Volume 1 Crime and Punishment in Fog City Chapter 23: Dream within a dream
"...My lord, my lord?"
"Um……?"
"You fell asleep at your desk..."
“……???”
Having just woken up from the dizziness caused by his nerves, Li Lin shook his head and squinted at the scene in front of him.
The interaction of the neural network quickly separated the overlapping images, and what appeared in Li Lin's retina was the slightly worried face of the little girl. The little face was full of anxiety, as if she was afraid that the only elder would also leave.
But it was true. After all, all her family members were dead. If the only elder who was kind to her suddenly disappeared or died, the little girl would have a mental breakdown. But judging from the situation now, it was not a direct disappearance or any special condition. It was just like losing consciousness.
It turns out that the symptoms of going offline are fainting or sleeping... That's quite detailed.
Subconsciously pinching the girl's cheek, feeling the touch that was exactly the same as real life, Li Lin put a smile on his face again.
"Okay, let's go. I promised to take you out to play. But you have to come with me to hand over the mission first. After the mission is completed, we can go out to play, okay? Then I'll treat you to something delicious that you have never eaten in your life."
"Eh? No, if you have any questions, Master Li Lin, forget it."
The girl shook her head honestly.
"If you have a problem, you should rest at home. I am not the kind of person who doesn't know what is important and what is not."
"I've already said it's fine. I just felt a little sleepy and took a nap. Would your Lord Li Lin lie to you? Your Lord Li Lin would never do such a thing as slacking off."
"oh……"
Looking at Li Lin who looked confident, the little girl nodded vaguely.
Although it was called going out to play, in reality, given the poor resources in the dungeon, it was just a stroll along the main road. This in itself was the highest meaning of going out to play.
Li Lin didn't show any reaction, but the little girl became much more lively. A lively smile gradually appeared on her stiff little face. She stepped on the iron railing to maintain her balance, and from time to time she took out a candy ball from her arms and put it in her mouth - it seemed that she had saved the candy balls for several days just for today, and she looked particularly lively and full of energy.
"Lord Li Lin."
"Um?"
Li Lin casually placed a bottle of acid next to the iron pillar and responded without even raising his head.
"You know what? My father often said that the city itself is actually a huge living organism, a cavity that nurtures human beings. It absorbs nutrients from the outside world and travels through the blood vessels composed of roads. And we are the microorganisms living in this city, providing various foundations for this huge life."
"Is that guy still a philosopher?"
"Yes, my father did say that. He said that if he could walk on the ground one day, he would study the relationship between nature and humans."
Walking in front, the little girl opened her arms to maintain balance and said slowly:
"I think Dad must be a remarkable man."
"Ah, he is indeed a remarkable man."
Maybe.
Li Lin had no memory of the unlucky guy who was killed by him, so he could only nod and respond to the little girl's words.
"But Lord Li Lin must be a very good friend of my father, right? Otherwise he wouldn't be so kind to someone like me. Others say I'm a cursed child because I'm the only one who looks like a human on earth, and I'm ugly. But on days like this, only my father and mother say I'm pretty. And now Lord Li Lin, you're the third person to say I'm pretty. I'm very grateful to you."
"No, you are indeed very pretty. Do you want some candy?"
"I've already told you, sir, you're really...Okay, this is the gathering place. Sir Li Lin, please don't talk nonsense in here, okay? The leader will be angry."
The small figure turned into a remote corner, and the girl turned around and looked at Li Lin with a slightly shy smile.
"Is this the place?"
Li Lin raised his eyebrows at the hidden path.
"Just wait outside for me to come out, don't go in."
"Eh? I also want to say hello to Uncle Raymond...Okay."
The little girl tilted her head in confusion as she looked at the low buildings, but still followed Li Lin's advice.
Motioning to the little girl to wait for him outside, Li Lin straightened his clothes and stepped into the gap that seemed more hidden.
After just a few steps in the shadows, the originally slender figure suddenly became blurred, as if disturbed by something and surrounded by a layer of dark mist. The mist quickly dissipated and turned into a ball of mist.
A guard standing inside the building and guarding the passageway looked at the unconscious figure walking in the shadows with a look of astonishment. In his eyes, the originally clear and bright halls and corridors seemed to be shrouded in a hazy mist. He only heard a voice that was completely indistinguishable from male or female, as if commenting on something, and said to the entire building lightly:
"This is the core area of Tianqiu City... Oh... It doesn't look that great."
"Hello!"
Looking at the inexplicable and strange figure, the guard subconsciously shook his head and stretched out his hand to call him.
"Where are you from? What do you want to do--"? !
But before the guard could grab the intruder, the figure stretched out a black hand like a ghost and pressed it on the guard's head. With a little force, there was a muffled "bang" sound, and the gushing steam instantly blew the man's head into a ball of pink mist.
"Then, let me see where I should go. It's difficult to kill everyone in this duplex without a map. My listening and supernatural identification skills are probably not up to par, right? It would be great if I could ask someone for directions... But there's nothing I can do about it. This is a secret passage after all, and if I just ask anyone, I'll definitely fall into a trap."
As if he didn't notice at all that he had killed someone, Li Lin reached out and tugged at the respirator on his chest, and a gentle smile appeared on the face behind the mask.
"My little cutie is still waiting for me outside, so I need to hurry up."
The game begins.
Without even looking at the headless corpse twitching on the ground, Li Lin took out a slightly strange remote control from his arms and pressed a button slightly.
Walking on the street , passing by the roof, the workers who were transporting goods heard the muffled sound of glass bottles exploding from the inside almost at the same time. The ominous sound of corrosion began to spread slowly. But in front of the roaring streets, such a slight sound was so inconspicuous and unnoticeable.
"The countdown has begun..."
Let’s see what good things the blood sacrifice ceremony can give.
The Steam Holy Sword should be much better than that two-handed sword, right? After all, it is a holy object.
Li Lin's mind moved slightly, and the bronze long sword, like a living thing, slowly wrapped around his arm from his waist, turning into a sharp double-edged sword like a flesh body. A brilliant red light shone in the black shadow.
As if sensing that the guard had been killed, the entire building suddenly sounded an alarm a few seconds later, with countless piercing bells echoing in every corner. Dark red light gradually spread in the corners, and all normal lighting was canceled, turning into a series of interlaced black and red rotating light sources.
"So... where are the people who are still alive?"
Light and shadow intertwined, and amid the piercing alarm, red light was reflected in the black shadow's pupils, revealing a crescent-like smile.
