From the end of the world

Chapter 96 Investigation 2
We came to a busy street in the new city area, and the target location was right across the street.

It looked like a luxuriously decorated bar, but judging by the sign outside, it was actually a membership wine club. Occasionally, a few people would come in and out of the entrance hall, which was full of the smell of wealth, all dressed in bright and beautiful clothes. Even the waiters who greeted and saw off guests were well-dressed and looked well-trained.

This is obviously a high-end place that no one is qualified to enter. In fact, ordinary people would not even think of entering just by looking at this grand occasion, not to mention whether they have the qualifications to enter.

Although the Shadow-Changing Monster targets local dignitaries, it seems that he himself has a status of either being rich or noble in society, otherwise he would not be able to enter and exit such a high-end membership venue normally.

Or maybe his identity is not a customer, but a waiter, or maybe an operator?
We did not approach rashly, but stood at a distance and observed carefully, while keeping an eye on those who came in and out of the wine tasting club.

"Is this the place?" I asked.

Ma Zao said confidently: "It's here."

"Do you know what's going on inside?" Zhu Shi asked.

"I don't know. The extracted images are too fragmented. If I'm given a few more days, I might be able to piece them together. But with only one night, all I can know is that 'the weirdo comes in and out of here from time to time.'" Ma Zao said.

"From time to time...that means the weirdo may not be in here right now?" Zhu Shi asked.

"That weirdo may not come here every day, and even if he does, he usually comes at night." Ma Zao thought about it, "But I think he is most likely in this wine tasting club now."

"What's the basis?" Zhu Shi was curious.

"Because I'm here." Ma Zao said as a matter of course, "I've already taken the initiative to come towards the strange thing, so the strange thing must be nearby. Although that weirdo seems to be barely human, or at least has human self-awareness, he can also be classified as a strange thing. It's not surprising even if he takes the initiative to attack me now."

If I said that before I met Ma Zao, my investigation of strange incidents would be 100% fruitless, then after Ma Zao, my investigation of strange incidents would be 100% sure to be filled with ghosts.

She doesn't even need to take the initiative to investigate strange events. Instead, strange events take the initiative to "investigate" her.

The same is true for this situation now. If the mission of tracking down the weirdo is regarded as an operation to investigate strange events, then the target location she finds by following the clues will definitely have something fishy. Saying "100%" may be a bit exaggerated, but if you think about it as a premise that it will hit the bull's eye, there shouldn't be any big problems.

What an enviable physique. Fortunately, I can benefit from it now.

Unlike me, Zhu Shi's knowledge of Ma Zao's unlucky physique was mostly just hearsay. She just sighed casually, "It's outrageous," then took out her phone and contacted Lu Youxun. She told Lu Youxun the name of the wine tasting club and asked him to find relevant information.

As expected of Luoshan Youxun, who is an expert at collecting intelligence, not long after Zhu Shi hung up the phone, Lu Youxun sent over detailed information.

During this period, I also released the "firefly" and sneaked into the interior of the wine tasting club opposite.

The current version of "Firefly" has been upgraded. It can not only store more preset commands, but also store information about its surrounding environment. In other words, it can record what I see, making it convenient for me to review the "video" later.

Unfortunately, these upgraded features are not available for the time being. I just manually controlled a few "fireflies" to sneak into the wine tasting club. Although these "fireflies" should not be taken seriously even if someone witnessed them, just in case, I did not let them enter directly from the main entrance, but let them get into the vents and window gaps.

A few "fireflies" roughly wandered around inside, and it didn't take long for me to have a preliminary grasp of the inside story of this wine tasting club.

This place is far from being as glamorous as it appears.

In a nutshell, this is a place that looks good on the outside but is rotten on the inside.

Almost at the same time, Zhu Shi seemed to have learned the true situation of this wine tasting club through the files and information sent to his mobile phone by Lu Youxun.

"This is actually a 'nightclub'..." Zhu Shi said with disgust.

"Nightclub?" Ma Zao was puzzled.

"To put it simply, the outer area of ​​this wine tasting club is just as its name suggests, a place for tasting and appreciating fine wines, while deeper inside there are many women providing 'special services', as well as a full range of massage, bathing, and accommodation facilities." I observed the situation inside.

I don't know if it's for privacy protection or out of fun, but the customers in this nightclub all wear head covers of various styles, and some women wear fancy masks, so their true faces cannot be seen. It's simply a masquerade.

The customers' headgear seemed to have built-in voice changers, and their speaking voices were very strange.

Looking at Ma Zao's young face, I couldn't give a more direct description, so I could only use the word "special service" to describe it.

It's just that in the doomsday era, there might be some women who exchange "special services" for survival resources, and it might even be more explicit than in peacetime. I just said it briefly, and Ma nodded in understanding, without showing any surprise.

"Can you see what's going on inside?" She was even more curious about this.

I first briefly explained my "Firefly" skill, and then said, "Even if the Shadow-Changer is in there now, he must be in human form, and I can't tell from it. Ma Zao, did you investigate his human form from that finger?" "No." Ma Zao shook his head.

Even if people in the nightclub wear hoods and masks, I can rely on blending my spirit into the ambient heat and directly capture the true face hidden under the hoods and masks, but if I don't know what the target looks like, there is no way.

In this case, we can only try to track the features of other parts of the target.

For example, "scars".

"You cut off the palm of the Shadow-Changing Monster's body last night. With the monster's regenerative power, is there a way to restore the palm without any trace overnight?" I asked.

"If it's a demon from the apocalyptic era, it's okay. But if it's a weirdo from this era..." Ma Zao was a little uncertain.

Zhu Shi gave a definite answer: "According to the information from Lu Youxun, if the injury is just the extent of the missing palm, the weirdo would be able to completely recover it in less than half a night."

It seems that the route of "finding the target through scars" is not feasible... While thinking, I asked Zhu Shi: "When the monster is in human form, can your 'Buzhou Mountain' directly see through the other party's true identity?"

"Of course we can, but if we don't know who it is in advance, we can only check them one by one." Zhu Shi murmured.

"Karma demons...monsters can usually sense the breath of souls. Although they can hardly distinguish the difference between ordinary souls, they are very sensitive to the souls of people with powerful magic and can accurately identify them." Ma Zao shook his head, "We have fought with monsters before, and they must have remembered our breath. If we check them one by one, I'm afraid we will alert them, and they will run away before we can get their turn."

"Can't this kind of aura be hidden? You seemed to have said before that you can use meditation to put yourself in a state of hidden aura." I said.

Zhu Shi tactfully suggested: "Although I am not incapable of hiding my aura, for a weirdo who can sense the aura of souls, if someone who cannot emit a soul aura suddenly appears nearby and checks on suspects one by one, that situation will also arouse his vigilance."

It seems we have hit a wall.

I have a way to observe everyone without being discovered, but I don’t have the eyesight to see through weirdos; and although Zhu Shi has that kind of eyesight, he doesn’t have a way to observe everyone without being discovered.

It would be great if I could connect Zhu Shi's senses with mine... No, even if there is such a method, it seems difficult to use. Lu Youxun once wanted to transmit information directly into my mind, but he was repelled by my own power, and he seemed to have been seriously injured. Trying to connect my mind with others is likely to be accompanied by huge risks.

"Maybe I can wait here until that weirdo walks out the door by himself." Zhu Shi suggested.

"That shouldn't be possible." Ma Zao shook his head. "Although I haven't investigated it very clearly, that weirdo hasn't used normal methods to move in and out of this place since two months ago... It doesn't look like shadow teleportation. The picture I traced back didn't suddenly go black. He is very likely using the ability of shapeshifting to move between here and other places."

"Using that kind of movement method is probably to create an alibi for not being in a brothel, and to protect the social relationships of human identity. I can understand this... but why is it not shadow teleportation, but shape-shifting?" Zhu Shi thought, "Is it because shadow teleportation consumes more energy... or is it that even in the eyes of weirdos, sneaking into the shadow world is risky?"

"If he is using the ability to change his shape, then I won't be able to find any clues even if I monitor everyone inside through the Firefly. His shadow clone can mimic the human appearance, and there is no difference in the posture of the original body and the clone at the moment of switching positions." I said, "But if that's the case, I might be able to narrow down the suspects to 'some people who haven't left the club for a long time'."

"I can also continue to investigate the weirdo's fingers. I will definitely be able to grasp the identity of the target weirdo in a few days, but..." Ma Zao seemed to be aware of other problems.

"That weirdo fought with us last night. He may have known that he was being targeted by Luo Shan Wu Chang. Will he really stay in Xian Shui City for a long time?" Zhu Shi pondered.

"But if he really had that sense of crisis, why would he go to the nightclub to have fun at this time?" Ma Zao fell into deep thought.

I gave my own opinion from a male perspective: "Perhaps it is because of the huge pressure of survival that the need for a gentle place arises."

Ma Zao nodded as if he had been taught: "I see..."

Zhu Shi looked at me as if he wanted to say something but hesitated. Junior Sister Zhu, if you have anything to say, you can just say it directly. It's a bit hurtful to do it this way now.

I gathered my attention and focused on the problem at hand.

If the Shadow Changer really chooses to flee Saltwater City, we will no longer be able to track him down. Once an enemy with the power of shadow teleportation escapes, finding him will be like looking for a needle in a haystack. The clues to the Monster Maker, the Humanitarian Department, and the Doomsday will also be cut off.

Naturally, I have a great curiosity about these clues, and on this basis, there is a personal grudge between me and the Shadow Changer.

I can't accept that the murderer who wanted to murder Chang'an got away with it.

Just then, Zhu Shi's cell phone rang.

She glanced at the caller ID, was slightly startled, and then answered the call. I didn't use "Firefly" to eavesdrop on the call, and I didn't know what the person on the other end of the phone said, but she immediately showed a shocked expression.

"What?" she asked in shock, "Brother is missing?"

(End of this chapter)