Ke-style law enforcement officers

Chapter 177 The Shadow Under the Tree
"Where is the woman?"

Milo walked around the banyan tree trunk but couldn't spot Maggie Green.

Eric gestured in sign language, "We're all seven of us men, there aren't any women here."

“No, there was another girl too. She was banished by magic from the Great Library just like you. Maggie Green, remember? She also became a shadow, but the medium through which she was banished was another bronze ring.”

As Milo spoke, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the bronze ring that Joey had left behind.

However, what struck him as odd was that the ring had broken off at some point, its surface covered in cracks and shattered into two pieces.

Outside, the rain was pouring down, and Milo couldn't see any shadows at all. Under the banyan tree, besides himself, there were only the seven members of the criminal investigation team from the law enforcement agency. Maggie was nowhere to be seen.

In fact, the first thing Milo should have done after mastering sign language was to find Maggie Green and ask her all the details of the Gus Society's past, including why she killed Ethan Field.

But now that Milo has come to her senses, her shadow has vanished.

Milo felt a chill.

Because he now has a more thorough understanding of the exile ritual, he can understand the new Old God totem Milo, and he knows what bronze as a medium means for an exiled soul.

Maggie's shadow cannot survive without the copper ring; she cannot go far, just as the seven-person group could not leave the enforcement office for more than a year.

But now Maggie is gone.

The person who disappeared has disappeared again?
This is...

...

On the ground, Milo saw Eric's shadow talking to others, but Milo couldn't hear what they were saying, so he could only patiently wait for Eric to relay it.

Eric asked the other six people one by one before gesturing to Milo, "Will and Jon said they just heard some strange noises, possibly from the girl you mentioned."

"What kind of sound, and when did it happen?" Milo quickly pressed.

As he spoke, he slowly placed his hand on the handle of the revolver at his waist.

The hairs on the back of the hand that was holding the gun were all standing on end.

Milo felt a little panicked.

This is not caused by psychological factors, but is a genuine physiological instinct.

A similar feeling occurred to the previous times when Theon suddenly pointed his gun at the shadows.

It was all inexplicable fear and palpitations, as if he were being watched by something extremely terrifying, but Milo couldn't find the exact location of the source of the fear.

……

Eric gestured in broken sign language, “While you were staring at that tombstone on the hillside, they said they thought they heard a girl scream, um… wait a minute.”

He stopped gesturing halfway through, turned to speak briefly with "Robert" carrying the sniper rifle, then turned to Milo and gestured again—

"Old Luo said he saw something carry the girl away. The thing crawled out of the shadow at the base of the tree trunk... He said he only saw a pair of burning eyes, but the outline of the shadow kept changing, and he couldn't make out its specific shape."

Eric's sign language was intermittent, and his fingertips trembled slightly.

It was clear that what Robert described made him somewhat apprehensive.

...

A dark shadow emerged from the gloom at the base of the tree, with burning eyes and an ever-changing outline.

To be honest, Milo didn't have any options in his mind that matched this description.

Milo repeatedly confirmed that Eric had asked the other brothers if anyone else had also happened to see the so-called shadow, but apart from Old Luo, none of the others had seen the shadow, although they had all heard the girl's screams.

...If Milo felt a slight unease when he first saw Maggie Green's shadow, her inexplicable disappearance now gave him a chill.

He had already confirmed Maggie Green's identity before this, and through Totem Milo he also learned the basic principles of the law of exile. The exiled shadows are essentially projections of this world; they do not truly die. Moreover, the exile spell also mentions that the exiled are essentially falling into an endless abyss. They cannot be harmed by swords or guns, and in a sense, they cannot be killed.

Just as the proverb says—

"That which is eternal will not die."

But what's happening now seems to confirm the second half of that statement—

“In the strange eternity, even death dies.”

Milo no longer knew how to characterize what had happened.

Maggie, who had been exiled, died again in a different way.

And it seems that this time she is completely dead.

Milo could no longer find her, and the bronze ring was broken.

What exactly is that shadow emerging from under the tree roots?

Is this the stalker that old Theon has been warning Milo to be wary of?

Could it be the hound the Scarlet Witch was talking about?

But why did it drag Maggie away?

……

No one can answer these questions for Milo at the moment.

But one thing is certain: this is not a place to stay for long.

If it really is the hound the Scarlet Witch spoke of, then Milo should run away even more, because even the Scarlet Witch is so scared that she's hiding. Milo doesn't think he's qualified to fight against it.

...

"One last question, from which tree did that thing you're talking about crawl out?"

Eric pointed ahead to a banyan tree with a slightly tilted trunk.

This tree has a rather unusual growth pattern. Perhaps due to the rock strata on the ground, its trunk forms an angle of less than ninety degrees with the ground, giving the impression that it might fall over at any moment.

Milo remembered the strangely shaped banyan tree, put on his hat, and rode back to Nanwei City in the rain.

It wasn't until he returned to the bustling city streets that the oppressive feeling that had been weighing on him slowly subsided, and his heart rate gradually returned to normal.

This was the longest-lasting heart palpitation I've ever experienced.

Even after all the symptoms subsided, Milo was still somewhat absent-minded while sitting in his office.

……

A wet trench coat hung on a hook on the wall near the entrance, and rainwater dripped all over the corner of the wall.

At this moment, Eric waved his hand in front of Milo, then pointed to Will, who was standing by the window smoking, and gestured to Milo, "The old smoker said that you need to have a smoke to calm your nerves at times like this."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the office door was kicked open by old Theon's boots.

His first words after noticing Milo's slightly pale face were:

"I think you really need a happy cigarette."

(End of this chapter)