Shadow of the Beautiful World

Snapped

A banknote was pressed on the table, waking up the drowsy boss under the afternoon sun.

In this small street store in Florida, the slightly bald boss looked up and saw a young man wearing a beach shirt and big shorts, with sunglasses covering almost half of his face, and carrying a bag. People are standing in front of him.

5 bottles of water!

The young man looked at the watch on his wrist and said:

Hurry up, please, I'm going to miss the train.

5 bottles?

The boss quickly put away the money, he looked at the young man in front of him with some surprise, and asked:

You drink alone?

This question caused the young man wearing sunglasses to show a helpless smile. He pushed the sunglasses and shrugged at the boss:

Yes, I like drinking water, I really like it.

A moment later, Merlin, whose backpack was filled with water, put the sun visor on his head.

He twisted open a bottle of water and gulped it into his mouth in the sun.

As the cold water entered his body, the small shell pendant hanging around his neck flashed like water waves. Merlin could feel the water flowing down his throat and into his stomach, and that cool feeling quickly filled his body under the effect of the magic jewelry given to him by the seaman Vico.

In the state of Merlin's spirit vision, the black smoke flowing from his body just tried to escape, and it quickly dissipated under the washing of invisible flowing water magic.

Merlin shook his head, threw the empty water bottle in his hand into the trash can at the entrance of the station, and walked into the train station like a normal backpacker.

This is 1990, and the network system that allows criminals nowhere to hide has just matured, and has not yet reached the level that can replace the traditional ticket sales model. And for Merlin who has the shadow cloak, he doesn't even need a passport and a train ticket. This train station is almost defenseless for him.

A few minutes later, Merlin relaxed with his bag on his back and waited on the platform for the train from Florida to the western United States to arrive. His fingers subconsciously touched the shell pendant around his neck, which looked like a cheap souvenir from a beach in Florida.

But when you touch it with your fingers, you will feel as if you are putting your hand into the water, and there is a coolness.

This is the solution Vico gave him.

This thing is good in everything, but the activation method is a bit weird. Merlin still remembers the reminder Vico gave him when he and Vico separated:

The shell pendant can purify dark magic power, but it can be used at most once an hour, and it will have no effect if you don't drink water. Once you don't drink water for more than six hours, it will temporarily lose its effect. And the dark magic power you have accumulated in 6 hours, It would immediately lead to a terrible disaster.

So, drink plenty of water at the right time! Both hot and cold water are fine, and it's better to soak in water.

All right.

Merlin took out another bottle of water from his pocket, raised his head, and gulped it into his mouth.

This morning, he had already drank 4 bottles of water. After drinking this bottle of water, Merlin felt his stomach was already rattling.

So the first thing he did after he got into the train was

go to the toilet.

—

The railway network in North America was built very early, especially the closer to the western land, the more the railway lines here have a sense of the times.

Many rail lines here were even built in the western era. With the progress of the times, more forms of transportation have been used by people. The railway, once regarded as a symbol of civilization and progress, has also fallen behind in this competition. .

After all, with a more convenient and faster aviation system, and more and more cars, fewer and fewer people will choose to travel by train.

Amidst the rhythmic bang bang bang bang bang, Merlin rested his head on the car window, admiring the scenery outside the car window. After entering Texas, the scenery outside the window also becomes rough, as if to remind passengers that they have come to the wildest piece of land in this country.

Merlin was relaxed, he had never been so relaxed.

The undersea man Vico helped him solve a big problem. Although the dark power in his body would stir up from time to time, the bad luck that haunted him could already be eliminated through purification.

This allowed Merlin to finally become a real tourist, without having to worry about ruining everything inadvertently.

Once people relax, they will involuntarily think about more things. Just when Merlin was immersed in the western scenery, a pleasant voice sounded beside him.

Hello, can I sit here?

Merlin turned his head, and he saw a beautiful blond girl with a bag on her back, also dressed like a traveler.

Of course, sit down.

Merlin took his backpack and put it under his feet. The blond beauty sat beside him, and the vague smell of perfume rushed into Merlin's nostrils, making him a little distracted.

He's 19, a healthy adult, with a hormonal rush still running through his body. It wasn't that there were no beautiful companions in the previous journeys, but at that time, Merlin was so focused on dealing with his own bad luck that he had no time to think about it.

Maybe

Time to make some friends.

First time to the West?

Merlin looked at the young lady beside him, and he asked a question. The young lady put down the book she had just opened, and she turned to look at Merlin. Chatting with a man with a handsome appearance and a sense of mystery is not something that people can resist, so the young lady replied:

No, I was born in Texas.

Oh, it's my first time.

Merlin said casually:

I've traveled all over the Northeast, from Madison to Chicago, Maine to Florida, and I've never seen anything like it.

Are you doing a country tour? That's cool.

The young lady exclaimed, her eyes fell on the pendant on Merlin's neck, and she said:

Nice necklace, is it a souvenir?

This, this is my lucky amulet.

Merlin laughed:

Let's see, well, I got it on a little beach in Florida right after I'd spent about six hours in Florida from Maine.

Six hours? You really know how to joke.

The little sister was amused, and she laughed backwards and forwards:

Are you on the space shuttle?

No, it's cooler than that!

Merlin narrowed his eyes behind the sunglasses, and lowered his voice, as if sharing a secret, he said to the young lady beside him:

I sat on a dolphin and swam all the way.

Hahaha, you are so funny.

The boring journey also became more enjoyable when the two young people joked and shared with each other. According to the theory of relativity, time passes very quickly when you are in a pleasant mood.

Did you hear about the bombing in Chicago? I saw it firsthand.

At St. Austin Station, Merlin with a backpack on his back held the arm of the blond chick, and he said softly:

How about we find a place and take a rest. By the way, I will share with you all the secrets I know.

Are you dating me? Merlin.

The chick looked back at Merlin, and with a playful smile, she said:

Do you think I'm the kind of prodigal girl?

Of course you are not.

Merlin held her hand and walked towards the hotel outside the station naturally, he said:

Nor am I, but it doesn't prevent us from sharing our secrets. You see, this is just a simple chat.

So if it's just a simple chat, let's do it next time, if we meet again by fate. Not to mention

The beautiful lady gently shook off Merlin's hand. She looked at the watch on her wrist and smiled at Merlin:

I still have some things to do.

After finishing speaking, the beauty brushed her blond hair, stuffed something into Merlin's hand, blew him a kiss, then turned and left with a slightly heavy salute.

All right.

Merlin was not disappointed either. He looked at the thing in his hand. It was a note with a name, a string of phone numbers, and a message:

Merlin, your hidden eyes should be beautiful. Please contact me - Inez Temple, your friend in Texas.

Oh, wonderful people, wonderful times.

Merlin held the note and walked outside the station. He looked at the city covered by the sun outside, he shook his head:

But stop here sweet girl Temple I don't want to hurt you.

After speaking, he tore up the note and threw it into the trash can, then picked up his backpack and turned to leave.

It's easy to share a story with someone, but after you relax, it's time to get down to business.

He came to the west, not just for fun.

—

The Texas desert, located in the northwest of this wild land, takes a train from St. Austin and takes about a few hours to arrive.

That was Merlin's destination.

He knew from Bruce that there were many supernatural events here when the western era was in decline. To this day, there are still many supernatural stories circulating among the local population.

The Rye Demon, the Desert Wizard, the Graveyard Ghost, and the most famous local legend, the Ghost Rider.

It is said that in the most remote area close to the desert, there is also a ruined town famous for being haunted. It is said that there has been a terrible curse, and the ghosts of people after death are trapped there and cannot be freed. That ghostly place is called San Van Gonzale. It took Merlin 2 days to get there, but he didn't dare to walk into the ruins of the town.

He can see things that ordinary people can't see. When he looked at the ruins of the wild town, he saw dense numbers of vengeful spirits trapped in the ruins. out of the ruins.

Even just getting close, Merlin could feel the sinister wind blowing in that place, and the crowd of ghosts howling, it was like a real hell on earth.

That's where Merlin can't go yet.

Right now, he still doesn't have the ability to enter it to find the hidden secrets.

But the existence of this ruin proves that the supernatural legends in this place have traces to follow. This gave Merlin hope. What he feared the most was that he had tried his best but found nothing.

Merlin wrote down the dangerous Saint Van Gonzale in the notebook he carried with him. This is a supernatural zone. When he becomes stronger in the future, he can come back and have a look.

He drove a rented car along the desert road to the nearest city.

If Saint Van Gonza exists, it means that the Ghost Rider related to this town also exists. He has to search in the nearby city library, and he may be able to find the clues he wants.

But when Merlin was driving through a small town, he suddenly noticed a very familiar force.

Dark and gloomy, like a snake crawling on the ground.

That is magic power, dark magic power, which is different from the dark power in his body, but they should all come from the same place.

hell.

This made Merlin stop the car, he opened the car window, and looked towards the place where the power radiated. It was a circus in the dark. The lighting and the burning of the big bonfire made the circus very lively. Even though it was already night, there were still many tourists.

Obviously, the performers in this circus must be very skilled or full of gimmicks.

Merlin followed the bustling crowd into the circus. On the grass outside the town, there were many temporary tents set up, which were the venue for the performance. There were one or two exclamations from the tent from time to time, but this did not disturb Merlin's search. He walked in the direction where the weak dark force extended, all the way to the inside of the circus, where the employees should rest.

Compared with the lively scene outside, it is very peaceful here.

He took off his sunglasses, and in the darkness, the pupils of his eyes changed, and the things in the dark night before him could not be hidden, and the magic power that extended in the dark night also appeared in front of Merlin's eyes.

Like a series of footprints leading to a big tent with lights.

Merlin covered his body with shadows and walked over without a sound. When he walked around to the entrance of the tent, he saw a very familiar scene.

A white-haired old man in a suit and robe, leaning on a cane, was handing something to a young man with a dazed face in front of him. This scene made Merlin fall into a strong sense of déjà vu, and he was the same way a year ago. , was forced to sign that damn contract.

Most importantly, the young man didn't discover the true identity of the old man in front of him, but Merlin did.

In the state of spiritual vision, he saw a phantom, a red figure burning with hellfire, with wings on its back, sharp horns, recurved hooves, and a tail wagging in the air.

That was a real devil.

This scene was very similar to what Merlin experienced at that midnight a year ago.

A mortal is being tempted by the devil to sign a damn contract, a young man's life is being destroyed, and a cursed soul like him is about to be born.

This is not supposed to happen!

Seeing the young man reaching out to take the golden scroll in the old man's hand, Merlin couldn't hold back the anger in his heart anymore. He stood up from the darkness and shouted sharply:

No! Don't touch it!