New Gods of North America.

Chapter 240 Approaching the "Ghost"

"What is very disadvantageous to us now is that ordinary members may not be able to detect or defend against the sneak attack of 'Thin Guy' Charlie in time.

"From this perspective, in addition to the ability to teleport, Charlie the Skinny also has the corresponding control ability. Of course, he may have used other extraordinary items or drugs, and the final result is an effect such as 'confusion', 'fainting', 'paralysis' or 'sleeping'.

"As for the death of a person, I suspect that it should be another Beyonder ability, or it could be the 'price' of using one of the abilities. But this ability should not be able to cause a lethal effect or damage quickly, otherwise the opponent's harvesting method would obviously be more efficient and oppressive."

Inesa's analysis of "Thin Guy" Charlie became more and more specific. She felt like an old player of a modern strategy game who could roughly figure out the BOSS's skills after watching it a few times.

If we regard "Thin Guy" Charlie as a monster in the game, then Wayne's thoughts will be more detailed.
For example, when Wayne saw "Thin" Charlie teleport, the lines on his body "bounced" like a stretched rubber band before flying away.
This involves a question of "movement range" and "cooling time".

There are also "limits on the number of uses within a short period of time", such as the upper limit of spiritual power.

Wayne was listening while maintaining his gun and loading demon hunting bullets into the magazine:

“If possible, we need to find an opportunity to test the opponent and see how far he can move in one breath under extreme conditions and whether he is still within the range of the gun.

"The opponent's ability is too advantageous in the mountainous terrain. If you move a short distance, you may lose your target. If it were the wilderness in the west, it might just be a matter of moving the muzzle of the gun."

Lina was leaning back in the carriage, "fighting" with the big spider Peter with her fingers.
She thought for a moment and said, "According to my opinion, compared to the valuables we took away, the 'cave' itself is actually a more valuable thing. Such a suitable hidden base is not easy to find. The other party may intend to keep us all here to prevent the news from leaking."

This is a perspective worth grasping. People who have no experience with secret organizations are unlikely to consider this aspect.

Wayne pulled the lever and said, "That would be even better. Now I'm just worried that the other party will leave halfway."

……

Heavy rain was pouring down.

The leather jackets, boots and Statham hats that cowboys love actually all have the practical function of "rain protection" to a certain extent.
The hunting suits of the "hunters" are even more exaggerated. Most of the outer area is leather or waterproof fabric, although it seems that they may not be able to protect against "water".

Inesa also changed out of her skirt and put on a hunting suit that Wayne had never seen before, a tricorn hat, a big windbreaker, leather gloves and boots, and even the pants looked like they were made of leather.
What comes to your face is the style and solemn temperament of the Kingdom of Windsor.

According to the social customs of the time - whether in the New World or the Old World - ladies wearing "trousers" would be considered a very "heretical" behavior. Only breeches that were not part of everyday clothing could be exempted in certain scenarios.
Therefore, even in the West where ladies generally ride horses, they usually wear skirts with darts of fabric on the chest and waist-cinching on the sides.

The "ladies" mentioned here include housewives of working-class and self-employed farmers, and even maids, but slaves and some foreign workers are not included.

Even elderly peasant women would wear a long skirt over their trousers as a sign of acceptance and recognition of "civilization".

Therefore, this was the first time Wayne saw Inessa wearing this outfit, and it felt quite fresh and heroic.
Although Lina also changed into denim clothes, her temperament is quite special, and nothing she wears seems to look out of place. Men would probably just comment that this is what a seductive and unruly little wild cat looks like, and then they might even imagine some more rebellious outfits.

But seeing that Inissa had even changed her equipment and placed the special needle in a more convenient location, I knew she was not optimistic about the current situation.
It’s not necessarily because they are worried about the whole team being wiped out, but more likely because they want to avoid too many meaningless casualties.

When Inesa showed up in the camp in her hunting suit, the shock she caused to some members was probably no less than when she discovered the "slender figure".

The members of Mr. Daggett's team couldn't help but look at Inissa a few more times. Their expressions changed slightly, and they began to secretly look at Wayne and Lina more often.

After all, the teams were not very familiar with each other, and they could only cooperate occasionally by chance. The situation was not urgent enough to require "openness and honesty".

So Wayne and his team just turned a blind eye to it, everyone handled their business impartially, and tried to work together and leave safely.

Facing enemies who could appear at any time in the camp during heavy rain, the psychological pressure on everyone was actually greater than the security mission.
After all, a security mission will at least have a "key target" instead of "everyone may be a target."

Ropes were tied to the branches of several large trees, and everyone hung the cloth in the air. There was a simple "shed" with a small pointed roof in the camp, and a bonfire was lit to keep warm and dry clothes.
Members on duty have to move a little further outside and be alert in the rain. They can also build a simple shelter by themselves to make the environment a little more comfortable.

Doug's birds were basically useless in the rainstorm.
Although they can get wet in the rain - many natural bird nests are not actually rainproof - but a drowned chicken obviously cannot fly, so it can only eat and sleep, and eat when it wakes up.

"boom!"

Suddenly, gunshots were heard in the middle of the night. Wayne went over to take a look and found that it was the trainee agent called "Vine" by Lina who fired the gun.

His extraordinary ability can control the "growth" of the vines to a certain extent, but his trap fell short this time and failed to entangle the opponent:
"It was the tall and thin ghost from before. It seemed that he was actually trapped by the vines. But he managed to escape before I could shoot."

Wayne and Inessa went to check the traps and "alarm devices" placed further out, but none of them were triggered. Even the thin black line that Inessa secretly tied on the outskirts to track the direction of the enemy's attack did not break and fall to the ground.

Inissa made a preliminary assessment, "The opponent might have used his ability to enter the encirclement... His movements might not be continuous."

"Jumping Music" using the ability of instant teleportation...

It's a pity that this place is in the wilderness and there are not enough materials, otherwise I could make some mines triggered by silk threads to give the opponent a chance to win prizes.

This time, Wayne and Inessa were not in a hurry to return. The camp was already on alert, and with Lina there, there should be some movement even if something happened.

When facing danger, both of them have a certain ability to protect themselves.

Wayne and his men started from the location where the tall and thin ghost was seen, carrying lanterns, opening their vision, and slowly searching in the direction of the periphery.

Rainy days are not all negative.
At least since the ground is muddy due to rain, Wayne and his team can more easily find the opponent's previous "stay".

Although it looks a bit "anthropomorphic", the thin and tall ghost is not a disembodied thing.

Where he was seen, there were obvious footprints.

Judging from the shoe size, it is not much different from Wayne's, which is a preliminary confirmation of the opponent. That height is definitely not his original height.

And "having a physical body" is actually good news.

This means that there is a high probability that the opponent will also be hit by the bullet.

The nearest footprint was found about 20 yards away. The person took a few steps and then the footprint stopped.

The two of them then changed their starting point and continued to search in reverse direction.

I didn't find a place to spy on the camp until I found a hidden spot in the woods and mountains, and finally I discovered a series of footprints.

Continue walking along the footprints, and there is a relatively dry shelter at the end about half a kilometer away. There are a few stubbed cigarette butts, a piece of jerky that has been gnawed a few times, and a pile of horse manure nearby.

Well……

Originally, the "Slender Man" was a thing that, in the wilderness during a rainstorm, actually had a very scary atmosphere and a sense of oppression.

Evil and silent, like a human but not a human, elusive and haunting, captivating people's souls,
You never know when someone will be taken away.

But when I think about how he would find a place to hide from the rain, and how he used to smoke, drink, and eat dried meat here,
Wayne couldn't help but imagine a street urchin squatting on the side of the road doing nothing...

And he's the type who smokes until the cigarette butt is probably hot, and then he tips over to rub and stomp the cigarette butt out.

Suddenly I couldn't be afraid anymore...

Wayne thought about it, picked up a cigarette butt and wrapped it in paper, and searched the area with Inessa for a while. Feeling that the other party might not come back here, they returned to the camp.

The cigarette butt is the last resort. It seems that there is the saliva of the "Slender Man" on it. If it doesn't work, you can ask Lina to ask the "Wise Sage" to find it again.

However, the opponent's extraordinary ability of "instant movement" or "flash" has basically been revealed.

From the "take-off point" to the camp being discovered, the enemy made a total of four "jumps", and each "jump" was about 20 yards.
Near each "jump" location, there are footprints of a few steps. It may be necessary to do so, or the other party may be waiting for the cooling time of the extraordinary ability and just took a few steps.

As for the maximum number of times the opponent can use his abilities continuously in a short period of time...

Wayne guessed that the enemy should be able to use it at least eight times in a row, that is, a round trip, and the longest distance is at least 160 yards, more or less, but no more than that would not be doubled.
If the line of sight is not blocked by terrain or trees, it should be within the range where the lever-action rifle has a chance of hitting the target.

Especially the last section of footprints that continued from the shelter to the "jumping point", basically ruled out the possibility that the opponent could "jump" infinitely.
——Anyone who has played the game knows that as long as you can "teleport infinitely" to travel, who would still honestly run around the map on foot?

(End of this chapter)