Chapter 131 Abyss and Empty House

Romain Rolland's use of the biographies in "Lives of the Artists" records three people. Based on the way his supernatural abilities operate, this also means that he possesses three additional supernatural abilities.

Leo Tolstoy was a person with supernatural abilities, so Romain Rolland's biography gave him the same supernatural ability as Leo Tolstoy: "War and Peace".

The other two special abilities are "Ode to Joy," derived from the biography of Beethoven, and "David," derived from the biography of Michelangelo.

However, how should I put it... although it is recorded that even those without abilities can obtain them, neither of these two abilities is on the same level as "War and Peace" in terms of strength.

The effect of "Ode to Joy" is simply that a rousing Ode to Joy background music plays around him. After repeated testing, this music has an inspirational power at the level of a supernatural ability.

However, the phrase "repeated testing" clearly indicates that this encouragement is not without merit. But the effectiveness, however, is a matter of opinion.

The effect of "David" is more mysterious. It can be used on a statue that you have carved yourself, and it can temporarily give the statue life. The duration of the life depends on the power you inject.

The shortest time is about a few minutes, while the longest can last up to a month. There is also an additional characteristic: if the sculpted statue has a prototype, the closer the sculpted statue is to the prototype's personality after it is brought to life, the closer it will be to the prototype.

And most importantly, the statue cannot possess supernatural abilities.

If "David" exists as an independent superpower, its effects might be remarkable if used well, but overall it's just mediocre.

The most significant limitation of the "David" ability is that it is only effective when the owner carves the sculpture himself.

Romain Rolland tried it; if you just randomly carve a shape on a stone, at most you can make the stone bounce a couple of times, and the abstract-looking carvings can only carry things.

However, the finer the carving, the more time and effort it takes.

However, who is Romain Rolland? His "Lives of the Artists" model, combined with his years of diligent research and visits to people with superpowers, means that he probably has several hundred superpowers at his disposal.

It's not difficult to select from these supernatural abilities that can help him quickly sculpt an exquisite statue, and the only restriction for "David" is that it must be made by hand, regardless of how it is made.

While it's impossible to create an entire army by hand, it's more than enough to create a living statue with the same physical attributes, thought processes, and logical abilities as Christie, within a few days, according to Christie's requirements.

Even the Christie statue, thanks to its imitation of Romain Rolland's "Lives of Great Men," has a faint memory, which is a pleasant surprise.

Ah, of course, you could also say it was a slightly frightening, unexpected scare.

Holmes, sitting in the monitoring room, was unaware of such details. However, the stone fracture on "Christie's" hand in the surveillance footage, her mention of "David," and Romain Rolland's biography of Michelangelo were enough to draw a conclusion.

Holmes, who had just been so confident of victory, suddenly fell silent, covering his face in frustration. A muffled voice came from his palm: "Didn't expect to lose right from the start?"

The "Christie" on the screen smiled broadly, and Holmes believed that even the real Christie would probably have the same expression: "But you still solved the puzzle I left behind; in that respect, you've certainly won."

Holmes continued to cover his face: "Just solving the remaining problems, don't you think it's like teasing a child?"

Christie smiled without saying a word.

Anyway, she must be happy about this victory, so let's not delve into why she's happy.

Holmes, noticing Christie's smile, sighed again, confirming his suspicions.

Just as Holmes and "Christie" were chatting, a black substance, seemingly solid, seeped into the room.

Black "no one survived" infiltrates every corner of the room, from the doorway, from between the walls, from the ceiling, and from the floor.

Holmes didn't even glance at it: "Just wrap them all up, how simple and brutal."

The "Christie" on the screen maintained a relaxed tone, as if unaware that the person he was speaking to was about to die: "To resolve this more simply and clearly, we need to adopt some 'simple but effective' methods."

As she said this, "Christie" was still looking at the gun in front of her, and sighed with slight disappointment: "If only I could transfer the statue's feelings to the main body..."

As Holmes was gradually surrounded by the message "no one survived," he remained calm: "Can't it be shared? That's a real shame; you've lost another way to solve the mystery of 'death.'"

“Yes,” the statue Christie adjusted the angle of the gun, making it point at herself, “but, it wouldn’t be right to miss such a good opportunity…”

Knowing what Christie was up to, Holmes looked away, took off his deerstalker hat and placed it on the chair, then took a deep look at the "no one survived" scene on the ground.

"Let's part ways for now, my friend."

As soon as he finished speaking, Holmes' figure was swallowed by darkness.

Outside the building, Defoe, who had brought Christie here in person, looked at the entire building shrouded in an unidentified black substance and trembled: "Christie, is that guy already dead?"

Christie stopped continuously releasing "No One Survives" and quietly watched the supernatural power that had covered the entire building gradually dissipate: "To be precise, it's temporarily dead."

Defoe quietly took a step back, moving further away from the building: "Temporarily?"

“Yes, temporarily.” Christie reached out and took a deerstalker hat from a “soldier” who came out of the building. “The detective may fall into the waterfall (abyss), but no matter how many times, he can come back.”

"From this perspective, the confrontation between the detective and the criminal will inevitably, and can only, end with the criminal's death."

——

Just as Holmes was being swallowed up by the "no one survived" scenario, in a house on Baker Street in England, a man suddenly stopped writing.

Looking at the letter he'd misspelled due to a pause in his movements, Dr. Doyle couldn't help but sigh: "Can't Sherlock Holmes just give us a break...?"

As he said this, he tidied up his things, then got up and went to another room.

This was a study. Apart from bookshelves and scattered books, there were only two chairs facing each other. Conan Doyle walked into the room, tidied up the books, and drew the curtains tighter.

After doing all this, Conan Doyle sat down in one of the chairs, glanced at the empty chair opposite him once more, and then closed his eyes.

He tapped the chair lightly, silently counting in his mind:

1, 2, 3

Holmes's voice came from across the room: "It's quite a sight to see me like this, my friend."

Conan Doyle opened his eyes, looked at Holmes sitting opposite him with an enthusiastic expression, and sighed deeply: "How many times have you said that? Have you ever changed?"

"No, and I don't really want to change it." Holmes pulled out a pipe from somewhere and casually lit it. "Doyle, you know, a little bit of adventurousness can be very helpful for investigative work."

Conan Doyle bluntly retorted, "But you've already died once."

Holmes exhaled a smoke ring: "Then you're wrong, Doyle. This time, it's not because of my adventurous spirit."

"It's just that I was slightly inferior in strategy."