āDreamā¦ā Nietzsche muttered unconsciously as he stared at the oil painting.
Through it, he seemed to see a starry sky⦠and a hazy phantom.
āNietzsche, what happened to you?ā Hannibal shook Nietzscheās shoulder, seemingly realizing that something was wrong.
Nietzsche turned his head subconsciously, feeling as though a layer of white mist was covering his vision.
In the white mist, Hannibalās shape was completely different. His skin corroded and fell off, revealing the bright red muscles under them. His hands turned into claws, and his eyes were blood red!
āAhh!!!ā The young man screamed. His face turned pale, and he almost fainted.
When he finally lifted his head, he saw a displeased Mr. Robert and Hannibal, whose appearance had returned to normal.
It seemed as though everything he saw just now was but an illusion.
āMr. Robert, weāll take our leave now!ā Hannibal politely said goodbye and pulled Nietzsche out of the villa. He asked in a low voice, āWhat the hellās wrong with you?ā
āI-Iā¦ā Nietzsche trembled, almost unable to speak.
Instinctively, he did not want to tell Hannibal, his optimistic boss, about what he saw just now and could only say ambiguously, āI feel thereās a huge secret in that painting!ā
All of a sudden, his eyes brightened when he saw Angelina by the roadside. āYou are⦠Miss Tour Guide from the exhibition hall?ā
āThatās meā¦ā Angelina was wearing a black chiffon shirt, adding a bit of mystery to her. āYou can see the āabnormalityā of the painting?ā
She overheard their conversation without a doubt.
Hannibalās expression turned serious, and he pressed his hand against the holster at his waist.
āYes, I can see it!ā
Nietzsche was elated. From his resistance to Simonās spell and his ability to see the abnormality of this oil painting, it all pointed toward the fact that he had the talent to become an Extraordinary!
āLet me give you a piece of advice. Stay away from it, as far as you can! Its terror is beyond your imagination. Any probing you do will lead to great disaster and pain!ā Angelina said seriously.
āMadam, do you know something?ā Hannibal said solemnly. āI want to invite you to assist in the investigation! I have some things I want to ask you!ā
āNo problem!ā Angelina smiled gently, like a blooming flower.
Be careful. This woman isnāt normal. At the very least, her hearing is very sharpā¦Ā Hannibal quietly warned Nietzsche. āBring her back to the branch!ā
āActually, we just need somewhere quiet to talkā¦ā Angelina appeared very cooperative.
āNo, I think we need a more official place.ā
Finally, all three of them returned to the spacious branch office.
āMr. Walter, Iām back!ā
Nietzsche found it a little strange that there were so few people left in the branch office, but he said nothing as he brought Angelina into the office.
āMiss, would you like coffee or hot cocoa?ā Hannibal picked up a white porcelain cup.
āNo need⦠I know youāre part of a federal department specializing in extraordinary phenomena. In fact, Iāve been watching you for a long time, in a form you canāt detect!ā
Angelina sighed. āAnd at this point, I just want to give you a warning. Never try to understand Vincentās cursed paintings! The more you try, the easier you are exposed to terror!ā
āWhat do you mean? Explain clearly!ā
Hannibal switched on a voice recorder.
āVincent was a powerful Extraordinary, and his power exceeded even his own limits, which made him anxious and mad in his later years⦠These emotions are sometimes imbued into his paintings. But the most terrifying thing is that he had imprinted his own āseedā on several unique paintings. Once a qualified person approaches, they will be contaminatedā¦ā Angelina said in a low voice.
āThank you for your information, Miss Angelina. However, I have a question. Why do you know so much?ā Hannibal posed his question, which was also Nietzscheās doubt.
āBecause I have such an extraordinary painting myself. For you to believe meā¦ā A smile played on Angelinaās lips suddenly. ā⦠do you want to see it?ā
āVery much so!ā Hannibal replied with a smile.
Not right. Shouldnāt we isolate her according to the safety protocols?Ā Nietzsche was at a loss, unsure of what Hannibal was about to do. The uneasiness in his heart was growing stronger.
āYou need to choose the right path, to have a pair of eyes that can discern reality and illusionā¦ā Angelina chanted with a low voice and suddenly unbuttoned her shirt and slipped her shawl off, revealing her smooth and fair back.
At this time, there was a⦠twisted eye on her back!
Who knew when, but the hazy twisted eye from the painting had moved to her back, like a clear tattoo.
Fresh blood constantly poured out from the vertical pupil. The eye seemed to have a life of its own as it stared intently at Hannibal.
āHehe⦠So your true target is me?ā Hannibal sneered. The skin on his face began to fall off, and a red glow appeared in his eyes.
āMr. Hannibal!ā Nietzsche exclaimed.
His appearance was almost the same as what he saw in the hallucination earlier, rather similar to a⦠ghoul!
āWas Mr. Hannibal⦠killed?ā Nietzscheās tears splashed down unconsciously.
āNo! He was contaminated!ā Angelina said with certainty.
āThatās right. Iām the real me right now!ā Hannibalās voice became hoarse. āI⦠am the true noble race. Those ghouls who canāt even disguise themselves are just servants! Nietzsche⦠why are you sad? Isnāt it good to become one with me? Just like Vivienne!ā
āWhat? You said Miss Vivienne is alreadyā¦ā Nietzsche felt his heart sink.
āHaha⦠Werenāt we very happy when we had dinner with Clayon before?ā Hannibal acted surprised.
āYou demon!ā Nietzsche hurled a nearby chair at Hannibal without thinking.
āNo!ā During Angelinaās exclamation, the chair smashed into Hannibalās body. Hannibal recovered his mobility and escaped from the gaze of the hazy twisted eye. He slammed a glass window and jumped out.
āDo you know⦠how terrible a mistake you just made?ā Angelina turned around and glared at Nietzsche with a grave look. āYou let a leader of the ghouls go, and he will cause more horrible cases in Kimbert City!ā
āSo-sorry! I onlyā¦ā Nietzsche hugged his head to cry, unable to continue. āW-Why did things become this way?ā
āI have long been concerned about this Investigation Agency branch. Hannibal wasnāt contaminated at first, but his personality is dark. He hid his sadness and pain, making him susceptible to being directly contaminated when stimulatedā¦ā Angelina sighed.
āI have to contact Mr. Clayon immediatelyā¦ā
Nietzsche ran out, and there was a sudden commotion outside.
The truth came out while searching Hannibalās house.
āAhhā¦ā
Looking at the pile of human bones, even a seasoned investigator could not help but look pale.
In particular, Nietzsche and several other people who had had ādinnerā with Hannibal vomited repeatedly.
After seeing a pile of blood-stained uniforms, Nietzsche could not bear it anymore, and his whole person nearly collapsed.
He remained silent for a long time before he finally stood up and walked into a dark alley.
āSo? Any findings?ā Angelinaās figure appeared.
āThere were more than ten victims⦠and traces of Hannibalās sacrificial ritualsā¦ā
Nietzscheās eyes were dull as he watched the police cars rushing by and locking down the place.
āAny new information?ā Angelina was clearly unsatisfied with this.
āI read Hannibalās diary. It was rather⦠dark. And he mentioned a āFeast of Meatā several times. What does it mean?ā
āIt might be a dark ritual. I need more professional help on thisā¦ā Angelina sighed. āAnd thereās also that Dream painting. My suggestion is to lock down the entire villa immediately and donāt let anyone in or out, isolating that place! Once thereās contact, it will leave its mark on people and spread the contaminationā¦ā
āThis isnāt something that a peripheral member like me can decideā¦ā
Nietzsche squatted on the ground in pain. After this incident, the Investigation Agency branch of Kimbert City was nearly wiped out!
The most terrifying truth was that the person behind it all was none other than Hannibal himself!
The remains of most of the missing members were found in his house.
Nietzsche could not help but shudder at the thought of this.
āI didnāt expect that just going to look at the painting would let me encounter this sort of misfortuneā¦ā Angelina sighed before her expression froze.
Through some sort of mirage, she seemed to be at Robertās villa.
In front of the Dream oil painting, in the study room.
Robert stared at it until his eyes nearly popped out.
But suddenly, an additional figure appeared in the starry sky of the oil painting!
It walked out of the oil painting, stretched out its black hand, and grabbed Robert.
Clang!
All of a sudden, Robert was drawn into the oil painting. There seemed to be a vortex in the wall, swallowing a living person into it and disappearing.
The oil painting had no change at all, save for the starry sky looking more splendid than ever.
āWhat is that? A vengeful spirit? Or a malicious ghost?ā
Angelina shuddered as she watched the ghost of the painting wiping out all the living beings in the villa one by one.
It gave her the feeling that it was an even more terrifying existence than Hannibal, a leader of the ghouls!
The power she had obtained from the hazy twisted eye was definitely not enough to deal with something like that!
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