A brave man may not live, but he cannot die

Chapter 232 CST Tuesday UTC+8: 11:10 PM

Tuesday, 9:40 p.m.

The night was dark.

A jeep stopped in front of the hotel. Lan Na Niu and the policeman who had been vomited on got out of the car. The two opened the back door, helped up the drunken and sleeping Jiang Hai police duo, and carried them upstairs one by one.

The dinner party was so lively thanks to Quinn's efforts. There was no official business tonight, and everyone drank to their hearts' content. After a round of drinks, the only ones who could still walk without staggering were the policeman who hadn't drunk much and Lan Na Niu, who had an excellent alcohol tolerance.

"Thanks for your help, it's just the two of us who can move. Hey—" He pulled Quinn down with all his might, and exclaimed, "This Jiang Hai guy is really tall, looks thin, but he's surprisingly heavy to carry."

The policeman was responsible for carrying Xiao Liu. He seemed quite relaxed, silently following behind Lan Na Niu while waiting for the elevator.

"Heh, don't mind him. This Jiang Hai brother isn't much of a drinker, but he's honest and hardworking. He can't drink, but he insists on drinking."

Lan Na Niu glanced at the vomit stains on his police uniform. Although it had been temporarily cleaned, a large patch of foul-smelling filth still remained.

The policeman forced a smile and said, "Drinking is something that happens all the time."

"How about I get you a room too?" Lan Na Niu suggested. "The hotel has a washing machine. You can take a shower and rest, and then you can dry off tomorrow. Anyway, we have the budget, so we can just put it on the bill together."

"No need. I have work to do later."

"Still have work?"

He was the leader of the police station in charge of maintaining public order, but he was not involved in this anti-drug operation and did not need to be on duty at night. Lan Na Niu was very curious about what he was going to do.

"My Mercedes-Benz W14 was stolen yesterday. None of the surveillance cameras captured the suspect clearly. I'm worried he might have smuggled the car out of the country by sea, so I have to go to the port to check the containers."

Lan Na Niu nodded after listening, then seemed to remember something and asked in a low voice, "This inspection won't continue until tomorrow, will it? Our mission this time is to catch them red-handed at the port, so let's not alert them."

"We'll search tonight."

"That's good."

The elevator doors slowly opened, and the two dragged the Jiang Hai duo, who were already so drunk they were snoring, into the elevator, watching the floor numbers on the display slowly rise.

"Um, Officer Lan—" the policeman suddenly asked, "What do you think of Comrade Zhang Rui?"

"Just call me Lao Lan." Lan Na Niu said casually, "He's a good guy, he doesn't act like a big city leader. No matter which city, the brothers who can stay on the front line of drug enforcement are all hard-working, and they don't boss us around."

“I mean,” the policeman paused, “well, besides his job, is there anything strange about him?”

"for example?"

"For example, worshipping strange gods who speak incomprehensible languages ​​and possessing things like melee weapons or magic wands."

"Hahahaha—I think you've had too much to drink. Your alcohol tolerance is even worse than Zhang Rui's, hahaha."

The elevator doors opened, and Lan Na Niu burst into hearty laughter, patting his colleague beside him as he laughed: "He's 100% a local from Jianghai, you know why?"

".Why?"

He calls raw fish "sashimi".

"?"

"I heard that in that leaky place, you're not allowed to eat snail rice noodles that cost less than five yuan a bowl, or the Oriental Pearl Tower will shoot you down with a laser."

"???"

The two men escorted Xiao Liu and Quinn back to their room. Quinn rolled over on the back of the bed, buried his head in the pillow, muttered "fake Moutai," and then lay still, completely drunk and unconscious.

After settling Xiao Liu in, the policeman went into Quinn's room and went straight into the bathroom: "I'll take a shower here before I leave, so I don't need to book a room."

Although Lan Na Niu wondered why he didn't shower in Xiao Liu's room, he only reminded him to close the door when he left, and then said goodbye and left.

He drank a lot, and he has to monitor drug dealers tomorrow, so he needs to rest early.

The sound of running water came from the bathroom.

Quinn lay motionless on the bed, his breathing as heavy as that of anyone who is drunk and sleeping face down.

Half an hour later, wet footsteps came from inside the toilet.

The man took off his police uniform and was completely naked. Crystal-clear water droplets dripped from his fair skin. It was hard to imagine that a man could have such delicate skin and even shave his body hair.

He walked up to Quinn's bedside, staring at him with a seductive expression, but his eyes were icy cold.

A terrifying and bizarre scene unfolded in the dark room.

The naked man raised his neck, opened his mouth, and a strange fragrance gradually filled the air. Then he reached out and inserted his fingers directly into his throat.

His expression was one of intense emotion and loss of control, as if he were experiencing something extremely exhilarating.

If you've ever seen a street performer swallowing and pulling a sword, you're probably familiar with this scene. But what he pulled from his throat wasn't a sword. Instead, a soft, pinkish-purple light illuminated the room, accompanied by a gurgling sound that evoked all sorts of thoughts as he held the object in his hand and pointed it at Quinn.

Quinn was completely unresponsive, fast asleep.

The man's eyes narrowed fiercely, and he raised his hand high, aiming a stab at the unsuspecting neck!
The dreamy glow illuminating the room flickered for a moment, and his hand holding the "weapon" stopped three inches above his neck.

Quinn seemed completely unaware that his life was hanging by a thread, and slept soundly.

A look of hesitation flashed across the man's face.

All actions of Abyss Transcendents are bound by "Abyss Laws".

His duty is that of a "police officer," responsible for protecting the public and maintaining social order. If this person is truly eccentric, that's fine, but if he kills the wrong person, perhaps even killing a 'native' projected from the abyss, then he will bear the consequences of violating the law—

If a police officer commits murder, his soul will be imprisoned in the abyss for at least twenty-five years, or it may simply be scattered to the winds.

Before Sequence Five, the physical bodies of Abyss Transcendents are no different from those of ordinary people. Leaving aside how they survived for twenty-five years, once their soulless bodies are discovered by the cult, it is equivalent to their identity being exposed, and they will only be burned at the stake.

After hesitating for a long time, he finally put his hand down.

He sheathed his "weapon" behind his back, and immediately a line appeared below his navel. The line was as intricate as an arcane circuit, both eerie and beautiful, shimmering with a rouge-colored light. As the power surged through him, he laughed heartily, his entire being visibly invigorated.

The man searched the room with astonishing agility after inserting a backup hidden power source, and soon he had thoroughly searched the entire room and Zhang Rui's suitcase.

He did not find any items that resembled Temüller.

Whether they are superhumans or arcane mages, they cannot completely impersonate the superhumans of the abyss when they infiltrate it. Apart from a few people from the Eastern Kingdom, there are almost no Temurans who can impersonate the native inhabitants of the abyss.

While it's possible to alter one's appearance through disguise or arcane means, language is absolutely incompatible. Learning the language of the Abyss means accepting its corruption; even Abyss transcendents cannot recall the words spoken in their dreams after leaving the Abyss—a cognitive distortion that exists only within the Abyss.

It seems I was overthinking it.
The Church, the Academy, and a very small number of people possess the methods to explore the fourth level of the Abyss, but they all have the purpose of hunting down Abyss superhumans or researching the Abyss. They either pretend to be deaf and dumb or start a killing spree as soon as they arrive. It is difficult for them to pretend like Quinn.

The man was about to put on his clothes and leave when he suddenly remembered the black parrot he had seen at the market earlier that day.

He turned his gaze back to the bed.

This is the only place in the entire room that I haven't searched.
He abruptly pulled back the covers, revealing Quinn lying between them, while the sheets on either side were empty.

It seems he overthought things; he became overly nervous after hearing the news of the academy's search for Abyss Transcendents.
The man pulled the weapon out, put it back in his mouth, the eerie glow disappeared, and the room returned to darkness.

The police uniform had been simply washed with water and was slightly cleaner, but it still had an unpleasant odor. The man put on the clothes with disgust; he needed them for what he needed to do later.

It's really just bad luck.
He glared at Quinn with disgust, pushed open the door, and slammed it shut with a loud bang.

Although we know that the life forms in the abyss are illusions and projections created by distorted cognition.

But the man still decided to find an opportunity to kill the guy who had vomited all over him. As long as he didn't do it himself, the laws of the abyss wouldn't punish him.

There are countless methods. Incitement, manipulation, and manipulation of rules—subtly influencing the world and using others to do one's dirty work is the correct way to use the extraordinary power of the Abyss.

five minutes later.

After confirming from the sound that the police had completely left the hotel, Quinn sat up in bed, his eyes clear, showing no signs of drunkenness.

He turned on the light, lifted the blanket, and revealed a small parrot that was almost crushed to death.

Are you trying to take advantage of me?

Amamiya Nene asked weakly.

"Is this guy so sexually repressed that he's horny towards a parrot?" Quinn said speechlessly, "He just won't leave, what can I do?"

As he spoke, he climbed onto the wall, removed the air conditioner's duct, and pulled out a hidden branch from the duct.

"Tch, who knows if you've been sneaking glances at me in the office. Oh well, I'll forgive you, you're just too charming."

Amamiya Nene flew up: "Hurry up and chase after him, see if he has any accomplices...?" Her words paused, then she became annoyed and incredulous, cursing rapidly: "...Perverted, filthy, unbelievable! You like feet, fine, but what kind of weird fetish do you have?"

There are reasons for swearing.

Quinn has raised the flag; you can see it when you fly up.

He helplessly explained, "Hey, it's through the blanket. This has nothing to do with me. There's something wrong with the fragrance that guy was emitting. After smelling it, I suspect he's a transcendent being destined for the abyss of lust."

“That makes sense.” A thoughtful look flashed in the little parrot’s dark eyes: “Although I don’t understand what he’s saying, the man in that shop seemed to be bewitched by him when I saw him once.”

"It seems that I'm destined to be consumed by lust."

"Hmph, vulgar, disgusting, perverted!"

"Didn't I already explain it clearly? Why are you still cursing at me?"

"I just feel good about insulting you."

Amamiya Nene's arrogant voice was tinged with pleasure.

Quinn was too lazy to argue, and sneered, "A parrot isn't necessarily a bad thing, but be careful I don't actually think you're a pervert."

She immediately begged for forgiveness: "Brother Quinn, I know I was wrong~~"

Although the little witch was begging for mercy, her attitude was full of teasing and seduction. Her voice was sweet and soft, like a string of silver bells jingling, so charming that it could make one's bones go weak.

She's always like this, enjoying teasing Quinn from time to time, wanting to see him blush. But Quinn never gives her a pleasant look and is long immune to it.

But this time, Quinn remained silent.

He lowered his head and turned away, no longer looking at the little parrot.

"What's wrong?" Amamiya Nene noticed that Quinn seemed a bit off, looking quite conflicted.

Quinn took a deep breath and said slowly, "Speak normally. Something's wrong with that Abyss Transcendent. I think I'm being influenced by him."

The little parrot was taken aback, then weakly let out an "oh".

Could she really have feelings for me? A parrot?
No, no, no, the influence of lust comes from desire itself.
But he's a hero, so will he really be affected?

Quinn sat on the chair like a Buddha statue for ten minutes before recovering and saying, "Let's begin. Follow him and see if he has any companions."

So the parrot raised half of its wing and turned its head away as if afraid of getting a shot, not daring to look.

"Be gentle."

Quinn picked out a feather that looked good and plucked it off with lightning speed.

"Bah"

Amamiya Nene let out a soft cry, and Quinn was about to cross his legs again.

"Don't yell!"

"It hurts so much!!" Her voice was inexplicably shy.

There was even a strange sense of anticipation.
"The late emperor passed away before completing his great undertaking; today, the empire is divided into three, and Yizhou is exhausted." Quinn immediately began reciting classical Chinese to clear his mind.

Sure enough, it worked extremely well. Before he could even finish reciting half of it, his Chinese teacher's grumpy face, wielding an iron ruler, made him drowsy and completely destroyed his credibility.

"How do I do it?" Quinn asked.

Their plan was simple.

Capture an Abyss Transcendent, torture them, and ask them how to leave the fourth level.

It would be better if we could get more information about the abyss.

However, to be on the safe side, without knowing how many Abyss Transcendent beings are hiding in this place, their strength, or whether they are connected to each other, it is necessary to gather intelligence first.

In the abyss world that mimics Earth, and with the disguise abilities of an assassin, Quinn is confident he can deceive everyone in the other world.

As expected, bound by the laws of the abyss, that guy, though suspicious of himself, didn't dare to make a move.

What the Abyss's extraordinary beings do in the Abyss has remained a mystery for millennia. Quinn doesn't believe they're just pretending to be Earthlings and playing house in this illusory world.

They obey the law and play their roles in the abyss, there must be a reason for it.

Moreover, it is highly likely to have some connection with Earth.

The way to track him lies in this feather.

“Ordinary divination methods don’t work in the Abyss, but I can still manage to divine with my own feathers.” Amamiya Nene asked in a serious tone, “Did you let him get the scent of the other feather?”

Quinn nodded.

"The bag has a scent."

"Okay. Bite your finger, let it bleed, and follow me to draw the magic circle."

"Bloodletting?"

"Otherwise what? Where can we find materials that can interfere with the mystical? The blood of superhumans might be usable, though."

"Won't arcanist blood work?"

"...Are you willing to do that?" Her voice became pitiful again.

Quinn was speechless. "Stop messing around, sis. You're about to explode with every little movement."

After biting his finger, he looked at the drops of blood that had seeped out and asked, "How do I draw it?"

"Follow me."

As the parrot flew in the sky, my finger followed its trajectory, drawing lines on the table, and a simple celestial array gradually took shape.

This is the brightest binary nebula in the Taymourne constellation. Whether in clear or cloudy weather, one of its brightest points can be seen from anywhere in the world, allowing one to deduce the other from its shape. In the field of divination, the star chart of this binary nebula is often used to create divination blocks, which can be used for finding lost items, people, fortune telling, and seeking romantic connections.

Quinn followed the parrot and finished drawing the circle in one go. Although it didn't use much blood, he was still a little worried: "This magic circle doesn't even have a single rune."

The simpler the magic circle, the more mentally and physically demanding it is to use. Conversely, the more complex the magic circle, the better it can fulfill the caster's responsibilities, with a high degree of automation, making it very easy to use.

"Are you sure I can do this?" Quinn wondered, realizing he didn't even have a wand.

"Put the feather in the middle and move aside," Amamiya Nene said irritably.

"Heh heh, bro understands my arcane level."

Quinn did as instructed, and the little parrot landed at the front of the magic circle, its beak touching the blood magic circle.

The room lights suddenly flickered.

Even though the air conditioner wasn't turned on, there was still airflow, which was even more pungent than air conditioning with Freon.

A hissing sound came from the desk lamp; two incompatible laws of the world collided there. As the room went completely dark, Quinn suddenly felt a sense of disorientation—

She's lazy, loves to slack off, always teases herself, seems unreliable, and has a personality as unpredictable as the weather in a mountain city in July—a little witch.
No incantation was needed, even in a place devoid of mana, inaccessible to the spirit world, and haunted by thunderclouds of the abyss; even without a wand, even if she had transformed into a parrot.
She is also a diviner qualified to teach at Grindelwald.

The moment the lights came back on, the blood magic circle on the table disappeared.

Ningning the parrot lay paralyzed on the bed, while a pure black feather, its tip connected to a phantom bloodline, floated in the air, its tip pointing in one direction.

"goo"

He picked up the parrot and said emotionally, "Comrade Cavendish, you can go in peace. Leave the rest to me."

“Get out of here,” she said wearily. “I hope I can last that long in three hours.”

Quinn hurriedly grabbed the map he'd bought before leaving town, aligned it with the directions, and then looked along a line the feather was pointing in. It wasn't a harbor; the police hadn't gone looking for the stolen tiger-headed horse. This direction—

Quinn's hand, which was pressing down on the map, tightened slightly.

Jinlaicai Hotel.

The target of the anti-drug operation was the location where suspect Qin Weizheng was staying.

(End of this chapter)