Extraordinary pedigree

The cold wind howled by, blowing up the powder on the snow and forming flying snowflakes. These snowflakes rolled in the air and seemed to be ashes falling in the night sky.

Huhuhu~

The coldness in the air was biting, accompanied by an oppressive silence. Only the occasional sound of wind broke the dull silence, bringing a rustling sound, like the whisper of some unknown creature in the distance.

Xia Xiu was wearing a blue winter coat, with a fishing rod bag slung on his back, and the snow under his feet made a "creep" sound. Each footprint was deeply imprinted in the thick snow, seeming to have carved their tracks in this boundless white world.

The sky was gloomy, with thick dark clouds like an opaque curtain, blocking all potential light.

These dark clouds moved slowly across the low skyline, occasionally revealing a glimmer of light, only to be quickly swallowed up by denser clouds.

Against this background, the whole world seems to be dyed with a faint layer of gray. No matter the distant mountains or nearby trees, they have lost their vitality, leaving only indifference and loneliness.

Little Hope's nose was red due to the cold, and her moist purple pupils looked around curiously, chatting with Xia Xiu from time to time to dispel the overwhelming chill around her.

"Where are we going next?" Little Hope's voice sounded particularly clear in the cold air.

Xia Xiu adjusted the fishing rod on his back, looked at the blurry outline in the snow ahead, and replied:

"We're going to the east shore of Mille Lacs, Minnesota, where there's a place called Island City. We need to do some fieldwork there, scout for Wendigo tracks, and investigate recent unusual missing persons cases, if possible If so, check out several nearby abnormal community hubs.”

Hope listened, putting her index finger on her chin with a vaguely understanding expression on her face.

Her curiosity was aroused and she continued to ask: "So what exactly is a Wendigo?"

Xia Xiu smiled slightly. This question seemed simple, but it touched upon a deep unknown.

"The Wendigo is a mythical creature originating from Aboriginal legends. It is described as a greedy, insatiable being, symbolizing greed and extreme hunger. Its story has a profound impact on local culture , associated with many mysterious incidents and disappearances, the Wendigo is also often seen as a warning before a big change."

Xia Xiu explained while continuing to move forward on the snow.

Every step he took imprinted an "8"-shaped Möbius strip on the thick snow. It seemed that with every step he took, the space was distorted under his feet, making his movement appear extremely fast, almost like It is moving forward as fast as shrinking to an inch.

The hope on the shoulders continues to ask curiously: "What do they look like?"

Xia Xiu rubbed his chin and stared into the distance, as if searching for descriptions of Wendigo in his mind.

He recalled the papers on the study of regional mythology that he had read in the archives of heaven open to high-ranking angels, and said slowly:

"There are two different versions of the image of the Wendigo. In one description, the Wendigo is seen as a transparent troll with a skeleton and heart made of ice. It is 20 to 30 feet tall. It has a huge, toothy mouth, and when it breathes, the air makes a harsh hissing sound through the uneven teeth. Its eyes are bloodshot, and there is only one toe on each foot, and the tips on its palms are sharp. Its claws can easily leave deep scratches on the bark of trees, and it is extremely powerful and can easily knock down trees that block its path."

Xia Xiu paused and continued to add the second description: "Another description describes the Wendigo as a thin, haggard huge skeleton, with dead gray dry skin tightly wrapped around it. Its eye sockets It was deeply sunken, with tattered lips, and its whole body exuded a stench of blood and corruption, like a living corpse that had just crawled out of a tomb."

Xia Xiu's narration continued, his voice carrying a hint of calmness and contemplation in the cold wind: "In addition to the above two signs, there is also a group memevirus caused by cultural combination syndrome - Wen Diego disease.”

As he spoke, he walked through the snowy ground blown by the cold wind. The outline of the city in front gradually became clear, showing a trace of human fireworks.

The snow creaked under his weight, and it spread out into a vast expanse of white. From time to time, snow powder picked up by the wind flew into the air, as if winter elves were dancing in the air.

As they went deeper, the outline of the city ahead began to become clear.

The light in the distance shines with a warm yellow light through the cold air, like a warm invitation in the cold.

The existence of the city makes this snow-covered land seem less lonely, and the smell of human fireworks is in sharp contrast with the natural cold.

The forest around Xia Xiu itself has a gloomy atmosphere, and the dense trees present a naked and lonely beauty in winter.

But as they approached the edge of civilization, the trees, which had seemed a bit bleak, seemed to be warmed by the light and energy of the city.

The silence in the woods is broken by the occasional sounds of vehicles and people in the distance, bringing a sense of rhythm to life.

"arrive."

Xia Xiu stood in front of the entrance to the island city, the cold air condensing into mist in the air with his breathing.

The hope on the shoulders also looks forward curiously. The buildings on both sides of the street emit a warm yellow light. The wooden facades and stone paths set off the fusion of the town's simplicity and modernity.

Snowflakes lightly cover the roofs and treetops, contrasting with the lights dotting the streets.

In such an environment, Xia Xiu smeared [Existence-weakening Memesu] on the hope on his shoulders as usual, and reduced his own sense of existence to a quarter of the normal human threshold perception, similar to the extreme sense of existence. A low passerby level. In this situation, if he wanted to steal something, it would be as easy as taking his own.

In this almost invisible state, Xia Xiu quietly blended into the bustling crowd in the island city with hope.

11:45 AM.

Island City.

Xia Xiu was sitting in a warm local restaurant, enjoying lunch.

In front of him was a steaming plate of Walder Lake fish pancakes, a traditional Minnesota delicacy made from freshly caught Walder Lake fish with local herbs and spices. Crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. , unique flavor.

In addition, he also ordered a small mousse cake for Hope, which was placed on a beautiful small plate.

Hope looked at the dessert composed of multiple layers of light cream and delicate chocolate, her eyes sparkled with joy, and her little hands kept putting the sweet mousse into her mouth, eating it with relish.

By this time, the weather outside the restaurant had cleared up and the snow had stopped.

Xia Xiu's golden eyes curiously observed the outside world through the window.

As one of the abnormal states, the Thousand Lakes State embraces the abnormal and extraordinary at an extraordinary speed. As a part of the Thousand Lakes State, Island City's special geographical and cultural background makes it a hotbed of extraordinary and extraordinary phenomena.

Driven by the Mayflower Foundation, the novel beast-controlling system continues to spread locally, and various [capsule beasts] brought by the triangular trade are rapidly becoming popular among the people.

A contemporary historian from Wandman Newspaper commented on the newly emerging beast-controlling system:

"The Edici regime among Terran humans poured out the so-called "beast-controlling system" with the blood of the borderlands and the beasts of all realms. They started the old tricks of the past - occupying land and expelling the permanent residents to create new ones. The proletarians (whether affiliated with the transcendent side or not) then plunge the land into the privatized torrent of capital accumulation.

The current Ivy League war has entered the "enclosure" stage. In fact, the ownership of each plane is actually concentrated in the hands of the King [Golden Tree] or the Golden Royal Court recognized by him, as well as related institutions such as the Royal Court Church, and a small amount is privately owned by the owners of the planes.

According to the current golden law, the actual tenure rights of the planes he controls and the property on them are enfeoffed to the masters of each plane on the condition of paying taxes and providing military service, and are then distributed among the masters of the planes according to each level [boundary wedge]. The Lord of Faces (Lord of the Gods) is a multi-dimensional ruling force with multiple political powers.

The plane system under the golden law usually uses the aboriginal contract system. The aboriginal contract system stipulates the personal dependence relationship between the lord and the aboriginal people, and the [Golden Tree] legislation stipulates that neither party can breach the contract. At the same time, a piece of "public land" will be arranged on the land of each manor. According to contracts at all levels, public land is not arranged for farming, and civilians have the right to engage in restricted grazing, firewood, wild fruit picking and other activities on it.

The forces of Terra were more cruel than the Golden Court. They rarely fulfilled their responsibilities as the masters of the planes, even in planes dominated by humans. They began to develop the "enclosure movement".

Methods of enclosure—including the more peaceful method of buying out the use rights of the indigenous peoples, or the plane lord forcibly terminating the use rights of the indigenous peoples by amending the law. The coercive method often leads to conflicts and even rebellions.

The emerging financial bourgeoisie of Terra and new profit groups used violent means to force the indigenous people of the small plane to separate from their own means of production and accumulate capital. On the one hand, it concentrates the means of social production into the hands of a few people, and on the other hand, it turns a large number of producers into [financial slaves]. Most of them are beast-controlling creatures. Many beast-controlling creatures are forced to do so because they have lost the protection of the plane. Sign a lifetime "Terms of Service" with Terra Financial Institutions.

Of course, they prefer to use force to conquer colonies, rob gold and silver property, sell beast-controlling slaves and other methods to quickly accumulate wealth. A sinful triangular trade has been formed in the new world, border areas, and all realms.

Edici became rich by colonizing all worlds, and used the blood and tears of the creatures in all worlds to water the extraordinary flowers. Flowers are evil. 』

Indeed, as [Wandman Newspaper Agency] said, [Financial Street]'s terrifying alienation ability makes all existences have to pay attention to it.

Moreover, the beast control system it brought about, even the Kingdom of Heaven had to marvel at, because there had never been an extraordinary system that could become as popular as beast control.

The scene Xia Xiu saw now was the embodiment of this characteristic.

Sitting in the restaurant, he witnessed through the window a strange and fascinating scene, one that would attract the attention of any passerby.

In Island City, a small town located on the eastern shore of Mille Lacs, Minnesota, an ordinary basketball court has now become a battle stage for extraordinary creatures.

On the field, the originally flat basketball court was repainted into a bright red and blue area, which looked particularly eye-catching.

Of course, this is not an ordinary basketball game, but a competitive showdown between two children controlling their [Capsule Beast].

The protagonists on the field are a snowman made of snow blocks and a creature that looks like a jellyfish.

Both creatures were released from metal capsules held in children's hands.

Although these two creatures are the main subjects of the battle, they have extremely cute appearances.

The snowman's body is made up of multiple irregular snowballs, and its two big eyes and wide smile make it look more friendly than threatening.

Compared with the bulky and rounded snowman, the jellyfish appears more agile. Its transparent body reflects a subtle light in the sun, and its long tentacles swing lightly, as if dancing in the air.

"Cheese, show off your Frost Blast! Charge forward, then hit with a snowball roll."

The snowman responded to the first child's command and rushed forward with its huge body. The surrounding snow was kicked up, forming a flying white mist.

Although its movements are clumsy, it is powerful, and every step it takes is accompanied by vibrations, as if the entire venue is shaking under its weight.

When given the "Snowball Roll" command, the snowman begins to spin rapidly, forming a giant snowball that rolls towards the opponent, trying to overwhelm everything with its weight and speed.

"Hagrid, use your tentacles to whip! Attack around and don't give him a chance to breathe!"

"Whirlpool of water, trap him! Make him unable to move, see my trick!"

"Transparent and invisible, dodge quickly! Then counterattack, use your speed to confuse him!"

The jellyfish demonstrates its agility and cunning under the command of another child.

After receiving the "tentacle whip" command, its long tentacles swung like a whip, whipping the snowman quickly and accurately, leaving deep marks on the snowman's snow body with each blow. Under the command of "Water Vortex", the jellyfish releases a powerful stream of water, forming a rotating vortex around itself, temporarily pushing the approaching snowman away, while creating an opportunity for a more powerful counterattack.

Xia Xiu watched this scene quietly. The children's faces were filled with expressions of excitement and nervousness. Sometimes they jumped and cheered, and sometimes they gave instructions nervously.

On the field, although the battle between the two creatures has rules and rhythm, it obviously lacks mature combat strategies.

In the cold Minnesota wind, the fight felt more like a show than a real showdown.

The children chose to control the beasts by shouting instructions. This method not only increased the drama of the battle, but also made the whole process full of randomness and uncertainty.

Although the capsule is equipped with a chip that can be directly controlled by thoughts to achieve fast and precise operation, children seem to prefer this direct communication method of sound, which makes them feel more real and involved.

Xia Xiu, a strong person, expressed his incomprehension.

The scene of two beasts fighting back and forth on the field is too lacking in violent aesthetics in the eyes of "Human Apostle", and this one-and-done turn-based fighting method cannot withstand scrutiny in actual combat.

The most important point is...