novelhk Chapter 214, Stage 2
Chapter 214, Stage 2
Chapter 214, Second Stage
Staring blankly at the spot where the man disappeared, Tang Cao remained in a daze for a long time.
Having been a magical girl for so long, this was the first time she had ever seen someone die right in front of her.
"Are you... are you insane?!"
"We haven't even figured out the enemy's methods yet, and you dare to make direct contact with those shadows? Do you know how dangerous your actions are?!"
"If I hadn't intervened, you would have been dragged into the shadows just like that male human, do you even realize that?!"
Xiaobai was panting heavily; she was almost scared to death by Tangcao's actions.
Hearing Xiaobai's anxious voice, Tang Cao slowly pulled herself back to reality. "I just... wanted to save him..."
"Save him? What's the point of saving such a depraved scum? Didn't you see how disgusting he looked just now? This kind of scoundrel deserves to die a thousand times over!"
Xiao Bai pouted in annoyance, while Tang Cao shook her head slightly.
"No."
"Huh?" Xiaobai was taken aback.
Tang Cao stared at the empty ground before her, her eyes filled with gloom. "Little White, do you know the difference between humans and beasts?"
"W-what do you mean?"
"Wild animals follow their instincts; they are driven by their wildness. Even domesticated animals can never guarantee that they won't suddenly attack and hurt people, because they have no reason."
Tang Cao slowly stood up, her expression complex.
"Humans are different. The biggest difference between humans and wild animals is that humans do not follow their instincts, but respect their own hearts. Humans can control their desires and can control themselves."
"What does that mean? I don't quite understand." Xiaobai tilted her head.
Tang Cao gently shook her head, offering no further explanation.
Unlike the heretical demons, this newly emerged shadow race seems to be very good at manipulating people's desires and leading their reason into darkness.
Just then, footsteps came from afar. The two turned their heads and saw several men in uniforms running quickly toward them with flashlights.
The leading man approached Tang Cao, then stared at the two girls in front of him, stunned for a long time before finally raising his hand in salute.
"We're here to provide support; thank you for your hard work."
"Hmm..." Tang Cao wasn't too surprised. From the moment she came into contact with the Demon Bureau, she knew about their operational procedures. The people in front of her were all responsible for post-battle cleanup.
However, having just experienced the death of someone, Tang Cao had not yet recovered from it.
"The action log, right? I'll do it." Xiaobai noticed that Tangcao looked a little pale and took the initiative to walk up to the man.
Seeing this, the man didn't say anything more. He gestured to the team members around him, then took out his files and a voice recorder and began to record Xiaobai's dictation.
Tang Cao slowly walked to the bench and sat down, resting her chin on her hand in a daze.
In a shadowy corner unnoticed by everyone present, a woman hidden in the darkness lowered her hat brim slightly, stared at Xiaobai for a long time, and then moved her gaze to Tangcao.
Her eyes flickered slightly, a hint of surprise in them, but quickly, she slowly turned and disappeared into the darkness...
Stepping into the shadows, the woman's figure emerged into a world as thick as ink.
There wasn't a single trace of light here; it was as if all objects had lost their shape. As far as the eye could see, there was only endless darkness, deep and oppressive.
The woman took a light step, stepping onto the ground, which she didn't recognize.
The surroundings were eerily silent, without any sound except for the woman's own breathing, which sounded particularly jarring in the stillness.
Occasionally, a cold wind would blow in from nowhere, carrying a chill that penetrated to the bone, like tentacles extending from the darkness, sweeping across everything around.
The woman kept walking, her pupils replaced by darkness, and in her vision, a silhouette appeared in the darkness before her.
In the distance, some blurry outlines could be vaguely seen, appearing and disappearing in the darkness like wandering ghosts. The woman ignored them and continued walking in one direction.
Soon, a damp feeling appeared in the deathly still air.
The woman paused slightly, stopping at the edge of a dark pool.
It's hard to imagine that in this world that resembles the interior of a black hole, there could be such a pool of water as black as ink.
The black pool blends seamlessly with the dark environment, and only with dark pupils can one explore its depths.
As if sensing the woman's approach, a ripple appeared in the calm pool, followed by several bubbles rising from the bottom and bursting on the surface.
The woman remained standing, her head slightly lowered.
"...I failed. With the current concentration of the shadow, it can only barely distort people's minds and is not yet able to evolve to the second stage."
A seductive voice echoed outwards, as if the woman were talking to herself, or perhaps communicating with some other being.
"Judging from the current situation, ordinary people are simply unable to control the power of the shadow. Forcibly wielding it will only cause them to be devoured by the shadow itself—that uncontrollable factor..."
As they were talking, several more bubbles burst on the surface of the water.
"But... the experiment has been conducted many times, and the negative energy of those people is not strong enough to be accepted by the shadow."
"...I understand. I will continue searching for the next test subject."
The woman sighed softly, and suddenly, as if she had heard something unbelievable, she raised her head slightly.
"Has the negative energy been cut off?"
?
"...You mean, the power that originally belonged to the shadows was intercepted by some unknown entity?"
"No, I haven't noticed anything amiss."
"I've investigated the movements of the heretics. Most of them are busy dividing up the Jazz's territory and haven't yet turned their attention to the real world. A small portion, however, are... the Greedy Ones? Was it the Greedy Ones who did it?"
The woman frowned slightly, as if she was thinking about something.
"...I haven't found any clues about the Greedy Ones yet, but I found several magical girls who were present when the Divine Tree fell. I think starting with them might be..."
Glug glug.
A few bubbles appeared, interrupting the woman's words.
The woman lowered her head slightly.
"I see...""
"...I know the importance of the second phase, but I don't have much power to devote to the experiments right now, and if our power is cut off, I'm afraid..."
"Perhaps I can find a way to steal some negative energy from the heretics. Those guys are in a bit of a mess right now, so it should be easy for me."
"Magical girl?"
"Are you asking me to target magical girls? But their situation is complicated right now, and there are fewer and fewer lone wolves around."
"Yes...: Yes...: Second stage...: I understand."
"I'll be careful..."
After a brief silence, the woman raised her head again.
"I know what to do."
Yandu.
The Director's office inside the headquarters building of the Demon Surveillance Bureau.
On the sofa, an elderly man was reading through a stack of files and reports. Judging from the slightly warm paper, these were newly printed reports.
The old man had no expression; his eyebrows were sparse, his face was calm as still water, and his forehead was deeply furrowed, but his eyes were as sharp as a hawk's.
Shangguan Su was standing respectfully to the side, also reviewing the report, but she was looking at it on a tablet in her hand.
The report was not long, and aside from some embellishments, Shangguan Su quickly understood what had happened.
"When did this happen?" the old man on the sofa asked softly.
Shangguan Su's spirits lifted. "Twenty-three minutes ago, in Snow City."
"Snow City... is Chang Lei's jurisdiction." Although it was a rhetorical question, the old man's tone was that of a statement.
"It's the area under Deputy Director Chang's jurisdiction, but... Deputy Director Chang and Qing are on an overseas assignment and aren't in Snow City right now." Shangguan Su paused, then added, "It's that village from before. I was supposed to go there, but Deputy Director Chang volunteered for the assignment."
"Hmm." The old man nodded slightly, then looked up again. "Qing?"
"It's one of the registered codes of the two magical girls in Snow City. One is 'Blue,' a yellow-level magical girl, and the other is 'White,' a red-level magical girl," Shangguan Su replied.
Upon hearing this, the old man refocused his attention on the report in front of him.
Seeing the old man fall silent, Shangguan Su spoke softly, "It seems our thinking was correct. These shadows really couldn't hold back any longer and started to act. This is already the third person this month to be swallowed by the shadows."
"Has his identity been investigated?" the old man asked.
"The investigation has revealed that Chen Yuan, male, 36 years old, unemployed, had previously been convicted of causing trouble. After his release, he worked, but was dismissed for assault. He currently has no stable source of income."
Shangguan Su tapped on the tablet and continued.
"Starting from the end of last year, Chen Yuan set his sights on Huang Lili, a woman who jogs at night. Every night, he would sit on a bench outside the park and watch Huang Lili run."
"Did he do anything wrong?" the old man asked again.
"Hmm...no, he just kept an eye on her, but didn't take any action. He didn't actively contact Huang Lili, and there was no communication between them."
Shangguan Su thought for a moment and replied, "Like the previous two suspects, they all began committing crimes after being corrupted by the shadows."
Then it was swallowed by the shadows.
Listening quietly to Shangguan Su's report, the old man slowly put down the document in his hand.
"Once a lustful thought arises, even the things one would never have wanted to do in one's entire life become easy to do..."
After regaining his composure, the old man turned to look at Shangguan Su.
"I will ask a few of my old friends' students to help you study the composition of the shadow matter and find the weaknesses of these creatures as soon as possible."
"Furthermore, release this report. This is a war against everyone. We must let the people know the truth and leave the enemy with no loopholes to exploit."