coffin
Jason narrowed his eyes, thoughtful.
The most direct meaning of this message is nothing more than the 'coffin' itself.
And what does 'coffin' represent
dead!
Edward fits exactly that criteria.
So, is this message referring to Edward
Jason didn't think it was that simple.
The detective bought the 'coffin' doll three days in advance, and with three days' time, it is obviously possible to explain it as 'Edward' more directly, without going around in circles like this.
Or…
At that time, that detective couldn't say the name 'Edward' explicitly, but could only imply 'Edward' in an indirect way
Thinking of this, Jason looked at John, motioning for John to continue.
"After the first three people died, there was no death after that."
"But no one has any valuable clues."
"Over time, everyone gave up."
"And the 'missing Edward' has also become a rumor in the underground world."
John recounts the news he bought from the news monger.
The people after that didn't die
Didn't find any valuable clues either
Could it be that finding 'valuable clues' will bring 'death'
Jason mused.
"I need to go and see the old house."
After a while, Jason said this.
"Together."
John didn't say much, and started the car directly.
To John, Jason was already a friend.
He wouldn't let his friend walk to the countryside.
At John's speed, Jason soon arrived at the old house of the Edward family.
After the baptism of last year's fire, this old house has long lost its original appearance. Standing on the side of the road, Jason can only come from the rather wide but dilapidated foundation of the courtyard wall and the patches of scorched earth. Guess the prosperity of the Edward family back then.
Judging from the area occupied, the mansion of the Edward family could be called a manor.
There are gardens, fountains, parking lots and more.
In an open area, there are swimming pools, basketball courts and other facilities.
Moreover, Jason also saw the remnants of stable buildings.
Jason was not surprised by this.
Isn't it normal for a rich man who can afford to open a bank and own minerals to raise a few thoroughbred horses
only…
The residual and wafting smell of 'food' in the stable is abnormal.
Jason grinned and smiled.
He searched for the residual scent of 'food', walked into the ruined manor step by step, and ran directly to the stables.
John followed behind, looking around warily.
With previous investigations, John has been able to confirm that 'Edward's disappearance' is not something that went missing by himself, but something deeper.
It's true that John is retired.
But that doesn't mean he's incapable.
On the contrary, after retiring, John became stronger and stronger.
There is no high-intensity task, and John has maintained the way of exercising before retirement, with a certain amount of relaxation, and he has naturally become stronger.
A P30L appeared in his hand.
This is a modified military pistol with an increased ammo capacity.
Like the two spare Glocks he keeps in his belt, they are his usual firearms.
He didn't know what Jason found in the stable.
However, he was ready to shoot.
Under John's gaze, Jason walked back and forth in the collapsed stable.
Not that kind of search!
Just walk!
Still sniffing his nose from time to time.
Search with a strange smell
Surprise flashed in John's eyes.
He had seen some very gifted people who could search by scent, and, after training, such people were much better than the best hounds.
After all, even the best hounds can't communicate with people.
"Does Jason have similar abilities?"
"Then he was 'The Seeker' before?"
"Or 'Tracker'?"
John thought silently.
He became more and more curious about Jason's past occupation.
As for Jason's current occupation
John would never have believed that a guy in a hockey mask wielding a machete could be a writer.
Although the writer has all kinds of eccentricities, for example, when writing manuscripts, he likes to go barefoot, wear big underpants, eat and drink too much in the name of collecting folk songs from time to time, and then ask for leave to rest after eating a bad stomach.
But definitely not wearing a hockey mask and wielding a machete!
It's impossible to inspire!
Just as John was guessing, Jason stopped in his tracks.
"found it!"
Jason said these words, then bent down, and moved away the rubble that blocked his vision.
Soon, a concrete floor appeared in Jason's vision.
Boom, boom, boom!
Jason raised his hand and knocked, making a hollow sound.
"Secret passages?"
"I'll get the hammer."
John said.
The organ in front of me is obviously opened from the inside, and if you want to enter from the outside, you must destroy it violently.
Jason waved his hand.
"It's not that troublesome."
After the words fell, Jason, who was squatting there, smashed down with one punch.
boom! boom! boom!
With one punch, cracks appeared on the concrete floor.
The next second punch made such cracks continue to spread.
After the third punch, the top layer of the concrete floor was completely cracked.
Jason wiped away this layer, and then punched it down again.
John, who was standing aside, watched this scene blankly.
He looked at the concrete floor that was gradually smashed open, and then at Jason's unscathed fist, and couldn't help asking:
"Jason, are you sure you're a writer?"
"certainly!"
"I wrote Cross Street Stalker!"
"You have seen it!"
Jason replied without looking up.
Hearing such an answer, a wave of energy that wanted to spit out naturally rose in John's heart.
"Do you know why you have only written a book that is not bad in a small range for ten years, but you have never reached the level of a bestseller?"
"Why?"
Jason asked subconsciously.
"Because you didn't take yourself as the main character!"
"Trust me, art comes from life!"
"When you have yourself as the main character — the name 'Jason' becomes an indelible symbol."
John said seriously.
"Yeah?"
Jason said, and then smashed his clenched fist again.
The scent in the nose is getting stronger!
He, can't wait!
boom!
Another punch came out, this time with the sound of cement slamming, the door of the secret passage was smashed open.
Jason looked inside, and after confirming that there was no danger, he stretched out his hand and directly clasped the smashed pothole, and then exerted force with his arm.
Suddenly, a cement block the size of a round table was picked up by Jason.
Then, he threw it aside.
Boom!
John felt the ground tremble a few times.
Looking at the huge cement block, John's eyes twitched.
He assessed Jason's strength.
Then, he immediately made up his mind: never fight Jason in close combat.
Be sure to keep a distance and solve it with firearms.
Then he thought of Jason's unscathed fist hitting the concrete floor.
Immediately, another item was added: use armor-piercing bullets.
Thinking in his heart, John couldn't help but said.
"Ever heard of 'Tracker'?"
Trackers are only circulated in certain top organizations in the underground world.
As for ordinary people, they only know another title: Punisher!
"No."
Jason shook his head.
He really hadn't heard of it.
Moreover, his attention has already been attracted by the secret room underground.
A straight ladder is in front of you.
There is thick dust on it, but some parts on the sides of the ladder and the crossbar are as clean as new.
When he saw this scene, the scene where someone climbed a ladder and left here not long ago appeared in Jason's mind!
This time will not be too long, not more than a day.
Even, within a few hours!
"Who is the one?"
Jason whispered, instead of choosing the ladder, he jumped down and stood firmly on the bottom.
The height does not exceed 3 meters, which is almost the same as the next step for Jason.
And with the help of the light above his head, Jason, who had extraordinary perception, instantly took in the secret room in front of him.
The Chamber of Secrets is about the size of a basketball court.
The surrounding walls are smooth, there are no extra decorations, only a tall statue is placed in the middle!
The scales are clear, winding and winding, it looks like a snake.
only…
This snake has two heads!
Two heads protruded from the coiled body, facing left and right. The snake head looked down slightly, and the snake eyes looked at the center of the coiled body. A pair of footprints clearly extended from there to the ladder.
Dust proves it again.
Of course, the most important thing is this double-headed snake statue!
The smell of 'food' came from here, but when Jason approached, he found that the smell of 'food' in front of him was not only rapidly fading, but also had a rotten sour smell.
The latter is just emerging.
Suppressed by the residual aroma of 'food', it can only be smelled after getting close.
"Jason, Jason?"
John's voice was heard overhead.
"Safety."
Jason replied, and walked towards the statue of the two-headed snake.
Behind him, John climbed the ladder and walked down, with a flashlight in his hand.
After looking around, John's flashlight locked on the two-headed snake statue.
Then, when he and Jason got close to the statue and saw clearly what the two heads were looking at in the middle of the double-headed snake's body, they couldn't help locking on there with the guns in their hands.
coffin!
In the middle of the body of the double-headed snake, where the two heads are staring, is a coffin.
At this moment, the lid of the coffin has been half opened, and there is a looming figure inside.
Jason bent down, checked the surroundings, and removed the coffin lid completely.
Immediately, the 'figure' inside the coffin was completely revealed.
That 'figure' is not human at all!
But a 'snake skin' sewn, humanoid 'package'.
On the snake skin, the snake scales are obvious and the lines are clear. Even though the 'package' has been split at this moment, it still carries an inexplicable sense of 'freshness'.
From the outward raised traces, John can be sure that there is a 'person' coming out of it, and then, he subconsciously checks the thickness of the surrounding dust.
Judging from the sealing here, it will take at least a year or even longer for dust to accumulate to this extent.
And it is impossible for a living person to be sealed in the snake skin for so long.
Plus coffins!
dead!
A dead man went out from here not long ago!
John, who came up with this answer, paused for breath.
But it returned to normal immediately, and an unprecedented light appeared in his eyes.
"Is the dead resurrected?"
He whispered to himself.
"The resurrection of the dead?"
"This is not a resurrection."
"Instead..."
"Reincarnation!"
Jason stared at the special language inside the coffin, which was completely composed of Tufu language.
The proficient level of [Tufuyu] is enough for Jason to recognize some simple word combinations.
And inside the coffin, there are many combined words of 'reincarnation' and 'snake'.
Jason looked up at the statue of the two-headed snake.
Coincidentally, from this angle, the eyes of the two snake head statues were also staring at Jason, looking at the lifelike snake head that was showing its hideousness in the darkness of the underground.
Relying on the level of proficiency in [Graphic Fuyu] Jason is not enough to understand the entire ceremony, but he can roughly guess the 'mystery' and some foundations of the ceremony.
For example: the double-headed snake 'statue' in front of you was once alive.
It is a real two-headed snake!
It's just that after being watered with copper juice, it was made into the statue in front of you.
Moreover, this double-headed snake was manufactured at least a hundred years ago.
Therefore, it exudes a faint smell of rotten food.
Of course, what's more important is that the 'person' in the coffin absorbed the power of the double-headed snake through a ritual and carried out a 'reincarnation', which accelerated the decay of the double-headed snake.
It is precisely because of this that he missed an 'additional meal'.
Jason was able to judge from the remaining 'food' aroma, this double-headed snake must be delicious!
Jason could almost see the grilled snake skewers, snake soup, etc. leaving one by one.
"Ah."
Jason let out a chuckle.
This chuckle woke John who was thinking about the meaning of 'resurrection' and 'reincarnation'.
He watched Jason's profile looming in the light of the flashlight, and his back felt a chill.
He always felt as if he saw a hungry beast with its mouth open.
"Jason?"
John asked tentatively.
"fine."
"It's just that I lost a 'additional meal' that should have existed, which made me a little bit unwilling."
"but… "
"I'm sure I'll make it up soon!"
Jason said with certainty.
After speaking, Jason walked out.
There isn't much to see here anymore.
As for that rotten food
Although he loves food very much, Jason will never eat broken food. He also has a bottom line.
"Did the three people who died before discover this place?"
John asked on the way back.
"have no idea."
"Maybe here."
"Maybe something else."
Jason shook his head. He couldn't figure out from the existing clues what the three of them discovered and died tragically. Moreover, there was one more thing that puzzled Jason.
The other party put so much effort, what is the purpose of arranging these
Jason was thinking about this question when he got into the car.
John, who was sitting in the driver's seat, hesitated to speak. After several times, John finally asked.
"Who is in that coffin?"
Facing John's question, Jason was startled—
"The answer is obvious, don't you know?"