Werewolf Law: Hunters of the Night

"生锈的银币"店外铁杆上挂着的镀铜招牌随风摇晃,偶尔吱吱作响,在晚风中吸引注意力.然而,即便如此,一天内还是很少有人在商店前停下来.这就是克莱顿·贝洛 （Clayton Bello） 经营的古董店的日常生活.位于萨沙市柠檬街 47 号,位置不分好坏,就像它的经营情况一样.这家古董店不是一家普通的商店;常客是 Clayton 的主要收入来源.贝洛一家曾经住在更南边的多恩城市,但在重视家庭团结的父母去世后,他决定在哪里定居.从军队退伍后的四年里,他用 600 英镑的退伍金和父亲留下的部分遗产接管了这家商店.古董生意跟上流圈子相当接近,加上一些才华,他比那些在黑暗的小巷里摆摊的同龄人更成功.此刻,克莱顿·贝洛正在店内二楼的车间里,戴着口罩和围裙,弯下腰用长钳从桶中浑浊的液体中捞出五枚略微褪色的奖章.罗兰战争荣誉勋章由多恩王室颁发给参加过五次或更多战役的士兵,共颁发超过 600 枚,具有极高的纪念价值.他在这里处理了其中的 24 个——其中 23 个是假的,唯一一个是真的属于他自己.当古董没有被收集时,古董商也必须学会制作"古董"."贝洛先生,您的客人来了."敲门声响起后,外面传来了女助理的通知."我知道,夏洛特小姐,你现在也可以下班了."他隔着门答应了,Clayton小心翼翼地用海绵吸收了假奖牌上的腐蚀性液体,然后用丝绸包裹起来,在工作台上排成一排.然后他脱下围裙,穿上一件黑色夹克,下楼迎接客人.在一楼的展示柜中,珐琅和水晶装饰品在电灯下闪闪发光.墙壁上装饰着看起来非常有价值的剑,没有刀鞘,仿佛随时都可以放回战场.但等在一楼的棕发青年却对他们不感兴趣,只是双手背在身后看着陈列柜里生锈的展品,直到Clayton站在他身后,才转过身来."中尉,好久不见."看到那个穿着白色西装的棕发青年,Clayton上前拥抱了他:"Joe,没想到你会回来,感觉就像昨天我们上次见面一样.中尉是他在军队中的军衔,只有老朋友在他退休后仍然这样称呼他.他们一起参加了 163 年的罗兰战争,在同一连队并肩作战.Joe Mani 退休后从父母那里继承了 Rusted Silver Coin 古董店,但因为他怀有环游世界的理想,不愿意经营这种固定的行业,所以他把店卖给了 Clayton.当他们站在一起时,两者之间的差异立即显现出来;克莱顿的发型和胡须是永恒的三七分叉和浓密的国王胡须,他的五官更加粗犷,看起来比乔还高,棕色的眼睛令人生畏.看到他的前任指挥官仍然保持着那种熟悉的样子,乔也有些惊讶:"我也是.看到你做得很好,我感到很欣慰.但我这次来这里是为了做生意.他从外套口袋里掏出一个小盒子打开,鹅黄色的柔软天鹅绒上放着一枚纯银戒指,氧化赋予了它斑驳的黑色."白宗的主教印章,上品好物."谈起生意,克莱顿立刻变得严肃起来,但他没有接过盒子,而是低声说:"这种宝物确实很珍贵,但买卖并不容易.白教不仅是多恩王国的主流信仰,也是整个北方世界的主流信仰.尽管它的地位不如冷兵器时代那么繁荣,但象征着权力的主教印章并不是可以随便流传的东西."Don't worry, it's absolutely legal, no one will care."Joe insisted on shoving the box into Clayton's hand: "It was originally a collection of one of my foreign friends, but his business is not going well recently, so he plans to sell these things to fill the economic gap. For friendship, I bought this one, but I don't have a hobby for collecting, so I brought it to you."Clayton reluctantly took the box: "How much did you buy it for?""Three hundred gold pounds."Clayton pressed the corner of his temple to relieve stress; this money is not small, but it definitely does not match the value of the genuine bishop's seal."Your friend didn't meet at the poker table, did he?""Ha ha," Joe smiled awkwardly, blinked a few times, and didn't continue.But judging from the expression, it was obvious that he brought this thing back to Sasha just conveniently, and there was another reason for him to come back.Clayton closed the box and stuffed it into the pocket of his jacket: "I won't say much this time. If you plan to leave Sasha City soon, I'll send the money to your old house after I appraise the ring."Joe had no objection, then he made a new proposal: "Then let's go to the Big Tree House for a drink tomorrow night, just like before?"Clayton had no objection either.After a few more casual chats, he sent away his old comrade-in-arms, Clayton cleaned up the workshop alone, and finally pulled down the electric switch.The lights of the Rusted Silver Coin dimmed. He took a horse lamp out, locked the door, and then walked back to his rented cheap apartment on foot.Clayton Bello did not finish college,He joined the army at the age of eighteen and served as a cavalryman in the Torrent Guard of the Dorn Kingdom for eleven years.When he joined the army, the Line up to shoot tacticswas still the mainstream way of war, and by the time he retired, the scattered soldier tactic had been relatively maturely included in the military manual.Clearly still in his prime at thirty-three, Clayton felt like an old man.Nothing could pique his interest.His parents died of illness while he was in service, and he didn't have time to go back to see them. His brother, who joined the army with him, was hit in the heart by a stray bullet on another battlefield, and close comrades were blown to pieces by shells in front of his eyes.What Clayton gave to the army was not only eleven years of youth; time was just the least valuable thing he lost.The reason he chose to be an antique dealer was also that he hoped to change himself in the edification of cultural relics and culture.After four years, he was still confused, but his craftsmanship in faking was getting better and better.After dinner, Clayton went into the room that was converted into a study to rest.Joe's gift made his head ache; even if the White Sect's things were legal, it was hard to find buyers who liked them.The religious art of the White Sect is too ubiquitous, and it has made people somewhat aesthetically tired.Many people don't care whether the antique is genuine or not; their purpose of collecting is just to pursue that unique feeling. Regardless of the authenticity of this ring, its simple appearance has determined that its price limit will not be too high.To sell it at a good price using the background story, one must find those fanatics.But Clayton is not good at dealing with them.Clayton's parents did not believe in religion, so he did not believe either.The only connection of the Bello family with the White Sect was that his brother took a nun from the monastery as his wife, which made the clergy of the hometown diocese very hostile to their family.With such a family atmosphere, Clayton naturally did not like to contact the White Sect, in addition to some of his own reasons.But work is work.He took out the ring from his pocket and positioned the seal towards himself.Two crossed tridents arched to protect the pointed bishop's crown on top.The weapon represents that it should be the property of the leader in charge of the combat organization.Clayton recognized its meaning.The pattern of this ring belonged to the Inquisition Court of the White Sect, which was abolished three hundred years ago, and it was said to be a terrifying organization used to judge heretics, wizards, and dark races.Even civilians, as long as they show a little difference, may be captured and killed by those combat priests.Due to too many false cases, it caused dissatisfaction among various countries. The White Sect finally abolished the Inquisition Court, executed a group of priests who served in it, and refused to admit that those absurd and unrestrained behaviors were instigated by the Pope.Joe's legal means this.The Inquisition Court itself is not recognized by the White Sect, so this ring will not be pursued by the White Sect, because even if it is genuine, it is "not" their thing.Clayton glanced, and he found thatunder the goose-yellow velvet in the box with the ring, there was another square protrusion.He poured out the velvet, and a note fell on the table, seemingly left by the former owner of the ring."It is said that the bishop's rings of the Inquisition Court have divine protection, and they can test whether the owner has been replaced by monsters with shape-shifting abilities. Those who wear this ring will immediately show their original form."He looked at the ring that was lying quietly on the table,Out of a kind of curiosity, Clayton picked up the ring. He turned it left and right and put it on the little finger of his left hand.In anticipation, ten seconds passed.Nothing happened."Sure enough, it's fake again, I'm so stupid!"Clayton tried to take off the ring in frustration, but he couldn't because his finger was too thick.He got up and went into the bathroom, planning to lubricate it with soapy water first.But at this moment, a sudden severe burning sensation came from the part of the skin that came into contact with the ring, spreading like wildfire all over the body, and the pain went straight to the brain in less than half a second.His body swelled, tearing his clothes apart.Black hair like steel needles sprouted from the pores all over his body, even the places that were not covered with hair were dark black, and his already quite burly body swelled by a quarter in both height and width, and his limbs showed an exaggerated amount of muscle, but still had a slender feeling,His mouth elongated, his ears became pointed and pulled back, his skull turned into a wolf shape, and his brown eyes shone in the dark.Looking down at the clothes that fell on the ground and were torn apart, the werewolf Clayton scratched his head with sharp nails, and a voice that had become much deeper came out of the wolf's mouth, quite surprised:"Wow, this time it's the real deal!"