The pinnacle of magic

After searching for 10 minutes, Shi Rui can basically confirm that the magician is really missing.He only told the producer Rhett and his secretary Kate about it.The producer immediately mobilized the relationship and transferred the gate, parking lot and videos of these floors from the hotel.

Although he didn't quite believe that Shi Rui could watch images on sixteen screens at 32 times speed at the same time, Reid asked the hotel manager to start playing according to Shi Rui's request.All the tapes will run out soon.Shi Rui ordered to play it again. Five minutes later, he suddenly called to stop, and the person in charge immediately pressed the pause button.

"The image on this screen, step back a little." Shi Rui said with a frown.Even the person in charge of the hotel could feel a chill from this oriental beauty.

The image is rewound more than ten seconds, and a man in a suit is walking down the hallway. "James?" Reid recognized the man on the screen as James, the engineer of the magician team.

"James said before eleven o'clock that he would go back first." Shi Rui said in a deep voice.This is a common thing for an engineer over forty years old, and he never lingers at the party for too long.But since he had already left the hotel before eleven o'clock, why did he still appear in the corridor of the hotel at this moment?The time on the screen is [-]:[-] in the morning, which is the time when the magician goes to the lounge.

"Kate, did James drive his own car here today? Do you know the model of his car?" Shi Rui turned around and asked.

"Let me think about it." The female secretary pondered for a moment, "Yes. When I came out of the TV station, I called a taxi for everyone who didn't drive. James didn't come to the TV station tonight, so he should drive his own car. That's right. That's a silver Peugeot. Hmm...it seems to be this one." The female secretary pointed at a corner of the screen showing the parking lot.

"Rewind this scene quickly." Shi Rui said in a deep voice.

The screen quickly reversed.Soon, they discovered that James drove into the hotel parking lot before nine o'clock.Then Shi Rui ordered to fast forward the image.Until 10 minutes ago, James' car was still parked in place. It seems that the engineer did not return to his car before eleven o'clock.

"Tell me where James lives."

"Wait a minute." The female secretary opened the phone book and searched for a while, then gave the engineer's address to Shi Rui.

"Are you going to his house?" the producer asked sullenly.

"Since he didn't drive away in his own car, then he left with the person who took Clifford away. I didn't find any other particularly suspicious people or vehicles in all the videos, so I had to go to his house to look for them. Do you have any clues?" Shi Rui pursed his lips and added, "I will contact you anytime."

Reid nodded, indicating that he would take care of the follow-up matters.

Shi Rui immediately took the elevator to the parking lot.He gets into the magician's sports car.Usually when the magician is drinking, he will be in charge of driving, so the car keys are always in his handbag.The engine roared, and the bright orange sports car drew a crisp curve and galloped out of the parking lot.

This scissor-door designed Lamborghini is the favorite of the magician, and it was also the car he drove when he took Shi Rui to Warren's birthday party for the first time.Shi Rui hoped that the super high speed of this car would bring him good luck and bring his angel back safely.

The engineer's family lived in other cities, and since the magician would basically stay in this city for the next year, he rented a single apartment in the city.Shi Rui walked to the door of the apartment and shook the lock with his palm without thinking.

The engineer's quarters were lackluster.In addition to professional books, there are only some mechanical models left.A laptop sits in the center of the desk, next to a stack of unused sticky notes.The kitchen looked like it hadn't been used for a long time, and there wasn't even any food in the fridge except drinks.Shi Rui pushed open the bedroom door.The room was as rigid and dull as its owner.A wardrobe, a bed, a bedside table, all the furniture is dark brown.

Only one thing was out of place in this room.

Shi Rui stepped onto the bed and took off the round wall clock hanging above the bed.Behind the wall clock reveals a small safe.Obviously, the engineer wanted to make a place in the house where secret objects could be hidden, and bought back the wall clock as a cover after installing the safe.It's a pity that he never thought that no one would hang a clock beside his bed.Because the time on it cannot be seen clearly from any sitting place in this room except from the direction of the door, but it is impossible for someone to go to the bedroom to check the time.

There is a numeric keypad on the safe, and Shi Rui knows that this type of safe requires three to four sets of four-digit passwords to open it.Fortunately, such a safe does not have a self-destruct device.Shi Rui abruptly unscrewed the door of the safe.

Inside was a notebook with a leather cover, a large amount of cash, and a dark gold hand sculpture.

Shi Rui frowned.He once saw an identical sculpture at "Sea God".These are replicas of sculptures excavated from the remains of an ancient civilization in Austria.And that sculpture is called "The Hand of God"!

Understand that the disappearance of the magician is absolutely inseparable from Kaos.Shi Rui picked up his notebook and quickly left the apartment.He was going to the villa of "Golden Ribbon", which was the only stronghold of "Hand of God" in this city that he knew.Kaos' purpose is not just to kidnap the magician, he is most likely interested in something about himself.Shi Rui felt that even if he didn't find the clue of the engineer, Kaos would find a way to contact him sooner or later.Now, if he rushed to that villa first, he might still have a certain advantage.

As he drove, he flipped through the engineer's book, which was a diary.It records that the engineer became a member of the "Hand of God" three months ago and was given the code name "Worm".A fastidious wife, a teenage daughter, and a stressful job all add up to a middle-aged man feeling overwhelmed.So when he was offered an olive branch by a group that claimed he was "the one out of the crowd," he accepted with hesitation.

"I had the best 'reception' there because I was not an ordinary angel, but an archangel with a code name," he wrote in his diary.

In the stronghold of the "God's Hand", the engineer can hardly think of leaving.But "Son of Chaos" Kaos told him that these can only be temporary, and only after he has redeemed the sins of his previous life, can he enjoy the privilege permanently.Three days later, he had to return to his old life to monitor some "important observation objects" for the organization.Of course, since he retrieved the memory of his previous life, he can finally abandon his wife and daughter without any worries.In addition to remitting some living expenses to prevent them from becoming suspicious, the engineer has completely severed contact with his wife and daughter after joining the "Hand of God".From these words, Shi Rui can easily understand Kaos' tricks.With enjoyment and a blank promise about a bright future, he planted a "nail" ready to play a role in the magician's side!

And I don't know anything about the changes in engineers!

Although this has something to do with the engineer's usual low-key manner in the team, Shi Rui is still very annoyed by his mistakes.

The "Golden Ribbon" villa is just around the corner.Shi Rui stopped the sports car at the entrance outside the villa.Half a minute later, the iron door in front of him slowly opened, and he drove the car directly to the entrance of the villa.

"Welcome, my dear ally!"

Shi Rui frowned and got out of the car.A believer wearing a blue mask pushed a small round table with a laptop in front of him, and the face of Kaos was displayed on the computer screen.

"You see, since you almost cut my neck last time, I have to be careful." Kaos pointed to the scar on his neck.

"Where is Clifford?" Shi Rui asked coldly.

"Don't be so anxious. Your lover is in a place of absolute safety. Why don't you come in and have a drink with me, and discuss the punishment for your lover's provocative behavior?"

"Lead the way." Shi Rui said to the believers wearing blue masks.

Shi Rui was taken to the locker room.

"I have prepared an exclusive mask for you. Do you like the pattern on it?"

The believer handed Shi Rui a robe and a golden mask.On the mask is an angel whose wings have been torn off, almost covered in blood.Shi Rui clenched his fist, quickly put on his robe and put on his mask.The believer continued to lead him forward.They walked up the second floor and through a labyrinth of corridors.At every intersection there are two worshipers wearing blue masks, bowing and saluting as they pass.

"Look, this is a party I held just for you alone. Are you satisfied?" Kaos asked quite smugly.

When entering the red room, a naked woman was hung in the four places where the performances had previously taken place.They were completely silent, and were hoisted in strange postures.The candles below had long since burned out.The red candle oil is like a pool of coagulated blood, entrenched on the ground with teeth and claws.Shi Rui didn't want to distinguish whether this was a real corpse or a mannequin, he frowned and continued to follow the believers.

"I call this 'Death Party', every performer is a dead person, how interesting, hahahaha..." Kaos' laughter echoed in the corridor.

Even though he was already mentally prepared, the scene in the golden room still made Shi Rui clenched his fists under the robe.Two strong men with scars all over their bodies climbed the steps leading to the throne.In one of them, the fingers have even reached the highest step, but the neck is turned at an angle that humans cannot achieve.On the throne, where the beautiful boy was originally sitting, is now a pair of slender skeletons.With a white skeleton, a beautiful crown on his head, and that luxurious fur on his body, he looks indescribably weird.

The believers who lead the way seem to turn a blind eye to all this.He continued to push the round table forward.The more rooms he walked through, the stronger the uneasiness in Shi Rui's heart.When he stepped into the black room that he hadn't been to before, he couldn't help but gasped.

There are two identical crosses facing each other in the room, and the magician is tied to one of them.The upper part of the cross is much longer than the lower part, even exceeding ten meters in height.

Obviously, this is an inverted cross symbolizing the Fall.

The magician's eyes are closed and he appears to be unconscious.Above his head, on the longest side of the cross, hangs a two-meter-long sharp sword!

"As I said, every performer here is a dead person. Although your lover is not dead yet, if the sword penetrates his entire body, he must look quite charming."

Kaos' vicious words sounded in his ears.