Shadow of the Beautiful World

When people are busy, time always passes quickly.

Almost in the blink of an eye, the time has come to March 1998.

Three years is enough time to bring about earth-shaking changes in New York City, and more high-rise buildings have sprung up to replace those old buildings. New technologies are constantly being invented and applied. In an era of rapid change, almost every day, strange things are happening all over the world.

And people are used to it.

swish

In the afternoon, under the evening sun, a black Ford car painted with a black and white eagle logo was parked on the side of the street on the edge of Manhattan.

The car door opened, and Agent Melinda, wearing a black uniform and sunglasses, stepped out of the car with a serious attitude. Beside her, there were two agents who also wore sunglasses.

Jimmy, you stay outside and watch out.

Melinda gave orders to the two agents behind her in the tone of an officer:

Ross, follow me.

Yes, Sir Melinda.

The two agents responded, and the yellow-skinned agent leaned against the car, watching the other two walk towards the nightclub in front of them.

At this point, the nightclub has not yet officially opened, but there are already many cars parked at the entrance, including some expensive sports cars. Agent Ross followed behind Melinda, he looked at the nightclub in front of him, he couldn't help whispering:

Sir, I heard that this is the largest heterogeneous neutral zone in New York, and there is a mysterious boss running it behind it. If we break in like this, will it cause some trouble?

That's right.

Melinda replied calmly:

This is the territory of Papa Midnight. He is known as the 'King of Voodoo on the East Coast'. He is an out-and-out ruthless character. Anyone who dares to make trouble in his territory will die for no reason. But Ross, those are Those who make trouble, we are here to carry out the task.

She reached out and stroked her short hair, with a hint of coldness in her tone:

The bastard who killed people is hiding here, and we must catch him before he causes more bloodshed.

While talking, the two walked to the entrance of the nightclub. It was still the bald man wearing a vest, he picked up a card from the side, and put it in front of Melinda's eyes, he said calmly to the point of indifference:

What's the card?

Melinda reached out and pushed her psychic sunglasses. Under the effect of the sunglasses, she vaguely saw a pattern, and she said:

Soldier!

The strong man turned his body sideways and made a please gesture.

The moment she walked into the nightclub, the strong man lowered his voice and said in a warning voice:

You bastards of S.H.I.E.L.D., put away your claws, if you make trouble here, no one can save you!

That's what we need to worry about.

Melinda replied lukewarmly, and she led Agent Rose along the gorgeous aisle into the slightly deserted nightclub.

The explosive show here does not start until midnight. It is said that it is the craziest and most bizarre show that can be seen in New York. Every day, the performance will attract many aliens to watch, and even some stupid ordinary people chasing crazy people.

They yearn to see the truth of the world, but here they find nothing but horror and madness.

Melinda raised her wrist and looked at the lady's watch in her hand. On the dial of the watch, a red dot was beating, quite close to them.

She gestured to her companion behind her, and the two walked along the aisle, all the way to the box deeper in the nightclub.

I have to say that although Papa Midnight is a voodoo master, he still follows the trend. The door locks of all the boxes in this nightclub are electronic locks, which require a specific ID card to open.

But that's no problem for S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.

Outside the small box in the corner, Melinda looked left and right, then moved her watch close to the electronic lock, and lightly pressed the watch, accompanied by a low sound, the light of the electronic lock instantly off.

She pushed open the door, and in the box in front of her was an extremely erosive scene.

A few disheveled guys are sleeping together, a strong man and three coquettishly dressed women, judging from the scattered wine bottles and suspicious syringes on the ground, these guys should be high last night one night.

Look, werewolves and succubi, they really know how to play.

Melinda was no longer surprised by the scene in front of her. In the dim light, she stepped on the stained ground and approached the sleeping guy. When the distance between the two sides was only 3 meters, the sleeping man suddenly opened his eyes, which were a pair of animal pupils shining brightly in the dark.

You shouldn't be here!

He sensed the danger and was about to rush over with a roar. But the stun gun in Melinda's hand is obviously faster.

swish

A thing like a small fishing net hit the werewolf's body, and before this guy could complete his animal transformation, the blue electric current frantically running up and down his whole body quickly paralyzed his whole body.

In the exclamation of the three awakened succubus ladies, Melinda rushed forward, pulled out a metal syringe from her waist, and accurately pierced the paralyzed werewolf's neck.

Under the effect of the high-strength sleeping pill specially made for the alien, this tyrannical guy staggered and tried to fight back, but just as he swung his half-beast claws, Melinda kicked him in the heart, and his whole body They all fell backwards, hit the corner of the sofa with a bang, rolled their eyes, and fell into a coma.

Behind Melinda, the gun-wielding Agent Ross saw the werewolf knocked unconscious. He put the pistol back into the holster, took off a pair of black, specially-made handcuffs from his waist, put them on the unconscious werewolf, and then some With great difficulty, he grabbed the heavy guy from the ground.

mission completed.

Melinda tossed her hair gracefully, waved to the three frightened succubus ladies, motioned them to leave quickly, and then planned to leave the nightclub with the captured prisoner.

But just as she walked out of the box, five strong men with various weapons blocked her way.

The skins of those strong men shone an abnormal dark blue color under the light. The muscles on their bodies were so strong that they did not look like normal people at all. Frightened and pale, as if there were no pupils at all.

The most important thing is that these strong men exude a strong smell, mixed with stink and strange and pungent herbal medicine.

It's a rotting ghoul.

Melinda quickly drew out a pistol full of holy silver bullets. She stood in front of her team members. He took out his ID and said sharply to the rotten wights:

I'm Melinda May, Special Agent 4 of the Strategic Crisis Intervention and Logistics Support Agency! I'm on an arrest mission! Please don't interfere with official duties, let us leave!

As the name suggests, rotten monsters are corpse warriors made of voodoo. They have no thinking and wisdom.

Melinda, who has been in sl.d. for 3 years, knows this very well. What she said is not for these difficult rotting corpses, but for the voodoo masters who manipulate the rotting corpses behind their backs.

This is a statement of self-identity, but also a warning.

However, Melinda's warning didn't seem to have any effect. The five rotting corpses just stood there, neither moving forward nor retreating, as if completely trapping the two agents.

On a higher level of the nightclub, in a large box decorated like a palace, the owner of the nightclub, the most vicious and feared voodoo king on the east coast, Father Midnight is sitting on the sofa, in front of his eyes On the table, five chess soldier pieces are shining, representing the voodoo master's control over his warriors.

Papa Midnight, this is a black man who looks to be in his 40s.

A well-built, almost bloated man, he wore a black plaid suit with an exaggerated top hat, with exaggerated gold or gem-studded decorations on the neck and arms, and at his hand, a studded A gilt walking stick of large crystal.

It's like a trendy uncle who plays hip-hop music.

But his eyes, those glowing green eyes, represented his true identity.

He comes from an ancient voodoo family in the Mediterranean. In his father's generation, his family migrated to New York to escape the war. This nightclub is not only the inheritance left by Father Midnight's father, but also the new stronghold of the Midnight family.

It took his family two generations to make a name for themselves on the entire east coast, bringing the family back to the ranks of powerful wizard families.

For Midnight, the existence of this nightclub is more precious than any money and treasures.

And now, two young men just broke into his base camp and tried to take away his guests. It was like a slap on Midnight's face. How could the long-famous voodoo master Accept it calmly?

But Midnight was not a reckless person, he did not manipulate the rotting corpse to charge up and dismember the two agents.

Instead, he trapped them there, knowing that these agents were nothing to be afraid of, and the real trouble was the man standing behind them.

In the past three years, the Aurors of the United Magic Association, the detectives of the New York Police Department, and the forces from other departments of the government have exhausted various means and successfully put a layer of shackles on the alien world of New York.

Merlin the Raven

In the middle of the night, he was muttering the name silently, and he was playing with a knight chess piece in his hand. He knew that there must be a meeting today.

His meeting with Merlin.

Whoa!

A few minutes later, accompanied by a sharp raven's cry, the dark red guardian spirit flew into the midnight box through the open window.

This illusory spirit bird folded its wings and landed on Midnight's chandelier dotted with emeralds. It stared at Midnight below with its dark red eyes, and Midnight looked at it.

He knew that this was Merlin's emissary. In the past three years, every time a group of alien species was destroyed under a fierce blow, this bird would appear on the scene.

It was Merlin's eye.

hum

In the sudden distortion of the light, Merlin came to the midnight box through the transfer spell.

He looks almost exactly the same as he did three years ago.

A gray casual suit, rimless glasses, and a slightly worn handbag in a black gloved hand.

Compared with three years ago, Merlin at this time is more mature, his eyes are less sharp, but more gentle and calm, full of the bookish atmosphere unique to wizards, and looks refined.

But Midnight knew that this young man was not as simple as he seemed on the surface.

When he promoted the new order of aliens in New York, his hands were already stained with the blood of aliens, from low-level lemurs and imps to high-level vampires and werewolves, and even rare goblins and dwarves.

Hundreds of small groups of aliens were destroyed under his order, and thousands of aliens were thrown into the Island Prison of S.H.I.E.L.D. There are many more rebels who lost their lives under the joint attack of the sl.d. he commanded and the Ministry of Magic.

This is a guy who can be extremely ruthless when necessary.

You want to meet me?

Merlin raised his wrist and looked at his watch. He pushed his glasses and said softly:

I am coming.

sit!

Midnight waved her hand, and a beautiful girl stepped forward and placed a chair beside Merlin.

The girl didn't have any peculiar smell, but Merlin didn't need to look at it, he could feel that this was a specially treated corpse. Her body should be a beautiful and noble elf.

But Merlin didn't care about these things. He sat on a chair and looked at midnight. He said:

Release my agents, they're just on a mission. Then we'll have a good chat.

They broke into my property and took my guests without saying hello.

Rubbing his chin in the middle of the night, the black man stared at Merlin with those terrifying eyes, and said:

Years ago, I helped you when you needed it the most! And that's how you paid me back? Is it humiliating me? Or is it a sign of 'terrible' sl.d. Are you finally going to make a move on me?

Facing Midnight's repressed anger, Merlin's expression was calm, and he said slowly:

First of all, that's not your guest. That werewolf has murdered 5 ordinary people and taken millions of precious items in Brooklyn this past week. He's a criminal and he needs to be punished, Or, your neutral zone has become a hiding place for criminals?

Merlin looked at midnight, straightened his body, and said softly:

Your Excellency Midnight, I have never forgotten how you helped me. I hope we can maintain a friendly relationship. This is why I have been avoiding your nightclubs for the past 3 years. I believe that, It is impossible for you not to feel my kindness.

You can catch him anywhere! I don't care if that bastard lives or dies!

Midnight pointed to the floor under his feet, and he said in a deep voice:

But only not here. I want to do business, Merlin, you have to understand that once my reputation gets bad, my business will be over!

Look, that's the problem.

Merlin snapped his fingers and said:

That bastard killed someone and fled all the way to your territory. He hid for 3 days. He knew that you could shelter him. He knew that sl.d. would deliberately avoid your nightclub, do you understand what I mean?

Your Excellency Midnight, I am helping you! If this situation keeps happening, even if I can tolerate it, do you think the Magic Council, which has made up its mind to reshape the order of the wizarding world in North America, can tolerate it?

Maybe, it won't be me who comes to talk to you next time.

Merlin says:

Those Aurors who have finally freed their hands probably won't chat with you so calmly, Your Excellency Midnight.

Father Midnight was sullen and silent, of course he knew what Merlin meant.

But he also has priorities that may seem irreconcilable.

After the two sides confronted each other for nearly a minute, Merlin sighed, took out something from his handbag, and put it on the table in front of Midnight. He said:

This is proof of my goodwill. The Magic Congress and s.d. have decided to set up several heterogeneous reserved areas in New York, so as not to force them to jump over the wall. This is an official official document for the establishment of the reserved area. As long as you sign it, your nightclub will be It's a formal neutral zone.

Merlin handed Midnight a pen, and he said softly:

Think about it.

We want to be real friends with you, so what's your opinion?