New Gods of North America

"A point that's currently working against us is that ordinary members might not detect or defend against 'Skinny' Charlie's sneak attacks in time."

"Deducing from this, 'Skinny' Charlie, besides the ability to teleport, must also have corresponding control abilities. Of course, he might also be using other extraordinary items or drugs, with the end result being effects like 'confusion,' 'fainting,' 'paralysis,' or 'sleep'."

"As for the cases of death, I suspect that should be another extraordinary ability, or perhaps a 'cost' of using one of the abilities. But this ability shouldn't be able to cause death or injury quickly, otherwise the opponent's reaping method would obviously be more efficient and oppressive."

Iinesa's analysis of "Skinny" Charlie was becoming more and more specific, feeling like an old player of a modern society strategy game, figuring out the BOSS's skills after watching it a few times.

If "Skinny" Charlie was regarded as a monster in a game, then the content Wayne thought of would be even more detailed.

For example, Wayne had seen that when "Skinny" Charlie teleported, the lines on his body were like a tightly stretched rubber band, first "recoiling" and then flying away.

This involves a question of "movement range" and "cooldown time," and also a "limit on the number of uses in a short period," such as the upper limit of spiritual power.

Wayne listened while maintaining his firearms, and by the way, loading the demon-hunting bullets into the magazine:

"If possible, we need to find a chance to test him, to see how far he can move in one go under extreme conditions, and whether it's still within the range of firearms."

"This ability of his is too advantageous in mountainous terrain; moving a short distance might cause people to lose their target. If it were the western wilderness, maybe it would just be a matter of moving the muzzle."

Lina was leaning against the carriage at this time, using her fingers to "fight" with the big spider Peter.

She thought for a moment, "According to my idea, compared to the wealth we took away, that 'cave' itself is actually more valuable. Such a suitable hidden stronghold is not easy to find; he might be planning to leave us all here to prevent the news from leaking out."

This was a perspective worth grasping; someone without experience in secret organizations wouldn't think about it this way.

Wayne flicked the lever, "If that's the case, that would be even better. Now I'm just afraid he'll leave halfway."

...

The rain was pouring down.

Cowboys' favorite leather jackets, boots, and Stetsons all take into account the practical function of "rain protection" to a certain extent.

The "hunters'" hunting outfits are even more exaggerated, with most of the area being leather or waterproof fabric, although it feels like they might be defending against something other than "water."

Iinesa had also changed out of her dress at this time, putting on a set of hunting clothes that Wayne had never seen before: a tricorn hat, a large windbreaker, leather gloves and boots, and even her pants looked like they were made of leather.

What hit you in the face was a sense of the Windsor Kingdom and a stern temperament.

According to the social atmosphere of this era—whether in the New World or the Old World—women wearing "trousers" would be regarded as a very "unconventional" behavior; only breeches, which do not belong to everyday wear, can be exempt in specific scenarios.

So even in the West, where women generally ride horses, they usually wear various dresses with fabric in front and waistbands on both sides.

The "ladies" mentioned here include working-class and self-employed farmers' housewives, and even maids, but slaves and some foreign laborers are not included.

Even elderly farm women will wear a long skirt over their pants as an acceptance and recognition of "civilization."

Therefore, this was the first time Wayne had seen Iinesa change into this outfit, and he felt quite fresh and heroic.

Although Lina also changed into cowboy clothes, her temperament was quite special, and it didn't seem particularly outrageous no matter what she wore. Men would probably only comment that a charming and untamed little wildcat is like this, and then maybe they would imagine some more unconventional outfits.

However, seeing that Iinesa had even changed her equipment and put the special syringe in a more convenient location, he also knew that she was not optimistic about the current situation.

It wasn't necessarily worrying about the team being wiped out, but more likely wanting to avoid too many meaningless casualties.

When Iinesa appeared in the camp in her hunting clothes, the impact on some members was probably no less than discovering that "Slender Man."

The members of Mr. Daggett's team generally couldn't help but take a few more glances at Iinesa, and their expressions changed slightly, with more secret scrutiny of Wayne and Lina.

After all, the several teams are not too familiar with each other and can only be regarded as occasional cooperation by chance, and the matter is not so urgent that it must be "frank and open."

So Wayne and the others maintained an attitude of turning a blind eye to this. Everyone handled official business and strived to work together and leave safely.

Facing enemies that might appear at any time in the camp in the heavy rain put more psychological pressure on everyone than a security mission.

After all, a security mission would at least have a "key target," rather than "everyone being a potential target."

Ropes were tied to the branches of several large trees, and everyone hung cloth in the air, and the camp had a simple "shed" with a small spire, and a bonfire was lit to keep warm and dry clothes.

The members on duty had to go a little further out, paying attention to vigilance in the rain, and they could also make a simple rain shelter themselves to make the environment a little more comfortable.

Doug's birds were basically useless in the rain.

Although they can get wet—many natural bird nests don't actually block the rain—but a drowned chicken obviously can't fly, so they can only eat when they're full and sleep when they're awake.

"Bang!"

A gunshot suddenly rang out in the middle of the night. Wayne went over to take a look, and it was fired by the trainee agent Lina called "Vine."

His extraordinary ability can control the "growth" of vines to a certain extent, but his trap missed this time and did not entangle the opponent:

"It's that skinny ghost shadow from before. I felt like he was actually trapped by the vines. But before I could shoot, he ran away."

Wayne and Iinesa checked the traps and "alarm devices" placed further out, and none of them were triggered.

Even the thin black line that Iinesa secretly tied on the outside to track the enemy's direction of attack was not broken and fallen to the ground at this time.

Iinesa made a preliminary judgment, "The other party may have used his ability to enter the encirclement... His movement may not be continuous."

A "jumping game" using teleportation ability...

It's a pity that this place is in the wilderness, and there are not enough materials; otherwise, you could make some silk thread-triggered landmines for the other party to win the lottery.

This time, Wayne and Iinesa did not rush back. The camp was already on alert, and Lina was there to hold the line, so even if something happened, there should be movement.

And the two of them also had a certain ability to protect themselves in the face of danger.

Wayne and the others started from the location where the skinny ghost shadow was sighted, carrying lanterns, opening their vision, and slowly searching along the outer perimeter.

The situation caused by the rain was not all negative.

At least, taking advantage of the muddy land in the rain, Wayne and the others could more easily find the other party's previous "foothold."

Although it looks a little "anthropomorphic," that skinny ghost shadow is not a non-physical thing.

At the place where he was sighted, there were obvious footprints.

Looking at the shoe size, it's not much different from Wayne's, which is a preliminary confirmation that the other party's height is definitely not original.

And "having a physical body" is actually good news.

It means that the other party can probably eat bullets.

The nearest footprint was found about 20 yards away. The other party took a few steps, and then the footprints stopped.

So the two changed to a new starting point and continued to search in the opposite direction.

They finally found continuous footprints until they found a place where they could peek at the camp in a hidden place in the forest.

Following the footprints, at the end of about half a kilometer away, there was a relatively dry rain shelter, with a few extinguished cigarette butts nearby, a piece of jerky that had only been bitten a few times, and a pile of horse manure.

Um...

Originally, "Slender Man" was still very scary and oppressive in the wilderness in heavy rain.

Sinister and silent, human-like but not human, elusive, captivating.

You don't know when he will take someone away.

But when I thought that he would also find a place to hide from the rain, and had been smoking, drinking, and eating jerky here, Wayne couldn't help but imagine the image of a street gangster squatting on the side of the road doing nothing...

And it's the kind who has to smoke until the cigarette butt may be hot, and finally tiptoes and rubs the cigarette butt to extinguish it.

Suddenly, it seems like I can't be afraid anymore...

Wayne thought for a while, picked up a cigarette butt and wrapped it in paper, searched nearby with Iinesa for a while, felt that the other party might not return here, and then returned to the camp.

The cigarette butt is the final backup plan. It feels like there is the "Slender Man's" saliva on it. If it doesn't work, you can ask Lina to ask the "Wise Sage" to come again.

However, the other party's extraordinary ability of "instant movement" or "flash" has basically revealed its clues.

From the "starting point" to the camp being discovered, the other party went through four "jumps" in total, and the distance of each "jump" was about 20 yards.

Near each "jump" position, there were a few steps of footprints, which may be necessary, or the other party was waiting for the cooldown time of the extraordinary ability, so they took a few steps by the way.

As for the maximum number of times the other party can use the ability continuously in a short period...

To prepare for the worst, Wayne guessed that the other party should be able to use it at least eight times in a row, which is a round trip, at least 160 yards at the farthest, more or less, but it shouldn't be doubled any more.

If the line of sight is not blocked by terrain or trees, it should be within the range that a lever rifle can hit.

Especially the last section of footprints from the rain shelter to the "starting point" basically ruled out the possibility that the other party could "jump" infinitely.

—Anyone who has played games knows that as long as they can "infinitely teleport" to travel, who would honestly run the map on foot.