The sky is gray.
The earth was cracked and looked a scorched black color.
Everywhere you look, there are ruins, and most of them are the skeletons of humans and beasts.
Layers upon layers, densely packed.
He felt that if there really was a hell, it would be like this.
He stood in this desolate, doomsday-like world and looked into the distance. He could vaguely see a tall shadow on the horizon.
It looks like a tree.
A big tree.
Its roots and veins are spread all over the world, and the dark clouds in the sky are its crown.
As black as ink, it dances in the wind.
The branches were swaying, making a humming sound.
It's like singing a hymn to the coming of destruction.
……
……
"Ok!"
Hitzfeld suddenly sat up from the bed, his face pale and breathing in big gulps of air.
She had no idea what was going on.
Today is Friday.
Although she had decided on a whim to give up "a restful sleep" just in case, and had dressed herself well before going to bed, she... really had no intention of coming to the Dream Ruins.
But she did fall in.
Not only did he fall in, but he also had a nightmare...which could be described as extremely weird and terrifying.
"No… this is not a dream."
She calmed down and shook her head to reject the idea.
So true.
Many things seem to be immersive. Rather than a nightmare, it is more like the reappearance of some real scene in a dream.
She immediately threw off the quilt and jumped out of bed, running out wearing the black skirt and long boots she had prepared in advance, unlocked the door, went to the second floor, and kicked open Darent's door.
"Maps! Wake up!"
"Hmm..." Darent was still sleeping, and asked her dazedly: "Do you know what time it is now..."
"Stop talking nonsense! Tell me how to contact Annual Ring!"
"Hmm?" Darent was now completely awake.
"What do you want to do?"
"Tell her a terrible dream."
Chapter 1 Transfer
After waking up, Hitzfeld could never fall asleep again.
She did not read a book or take a nap. She just sat upright in the rattan chair, her arms resting on the armrests, her one eye tightly closed, constantly trying to catch clues from the void.
"Greed will burn my brain..."
"Goddess, I really like her so much..."
"I curse those monsters, and curse them to suffer eternal pain in hell..."
There had always been faint whispers in the void, and this had not changed even though her physical and mental health had improved.
It stands to reason that if a person is accompanied by these whispers most of the time, he will go crazy after a long time, but Hitzfeld has never had any problems. She has even "evolved" an instinct to subconsciously block them when it is not necessary.
The specific principle is probably not much different from "people living in downtown areas can block out the noise and fall asleep". Although Darent expressed fear and shock after asking her about this situation many times, and thought that she was a lunatic and a monster to be able to do it, Hitzfeld felt that he was still normal.
It felt normal. In fact, she knew that the reason why she had such mental resistance was probably related to her left eye.
After persisting like this for an unknown amount of time, she felt something piercing into the darkness.
It's light.
When she opened her eyes, the room was already filled with orange light. Maps-Dalent stood at the door and said to her, "Pack your things. Someone will be here to pick us up soon."
"Have you communicated with the tree rings?"
"Yes."
"That's what she said."
"She acted very serious... I didn't quite understand, but this is not something a Level 6 agent like me should worry about. I just did what she said."
"It's only been four and a half hours since I called you to get up." Hitzfeld glanced at the clock. "You're a little too efficient."
"Roots." Darent raised a finger. "Plant life has a more favorable way of exchanging information than flesh and blood. It's been almost a year since the incident in this house. You don't think there are no people of ours around, do you?"
"To be frank," he shrugged. "With this year, I can slowly lay the roots one by one, and I can spread the communication line from Wayne to here."
"Sometimes I'm really curious..." Hitzfeld frowned at him, "I always thought that only half of you belonged to them, and the other half belonged to us... So how can I tell you apart?"
"A wooden man is one type, a puppet is another type, and I am the third type." Darent flicked his collar with his index finger raised, looking very proud.
"The miracle of life is not so easy to replicate."
"Go get Ashley." Hitzfeld waved at him, "I'll pack my things."
"You'd better hurry." Darent also glanced at the clock. "From what she said, those people were already on their way. The original plan was to arrive tomorrow morning... Maybe they could even have a meal here, and then happily take us back, but now..."
"She originally wanted to take us away?" Hitzfeld paused.
"To take you away," Darent corrected her.
"Why? And you didn't even inform me in advance."
"This was Asfen's idea, because your performance in recent times has been too eye-catching. Ordinary people have rarely heard of your name, but according to our internal assessment, there are definitely many people who want to get rid of you."
"What it means is that I'm on some kind of list, and I'm ranked very high." Hitzfeld finally understood.
Originally, she thought that it would not happen - she thought that the Eclipse Church did not care about Green Town or Old Baal, the hidden fire dragon, otherwise they would not have sent someone to plot this.
But now it seems to be another situation. That is, they may not care, but just hearing their own names frequently makes them very annoyed. And for a group composed of lunatics and evildoers, killing people really does not need more reasons.
"It looks like the situation is tense." She smelled blood.
Something bad must have happened during that time, the half month she spent in Green Town.
Otherwise, the library would never be so cautious as to not even tell the target itself about the transfer plan.
She didn't ask any more questions because she knew it was pointless to ask more now.
After sending Darent away, he began packing all the things he needed for daily life into boxes.
This time, the situation was different. She didn't bring too many books. Apart from the two books she was reading, she didn't bring any extra books.
The enemy's core target is people, not books. As long as she leaves, both the library and Shadow Lion will have enough manpower to help her move the books to Wayne.
Then came perfume and clothes.
Look at the pillowcases and quilt covers you are used to.
It only took half an hour to pack everything, thanks to her daily sense of crisis. The old suitcase and the newly bought black leather suitcase were always kept half full.
With her current recovered physical strength, dragging the first box downstairs was not difficult at all.
But two of them were life-threatening, so she had to climb down step by step. Even so, she was exhausted.
"Why didn't Heath call me?"
Just as she was gasping for breath, a strong arm reached out from the side and snatched the largest box from her hand as if it were a pillow.
"Ashley..." the girl breathed, and seeing that Ashley was only in her pajamas, she helped her carry both boxes downstairs.
It's rare that she doesn't get mad when she wakes up.
After a few months in civilized society, Ashley gradually showed signs of assimilation. Her native accent was improved a lot, and she understood most of the common sense of life, but she also picked up a lot of bad habits of civilized society.
For example, staying in bed.
What do children know? They don't have the awareness of adults to be prepared for danger. A mattress supported by springs is much more comfortable than a stone bed. She was easily captured.
It’s always a big job to wake Ashley up, but this time she was so well behaved.
"What kind of magic did you use on her?"
Turning to question Darent.
"Tell her someone is coming to kill you, and if you don't get up and run you'll be dead."
Darent responded with a smile that could have been in a toothpaste commercial.
Hitzfeld wanted to hit him.
She knew that the changes in Crystal Sea had always been a thorn in Ashley's heart.
In the past, she didn't act that sad, not because she really wasn't sad, but because she didn't know how sad she should be.
But now that I have learned so much common sense, the situation is definitely different from what it was before.
"Ashley!"
Without bothering to scold the hateful person, Hitzfeld quickly caught up with the strong girl and grabbed her hand.
"Don't worry, Ashley."
"We are not that weak... After all, this is a city, with the protection of the cult and the army... There will definitely be no accidents."
"Heath..."
Ashley held the box in both hands, her back facing her, and her whole shoulders were shaking.
"When I go to school, they ask me why I don't have a mother..."
So that's why she doesn't like school and is always making trouble.
Hitzfeld frowned deeply.
She admitted that this was a serious negligence on her part...after all, she had never been a parent and there were many things she had to learn all over again.
"I don't want to lose Heath again."
When she turned around, Ashley's face was distorted, with tears and snot hanging everywhere.
"I want to protect Heath!"
"Okay... I'll wait for your protection..."
Hitzfeld stood on two steps, keeping his eyes level with Ashley, and gave the girl a tight hug while comforting her.
The intention was undoubtedly conveyed along with the strength, so she quickly received a response - Ashley almost broke her ribs.
And I have to pretend that nothing is wrong.
And you have to keep smiling in front of girls.
"You are quite good at comforting people."
Darent watched from upstairs, rubbing his chin.
"No wonder he can be friends with that crazy woman."
"Well."
“This should also be a kind of talent…”
The last episode is over.
They packed up all their luggage and went down to the living room to wait.
Five fifty-six.
Five fifty-seven.
