Chapter 150: 147. Black Goat of the Woods

147. Black Goat of the Woods

Li Duojin was certain that it was a human eyeball, and a fresh one at that; this meant someone had been gouged in Wang Daye's dormitory, and that person had, in all likelihood, already been murdered.

This matter had major repercussions. Li Duojin notified the Enforcers and the people from the Xuanmi Group to come and investigate the case. Once the relevant personnel arrived at the scene and conducted an investigation, they eventually discovered dismembered remains wrapped and hidden in a black plastic bag inside a trash collection point at the amusement park.

Because the body was severely dismembered, especially the head, it could not be pieced together for the time being, so it was unknown what the victim's identity was. Therefore, while the remains were being sent to the medical examiner for autopsy and identification, the Enforcers and the people from the Xuanmi Group still had to infer the victim's identity through investigation.

After a screening, it was found that two employees at the amusement park had not reported for work today. One was contacted and found to be hospitalized for alcohol poisoning, while the other could not be reached. Thus, everyone locked their focus onto this person, believing he might be the victim.

The medical examiner's side acted quickly as well. Just as the investigation here yielded results, they also found the victim's information through the DNA database, confirming the deceased was the unreachable employee, whose identity was a maintenance worker at the amusement park.

However, the news provided by the medical examiner went far beyond that; the victim's death certificate was also released at the same time.

The victim was suspected not to have been killed by human force, but by some kind of creature possessing a web-like, sharp structure. It had immense strength and, while the victim was completely off guard, sliced him into pieces in an instant. The medical examiner found a type of biological mucus on the victim's remains and discovered plant-like life cells within the mucus.

"Wang Kuishan might not have killed the maintenance worker, and his dormitory was not the primary crime scene either. What killed the maintenance worker was some kind of Abnormal creature." A team leader sent by the Xuanmi Group synthesized the collected information and drew a conclusion. His gaze turned toward the large forest behind the prefabricated dormitories, and pointing to the depths of the woods, he said solemnly, "This forest is very likely the primary crime scene, and that Abnormal creature that killed the maintenance worker is likely still here."

"How can that be!?" Zhang Laoban's face turned deathly pale, and he immediately begged them to help their amusement park resolve this problem.

"Team Leader Zhou, what do you plan to do next?" Li Duojin asked the team leader. This middle-aged team leader's full name was Zhou Shaobo, and he was the captain of the Twelve Zodiacs' Dog Team, as well as the person Li Duojin was assisting on this mission.

Zhou Shaobo looked at Li Duojin and said, "Investigator Li, why don't you just act with us from now on? We need your assistance."

Li Duojin readily agreed: "Alright."

Because of the suspicion that an extremely dangerous Abnormal creature existed in the woods, the forest area behind the prefabricated dormitories was cordoned off in an emergency. A small number of Enforcers and the majority of the stationed Mysterious Investigators were responsible for guarding the perimeter, while the Dog Team led by Zhou Shaobo and Li Duojin entered the forest fully armed.

The Dog Team had a total of three members. Zhou Shaobo was the team leader, and the other two members were also male; one was named Zhang Chi, and the other was Huang Hua.

"Team Leader Zhou, is everyone from the Dog Team here?" Li Duojin asked in confusion; there were too few people.

Zhou Shaobo nodded: "That's right, we are all the current members of the Dog Team."

Zhang Chi said with a cold face: "If not for a mission half a year ago, our Dog Team would have more people than this."

"Half a year ago?" Li Duojin frowned slightly. In his impression, during that time half a year ago, there didn't seem to be any reports of major, vicious Abnormal incidents in the Shenzhou Region. It seemed it was a secret mission.

Since it was a secret mission, the three members of the Dog Team naturally would not satisfy Li Duojin's curiosity and did not provide any further explanation regarding the mission that had caused the Dog Team's talent to wither.

Li Duojin paid attention to the movements around them while asking casually: "It's been half a year, hasn't the Dog Team recruited any new partners?"

"It's not that easy." The Dog Team member named Huang Hua shook his head, a bitter smile appearing on his face.

Suddenly, the ambient temperature seemed to drop by several degrees. The change in temperature was obvious, and it was as if they had suddenly stepped into another domain. The four of them instantly became alert.

"Listen!" Huang Hua whispered, reminding everyone to prick up their ears. He slowly turned his head to probe for the source of the abnormal sound and said, "Doesn't it sound like the voice of a baby?"

A baby's cry?

Upon hearing this, everyone was horrified. They followed Huang Hua's guidance, calmed their hearts to listen, and gradually heard the wailing of an infant, as well as the rustling sound of something moving through the dense forest.

Whether it was because the four of them had confirmed and locked onto the sound, bringing about a psychological effect, they gradually felt the infant's wailing getting closer and closer, as did the sound of that unknown object moving rapidly through the leaves and grass.

Soon, Zhang Chi gave a sharp shout: "Get back!" Several black, gelatinous objects of unclear appearance shot out from the darkness in all directions.

Everyone scattered quickly, just barely dodging the attack of the black gelatinous objects.

Li Duojin looked closely and discovered that the black gelatinous objects were like some kind of colloid with a rough surface. When they shot out, they turned into things similar to tentacles, but clearly, these things could not be treated as tentacles. As they swept across the ground and plants, fallen leaves flew about, the flying plant parts all showed traces of having been sliced by something sharp, and the ground was directly pierced through, leaving a hole.

"Is this what killed the maintenance worker?" Li Duojin guessed, cold sweat appearing on his forehead.

These seemingly soft black gelatinous objects—if a human were to be hit by one, there would basically be no way to survive.

Immediately after, several more black gelatinous objects ejected from the darkness. The four of them dodged in a sorry state through the forest, running toward the place where the infant's wailing was coming from while they evaded.

As they got closer and closer to the source of the infant's wailing, the attacks of those black gelatinous objects became increasingly fierce. The infant's wailing became even louder, as if the evil thing hidden in the forest had been stimulated and become irritable.

Li Duojin suddenly stopped in his tracks, hiding behind a large tree and holding his breath. He widened his eyes and quietly poked his head out. His gaze gradually focused on a hollow space under a bush, and he saw a foot structure similar to an animal's; it was actually a plant root system resembling a sheep's hoof.

While dodging the attacks, the other members of the Dog Team hiding in other parts of the forest also discovered the Abnormal creature hidden near the bushes one after another.

There was only that one, but when they saw the appearance of that Abnormal creature clearly, everyone began to feel a chill in their hearts and their brains felt shaken.

"Black Goat of the Woods." Zhou Shaobo gritted his teeth secretly, "It is an offspring bred by the 'Inverted Creator', and also the 'representative image' she designates to walk in reality."

This incident really was related to the 'Inverted Creator's' Advent Ritual. The Summoning Ritual that Zheng Yu performed carried a summoning function, and now that ritual has summoned the Black Goat of the Woods.