第一千五百二十六章 流行文化符号——“克苏鲁”

    随着克希拉的消失，全世界电子设备屏幕上的绿色信号相继消失。

    远在日本的芝滨体育场。

    当体育场上方中央大屏的绿色逐渐消退，人们瞳孔中的绿色随之消失。

    观众席上的人纷纷从僵硬的姿势中恢复...

    SportsStadiuminShibuya,Japan.Thegreenglowthathadbeenpulsingacrossthescreenbegantofade,leavingbehindadull,lifelesshue.Theaudience,sensingsomethingwasamiss,slowlyrelaxedfromtheirrigidposes,theireyesdartingtowardsthescreenwithamixofconfusionandconcern.

    Asthelastremnantsofthegreenlightdisappeared,thestadiumfellintoaneeriesilence.Theonlysoundwasthesofthumoftheprojector,stillcastinganetherealglowoverthecrowd.Itwasasiftheveryfabricofrealityhadbeenmomentarilyaltered,leavingeveryonefeelingdisorientedandoutofplace.

    Moriarty,whohadbeenobservingthescenefromadistance,couldn‘thelpbutfeelasenseofsatisfaction.Hisplan,thoughnotdirectlyintendedtoharm,hadcertainlydisruptedtheworldinawaythatnoonecouldhavepredicted.Thegreenglow,whichhadoncesymbolizedhopeandunity,wasnownothingmorethanadistantmemory.

    Butashegazedoutattheseaofconfusedfaces,Moriartycouldn‘tshakeoffthefeelingthatsomethingwasoff.Itwasn‘tjustthephysicalabsenceofthegreenlightthatunsettledhim;itwasthesenseofuneasethatlingeredintheair,likeafaintwhisperthatrefusedtobesilenced.

    Asthesecondstickedby,thesilencebegantobreak.murmursandwhispersspreadthroughthecrowd,aspeoplestruggledtomakesenseofwhathadjusthappened.Somewerequicktoattributeittosomekindoftechnicalglitch,whileothersspeculatedaboutmoresinisterexplanations.

    Lestrade,whohadbeenwatchingfromasecuredistance,wasoneofthefirsttopiecetogethertheeventsthathadtranspired.Hequicklysentamessagetohisteam,alertingthemtothepotentialimplicationsofMoriarty‘sactions.

    “ItappearsthatMoriartyhastriggeredsomekindofglobalphenomenon,“Lestradetypedout.“Thedisappearanceofthegreenlightisnotjustatechnicalissue;it‘sasignofsomethingmuchlargeratplay.“

    Asthenewsspread,panicbegantosetin.Governmentsandinstitutionsscrambledtorespondtothesituation,sendingteamsofexpertstoinvestigatethecauseofthephenomenon.

    ButMoriartywasalreadyonestepahead.Hehadbeenanticipatingthisreactionallalong,knowingthathisactionswouldsendshockwavesaroundtheworld.Andnow,withthegreenglowgone,hefeltasenseofliberationwashoverhim.

    Thegame,astheysay,wasfarfromover.

    Withthegreenlightgone,Moriarty‘splanwassetinmotion.Hehadcreatedaworldwhererealityitselfwasupforgrabs,wherethelinesbetweentruthanddeceptionwereblurredbeyondrecognition.

    Andastheworldstruggledtetotermswithwhathadhappened,Moriartysatinhisdarkenedlair,acoldsmilespreadingacrosshisface.Thegamewason,andhewasreadytoplay.