As the joystick was pulled, the engine roared, and the huge transparent pipe in the center of the console moved like an air extraction valve.The entire police booth—or it would be more appropriate to call it a spaceship—also shook violently. Jian Nan almost lost his footing, and had to stretch out his hand to hold onto the metal fence on the side.It wasn't until the doctor pulled down the control lever again that the sound of the engine stopped, and everything became quiet again.

"It should be here." The doctor pressed a few buttons casually and said without looking up, "If the tracking signal is correct, this is the lair of the Weeping Angel."

Jian Nan couldn't help but glanced at the doctor in surprise, because in her opinion, it was only a few seconds of shock just now.However, when the latter stepped forward and pushed open the thin wooden door, she was so surprised that she couldn't speak—the original dirty alley had disappeared, replaced by a large area in front of her eyes. The cold and gloomy swamp, the cold moonlight outlines a vague and hideous shape on the rolling hills in the distance, which makes people feel frightened.

"How come..." Jian Nan couldn't help murmuring, his eyes widened in surprise, "Why did we come here suddenly?"

The doctor said indifferently: "I told you, this is a spaceship—a space-time spaceship."

"But I didn't feel any movement at all, and only for a while..." Jian Nan couldn't help but also walked to the door, breathing the damp and gloomy air of the swamp, "Where are we?"

"Sussex County," Holmes said at this moment, his eyes gleamed with great interest, like a child who has been given a favorite toy, and there is a bit of innocence.He walked out of the police booth, looked around like an alert hound, and then fixed his eyes not far away: "Doctor, if I'm not mistaken, that old house is our destination."

Jian Nan couldn't help but also looked over there, and saw a remote and ancient manor crouching quietly by the swamp.The moonlight illuminated the gray roof ridges and tall chimneys, countless wall-climbing vines firmly occupied the dilapidated walls, and the empty windows stared into nothingness like the eyes of monsters.Against the backdrop of the surrounding marshes, the desolate night, and the icy moonlight, the scene seemed even more desolate and gloomy, almost unearthly.

The Doctor, however, seemed very satisfied with the place, nodded and replied, "Yes, but we have to walk there. I can't get too close, it might startle the weeping angel - although it should not be back yet .”

Holmes had no objection to this, and Jian Nan, as an "assistant", naturally had no right to speak, so the three of them left the magical police box spaceship and walked onto the gloomy swamp.

This is a wilderness that can't be more desolate, almost endless at a glance.The rolling plains are covered with green sedge and dotted with gray granite, whose jagged and sharp rocks make the place look even more menacing.Jian Nan followed the two men and hurried along a narrow and grassy path. She looked up at the destination from time to time, but was quickly depressed by the desolate scenery.However, Holmes seemed unaffected by the environment. As he walked, he scanned his surroundings with calm and sharp eyes.The winding path was overgrown with fat ferns and brambles, and once or twice he stooped to pick something out of the grass and hold it before his eyes.

Jian Nan finally couldn't stand the atmosphere of silence, she spoke softly to break the frozen silence, she asked another traveling companion who looked more relaxed: "Doctor, I hope you can forgive my presumptuousness, but I really can't bear it." I can't help this curiosity, I want to ask who you are? How can you have such a deep understanding of the so-called weeping angel?"

"Ah, who am I? That's an interesting question, and maybe I don't know the answer myself." The doctor replied in a self-deprecating tone, "But about the weeping angel, I can tell you that I have been with these I've had a lot of dealings with cunning ancient creatures. I caught them off guard once and got stuck in [-]. Ha, that's old stuff, but it worked out pretty neatly. Another time in Byzantium—maybe you can’t say that, but it’s a similar place anyway, you might as well think of it as cosmic Byzantium—there were so many weeping angels that we almost got wiped out there. Fortunately There is no such thing as a dead end, and in the end we are still alive.”

"So, you are specialized in dealing with these, these monsters?" Jian Nan boldly guessed, "Besides, you are not a local, are you?"

The doctor couldn't help laughing: "No, I'm not a local. I come from a far away place, a very far away place." When talking about where he came from, his expression finally became lively and sincere, but yet It makes people unable to see whether this sudden enthusiasm is joy or sadness.

"Could it be that you are from an alien?" Jian Nan couldn't help expressing his inference when he heard the words, "Are you an alien? Oh, my God! Forgive my abruptness, but do aliens really exist?"

"Hey, this universe is much wider than you imagined, isn't the weeping angel also from an alien?" said the doctor, with a kind of warmth in his vicissitudes and wise eyes, "We are all in the universe. A molecule, insignificant, but the most important building block."

Jian Nan actually didn't intend to listen to the doctor's talk about the magic of the universe. She said these words just to ask a question: "So, you are an alien with a space-time spaceship." She looked at the doctor's Finally got up the courage to ask, "So, can I beg you to send me home after the matter here is settled? I am from [-], China."

The doctor glanced at Jian Nan, and seemed a little surprised why she asked: "Of course, why not? You don't belong to this era, and it would be my honor to send you home." He spoke in a lukewarm manner He put his hand on his chest and bowed like an old English gentleman.

Jian Nan was so overjoyed that he couldn't say any words of complete gratitude for a while.She stammered thanks, and said some nonsense such as thank you very much and nothing in return, and finally annoyed the doctor, and asked coldly and mockingly: "Why are you still talking to me? What's wrong? The repeater is stuck?"

However, none of these could dispel Jian Nan's excitement. She seemed to have removed the boulder pressing on her heart, and her whole body became lighter.Even the gloomy swamps and desolate castles around her can no longer make her feel terrified.

And the huge building under the moonlight is already in sight.

"Oh, God." Jian Nan could not help lowering his voice, "This place looks like it has been abandoned for hundreds of years, look at the weeds on the carriageway, it will be occupied by nature again."

But the doctor said: "If nature really took over here, we don't need to worry about it. It's just that the current owner of this house is not so friendly."

"The owner of this house... is the Weeping Angel?" Jian Nan frowned, "Didn't you say that the Weeping Angel sent people to the past to gain energy? Then why does it occupy such a place? Do monsters also need address?"

"I'm afraid it's not for it to live by itself." Holmes suddenly stopped being silent. "No matter what the missing people have experienced, I'm afraid they will end up here." He said holding up the things he had picked up from the grass before. , are a few broken pieces of cloth, as if torn from the trousers, "These cloths come from three different people, and they should be torn off by hanging on thorns. One of these people should be a sailor, and the remaining two are probably Workers. This coincides with the missing persons that Ms. Jane investigated before. Looking at the messy footprints on the path, it doesn't look like what a wasteland should look like. There are at least a dozen people in this forgotten place recently. visit."

The doctor nodded, and his expression became serious: "That's right, those missing people must have been sent here by the Weeping Angels. What the short man said just now was right, it doesn't conform to the habits of Weeping Angels. I saw them once too. Trapping prey in one place is not a wonderful memory."

"...My name is Jian Nan, you can call me Jane." Jian Nan felt a little heartbroken when he was called "short man".But she was indeed much smaller than her two companions, and she had to raise her neck with difficulty when talking to any of them.

The doctor's performance showed that he didn't care what Jian Nan's name was.This man has a natural arrogance that makes people feel that his words and deeds are justified.He was staring at the towering castle in front of him with piercing eyes, and muttered to himself in a voice inaudible to others: "I lost my best friend last time, let's wait and see this time."

At this moment, they had passed through the black metal carved gate, walked along the overgrown driveway and entered the front yard of the old house.The place is desolate and almost desolate, and a fountain pool in the middle of the courtyard has completely dried up and is full of rubble and garbage.The doctor took the lead, walked up the three steps that were already white with steps, and pushed open the heavy and decayed wooden door.After a long "squeak", the dilapidated scenery inside was revealed.The entire hall was empty and full of dust, and the candle holders hanging from the ceiling swayed in the wind, making a hoarse sound.Two spiral staircases wind up from the left and right sides respectively, leading to the second floor.

With the sound of "Karang", Jian Nan accidentally kicked something and made a lot of noise.She was taken aback, and after seeing that it was a broken portable lamp, she suggested: "Should we light a lamp? It's really dark here, and the moonlight outside can't shine in at all."

While she was speaking, Holmes had taken down a heavy candlestick from a side wall, and lit the candle with the matches he carried with him.The dim candlelight immediately illuminated the hall, casting the figures of the three onto the floor.I saw that the dark brown oak floor was not only decayed and tattered, but also a habitat for rats.The walls on one side of the hall are covered with ancient weapons, some of which have been rusted, no longer have the prestige of the owner's love and overtime.

"It seems that quite a few people have visited this haunted house recently." Jian Nan bent down, sliding her slender pale fingers across the dusty floor, "Look at these footprints, leather shoes, boots, everything. One footprint was small, and I wouldn't be surprised if it was that of a woman."

Holmes also carefully checked everything around him. He watched Jian Nan's movements with a certain satisfaction in his expression.After Jian Nan got up, he said, "From these footprints, we can actually judge the reaction of these people after they entered here. For example, the gentleman wearing leather shoes lingered at the door for a while, probably because he was concerned about staying in the haunted house or not. Hesitant to leave for the moor. Then he walked up to the wall where the weapons were displayed, and at first tried to remove the short knife, but quickly changed his mind and picked up one of the weapons on the side - from the empty stand Judging by size, I'm leaning toward him taking a shotgun. Then he went up to the second floor."

As Holmes spoke, several people stepped up the oak stairs.Short "creaking" sounds sounded one after another, as if the old house snickered from time to time.

"Bullet holes!" Jian Nan pointed sharply at a round hole in the corridor on the second floor, "It seems that Mr. Leather Shoes defended himself."

The doctor frowned, and suddenly he snatched the candlestick from Holmes's hand, and said loudly, "Follow me!" He rushed to the nearest door with an agility not inferior to that of a young man, and pushed the door hard. .But the door was apparently locked.So the doctor took out the pen with the green light on the tip and pointed at the door lock. After a strange noise, the door opened with a "click".The three rushed in one after another, and then suddenly stopped in their tracks.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that what Chen saw before their eyes was horrifying and grotesque.This is probably a bedroom, with fine dust flying in the air, a shotgun and many fragments of mirrors scattered on the ground, and a wooden frame bed in the center with white curtains shaking in the wind.However, neither Sherlock Holmes, Jian Nan, nor the doctor paid any attention to these insignificant things at the first time, and all their attention was attracted by the things that were only three steps away from the door.

It's hard to describe what that is.Looking at the appearance, it was a man with a tall figure, strong limbs, a protruding forehead and a round and big nose.However, under the dancing candlelight, everyone could see that every inch of his exposed skin had turned blue and white like stone.And the ferocious expression on that face did not seem like a living person at all, both hands stretched out to the door in vain, as if trying to grab the uninvited visitor who came in.

"Doctor..." Jian Nan's voice seemed to come out of his throat, "Is this also a weeping angel?"

The doctor suddenly yelled: "Damn, I'm so old! I'm old and stupid! I need a bigger brain!" He stepped over to the strange thing, and with the magic pen that could open the door, Start scanning up and down, and the "buzz" sounds again.

Holmes folded his arms and looked at the doctor with restrained curiosity and admiration in his eyes. He whispered to Jian Nan, "This guy must have discovered something. This kind of feeling that others already know something but I don't know anything is terrible. Really bad."

"...Welcome to my world." Jian Nan muttered half-jokingly and self-deprecatingly, and her eyes were locked on the doctor.

After a few seconds, the doctor put down the "pen", and he announced solemnly: "This man, perhaps he can no longer be called a human - he has completely become an angel."

"Angel?" Jian Nan's eyes immediately locked on the stone man without blinking, for fear that he would send them back to the past in the blink of an eye like the weeping angel, "Could it be that he has become a weeping angel?"

The doctor shook his head: "Not yet, but in time, it's hard to say whether he will become such a monster."

"Why is this happening? Didn't the Weeping Angel only send people back to the past?" Jian Nan stared, "Could it also turn people into their own kind and accomplices? This is too scary!"

"Not all angels can do this, and not all angels will do it." The doctor pondered, "Their habits are not like this. What changed this angel? What did it want to do to make it do these strange behaviors?" What do you want?" He turned around and left the room while talking, and opened the other doors, and sure enough, he saw the same "angel-like" guy.

"Just like a murder case, everything is inseparable from the motive." Seeing that the doctor frowned so much that he could kill a fly, Holmes said slowly, "Why don't we think about it in the long run: as a monster that feeds on time and energy, the Weeping Angel can pass through the Send the prey back to the past and linger. However, the weeping angel we are facing is a little different. Not only does it not send people back to the past, it also locks the victims in this haunted house and makes them 'angelized', which is very important to What good does it do?"

"Uh, how many more companions are there? Could it be that it will form an 'angel squad' to occupy the earth?" Jian Nan guessed.

The doctor said coldly: "It alone has no power to form an army. In fact, it takes a huge amount of energy to 'angelize' human beings. If this crying angel 'angelizes' all its prey, Then it will soon die due to energy loss..." Suddenly, he was stunned, and his marble-like face became more serious.Holmes shrugged and laughed: "I finally know why Watson always complains to me."

"I know!" The doctor shouted again, his voice echoing in the empty corridor, "I know its motive!" After saying this, the gray-haired old man looked like an impulsive young man As if pulling his legs and rushing downstairs.

Holmes and Jian Nan followed closely behind, and the doctor rushed out of the old house all the way to the fountain in the courtyard.He lay down on the edge of the pool, casually picked up a piece of gravel, and put it in front of his eyes for careful observation.

"Huh, Doctor, what exactly did you find? Can't you tell us?" Jian Nan asked pantingly behind him with his hands on his knees.

The doctor sighed with emotion: "All creatures in the universe cannot escape the curse, even the oldest creatures—death, the fairest and most respectable law."

"You mean," Jian Nan froze for a moment, "the weeping angel we are facing is dying?"

"That's right!" the doctor said loudly, "that's why it behaved abnormally—it was dying, and the ability to survive had become intact. It can no longer send its prey back to the past, but can only do geographical work." If you don’t move on the ground, you will lose even this bit of power soon. A weeping angel who loses his ability will of course face death!”

Holmes tapped his chin with his slender fingers: "In this way, it 'angelizes' these victims in order to survive?"

"Survival - the deepest instinct of all creatures, even if they know they will die, they still have to struggle to die." The doctor said, "If I guess correctly, this weeping angel is doing a dangerous experiment. It turns human beings into 'angel container', trying to contain itself in order to be reborn. No doubt it will not succeed, but it will not stop until it dies."

Holmes became serious. "We have to stop it."

"That's right." The doctor echoed.

Jian Nan raised his hand and asked, "How to stop it?"

******

"When will the crying angel come back?" Jian Nan was curling up under a table, trying to make himself more comfortable.Two of his companions were also hiding here, and one of them said impatiently: "I don't know when it will come back. I only know that if you ask a few more times, you won't tell it to come back soon."

Jian Nan was used to the occasional indifference and arrogance of the other party, and upon hearing this, he just covered his mouth and yawned, and forced himself to cheer up: "I'm just too sleepy, today, oh, it should be yesterday morning, I woke up at 05:30 I haven't closed my eyes for more than [-] hours now. It would be nice to have a cup of tea or coffee, it can refresh me."

Hearing this, the doctor suddenly took out a cup of tea from his pocket and handed it to Jian Nan.The latter took a full cup of tea in a daze, and couldn't help but ask, "How did you do it?"

"It requires skill." The doctor smiled.

Jian Nan lowered his head and took a sip of tea, then wrinkled his face together: "Is this tea? Why does it taste weird?"

"This is black tea with milk and sugar added." Holmes sniffed. "But I would rather smoke a cigarette than tea or coffee."

Jian Nan stuck out his tongue: "So it's British tea, I'm really not used to it, I'm Chinese."

"But you are in England, so you should do as the Romans do." The doctor said seriously.

Jian Nan asked suddenly: "Speaking of which, you speak English very fluently, did you also learn it specifically for going to the countryside to do as the Romans do?"

"I don't speak English."

"What's that? Scots?" Jian Nan joked, and she recognized the doctor's strong northern accent.

The Doctor doesn't seem to understand the oriental humor: "...this is the translation matrix of the TARDIS, which is my time machine and spaceship. The translation matrix can translate any language you hear into your native language. "

"My mother tongue is Chinese, but all I hear now is English." Jian Nan raised his eyebrows.

The doctor shrugged and said, "This is not to blame for the translation matrix. It operates through brain waves, which is the language you use when thinking."

"..." Jian Nan sipped dry English tea and sighed, "I'm homesick."

"Hush!" The doctor suddenly raised a finger to his lips.

The three of them shut their mouths immediately, as if facing a formidable enemy.There was a tinkling sound outside the house, and something was gradually approaching the dance room where they were hiding.

"Okay, it's time for me to play." Jian Nan put the teacup on the ground, got out from under the table, and blocked the body of the doctor and Holmes.She picked up the candlestick on the table, protected the candle with one hand, and stood up straight.

"Remember, don't blink, the rest is up to me." The doctor urged.

Before Jian Nan could nod his head, just as the doctor finished speaking, the door of the room was knocked open with a loud "boom", bounced off the wall and hit the door frame again.However, at this moment, a stone statue of an angel had appeared at the door of the room, still covering his eyes and bowing his head to cry.

The candlestick in Jian Nan's hand was shaken by the gust of wind, and one of the three candles went out immediately.

The whining wind suddenly became shrill, like a shrill laugh.

Jian Nan took a deep breath and said, "I know, you're going to die." She observed the crying angel opposite by candlelight, but unfortunately the stone statue didn't move. , or heavier than Mount Tai, or lighter than a feather'. Although the length of life is limited, the meaning of life is infinite. Why do you pursue longevity? Throughout the ages, who can live forever?"

Following Jian Nan's voice, there were waves of creepy footsteps, heavy and slow.

Suddenly there was another gust of wind, the wooden door slammed loudly, and there were seven or eight more stone statues in the room—they were the experimental products that had been transformed by the Weeping Angel before, but had not yet accepted the experiment that was doomed to fail.They escaped the fate of being smashed into pieces, but they turned into monsters in the end. At this moment, following the breath of the living, they chased all the way here.

Jian Nan was terrified, there was only one candle burning tenaciously in the candlestick in his hand.The rest of the experimental subjects were okay, probably because they lacked experience and didn't cover their eyes.However, the weeping angel who was dying was still crying.Jian Nan thought about what the doctor said, encouraged himself, and then uttered nonsense: "You know it won't succeed, even if you turn these people into stone, you won't be able to live another day. Those failed experiments They were all smashed by you, didn't they? But it made you mad!"

A sharp howling suddenly pierced the ear drums, and Jian Nan bent down suddenly as if he couldn't bear it.The candlestick in her hand flickered, and the last kindling slammed in the wind and went out suddenly.

"It's now!" Jian Nan suddenly raised his head and shouted.

In just this short moment, the weeping angel in front of him raised his arms violently and rushed to the tip of Jian Nan's nose.But with the sound of "Hua Lang", the thick curtains hanging on the four walls were torn off at once, revealing countless mirrors.Under the moonlight, the ferocious angel caught off guard and met his own eyes in the mirror, seeing his appearance clearly for the first time.At this moment, the hunted person turns into a hunter who sets a trap, and the hunter steps into the trap of the prey instead.

"It succeeded!" Jian Nan shouted in disbelief, "It actually succeeded!"

"This weeping angel is very weak, otherwise, that moment just now is enough for you to go back and see the 'Glorious Revolution'." The doctor crawled out from under the table, still holding a rope in his hand.

This is exactly the trap they set up together. First, they covered up the mirror until the angel revealed its eyes, and then it was caught off guard, turning it into a stone forever under its own gaze.

"It seems that our mission has been completed." Holmes looked at the criminals who had been arrested. Even a well-informed man like him couldn't help being amazed by his adventure this night. "This is really what I have experienced. This is the most bizarre thing, and although this is not an act of combating criminal forces in the conventional sense, I think we have finally done something beneficial to the public."

The doctor said meaningfully: "Indeed, Mr. Sherlock Holmes. Although this is not a strange thing for me, it is also very meaningful to be able to cooperate with you."

Holmes raised his hat, and said politely: "If you don't mind, I am going back to my apartment in Baker Street. Could you please give me a ride? It will save me a long and tedious journey. Think it's almost daylight, maybe I can have breakfast with my friends."

So several people left this ancient house submerged in the long river of time, and returned to the blue police box.The Doctor briefly manipulated the complicated console, pulled down the joystick, raised it again, and said, "Okay, 221 B Baker Street. Sherlock, I think you'll be in time for breakfast."

Holmes raised his eyebrows. I don't know if it was because of this slightly intimate address, or because the doctor said "I can catch up with breakfast". After all, it is still dark.However, when Holmes opened the door, he couldn't help showing a surprised expression, but only for a moment, and he laughed after a while: "Ah, I see, the time machine is really wonderful!"

Before dawn, it was a good morning.Holmes once again shook hands with the doctor to say goodbye. He said sincerely: "I seldom say this, but I must admit that you are a wonderful person. I hope to have the opportunity to meet again in the future."

"I think so." The doctor's attitude was a little cold, but there was also an expression of appreciation in his eyes. It was obvious that the other person's temper suited his taste.

Holmes bid farewell to Jiannan in a gentlemanly manner. Jiannan blushed before stammering and said: "Although this will be very abrupt, I still want to ask, can I hug you? Really, if you agree, That is a real honor for me.”

"You are exaggerating." Laughing Holmes, he bent down and embraced the girl from the East, and finally said, "Miss Jane, it is a pleasure to meet you. I have never seen you so strong, brave, and wise." Witty women, hope we see you again, good luck."

Jian Nan blushed with joy, and she watched Holmes reluctantly leave the police box and disappeared behind the door on Baker Street.

"Okay, next, I think it's time for me to take you home." The doctor snapped his fingers, and the door closed suddenly.

Jian Nan raised her head abruptly, and said ecstatically, "Really, oh, you are so kind. I just don't know what to say to express my thanks."

"No, you don't have to say anything." The doctor replied lukewarmly.

Jian Nan was not frustrated by the other party's indifference, she was already dazzled by the huge surprise.After the doctor's operation, the police box landed smoothly amidst the loud noise. The gentleman snapped his fingers politely, and the door opened.

Filled with joy, Jian Nan boldly stepped forward to give the doctor a strong hug, and then let go of the doctor after he loudly stated that he was not used to this kind of intimate contact, and ran towards the door without looking back.

Outside, it's a whole new world.

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over, easter eggs haunted

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