The world controlled by dice [Western Fantasy]

"Professor, Zhan Xinjia.

"I received that letter from you earlier, and this speculation about the 'child' is...unbelievable.

"Before I thought that a dozen or 20 years can be used to raise a child, but this kind of thinking is just the opposite of your guess... I mean, the murder is the result, they are raising children as killers, weapons , or whatever.

"However, I never thought that the occurrence of the murder could also be the beginning, that is, death just means the beginning of life. This is quite amazing, using the death of the father to commemorate the life of the child.

"I am in awe of your wisdom.

"However, unfortunately, I did not find any clues about the hospital. I did go to the police station to find some cases related to newborn babies, but that is very rare.

"As for the hospital itself, apart from the Darwin Hospital incident not long ago, in the past many years, the police station has rarely investigated murders related to the topics we are interested in - corruption or doctor-patient problems are another matter .

"Therefore, I think the idea you mentioned in your letter is very likely to be correct, that group of people may choose private clinics, or ask private doctors to come to their homes for examinations, or even give birth.

"... I would like to add an extra point here. It is precisely because I went to the police station for this matter that I know that the Principality of Constance has quite a few omissions in terms of population registration.

"Originally, I thought that birth certificates and other materials must be required for household registration in the principality, but in fact, birth certificates do exist, but it does not mean that household registration cannot be registered without a birth certificate.

"This problem has also been caused. In many cases, even if people register their children's household registration, sometimes they will not write their own information in great detail, as well as the child's birth time, place of birth, etc.—anyway. That doesn't matter, does it?

"This problem also means that if we want to investigate the babies whose fathers were not known in connection with the May serial killings in the past period of time, it is almost impossible.

"It can be said that for the vast majority of residents in Lamifa City, their household registration is not clear enough. Either this or that is missing, or there are simply filling errors. This is a huge problem, but the Principality is afraid It also takes a long time to resolve.

"...This is a digression, and I may be a bit off topic. In short, among the three characters who appear in the May serial murder case at the same time, as father, mother, and child, we may only pay more attention to the parents.

"Maybe it's a good thing, at least we don't do secondary harm to those kids.

"The other purpose of writing to you this time is naturally what you mentioned to me before, let me continue to look for some clues from that mysterious organization, or find someone who knows something.

"So I reviewed some of my connections with this organization from the beginning, and finally decided to use your 'self-reappearance' ceremony as a breakthrough. As far as I know, the vast majority of people in this organization have actually been more or less affected. some pollution.

"However, they don't seem to know much about the ritual of 'self-reappearance'. So I used my own situation as an example to recommend this ritual to them, and tentatively drew closer to them.

"Then I realized that many of them were actually aware of the ritual as well—especially the revelators who seemed to have ties to the Historical Society, either overtly or secretly.

"But they don't seem to want to share it with people who don't know about it...I mean, it's like it's unique to the Historical Society. I know the Church of the Past does promote it, but that's another time thing.

"...that may be a bit off topic. But I do have to say that I rather dislike it. Maybe you don't feel this way in the Historical Society; but I did feel it quite clearly after I left the Historical Society.

"In short, the ritual of 'self-reappearance' did allow a revelator suffering from pollution to communicate with me in private for a while—of course, I didn't seek credit and mentioned your existence to him.

"I learned a few things from him.

"This organization was actually established more than 50 years ago, and it has been changed for almost two generations. I am not sure who the founder of this organization is, or if there is really a founder. It seems that it is just a loose organization. Meeting.

"The revealer - sorry I can't reveal his name and more personal information - is probably in his 30s, he joined the organization 11 years ago... yeah, I think that year might make you think of 11 The homeless man whose body was dumped years ago.

"However, I have not been able to hear the relevant information from the mouth of the enlightener. He may have been mentally polluted because of the murder case like me, but maybe it was only by chance that he joined 11 years ago. to that organization.

"In short, this revealer is also a man with a rather mysterious identity and past. He told me that this organization has been collecting archives related to the May serial murder case—of course they don't call it that. .

"However, those materials are in the hands of the oldest and most experienced revelators. Others cannot obtain or read them, because quite a lot of information contains a certain degree of pollution.

"Because of this, they think that something will happen in the middle and late May of this year. Because it has been 11 years since the last case happened, they think that there will be new bodies soon.

"The enlightener reminded me to try not to get involved in this matter. Most of the people in this organization are actually just troubled by this mental pollution... They don't know the truth and don't want to Know.

"...To be honest, when I learned about this matter, I even felt a little disappointed. After all, we all already know quite a lot of clues about this matter. The information that this organization has seems to be similar to ours .

"However, there is another thing worth mentioning, which can also be said to be a surprise.

"As I mentioned earlier, the Historical Society seems to take the ritual of 'reincarnation' as its own thing, so when I mentioned this ritual in that organization, someone came to me not long after, and asked me not to do it casually." Say this ritual.

"It's kind of funny, isn't it? And the surprise I'd say is that I clearly heard a name... 'Forrest'.

"The man who came to warn me, he was stopped by another, older, silent man. The former called the latter, 'Forrest' unconvinced.

"Forrest seemed to think the warning was pointless, but the man who knew him had a different opinion. In any case, they were obviously members of the Historical Society.

"The man called 'Forrest', he can also be said to be quite a voice in this organization. He seems to have joined this organization a long time ago—at least ten years—and there are Sometimes his opinion matters.

"However, he is not a person who speaks out a lot. He is very low-key, so low-key, until this person said his name, I suddenly realized that he did have a lot of information.

“He said one last thing to me, and he said, ‘The shadows are everywhere, so be careful.’ He seemed to be reminding me that my investigative actions were too reckless?

"...Or, he is implying that even this organization is a mixed bag? But his reminder is indeed quite kind, even if the tone is not very good.

"Wonder if this is of any help to you, and if the name 'Forrest' reminds you of someone in the Historical Society. I hope so.

"detective.

"By the way, we're just two days away from the second half of May, which is the most dangerous month. I think things could explode at any point.

"Therefore, for the next half month, I will go to Ernestine's Tavern every day. Even if something happens and I can't stay there, I will leave a message in advance to let me know where I am going, so that no one can be found if something happens.

"As for you, your schedule seems to be quite complicated and busy, so I don't expect to find you anytime and anywhere.

"This time it's the detective who really let the letter end here."

Jon wrote a long letter summarizing the gains of the past period.

Qin Duo sorted out other documents by himself, while Siles slowly read the letter.

He was quite interested in several pieces of information revealed in the letter.

In the May serial murder case, death is like the beginning of life.This description is indeed quite accurate.

But if the whole thing is tied to the "Children of Death and the Stars," then killing the man in the knight's armor seems to be tied to Thaddeus.

...However, from this point of view, why is the father wearing the armor of the female knight?This approach seemed to make "death" a disciple of Ruthmi.

In the minds of these behind-the-scenes gangsters, the birth of the "shadow" seems to be more related to the mother, and the role of the father is just a foil... because childbirth is originally a mother's business?

It can also be seen from what Doreen Lucas said that their "blind date" was actually a two-way choice.It's not just a choice between a man and a woman, but also the choice between a man and a woman behind the scenes.

But at the same time, between the chosen men and women, the women knew the truth from the beginning, while the men were completely kept in the dark from the beginning, and the final death seemed to be completely unexpected.

Such an approach made Siles begin to wonder whether the group of behind-the-scenes masters had some information about the Shadow Age period, such as... "Death and the stars raised a child, and life broke with them for this" Hidden secrets.

The group of people hiding behind the scenes showed an obvious bias, which obviously hinted at their views, which made Siles feel concerned.

The second thing that attracted Siles' attention, which was mentioned by Jon in his letter, was the household registration system of the Principality of Constance.

In fact, it wasn't until this moment that he suddenly realized that he had actually come into contact with some relevant information before—the household registration information of Dr. Chester Fitzroy, didn't he?

On Dr. Chester's birth certificate, the father's column stated that he had lost his father; and his household registration information only wrote the name of his mother, Josephine Hosier.

Obviously, this can reflect from one aspect the incomplete household registration system of the Principality of Constance.It is by no means uncommon for a parent to be unknown.

... Dr. Chester's father is also unknown.Siles thought.And Josephine Hosier is apparently also involved in "Shadow".Could the doctor be the "kid" in the May serial killings?

This question made Celes somewhat surprised.

The doctor is in his early 30s now... Yes, there was a homicide 30 years ago.

The first three files he got from investigator Catherine Kinsey of the Church of the Past recorded suspicious cases that happened 50 years ago, 30 years ago, and 11 years ago.

The dead were all dressed in female knight armor and were found in the sewers, Mount Hughes in the southern suburbs, and the wilderness in the eastern suburbs; the deceased 11 years ago was clearly identified as a homeless man in the west city, while the identities of the deceased 50 years ago and 30 years ago were unknown .

……如今他们一共知晓六桩疑案，分别发生在92年前、73年前、50年前、30年前、21年前、11年前。

But the only "kid" they knew was Doreen Lucas.

The cases of 92 years ago and 73 years ago are too old, and it may be difficult to find relevant clues.These two cases can be ruled out for now.

As for the case 50 years ago... Siles more or less believes that the "The Story of the Calendula" mentioned by Carlos Ranmier seems to be related to it.

A mother and daughter in male clothes.he thinks.

So the case 50 years ago might be related to Marina Kailan, if there were no two Kailans in this world.But the age seems a bit wrong... Her mother?

Siles easily thought of this possibility, because in the script of "The Story of the Marigold", there were originally a pair of mother and daughter.

50 years.mother and daughter.

And if the female playwright mentioned by Carlos is also directly related to this matter...

Could that be Marina's grandmother?

Siles was stunned for a moment.

Marina, Marina's mother, Marina's grandmother.He didn't know if his guess was correct, and he didn't know if there was really a "child" born at the time when the murder happened.

He just felt a burst of uncontrollable wonder.In such a long time, some people are killing people, some people are struggling, and some people are trying their best to leave hints for people.

And a century later, the truth seems to be coming out, and some people's efforts have not been in vain.

Siles was stunned for a moment, then sighed softly in his heart.

50 years ago, 30 years ago, 21 years ago, 11 years ago.

The child 11 years ago was unknown; it should be a young child today...it's hard to say.Siles couldn't fit in among the children he knew, or find a needle in the haystack among the many children in Ramifa City.This is a difficult problem.

The "child" 21 years ago was confirmed to be Doreen Lucas, and now Doreen has also become one of the candidate conceivers.She said earlier that she would find another opportunity to share some relevant information with Siles during the club activities on Friday, and Siles was looking forward to it.

The "child" 30 years ago is still not sure who it is now.Siles thought of the doctor, but it seemed inconceivable that Josephine Hosier would be such a "mother."Siles doubted this, so he ruled out the doctor for now.

The "child" 50 years ago may be Marina Kailan's mother, but Marina's age is not the same as 30 years ago.Perhaps her mother was not chosen to be the bearer 30 years ago, but started another family, which eventually gave birth to Marina.

...But even if she is married and has children, her children still cannot escape the clutches of this group of people.Marina also became "mother".

As far as all the information is concerned, there may be many more victims involved in this mysterious case than they imagined. It's just that some people escaped with luck, and some people are haunted all their lives.

Siles thought of another person related to this matter that Jon mentioned in the letter... Forrest.

Siles was always very curious about why Forrest specifically stopped him on the day when the group arena started, and chatted with him casually for a while.He thought the revealer would have something to say, but in fact their conversation didn't involve anything serious.

...Because of the ritual of "self-reappearance"?

Forrest seemed to value the ritual more than he'd imagined.

When Jon mentioned this ceremony in that organization, someone from the Historical Society jumped out and warned him not to tell about this ceremony.

This is quite in line with the style of some people in the Historical Society, who really want to monopolize the right to speak; but Forrest does not agree with this person.

In other words, Forrest actually endorses the promotion of the ritual of "self-reincarnation," at least acknowledging its role.He even specifically warned Jon to be more careful about the topic of "shadows".This is indeed a kind reminder.

From this perspective, Forrest seems to be on their side, at least as far as the "shadow" issue is concerned.

Siles was thoughtful, thinking maybe he could find a chance to have a private chat with Forrest.Forrest seems to be conflicted about whether he should tell Sirius about certain things.

Forrest doesn't know what Siles is investigating, but their goals seem to be the same.

After making the decision, Siles also breathed a sigh of relief.

He thought of the last problem—the promotion of the "self-reincarnation" ritual.

It is now May, and more than half a year has passed since the invention of this ritual.It has been months, even since the Historical Society and the Church of the Past began promoting the ritual.

Their results, however, were modest.

Jon himself has great powers, and he heard about the existence of this ceremony from within the Historical Society; but in fact, many enlighteners in the city of Lamifah who did not join the Historical Society seem to have never heard of this ceremony.

This approach displeased Sirius.

He doesn't care whether this ritual is beneficial to himself—seriously, with his will attributes, he doesn't actually need this ritual—"self-reappearance" is originally beneficial to those ordinary, polluted A tormented and impotent revelator.

And most of these enlighteners may not exist in the Historical Society.

Siles thought of what he asked Herman Grove and Hurd Dreyson to do in his dream not long ago.He had them promote the ritual of "Reincarnation" in the Everlands.

He intended to use this to divert the attention of the explorers gathered in the north, but it seemed that he had done a good thing by mistake——the explorers of the Never Embered Land seemed to be interested in the idea of ​​"self-reappearance". Ritual knows nothing.

Thinking about it, Siles suddenly realized that it was a good choice for Hurd to casually suggest that merchants should be responsible for promoting this ceremony.At least the merchants want to gain practical benefits, while the historical society only thinks of monopoly.

...everything depends on comparison.

He sighed, then put Jon's letter down.

"How?" Qin Duo asked timely, "Is there any good news?"

"Not at all." Siles shook his head and said calmly, "On the contrary, there are some more problems."

Qin Duo was speechless for a moment, and then said with certainty: "It is indeed your fate."

Siles: "..."

He silently glanced at Qin Duo.

Qin Duo laughed, and he approached affectionately, rubbed Siles' cheek, and said, "So, shall we go to bed early?"

"...Of course." Siles pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling somewhat tired.

Cendo paused for a moment, and then whispered, "I don't mean that kind of rest...no, nothing." He changed his words quickly when Sirius looked over, "I just..."

"Provoking me on purpose?" Sirius asked.

"It's not." Qindo's tone softened, and he hugged Siles, "I hope you don't think that I only want to do that thing with you, I just hope this will make you feel more relaxed. Can you wait It makes me so happy to be around you."

"I understand." Siles kissed Qindo sideways.

Qin Duo added: "If you can do something, of course it will be icing on the cake."

Siles laughed, and said, "Didn't you suffer enough in the dream last night?"

"Of course it's sweetness." Qin Duo muttered, he begged himself a sweet kiss, and then said contentedly, "However, today is rarely a leisurely night. I really hope you can rest early."

"I will." Saying so, Siles has already listed to himself one, two, three, four or five things that may need to be done tonight.

He couldn't help being stunned for a moment, and then sighed in his heart for the instinct he had developed.

At least you don't have to go to the Deep Sea Dreamland today.he comforted himself.

...which is actually a kind of consolation.He thought ironically again.

It was a quiet, normal Thursday night.

When Siles was going to go to class the next morning, Cindo returned to the room with a letter from the Praia family and said, "Regarding the investigation of the hospital...Unfortunately, we didn't get any news."

"That's normal, too," Siles said. "I'm inclined to say they did get medical care from a private doctor or a private clinic."

Cindo nodded, still a little confused and said, "But, Marina Kellan..." He considered his words, "I mean, if Marina Kellan is really trying to escape such a Fate, and hereby give us some hints...

"So, after she became pregnant, wouldn't she do something?"

Obviously, like Brewer Darrow, Marina Kelan was also monitored and controlled by those people.She couldn't do more, let alone give any obvious hints.

However, she does appear in various places in the mystery all the time, and she gives some hints.

Siles thought for a moment, then said: "Perhaps she can remind us of something, but...whether we can find out is also a question."

Qin Duo couldn't help sighing.

Instead, Siles looked at his lover.He thought to himself, compared to when they first met in Land of No Embers, now Qindo seems to be showing some...worried appearance about certain things.

He smiled at the thought.

Qin Duo looked at him with some confusion, and asked, "What did you think of?"

Siles pulled him into his arms and kissed him, then said, "I have to go, see you in the afternoon."

Afternoon is club activities.As a teaching assistant, Qin Duo would naturally come over to help maintain order or do something else.

"Okay." Qindo said quite meekly, his emerald green eyes showed a little bit of reluctance, "I hope to stay with you forever, and don't separate at any time."

"I'm going to have an elective class in the morning, Mr. Assistant Teacher." Siles said, "I don't mind a situation where you substitute for the class on stage and I watch you off the stage."

Qin Duo: "..."

The incomprehensible Professor Noel!

Depressed and resentful, he lightly bumped Sirius' shoulder with his forehead.

Siles gave a dull laugh, stroked Qinduo's hair, and then left 99 Kelly Street.

Afternoon club activities are some discussions about novel and poetry creativity.Most of these students are from literature majors, and they can do some literary creation; even if they don’t, they still have a considerable level of literary appreciation.

Therefore, Siles would occasionally use the time of club activities to learn about their literary creations.

It was rare for Doreen Lucas to say much on this occasion.She looked brighter, at least not as gloomy and introverted as usual.She seemed to suddenly realize that expressing her thoughts and getting out of her own little world were not so difficult.

... Siles is quite suspicious that the great success of his social skills just in case, had a certain impact on Doreen.

After all, a big success in his social skills can be said to be a big failure for Doreen.Although such a "big failure" can be regarded as a change for the better.

After the activity ended, other students left one after another, while Doreen deliberately slowed down.In the end, there were only three people left in the classroom: Sirius, Gyndo, and Doreen.Doreen sat there, breathing a slow sigh of relief.

She said, "Professor, I figured it out."

Siles and Cendo sat across from her.

"I've never met my father. I'd rather my mother had me for love than for anything else. I can't help but mind what happened when I was born, but it happened earlier and it shouldn't be for me what impact."

Doreen's voice was soft.

She closed her eyes, then opened them again, and said seriously, "Thank you for that bottle of... potion you gave me? That's what you said before. And that ritual you taught me. That made me feel like I never I have never looked at my life so clearly and from this angle."

Siles said, "That really shouldn't affect your life, Doreen."

"...especially about my marriage." Doreen smiled wryly, "My parents' misfortune should not be my misfortune. Maybe I should say so.

"If I did agree to the whole thing, I would inevitably be putting my kids in the same misfortune that I was. It's funny that I didn't realize it before."

Sirius looked at her silently.Obviously, Doreen figured it out; but maybe not, she still tortured herself about it.

But it's clearly a must-see.Doreen hadn't even realized what was wrong with her life until that unexpected conversation with Celes.

Not knowing whether it was based on pollution or complicated feelings for her mother, she walked along that road in a daze, until a pair of hands pulled her away from the road, and she suddenly saw the abyss at the end of the road.

Doreen took a deep breath and got down to business.

"I've been thinking about ... Mrs. Lucas for the past two days," she said, still not referring to the woman as mother, "about some of the information she revealed."

Siles nodded and listened quietly.

"They seem to be in touch with many... fine arts, music, and such art colleges in Lamifa City." Doreen said, "Mrs. Lucas is a well-known... artist in the city? What did she study? Quite widely, and therefore sought after by some.

"I've seen other girls like me before, in Comstock Street. I must say, they all seem to be very talented and have their own strengths... I wonder if Mrs. Lucas deliberately raised me Be the best among them, so as to reduce the possibility of me being selected."

She involuntarily paused at this moment, obviously feeling a little doubtful about it, but also a little unbelievable.She was silent for a moment before continuing.

"But I didn't get much involved in her life. I just...studied, read, and got into Ramifa University. I even felt that my life was too mediocre and not as exciting as hers.

"When I was young...not very young, about fourteen or fifteen years old, during those two years, every summer rain vacation, Mrs. Lucas would go to an art academy as a part-time teacher, teaching people draw pictures.

"I still remember that she occasionally took me to the college, and even asked me if there was anyone I liked among those students... She was always in a bad state of mind, and occasionally she would talk to herself, saying that those students watched Doesn't look like it's going to be chosen...

"...Yes, I think, that's probably what they arranged on purpose."

Part-time course for rain break.Siles frowned involuntarily.

Moreover, judging from the information revealed by Doreen, it was clear that Sirius' guess was correct, and that group of people really used this method to select the right man or woman.

Siles couldn't help asking: "Is this kind of selection work going on all the time?"

Doreen obviously knew something about how those people did it—or rather, the overall flow of the model, based on Mrs. Lucas's experience and her own.

"Yes," Doreen said softly, and she nodded. "Never stopped."

"But the timing of childbirth is very regular." Qin Duo added, "So, will they control the timing of a couple's pregnancy?"

"Yes," Doreen replied, "they did tell us some dos and don'ts... I don't remember much at the time, sorry. All I remember is that they mentioned the time of marriage and pregnancy, saying they It will be arranged for us."

……arrange.Siles felt the word, and felt a strange coldness and aloofness.

Here, marriage and childbirth are just means for some people to achieve their goals. They want to revive the gods they believe in; and the irony is that their gods are not dead at all.

Doreen thought for a while.She still paid attention to the time subconsciously, but this time she seemed less anxious and hurried than last time.

After a while, she suddenly remembered something: "By the way, professor, I don't know if it's important, but I think it's necessary to tell you. Mrs. Lucas seems to be... obsessed with Noel recently Solitaire."

Siles couldn't help but startled.

"She even brought her poker buddies home to play poker," Doreen whispered.

The students in the Siles Club basically know that the idea of ​​playing Noel comes from their Professor Noel, and Doreen is no exception.So she was automatically taken aback when she noticed Mrs. Lucas holding a deck of fate cards.

Doreen said: "I'm not sure if she just likes poker or if it's something else...but she's been really into it lately. I've even noticed that sometimes she's playing alone, against herself. .”

This statement made Sirius frowned.

As the date of May 5 drew nearer, he had to worry about it.The fate card was brought by Mr. Xia, and its original gameplay also has some hints related to the old gods.

"Is Mrs. Lucas showing any... expecting something to happen, or any other concern about time?" Sirius couldn't help asking.

"Time?" Doreen froze for a moment, she thought for a while, "In terms of time... she said that she might not be at home for the next few weekends, does that count?"

"Is she not home often?"

"...No. She rarely goes out, except for some necessary work matters."

They all fell silent for a moment, understanding that something was really going to happen.

Doreen took a deep breath and asked nervously, "Is something going to happen?"

"Maybe. Don't be nervous, Doreen, though," said Sirius almost gently. "We're already trying to sort this out."

Doreen nodded vigorously.

She had nothing more to tell them, so she bade them a quick farewell, and left the room with a feeling of unease and excitement.

The weather outside the window is a bit gloomy, giving people a feeling of dark clouds overwhelming the city to a large extent.This is close to the scene in that painting.Siles felt that it was going to rain again in the evening.

He sat there silently, thinking for a moment, and then said: "May 5rd, that Saturday?"

"I think so," Cinder said.

"The final of the group arena, the final of the card contest." Siles whispered, "What else?"

The next day, the morning of Saturday, May 5, Siles received a letter telling him what else was going to happen that day.

This letter is from Elizabeth Hosier.The former bishop, who traveled from Middleton to Conster, mentioned in his letter that he had found several suitable houses and was planning to choose one of them, sign a contract with a real estate agent, and move there in the next few days .

She asked Siles if it would be convenient to meet next Saturday, May 5.If it was convenient, she would wait for Cilles at a sweet shop near Atherton Square.

She didn't know about Siles's schedule, but she just heard from Chester that Siles was always quite busy, so she asked about the meeting time a week in advance, hoping to ensure that the time would not be a problem.

At the same time, Elizabeth also said in the letter that since the address of her new home is still uncertain and she has not yet settled down completely, if Siles wants to reply, he can first send it to the hotel where she is staying.

Even if she has moved, she will ask the people at the hotel to help pass it on.In addition, it is also a way to let Dr. Chester pass it on.

Siles wrote a letter and sent it to the hotel, confirming that he could meet Elizabeth on that day.He also planned to find Dr. Chester during the working day and ask him to tell Elizabeth again, just in case.

Anyway...

"May 5." Qin Duo said in a deep tone.

"Yes." Siles finished writing the reply letter, and then put it in the envelope, "It seems that it will be a very busy day."

Qin Duo thought for a while, and said playfully