Skull Crusher · Xuanzang

Chapter 12: Skull Crusher · Xuanzang

Leaving the shantytown behind.

Tang Luo and the others did not rush back to the hotel, but instead found a quiet cafe.

Xiao Chu asked the waiter for paper and a pen, then began to write and draw, organizing the situation.

Based on the current clues.

The general situation he deduced was as follows:

Jack the Ripper was a hidden organization, not just a single individual.

Hodge, from last night, was an peripheral member about to be recruited by the organization.

One or more people at the hotel were also members of the organization.

The organization possessed special powers similar to the skills mastered by Zhou Zhenguo.

Most importantly, their group might have been targeted from the very beginning.

Hodge being drawn out might have been a coincidence.

But Li Liang on the first night and Chengcheng, who disappeared directly last night, were definitely not coincidences.

After explaining his analysis and findings, Xiao Chu looked at Tang Luo and Zhou Zhenguo and asked, "Master Xuanzang, Uncle Zhou, what do you think?"

"It makes sense." Zhou Zhenguo nodded, expressing his affirmation.

Tang Luo replied, "This Monk is not skilled in such matters, so I shall follow the train of thought of Benefactor Chu to complete the mission."

Xiao Chu let out a breath.

He felt quite triumphant.

A veteran, a very capable martial monk, and he wasn't bad either.

He had wisdom as his backing.

And by comparison, Xiao Chu preferred this "winning through intelligence."

The Five Tiger Generals were very cool.

But clearly, Zhuge Kongming was even more formidable.

"Our next breakthroughs are twofold: first, the hotel, and second, the clues left behind by Hodge." Xiao Chu showed the letter he was carrying to Zhou Zhenguo. "The situation at the hotel is unclear; we shouldn't alert the enemy for now. Let's investigate Hodge's side first."

If not for the events at the hotel.

The original plan for today would have been to investigate matters related to Hodge.

Neither Tang Luo nor Zhou Zhenguo objected.

The three of them tidied up and headed straight for Scotland Yard.

How to investigate Hodge?

Naturally, by utilizing the local official forces.

Normally, one person taking the documents would have been enough.

Although Xiao Chu was proud, he was not blinded by it; he clearly recognized that although he had begun to lead the mission completion with his intelligence.

He was still a person with "no strength to truss a chicken."

At most, he had a "light screen skill" that he didn't know how to use and hadn't been able to trigger again since.

Compared to the very capable "Martial Monk Xuanzang" and Zhou Zhenguo, who possessed skills, he was just a weakling.

He would definitely not engage in the suicidal behavior of splitting up.

He would certainly stick firmly to the side of Zhou Zhenguo or Tang Luo.

"Bastard! Scoundrel! Useless!"

Upon arriving at Scotland Yard, Tang Luo heard a roar coming from the Chief Inspector's Office.

The structure of Scotland Yard was as follows:

The highest rank was the Chief Inspector, followed by the Deputy Inspector, then the Team Commander, and below the commander were the rank-and-file detectives.

Finally, there were the constables.

Which was the identity Tang Luo had currently obtained.

Except that a normal constable was a long-term hire, while Tang Luo was a temporary worker brought in to solve the Jack the Ripper case.

His immediate superior had a fierce face, and the detectives had no pleasant tone, making it impossible for anyone to be lively; only Kong...

Oh, there was no Kong Yiji.

Tang Luo made some inquiries and learned the reason for the Chief Inspector's rage from the detective who had given him the documents yesterday.

Come to think of it, it was related to him.

It was that Hodge's headless corpse had been discovered.

The Jack the Ripper case had not yet been solved, and now there was a "headless case"; it would be strange if the Chief Inspector wasn't roaring.

Moreover, this "Guillotine" responsible for the headless cases is countless times more brutal than Jack the Ripper.

Jack the Ripper at least only disemboweled people, at most leaving them missing a few organs.

The crime scene discovered early this morning.

It simply did not look like the work of a human.

The victim's head was "scattered" across a pit.

It gave the impression that a boulder had fallen from the sky, crushing the victim's head while simultaneously leaving a crater in the ground.

According to the detective's speculation, the killer must be a burly man wielding a large hammer.

Only then could such a scene be created.

The Guillotine, also known as the "Skull Crusher" or "Hammer Bro."

After hearing the detective's description, the corners of Zhou Zhenguo's eyes twitched uncontrollably.

He knew what Tang Luo and the others had done last night.

But he hadn't expected it to be this exaggerated.

Xiao Chu looked at Tang Luo expectantly, seemingly wanting to find some trace of awkwardness or embarrassment on his face.

Unfortunately, Tang Luo remained completely indifferent, as if the Guillotine and Skull Crusher the detective spoke of were not him at all.

This level of composure was truly worthy of a "Master."

"Coincidentally, I came here for this matter as well," Tang Luo said. "We have already investigated the identity of the deceased; it is Hodge."

"What?"

The detective was stunned, then filled with pleasant surprise.

The victim's head was gone, and his grey clothing was quite common.

Scotland Yard had not been able to identify him for the time being.

He hadn't expected this outsider detective to have found it; that file hadn't been given in vain!

The detective rushed off to report.

Tang Luo and his two companions remained behind.

Approaching two o'clock in the afternoon, the three of them finally left Scotland Yard.

They had obtained all the information on Hodge that could be retrieved from Scotland Yard.

Tang Luo and his group did not tell Scotland Yard about their speculations regarding the Ripper Organization.

Unless the situation became impossible to handle, they would only use the armed forces of Scotland Yard on a large scale as a last resort.

In the God and Demon Game, there was an uncertain theory.

It suggested that the extent of one's contribution to completing a mission would affect the quality of the rewards.

Although it had never been confirmed or verified.

Common sense dictated that those who contributed more to completing a mission would receive "rewards" exceeding those who contributed less.

It wasn't that they couldn't borrow the power of external forces in the mission world.

But if they relied on them too much, it might affect their "mission evaluation."

Among God and Demon Walkers, this theory was quite popular.

Walking down the street, Zhou Zhenguo glanced at Tang Luo several times before asking, "Master Xuanzang, you aren't deceiving me and pretending to be a newcomer, are you?"

Stopping him from killing someone was one thing.

But the Skull Crusher incident didn't seem like something a newcomer could do empty-handed.

Wielding a large hammer might be acceptable.

The God and Demon Game had no fixed teams, and the people one encountered upon entering a mission were random.

Tang Luo and his companions' performance seemed very "new," so Zhou Zhenguo had treated them as newcomers.

Zhou Zhenguo had heard of veterans pretending to be newcomers to play the pig to eat the tiger, even if he hadn't seen it himself.

Was this monk one of them?

"A monk does not tell lies," Tang Luo smiled. "This poor monk is indeed experiencing the God and Demon Game for the first time."

"Then why are you so good at fighting?" Zhou Zhenguo asked. "It's not normal."

"Exercise."

Tang Luo said.

"What kind of exercise?"

"100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats, and a 10-kilometer run every single day," Tang Luo said with a straight face. "And while training your body, defeat all kinds of demons and ghosts, and you can be as good at fighting as this poor monk."

"Huh?"

Zhou Zhenguo looked completely bewildered; what on earth was that?

"Pfft!"

Xiao Chu burst into laughter.

Zhou Zhenguo looked at him with an inquisitive expression.

Xiao Chu glanced at Tang Luo, and seeing that he had no intention of objecting, smiled and said, "The Master is talking about the training methods from a manga."

"..."

Zhou Zhenguo was speechless. Realizing he had been too rash, he did not continue to press for answers.

Regardless of whether this Monk Xuanzang (a martial monk?) was a newcomer or not.

The goodwill and strength he had displayed thus far were enough to prove that he was a powerful and reliable partner.

Is it really impossible to form a team?

Zhou Zhenguo sighed inwardly.

As a man who had spent decades navigating the complexities of society, he knew full well how powerful an organization could be.

Even in a "world" like the God and Demon Game, where great power belonged to the individual, this remained true.

Given similar levels of strength, two extraordinary God and Demon Walkers would certainly be stronger than one.

Unity is strength!

"Uncle Zhou, I think I awakened an ability last night." Xiao Chu's words interrupted Zhou Zhenguo's train of thought.

"What?"

Zhou Zhenguo frowned.

Xiao Chu then told Tang Luo and Zhou Zhenguo what had happened to him when Hodge ambushed him the previous night.

He had no other choice.

Since last night, no matter how hard he tried, he could not manifest that thin veil of light again.

Even after straining himself to the point of exhaustion, nothing happened, leaving him no choice but to seek help from Zhou Zhenguo.

"I have never heard of such a thing," Zhou Zhenguo said.

"Didn't you say, Uncle, that one could obtain benefits and rewards during a mission? Isn't my situation like that?" Xiao Chu asked.

Zhou Zhenguo replied, "My explanation was different from your situation. Those benefits and power gains aren't something that just appear out of thin air like yours."

After a moment of thought to organize his words, Zhou Zhenguo took out a dagger. "For example, this dagger is something I obtained in a mission world, which I was then able to bring back. That is the benefit one gains outside of the mission completion rewards—another path to becoming stronger."

"Mission worlds can be considered treasure troves. Those with the ability can unearth more benefits beyond the mission itself to strengthen themselves."

In short, the rewards were not directly granted by the "God and Demon," but had to be acquired through one's own efforts.

"Then what about my case?" Xiao Chu asked.

"I have never heard of a situation like yours," Zhou Zhenguo said.

Could it be that I am unique? Xiao Chu thought to himself. Since Zhou Zhenguo didn't know, he would have to explore it on his own.

"I don't like this place; it feels so eerie."

In the evening, as the sun dipped below the horizon and night fell.

Xiao Chu looked at the building in the distance and spoke.

It wasn't that he was a coward.

Daring to cross-dress and act as bait, Xiao Chu's courage was certainly not small.

It was just that no normal person would like a Mental Hospital, especially a half-abandoned one.

Hodge, the former doctor, used to work here.

And the reason he was no longer a doctor was also related to this hospital.

About a few years ago, Hodge, due to drunkenness, accidentally caused a fire.

A large part of the hospital was burned down.

Hodge, who had a promising future, not only lost his job but also had to pay a large sum of money, leading him to live a life of poverty and decadence ever since.

His parents had died young, and his former friends and relatives had stopped contacting him because of the incident.

Only one former colleague would occasionally visit Hodge.

Especially in the last few days, many people had seen them drinking at the tavern.

That colleague was a doctor, considered to be in the upper-middle class of society, and was relatively frail, which did not fit Scotland Yard's deduction that the killer was a burly man.

They had only sent an investigator to ask a few questions and had never considered him a suspect.

But in Xiao Chu's eyes, there was a ninety percent probability that this person was a member of the Jack the Ripper organization!