Sealed Artifact "2-049"

Chapter 50: Sealed Artifact "2-049"

A team of Nighthawks—either wearing trench coats or draped in overcoats, for only Nighthawks would appear here—emerged from the passageway. They all raised their left or right arms, performing flexing and stretching exercises in a shared rhythm as though hoisting an invisible dumbbell, racing against time to exercise their bodies.

While making this bizarre motion, the Nighthawks did not halt their steps either. Moving in unison with the identical rhythmic flexing of their arms, they inevitably synchronized their stride lengths and walked toward Angel.

This behavior, laden with a certain rhythm amidst its bizarreness, reminded her of an Eastern popping dance troupe she had seen before her transmigration. They too dressed oddly, moved mechanically, and paraded through the streets.

As the group drew closer, Angel finally recognized that the one leading them was none other than the Nighthawk captain who had been upstairs in the office just moments ago, Dunn Smith. Behind him followed the nonchalant "Midnight Poet" Leonard Mitchell, and the "Seer" Klein Moretti, whose arm-flexing looked hesitant.

The three of them surrounded two Nighthawks she had never seen before. Among them, a poker-faced man carried a black iron box with his unbent arm; engraved on the box was the Crimson Moon, representing the Evernight Goddess.

The other Nighthawk walking beside him was female, approximately 30 years of age, with pleasing facial features. Like Angel, she wore a more masculine-styled shirt and trousers, though unfortunately, the bizarre arm-flexing motion ruined this androgyne beauty.

Just as Angel was observing everyone, the female Nighthawk's flexing arm paused, her pace slowed, and then she halted all motion like a robot whose switch had been pressed. With a dull expression and unfocused eyes, she fell behind from the popping dance troupe and dropped to the very tail end.

Leonard, who walked past her, changed his expression slightly, stopped in his tracks, turned sideways, and gently pushed the female's shoulder with his hand.

The latter, as if awakened from a dream, saw her movements turn fluid once more and quickened her pace to catch up with the team.

The rest of them seemed long accustomed to all this, showing no expression of surprise or panic.

What on earth was going on?

Watching this team gradually approach her, Angel felt her scalp tingle and her heart beat faster, experiencing an urge to distance herself from this bunch of people.

"I was just planning to look for you, so it seems that saves some trouble."

The popping dance troupe stopped about five meters away from Angel, and the leading Dunn Smith spoke while still maintaining the repetitive flexing motion of his right arm.

"The other member originally scheduled to participate in the operation had an urgent matter and left Tingen. Prepare yourself and join the team to take part in the upcoming..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Dunn experienced a situation similar to the female Nighthawk from just now. His flexed right forearm, yet to be put down, stopped mid-air like a jammed shell, and the unfinished words froze in his mouth.

Klein, standing behind him, froze for a moment, preparing to reach out and pat the captain's shoulder, but the cold-looking unfamiliar Nighthawk beside them had already stepped ahead and given Dunn's back a light push.

This gentle push applied fresh lubricating oil to Dunn's rusted machine of a body, making his movements smooth once more as the final word flowed from his mouth: "...operation."

Angel finally understood now. This squad seemed to be affected by some mysterious power, periodically suffering from negative states of bodily stiffness and speechlessness. Their continuous arm-waving served the purpose of allowing their nearby teammates to discover the moment they fell into this bizarre state at the first possible instance.

And as long as another person gently touched this unlucky soul, they would swiftly return to normal.

As for the source of the mysterious power...

Angel's gaze swept quickly across the two unfamiliar Nighthawks, finally resting on the iron box in the male Nighthawk's hand. Sensing her gaze, the latter looked back with brownish-yellow eyes like the blade of a knife, and Angel only then noticed a scar on his face.

The three Tingen Nighthawks she knew did not possess similar abilities, and the female was empty-handed. It seemed likely that the one affecting them was this item carried by the last person...

Figuring this out, she moved her feet, quietly stepping a bit further away from the iron box before asking cautiously, "What is going on with you guys?"

"Time is tight, let's talk as we walk." Dunn pointed at the box carried by the scarred male. "Borgia is carrying a special Magical Item, Sealed Artifact '2-049'. It affects those around it, prioritizing targets within five meters of itself, causing the target to experience the 'lag phenomenon' that Luo... and I just had"—his finger shifted toward the female Nighthawk who had similarly exhibited bodily stiffness earlier—"—just like that. As long as there is a companion nearby who gently touches you, this effect will be lifted."

"Fortunately, the range of influence for 2-049 is only five meters, it only affects one person at a time, and only the three closest to it are easily chosen as targets. Right now, you will follow us in doing this arm-flexing and stretching motion, and you cannot stop until the mission ends. The moment you are affected by 2-049, we will wake you in time. Similarly, if any of us are hit, you will need to help out."

Angel nodded to indicate she understood. Mimicking the others' actions, she raised her left arm and performed the arm-flexing motion at the same frequency as everyone else, blending into the popping dance troupe as its sixth member.

Subsequently, the group resumed their advance, walking in pairs of two toward the exit of the basement.

Having joined the Nighthawks for over half a month, Angel had also learned quite a bit of occult knowledge from Old Neil during her leisure time, gaining a certain understanding of "Sealed Artifacts"—items possessing specific negative effects that must be kept and controlled by the Church.

Most of them were produced by the combination of Beyonder characteristics of deceased Beyonders with certain objects, while others were specific parts of mutated Beyonder bodies. Once the Church judged an item to be overly dangerous or possessed excessively strong negative effects, they would "seal" it and assign it a corresponding code name.

"2-049" was the internal code name for this Sealed Artifact within the Church of Evernight. The first digit represented the danger level of the Sealed Artifact, ranging from 0 to 3, with lower numbers indicating greater danger. A "2" signified that the danger level was not very high; even within the Chanis Gate in Tingen City, there were likely several such items.

However, low danger did not mean no danger. Judging from the performance of the several individuals who had been struck in succession just now, "2-049" had to be carried by a team of multiple people. The moment the bearer was left alone, this Sealed Artifact would display its danger.

Angel did not know what would ultimately happen if this bodily stiffness negative effect went unrescued by others, but even a few seconds of lag would become a fatal problem in combat.

Thinking of this, she also understood why Dunn Smith needed her to join the team for the operation.

With this Sealed Artifact's negative effects so obvious, they still had to bring it along on the move, clearly to utilize some characteristic of the Sealed Artifact—possibly for combat, or perhaps for tracking and searching. Yet, engaging in combat or encountering certain other dangers in the process was a high-probability event.

Once anyone fell into the lagging state influenced by "2-049", there had to be a teammate nearby to wake them immediately; otherwise, that person would become a stationary target standing rigidly on the spot.

According to Dunn's introduction, this Sealed Artifact would prioritize affecting the three closest people to it. Therefore, during combat, a three-person group had to be responsible for protecting this Sealed Artifact; otherwise, teammates further away would become targets.

Under such circumstances, the more people remaining who could fight, the better. After a certain someone originally scheduled for the operation left due to unforeseen reasons, Dunn had come to find Angel to fill the vacancy.

"Leonard, you go upstairs first and have Rozanne and the others avoid us on the third floor. Don't get close to the reception room for now, then go bring the carriage to the entrance. You will drive later, and let Caesar go home to rest first." Approaching the spiral staircase, Dunn instructed.

Leonard Mitchell nodded, taking three steps in two to overtake the team, climbing the staircase and disappearing from everyone's view. Even with such urgency, he did not forget to comically wave his arm.

What's so funny, I'll be doing the exact same thing in a moment... Angel forcibly suppressed the smile on her face. She looked back; everyone was performing the identical motion with solemn expressions yet looking utterly ridiculous. Imagining how the few of them would soon walk like this on the avenue, receiving the baptism of passersby's gazes, she instantly felt her head ache.

The group followed the stairs back to the second floor of the Blackthorn Security Company, walking in a single file into the reception room. Rozanne, who had originally been waiting in the reception room, was nowhere to be seen, presumably having headed to the third floor to take temporary refuge. Only the coffee cups on the table remained steaming in the hall.

"We will go straight to the first floor, take the carriage, and head to Ray Bieber's home first. We should be able to obtain further clues there."

Dunn issued the next command. The group silently nodded, maintaining the repetitive flexing and stretching state of their arms, bypassed the sofa in the reception room, and walked toward the main door.

Just at the moment the formation shifted, Borgia, who was carrying "2-049" in front of Angel, suddenly saw his movements become sluggish. Although he continued to maintain the actions of walking forward and lifting his elbows in a flexed position, it was like a slow-motion recording, rapidly tending toward a complete halt.

This unlucky fellow...

Angel prepared to reach out and push him, only to find that her own movements refused to obey her either. Her flexed right arm refused to straighten no matter what, let alone touch Borgia ahead of her. Her legs felt as though they were poured with lead and could not move, her thoughts grew sluggish, and the sound of footsteps beside her and the hustle and bustle of the street outside the window grew increasingly faint.

Could it be...

She watched Klein appear within her vision, transforming his movements frame by frame like stop-motion animation, closing in, and extending a hand to push her shoulder.

The movements of Klein and Borgia before her became fluid once more, the frequency of the sounds beside her returned to normal, and her own arm—which she had been trying to straighten—finally lifted forward.

So the one affected just now wasn't Borgia, but herself!

Angel's newly agile thoughts finally reacted.

This was the terrifying effect of "2-049"!

Watching the female Nighthawk Lorotta and Captain Dunn fall victim in succession just now, their slowed movements like broken robots had merely made her feel somewhat comical. Yet, feeling this occur to herself, with the sensation of her movements and thoughts instantly turning sluggish, was simply too terrifying.

Angel could not imagine how long that state would persist if no one woke her, nor whether it would progress further to cause all movement and thinking to completely stagnate, ultimately turning her into a statue.

At this thought, she felt the clothes on her back soaked through with cold sweat.