning, my hunch came true, and we saw police cars and a crowd of people gathered outside Madame Medina's house. ”

……

"But I don't understand," David said, looking at Dean, "is there a connection between this fog and Martha's accident?" Why do you think it's not an isolated incident? ”

"In the case of the outskirts of Portland, a 10-year-old boy also drowned in the creek next to his house on a foggy night." Dean put down the notebook in his hand and said nonsense, "The river is only half a meter deep, and the boy can swim like Martha, which is completely unreasonable." ”

"But the police couldn't find anything, so they characterized the case as an accidental death in the water."

"I've covered a lot of crimes, I've had experience in doing this, and I have a good intuition, and my instincts tell me," Dean said, staring at David, word for word, "that some serial killers like to commit crimes on foggy nights." ”

"The boy, and Martha, were the victims of his men."

"Serial murderer? My God?! Who will it be? At this time, Stephen, who came down the stairs, leaned on the handrail and threw nervous eyes at the two.

"It's not clear, I'm still investigating." Dean analyzed, "I think the murderer is likely to have been around Martha for a short time, and it took a long time to observe her and her family before he knew her and her family very well, so that he could complete the crime unconsciously and leave no trace to the police." Did you see any suspicious people in the town during the time of the crime? ”

Stephen walked up to David and put his arm around him, "That time is not the peak tourist season until now, there are almost no outsiders in Shiling Town, and we don't remember any suspicious people." As for the townspeople, they are warm and kind people who will never hurt Marsha. ”

"Mr. Kenny, you're a bit alarmist," David said comfortingly, patting his wife's slightly trembling arm and looking at Dean, "and now the more credible version is that there was an accident that night because of the unusual fog that blinded Martha's eyes, and the little girl fell into the water, and the temperature was too low and cramped. ”

"Then why did she leave home alone on a big night to go to the lake?" Dean glanced at the second floor, and both husband and wife looked worried when they thought of their son, "I want to ask Martha's good friend, your son Billy, about something." ”

……

Billy inherited his mother's blonde hair, was small and skinny, and had big flexible eyes, as if he was thinking about whether to climb a tree or go fishing whenever and wherever he wanted, but David and Stephen huddled him in his arms on a couch, causing him to not succeed.

"Hello, Billy," Dean pulled out a chocolate candy from his bosom and stuffed it into the little boy's palm, looking into his eyes and giving a soothing hint, "I have a little bit about Martha and want to ask you, did there be any special people around you before Martha's accident?" ”

Marsha?

Billy couldn't help but sniffle at the thought of his best friend he had lost forever, but there seemed to be a healing light in the eyes of the strange uncle on the other side, and he instantly forgot the uncomfortable feeling.

He subconsciously peeled off the candy wrapper to swallow the chocolate in his stomach, but was snatched away by his mother and whispered a warning, "Not afraid of toothache"?

Billy pursed his lips and showed a mess of baby teeth at Dean,

"What special person?"

"It could be the guy in fancy dress who shows up outside the school, or the new friend Marsha makes, or the weirdo who always follows Marsha."

Billy tilted his head and thought about it carefully, shook his head, and said in a crisp voice,

"I don't remember anyone like that."

"Martha had been quiet at school until she fell into the water. Except for chatting with me and Wanda, she basically didn't communicate with other classmates, because other classmates would scold her for being an orphan and a wild girl, saying that she didn't have the protection of her parents, pushing her and pinching her. ”

"Oh God... How come I never knew this? Does this damn school care? Stephen's eyes instantly turned red with motherhood, and kissed her son's little head, and David also hugged his wife and children tightly, overflowing with a strong desire to protect.

"But now Martha won't be bullied anymore, she's gone to heaven, right?" Billy looked at Dean expectantly, "There's endless fun games to play, with her mom and dad, and grandpa. ”

"Yes, Martha went to heaven." Dean nodded in a deep voice and asked, "You often play with Martha, have you ever heard her mention that she will secretly leave the house at night after Grandma falls asleep and go to the nearby lake to swing, fish, and play games?" ”

"Out at night?" Billy's faint eyebrows seemed to be twisted up, then released again, and the little face shook his head firmly, "Never said that." And Stephen asked me to go to bed before nine o'clock at night, and I didn't know if she was out. ”

"Billy, this is for your good!" Hearing the complaint in her son's tone, Stephen quickly turned his face to his searchlight-like eyes, "If you want to grow taller, you have to go to bed early, or you'll be the shortest boy in your class!" ”

Billy snorted softly through his nose.

David, the painter next to him, couldn't help but smile helplessly.

Dean rubbed his temples, and the question was too unsmooth,

"Billy, did Martha have any unusual symptoms in the period before she fell into the water, such as sudden silence, insomnia, self-talk, etc.?"

"Nope." Billy replied decisively, "But I remember that Martha changed a lot since half a year ago. ”

"Speak carefully."

"A year ago, her grandfather passed away, and she was very sad, and when she played with me and Wanda, she often secretly wiped her tears, missed her grandfather, and sometimes looked at my parents with envy. But half a year ago, she stopped mentioning her grandfather, and there was no envy in her eyes when she looked at me. The whole person became cheerful and happy, and even the fools who bullied her at school were no longer at ease. ”

Dean's eyelids jumped after hearing this, and the progress of the incident jumped to thirty percent, so the improvement of Martha's mentality half a year ago was very important.

"Idiot?" At this time, Stephen suddenly turned Billy's face again like a fried cat, "Explain clearly, who taught you to swear!" ”

Billy shrunk his neck and said, "I can't say a word of dirty, it's so uncool, there are no boys in school who want to play with me." ”

"Damn, I'm going to have a good talk with the headmaster and find out who taught my precious son badly."

"Stephen, relax, relax..."David put his arms around his wife and kissed her pink cheek, "Isn't it just a dirty word, so excited?" ”

"You know what, you hide in the studio all day, contemplating your own great work, never take care of Billy's studies, you don't understand how hard I discipline him, how naughty he is, you still don't understand me, do you have to drive me crazy..."

"I have to earn money to support my family, I have artistic pursuits, and I have a lot of pressure."

David retorted in a low voice, turning his head away from the woman's gaze with an expression of resistance to communication.

Billy felt the light of fire between his parents and trembled with fear.

"Ahem, you two, can you let me finish asking?" Seeing that the scene was about to get out of control, Dean hurriedly interrupted Stephen's complaint loudly and looked at Billy, "What important incident happened half a year ago that changed Martha's attitude?" ”

"I don't remember," Billy gave Dean a very grateful look as he looked at his mother, who turned her head angrily, "but I feel as if Martha had met with something happy that made her so happy that she got rid of the knot, forgot about her parents and grandfather who left early, and became a child like us." ”

Progress jumped to 33 percent.

Dean fell into deep thought.

What kind of events can make a little girl who has lost a loved one break free from the mire of pain in the past and become happy again?

Dean couldn't think of it for the time being, but there must have been something significant that changed her half a year ago, and it was related to her death.

"I hope another child, Wanda knows something."

……

"Thank you, David, Stephen, little Billy, you have helped me a lot, and we will end today's interview." Dean glanced at the wall clock in the living room, pointing to eight o'clock in the evening, Huo Ran got up,

"Kenny, can you tell us about any discoveries?" David stared at Dean in the eye,

"No problem, I already have some clues, but there is still a lack of valid evidence." Dean solemnly swept the eyes of the painter and his wife, "Finally, I would like to give you a piece of advice, don't quarrel in front of Billy, don't be silent and refuse to communicate, if there is any disagreement, put it on the surface, make it clear, make it clear, you can even ask Billy's opinion, he is more mature and intelligent than you think." ”

David and Stephen blushed and lowered their heads.

Dean turned and went out the door, looking at the moon in the sky, thoughts flashing in his eyes, it was too late to ask the widow Lucia's daughter, Wanda.

It's better to take advantage of the night to search the lake area, maybe you can encounter the fog and catch the murderer directly.

He casually pulled open a spatial node in front of him.

Roam.

The next second, he was far away from Lakeside Villa 102 and appeared on the ice in the center of Long Lake, a kilometer away.

A sweaty afterimage suddenly stopped, Sean turned to look at Dean, surprised and wondered,

"Man, why did you suddenly show up and make no sound at all?"

Dean smiled and changed the subject, "How, is the training working?" ”

"You're right, wolves are meant to run, and running is more enjoyable than sucking grass, and I feel much better," Sean wiped his sweat and smiled happily on his face that was condensed with a large patch of salt frost, "Have you made a breakthrough in your investigation?" ”

Dean threw the notebook where the clues had been recorded, and Sean immediately opened it and examined it.

"There are several important clues at the moment."

"The real culprit is accompanied by an unusual white fog action, and this fog is not a natural product."

"Martha's death is related to a major incident that happened to her six months ago."

……

"Well, I'll admit, I misunderstood Camody, there might be something ominous in the lake." Sean pondered, and gave Dean a thumbs up in admiration, "But after investigating so many clues in half a day, you are the real witcher, and that Soul rune should be in your hands!" ”

"Let's work together to catch this crazy monster that killed the little girl!"

Dean nodded, and took out two pieces of chocolate-like high-energy protein, one in his mouth and one for Sean, who bit down on one and frowned in disgust,

"Hell, what the hell is this, it doesn't smell of blood at all, it's so unpalatable."

"But it's very nutritious, and a small piece can weigh hundreds of pounds of flesh." Dean chewed on the high-energy protein, summoned telekinesis to shape an oval shield with a radius of ten meters around his body, covering himself and Sean, isolating the intersection of internal and external sounds, and hooked his hand towards Sean, "Now start the second adaptive training, transform into a snake wolf form, and attack me!" ”

"What are you kidding, I'm not going to shoot at my friends!" Sean shook his head in defiance,

"In addition to running, the second instinct of snakes and wolves is to fight and hunt," Dean twisted his neck and brushed - a stream of white-gold flames rushed out of all parts of his body, outlining a set of white-gold armor.

Sean instantly hunched his knees and hissed like a wolf under great threat, driven by his wild instincts, a mysterious white mist erupted from his mouth and nose to wrap his body, and in the mist, the human body regrew fangs and claw scales.

Transformed into a green-faced fanged xenomorph beast.

"Come, wild dog, take me as a mortal enemy and kill me at all costs." Dean opened his hands and yelled, "Come! ”

There was a burst of sound in the air.

The snake wolf shot at Dean like an arrow from the string, and slammed a claw into his neck.

Bang!

Sparks burst!

The crisp sound of a broken bone.

The next second, it bounced back at double speed, crashing through the ice like a basketball and falling into the lake.

Whoa...

The water splashed, a wet wolf paw crawled out of the ice hole, and a xenomorph covered in ice slag jumped up from the lake and fell to the ground, its right arm slamming and rolling up, revealing broken white bones.

With a click, it straightened its arm bone.

"Sorry, I forgot to turn off the rebound function of the mirror shield."

Dean smiled apologetically, turned on the zero-gravity mode, and hovered his legs suspended into the air half a meter away from the ice, standing still like a Buddha statue, "I won't fight back, use me as a fighting target and fight hard, when it hurts me, the training is over." ”

Don't fight back? What an insult!

"Roar!"

Sean's blood-red pupils widened, and he pounced on the most contemptuous foe, clawing, biting, and desperately attacking.

Under the moonlight, the sky rippled above the ice, silver paw prints, sparks flew like a waterfall, and the sound of metal clashing echoed repeatedly.

But no matter how Sean attacked, the target in front of him hovering cross-kneeled did not move, like an insurmountable mountain.

Dean just let Sean bombard indiscriminately, and comfortably opened God's perspective and began to scan the bottom of the lake,

And Shadow sneaks silently into the ice hole, searching for targets in the icy waters of the lake, while the shallows manipulate schools of fish.

A three-pronged approach to hunt down the "evil" that may be hiding in the lake.

In the midst of frenzied training and searching, the night passed quietly.

(End of chapter)