I created the myth of the Great Old Ones.

"According to the description in the book, the family in this story went to a small town in the north. So, Beihan Town should be north of the ruined capital?"

"I think," Hya pondered.

"There's a city two days' journey north of the ruined capital, but it's not called Beihan Town. It's called Hanxu, a mining city."

Drizzt offered a casual explanation.

"Could the ancient capital have gone to the Cold Ruins?"

Lu Ban asked.

"It's possible. There's always a prototype. The North Cold Town and Cold Ruins described here have some similarities. Perhaps we can find the answer there."

Trist nodded.

He had just finished speaking when he suddenly seemed a little dazed.

Upon careful consideration, in the story of "The Mouth of the Madman," the detectives obtained clues from the editorial department and decided to go to North Cold Town.

Then and now, just as now and now.

"what happened?"

Seeing that Trist's expression was off, Shia asked him a question.

"No, it's nothing..."

He composed himself and asked more questions about the details of Editor Qian's exchanges with Gu Du before leaving the publishing house.

“We are now conducting our investigation exactly according to the steps outlined here. What exactly is written here?”

Arriving on the street, watching the passersby come and go, Drizzt sighed.

Is it possible that we are currently inside a book?

Lu Ban suddenly had a whimsical idea.

"..."

Trist didn't want to talk to Lu Ban.

"Should we still go to our home in the ancient capital?"

Xia doesn't quite agree with Lu Ban's statement.

"Let's go take a look."

The three of them then headed straight to the inner ring road. Although it was called a series of rings, these areas were not actually separated by walls, but only by streets.

Once we reached the Third Ring Road, the road surface suddenly became clean, as if someone was constantly sweeping it. The stench mixed with excrement disappeared, and instead, there was the sound of birds singing and the fragrance of flowers.

There are rickshaw pullers here, but both the rickshaws and the people's clothes are newer and cleaner than outside, and even their demeanor is quite different.

Even when these coachmen looked at Trist, Lu Ban, and Sia, whose coats were a little dusty, as they walked from the streets of the Fourth Ring Road, they could glimpse a hint of contempt.

Lu Ban was somewhat surprised by the attitude these people displayed here, but upon closer reflection, it made perfect sense.

In some eras, slaves also took pride in their masters, and even betrayed their fellow citizens for their masters, as if history had always been like this.

The houses here are all detached villas. The wealthy people in the abandoned city not only do not want to share their houses with others, but also because they often hold parties, a bright hall and an elegant garden are essential.

It's much quieter here compared to other places.

"It's very quiet here, and there aren't many people on the streets..."

Xia couldn't help but sigh.

"Yeah, they've probably all gone to work or inspected their own businesses..."

Before Trist could say anything more, Lu Ban interrupted them both.

"Let's talk about something else."

Trist and Sia looked at Lu Ban strangely, wondering what was going on.

The three followed the road until they reached the villa at the end of the slope. The villa's garden was clearly neglected and in a mess. Weeds had long since taken over the growing space of normal flowers and plants, growing wildly and spreading to the walls, making the whole house look gloomy and terrifying. The situation inside the house could not be seen from here. Drizzt first took a walk around the outside of the yard.

"I've discovered something."

Lu Ban looked at Trist, who had circled back, and said seriously.

"What, are there traces of an ancient capital?"

"You looked like a thief just now."

Lu Ban replied.

"...Get out of here."

Tristana used her key to open the iron gate to the yard. The seemingly rusty gate creaked, just like the kind you often see in horror movies.

Trist walked in front, while Lu Ban followed at the back. The three of them arrived at the door.

Pushing open the door, Drizzt was immediately struck by a putrid stench.

"A corpse?"

He quickly dismissed the idea, because in the kitchen sink, a mass of yellow and green liquid swelled and overflowed—moldy food, from which the putrid smell originated.

When Lu Ban turned on the light, he saw that the room's furnishings were oppressive, dull, and discordant. He could see that the cabinets and tables were not arranged diagonally, which would drive anyone with OCD crazy. There were photos on the cabinets, but only one of Gu Du was in them.

As you can see, he is a rather handsome young man with a melancholic quality in his eyes, truly a role model for artistic youths.

After searching the first floor without finding any clues, Trist was about to go up to the second floor to check.

Suddenly, Xia raised her hand.

"Shhh."

She gestured for the other two to be quiet, then lowered her voice and spoke.

"There's some noise upstairs."

crunch--

At the same time, the sound of something stepping on the wooden floor came from above the three of them.

Chapter 221 Reason - 3

It's obvious that there's someone or something on the second floor.

Trist became alert, pulled out his usual revolver, and checked the bullets.

Lu Ban then materialized his "Last Words," ready to find a way to deliver a blow at any moment.

Xia looked at the two of them, somewhat confused.

What are you doing?

She asked softly.

"We must approach them carefully..."

Before Trist could finish speaking, he saw Sia raise her left hand.

Suddenly, her small frame unleashed tremendous strength as she leaped into the air, slamming her left hand against the ceiling with lightning speed.

dong dong dong-

With the sound of something penetrating the ceiling and reaching the second-floor floor, Lu Ban clearly saw several small holes, about the thickness of a finger, appear in the wooden ceiling.

Thump thump thump thump—

The next moment, a series of explosions rang out, shaking off a large amount of dust.

"Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey... What are you doing?"

Trist spat out the ash from his mouth and looked up at the second floor.

There was no movement from above.

"When encountering unidentified objects, if there are walls in the way, you can use the Penetrating Burst spell to launch a probing attack and investigate the enemy's situation. That's what the Gray Tower's Agent's Manual says."

Shia replied immediately.

"A probing attack?"

Lu Ban felt that this test seemed a bit exaggerated.

"...What if it's an ancient capital?"

Trist asked hesitantly.

"Don't worry, I've prayed for a healing spell this time. As long as he has a breath left, he can be brought back to life!"

Xia patted her chest, making a metallic clanging sound, and then glanced at Lu Ban.

"Shall we go upstairs and take a look?"

Lu Ban felt that it definitely wasn't the ancient capital. He went up the creaking stairs and saw a mess on the second floor.

This is the bedroom. You can see the cotton wool from the bed flying everywhere. The Explosion spell turned the wooden bed into pieces, along with a creature.

It looked like a hunting dog, or an octopus, lying on the ground, barely alive.

Lu Ban observed carefully and saw that it was a four-legged creature, about the size of a large dog, with a smooth body like an eel, and its limbs had reverse joints and sharp claws at the ends.

What's striking is its head, with several tentacles extending from its neck. There are no eyes or ears, only a mouth surrounded by countless sharp teeth in the center of the tentacles.

Just seeing this creature is enough to make one wonder what the gods of this world have done. Its slippery tentacles are still slightly curling and stretching, but the monster seems to have stopped moving.

"Look, this isn't an ancient capital."

Shea pointed at the monster and said.

"Is this a monster unique to the ruined capital?"

Lu Ban was curious. After all, he wasn't from the Wasteland. He had only seen rat people and flying fish in the Wasteland and didn't know what other strange creatures existed here.

"I have never heard of such a monster in the ruined city."

Trist put away his revolver, took out his gloves, and was about to put them on, but after thinking about it, he handed them to Lu Ban instead.

"Come and take a look."

Lu Ban took the gloves and quickly went to the monster's side. He poked the monster's body with his finger and felt a slightly hard texture, like a balloon filled with stones.