Mermaid Reef

In the next two days, Juan strenuously ran to newspaper offices, banks, and post offices... "recovering" his itinerary in the ruins with difficulty, and finally found that he was going to the ruins of the ancient city of Pompeii in Italy.

Ancient city ruins!

Juan instinctively took out the golden compass that he kept close to him.

This thing is so well hidden, it must be very important, but the compass seems to be stuck with glue, and it cannot be opened at all.

He saw the report of the blood moon vision in the newspaper office, as well as long speeches about the economic crisis, sunspots and food production reduction. Juan, who believed in science, found it more and more absurd, and felt that it was all nonsense.

Juan just thought that the people in this town were crazy before, but now, it turned out that it was the whole world that went crazy.

Juan has a headache.

To make matters worse, he found himself being followed.

The other party didn't intend to hide at all, and kept a distance that wasn't far or close, as if monitoring Juan.

This made Juan very nervous.

The man who called himself Jensen was full of mysteries, and his origin was unclear. His masked "friend" was even less good. Juan has never seen his face.

——What kind of person would hide his face?

the wanted?A big shot who often appears in newspapers and on TV?

Juan instinctively stopped himself from thinking about it.

Through the analysis of the traces in the ruins, he came to the conclusion that the residents of this town were insane and fell into hallucinations, and then killed each other.

It looks like a poisonous gas.

The Germans used poison gas bombs in 1915. Although Juan couldn't figure out why a small town was attacked by poison gas, Juan really couldn't find a more reasonable explanation other than that.

Seeing that the only food left in the ruins of the town was almost eaten up, the police finally arrived.

No, it seems to be the army.

Juan immediately hid in the ruins of the church, watching the townspeople who were in a daze be forcibly dragged away.

The delirious person struggled desperately, yelled, and seemed determined to stay in this place, just like a bird whose nest had been destroyed stood dumbly on a nearby branch and refused to leave.

This scene was tragic, and what made Juan even more alarmed was that they seemed to regard these survivors as thugs, even tied them up with ropes and stuffed them into trucks, and then wandered around the town without intending to bury the ruins One lap and gone.

Juan: "..."

It started to rain, and he was cold and hungry, with nothing on him but a ragged blanket he had found in the church confessional.

Italy is obviously a sunny place with a mild climate.

God knows why it's so cold.

There was a slanted gap in the hiding place, through which Juan peeked out at the movement before, but now the rain kept pouring in, the ground was completely wet, and there was also stagnant water.

Juan was shivering with cold, he gritted his teeth and decided to go out in the rain and find a shelter.

Otherwise, it will be harder to endure when it gets dark.

***

Jason sat in the window of a dilapidated house, two streets away from Juan's hiding place, and could easily see every move of the hapless investigator with amnesia.

This detective game gets wacky.

Every day, Gemil would appear from places that Jensen couldn't think of, and then seriously discuss with Jensen about "how to restore his memory".

Jason: "..."

While he's made up lies when he's disguised as a human being, sometimes a doctor, sometimes a generous gentleman, and quite willing to play a detective, it still doesn't feel right now.

Jason wants to talk to John.

In fact, he did the same. When he found out that Gemil was faking amnesia on the first day, he left Juan and went to England.

It turned out that John was not in the beach house.

Jason tried to find John through "connection", but found a familiar force stopping him.

Yes, because of the influence of the deep integration of the ontology, Gemil can easily cover up the "connection", so that Jason cannot find John.

But Jason still found a letter left by John.

Just behind the picture frame.

Jason picked up the photo of John with his wife and children, and a letter fell out.

A quick-witted detective solved the doubts in Jason's heart in a few lines, and at the same time avoided the unfortunate fate of angering the evil god.

After reading the letter, Jason returned to the nameless town with mixed feelings.

Gemil not only made coincidences, he also took the train ticket from Juan and invited Jason to travel by train with him (Juan turned pale with fright when he discovered that the train ticket was mysteriously lost), and asked Jansen with the newspaper about the blood moon vision. Sen wants to go to sea on a moonlit night.

Seeing Gemil getting more and more serious, Jason didn't dare to interrupt him.

Jason was very worried that Gemil was too excited, and asked himself to run around the earth a few times and escape for two years... let him chase him, what should I do?

With such a big commotion, wouldn't Typhon take a peek?What if Typhon came after them and laughed at them?

Jason's scalp tingled.

Now it's good enough to just play detective games and amnesia in a ruined town.

***

Juan walked into the post office, he rubbed his palms quickly, and was about to go to the second floor to tear down the curtains and make warm clothes.

He has been here three times and searched all the drawers and cabinets.

Including the ones with locks, Juan tried to break them open and saw them.

Coupled with his memory talent, Juan is very familiar with this place, even if it is already dark and he can't see his fingers in the post office, he can still move freely.

Then Juan kicked a cabinet, hitting his foot sorely.

His expression froze.

This is the third time.

Before, he could explain that those muddle-headed residents in the town came to the house and moved things, but now that everyone has been taken away, where did they come from?

So it's still Jason and the mysterious masked man?

What are they going to do?

Juan walked on with a heavy heart, and soon he found a bucket of crackers near the windowsill.

Sealed, very tight.

Juan groped in the sofa cushions next to him and found another bottle of rum.

Open the drawer, there is a box of ammunition, plus a wooden bin.

"..."

Although he survived by rummaging for food in the house these days, there shouldn't be these supplies in the building in front of him.

Especially Mu Cang, as if the people behind the scenes had insight into the crisis in the town and knew that Juan was almost kidnapped by those unreasonable Italians today, so he provided extra weapons.

Very sweet.

Intimate to creepy.

Juan took a step back and slammed his body against the wall. He wanted to yell to let Jason come out with the invisible man, but it only showed his fear and embarrassment.

He's not without options, he can run!The road outside the town is not blocked!

No matter what secrets there are here, what has anything to do with his past, he doesn't care.

As for the inexplicable compass, it's a big deal to throw it away!

***

In the early hours of the morning, Juan sneaked out of the post office through the window on the second floor.

"This gentleman who wants to investigate the truth seems to give up, what a pity!" Gemil sighed softly.

Jason was silent, not knowing how to answer.

After all...he didn't know Gemil, he was just a companion seeking the truth together.

But Jensen accidentally "saw" Gemil hiding a copy of the clue in a safe on the second floor of the post office, which was placed in the mezzanine of the wall.

In addition to money and securities, there are "clues" carefully prepared by Gemil.

Juan can follow the clues to gradually get to the truth, the source of the town's chaos: a new god sleeping in an abandoned castle outside the town.

——As long as there is demand, the same kind can also be dragged out as game props.

Especially the place where the new god lives, you can also continue to watch the stories of cultists and blood-sucking monsters in human thriller adventure novels.

Because he was worried that Juan would not be able to get close to the new god's lair, Jason went to Hans's place for a walk, and brought a wooden warehouse and a box of bullets engraved with runes.

Whether Gemil released clues or Jensen released food weapons, they were all done "behind each other's back", and they still had to maintain the setting of amnesia on the bright side.

Now Juan is gone.

Stop playing.

The town isn't an island, and Juan doesn't have options like Cindy.

Jason hesitated for two seconds between creating an illusion to stop Juan and letting Juan go, and decided to forget it and let the poor and unfortunate investigator go.

As for the clues and information in the safe and the weapon he put in the drawer, they should be used as a clip to capture new investigators. They may be discovered soon, or it may be many years before someone excavates the ruins and finds this thing.

"We should go too."

"Look elsewhere for precious memories?"

"..."

Jason silently flipped out a book, and he suspected that he would find a sentence from Shakespeare's sonnets to answer Gemil's pompous remarks.

By the way, this book is also Detective John's suggestion.

***

Juan threw the golden compass in the drawer, but his feet couldn't leave as if they had taken root.

He thought about it, and felt that it was too casual to throw it like this, and someone would pick it up.

Juan found a wooden box in the ruins, put the compass in it, buried it under a big tree when he left the town, and carefully erased the surrounding traces.

When leaving, Juan couldn't help but look back after taking a step.

In the end, he was heartbroken and ran away quickly.

Watching the sun rise slowly, Juan left the nightmarish forgotten city behind and smiled.

He stretched out his arms, and suddenly his whole body became stiff.

With trembling fingers, he reached for his pocket and pulled out a compass with a gold chain.

"what--"

Juan's screams echoed in the wilderness.

Jason didn't even blink, it was just the beginning anyway.

Compass will persevere and return to Juan's side. How terrified Juan is now, how ecstatic Juan will be after ten days.

"Want to bet?" Jason asked sideways.

British gentlemen in the nineteenth century liked to go to clubs to play cards, bet on horse races, and bet on everything that could be worth pastime.

Jason doesn't have this habit, but he will also carry this kind of atmosphere in his words.

The last time he made a bet with Gemil was at the London theater, oh no, it was the London court watching the Brandon family inheritance dispute.

"What are you gambling?"

"If he doesn't see the ruins, he won't recover his memory."

Gemil narrowed his eyes, realizing that he must lose.

But how to lose is also a game.

"Okay, the loser has to tell a secret."

"Secret?" Jason was puzzled.

***

More than ten days later, Juan, who was haggard and unshaven, arrived at the original destination he wrote in his notebook, the ancient city of Pompeii.

He was frightened all the way, but no one followed him, and there was no pursuer he expected.

Juan trudged to the side of the ruins. The sun had just risen and shone on his face, as well as on the ancient ruins that had been dusty for a long time.

Juan froze suddenly, his expression slowly changed from bewildered to tranced, unbelievable, and finally froze on a terrified expression.

"No! My compass!"

The reward given to him by the evil god!Lost by him!

Juan, who regained all his memory in an instant, grabbed his backpack and searched desperately.

Not in the bag, not in the pocket, when was the last time he figured out how to lose the compass?He didn't kill anyone, did he?If the compass falls into the hands of others, accidents will happen!

"call."

Juan, who finally found the compass, wept with joy.

Jason standing in the distance: "..."

Although I guessed the result, I still feel amazing to see this scene with my own eyes.

Juan's "brightness" instantly increased, and his amnesia symptoms healed in a second, and he really didn't need to provide any help.

"You won, do you want to know the secret?" Gemil asked with a smile.

Jason said warily, "I don't want to know."

Gemil insisted: "No, a generous and reputable gentleman must abide by the bet."

Jason: "..."

This game of pretending to be human should stop.

Gemil said in a distressed tone: "I just recovered a little bit of memory, and I want to share it with you."

Before Jensen could react, Gemil stuffed a ball of gray light into Jensen's body.

Jason was caught off guard when he saw young John being swept up on a strange island by the sea.

Some humans were sunken deep in the sand, their bodies black and their limbs twisted.

John struggled to get up, several objects fell out of him, and John was soon unconscious.

A photo floated in the pile of items.

Jason remembered this photo, his eyelids twitched, and sure enough, the next second he saw the mysterious power in the photo being activated, "playing" the scene of himself going to Priest Conor over and over again.

Accompanied by indescribable strange noises, the master of memory plays until the picture loses its power.

Jason: "..."

He wanted to leave immediately, to a place where Gemil could not find it!