【Thousand Fantasy】Bat

Ishigami Chiku parked the car on the side of the street, and the illuminated signboard with the words "Inugui Lamp" came into view from the right window.He took out the hand-drawn map in his jacket pocket, compared it with the car navigation, and confirmed that it showed the same address before opening the car door.

A waiter in a white shirt and black vest came up to park his car.

The Inugui Lantern mentioned by the introducer should be a bar, but when Qianku stepped into the store, he felt that this place was different from ordinary bars-this difference did not refer to the decoration, but the atmosphere.

There are not many people in the bar, but there are many tables sitting sparsely.But apart from the old-fashioned record player on the bar counter playing blues music in a foreign language, Chiku could hardly hear other sounds.No matter whether the guests sat alone or came together, they never talked with the neighbors, and the silence was a bit weird.

The waiter walked on the smooth marble floor with a tray, and when he saw Qiankong, he only smiled politely.He nodded in response, then sat down at a place with a good view, and when he looked up, he saw someone standing on the small stage at some point.

The man was wearing a black tuxedo with a purple bow tie around his neck and was holding a magic hat.He was originally against the light, making it difficult for people to see his appearance clearly.But as soon as Qian Kong's gaze swept over, a beam of light came from nowhere and hit him on the face.

Senku could see clearly that it was a handsome young man who made the bar look even weirder.He has short, asymmetrical hair, with the right side dyed white.On the left face, there is a black tattoo like a smile.

The crowd, which had been almost silent just now, broke out into loud applause.Chiku clapped a few times politely, and after seeing the magician bowed and saluted on the stage, he began to perform.

No DJ, no band, but a magic show, this is really a strange bar.

Thinking about it, he asked the waiter who came to hand over the menu: "Is that all?"

He pointed to the colorful cocktails on the menu.

"What else do you need?" The waiter had a smile that was poured out of a mold, and even the arc of the smile was accurate to single digits.

"Order something that's not on the menu," he said.

This is not deliberately finding fault, but a secret signal told to him by the introducer.Only after saying these words can he meet the person he wants to see here.

"So, how about a private show?" A soft voice sounded.

Qian Kong looked up and saw that the magician on the stage in the distance had arrived in front of him at some point, replaced by an exaggeratedly dressed clown who was throwing and catching small balls in the air.The magician stretched out a white-gloved hand: "It's an honor to meet you, I'm Qian Wuhuan."

is the name.

Qian Kong shook hands with him, only to feel that his hand loosened, and a bunch of small flowers of the same color tied with white ribbons had appeared in his hand.This flower is the dog ghost lamp, he has seen it in medical books, and it can be used as medicine.

Gen smiled at him, a smile similar to that of the waiter in a way.

"The young master of Qihai's family introduced me." Qiankong inserted the dog ghost lamp into the vase on the table.

The magician sat down and waved to the waiter: "You know my rules, don't you?"

"Understood, barter, I hope your asking price is not too outrageous." Qian Kong took the drink poured in a glass full of ice cubes from the waiter, tasted it, the taste was very weak, and he couldn't taste it. What kind of base wine is used to make it.

The magician picked up his cup and touched Qian Kong's cup, then took a sip, shook the cup and smiled: "Of course the price is not cheap. Besides, I need you to use a pair of Come and exchange information with me."

Without waiting for Qian Kong to answer, he continued: "The content of the information is up to me. Simply put, what I want to know, you must answer truthfully."

"Then you will sell this information to others, just like you sold it to me?" Senku asked.

He has long heard of the "bat" style of acting.As an intelligence dealer, he mixed black and white, had no backing behind him, and did not intend to join any forces.He has many other people's secrets in his hands, and is ready to sell them to anyone who pays a fair price.

"Bat" is a profit supremacist, Qiankong heard so.

"Of course. But you have to make it clear that this is a trade you want." Huan smiled, his smile softened a bit, and he was no longer as rigid as a puppet: "You can choose to refuse to exchange information with me. "

He looked into Qiankong's eyes, as if looking at something interesting.

It is true to say so, but the people who will come here are all desperate.Those who still have a way will not choose to rely on the power of "bats".Sometimes, people are willing to sell anything, including themselves, in order to solve the urgent need.

But Ishigami Qianku is not such a person.

"I'm afraid I don't have any interesting information to exchange with you." Qian Kong used his nails to flick the badge that was still in his breast pocket, on which his name, title, and affiliation were written: "If As you can see, I am a scientist, and I spend all day with research, and my private life can be considered as nothing. I really can’t think of any information on me that you are interested in.”

These words sound a bit like boasting that he is upright, but in fact they are used to describe Qian Kong as a person.He devoted all his energy to scientific research and was indifferent to things other than science.If it weren't for the need for "bats" this time, maybe he would never step into entertainment venues like bars in his life.

"You're different from them." Huan didn't hide his scrutiny of Qian Kong, sitting casually, looking at him with his chin: "You can't see in your eyes the obsession to achieve something even if you sell your soul .Then why did you come to me? My asking price may be too high for someone like you."

"That's not necessarily true. In the eyes of scientists, the value of some things is immeasurable." Qian Kong said, took out a few photos from the folder, and then arranged them on the table: "I know that talking about it in my capacity The paranormal doesn't make sense, but it happened."

The first photo is of a stone sculpture with a human-looking female silhouette.As a sculpture art, it can be called exquisite workmanship.Even some details—such as the veins on the back of the hand, or the texture on the knuckles—are eerily realistic.

It's not that human craftsmanship can't reach this level, but it's easy to tell the real from the fake with the naked eye.This stone sculpture looks too real.

In the second photo, the stone sculpture was placed flat on an operating table, and most of the color became very dark because of some liquid poured on it.

In the third photo, the outside of the stone sculpture was cracked like an egg shell, and the flesh and blood was peeled off, which was indeed a living human woman.

"Do you know what caused this?" Qian Kong noticed that the informant didn't show the unexpected expression he imagined when he saw those photos.Maybe this is a kind of facial expression management, or maybe the "bat" is really an omniscient existence as those people said.

Huan flipped through those photos casually: "It should be my round of bidding now."

Chiku made a "please" gesture.

"It's not cheap." The magician seemed to want to whet people's appetites. He looked at the photos over and over again and said, "This woman is wearing the family crest of the Qihai family. She should be Xiaolongshui's subordinates, right?"

The research institute to which Chiku belongs needs funds, and has close contacts with the underworld behind the scenes.The Qihai family is their biggest benefactor.

Qihai Longshui once bought information from this intelligence dealer because the family business was obstructed, although after that, the Qihai family did defeat the competitors who had always been like thorns in the flesh, and became an influential big chaebol in one fell swoop.However, Long Shui himself has been uneasy about the information exchanged with the "bat".

"I don't know what kind of person would buy that piece of information from him." When Long Shui said this, he was a little embarrassed: "That person always gives me a very dangerous feeling, I really don't recommend you go to him .”

"But he is the only one who might know the reason for the petrification, right?" Qian Kong disagreed: "I have no secrets to keep, and I have never pryed into your secrets. If it is a commercial secret, then the buyer will pay him the same price , I don’t think anyone would be so stupid as that.”

"François has been saved, I am very grateful to you, Qian Kong." The young owner of the institute never showed his posture in front of Qian Kong, and he always talked to the young scientist in a friendly tone: "You just have to figure out the petrochemical s reason?"

"Don't you want to know? Have you ever thought that Francois may have been attacked by some kind of weapon to become like this. The next time this weapon is aimed at you may be you."

Long Shui pondered for a moment, and had to admit that what Qian Kong said made a lot of sense.Although the strange incident that Francois encountered had been suppressed by him, everyone in the family who knew about it fell into uneasiness.They have seen many advanced weapons from various countries in the world, whether it is the use of infrasonic waves to shatter internal organs, or microwave weapons that directly destroy human tissue regardless of armor.They are scary, but there are scientific laws to follow.

But this petrification phenomenon is completely beyond the cognitive scope of human science.Even if it spreads out, people will probably regard it as an urban ghost story.

"Then, in the name of the Nanami family..."

Qian Kong interrupted him with a smile: "You still think you don't show enough of your underwear to others? In my private name, you are responsible for paying the bill."

Chiku said this because he became interested in this intelligence dealer nicknamed "Bat".

Now the man was sitting in front of him, shifting lazily.When he crossed his legs under the table, whether it was intentional or not, he kicked the side edge of Senku's shoe with his toe.He didn't apologize, and he didn't put his leg back.Instead, he raised his upturned eyes to see Qiankong's reaction.

From a rational level and objective evaluation, Qian Wuhuan is very beautiful.There is a kind of obscurity in his eyebrows and eyes, which makes it difficult for people to focus on him when they look at him.This has nothing to do with gender and sexual orientation, but a temptation that directly touches the primitive instinct of human beings.

Some people say that even if they are reluctant to pay the price of "Bat", they will have to pay him in the end.This stems from some kind of magical power in him, which can confuse people's hearts.When I look at him, my mind will be chaotic like drugged, and when I wake up, I will regret it.

Qian Kong obviously felt that the other party was testing him, and running away would be the worst policy.Unmoved, he looked back at that gaze.

Just a pair of very beautiful eyes.Those rumors probably contained a lot of exaggeration.

The eyes were bent, formed an arc, and opened again, and the eyelashes trembled slightly.Even a scientist like Qianku, who lives a somewhat unrealistic life, can tell that it does have charm.However, it is not enough to easily manipulate people's hearts.At least he had never heard of humans being able to do such a thing.

"That's right, Long Shui's subordinates were petrified for unknown reasons. I want to know the reason for the petrification, and whether there are human factors behind it." Qiankong took out a check from Nanami's family and handed it over: "I'm looking forward to you What kind of conditions will be offered?"

The magician was taken aback, convinced that he had indeed heard the word "expectation".

"You're a weirdo," he said.

"Bat" has a great reputation, and the information he holds is enough to cause an ordinary intelligence dealer to lose his life dozens of times, but so far, no organization has been able to touch him.The assassin he sent never returned, and people from all walks of life speculated about what kind of forces were behind him to protect him.But no matter how you check, what "Bat" owns is only this small bar called "Ghost Lantern".

Over time, all those who asked for him came here with fear.

A scientist named Senku Ishigami dismisses the rumors and simply talks to Asagiri as if it were an ordinary business.He was eager to try, not knowing what kind of conditions this rumored magician with the power to spy on other people's minds would offer.

"It can be seen that you are a man with few desires."

Huan said that the sound blended with the music on the record player, like singing a lullaby, which made people drowsy.

The person in front of him disappeared for a moment when Qian Kong was not paying attention.He felt a sense of disobedience beside him, and when he looked over, the magician was already sitting next to him.There was a faint fragrance about him, perhaps flowers.

"However, in this world, there is no one who has no desire at all."

Huan's voice sounded in his ears again, but it seemed to come from a distant place.

"You are missing an opportunity."

The chanting was like a mantra, injecting something that did not belong to Qian Kong into his consciousness, interweaving it into an indescribable but colorful thing, making him lost in it.When he regained himself a little bit, Chiku was startled to realize that the magician was actually kissing him.His brain lost control over his body, and he responded to the kiss without emotion.

He tried his best to break free from the shackles that seemed to imprison his soul, and lost his voice: "You!"

"What's wrong with me?" The magician shook the wine glass, and the melting ice made a crackling sound.He was still sitting opposite Qian Kong, and he never seemed to leave that chair.

Was that just a hallucination?

No, it's impossible.The touch of that kiss still remained, and the other party looked at him with a smile of unknown meaning.

Qian Kong remembered that Long Shui once warned him: "I really don't recommend you to go to him. Someone told me that he might not be human."

TBC