After solving the cat, the irrelevant worries of the big shots came to an end. Everyone cleaned the battlefield, ate, and chatted, but the focus of the topic shifted from Brother Cat's past and Apokolips to Hercule's memory fragments.

After listening to the conversation between Hercule and the stranger deep in the tunnel, Constantine said thoughtfully: "Is it a 'madhouse'... In fact, I have also seen such a cracked world. The mage calls it the edge realm. , the old mutant also mentioned this just now.”

He looked at Zatanna for verification, and the female mage nodded: "John is right. Although similar places are rare, they are not unheard of. What you have to do is to be aimless like the person in the dream said. You wander around and you reach the edge. Sometimes we feel like the city is guiding you."

As someone who had seen the other side of the city several times, Hercule tucked the corners of his coat uncomfortably.

Constantine continued: "It is usually born at the junction of another world and reality. It is like a natural magnet, attracting all special energies in the world, and eventually becomes a party for evil people and a refuge for ghosts. Having said that, the edge Realm is one of my favorite places in the world," he said, swinging his legs with a contented expression, "I'm unique there, and the treatment is extraordinary... What's that look in your eyes?"

Hercule looked back.

He looked thoughtful and thought for a long time before asking: "Are there ghosts in the borderline realm?"

Constantine said in surprise: "I sometimes wonder whether you are an atheist after all. Very good question. If I were your magic teacher, I would give ten points to your final paper for your ideas. Listen up, the borderline realm is The only place other than hell and heaven where ghosts can reside for eternity.”

oh. thought Hercule. At least this part of the mystery has been solved.

He did not continue to think deeply, because the interpretation of the answer cast a shadow on his memory of the game's branch.

According to the branch records and Hercule's impression, when he returned to the underground after delivering the message to Ark Pharmaceuticals, there was no one there.

The player searched every corner of the map, but failed to meet any familiar NPC, nor did he see the so-called 'madhouse' or other patients. The side story seemed to end abruptly here, which made him think that there was a bug in the game.

It was not until much later that Hercule recovered a letter left to him by the person in the tunnel in the mission chain:

‘To the detective whose name is unknown:

I don’t know if you have met anyone from Ark Pharmaceuticals.

If they are particularly annoying or deliberately looking for trouble with you, that's entirely their problem, don't bring it to me, I'm not responsible.

You must ask where I went. To tell you the truth, the underground people's sea fishing did catch something. To put it simply, people's hearts have become evil because of this, and they can do anything. In order to close that door, I must find a sacrifice to the sea that will satisfy the desires of people, and then they will no longer think of harming others.

When I first saw you, I felt that you were very suitable to be the unlucky guy who was sacrificed... Don't be angry. Since you survived, it means that I didn't do that in the end.

You can think of it as something protecting you, detective. Anyway, I went to look for other methods or other sacrifices.

If they can be found, all the missing people will be saved, and you won't have to make a special trip. If you fail, the underground will turn into a killer carnival, a hell on earth, and a paradise in the sea. It's not a trouble you can solve anyway, so you might as well call the police.

That’s it, the universe is too big and there is probably no chance of meeting again, so I won’t waste paper writing lengthy blessings.

The last resident of the asylum remains. ’

Since most of the words in the letter are vague and unclear, when players see the contents of "sea fishing", "sacrifice", "sea paradise", etc., they only think that they are some stream of consciousness statements rather than real supernatural powers.

However, now combined with the concept of the borderline realm and Constantine's interpretation of the three murals, Hercule has made many guesses, and believes that some of them must be correct.

For example - he moved his right wrist and said thoughtfully: "I guess if you want the 'sea' to leave reality, you must sacrifice a suitable person. And this person, as of now, is me."

"?" Others have been confused more than once because of the detective's jumping thinking.

Batman asked calmly: "What specifically?"

Hercule did not answer immediately. He closed his eyes and felt his lost right hand. There is still a cold touch between the palms, as if the skin is immersed in the continuously surging sea water on a steaming summer day.

The tide will never stop, it can only fade away briefly, and then rush in more fiercely... With a 'crash', a few white waves hit the rolled-up cuffs, and then firmly fixed there, leaving a dark streak. The wet marks startled the people on the shore.

The sea seemed to be calling him and pulling him in this way.

Let's go, let's go.

Children of the land, go into the sea.

In just a few seconds, Hercule felt a chill covering his wrists from his palms.

'Hai' sensed his attention, and became eager to fight and ecstatic.

"As Mr. Constantine said, sea fishing needs warriors."

When he spoke again, Hercule's tone became very firm, "The Arkmaster and the sea are both mortal enemies and the two ends of the magnetic pole. The former will briefly conquer the latter, and the latter will always win the final victory. In other words, the Arkmaster attracted the sea, defeated the sea, and will eventually leave his bones in the sea."

Zatanna commented: "It's like making a deal with the devil at the cost of life."

"You can understand it this way, ma'am, but I think there is another interpretation here." Hercule pointed at himself, "As long as the opponent or natural enemy of the Arkmaster is still alive in the world, the sea will not be able to rest for a day - it will instinctively and unscrupulously destroy those who can suppress it until one of them dies."

Can humans use their own thoughts to speculate on natural creations without souls?

The boundless sea, the sea that embraces everything, the cruel and ruthless sea.

What exactly is the sea?

When it surges onto the long shore and takes everything it engulfs into its body, what is it thinking?

The tide rises and falls, like an endless attempt. Is there something on the shore that attracts it?

People also want to go to the sea.

Throughout the ages, the more people fear something from the heart, the more they want to conquer it.

Unable to see through the darkness, so light a torch. Unable to fly, build wings. Difficult to sail, cast sails. The first person in ancient times who walked barefoot towards the flood holding a wooden stake may have also built countless large or small arks in the mental world of the entire tribe.

That was the first time that people saw the deep sea, and it was also the first time that the deep sea saw creatures from the shore.

Through the mirror-like water surface, they saw the opponent that they would fight for the rest of their lives.

——Presented the shape of a reflection.

In the game, the strange NPC in the lunatic asylum at the end of the tunnel said to the player: "I'm not looking at the sea, I'm fucking fighting myself, do you understand? Boxing with the madness deep in my heart."

And he was facing the sea of ​​the mental world.

The islands in the mental world are the embodiment of human subconsciousness.

Then the boundless gray sea is the opposite of the subconscious, a collection of potential malice.

"So, anyone who has mastered the skills of driving the ark and has enough courage can return the customs to the mental world." Constantine asked Hercule questioningly, "Why must it be you?"

Hercule shrugged: "It's not that I am so sacrificial, Mr. Constantine, there are other heroes with such fearless feelings. The most important thing is that it has set its sights on me. Not only because the old captain of the Yuwen Church transferred his identity to me, but also because the sea regards me as a greater opponent. As long as I don't build a tomb on the deep sea, it will regard me as the center of the vortex and wander here forever."

He spread his right hand among the crowd: "If you get closer, you can still hear its low hum. Do you want to try it?"

The situation took a sharp turn for the worse - this is the case for many people, but not Hercule.

He is trying to get himself a 'deathbed treatment': "I still care about the black sun in the mental world. Now that things have come to this, can I smoke a cigarette and take a look?"

This unreasonable request was ruthlessly rejected.

They were transferred from the hospital to a safe area that would not interfere with the normal lives of residents, and then everyone began to hold meetings and discussions one after another.

At this time, the agent who went to Kauai to look for graffiti came back with the results of the expedition:

It is known that the first painting is a person fishing on a boat. The second painting is a person standing on the bow of the boat and hanging himself.

The name of the island, "Kauai", is a Hawaiian dialect, which is said to translate as "the place around the neck", which is quite interesting when connected.

"It seems that whoever is behind the scenes has indeed localized the murals in the tunnel to a considerable extent." Hercule looked at the high-definition photos sent over and said with interest, "In their opinion, what do people standing upside down and people hanging have in common? It depends on when the person is upside down..."

Inspiration hit him instantly, and Hercule said to the others at the conference table: "When diving. Knowing that the sea is dangerous and heading towards the sea is a kind of suicide."

"I feel that they have completely tarnished the warrior spirit of exploring nature." Constantine put his hands in his windbreaker pockets and stared at the photo and said, "To be honest, I don't like the idea that warriors fighting the sea commit suicide to calm the waves of the sea - since they have made the decision to bow to the sea, can they still be considered heroes? They are not as good as those wearing capes dangling in the sky."

What he said was a bit offensive, and whether they were wearing capes or not, they felt uncomfortable after hearing it.

Batman was recording the sound wave frequency of the sea on the other side of the conference room to estimate its approaching speed.

The only reference medium he had was Hercule's hand. Whenever he needed to record, Hercule would raise his hand and put it next to the bat's ear - there seemed to be a small, non-detachable sound wave recorder on the inside of the helmet - and watch Batman write a few words on the paper, and then push his hand away.

Most people would choose to take off the helmet to do this more conveniently, but it is obvious that Batman never takes off his mask.

Because he was close, Batman was able to see that when Constantine finished speaking, Hercule frowned and pursed his lips slightly, revealing an expression that was almost sympathetic.

Before he spoke, the detective raised his hand and put it next to his pointed ear, blocking Batman's questions.

Soon, the third mural was also found, on the westernmost island of the Hawaiian Islands, Nihao Island. There was nothing special about this painting, which was similar to what Hercule remembered, depicting a person being swallowed by a black circular portal.

"Then the clue is very clear now."

Hercule connected the dots of the three murals on the map, "I thought a long time ago that the vegetation covering the northern end of the Hawaiian Islands is darker in color, the desert at the southern end is lighter in color, and the main islands are in an arc shape from east to west, which looks like a person's finger bones from a high altitude."

"Now where this hand is pointing is where we should dive and then sacrifice to the sea."

Just after he finished speaking, the voice of an acquaintance who shouldn't be in Hawaii at this time came from the door.

"I'm not late, am I? It sounds like you have solved the problem, and a patient has also walked out of the ICU alive and kicking."

Unlike Batman.

Iron Man is used to taking off his mask when he lands.

The metal armor was raised up, and Tony Stark, who flew all the way from the east coast of New York to Hawaii, strode into the conference room without being invited.

Hercule was about to say hello when he heard Fury say beside him: "You came at the right time - a patient who just walked out of the ICU is about to go back the same way and go in again."

"..."

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