All votes were in favor of finding the remaining two people first.
Colin also accepted, he took out his phone and contacted Tommy.
Luckily this time someone picked up the phone.
"Who… who is that?"
"I'm Colin, a special investigator for the police."
"I… I didn't do anything wrong! I…"
"Don't worry, we are investigating a special case, you and your friends are both involved in it. And I warn you to stay away from Billy, he is most likely the murderer... "
The phone suddenly lost connection. This alarmed Colin.
"Hey! Wait! Tommy, Tommy! Are you still there?"
"Damn it! That thing is about to strike again!"
Colin angrily hung up. The whole group's situation was like sitting on a fire.
If all the victims were killed, God only knows where the monster would run to. By then, their test will most likely fail.
Because time was so urgent, Colin could only divide the group into parts.
He and Matthew will go to Tommy's place, which is also the most dangerous place. If possible, the two of them would have to face the monster head-on.
The three of them, Paul, Kane and Orson, went to Frank and took him away in case Tommy was killed and the monster left, leaving only one last victim.
Then Frank will be their last hope.
Besides, assigning tasks like this also prevents the three people from losing their lives in vain.
Colin could completely see that compared to him and Matthew, the other three people, whether mentally or physically, were inferior.
It began to rain heavily, accompanied by thunder and lightning that occasionally cut across the gloomy sky.
Seeing such bad weather, a bad premonition appeared in Colin's heart, making him feel like he had overlooked something, something very important.
Colin tried to reason, but he couldn't find holes in his argument.
"What are you thinking, buddy?"
Matthew sitting next to him spoke with concern. Colin indicated that he had no problem.
"Don't worry, man. If we're lucky, we can kick that damn thing's ass a few minutes later."
"You are really optimistic."
Colin sighed, but his expression was somewhat relieved.
Unfortunately, things were once again beyond Colin's expectations.
Tommy wasn't there.
There was nothing, no monsters, no corpses, or even a trace of blood.
Matthew ran to a small store not far from them and bought two umbrellas. When the blonde returned, he saw Colin standing silently in the basement, his face frozen in a terrifying way.
"Dude, what's going on?"
"Tommy's not here."
"Maybe we went to the wrong address? Or did Tommy leave?"
Matthew didn't understand why Colin was so scared. Until Colin asked.
"Matthew, if you encountered something that could threaten your life and that of your friends, what would you do?"
"Do what? Of course I will meet my friend, the two of us will discuss to find a solution. Is there a problem?"
"No problem."
Colin answered, then immediately called a taxi again. Matthew still felt extremely puzzled and unable to explain Colin's actions.
"What's the meaning of this? Dude?"
"Tommy has gone to Frank, that's the monster's target! The other three will be in danger too!"
At the same time, in a different place.
Paul, Kane and Orson also reached Frank's residence. It's not a house but belongs to a rather large apartment building.
Because it was already dark, the area the three people entered was empty.
Although quite scared, whether it was Paul, Kane or Orson, they all had very low vigilance and defense. Because they still think that if monsters appear, they will only appear on Colin and Matthew's side, and their side is safe.
Unfortunately, that's an extremely dangerous mindset when going into an event involving monsters or supernatural powers. Because sometimes change can overturn conventional wisdom.
All three people entered the elevator and pressed the button to go to the seventh floor.
The boring time waiting for the elevator passed very quickly. It was just that when the elevator door opened, facing Paul three people was a person holding a knife in his hand, his face, hair, and clothes were all stained red with blood.
This person… no, to be more precise, this monster, laughed insanely. Before anyone could react, it rushed straight into the elevator, swinging a knife and cutting off the nearest person's head.
Blood gushed out and the head spun in the air, the expression on this person's face was still filled with disbelief.
Two screams rang out later, and finally there was only silence.
A few dozen minutes later, Colin and Matthew also ran to the apartment building.
As soon as he ran to the front of the elevator, the strong smell of fresh blood behind the metal door went straight into Colin's nose. It almost made him vomit.
"Don't open!"
Matthew raised his hand, stopping Colin's actions.
"They... might not be alive anymore."
"I know."
Colin responded, ignoring the blond's objections. He still pressed the button to open the elevator door.
Sure enough, all that was left inside were the three incomplete corpses of Paul, Kane, and Orson. Three bodies collapsed in the elevator with their heads taken away.
By this time, Colin had actually vomited, his vomit mixed with the blood on the ground. He vomited until his throat was completely empty.
Matthew stood next to witness everything but could not stop it, because this was Colin's choice.
"You don't have to do that, dude."
"No, I have to see."
"It was because of my wrong decision… that they had to die."
Colin said.
This is his failure. Ironically, he felt both regretful and lucky at the same time. Because that body lying over there isn't Colin.
But he will not lose his mind.
Because he promised himself from the day he stepped into this dark world, that he would never give up.
"Matthew, help me get the Marks and potions of these… comrades."
"Okay, just leave it to me."
Matthew patted his chest, then, not afraid to get dirty, started rummaging through the corpses. Although violating the remains of the deceased is a condemnable act, Colin and Matthew currently have no other choice.
They still have a monster to destroy, and they need to use all the power they can use to do it.
A total of six different Marks are obtained, along with a healing potion.
Quite a few compared to the items Colin holds, but can be used to equip Matthew.
After that, they quickly left the apartment building.
Frank and Tommy's lives don't need to be checked anymore. If even the other three people were dead, then the two victims that the monster had previously targeted could hardly avoid death.
Carrying heavy feelings back to the rented room, Colin drank a bottle of medicine to restore his spirit.
All of his fatigue was blown away from his mind, seemingly causing Colin's brain cells to move faster.
"It's truly magical..."
Colin exclaimed, with just such a bottle of medicine. He doesn't need sleep and can maintain his awareness all day long.
"What do we do now, buddy?"
"All the prey has been killed, we have lost the monster's whereabouts. So we can only find clues from the only place left."
"Is it Billy's house?"
Colin nodded.
Another taxi ride.
For this time, Colin was mentally prepared that Billy's house would only be an empty house without a corpse in it, or even a monster inside.
However, things went beyond Colin's expectations, once again.
When he knocked on the door, the two of them were greeted by a very ordinary middle-aged couple.
"Wait, you two…"
"What's the matter?"
"No, I'm a teacher at the school. Since Billy has been absent from school for two days, we're a bit worried..."
"Thank you very much for your concern for our son. That's puberty, it happens sometimes."
"Do you two want to come in and sit down? I have some bread and tea."
"Oh… no, no… so sorry you two. We just stopped by to check on the students' situation. May I ask, is Billy at home now?
"No, he left the house since morning, saying he was going to Joe's house. The two are close friends and often sleep at each other's house, so we weren't too worried."
"So have you two noticed any strange behavior from your son recently?"
"I don't think so… Well, maybe there is one, when he left the house this morning, Billy seemed quite gloomy."
"Thank you for your help."
The conversation ended and the door closed.
Matthew didn't understand anything at all. Scratching his head and looking extremely miserable.
"Ahhhh shit! I don't know how many times I asked you today, but what the hell happened, dude?"
"I figured out why I couldn't find the loophole in my argument."
"Huh? If you can't find any errors, then the argument must be correct, right?"
"Exactly, but that only happens in the case that the pieces of the puzzle I assembled up until now are correct."
"Otherwise, no matter how reasonable the argument is, it is still wrong."
"We were wrong from the beginning."