Chapter 7 Chapter 7 Half Dead
I left the Nightside Times in Julian Advent's silver Rolls-Royce because he wanted to make sure I got there safely and didn't die anywhere near the Nightside Times or himself.I accepted his offer and left the expensive mess left by Losinger Tulpa to them to clean up.My limousine driver was a blonde woman in white leather.She asked me where she was going and then refused to say another word.If it wasn't for my inherent qualities that women don't want to ignore, it would be that Julian had warned her not to talk to me.I happily poured a glass of good brandy from the small bar in the car, and then lounged on the red leather sofa.Occasionally enjoy the luxury of the first-class flight, whether it is of great help to the body or the mind.The car shuttled quietly on the busy streets of Night City.Although the only traffic rule in Night City is the survival of the fittest, most vehicles know to stay away from Rolls Royce, because such an expensive vehicle must be equipped with the industry's top defense and weapon systems.
But there are always blind people in the world, aren't there?I looked out the window aimlessly, thinking about the last time I dealt with the dead boy.At this moment, I suddenly found a strange black car driving next to our car, and it was obvious at a glance that it was not a real car.I sat up straight and focused my attention on the car.The exterior details of the car were all wrong, and even the four wheels didn't really turn.I looked at the female driver in my car and saw that she was looking straight ahead, obviously not worried at all.I looked back at the black car next to me, and saw that all the doors were lines drawn on the car shell, without any depth at all.Through the window next to the driver's seat, I saw that the driver in that car was completely motionless. It must be just a dead body lying there.
Our speed is very fast, but the other party is not slower than us at all.At this time, it was already very close, and a crack began to appear on the side of the body facing me, and it slowly became bigger and bigger.Then the slit opened like a wide mouth, revealing a row of blood-red horror cilia waving hungrily within.Sharp spikes suddenly grew from these cilia, and they aimed at the windows of the Rolls-Royce, but they couldn't break the bulletproof glass on the car.I stepped back to the window on the other side as the female driver opened the weapons console on the dashboard.
Then the fake car suddenly trembled violently, the roof of the car was clasped tightly by two sharp claws that descended from the sky, and blood gushed out from the scratches of the claws.The dummy car kept changing lanes, trying to shake off the claws on top, but couldn't.It let out a scream of fear, and the whole car was lifted off the ground.I heard the violent flapping of wings above my head, and then the monster disguised as a car was caught into the night sky and disappeared.It made a stupid mistake—to focus so much on its prey that it forgot the first rule of Nightside: no matter how good a predator you think you are, there are always bigger, stronger, and more powerful predators out there. hungry monster.As long as you are not careful, these monsters may eat you alive at any time.
The Rolls-Royce sped forward, and the other vehicles continued to run wildly, as if nothing had happened.And I poured another glass of brandy.
Half an hour later, we came to the current location of the dead boy, the Great Funeral Home in Night City.The Great Undertaker is where all Nightside funerals are handled, and is located in the Borderlands of Nightside.Partly because no one wants to go near this place, and partly because even a place like Nightside still has some taboos that people don't like to talk about-but the biggest reason is that if something happens to a large funeral home, it is usually not It's an out-of-control event. The management of large funeral homes claims that they can provide all types of services, ceremonies, and burials, including some that cannot be advertised.Their motto: "Your funeral is your own." In the Nightside, unless some proper rituals are performed, no one can be sure that the dead will stay safe and sound underground.That's why people have to pay experts to deal with this kind of problem.They cost a lot, but they are worth the money, and sometimes they can get things done even if they can't provide the body of the dead. However, no matter how professional the organization is, there will always be mistakes, and whenever things go wrong, the management of the funeral home will put down all their dignity and call for the most proficient death expert in Night City, the notorious Death Boy go out. The female driver dropped me off at a long distance from the funeral home, basically so far away that I could only see the outline of the funeral home.As soon as I closed the door, the car turned around at a very fast speed, and then headed uptown.That's fine, otherwise I really don't know how much to tip, and I have no idea what kind of service is worth how much to tip.As I walked forward, the street was very quiet and gave off a sense of abandonment.The doors and windows of the buildings on both sides were closed tightly, and no lights were revealed.This circumstance made my footsteps sound extraordinarily loud, as if announcing my arrival to all nearby inhabitants. When I finally arrived in front of the funeral parlor, my nerves were stretched to the limit, and I was always ready for any unexpected situation.The large funeral parlor is a huge building made of bricks and stones. There are no windows on all sides, and the roof slopes to the sides.Over the years, several subsidiary buildings have been built along the perimeter of this main building, stretching over a large area, and each building has a different style.The whole funeral home exudes a dark, gloomy, and gloomy atmosphere, and there is only one entrance leading to the interior in all directions.The huge front door itself is made of hard steel, covered with sterling silver, and covered with various spells and languages of the dead world. Just looking at it will make people feel sad for the cleaners here.There are two chimneys on the roof that lead to the crematorium at the rear, but today was the first time I saw no black smoke coming from them.I heard that there is a huge cemetery behind the big funeral home, but I have never seen it because I don't want to.I never go to any funerals, they are so depressing.Even when my father died, I only attended the farewell ceremony, not the funeral.I know the pain and the feeling of losing a loved one so well, the illusory comfort of being buried in the ground doesn't mean anything to me, of course, it may just be because I have seen too many deaths, and I really can't bear this kind of parting often. . I saw Dead Boy's car by the front door, slowly swaying there.The Dead Boys are known to cherish this shiny silver sports car from the future.This car is elegant in shape, with extraordinary streamlines, setting off an incomparable breath of life, and without any tires, it is powered by liquid starlight, floating quietly in the mid-air a few feet above the ground.Legend has it that it is equipped with a warp drive, a deflector shield, and the ability to transform into a robot when necessary.The windows of the car are all magnetically treated, so it is impossible to see into the car from the outside, but at the moment the right front door of the car is not closed, and a human leg is exposed outside.The leg didn't move as I approached, so I bent down and looked into the car to see Death Boy smiling happily at me from the driver's seat. "John Taylor, great to see you again. Welcome to the most popular attraction in All Night City." "Is it really the most popular?" "It must be, otherwise how would people come here even if they die." He smiled, and took a long swig from the whiskey bottle.Dead Boy is seventeen years old.He had been seventeen since the day he was murdered thirty years ago and hadn't changed.I've heard the story, everyone has.A few gangsters on the road beat him to death in order to rob him of his credit cards and a few cents in his pocket. He lay on the sidewalk bleeding to death, and no passerby was willing to stop to rescue him.The story should have ended here, but it didn't take long for him to come back from the dead with incomparable anger and supernatural power, vowing to avenge the gangsters who killed him.The murderers died one after another, and no one came back to the world for revenge like him.According to legend, this is because the method of the dead boy is too cruel, so the gangster who died at his hands would rather stay in hell than come back for revenge.But despite years of revenge, Dead Boy is still bound by the terms of his resurrection contract and must continue to walk the Nightside. He is often asked "Who did you sign the resurrection contract with?", and he always answers "Who do you think it is". He did take revenge, but the contract did not mention words such as rest in peace after revenge—he really should have read the small print more carefully—he had no choice but to continue wandering Nightside, become a soul trapped in corpses.Over time, he naturally possessed himself on his corpse.He went about doing good because he had to.Only through continuous good deeds can he fulfill the conditions of the original contract.Definitely a very useful companion when he's on your side, as he feels no pain, can take a great deal of damage, and has absolutely no fear of anything that is of this world. Since he's spent so much time researching his particular situation, it's generally believed that he knows all about death better than anyone in Nightside. He got out of the car and greeted me, then stood leaning against the car with an uncertain expression.He was tall and thin, and he wore a long dark purple coat, a pair of leather trousers, and a pair of shiny cowhide boots.A black rose was pinned to one collar of the coat, and the chest was unbuttoned, revealing a scarred chest.As a dead man raised from the dead, his body will not rot, but his wounds will not heal either.Since Dead Boy has no concept of protecting his body, he would use needles, staples, or superglue to repair his pale skin when he was injured, and sometimes he even tied it up with tape; It can be described as horrible.I found a couple of recent bullet holes in his long coat, but since he didn't mention it, I didn't ask. His pale cheeks revealed a pre-Raphaelite look of exhaustion from excessive indulgence, his eyes were overly enthusiastic, and his lips were slightly pursed, but without any color.On his head was a soft black hat with long curly hair beneath it.Whiskey bottle in hand, mouth full of chocolate biscuits, he pushed both biscuits and bottle in front of me, but I firmly refused. "I don't need food or drink." Dead Boy said lightly. "I don't feel hunger or thirst, or even any drunkenness. I eat and drink just for the slightest pleasure. Since my senses are so insensitive, only the most stimulating things will It touches my nerve." He took out a silver medicine bottle from his coat, poured out five or six compound capsules from it, and swallowed it in one gulp mixed with whiskey. "It's a cool thing. It's carefully prepared by a woman who is proficient in Obi witchcraft. It's really hard to find drugs that can affect the body of the dead. Please don't look at me in that way, John, you are Too sentimental. What are you doing in such a boring place?" "Julian Advent said you were here on a case. If I could help you, would you like to help me with something?" He thought for a moment, ate another chocolate chip cookie, and wiped the crumbs on his collar. "Perhaps. It depends on whether your business is dangerous, whether it is violent or not, and whether there are any evil forces to eradicate?" "Absolutely meets your needs." Dead Boy smiled. "Then we are partners. Of course, the prerequisite is that we must survive my case." I nodded and looked towards the silent funeral parlor. "What happened here?" "Good question. Seems like the big undertaker's power went out, so all sorts of goblins come out. I've warned them years ago that they should get their own generator, but they've always been reluctant to absorb the cost themselves... …It doesn’t matter that much, anyway, the dead body refrigeration area is seriously damaged. I warned them not to do this kind of thing before, but, oh, no, they must keep up with the trend of the times and meet the needs of customers.” He paused After a pause, he continued: "However, I actually tried the cold storage technique myself, wondering if I can continue to hibernate until someone finds a solution to my problem. Unfortunately, it doesn't work at all. I don't even have a trace of cold I didn't feel it, I just lay there quietly, so boring...and it took a lot of work to pull out all the condensed water jets from my hair." I pretended to be listening to him, but in fact I was cursing silently inside.After a long time, I was stabbed because I blew up the Prometheus power company, and my good intentions were not rewarded... Since the situation is in the cold storage area of the corpse, it means that things are difficult.A person must first become a corpse before entering the refrigerated area of the corpse, which means that the soul has left the body when refrigerated.However, since some people fear that they will go to hell after death, they turn to cold storage technology as a last hope.They will first find a necromancer to bind the soul and the corpse together, and then perform the freezing process to ensure that everything is safe and sound until the judgment day.Basically, there are all kinds of protective measures in the cold storage area of the corpse, but it is a pity... once there is a power outage, the protective measures will all fail.The corpses will thaw, and the spells that bind the soul will also fail, and finally become a group of shells without hosts, which may be possessed by external forces at any time. "Well," I said as calmly as I could. "Do you know what got on the corpse?" "I don't know. The data they provided is very little. About two hours ago, all the employees escaped screaming from the big funeral home. Not to mention that no one dared to go back, and almost no one was willing to stay around here—" —It’s absolutely terrifying to scare this group of people into something like this, considering the work they face every day. According to the manager of the large funeral home, there are five thawed bodies that need to be disposed of, and these bodies have been treated. Possession by external forces. Saying this doesn’t help much in identifying the other party’s identity, right? The only good news is that the magic barrier around the funeral parlor is still in effect, so we can be sure that the other party hasn’t left here yet.” "Can't we just plug the electricity back in again?" I said hopefully. The dead boy smiled helplessly: "You still don't understand the situation, John. The power supply here has been restored, but the damage has already been done. The possessed monsters have long adapted to the surrounding environment and spread their influence to the whole world. The corpse trainers of the funeral parlor have tried all kinds of common methods, but they can't drive away these visitors from other worlds. Of course, they are all hiding far away to cast spells, but their abilities are absolutely Enough for normal demons. I think those in there are beings from the upper planes, gods from ancient times, horned giants of the Outer Darkness, and normal exorcisms are useless against such things. No, these are tough The monsters have taken over the situation and opened a portal through time and space in the real world. If we don't find a way to close that door as soon as possible, more monsters will invade the Night City before long. We have the opportunity to face Isn't that lucky for these guys?" "I wouldn't describe the situation as lucky," I said.But he smiled without worry. I looked down and found that there was a white line on the ground in front of me clearly marking the magic barrier outside the funeral parlor.This barrier is a barrier formed by magic lines drawn by people hundreds of years ago with salt, sterling silver, and semen. It can not only prevent external forces from invading the funeral home, but also prevent things inside the funeral home from entering the outside world.The good news is that the barrier is still working at this moment, which means that the necromancer who set up this magic barrier did have a trick.I knelt down and lightly touched the lines on the ground with my fingers, and immediately felt the existence of a wall of energy, like endless thunder and lightning shaking the air in front of me.At the same time, I can also sense a strong pressure coming from the opposite side, indicating that something in it is very eager to leave.It slammed into the barrier that trapped itself angrily, and the force of the impact was still increasing.I withdrew my palms and stood up. "Oh, that's right." Dead Boy said as he drank the whiskey in the bottle and threw the bottle aside. "It's a disgusting feeling, isn't it?" The wine bottle shattered on the ground, but the sound was not as loud as expected.Dead Boy looked at the door of the big funeral home with an uncertain look. "As long as the force is strong enough and the impact is long enough, no matter how powerful the magic barrier is, there will be a moment of collapse. Time is running out, and now we can only rely on you and me to go in and destroy the villains from other worlds. Ah, me, I am Love the challenge! Don't look at me like that, it's going to be fun! Stick with me, John. The amulet from the manager of the Great Undertaker will allow us to pass through the barrier, but if you get separated from me, you won't be able to get out. " "Don't worry," I said. "I'll stay well behind you." Dead Boy smiled, and together we made our way through the magic barrier. All of a sudden, we felt a burst of very powerful spiritual energy attacking our bodies at the same time, our whole body trembled and we could hardly stand upright.Behind the heavy walls of the great funeral parlor, some kind of monster is watching us at this moment.It was a vague existence floating in the air, like a thick smoke that could be touched, very dark, very scary, and very beyond human imagination.It feels weepy, sick, smells of blood, pulsates with hate.To me, going to a big funeral home is like crossing a sea of poop and being stabbed by a loved one with a knife.But the dead boy just straightened his chest and walked towards the gate with big strides.It seems that any force that causes fear is nothing in the eyes of the dead.I gritted my teeth, tensed all my muscles, and followed behind the dead boy to meet him. We made it to the door without any attacks of any kind.Then Dead Boy reached out and grabbed the doorknob. From his expression, it was obvious that the door should not be locked.He pushed a lot hard, but failed to push the door open, so he let go and took two steps back, taking a leisurely look at the door.I opened my palm and put it on the solid steel door, only to find that the tentacles were soft, as if a certain reality that maintained a solid essence on the door was being slowly pulled away.The contact with the door sent goosebumps all over my skin, so I quickly withdrew my palm and wiped it vigorously on my jacket.The dead boy lifted his big foot, aimed at the door and kicked it hard, kicking the steel door away on the spot like paper.The door fell to the floor behind it with a small muffled thud.The dead boy stepped over the gate on the ground and walked into the hall behind the gate. Putting on a majestic look, he put his hands on his buttocks and shouted into the darkness in front of him. "Hello! I'm Death Boy! Kick your ass out! Come out! Hit me as hard as you can! I'm not afraid of you!" "Look," I said. "That's why no one wants to work with you." "They're all cowards," he said coldly. The air was filled with all kinds of stench mixed with blood, carrion and internal organs, forming a disgusting stench.The only source of light in the hall came from a shapeless mist that floated in the air with a silver-blue phosphorescence.It didn't take long for my eyes to adjust to the dim light, but after taking in the sights on the walls around me, I wished I hadn't.Layers of human remains were hung on the surrounding walls. The corpses were elongated and flattened and glued to the walls. From the floor to the ceiling, several layers of human flesh barriers were stacked with human skin, internal organs, and bones.And mixed in these human flesh barriers are thousands of distorted human faces, most of which were dug out from the cemetery behind.Imbued with some form of life, these human remains sensed our presence and squirmed restlessly on the walls, eyes on all faces following our figures.We just walked slowly through the hall under the gaze of thousands of eyes.Along the way, many arms stretched out towards us, and we didn't know whether they wanted to grab us or beg us for help.I saw the heart, lungs and other internal organs shaking on the wall as if they were mocking life, and I was constantly thankful that I didn't recognize any faces on the wall. At least the floor was clean.Dead Boy strode forward, oblivious to the horror on the wall, and I followed closely behind him.In this situation, if there is no one as calm as him walking beside him, I am afraid that anyone will be driven crazy.The sound of our footsteps was dull, and the shadows around us were so deep that it felt like we were walking down a narrow passage, far away from the normal world, leading to a place... not a normal world after all. When we reached the center of the hall, we finally vaguely saw each other's figure.Illuminated by the phosphorescent mist, we saw five huge figures standing in the shadows on the other side of the hall.They are corpses thawed from unimaginably low temperatures. After being resurrected from the dead, they were possessed by non-human spirits from another world. At this moment, they have lost their original human form.The spirits possessing these corpses are too powerful, too violent, and too unnatural to fit a human body.As a result, the corpse was stretched, magnified, squeezed into an unnatural shape by the strong pressure in the body, and turned into a very disgusting and terrifying monster, which can only be described as horrible.Their epidermis kept wriggling, as if the contents in their bodies had exceeded the limit that the three-dimensional space could accommodate.Under such circumstances, the human body should have been torn to pieces long ago, but these five corpses were tenaciously put together under the strong willpower of the possessed spirit body.They need these corpses, and only by virtue of these hollow hosts can they exist in the material plane.I really want to turn my head away from them, because the shapes of these corpses are too complicated, and normal human minds can't bear this sight at all. I thought we were getting too close, so I grabbed Dead Boy by the arm to stop him.He glared at me. "We need information," I whispered. "Talk to them." "You talk to them. Tell me if you find a weakness." One of the monsters leaned forward.It was as tall as two people, and its width was not much different. The pale, juicy skin was stretched to the limit.It straightened its slender neck and leaned towards us, blood and tears kept flowing from its eyes, falling on the floor drop by drop, making white mist and hissing noises.Many bones pierced the skin of its face, forming many irregular sharp corners.When it spoke, it sounded like a choir child uttering obscenities. "We are the primordial gods, purely conceptual beings, products of the early days of heaven and earth, high-level spiritual bodies who walked on the earth before the glorious ideals were dwarfed by the so-called rules. To protect you Weak and impotent beings, we were cast out of the physical world. We have existed since the beginning of time. We waited and watched on the fringes of the physical world, constantly looking for a way to return to the earth, just to give to all who dared to go beyond themselves. The lesser beings of rank show our contempt and hatred. We are the primordial gods, we were the first to enter the material world, and we shall remain here until all that dare to think are buried in the earth." "Standard rotten devil." Dead Boy said. "I have lived for thousands of years, and the only thing I can do is to complain about the injustice of history. Don't talk nonsense, just start fighting. Come on, let me see how good you are!" "Can you be a little more rational?" I just finished speaking when I saw the head on the opposite side suddenly turn towards me. "We know you, little prince," whispered the choir. "John Taylor. That's right. We knew your mother too." "What do you guys know?" My mouth was parched, trying to sound calm. "In this rotten world, she is the beginning of everything, and she will be the beginning again. She will return. That's right, she will return to the earth in a short time." "Who is she? What is her identity?" "Ask those who awakened her. Ask those who asked her to return. She will return, and no one can stop her." "You are afraid of her." I said a little surprised.You are also afraid of me.I wonder. "We are the original gods. Before she returns, we still have time to have fun, and it's time to play with you." "It's very interesting what you're talking about," said Dead Boy. "But enough bullshit. Cover me, John. I have a plan." He lunged forward, aiming at the nearest monster. "That's what you call a plan?" I cried, with nothing to do but run after him.Only then do I wish I had a gun, a really big gun, a super big gun that could hold a nuclear bullet. The dead boy grabbed the head of the monster who spoke before, and the monster leaned forward, embracing the dead boy like an insect surrounded by amber.The monster intends to attach to him, but the dead boy's body has been possessed by his own soul, and no other force can squeeze in.The monster trembled a few times, unable to bear the strange body of the dead boy, and finally spit him out of the body.The dead boy fell heavily on the ground, and immediately stood up, looking around for the next target.The five monsters suddenly opened their mouths and chanted a series of languages higher than human speech, so as to control the thousands of corpses stuck to the wall.Driven by the spell, the wreckage slid down the wall one after another, like a sea of corpses pouring from all directions along the floor toward me and the dead boy.Sharp broken bones spewed out from the sea of corpses, and white smoke rose from the floor due to excess stomach acid.Eyeballs emerge from blood, nails emerge from severed fingers, and objects sharper than scalpels are aimed at us everywhere. I grabbed a large handful of salt from my pocket, sprinkled a circle around myself and Dead Boy, and told him to stay in the circle of salt.Although it was said that his body could withstand all blows, God knows whether he would just be digested in the face of the stomach acid frenzy formed by thousands of corpses.The sea of corpses stopped for a while outside the salt circle, then arched upwards, and continued to pounce on us across the salt circle.I calmed down and looked around, and the dead boy punched and kicked the nearest corpse without fear.His mouth was not idle, and he kept chanting all kinds of spells, from Elvish to ancient Egyptian, and used all kinds of spells, but there was no obvious effect.This sea of corpses is controlled by ancient gods, and their power has existed since the beginning of the world, and even Dead Boy has never come into contact with such ancient monsters. I looked at the Old Gods and saw that they were all focused on me and paid little attention to Dead Boy.I felt they were afraid of me before, but why?What is it about me that scares them?I know far fewer offensive spells than Dead Boy.Maybe it's my talent for finding things that they're afraid of, but how does talent come in handy in this situation?I struggled to look at five disgusting corpses possessed by an ancient god.They are indeed terrifying, but at the same time they are... tense and unstable; the human body can't hold the ancient gods at all, and maybe they can explode on their own with a little stimulation... As soon as this idea took shape in my mind, I already started to move forward, stepping forward on the corpses all over the ground.Without hesitation, I ran to the ancient god who was speaking, and shouted: "Do you think you are strong? Have a kind of attachment to me and see, you bastard!" But I thought in my heart: "If If you guess wrong, you’re doomed!” The ancient god flinched slightly intimidated by my aura, but I had already pounced on it and crashed into its chest.The opponent's body sucked me in like mud, and I quickly reached out to block my mouth and nose to prevent the rotting flesh from seeping into my body.A gust of cold air hits my body, so cold beyond my imagination, it can be compared with the dark and low temperature in the empty space. What's worse, there is a real soul in this dark and cold void. The body is coming towards me from all directions.At this moment, there was a burst of shrill screams from all around.Amidst the screams full of betrayal and anger, the corpse possessed by the monster finally exploded, turning into countless fragments and flying in all directions. The ancient gods wanted to possess my body, but they couldn't get my soul out of my body.Its body is filled with too many things, there must be one thing that must be squeezed out, and the first thing it can't stand is the corpse it possesses.The corpse exploded, bloody and bloody, and the body parts splashed. The powerful impact caused a chain reaction, and the other four ancient gods were blown up on the spot.It was all over very quickly.I stood with the dead boy in the sea of corpses that had stopped wriggling, looking at the rapidly decomposing internal organs and body parts, and fell silent for a long time.Finally Dead Boy looked up to me. "People say I'm too impulsive and difficult to get along with. What did you do to them?" "I give them indigestion, maybe I'm not normal after all." Dead Boy took a breath. "Jesus, I stink, and so do you. Wish there was a bathroom and a washing machine." After a long time, Dead Boy and I finally washed off the stench and put on clean clothes.Now that the crisis has passed, the employees of the big funeral homes have come back one after another.After sighing wildly for a few breaths, all employees reluctantly began to deal with the aftermath.This is a long and annoying big project. In addition to requiring many body bags, a strong stomach, buckets and mops that are not very useful, it also requires a large bucket of disinfectant.The manager of the large funeral home met us briefly, shook hands, assured the dead boy that the check had been mailed, and left.It is very important to confirm the payment with the dead boy. Since the dead boy is used to going directly to other people's homes to solve things face to face, no one wants to provoke him.When Dead Boy and I were leaving the funeral home, I saw two young men staggering in with a box marked "Air Filter". We came to the dead boy's future car, and the door opened automatically without heeding any instructions from him.Dead Boy hopped into the driver's seat, and I carefully moved into the seat next to him, and the doors closed by themselves.I took a quick look and saw that the dashboard on the car looked more complex than a spaceship.Dead Boy took out an oversized chocolate bar out of nowhere and devoured it on the spot.After eating, he patted all the debris on his body to his feet, and I realized that the floor was full of garbage.Then he stared thoughtfully at the windshield, as if he wanted to yell, but didn't have the strength to do so. "I'm tired." He said suddenly. "I feel tired all the time, and I really don't want to be tired anymore. Everything takes energy, whether it's fighting ancient gods or just passing the day. You can't imagine what death is like. I don't feel a lot of things. Arriving, like the breeze, the smell of flowers, even temperature changes like hot and cold. I have no appetite, no needs, no desire to sleep at all. I can't even remember what it's like to fall comfortably asleep after a hard day's work. Even emotions are a bit of a broken memory for me, it's really hard to force yourself to care about anything after the worst has already happened. I just keep going, just because I have no choice but to keep doing good deeds, repeatedly sending myself into danger, just to get back a little bit of pleasure... Are you sure you still want my help, John?" "I need your help," I said. "Requiring your penetrating insight, it's not really an earth-shattering event, but it's still an interesting case." "Ah, all right." Dead Boy said. "I like fun things. Where are I going?" "That's what I need to ask you. I'm looking for an ex-singer named Sylvia Shinn who used to work for the Cavendishes. Julian Advent thinks you know her current whereabouts." .” 死亡男孩脸上浮现一个奇特的表情。“我不知道你对那种女人会有兴趣，约翰。这跟我想象中你的品味不太一样。不过话说回来，我也没什么资格评断你……” “她只是一个我要调查的对象。”我说。“你知道她的下落吗？” “知道。我还知道她现在在干的勾当。你在浪费时间，约翰，现在的席维雅·辛恩只在乎工作，对其他任何人或任何事都漠不关心。” “我还是得找她谈谈。”我道。“你可以带我去吗？” 他耸肩：“有何不可，反正到时候看看你见到她时的表情应该也很有趣。”
死亡男孩的未来之车在夜城的街道上呼啸而过，没有任何车辆胆敢接近，多半是害怕相位雷射或光子鱼雷之类的未来武器。我听不见丝毫引擎发出的声音，也感不到任何疾驶中的震动。我们移动的速度比街上所有车辆都快，但是我却一点车子在加速的感觉都没有。没多久我们就离开主要大街，转入住宅区的小巷子里，最后在一栋跟两旁建筑没什么两样的房子前停下。夜城也有偏僻的地区，而这里显然是偏僻地区中最偏僻的地方。 我跟死亡男孩下车之后，车子就自行落锁。天上飘起了毛毛雨，让我不由自主地缩在外套底下。夜色越来越阴暗，乌云遮蔽了满天星斗跟巨大的月亮。在昏暗的淡黄街灯照耀之下，我们周遭似乎处于一种变态低俗的气氛之中。街上没有半个人影，两旁的房子中也几乎没有透出半点灯光。死亡男孩领着我穿越杂草丛生的花园，来到那栋房子的前门，接着往旁边一站，示意要我敲门。再一次，他脸上浮现令我看不透的奇特表情。我没看到门铃，于是直接敲门。门立刻打开，似乎对方早就在等待着我们的到来。 开门的人脸上仿佛挂了个“我是皮条客”的霓虹招牌一样，无论长相、站姿、笑容全都散发出一种淫贱却又亲切的感觉。他身穿一件黑色的丝质外套，其上绣了一条栩栩如生的中国巨龙。身材又矮又瘦，可说是雌雄难辨。十根手指头上全部戴满银戒指，鼻孔上还穿了一只鼻环。他有一头漆黑的头发，不过五官之中却透露着一股说不出来的不自然感。那感觉十分诡异，似乎跟他的表情有点关系。他脸上一直带着微笑，但是那股笑意却始终没有进入那透彻的眼神之中。 “每次看到新面孔总是令人心情愉快。”他语气轻快地说。“我们欢迎任何人大驾光临，尤其是像两位这么有名的人物。传奇人物死亡男孩以及重出江湖的约翰·泰勒。认识两位是我的荣幸，先生。我名叫葛雷，很高兴为你们服务。” “我们要见席维雅。”死亡男孩说。“至少，约翰要见她。” “那是当然啰。”葛雷说。“从来没有人是来这里找我的。”他转头对我笑道：“您有什么癖好吗，先生？不管您想玩什么、想跟谁玩，我保证这里都可以满足您的欲望。我们对玩法全不设限，鼓励大家尝试新鲜的东西。而亲爱的席维雅更是非常愿意配合。” “不用预约吗？”我说着瞪了死亡男孩一眼。他应该事先告诉我的。 “喔，只要有顾客上门，席维雅都会知道。”葛雷说。“此刻她刚好搞定上一名客户，您可以直接上楼去找她。当然，我们要先谈好价钱。如果在完美的世界里，我们根本不必讲这些市侩的言语，只可惜呀……” “我不是来买春的。”我说。“我只要跟她谈谈。” 葛雷耸肩：“不管你想跟她干嘛，收费都是一样。当然，我们只收现金。” “上去吧，约翰。”死亡男孩说。“我来跟葛雷聊聊。” 他向前跨上一步，葛雷立刻向后退出一步，因为后退是正常人面对死亡男孩时的正常反应。葛雷退完之后，很快又恢复正常，举起手来正对死亡男孩推去。接着他们两人中间突然爆出一阵魔法闪光，不过闪了几下之后就消失得无影无踪。葛雷吓了一跳，退到墙边，两只眼睛张得老大。 “你……你是什么东西？” “我是死亡男孩。你只要知道这一点就好了。快上去，约翰。我不想在这里耗上一整晚。” 我顺手带上房门，越过死亡男孩跟葛雷，踏上狭窄的楼梯。席维雅就在二楼，我可以感觉得到。这栋房子散发出一种寒冷、阴森的感觉，到处都有黑暗深邃的阴影。楼梯是木制的，上面没铺地毯，不过我上楼的时候却没发出任何声音，仿佛就像是走在恶梦中的鬼屋里一样，有点熟悉却又异常陌生，每道门每扇窗似乎都隐藏了可怕的威胁，每一眼看出去都让人感到莫名的恐惧。距离似乎无限地向上延展，我走了好久才终于到达二楼。 我站在一扇门之前，一扇恐怖至极的门，门后面隐藏了不可告人的秘密。我站在门口，呼吸凝重，也不知道是因为害怕还是期待。不用别人说我就知道这是席维雅的房门，因为我可以感觉到她的存在，就像是一场即将到来的暴风雨一样。我伸出一指轻轻在房门上推了一下，房门立刻向内滑开，似乎在欢迎我的到来。在闻到一股淡淡的怪味之后，我迈步走入房中。 在这个房间里，在这红色的房间里，在这充满玫瑰花瓣色彩的光线以及闪耀不定的阴影的房间里，我感觉像是走入了女人的体内，温暖、潮湿，空气中弥漫着汗水、麝香以及香水的味道。灯光黯淡，到处都是阴影，似乎其中所提供的娱乐根本见不得光。我感受到诱惑，感受到欲望，感受到一种永远都不想离开的冲动。 那感觉就像是走进了地狱的接待大厅。我好爱那种感觉。 房内有一张超级大床，床上躺了一名体态慵懒的裸体女子。她丝毫不感到羞耻地对我微笑，浑身上下绽放出无比致命的吸引力，有如初尝腐肉的快感，好比俄罗斯轮盘的刺激。她缓缓地在深红色的床单上蠕动身躯，就像是在血池中钻动的蛆虫一般。她的五官在脸上四处游走，不断地改变，不停地幻化，就连身高及体重似乎都没有定数。她可以是一个女人，也可以是一百个女人，或者说是一个具有一百张不同面孔的女人。她动作徐缓，极尽慵懒之能事，皮肤白皙得有如眼球中的眼白。即使当她的五官搭配成难以入目丑陋面孔之时，在他人眼中依然美不可言。她的骨架有如潮浪般起伏不定，嘴唇的色彩变幻无方，深邃的双眼承诺着令任何男人都会恶心呕吐同时又感动落泪的性爱欢愉。我从来没有如此想要一个女人。她是性感的实体，是女性的极致，光是她的存在就让整个房间蓬荜生辉。 虽然明知对身体有害，但我就是情不自禁地想要她。 “约翰·泰勒。”床上的女人开口道。她的声音十分轻柔，有如一群合音天使的歌声。“卡文迪旭夫妇说过你可能会来。我已经期待与你见面很久了。我会变成今天这个样子都是卡文迪旭夫妇造成的，只不过这个结果跟他们当初期望的有点落差。当时我只是一个歌手，一个很棒的歌手，但是光那样对卡文迪旭夫妇来说并不够。他们想要打造的是一个所有人都会爱上的超级巨星，只可惜花了大钱却得到这种结果：一个形体不定的女人；一个象征性爱的怪物；一个梦寐以求的欲望；一个永不止歇的快感。” 她笑了，笑声中少了点幽默与人性。她的肌肤鼓动，形体万千，变换着各种不同的姿势。我全身冒起鸡皮疙瘩，目光完全无法从她身上移开，下体兴奋勃起到疼痛的地步。我靠着意志力苦苦支撑，尽力让自己待在原地。我绝不能再靠近她一步，我不敢这么做。我想要占有她。我要她占有我。 接着我看见她懒洋洋地举起手来放到嘴边，手指上沾了些黏黏红红的东西。她将红红的东西放入嘴中慢慢咀嚼，满足地享受着个中滋味。这时我的眼睛渐渐适应了房中的光线，也终于发现屋内还有另外一个人躺在床边的地板上。那男人隐藏在阴影之下，全身僵直，显然已经死去。在他脑袋的侧面有一个大洞，此刻席维雅就在我的注视之下将手指伸入洞中，沿着脑缘搅拌，然后挖出更多脑浆来。 “席维雅刚好搞定上一名客户。”葛雷之前是这么说的。 她看着我脸上的表情，再度笑出声来。“一个女孩总是需要生活呀。像我这种状况是需要付出代价的，幸运的是，代价不需要我亲自来付，是他们自己找上门来，不论是男是女，他们都受不了内心深处的欲望驱使，主动跑来找我。我用身体满足他们的需求，不过也同时让他们付出代价。我吸取他们的欲望、热情、信仰以及自我，接着再取走他们的性命。然而到了那个地步的时候，他们通常也不在乎了。最后，我吃掉他们的尸体，他们的活力延续着我的生命，他们的血肉维持着我的形体。稳定与混乱之间总是需要一个平衡，要是我无法取得我的需求，你就不会喜欢我的外表。喔，不要这么惊讶，约翰！卡文迪旭夫妇的法术将我打造成你心目中最渴望的女神。我很喜欢自己这个样子。来找我的人心里都明白这种风险，他们也很喜欢这种感觉。这才是性爱的原貌，不受种种道德与良知的束缚，完完全全的纵欲无度。”她看了看地上的尸体。“不必为他哀悼。他已经耗尽一切，对任何人，甚至他自己都没有任何用处了。除了我以外。再说，他可是含笑而死的，看到没？” 我震惊得说不出话来，自然也无法回答。 她以一种无法理解的性感动作缓缓地伸展肢体。“你不想要我吗，约翰？我可以变成任何你想要的人，你可以对我做任何你不敢对那些人做的事。我为性爱而活，我的肉体能够配合满足所有需求。” “不。”我满脸冒汗地强迫自己说道。我在很小的时候就已经为了生存而学会自我约束，再说，我老早就习惯得不到自己想要的东西。尽管如此，我还是必须使尽全力才能留在原地。“我需要……找你谈谈，席维雅。关于卡文迪旭夫妇的事。” “喔，我很久没有想起他们了。我不在乎外面的世界所发生的事。在这里，我拥有自己的世界，而这个世界很完美。我从来不离开这里。这里，我拥有无限的喜悦。你是来告诉我夜城里所发生的事吗？罪恶是否依然充斥其中？多久了，我来这里究竟多久了？” “一年多一点。”我说着向前跨出一步。 “才一年？我觉得好像已经一世纪了。不过，在天堂跟地狱里，时间本来就过得比较缓慢。” 我又再向前踏出一步。她的身体仿佛以一种跟世界一样古老的声音呼唤着我。尽管心知一旦过去就必须付出性命跟灵魂，但是除了内心深处的一小点自我还在无声呐喊之外，我根本就不在乎。在此生死关头，我只能使出最后绝招，开启了强大的天赋，以最透彻的心眼审视席维雅·辛恩的内心，找出她被卡文迪旭夫妇改变之前的最初自我，然后将她带回这个世界。 席维雅惊声尖叫，剧烈抖动，全身的皮肤沸腾冒泡，直到一个固定的形体浮上台面之后，整个幻化的过程才在瞬间划下句点。席维雅全身蜷成一团，躺在床上大声喘气。如今的她恢复成一个正常的女人，拥有正常的肤色以及正常的美丽容颜。我也在大声喘气，因为我终于从鬼门关里爬回人间。刚才那股强大的性爱压力已自房内消逝，只剩下一点点残存的气息在空气中飘浮。席维雅缓缓坐起，全身依然一丝不挂，用属于人类的双眼朝我望来。 “你做了什么？你对我做了什么？” “我帮你找回自我。”我说。“你自由了。永远恢复正常了。” “我才不要恢复正常！我喜欢那个样子！我喜欢那种感觉！那种欢愉、那种渴望、那种吸食他人精力与肉体的快感……我是女神，你这浑蛋！还给我！把它还给我！” 她像只狂野的大猫对我扑来，双手瞄准我的眼睛，利牙咬上我的喉咙。我向旁一让，轻易躲开攻击。如今这个正常的躯体受限良多，她根本不知该如何驾驭。她一头撞进门旁的墙上，然后就再也爬不出来，因为她的皮肤已经与墙壁融为一体。因为墙壁不愿意放她离开。我终于明白屋内的光线从何而来，也终于了解为什么空气中还会有残存的性爱魔力挥之不去。当你在一个房间之中用魔法做了太多疯狂的行为之后，那房间迟早会变成一间疯狂的魔法屋。我带回了席维雅·辛恩，却没有将房间一并恢复原状。她大声呼喊，对着墙壁捶出一拳，拳头当场也卡进墙内，接着迅速地陷入墙中，有如沉入布满玫瑰花瓣的池塘里一样。她吞噬了无数男女，如今自己也面对了同样的命运。一切在她有机会发出最后惨叫之前就已经结束了。而在她身体消失的那一瞬间，房中的性爱气息疯狂大增，仿佛某个饥渴的猎食者突然将矛头指向了我一样。 我拔腿就跑，直奔下楼。 在楼梯底下，我停下脚步，大口喘了几口气。我的心脏跳得非常剧烈，简直跟用铁锤敲打胸口没什么两样。夜城中到处充满了各式各样的诱惑，人们都知道只要自一项诱惑中逃出生天，就千万不要再回头去招惹。席维雅·辛恩已经死了，而那个房间应该用不了多久也会饿死，只要没有人蠢到再去喂它……我转头找寻葛雷，发现他正缩在墙角发抖痛哭，而死亡男孩则一派轻松地倚门而立。 "What happened to him?" I asked. “他想知道死亡是什么感觉。”死亡男孩道。“于是我跟他说了。” 我看了看葛雷，轻轻打了个冷颤。他双眼张得老大，但却一点神采也没有。 “那么，”死亡男孩道。“搞定席维雅了，是吧？” “搞定了。”我说。“卡文迪旭夫妇在她身上动过手脚，把她变成一头怪物，或许他们也对洛欣格尔做过类似的事。我必须再去找她。” “介意我同行吗？”死亡男孩说。“跟你在一起，死亡都会变成有趣的事。” "Of course." I said. “不过下次由我跟人家交谈，好吗？”
Half an hour later, we came to the current location of the dead boy, the Great Funeral Home in Night City.The Great Undertaker is where all Nightside funerals are handled, and is located in the Borderlands of Nightside.Partly because no one wants to go near this place, and partly because even a place like Nightside still has some taboos that people don't like to talk about-but the biggest reason is that if something happens to a large funeral home, it is usually not It's an out-of-control event. The management of large funeral homes claims that they can provide all types of services, ceremonies, and burials, including some that cannot be advertised.Their motto: "Your funeral is your own." In the Nightside, unless some proper rituals are performed, no one can be sure that the dead will stay safe and sound underground.That's why people have to pay experts to deal with this kind of problem.They cost a lot, but they are worth the money, and sometimes they can get things done even if they can't provide the body of the dead. However, no matter how professional the organization is, there will always be mistakes, and whenever things go wrong, the management of the funeral home will put down all their dignity and call for the most proficient death expert in Night City, the notorious Death Boy go out. The female driver dropped me off at a long distance from the funeral home, basically so far away that I could only see the outline of the funeral home.As soon as I closed the door, the car turned around at a very fast speed, and then headed uptown.That's fine, otherwise I really don't know how much to tip, and I have no idea what kind of service is worth how much to tip.As I walked forward, the street was very quiet and gave off a sense of abandonment.The doors and windows of the buildings on both sides were closed tightly, and no lights were revealed.This circumstance made my footsteps sound extraordinarily loud, as if announcing my arrival to all nearby inhabitants. When I finally arrived in front of the funeral parlor, my nerves were stretched to the limit, and I was always ready for any unexpected situation.The large funeral parlor is a huge building made of bricks and stones. There are no windows on all sides, and the roof slopes to the sides.Over the years, several subsidiary buildings have been built along the perimeter of this main building, stretching over a large area, and each building has a different style.The whole funeral home exudes a dark, gloomy, and gloomy atmosphere, and there is only one entrance leading to the interior in all directions.The huge front door itself is made of hard steel, covered with sterling silver, and covered with various spells and languages of the dead world. Just looking at it will make people feel sad for the cleaners here.There are two chimneys on the roof that lead to the crematorium at the rear, but today was the first time I saw no black smoke coming from them.I heard that there is a huge cemetery behind the big funeral home, but I have never seen it because I don't want to.I never go to any funerals, they are so depressing.Even when my father died, I only attended the farewell ceremony, not the funeral.I know the pain and the feeling of losing a loved one so well, the illusory comfort of being buried in the ground doesn't mean anything to me, of course, it may just be because I have seen too many deaths, and I really can't bear this kind of parting often. . I saw Dead Boy's car by the front door, slowly swaying there.The Dead Boys are known to cherish this shiny silver sports car from the future.This car is elegant in shape, with extraordinary streamlines, setting off an incomparable breath of life, and without any tires, it is powered by liquid starlight, floating quietly in the mid-air a few feet above the ground.Legend has it that it is equipped with a warp drive, a deflector shield, and the ability to transform into a robot when necessary.The windows of the car are all magnetically treated, so it is impossible to see into the car from the outside, but at the moment the right front door of the car is not closed, and a human leg is exposed outside.The leg didn't move as I approached, so I bent down and looked into the car to see Death Boy smiling happily at me from the driver's seat. "John Taylor, great to see you again. Welcome to the most popular attraction in All Night City." "Is it really the most popular?" "It must be, otherwise how would people come here even if they die." He smiled, and took a long swig from the whiskey bottle.Dead Boy is seventeen years old.He had been seventeen since the day he was murdered thirty years ago and hadn't changed.I've heard the story, everyone has.A few gangsters on the road beat him to death in order to rob him of his credit cards and a few cents in his pocket. He lay on the sidewalk bleeding to death, and no passerby was willing to stop to rescue him.The story should have ended here, but it didn't take long for him to come back from the dead with incomparable anger and supernatural power, vowing to avenge the gangsters who killed him.The murderers died one after another, and no one came back to the world for revenge like him.According to legend, this is because the method of the dead boy is too cruel, so the gangster who died at his hands would rather stay in hell than come back for revenge.But despite years of revenge, Dead Boy is still bound by the terms of his resurrection contract and must continue to walk the Nightside. He is often asked "Who did you sign the resurrection contract with?", and he always answers "Who do you think it is". He did take revenge, but the contract did not mention words such as rest in peace after revenge—he really should have read the small print more carefully—he had no choice but to continue wandering Nightside, become a soul trapped in corpses.Over time, he naturally possessed himself on his corpse.He went about doing good because he had to.Only through continuous good deeds can he fulfill the conditions of the original contract.Definitely a very useful companion when he's on your side, as he feels no pain, can take a great deal of damage, and has absolutely no fear of anything that is of this world. Since he's spent so much time researching his particular situation, it's generally believed that he knows all about death better than anyone in Nightside. He got out of the car and greeted me, then stood leaning against the car with an uncertain expression.He was tall and thin, and he wore a long dark purple coat, a pair of leather trousers, and a pair of shiny cowhide boots.A black rose was pinned to one collar of the coat, and the chest was unbuttoned, revealing a scarred chest.As a dead man raised from the dead, his body will not rot, but his wounds will not heal either.Since Dead Boy has no concept of protecting his body, he would use needles, staples, or superglue to repair his pale skin when he was injured, and sometimes he even tied it up with tape; It can be described as horrible.I found a couple of recent bullet holes in his long coat, but since he didn't mention it, I didn't ask. His pale cheeks revealed a pre-Raphaelite look of exhaustion from excessive indulgence, his eyes were overly enthusiastic, and his lips were slightly pursed, but without any color.On his head was a soft black hat with long curly hair beneath it.Whiskey bottle in hand, mouth full of chocolate biscuits, he pushed both biscuits and bottle in front of me, but I firmly refused. "I don't need food or drink." Dead Boy said lightly. "I don't feel hunger or thirst, or even any drunkenness. I eat and drink just for the slightest pleasure. Since my senses are so insensitive, only the most stimulating things will It touches my nerve." He took out a silver medicine bottle from his coat, poured out five or six compound capsules from it, and swallowed it in one gulp mixed with whiskey. "It's a cool thing. It's carefully prepared by a woman who is proficient in Obi witchcraft. It's really hard to find drugs that can affect the body of the dead. Please don't look at me in that way, John, you are Too sentimental. What are you doing in such a boring place?" "Julian Advent said you were here on a case. If I could help you, would you like to help me with something?" He thought for a moment, ate another chocolate chip cookie, and wiped the crumbs on his collar. "Perhaps. It depends on whether your business is dangerous, whether it is violent or not, and whether there are any evil forces to eradicate?" "Absolutely meets your needs." Dead Boy smiled. "Then we are partners. Of course, the prerequisite is that we must survive my case." I nodded and looked towards the silent funeral parlor. "What happened here?" "Good question. Seems like the big undertaker's power went out, so all sorts of goblins come out. I've warned them years ago that they should get their own generator, but they've always been reluctant to absorb the cost themselves... …It doesn’t matter that much, anyway, the dead body refrigeration area is seriously damaged. I warned them not to do this kind of thing before, but, oh, no, they must keep up with the trend of the times and meet the needs of customers.” He paused After a pause, he continued: "However, I actually tried the cold storage technique myself, wondering if I can continue to hibernate until someone finds a solution to my problem. Unfortunately, it doesn't work at all. I don't even have a trace of cold I didn't feel it, I just lay there quietly, so boring...and it took a lot of work to pull out all the condensed water jets from my hair." I pretended to be listening to him, but in fact I was cursing silently inside.After a long time, I was stabbed because I blew up the Prometheus power company, and my good intentions were not rewarded... Since the situation is in the cold storage area of the corpse, it means that things are difficult.A person must first become a corpse before entering the refrigerated area of the corpse, which means that the soul has left the body when refrigerated.However, since some people fear that they will go to hell after death, they turn to cold storage technology as a last hope.They will first find a necromancer to bind the soul and the corpse together, and then perform the freezing process to ensure that everything is safe and sound until the judgment day.Basically, there are all kinds of protective measures in the cold storage area of the corpse, but it is a pity... once there is a power outage, the protective measures will all fail.The corpses will thaw, and the spells that bind the soul will also fail, and finally become a group of shells without hosts, which may be possessed by external forces at any time. "Well," I said as calmly as I could. "Do you know what got on the corpse?" "I don't know. The data they provided is very little. About two hours ago, all the employees escaped screaming from the big funeral home. Not to mention that no one dared to go back, and almost no one was willing to stay around here—" —It’s absolutely terrifying to scare this group of people into something like this, considering the work they face every day. According to the manager of the large funeral home, there are five thawed bodies that need to be disposed of, and these bodies have been treated. Possession by external forces. Saying this doesn’t help much in identifying the other party’s identity, right? The only good news is that the magic barrier around the funeral parlor is still in effect, so we can be sure that the other party hasn’t left here yet.” "Can't we just plug the electricity back in again?" I said hopefully. The dead boy smiled helplessly: "You still don't understand the situation, John. The power supply here has been restored, but the damage has already been done. The possessed monsters have long adapted to the surrounding environment and spread their influence to the whole world. The corpse trainers of the funeral parlor have tried all kinds of common methods, but they can't drive away these visitors from other worlds. Of course, they are all hiding far away to cast spells, but their abilities are absolutely Enough for normal demons. I think those in there are beings from the upper planes, gods from ancient times, horned giants of the Outer Darkness, and normal exorcisms are useless against such things. No, these are tough The monsters have taken over the situation and opened a portal through time and space in the real world. If we don't find a way to close that door as soon as possible, more monsters will invade the Night City before long. We have the opportunity to face Isn't that lucky for these guys?" "I wouldn't describe the situation as lucky," I said.But he smiled without worry. I looked down and found that there was a white line on the ground in front of me clearly marking the magic barrier outside the funeral parlor.This barrier is a barrier formed by magic lines drawn by people hundreds of years ago with salt, sterling silver, and semen. It can not only prevent external forces from invading the funeral home, but also prevent things inside the funeral home from entering the outside world.The good news is that the barrier is still working at this moment, which means that the necromancer who set up this magic barrier did have a trick.I knelt down and lightly touched the lines on the ground with my fingers, and immediately felt the existence of a wall of energy, like endless thunder and lightning shaking the air in front of me.At the same time, I can also sense a strong pressure coming from the opposite side, indicating that something in it is very eager to leave.It slammed into the barrier that trapped itself angrily, and the force of the impact was still increasing.I withdrew my palms and stood up. "Oh, that's right." Dead Boy said as he drank the whiskey in the bottle and threw the bottle aside. "It's a disgusting feeling, isn't it?" The wine bottle shattered on the ground, but the sound was not as loud as expected.Dead Boy looked at the door of the big funeral home with an uncertain look. "As long as the force is strong enough and the impact is long enough, no matter how powerful the magic barrier is, there will be a moment of collapse. Time is running out, and now we can only rely on you and me to go in and destroy the villains from other worlds. Ah, me, I am Love the challenge! Don't look at me like that, it's going to be fun! Stick with me, John. The amulet from the manager of the Great Undertaker will allow us to pass through the barrier, but if you get separated from me, you won't be able to get out. " "Don't worry," I said. "I'll stay well behind you." Dead Boy smiled, and together we made our way through the magic barrier. All of a sudden, we felt a burst of very powerful spiritual energy attacking our bodies at the same time, our whole body trembled and we could hardly stand upright.Behind the heavy walls of the great funeral parlor, some kind of monster is watching us at this moment.It was a vague existence floating in the air, like a thick smoke that could be touched, very dark, very scary, and very beyond human imagination.It feels weepy, sick, smells of blood, pulsates with hate.To me, going to a big funeral home is like crossing a sea of poop and being stabbed by a loved one with a knife.But the dead boy just straightened his chest and walked towards the gate with big strides.It seems that any force that causes fear is nothing in the eyes of the dead.I gritted my teeth, tensed all my muscles, and followed behind the dead boy to meet him. We made it to the door without any attacks of any kind.Then Dead Boy reached out and grabbed the doorknob. From his expression, it was obvious that the door should not be locked.He pushed a lot hard, but failed to push the door open, so he let go and took two steps back, taking a leisurely look at the door.I opened my palm and put it on the solid steel door, only to find that the tentacles were soft, as if a certain reality that maintained a solid essence on the door was being slowly pulled away.The contact with the door sent goosebumps all over my skin, so I quickly withdrew my palm and wiped it vigorously on my jacket.The dead boy lifted his big foot, aimed at the door and kicked it hard, kicking the steel door away on the spot like paper.The door fell to the floor behind it with a small muffled thud.The dead boy stepped over the gate on the ground and walked into the hall behind the gate. Putting on a majestic look, he put his hands on his buttocks and shouted into the darkness in front of him. "Hello! I'm Death Boy! Kick your ass out! Come out! Hit me as hard as you can! I'm not afraid of you!" "Look," I said. "That's why no one wants to work with you." "They're all cowards," he said coldly. The air was filled with all kinds of stench mixed with blood, carrion and internal organs, forming a disgusting stench.The only source of light in the hall came from a shapeless mist that floated in the air with a silver-blue phosphorescence.It didn't take long for my eyes to adjust to the dim light, but after taking in the sights on the walls around me, I wished I hadn't.Layers of human remains were hung on the surrounding walls. The corpses were elongated and flattened and glued to the walls. From the floor to the ceiling, several layers of human flesh barriers were stacked with human skin, internal organs, and bones.And mixed in these human flesh barriers are thousands of distorted human faces, most of which were dug out from the cemetery behind.Imbued with some form of life, these human remains sensed our presence and squirmed restlessly on the walls, eyes on all faces following our figures.We just walked slowly through the hall under the gaze of thousands of eyes.Along the way, many arms stretched out towards us, and we didn't know whether they wanted to grab us or beg us for help.I saw the heart, lungs and other internal organs shaking on the wall as if they were mocking life, and I was constantly thankful that I didn't recognize any faces on the wall. At least the floor was clean.Dead Boy strode forward, oblivious to the horror on the wall, and I followed closely behind him.In this situation, if there is no one as calm as him walking beside him, I am afraid that anyone will be driven crazy.The sound of our footsteps was dull, and the shadows around us were so deep that it felt like we were walking down a narrow passage, far away from the normal world, leading to a place... not a normal world after all. When we reached the center of the hall, we finally vaguely saw each other's figure.Illuminated by the phosphorescent mist, we saw five huge figures standing in the shadows on the other side of the hall.They are corpses thawed from unimaginably low temperatures. After being resurrected from the dead, they were possessed by non-human spirits from another world. At this moment, they have lost their original human form.The spirits possessing these corpses are too powerful, too violent, and too unnatural to fit a human body.As a result, the corpse was stretched, magnified, squeezed into an unnatural shape by the strong pressure in the body, and turned into a very disgusting and terrifying monster, which can only be described as horrible.Their epidermis kept wriggling, as if the contents in their bodies had exceeded the limit that the three-dimensional space could accommodate.Under such circumstances, the human body should have been torn to pieces long ago, but these five corpses were tenaciously put together under the strong willpower of the possessed spirit body.They need these corpses, and only by virtue of these hollow hosts can they exist in the material plane.I really want to turn my head away from them, because the shapes of these corpses are too complicated, and normal human minds can't bear this sight at all. I thought we were getting too close, so I grabbed Dead Boy by the arm to stop him.He glared at me. "We need information," I whispered. "Talk to them." "You talk to them. Tell me if you find a weakness." One of the monsters leaned forward.It was as tall as two people, and its width was not much different. The pale, juicy skin was stretched to the limit.It straightened its slender neck and leaned towards us, blood and tears kept flowing from its eyes, falling on the floor drop by drop, making white mist and hissing noises.Many bones pierced the skin of its face, forming many irregular sharp corners.When it spoke, it sounded like a choir child uttering obscenities. "We are the primordial gods, purely conceptual beings, products of the early days of heaven and earth, high-level spiritual bodies who walked on the earth before the glorious ideals were dwarfed by the so-called rules. To protect you Weak and impotent beings, we were cast out of the physical world. We have existed since the beginning of time. We waited and watched on the fringes of the physical world, constantly looking for a way to return to the earth, just to give to all who dared to go beyond themselves. The lesser beings of rank show our contempt and hatred. We are the primordial gods, we were the first to enter the material world, and we shall remain here until all that dare to think are buried in the earth." "Standard rotten devil." Dead Boy said. "I have lived for thousands of years, and the only thing I can do is to complain about the injustice of history. Don't talk nonsense, just start fighting. Come on, let me see how good you are!" "Can you be a little more rational?" I just finished speaking when I saw the head on the opposite side suddenly turn towards me. "We know you, little prince," whispered the choir. "John Taylor. That's right. We knew your mother too." "What do you guys know?" My mouth was parched, trying to sound calm. "In this rotten world, she is the beginning of everything, and she will be the beginning again. She will return. That's right, she will return to the earth in a short time." "Who is she? What is her identity?" "Ask those who awakened her. Ask those who asked her to return. She will return, and no one can stop her." "You are afraid of her." I said a little surprised.You are also afraid of me.I wonder. "We are the original gods. Before she returns, we still have time to have fun, and it's time to play with you." "It's very interesting what you're talking about," said Dead Boy. "But enough bullshit. Cover me, John. I have a plan." He lunged forward, aiming at the nearest monster. "That's what you call a plan?" I cried, with nothing to do but run after him.Only then do I wish I had a gun, a really big gun, a super big gun that could hold a nuclear bullet. The dead boy grabbed the head of the monster who spoke before, and the monster leaned forward, embracing the dead boy like an insect surrounded by amber.The monster intends to attach to him, but the dead boy's body has been possessed by his own soul, and no other force can squeeze in.The monster trembled a few times, unable to bear the strange body of the dead boy, and finally spit him out of the body.The dead boy fell heavily on the ground, and immediately stood up, looking around for the next target.The five monsters suddenly opened their mouths and chanted a series of languages higher than human speech, so as to control the thousands of corpses stuck to the wall.Driven by the spell, the wreckage slid down the wall one after another, like a sea of corpses pouring from all directions along the floor toward me and the dead boy.Sharp broken bones spewed out from the sea of corpses, and white smoke rose from the floor due to excess stomach acid.Eyeballs emerge from blood, nails emerge from severed fingers, and objects sharper than scalpels are aimed at us everywhere. I grabbed a large handful of salt from my pocket, sprinkled a circle around myself and Dead Boy, and told him to stay in the circle of salt.Although it was said that his body could withstand all blows, God knows whether he would just be digested in the face of the stomach acid frenzy formed by thousands of corpses.The sea of corpses stopped for a while outside the salt circle, then arched upwards, and continued to pounce on us across the salt circle.I calmed down and looked around, and the dead boy punched and kicked the nearest corpse without fear.His mouth was not idle, and he kept chanting all kinds of spells, from Elvish to ancient Egyptian, and used all kinds of spells, but there was no obvious effect.This sea of corpses is controlled by ancient gods, and their power has existed since the beginning of the world, and even Dead Boy has never come into contact with such ancient monsters. I looked at the Old Gods and saw that they were all focused on me and paid little attention to Dead Boy.I felt they were afraid of me before, but why?What is it about me that scares them?I know far fewer offensive spells than Dead Boy.Maybe it's my talent for finding things that they're afraid of, but how does talent come in handy in this situation?I struggled to look at five disgusting corpses possessed by an ancient god.They are indeed terrifying, but at the same time they are... tense and unstable; the human body can't hold the ancient gods at all, and maybe they can explode on their own with a little stimulation... As soon as this idea took shape in my mind, I already started to move forward, stepping forward on the corpses all over the ground.Without hesitation, I ran to the ancient god who was speaking, and shouted: "Do you think you are strong? Have a kind of attachment to me and see, you bastard!" But I thought in my heart: "If If you guess wrong, you’re doomed!” The ancient god flinched slightly intimidated by my aura, but I had already pounced on it and crashed into its chest.The opponent's body sucked me in like mud, and I quickly reached out to block my mouth and nose to prevent the rotting flesh from seeping into my body.A gust of cold air hits my body, so cold beyond my imagination, it can be compared with the dark and low temperature in the empty space. What's worse, there is a real soul in this dark and cold void. The body is coming towards me from all directions.At this moment, there was a burst of shrill screams from all around.Amidst the screams full of betrayal and anger, the corpse possessed by the monster finally exploded, turning into countless fragments and flying in all directions. The ancient gods wanted to possess my body, but they couldn't get my soul out of my body.Its body is filled with too many things, there must be one thing that must be squeezed out, and the first thing it can't stand is the corpse it possesses.The corpse exploded, bloody and bloody, and the body parts splashed. The powerful impact caused a chain reaction, and the other four ancient gods were blown up on the spot.It was all over very quickly.I stood with the dead boy in the sea of corpses that had stopped wriggling, looking at the rapidly decomposing internal organs and body parts, and fell silent for a long time.Finally Dead Boy looked up to me. "People say I'm too impulsive and difficult to get along with. What did you do to them?" "I give them indigestion, maybe I'm not normal after all." Dead Boy took a breath. "Jesus, I stink, and so do you. Wish there was a bathroom and a washing machine." After a long time, Dead Boy and I finally washed off the stench and put on clean clothes.Now that the crisis has passed, the employees of the big funeral homes have come back one after another.After sighing wildly for a few breaths, all employees reluctantly began to deal with the aftermath.This is a long and annoying big project. In addition to requiring many body bags, a strong stomach, buckets and mops that are not very useful, it also requires a large bucket of disinfectant.The manager of the large funeral home met us briefly, shook hands, assured the dead boy that the check had been mailed, and left.It is very important to confirm the payment with the dead boy. Since the dead boy is used to going directly to other people's homes to solve things face to face, no one wants to provoke him.When Dead Boy and I were leaving the funeral home, I saw two young men staggering in with a box marked "Air Filter". We came to the dead boy's future car, and the door opened automatically without heeding any instructions from him.Dead Boy hopped into the driver's seat, and I carefully moved into the seat next to him, and the doors closed by themselves.I took a quick look and saw that the dashboard on the car looked more complex than a spaceship.Dead Boy took out an oversized chocolate bar out of nowhere and devoured it on the spot.After eating, he patted all the debris on his body to his feet, and I realized that the floor was full of garbage.Then he stared thoughtfully at the windshield, as if he wanted to yell, but didn't have the strength to do so. "I'm tired." He said suddenly. "I feel tired all the time, and I really don't want to be tired anymore. Everything takes energy, whether it's fighting ancient gods or just passing the day. You can't imagine what death is like. I don't feel a lot of things. Arriving, like the breeze, the smell of flowers, even temperature changes like hot and cold. I have no appetite, no needs, no desire to sleep at all. I can't even remember what it's like to fall comfortably asleep after a hard day's work. Even emotions are a bit of a broken memory for me, it's really hard to force yourself to care about anything after the worst has already happened. I just keep going, just because I have no choice but to keep doing good deeds, repeatedly sending myself into danger, just to get back a little bit of pleasure... Are you sure you still want my help, John?" "I need your help," I said. "Requiring your penetrating insight, it's not really an earth-shattering event, but it's still an interesting case." "Ah, all right." Dead Boy said. "I like fun things. Where are I going?" "That's what I need to ask you. I'm looking for an ex-singer named Sylvia Shinn who used to work for the Cavendishes. Julian Advent thinks you know her current whereabouts." .” 死亡男孩脸上浮现一个奇特的表情。“我不知道你对那种女人会有兴趣，约翰。这跟我想象中你的品味不太一样。不过话说回来，我也没什么资格评断你……” “她只是一个我要调查的对象。”我说。“你知道她的下落吗？” “知道。我还知道她现在在干的勾当。你在浪费时间，约翰，现在的席维雅·辛恩只在乎工作，对其他任何人或任何事都漠不关心。” “我还是得找她谈谈。”我道。“你可以带我去吗？” 他耸肩：“有何不可，反正到时候看看你见到她时的表情应该也很有趣。”
死亡男孩的未来之车在夜城的街道上呼啸而过，没有任何车辆胆敢接近，多半是害怕相位雷射或光子鱼雷之类的未来武器。我听不见丝毫引擎发出的声音，也感不到任何疾驶中的震动。我们移动的速度比街上所有车辆都快，但是我却一点车子在加速的感觉都没有。没多久我们就离开主要大街，转入住宅区的小巷子里，最后在一栋跟两旁建筑没什么两样的房子前停下。夜城也有偏僻的地区，而这里显然是偏僻地区中最偏僻的地方。 我跟死亡男孩下车之后，车子就自行落锁。天上飘起了毛毛雨，让我不由自主地缩在外套底下。夜色越来越阴暗，乌云遮蔽了满天星斗跟巨大的月亮。在昏暗的淡黄街灯照耀之下，我们周遭似乎处于一种变态低俗的气氛之中。街上没有半个人影，两旁的房子中也几乎没有透出半点灯光。死亡男孩领着我穿越杂草丛生的花园，来到那栋房子的前门，接着往旁边一站，示意要我敲门。再一次，他脸上浮现令我看不透的奇特表情。我没看到门铃，于是直接敲门。门立刻打开，似乎对方早就在等待着我们的到来。 开门的人脸上仿佛挂了个“我是皮条客”的霓虹招牌一样，无论长相、站姿、笑容全都散发出一种淫贱却又亲切的感觉。他身穿一件黑色的丝质外套，其上绣了一条栩栩如生的中国巨龙。身材又矮又瘦，可说是雌雄难辨。十根手指头上全部戴满银戒指，鼻孔上还穿了一只鼻环。他有一头漆黑的头发，不过五官之中却透露着一股说不出来的不自然感。那感觉十分诡异，似乎跟他的表情有点关系。他脸上一直带着微笑，但是那股笑意却始终没有进入那透彻的眼神之中。 “每次看到新面孔总是令人心情愉快。”他语气轻快地说。“我们欢迎任何人大驾光临，尤其是像两位这么有名的人物。传奇人物死亡男孩以及重出江湖的约翰·泰勒。认识两位是我的荣幸，先生。我名叫葛雷，很高兴为你们服务。” “我们要见席维雅。”死亡男孩说。“至少，约翰要见她。” “那是当然啰。”葛雷说。“从来没有人是来这里找我的。”他转头对我笑道：“您有什么癖好吗，先生？不管您想玩什么、想跟谁玩，我保证这里都可以满足您的欲望。我们对玩法全不设限，鼓励大家尝试新鲜的东西。而亲爱的席维雅更是非常愿意配合。” “不用预约吗？”我说着瞪了死亡男孩一眼。他应该事先告诉我的。 “喔，只要有顾客上门，席维雅都会知道。”葛雷说。“此刻她刚好搞定上一名客户，您可以直接上楼去找她。当然，我们要先谈好价钱。如果在完美的世界里，我们根本不必讲这些市侩的言语，只可惜呀……” “我不是来买春的。”我说。“我只要跟她谈谈。” 葛雷耸肩：“不管你想跟她干嘛，收费都是一样。当然，我们只收现金。” “上去吧，约翰。”死亡男孩说。“我来跟葛雷聊聊。” 他向前跨上一步，葛雷立刻向后退出一步，因为后退是正常人面对死亡男孩时的正常反应。葛雷退完之后，很快又恢复正常，举起手来正对死亡男孩推去。接着他们两人中间突然爆出一阵魔法闪光，不过闪了几下之后就消失得无影无踪。葛雷吓了一跳，退到墙边，两只眼睛张得老大。 “你……你是什么东西？” “我是死亡男孩。你只要知道这一点就好了。快上去，约翰。我不想在这里耗上一整晚。” 我顺手带上房门，越过死亡男孩跟葛雷，踏上狭窄的楼梯。席维雅就在二楼，我可以感觉得到。这栋房子散发出一种寒冷、阴森的感觉，到处都有黑暗深邃的阴影。楼梯是木制的，上面没铺地毯，不过我上楼的时候却没发出任何声音，仿佛就像是走在恶梦中的鬼屋里一样，有点熟悉却又异常陌生，每道门每扇窗似乎都隐藏了可怕的威胁，每一眼看出去都让人感到莫名的恐惧。距离似乎无限地向上延展，我走了好久才终于到达二楼。 我站在一扇门之前，一扇恐怖至极的门，门后面隐藏了不可告人的秘密。我站在门口，呼吸凝重，也不知道是因为害怕还是期待。不用别人说我就知道这是席维雅的房门，因为我可以感觉到她的存在，就像是一场即将到来的暴风雨一样。我伸出一指轻轻在房门上推了一下，房门立刻向内滑开，似乎在欢迎我的到来。在闻到一股淡淡的怪味之后，我迈步走入房中。 在这个房间里，在这红色的房间里，在这充满玫瑰花瓣色彩的光线以及闪耀不定的阴影的房间里，我感觉像是走入了女人的体内，温暖、潮湿，空气中弥漫着汗水、麝香以及香水的味道。灯光黯淡，到处都是阴影，似乎其中所提供的娱乐根本见不得光。我感受到诱惑，感受到欲望，感受到一种永远都不想离开的冲动。 那感觉就像是走进了地狱的接待大厅。我好爱那种感觉。 房内有一张超级大床，床上躺了一名体态慵懒的裸体女子。她丝毫不感到羞耻地对我微笑，浑身上下绽放出无比致命的吸引力，有如初尝腐肉的快感，好比俄罗斯轮盘的刺激。她缓缓地在深红色的床单上蠕动身躯，就像是在血池中钻动的蛆虫一般。她的五官在脸上四处游走，不断地改变，不停地幻化，就连身高及体重似乎都没有定数。她可以是一个女人，也可以是一百个女人，或者说是一个具有一百张不同面孔的女人。她动作徐缓，极尽慵懒之能事，皮肤白皙得有如眼球中的眼白。即使当她的五官搭配成难以入目丑陋面孔之时，在他人眼中依然美不可言。她的骨架有如潮浪般起伏不定，嘴唇的色彩变幻无方，深邃的双眼承诺着令任何男人都会恶心呕吐同时又感动落泪的性爱欢愉。我从来没有如此想要一个女人。她是性感的实体，是女性的极致，光是她的存在就让整个房间蓬荜生辉。 虽然明知对身体有害，但我就是情不自禁地想要她。 “约翰·泰勒。”床上的女人开口道。她的声音十分轻柔，有如一群合音天使的歌声。“卡文迪旭夫妇说过你可能会来。我已经期待与你见面很久了。我会变成今天这个样子都是卡文迪旭夫妇造成的，只不过这个结果跟他们当初期望的有点落差。当时我只是一个歌手，一个很棒的歌手，但是光那样对卡文迪旭夫妇来说并不够。他们想要打造的是一个所有人都会爱上的超级巨星，只可惜花了大钱却得到这种结果：一个形体不定的女人；一个象征性爱的怪物；一个梦寐以求的欲望；一个永不止歇的快感。” 她笑了，笑声中少了点幽默与人性。她的肌肤鼓动，形体万千，变换着各种不同的姿势。我全身冒起鸡皮疙瘩，目光完全无法从她身上移开，下体兴奋勃起到疼痛的地步。我靠着意志力苦苦支撑，尽力让自己待在原地。我绝不能再靠近她一步，我不敢这么做。我想要占有她。我要她占有我。 接着我看见她懒洋洋地举起手来放到嘴边，手指上沾了些黏黏红红的东西。她将红红的东西放入嘴中慢慢咀嚼，满足地享受着个中滋味。这时我的眼睛渐渐适应了房中的光线，也终于发现屋内还有另外一个人躺在床边的地板上。那男人隐藏在阴影之下，全身僵直，显然已经死去。在他脑袋的侧面有一个大洞，此刻席维雅就在我的注视之下将手指伸入洞中，沿着脑缘搅拌，然后挖出更多脑浆来。 “席维雅刚好搞定上一名客户。”葛雷之前是这么说的。 她看着我脸上的表情，再度笑出声来。“一个女孩总是需要生活呀。像我这种状况是需要付出代价的，幸运的是，代价不需要我亲自来付，是他们自己找上门来，不论是男是女，他们都受不了内心深处的欲望驱使，主动跑来找我。我用身体满足他们的需求，不过也同时让他们付出代价。我吸取他们的欲望、热情、信仰以及自我，接着再取走他们的性命。然而到了那个地步的时候，他们通常也不在乎了。最后，我吃掉他们的尸体，他们的活力延续着我的生命，他们的血肉维持着我的形体。稳定与混乱之间总是需要一个平衡，要是我无法取得我的需求，你就不会喜欢我的外表。喔，不要这么惊讶，约翰！卡文迪旭夫妇的法术将我打造成你心目中最渴望的女神。我很喜欢自己这个样子。来找我的人心里都明白这种风险，他们也很喜欢这种感觉。这才是性爱的原貌，不受种种道德与良知的束缚，完完全全的纵欲无度。”她看了看地上的尸体。“不必为他哀悼。他已经耗尽一切，对任何人，甚至他自己都没有任何用处了。除了我以外。再说，他可是含笑而死的，看到没？” 我震惊得说不出话来，自然也无法回答。 她以一种无法理解的性感动作缓缓地伸展肢体。“你不想要我吗，约翰？我可以变成任何你想要的人，你可以对我做任何你不敢对那些人做的事。我为性爱而活，我的肉体能够配合满足所有需求。” “不。”我满脸冒汗地强迫自己说道。我在很小的时候就已经为了生存而学会自我约束，再说，我老早就习惯得不到自己想要的东西。尽管如此，我还是必须使尽全力才能留在原地。“我需要……找你谈谈，席维雅。关于卡文迪旭夫妇的事。” “喔，我很久没有想起他们了。我不在乎外面的世界所发生的事。在这里，我拥有自己的世界，而这个世界很完美。我从来不离开这里。这里，我拥有无限的喜悦。你是来告诉我夜城里所发生的事吗？罪恶是否依然充斥其中？多久了，我来这里究竟多久了？” “一年多一点。”我说着向前跨出一步。 “才一年？我觉得好像已经一世纪了。不过，在天堂跟地狱里，时间本来就过得比较缓慢。” 我又再向前踏出一步。她的身体仿佛以一种跟世界一样古老的声音呼唤着我。尽管心知一旦过去就必须付出性命跟灵魂，但是除了内心深处的一小点自我还在无声呐喊之外，我根本就不在乎。在此生死关头，我只能使出最后绝招，开启了强大的天赋，以最透彻的心眼审视席维雅·辛恩的内心，找出她被卡文迪旭夫妇改变之前的最初自我，然后将她带回这个世界。 席维雅惊声尖叫，剧烈抖动，全身的皮肤沸腾冒泡，直到一个固定的形体浮上台面之后，整个幻化的过程才在瞬间划下句点。席维雅全身蜷成一团，躺在床上大声喘气。如今的她恢复成一个正常的女人，拥有正常的肤色以及正常的美丽容颜。我也在大声喘气，因为我终于从鬼门关里爬回人间。刚才那股强大的性爱压力已自房内消逝，只剩下一点点残存的气息在空气中飘浮。席维雅缓缓坐起，全身依然一丝不挂，用属于人类的双眼朝我望来。 “你做了什么？你对我做了什么？” “我帮你找回自我。”我说。“你自由了。永远恢复正常了。” “我才不要恢复正常！我喜欢那个样子！我喜欢那种感觉！那种欢愉、那种渴望、那种吸食他人精力与肉体的快感……我是女神，你这浑蛋！还给我！把它还给我！” 她像只狂野的大猫对我扑来，双手瞄准我的眼睛，利牙咬上我的喉咙。我向旁一让，轻易躲开攻击。如今这个正常的躯体受限良多，她根本不知该如何驾驭。她一头撞进门旁的墙上，然后就再也爬不出来，因为她的皮肤已经与墙壁融为一体。因为墙壁不愿意放她离开。我终于明白屋内的光线从何而来，也终于了解为什么空气中还会有残存的性爱魔力挥之不去。当你在一个房间之中用魔法做了太多疯狂的行为之后，那房间迟早会变成一间疯狂的魔法屋。我带回了席维雅·辛恩，却没有将房间一并恢复原状。她大声呼喊，对着墙壁捶出一拳，拳头当场也卡进墙内，接着迅速地陷入墙中，有如沉入布满玫瑰花瓣的池塘里一样。她吞噬了无数男女，如今自己也面对了同样的命运。一切在她有机会发出最后惨叫之前就已经结束了。而在她身体消失的那一瞬间，房中的性爱气息疯狂大增，仿佛某个饥渴的猎食者突然将矛头指向了我一样。 我拔腿就跑，直奔下楼。 在楼梯底下，我停下脚步，大口喘了几口气。我的心脏跳得非常剧烈，简直跟用铁锤敲打胸口没什么两样。夜城中到处充满了各式各样的诱惑，人们都知道只要自一项诱惑中逃出生天，就千万不要再回头去招惹。席维雅·辛恩已经死了，而那个房间应该用不了多久也会饿死，只要没有人蠢到再去喂它……我转头找寻葛雷，发现他正缩在墙角发抖痛哭，而死亡男孩则一派轻松地倚门而立。 "What happened to him?" I asked. “他想知道死亡是什么感觉。”死亡男孩道。“于是我跟他说了。” 我看了看葛雷，轻轻打了个冷颤。他双眼张得老大，但却一点神采也没有。 “那么，”死亡男孩道。“搞定席维雅了，是吧？” “搞定了。”我说。“卡文迪旭夫妇在她身上动过手脚，把她变成一头怪物，或许他们也对洛欣格尔做过类似的事。我必须再去找她。” “介意我同行吗？”死亡男孩说。“跟你在一起，死亡都会变成有趣的事。” "Of course." I said. “不过下次由我跟人家交谈，好吗？”