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It was another sunny day, and at this mont, Xu Yi was in a very good mood.
"Mr. Xu Yi, please stay close to . It's easy to get lost here,"
the governnt official led the way in front, as they entered a winding and deep passage.
Xu Yi nodded and looked around at the environnt.
The design of the building was incredibly secure; even the phrase "ironclad" was an understatent. Along the way, his eyes were opened to the formidable security asures; even the greatest thieves in the world would only be able to sigh in longing before these walls.
Nurous soldiers were stationed around, and exorcists took turns keeping watch to ensure there was soone on guard 24 hours a day.
They finally reached their destination. A governnt official inserted a chanical key, entered a long password, and, after undergoing detection by an exorcism artifact, the heavy tal doors slowly opened.
"Is this the War God Repository? The security is indeed tight!" Xu Yi couldn't help but admire.
Early that morning, the governnt had dispatched soone to wait outside his workshop, saying as soon as Mr. Xu Yi was ready, they could depart.
Such courtesies were ticulously observed, and naturally, Xu Yi did not delay. Not showing eagerness in choosing treasures would indicate a problem in thinking, so he and Maria had co early.
However, in such a place, only he was allowed to enter.
"Mr. Xu Yi, this place is not the War God Repository, but the Room of Minos," the governnt official suddenly explained.
Xu Yi was taken aback. Could it be that the governnt regretted offering the treasures within the War God Repository and had gone back on their word?
This thought rely flickered through his mind, and he didn't voice it out loud as it clearly was not a possibility.
"The Labyrinth of Minos, the legend from the Epic of Hor?" Xu Yi suddenly found the "highlight."
The governnt official nodded, "That's right, the naming of this room is inspired by the Labyrinth of Minos."
In the Epic of Hor, Minos was a son of the god Zeus and a king of his own nation.
But the queen betrayed him, consorting with a Minotaur and giving birth to a monster with the head of a bull and the body of a man, impervious to weapons and with a taste for human flesh.
To prevent excessive casualties among his subjects, King Minos constructed a labyrinth to confine the bull-headed monster, which ca to be known as the Labyrinth of Minos.
Xu Yi was deeply impressed by this mythological tale, as the trope of the "Minotaur" originated from here.
The governnt official let out a sigh, "We nad it after the mythological Labyrinth of Minos, hoping it would be a place where once you enter, you cannot leave. But still, we failed!"
Xu Yi stepped into the room, and a prickling pain surfaced on his skin—a warning from his Spiritual Power.
"Are all these cursed items?" Xu Yi scanned the room.
The room was lined with rows of cabinets, atop which were all sorts of bizarre objects: blood-stained daggers, yellowed teeth, eerie statues...
These items all carried strong curses and were suppressed by the arrays in the room.
When powerful creatures die, their resentnt and unwillingness to pass on can linger in an object, forming a cursed item.
The situation in the "Cursed Object Collection Room" was a bit dire, as if it had just been ransacked, with signs of a struggle and broken cabinet debris piled up in the corners.
"Mr. Xu Yi can see that soone invaded here not too long ago," the governnt official sighed.
Xu Yi could understand the other's helplessness. Dealing with cursed items was extrely troubleso, yet they couldn't just be destroyed because curses could transfer; destroying them would solve nothing, so they had to be stored instead.
He was sowhat puzzled—if soone wanted to steal the treasures in the War God Repository, he could understand.
But who would want to steal these troubleso cursed items? Even exorcists would desperately avoid them.
What was the purpose of specifically bringing him here?
"Due to the Evil God incident, most of the soldiers and exorcists guarding this place have been redirected elsewhere. This allowed the perpetrators to take advantage and invade; according to our investigation, that group is..." the governnt official glanced at Xu Yi, "the heretics from the Church of the Ram."
Xu Yi stiffened, everything made sense now. Cursed items were useless to others, but for heretics, that might not be the case.
"We are aware that Mr. Xu Yi has had conflicts with the Church of the Ram, and we worry that they might target you. I have been specifically instructed to convey this ssage to you," said the governnt official softly.
It was more than just a conflict; they were mortal enemies! Xu Yi hadn't expected these Aricans to also play at subtlety.
New York's attempt at "befriending" him was undoubtedly an effort to leverage his power against the Church of the Ram.
But he didn't refuse it, instead, he nodded.
Others might leverage his power, but he could also use the governnt's force. It was a mutually beneficial situation.
"This is the list of the stolen cursed items. Can Mr. Xu Yi discern anything?" the governnt official handed over a file.
The stolen items were not many. According to the governnt official, the intruders originally planned to sneak in and quietly steal the items, but they were discovered by a patrolling exorcist.
Xu Yi flipped through the file. Iron Thorns used by deford Cannibals, Jack the Ripper's dagger, the pig-face mask of the killer farr, the Ku Klux Klan's uniform, Harry the Miner's iron pickaxe...
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"These were all once notorious murderers?" Xu Yi seed to have figured out a bit of the clue.
"Yes, the murderers ntioned before are one thing, but Mr. Xu Yi should pay special attention to these last two cursed items," a governnt official explained on the side.
Xu Yi turned to the last page, which contained two photos—one of a blood-drenched chainsaw, and the other of a white facemask.
Just looking at the pictures of these two items could make one feel uncomfortable.
"This chainsaw was once used by the Texas Chainsaw Killer, and as for this white face mask..."
The governnt official took a deep breath to steady his emotions before continuing slowly, "It belonged to a murderer nad Michael Miles."
Every ti he thought about Michael's profile, he felt a chill down his spine.
At six years old, Michael had killed his sister, who had been kind to him, with a kitchen knife and had shown no sign of regret; his eyes were numb, filled only with an abyss of murderous intent.
"A demon of slaughter has been born into this world!" That was the final assessnt of Michael in the profile.
Xu Yi's brow was tightly furrowed. The Texas Chainsaw Killer, Halloween butcher Michael... These were indeed extrely dangerous beings, involuntarily reminding him of Jason from Crystal Lake, whom he had encountered before.
"It looks like the quartet of famous killers is almost complete!" Xu Yi joked.
The governnt official didn't quite understand Xu Yi's remark, and was a bit stunned.
Xu Yi did not explain but pressed on, "What does the Ram Cult plan to do with these cursed items they have stolen?"
"We haven't found out yet, but if there are any clues, we will inform Mr. Xu Yi imdiately."
Seeing the somber atmosphere and having achieved the day's goal, the governnt official took the initiative to change the subject. "Mr. Xu Yi, let's talk about sothing more pleasant, shall we?"
"Such as?"
"Choosing a piece from the War God Repository."
......
Cain Private Hospital.
William's eyes snapped open, his breathing was rapid, and his vision was filled with a bloody double image that seed to be swallowing him whole.
In that mont, a black silhouette appeared amidst the blood-colored shadows, surrounded by writhing tentacles, as the bloody images slowly receded and the world returned to normal. It took a long ti for him to realize he was lying in a hospital bed.
"Praise be to the great Lord of Shadows!" William whispered softly.
"William, you're awake!"
Hardy entered the room, overjoyed to see William conscious.
The doctor conducted a routine examination of William while Hardy rambled on about the events that had transpired during his coma.
"Bro, we owe Xu Yi big ti, you definitely wouldn't have made it back otherwise!"
William's brow suddenly furrowed as he fixed Hardy with a serious gaze, "You should call him Mr. Xu Yi! Or..."
He didn't finish his sentence because that was his special title of respect for Xu Yi, the Lord of Shadows.
Hardy paused, confused by his brother William's sudden change in deanor but nevertheless nodded, "I understand, it's Mr. Xu Yi."
After the examination, the doctors marveled at William's rapid recovery, which was beyond their expectations.
William's face suddenly contorted in pain. He got up from the bed and said, "I need to use the restroom."
"Brother, I'll help you!"
Hardy reached out to assist him, but William pushed his hand away.
"No need."
Hardy looked on, dumbfounded, as William walked away; the push had nearly made him stumble. What kind of strength was this from a man who was gravely ill?
In the restroom, William took off his shirt, revealing a scar on his left chest corroded into existence.
At that mont, tiny black scales erged from the scar, crawling out like little bugs, spreading in all directions.
William quickly bit down on a stick.
His left pupil suddenly turned blood-red, his body tensed up instantly, and a painful roar ca from deep within his throat, almost snapping the stick.
After a long while, the red in his pupils gradually faded away, and the tiny black scales retracted into the scar. William sat exhausted on the bathroom floor, gasping for breath.
"Bring the share transfer docunts of the Ernst Pharmaceutical Company, we're going to see Mr. Xu Yi."
People had already filled the area outside the restroom. William pushed through the restroom door and, ignoring their stares, stated resolutely.
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