Ember’s Gun

Chapter 5: Mandrake

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Mandrake, a herb from the Land of Plenty, is also known by another name, Mandrake, according to scholars. But in fact, these two herbs are not the same at all. Mandrake is a very common hallucinogenic herb, used as an anesthetic by local natives, and is now also a component of the hallucinogens that are rampant in the downtown area.

Lorenzo's cigarettes are rolled with mandrake grass. Different from the common mandrake, this herb is a "medium" carefully cultivated by local wizards. They believe that smoking this herb will build a bridge to the unknown and is a medium to touch the mystery. They usually use this to communicate with the dead.

Steam technology is so advanced that the belief in ghosts and gods has long been forgotten, but there are still survivors of the old times who firmly believe in them.

Lorenzo also discovered this effect in an ancient book, and then with the help of Shrike, he got some from some smugglers. At first, he just wanted to give it a try, but after so long of investigating, Lorenzo found that this thing can indeed play a role.

What he saw was not just a simple illusion, part of it was real, and this real part was what Lorenzo needed.

The lights went out one by one, and the cold air became humid in the darkness. Lorenzo smelled the smell of sea water again. Countless raindrops fell on the deck, and he returned to the ship.

The corpse was slowly moving in the darkness. It was coming alive. The light from the cigarette butt was not that bright, but it was so clear in the darkness. Lorenzo watched quietly.

The internal organs began to shrink until only a small section of the stomach and intestines remained. The bones began to twist and deform, and because of past growth, the fragile skin was propped up, and the dark red blood vessels underneath could be clearly seen.

A hoarse sound came from the dry throat, like the wail before a tragic death.

It was a frightening scene, but Lorenzo didn't care. He seemed not to have any fear at all.

The cigarette is half burned.

The mandrake connected him to that mysterious world, and the time the tobacco burned was the time he could stay in this world of the dead.

It's not enough, it's not enough.

Suddenly, the feeling of being watched came over him. It was so familiar, just like when he was in the carriage, that thing had been watching him in the dark. Lorenzo turned his head sharply, trying to find the strange figure in the darkness, but the next second the twisted body with a strong smell of blood knocked him down.

It was Wall, or rather Wall's body.

It knocked Lorenzo off his chair and pinned him down with force, its sharp claws tightly gripping his head, its ribs open like a predator's mouthparts, clamping Lorenzo with dried blood.

Look at me!

It seemed as if a voice was heard, and what came into view was a hideous face with great pain. The pupils were dark and turbid, but there was a faint green light in them.

He felt intense pain in his body, but Lorenzo didn't care. He looked directly into the eyes, and in the reflection in the darkness, he finally saw the truth of that part.

That is a beacon rising in the green light.