Chapter 50 Sealed Object "2049"

A team of night watchmen wearing windbreakers or jackets - only night watchmen could appear here - emerged from the passage. They all raised their left or right arms, doing arm flexion and stretching exercises in a common rhythm, as if they were holding an invisible dumbbell, exercising their bodies against time.

While making this strange movement, the Nighthawks did not stop, but flexed and stretched their arms in the same rhythm, inevitably unifying the pace of their steps and walking towards Angel.

This strange behavior, which contained a certain rhythm, reminded her of an oriental mechanical dance group she had seen before she traveled through time. They also dressed strangely, moved mechanically, and paraded through the streets.

As the group approached, Angel recognized that the one leading them was none other than the captain of the Night Watch, Dunn Smith, who had just been in the office upstairs. Behind him followed the indifferent "Midnight Poet" Leonard Mitchell and the hesitant "Fortune Teller" Klein Moretti.

The three of them surrounded two unfamiliar Nighthawks. One of them, a stern-faced man, was carrying a black iron box with his arms unbent. The box was engraved with the Crimson Moon, representing the Goddess of Night.

The other night watchman walking beside him was a female, about 30 years old, with a pretty face. Like Angel, she was wearing a masculine shirt and trousers. Unfortunately, the strange arm bending movement destroyed this neutral beauty.

Just as Angel was observing everyone, the female Nighthawk paused her flexing arms, slowed her steps, and then stopped all movements like a robot with a switch pressed. Her expression was dull, her eyes were unfocused, and she fell behind the mechanical dance troupe and fell to the end.

Leonard, who was walking past her, changed his expression slightly, stopped, turned sideways and gently pushed the woman's shoulder.

The latter seemed to be awakened from a dream, his movements became smooth again, and he quickened his pace to catch up with the team.

The others seemed to have gotten used to all this and showed no signs of surprise or panic.

What is going on?

Watching the team gradually approaching him, Angel felt his scalp tingling, his heart beating faster, and he had an urge to stay away from this group of people.

"I was just planning to go look for you. It seems I can save some trouble."

The robotic dance group stopped about 5 meters away from Angel, and the leader Dunn Smith continued to flex and extend his right arm repeatedly.

"Another member originally scheduled to participate in the operation has left Tingen for an urgent matter. Please prepare and join the team for the next..."

Before he finished speaking, Dunn experienced a similar situation as the female night watchman just now. His right forearm, which was bent but not yet lowered, stopped in mid-air as if stuck, and the words in his mouth also stopped.

Klein, who was standing behind him, was stunned for a moment and was about to reach out to pat the captain's shoulder, but the unfamiliar Nighthawk with an indifferent expression on the side had already taken the lead and gently pushed Dunn on the back.

This gentle push re-greased Dunn's rusty machine, making his movements smoother and the last word flowed from his mouth: "...action."

Angel now understood. This group of people seemed to be affected by some mysterious force. From time to time, they would become stiff and unable to speak. They kept swinging their arms so that their teammates could notice that they were in this strange state as soon as possible.

And as long as another person touches this unfortunate guy lightly, he will quickly return to normal.

As for the source of the mysterious power...

Angel's eyes quickly swept over the two unfamiliar night watchmen, finally stopping at the iron box in the male night watchman's hand. The latter felt her gaze, and his brown-yellow eyes looked back at her like a knife. Angel then noticed the scar on his face.

The three Tingen Nightwatchers I knew didn't possess similar abilities, and the woman was empty-handed. It seemed the item carried by the last person might have affected them...

After figuring this out, she moved her feet, quietly moving a little further away from the iron box, and then asked cautiously, "What's going on with you?"

"Time is running out, let's talk as we walk." Dunn pointed to the box the scarred man was carrying. "Borgia is carrying a special magical item, Sealed Artifact 2-049. It affects those around him, prioritizing targets within five meters. It causes them to experience the same 'hysteresis' as Lolota and I just did..." He pointed to the female Night Watcher who had also experienced stiffness. "...that 'hysteresis' effect. If a companion nearby touches you lightly, the effect will be lifted."

"Fortunately, 2-049's range is limited to five meters, affecting only one person at a time. The three closest to it are likely to be targeted. Follow us now, and do this arm curl and stretch, and don't stop until the mission is over. If you're affected by 2-049, we'll wake you up promptly. Similarly, if anyone else is affected, we'll need your help."

Angel nodded to show that she understood. She imitated the movements of several people, raised her left arm, and flexed and extended her arm at the same frequency as everyone else, joining the mechanical dance group and becoming the sixth member.

Then they started moving forward again, walking towards the exit of the basement in twos.

It has been more than half a month since Angel joined the Night Watchers. In his spare time, he has also learned a lot of mystical knowledge from Old Neil, and has gained some understanding of "sealed objects", which have certain negative effects and must be kept and controlled by the church.

Most of them are the result of the Extraordinary characteristics of deceased Extraordinary people combined with certain items, and some are also parts of the mutated body tissues of Extraordinary people. Once the church judges that the item is too dangerous or has too strong a negative effect, it will be "sealed" and given a corresponding code name.

"2-049" is the code name of this seal within the Church of Evernight. The first number represents the danger level of the seal, from 0 to 3, the lower the danger, the more dangerous it is. "2" means that the danger level is not high. Even in the Chanis Gate of Tingen City, there are probably several of them.

But the small danger does not mean there is no danger. Judging from the performance of several people who were hit just now, "2-049" must be carried by a team of multiple people. Once the carrier is alone, this sealed object will show its danger.

Angel didn't know what the negative effects of this body stiffness would eventually become if he was not relieved by others, but even a few seconds of delay would become a fatal problem in battle.

Thinking of this, she also understood why Dunn Smith needed to join the team and act together.

The negative effects of this seal are so obvious, yet they still want to take it with them. It is obvious that they want to take advantage of some characteristics of the seal. It may be for fighting, or it may be for finding people or things, but it is highly likely that a fight or some other danger will occur in the process.

Once someone falls into the sluggish state affected by "2-049", a teammate must be around to wake him up immediately, otherwise he will become a fixed target standing still.

According to Dunn, this seal will first affect the three people closest to it, so there must be a three-person team responsible for protecting this seal during the battle, otherwise teammates farther away will become targets.

In this case, the more people who can fight left, the better. Dunn will come to Angel to fill the vacancy only after someone who was originally scheduled to participate in the operation leaves for some reason.

"Leonard, go up first and tell Roxanne and the others to go to the third floor and avoid the reception room for the time being. Then drive the carriage to the door and you will drive it later. Let César go home and rest first." Dunn ordered when they were almost at the spiral staircase.

Leonard Mitchell nodded, took two steps at a time to overtake the team, climbed the stairs and disappeared from everyone's sight. Even in his anxiety, he did not forget to swing his arms in a funny way.

What are you laughing at? I'll be doing the same thing later... Angel forced herself to suppress the smile on her face. She looked back and saw that everyone was doing the same action with serious expressions, but it looked funny. Thinking that they would be walking on the street like this soon and being stared at by passers-by, she suddenly felt a headache.

Several people went back up the stairs to the second floor of the Blackthorn Security Company and walked into the reception room in a single file. Luo Shan, who had been waiting in the reception room, was nowhere to be seen. She must have gone to the third floor to take shelter temporarily. Only the coffee cup on the table was still steaming in the hall.

"Let's go downstairs and take a carriage to Riel Bibb's home. We should be able to get further clues there."

Dunn gave the next instruction, and the others nodded silently. They kept flexing and stretching their arms, walked around the sofa in the reception room, and headed towards the door.

At the moment the queue changed, Borgia, who was holding "2-049" in front of Angel, suddenly slowed down. Although he continued to walk forward and raise his elbows and bend them, he quickly stagnated like a slow-motion video.

This unlucky guy...

Angel was about to reach out and push him, but he found that his movements were out of control. His bent right hand could not be straightened, let alone touch Borgia in front of him. His legs felt as if they were filled with lead and he could not move. His thoughts became dull, and the footsteps around him and the noise of the street outside the window became increasingly low.

Could it be...

She watched as Klein appeared in her sight, his movements changing frame by frame like a stop-motion animation. He moved closer and reached out to push her shoulder.

The movements of Klein and Borgia in front of him became smooth again, and the frequency of the sounds in his ears returned to normal. He finally raised his arm forward after trying to straighten it.

It turns out that the one who was affected just now was not Borgia, but myself!

Angel's mind, which had become sharp again, finally responded.

This is the terrifying effect of "2-049"!

Just now, when she saw the female Night Watchman Lolota and Captain Dunn being hit one after another, the slowing down of their movements like broken robots only made her feel a little funny. But when this scene happened to her, the feeling that her movements and thoughts became slow in an instant was simply too terrifying.

Angel couldn't imagine how long that state would last if no one woke him up. Would it get worse, causing all movements and thoughts to completely stop, and eventually turning him into a sculpture?

Thinking of this, she felt the clothes on her back were soaked with cold sweat.