How many character cards do you have?

Keiko Chishima and Hyuga came back and found the atmosphere in the hotel to be a bit strange.

The detective team was fine, they still had to do what they were supposed to do, only Heye and Xiaolan, who were not too good at hiding their emotions, looked uncomfortable when they saw Keiko Qiandao came back.

Before Keiko Qiandao noticed, Hattori and Conan hurriedly took cover: "By the way, sister Xiaolan, sister Eri told me that the bath water is ready, you go take a bath first."

"That's right, and you too, He Ye, you should have wanted to take a bath a long time ago."

Xiaolan and the others reacted quickly, and said stiffly: "Then let's go in and take a bath together... Um, I mean, I remember that the baths here are separate for men and women, but Eri told us before that there is enough hot water. , it’s okay for everyone to wash together.”

Eri nodded calmly: "Yes, but the number of male guests is a bit too much, and it may need to be divided into two batches."

Hinata didn't understand what happened, so he said indifferently: "Then you young people go wash it first, we will discuss the setting of tomorrow's program later."

The girls breathed a sigh of relief, and after finding an excuse, they left in front of Keiko Qiandao in a hurry, while the detective team did not stay here any longer, and went back to their rooms to find a change of clothes.

"Hattori, what do you think?" Conan asked while changing his clothes.

"Maybe... illegal imprisonment?" Hattori took off his dirty clothes, "Judging from the traces at the scene, there should be only one person."

"In addition to that room, there are also traces in the hallway, but if there are no victims, even if we have the luminol reagent, the police probably won't be dispatched."

"I can only ask if anyone is missing in this small town, or..." Hattori said in deep thought, "When do you think Miss Qiandao will enter the bath?"

"...Don't you want to take a peek?"

"Idiot, how is it possible, but Xiaolan and Kazuha can see it," Hattori said slowly, "I'll ask them to pay attention to whether there are any signs of damage on the proprietress' knees or palms."

"You suspect it's her?"

"You've noticed it too, the proprietress seems to be a little bit wrong," Hattori pointed at the temple tactfully, "Like getting angry for no reason today, and I asked Miss Eri before, it seems that the proprietress is very talkative on weekdays, but occasionally It will suddenly seem like a different person, of course I'm just guessing."

Conan fell into deep thought when he heard the words: "It's not impossible."

While exchanging various speculations, the two walked towards the bathing place, but it was said to be a bathing place, but it felt like two rooms were transformed into a bathing place. When the two walked in, they found that no one else had come.

No, someone is coming.

Hattori glanced at the innermost clothes basket and recognized the clothes inside: "Isn't this Mr. Meguro's? He's already in it."

"Let's go in quickly, too."

The habit of the Japanese is to wash their bodies clean before taking a bath. After Conan and Hattori finished this step quickly, they walked into the bathing pool, which was about half the size of a swimming pool and surrounded by water vapor. Conan saw that there was A figure was in the other direction of the pool, and it really was Meguro Eluo.

Hattori ran to his side in a familiar manner: "Ah, Mr. Meguro, we said we couldn't see you before, so we came in to have a drink... um."

Hattori's voice suddenly faltered, and Conan looked over without knowing why, and couldn't help but focus on Meguro Era's upper body protruding from the water, which also made his pupils shrink slightly.

Large and small scars stretched across Meguro's not-so-broad chest. Seeing the two of them looking over, Meguro blinked: "Hello."

"Mr. Meguro... what are these wounds?"

"Well, you know, I'm more unlucky."

Can this be explained by bad luck?

Conan glanced over the various scars on Meguro Eluo's body, and his face gradually became serious.

Obvious scars from sharp objects, as well as a gunshot wound to the chest...how did this man survive?

Meguro Eluo seemed to have noticed the subtle change in the atmosphere, and stood up from the bath: "I'm done washing, you guys take your time."

"Oh... oh." Hattori Heiji couldn't say anything, after all, they were not familiar with each other, and after Meguro Era walked out of the bathroom, he asked Conan in a low voice, "Do you know the origin of this Meguro detective? Growing up in the war zone?"

"I only know that he was a well-known detective in the country before, but he disappeared for a while." Conan said.

Hattori frowned: "You can see those scars, right? This is not something that people living in a peaceful area should have. Could he also be a soldier or something special?"

Conan didn't speak for a while, and Hattori's words made him have a flash of inspiration.

He didn't think about this possibility before, but now looking back...

Conan thought about this possibility solemnly, and flashed through his mind the various armors he wore on the train that could not be circulated on the market.

No, it can't be a soldier, and his style doesn't look like a special department. He remembered that there was a report about Meguro Ero before. He is indeed a Japanese nationality, and if it is that special department, how could he be so careless? What is the purpose of the other party coming here?

Because of this episode, Conan didn't have the leisure time to take a bath, so he stood up after a few minutes of soaking casually: "Hattori, you go to the bar now, I remembered that my luggage has not been packed yet."

"Oh." Hattori watched Conan's back leaving the bath, and sighed, "Sure enough, he still cares."

Conan changed into a bathrobe and came out, recalling the location of Meguro Era’s room. There are not many rooms in the B&B, and Kazuha, Xiaolan and Sera Masumi share a room, he has a room with Hattori, and Uncle Mori has a room with Hakuba. I don't know, and the rooms on the second floor are basically occupied by Uncle Hyuga and the others...

Conan turned his footsteps and walked in one direction, but before he got closer, the voice of Mu He E Luo came faintly.

"I've already arrived in this town, ah, I know, the task is right."

Conan's heart trembled, he subconsciously slowed down, and carefully rubbed against the corner wall.

Meguro Eluo was standing at the end of the corridor, and he was on the phone alone: ​​"After observing it now, it really is... well, I guess it's still infancy, I know, it will be resolved before adulthood, otherwise it will be troublesome."

Get rid of? ?

Conan breathed heavily, and almost the next moment, he saw that Meguro Eluo seemed to be turning his head to look at him, and hurriedly left quietly.

Scouting: Normal success

Meguro Eluo thought of the corner of the blue clothes that flashed by just now, and a smile briefly appeared on the corner of his mouth.

"No, nothing happened, I just found a mouse. Compared to this, you really gave me a big problem this time." Meguro Eluo smiled wryly.

Karasawa Taki on the other side of the phone blinked innocently: "I didn't expect that things would become so difficult, so I'll leave it to you this time."

"Hey, wait..."

Meguro Eluo looked at the hung up phone with black lines all over his face: "It's true."

The vitality needed to solve the star's color... what kind of epic problem is this.

……

After Hoshinokawa Saikong entered the gate of the castle, she saw a figure standing at the stairs, looking at him gloomyly:

"where did you go?"

"Just walking around in the forest." Hoshikawa shrugged.

Ireland, with blond hair and gray blue eyes, was silent for a while, staring at him with his bloodshot eyes, and said in a stiff tone, "Don't leave the range of the forest."

Xing Zhichuan tilted his head, neither agreed nor refused, just looked at him like this, the iridescent light in his eyes flickered, and if you looked carefully, there seemed to be different colors flashing in it.

As if she couldn't stand being watched like this, Ireland turned her head aside: "Come here, there is no medical examination today."

Xingzhichuan obediently followed behind him, and the two came to the laboratory on the second floor, which was the place where Ireland discovered Xingzhichuan. The medical examination room where the data is collected.

After Hoshikawa walked in, Ireland closed the door and said expressionlessly, "Take off your clothes."

Hoshinokawa took off his clothes without hesitation. What is surprising is that the body under his skirt has neither masculine nor feminine features. Apart from the appearance being exactly the same as that of a human, the body covered by the clothes is like a parody of human art Products, without any pore details, perfect and unreal.

Ireland picked up the equipment with a blank expression and began to record. First, the height and weight, etc., and as expected, it grew a few centimeters.

When he released the child from the petri dish a month ago, he was only 6 or 7 years old at most, but within a month, he was already close to 13 or 4 years old.

That's why Ireland didn't let him leave the forest and get closer to the town. At the rate of growing a few centimeters a day, if he appeared in front of people, he would be exposed sooner or later.

In fact, Ireland has barely adapted to this weird distortion recently. After watching it for a long time, it has been able to maintain a deadpan expression, and it will not be surprised no matter what happens.

When it was time to draw blood, Ireland tried to push the needle into her skin, but nothing came out.

He froze for a moment, thinking of the organization's request this time, he bravely brought a newly opened scalpel. The sharp edge can cut the skin of the human body like cutting tofu. The skin on Xingzhichuan's arm, but before he could collect it in the next second, that small piece of skin dissipated automatically like soot.

Looking at the damaged piece of skin on Xingzhichuan's arm, not a single drop of blood flowed out, and he even saw transparent granulation appear on the wound, quickly wrapping the deficient part, and the skin became smooth again after a second.

It's not the first time Ireland has seen this kind of scene, but it still feels like its scalp is tingling.

It seems that this human form is just a thin layer of skin, a disguise used by monsters to blend in with the crowd, but in fact there is nothing inside.

In fact, it is true.

anthropomorphism.

This is the magic that this vest called Saikong Hoshinogawa uses to barely maintain the human form. The reason why it is said to be reluctant is because Karasawa Taki discovered that the explanation of anthropomorphism is more effective on humanoid monsters after learning. For example, snake people and the like, but the prototype of Xingzhicai is obviously not in this category.

So he studied this magic, trying to delve into the direction of deep magic, and the final result was successful, but not completely successful.

That's why the current body has no gender characteristics. The time is limited, and he has tried his best.

Not only that, but the human form is also very easy to collapse. If he is attacked in a large area, such as by a bazooka or a powerful bomb, although he will not be injured, he may not be able to maintain the human form, and the same is true when attacking.

And Xingzhichuan found that this vest was not like the vest of the Yisi people last time, which only consumed single-digit san values ​​throughout the whole performance.

This vest, when it only maintains the human form, loses at least 3 to 4 San points every day, and also has an extra debuff.

[Predator]: Star Color needs to grow by sucking life.

(Current progress from adulthood: 20%)

The star's desire to grow and eat is as innate as Yithians' desire for knowledge.

Xingzhichuan has already tried his best to endure the urge to have a full appetite, but that kind of desire is like ants gnawing on the bone marrow, if it is not satisfied, it will continue forever.

And he had a vague premonition that if he didn't eat for a long time, something terrible would happen when he couldn't bear it at the end.

To a certain extent, just like the system’s original advice, it’s not a good thing to play these mythical creatures. The Yisians before gave him a taste of the sweetness, but to some extent, the card of Star Color is his trust. big.

These mythical creatures are born with an insurmountable gap with human beings, and even have a relationship between plunder and plunder on the food chain.

Otherwise, since the cards are all stuck, it is useless to regret, so I can only use this card to plunder sanity points, and at the same time find a way to make up for the vitality needed by Xingzhichuan.

And right now, the first to bear the brunt is naturally...

"Ireland." Hoshikawa said suddenly, his eyes sparkling, "I'm hungry."

Ireland's hand recording the data paused indistinctly. Looking at the clock aside, the time was indeed close to eight o'clock, and it was the usual eating time.

And the monster's 'eating method' is naturally not a normal food.

Ireland tightly squeezed the notebook in her hand, her wrists were tinged with veins, and it took a long time to calm down, and said lightly: "Come on."

So Hoshikawa hugged Ireland's neck with a smile. This kind of behavior seems a bit ambiguous, and this atmosphere will be broken strangely in the next moment.

Saikong Hoshinogawa's original figure became somewhat blurred, like a TV set in disrepair, the boundaries of her body became blurred, her fair skin became faintly transparent, and the inside was full of brilliance, as did Ireland's body. Looking at this strange color, he opened his mouth wide, and could hardly control his cry of pain. There was an illusion in his body as if he was burning in flames. He was not someone who could not endure torture, but no one could endure this——

will against failure

It seems that something important is passing away in his body, being sucked and swallowed by the top predators, Ireland is shaking all over, he feels the power in his body is passing away, as if his life has also been absorbed , this is not an illusion, because there are really wrinkles around his eyes.

Sanity check succeeded

san-4

Finally, Ireland couldn't bear this torture. He struggled crazily, but Hoshikawa seemed to be sticking to him, greedily eating the young life. Shooting at Hoshinogawa's chest one after another.

The sound of bullets piercing through the room rang three times, which reawakened Hoshinokawa's rationality. He reluctantly raised his head and took a step back. The black hole through which the three bullets passed was filled with granulation again until it was completely empty. No trace.

Physical damage has no effect on him.

Ireland had known for a long time, he knew that he had no power to resist in front of this monster, but fortunately, Hoshikawa didn't continue to eat, and seemed to understand the truth of a full meal.

Every time he eats, he will get at least 1 to 8 points of san value from Ireland, which just offsets the loss during playing the role of Xing Zhi Cai. Of course, he must treat this piece of renewable food well, so even if he is not full, Xing Zhichuan still stops After eating, his growth progress has increased by 3%. He looked down at Ireland, who had a few more strands of snow-white hair in his temples, his eyes were shining, and his cheeks flushed as if he was drunk: "Thank you for your hospitality."

Ireland swayed, and fell to the ground weakly for a while, and then stood up after a while, with a weak and numb voice: "Continue the physical examination after eating."

This time Xingzhichuan didn't make any troubles, and he was very well-behaved when he was full. He had to raise his hands and feet when sitting on the bench, and he didn't even say what kind of injection or medicine he wanted to take into his mouth.

Unfortunately, the medicine still had no effect on him.

Ireland recorded almost mechanically. After completing today's task, Hoshinokawa put on his clothes again and ran away without a trace.

ended.

Ireland sorted out the materials and rested in the laboratory for a long time before he felt his strength return to his body. He returned to his room and began to write the experiment report.

His original mission was to bring back the information here and silence it, but ever since the pure white child was discovered in the laboratory, things have become weird.

Recalling that day, he never thought that there would be such weird things in the world, that there was life in the laboratory that should have been abandoned for more than a year, and it was still a person.

No, not necessarily people.

That day, after being startled, his mind went blank, and he subconsciously shot directly in the direction of the petri dish. Green stagnant water spewed out of it, the glass broke, and a pure white child fell out of it.

At that time, the fear seemed to reach its peak in an instant, and even Ireland didn't know that there would be that terrified, irrational cry from his mouth. His whole body was completely controlled by an inexplicable wildness, and his mania and violent impulse made him He raised the gun and emptied the magazine involuntarily.

He fired so many shots, but the boy was unscathed, and when he shot insanely, he just cocked his head and said:

"I'm hungry."

This is the original nightmare.

When I was 'fed' for the first time, I almost thought that I was going to die there, was swallowed by an unknown monster, died in a quiet corner, ha, it's not as good as a burning hotel,

However, he didn't die. He vaguely saw that the 'child' in front of him seemed to have grown up a bit, and said as if nothing had happened, "Give me the clothes."

Ireland:"……"

Afterwards, after Ireland calmed down, he informed the organization of all this, including the existence of Hoshigawa. He originally wanted to stay away from this monster after the report, but he was ordered to stay here and serve the experimental subjects every day. Do various physical examinations and tests for half a month.

At first Ireland did not understand the intention of this order, but later he gradually understood, and at that time, he felt deeply chilled.

The organization is testing the harmfulness of the experimental body.

Even if Hoshikawa never showed any aggressiveness afterwards, Ireland would not want to be in the same space as a monster, but he knew that he had no choice.

If you leave, you will be hunted down by the organization as a traitor, if you stay, you will face completely unknown risks.

He stayed anyway.

He checked the materials left here in the following days, and finally understood why he felt the chills in this castle.

He knew from the diary of a certain experimenter that this strange thing seemed to come from an extraterrestrial meteorite. His growth would absorb all the life force around him until all life forms became gray and brittle. what you see.

Those are... the ashes of the experimenters who were too late to evacuate.

After knowing this, even if he was as cruel as a member of the organization, his mind went blank for a long time, and he almost had to do his best to restrain the urge to run out of the castle.

Experimental subject... oh no, now it is Hoshikawa Saikong, this is the name he gave himself. Originally, Ireland used to call him experimental subject, but he learned it very quickly. This is very strange, because Ireland has been From the beginning, he was deliberately cutting off his access to outside information and knowledge, but this was almost useless. He seemed to have his own worldview from the beginning.

He had no choice but to attribute this to the dead researchers. The only researcher assistant who might know the truth had also died before, and no one could know the truth.

In short, the experimental body... Hoshinogawa Saikong does have the same intelligence as a human.

And basically cannot be restricted in any way.

This is the conclusion that Ireland came to after a series of experiments. Just like the result of his cutting with a knife and shooting with bullets before, there will be no bleeding, and it seems that he will not feel pain, and the wound will heal soon.

Basically no solution.

thought Ireland.

In addition, he also tried other restrictive methods under the organization's instructions, such as anesthesia, electric shock, freezing, etc., but basically had no effect.

You can only restrain him in other ways, such as...

guide.

Ireland tapped the white paper with a pen and fell into thinking.

Although the experimental subject knows a lot of things without a teacher for some reason, it seems that his mind is still a blank slate... As long as he is given food, he will be very peaceful-here refers to the kind of food that eats people.

At the beginning, Ireland was terrified when his life force was absorbed. As a result, he found that once he resisted, the experimental subject would give up eating and instead absorb the life force around him, specifically referring to the animals and trees that had never been seen outside the castle.

By the way, there are basically no 'living' animals and plants near the castle. In the end, Hoshinogawa set his sights on Ireland, and Ireland...

Ireland thought of the horror of being sucked out of life before, and slowly shuddered.

As long as it is a normal person, it will not experience the feeling for the second time.

At this time, his mobile phone suddenly rang a notification tone for a text message.

[Two days later, bring him to this location, and don't let anyone know the existence of the experimental subject. ——gin]

Ireland took a look, and his eyes stayed on the name of the signer for a long time.

Gin...

Ireland gritted his teeth slightly, and the face of that cold-blooded man seemed to appear in front of his eyes again.

After a while, a sneer appeared on his face, just wait, Gin.

When you see this little monster with your own eyes, you will definitely regret today's decision.

One thing, Ireland did not report to the organization.

For nearly a month at night, he was haunted by nightmares every day, and he clearly felt that his condition was getting worse, but what was strange was that he never had the idea of ​​escaping from Xingzhichuan.

It seemed that the function of survival was no longer working online, and the soul watched the body step by step into the abyss, but he couldn't do anything about it.

From this moment, Ireland knew that his life was counting down.

The more so, at the last moment, his desire to pull Gin down became stronger and stronger, so he must bring Xing Zhichuan back to the organization.

Then...before he died, he saw the destruction of the organization with his own eyes.