Shepherds of the Dead (second update)

A figure stepped slowly out of the darkness.

He wore trousers and a jacket, his blond hair shaved on both sides from the temples up, leaving only a strip on top. Yet that remaining hair was anything but short. In fact, it was so long that it would have fallen to his shoulders if not for the metal band holding it together.

His brown eyes, their pupils as narrow as needles, studied Qin Ran curiously.

"2567?"

"Deathbird?"

"The king who reigns over the earth?"

The three consecutive questions made Qin Ran uncomfortable.

Then, without waiting for Qin Ran to answer, the man waved a hand.

"All right, no need to explain anything to me. I'm only a messenger—on December 1, the Shepherds of the Dead await your arrival!"

With a flick of his hand, a black invitation shot straight toward the pickup's windshield.

Just before it struck the glass, however, the invitation swerved into the driver's seat beside Qin Ran.

Then the man waved and withdrew into the darkness.

The pickup's engine roared to life again.

The headlights and streetlights came back on.

The clouds also drifted away from the moon.

The light that should have been there returned at that moment.

Qin Ran narrowed his eyes and scanned his surroundings. The lights along the distant streets had returned as well.

He had detected the man just before his appearance. The way he seemed to blend into the darkness was remarkable, but to Qin Ran, whose [Stealth] had reached the Transcendent level, it was nothing special.

What truly intrigued Qin Ran was that the man seemed capable of blocking electricity.

Or perhaps... blocking the power of technology!

Of course, the latter was only a guess.

"The Shepherds of the Dead?"

"What kind of organization is that?"

Qin Ran picked up