Jinling, late at night.
In a quiet office, a middle-aged man with white hair silently sipped his tea, watching the rain outside.
There was a hurried knocking on the door, and soon, a drenched teenager walked in, glaring at him. "Director Meng, what's the deal with the Philosopher's Stone mission? Wasn't I supposed to go?"
"You don't need to worry about this matter, Xiaohai." Director Meng replied. "Someone else has taken over."
"That's because of that KP guy!"
The Sublimator named Neihai widened his eyes. "The borderization has already occurred in the open sea. It's possible that all the agents sent this time will be wiped out."
Director Meng remained calm. "It's probably because the records in the fragments were triggered. When a Sublimator reaches the fifth stage, their memories from their past life will remain in the fragments. If handled properly, it might not be a bad trial for them. Perhaps we can discover some talented individuals."
"But shouldn't I be the one handling it?" Neihai widened his eyes. "What's the meaning of giving it to someone else? Is this the requirement of the Social Security Bureau?"
"This is a joint decision of the Social Security Bureau and the Astronomical Society."
Director Meng pondered for a moment, then pointed to the chair in front of him, indicating for him to sit down. "I know you must be angry for being called back halfway, and I understand your concerns about this matter.
But I can assure you that this matter will be handled properly."
"Because of that KP?"
Neihai frowned. "One of the rulers of the Border Dark Web suddenly appeared in the realm. Isn't there something fishy about this? Why is he interested in a fragment of the Philosopher's Stone?"
"Who knows?" Director Meng said indifferently. "The key is that he offered a price, and Shangfeng agreed to it. The Social Security Bureau also has no objections, and that's enough.
Besides, from what I know, that KP guy may have some twisted tastes, but he can be considered one of the most outstanding creators in the world right now.
With him organizing the records, there won't be any mistakes, and you don't need to worry about the appearance of new quarantine zones."
"But what about the agents and inspectors?"
"KP has made some guarantees, but there will inevitably be some losses in the operation."
Director Meng gazed at the night sky outside the window and couldn't help but sigh softly. "Although there probably won't be any life-threatening danger, they will definitely be tormented by that guy's twisted tastes, won't they?"
.
.
Boarding the ship took quite some effort. It was drizzling in the sky, and the passengers who had been waiting for a long time ignored the shouts of the sailors and rushed up without bothering to queue, pushing and shoving each other.
Huai Shi was jostled in the crowd, stumbling forward. He vaguely heard a scream and felt something unusual under his feet. When he looked down, he realized he had stepped on a white handkerchief, dirtying the H-shaped gold thread embroidered on the corner.
He bent down and picked it up, looking around. He noticed the person in front of him, who was wearing a cloak, turned back to look at him. Her eyes were cold, but through the hood and the dim light, he could catch a glimpse of her beautiful side profile. A strand of silver hair fell from her ear, particularly eye-catching.
"Give it back to me."
She reached out and forcefully snatched her handkerchief back from Huai Shi's hand before turning and leaving.
Huai Shi was pushed by the people behind him several times and stumbled forward. Finally, with the guidance of the crew, he arrived at the cabin area. After his friends had chosen their respective rooms, they agreed to meet again for dinner.
Huai Shi entered his room, closed the door, and placed his luggage before finally opening his palm and looking at the object the beggar had put in his hand.
It was a coin.
An ordinary Roman copper coin with exquisite engravings of flowers and a cunningly carved image of an angel. On the back, there was a cross-shaped mark, intricately carved to symbolize the Holy Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
It looked like a work of art.
A beggar's coin.
A trick popular among bankrupt businessmen, beggars, and unemployed farmers during the industrial era. These beggars hoped to exchange these coins, which were more exquisitely crafted, for more money from their sympathetic benefactors.
Or simply out of boredom.
This explanation inexplicably appeared in his mind, making him feel uncomfortable.
He bent down, coincidentally following the actions of the people in the other rooms, and opened his suitcase.
Then he froze in place.
Time stood still.
End of import——
.
"OK, everyone played their roles well." KP applauded happily. "It seems that everyone has the potential to become outstanding investigators. So, let's continue to do our best."
Ai Qing remained silent.
The intense feeling of contradiction and disharmony grew stronger, making her feel like she had forgotten something, or perhaps overlooked something.
But KP didn't give her any more time to think.
"Oh, I forgot to mention."
KP seemed to suddenly remember and patted his head. "Our group is a secret society... which means that each character card actually has their own secrets and objectives. Once exposed, it could lead to extremely bad situations."
Saying that, he took out a stack of envelopes and distributed them to all the inspectors participating in the game.
"Based on your different choices and performances in the module, I have arranged different identities and secrets for each of you."
It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from "pawread dot com".
KP smiled happily. "I hope that while protecting your own secrets, you can cooperate sincerely and complete the module's goal - successfully reaching the New Continent."
.
In that instant, Huai Shi suddenly realized.
He saw what was in his suitcase - dozens of bottles filled with various items, a delicate and ferocious hand crossbow, several test tubes filled with crimson liquid, two daggers, a short sword, and at the top of the suitcase, a heavy weapon hanging on a hook.
It was a silver-plated hand axe, intricately engraved with exquisite and delicate runes on the back. Faint bloodstains could be seen seeping into it.
Just by looking at it, one could tell it had astonishing killing power.
But why would someone like me, who plays the violin, have these things?In that instant, he looked at the coin in his hand again. His fingers seemed to move on their own, making the coin constantly flip at his fingertips. Thus, the cross-shaped engraving and the image of the angel appeared alternately, like a key to unlock the seal, unlocking the shackles in his mind.
In an instant, countless memories emerged from the darkness and poured into his mind.
"Find that person, follow that person, and then kill that person!"
A majestic and old voice echoed in his ears: "At all costs, Van Helsing, at all costs, let the blasphemer's work, let that freak who only tarnishes the divine achievements, be crushed to pieces!"
He finally remembered.
Huai Shi was just his disguise, and he, his true identity, was an executioner cultivated by the Holy Spirit lineage.
Judge, hunter, impure, Judas... Many praising or derogatory titles fell on people like him, because he himself was a dark creature cultivated by the church to clean up dark creatures, a heretic created to kill heretics.
A Sublimator bearing the third-order Holy Mark·Vampire.
——Van Helsing, the Demon Hunter.
For more than a year, he has been carrying out the mission issued by the bishop: to hunt down the heretical alchemist Paracelsus.
In order to find clues, his journey almost spanned the entire territory of Rome, following the faint traces, and finally arrived on this ship.
And the identity of Huai Shi was just a disguise he chose to get on the ship. The unlucky cellist had been abandoned by him in the wilderness.
He must kill the heretic before the ship reaches the New World, and then return here from the New World...
He remembered the cause and effect in an instant, but his heart felt more absurd.
Something's wrong, something's wrong.
"Am I not Huai Shi?" He murmured softly, "Am I... Van Helsing?"
Am I a cellist? Am I a musician? Am I a demon hunter? Am I Huai Shi? Am I Van Helsing?
Who am I?
In that instant, he subconsciously groped in the box, wanting to find more about himself, and finally touched something, touched something that did not originally exist in the suitcase, no, even in this story.
A book?
No, it looks more like a diary.
The moment he opened the title page, countless electric lights flashed in his mind, crisscrossing, tearing apart the layers of fog and deliberately created darkness, suddenly illuminating the whole situation.
Countless broken records were finally pieced together again, forming a complete trajectory.
"I am Huai Shi..."
He let out a sudden groan from the pain in his brain, as if he had finally awakened from the deepest part of the nightmare, but even so, he was still trapped in the nightmare.
He could feel the part of Van Helsing lingering in his body, bringing waves of bloodthirsty impulses.
His body now has become a demon hunter with a third-order vampire Holy Mark.
Whether it's the indescribable hunger, or the mission that seems to be engraved in the Holy Mark that he can't disobey, they all prove this point.
But what's going on?
Suddenly crossed over?
What the hell?
What happened?
Why did I inexplicably run here?
A series of question marks kept emerging from his mind, making him finally aware of the wall hidden behind his consciousness, and a puzzled gaze looking down from somewhere.
"Ai Qing?"
In that instant, on the cargo ship, Ai Qing felt a sudden headache.
As if affected by a chain reaction, as Huai Shi woke up, the shackles on her head also loosened, cracking a gap.
"Oh? So soon a second inspector noticed the effect of 'cognitive obstruction'?"
KP slowly turned around, showing a helpless smile: "It's not good to have too high inspiration and intuition points... No, in a way, you two partners are really a perfect match."
It was as if she was isolated in another world in an instant.
Although KP was still narrating the story and explaining the rules to others, her eyes were looking at herself, as if she had split into another person, examining Ai Qing's puzzled expression.
Soon, that faint intuition turned into a flash of inspiration, breaking through the blocked memory, awakening from the confusion and obsession, and knowing where she was.
No need to hesitate anymore.
In that instant, Ai Qing instinctively drew her gun and pulled the trigger.
