Chapter 1906: Chapter 1904: The Colors of the Stars (Nicolas Cage Did a Pretty Good Job)
A low, piercing screeching sound reverberates in the mind, driving one nearly mad.
"Mr. Francis, can you still hold on?"
Holding a shotgun in one hand, Valentine strides forward, a cigarette dangling from his mouth. Behind him, Francis is panting heavily, looking utterly disheveled.
"I, I can’t hold on much longer, Mr. Valentine."
"Hang in there, don’t let those creatures find us!"
While yelling, Valentine keeps glancing around cautiously.
The situation is just terrible!
Honestly, Valentine never imagined things would turn out like this. They had sent a telegram through the city’s post office earlier but hadn’t received a response from Fang Zheng. They knew Fang Zheng was out on business and wouldn’t be back anytime soon. So, Valentine decided to resolve the problem himself.
In his opinion, no matter what, the current situation was not entirely out of control. The media, scholars, and the government had all been drawn to the meteorite that fell from the sky. The situation is already dire, with plants and animals mutating, and scholars have warned about water pollution. As long as the media reports these events, the government will surely send a professional team to deal with the issue — at least that’s what Valentine thought.
However, after that, things took a rapid downturn.
The very next day, they found the body of a journalist who had come to report the event lying by the road, who had driven his car off a cliff at an insane speed, meeting a fatal end.
Immediately following that, members of the university investigation team responsible for testing and investigation also disappeared; their presence was completely absent from the camp.
Moreover, when they tried to leave, they discovered the car was damaged and the radio was dysfunctional; all that could be heard was a lament-like screech. Attempting to leave on horseback revealed the horses had become unusually fierce, almost beast-like and frenzied.
In the end, an intolerant Detective Valentine sought out the village chief, but the chief locked himself in, refusing any communication. Helplessly, Valentine broke the door open, only to be greeted by the sight of the chief’s corpse.
No, it wasn’t just a corpse.
"Gaaaah—!"
As the two ventured deeper into the woods, suddenly, a creature sprang out from the bushes before them. Strictly speaking, it was a grotesque fusion of two deer, their bodies seemingly devoid of boundaries, merged together at the center. Their once beautiful fur had become dried up, resembling fish scales. Beneath their bodies, there was a faintly glowing purple radiance.
"Waaaah!"
Seeing the creature, Francis jumped in fright. Instinctively, he tightened his grip on the crowbar in his hand, striking the creature forcefully, causing blood to splatter as the creature fell to the ground.
"Huff... huff..."
Gripping the crowbar tightly, Francis didn’t mind the blood splattered onto himself but stared intently at the corpse before him. In his eyes, he could see a translucent, colorful purple light swelling and emerging. At the same time, the crowbar in his hand grew increasingly hotter.
Over there.
Francis knew what his enemy was — an unseen, untouchable monster. Although Detective Valentine’s marksmanship was exceptional, it was completely ineffective against such monsters. However, his crowbar was different...
"Aaaah!!!"
Feeling the heat of the crowbar, Francis roared, raising it high to strike ahead. With a barely perceptible tremor, he could see a strange color ballooning, exploding, then vanishing into the air.
Is it dead, dead?
Bewilderedly clutching the crowbar, Francis couldn’t help but look around. Just then, Valentine came forward and grabbed him.
"What are you waiting for? Let’s go, or we’ll be trapped!"
"Ah, yes...!"
Mr. Van Helsing, help!
As Francis pleaded for Fang Zheng’s help, Fang Zheng couldn’t help but lament.
"Oh, I’m such a workaholic. Just got back from Antarctica, and now I have to head off again..."
Driving along a rural road, Fang Zheng vented to Nymph and Ryoko Asakura.
"These matters can only be handled by you, master." Ryoko Asakura was used to Fang Zheng’s complaints, responding with a smile.
"Besides, it shows that you have a kind heart, master."
"You know how to flatter." Fang Zheng shrugged. Ryoko Asakura could be considered a perfect beauty — except for the fact that she’d smile while dismembering people without changing her expression.
Incidentally, before heading here, Fang Zheng sensed the location of the two, confirming they were in a very remote village in New Orleans, having not moved at all. Whether they were dead or hiding, it was certain that the situation was dire.
"Screech—!"
Suddenly, Fang Zheng slammed the brakes, stopping the car by the roadside. He then opened the door, stepping out to gaze ahead.
He saw that the road ahead was now blocked by crazily grown weeds and vines, preventing the vehicle’s advancement. To continue, he would have to walk. However, the problem lay on a more superficial level.
That was the color.
Everything before him — trees, bushes, vines, and other items — appeared in a constantly flickering purple color. At a glance, it felt like a scene had been photographed, then smeared with purple ink.
"Woo... roar..."
Erha lowered its body, glaring fiercely at the purple in front, opened its mouth, and let out a greedy growl.
"Alright, you can’t eat this; it’ll upset your stomach."
"This is the dual erosion of information, master, what should we do?"
"Do nothing."
Facing Nymph’s curious inquiry, Fang Zheng shrugged his shoulders and then stepped forward.
"Just burn it all away."
"Hoo---!!"
As Fang Zheng stepped into the woods, everything around him ignited, whether it was trees, flowers, or even birds and animals on the branches; soon, the scorching flames devoured the original purple, dyeing the entire world red.
And Fang Zheng continued to walk step by step along the path forward.
The flames spread ahead like the Burning Legion, unstoppable. The purple Radiance didn’t even have time to escape before being completely consumed by the fire, even the air couldn’t escape the invasion of the Primordial Fire.
However, the flames did not burn long; instead, they swept over everything. Where the Primordial Fire passed, the originally burning trees, flowers, and animals turned grayish-white, then collapsed into piles of dust scattered by the wind.
If you looked from the sky, you could clearly see large patches of purple being erased by the bright red flames, turning into grayish-white. And Fang Zheng moved forward, onward, and finally out of the woods into the village.
The situation in the village wasn’t much better than anywhere else.
The whole village was pitch black, pouring rain came down hard, and the flickering lights shimmered with an eerie purple. But even this pitch-black night couldn’t stop the flames’ invasion. The bright Primordial Fire ignited the dark night sky, rapidly started burning, and where the night was burned away, the azure sky and sunlight reemerged.
"———!"
A sharp, piercing noise like tinnitus quietly emerged, Fang Zheng looked ahead, and at the end of the road, saw several giant, thick, tentacles formed from solidified color reaching out from a well, clearly indicating these alien visitors sensed their impending crisis, wanting to leave, but alas... they fused with the land, unable to depart.
"Go forth."
Fang Zheng snapped his fingers, soon, a spark quickly flew through the air, landing in the distant well’s opening, followed by those madly thrashing purple tentacles swiftly retracting.
"———————!"
A dazzling pillar of flame soared into the sky, illuminating the world in bright red.
When Fang Zheng found Francis and Valentine, they were trembling in a cellar, looking as if they hadn’t had a drop of water for days, seemingly close to death. Upon seeing the water and food that Fang Zheng handed over, they pounced like wild beasts, devouring it ravenously... hmm, indeed, they almost died.
"Speaking of which, you’re truly weak."
Seeing the dusty, emaciated pair, Fang Zheng couldn’t help but mock.
"Didn’t I tell you earlier, only investigate, don’t cause trouble?"
"We’re very sorry, Mr. Fang Zheng..."
Having eaten a piece of bread, Francis finally took a breath.
"We, um..."
"It’s not his fault, it’s my mistake."
Valentine, having caught his breath, said so in a low voice, his face ashen, then lowered his head and confessed his "foolish actions" to Fang Zheng.
Initially, just like Valentine reported to Fang Zheng via telegram, later, because Fang Zheng hadn’t responded, and the meteor event drew media, scholars, and government attention, Valentine wanted to attempt solving the issue without Fang Zheng’s assistance. He believed that with proper government cooperation and scholars investigating together, everything should become clear.
Yet the result was this.
Being chased by creatures, with no way up to heaven, no way down to earth, could only tremble in the cellar left by Hunters; if Fang Zheng hadn’t come, they’d be doomed in a few days.
"Heh."
After listening to their account, Fang Zheng chuckled.
"So, did you learn your lesson? Are you still planning to continue? This time, you should understand, this isn’t a game, right?"
Fang Zheng crossed his arms, smiling as he looked at Francis and Valentine. Their actions didn’t surprise him at all; when Francis encountered Deep Divers, and Valentine faced Cthulhu, Fang Zheng charged forward without any life-threatening danger, so it’s expected they’d have such thoughts.
But this time... Surely now they understand, this matter isn’t a regular game.
Indeed, for Fang Zheng, even the Color of the Stars was a being he could extinguish with a flick of a spark. Yet for Valentine and Francis, it was a creature that could take their lives.
All they needed was to report the matter and leave, but instead, they thought of ways to resolve it themselves... well, though it’s understandable.
"So, how do you feel now?"
"......"
Hearing Fang Zheng’s question, they lifted their heads, looking around—just moments ago, this place shimmered with purple Radiance, in the pitch-black night an unending forest. Yet now, as the eyes see, it’s all grayish-white.
At that moment, they finally understood what they were truly up against.
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