Chapter 321 - 321 178

Words : 1380 Updated : Oct 5th, 2025

321: 178. Anna had a dream 321: 178. Anna had a dream Lu Li opened the window, letting in the cold wind from the rainy night and with it, a creature of darkness. A black crow hopped onto the desk, bowing its head to straighten its water-droplet-covered feathers. An envelope was tied to its leg. Lu Li took out the slip of paper from the envelope without looking at it immediately, instead breaking off a small piece of bread from his travel bag and placing it in front of the desk. Then, he unfolded the rolled-up note. [New Incident in the Himfast Region: Cries for Help in the Alley] [Difficulty: None] [Information Level: 10%] [Known Information] [5%: The target of the incident usually appears randomly in dark alleys with few pedestrians, asking passersby for help] [3%: Time does not affect the appearance of the target of the incident, whether it is day or night] [2%: The cries for help are in a woman’s voice] [Investigators in the vicinity are free to choose whether to explore the incident or to avoid it] The hint was delivered by a black crow. Lu Li wasn’t the only one who received it; other investigators in the Himfast Region did as well. This was the first time Lu Li had received such a regional broadcast. He read it several times until he memorized the format and then put it back in the envelope on the crow’s leg. “Leave after you finish eating,” Lu Li said to the crow, who had just straightened its feathers. It might have understood, or perhaps it intended to do so anyway, as it began pecking at the bread crumbs with swift motions until they were gone. Leaving behind crumbs scattered about, the crow hopped to the window sill, waiting for Lu Li to open the window. The crow spread its wings and flew away, while the wind that surged in scattered the crumbs left on the desk. After closing the window again, tranquility returned to the room, with only the gradually descending curtain speaking of what had happened. Just like Aunt Mary, beneath the bright electric light, Lu Li lit the oil lamp set aside on the desk as a backup. Since the catastrophe of the dark night, towns had made every effort to prevent power outages, but accidents sometimes happened, like broken light bulbs revealing faults. That’s why they encouraged having the electric lights on during the night while also lighting an oil lamp as a precaution. There was no clock in the room, but the alarm clock in Lu Li’s backpack showed that it was approaching eight o’clock. The distant tolling of bells reverberated in the night sky, emanating from the top of a lighthouse with nearly a hundred years of history, sounding eight times. Half an hour later, Anna came back. “Aunt Mary fell asleep,” she said. “You didn’t turn off the light for her before you left, did you?” An irritated hum from Anna: “I’m not a fool.” Her demeanor softened somewhat, perhaps because she was with Lu Li alone. Soon after, she sat down by the window and spoke in a melancholy tone, “Aunt Mary was my mother’s best friend; they grew up together and went to school together, just as close as Daisy and I are... I think she must have been very upset after my mother passed away.” Lu Li remained silent. Anna turned her head and asked, “Are you not going to rest? We’re returning tomorrow.” “I slept a lot during the day,” Lu Li replied. He found it difficult to sleep again now, even though his rest during the day hadn’t been peaceful. “Can I go sleep for a bit...” Anna’s tone became cautious and a bit embarrassed, “I just showed Aunt Mary a little of my ability, and it was kind of... an excessive drain.” “What did you do?” Squirming, Anna said, “I made Aunt Mary fly...” “Go rest,” he said. “Okay.” An obedient smile bloomed on Anna’s face as she pressed down her skirt and stretched out on the bed. “Goodnight, Lu Li,” she said. Lu Li began to flip through the “Investigator’s Weekly” he had read during the day. Receiving no response from Lu Li left Anna feeling somewhat dejected, and soon, as she began to rest, her ethereal form ceased to stir. Lu Li looked at the girl lying on the bed, silently observing her for a while before shifting his gaze away. He quickly read through the three newspapers again and put them away, as if he had nothing else to do and stared into the empty space of the room. He was never bored because phantom images would appear in the void around him from time to time, and whispers would occasionally reach his ears. ... Anna hadn’t dreamed for a long time. Since she had died. Rest was just a word to her, like an oil lamp needing kerosene added when it ran out of oil, or like storing more wood after burning up the last, needing rest, waking up after resting. She couldn’t experience a hint of the original meaning from this cold word; closing her eyes, then opening them, time passed, and she had no memory, as if the time meant for rest itself was missing. But today, during her rest, Anna realized she still had meaning. Around her was an unyielding darkness of the void. “An... An...” A faint calling echoed around the void. Anna couldn’t distinguish the owner of the voice; she didn’t even know if it was male or female, young or old. “An... na... Anna... Anna...” As time passed, the voice calling her became clearer. The voice is calling me. Anna thought, and since she felt no malice or omens, she listened quietly to the indistinct voice, trying to understand the purpose behind the call. Until a certain moment, the voice stuttered and slowly emitted another sound. “Sis... Sis...” The darkness within her meaning collapsed in an instant, and Anna awoke in a fright like a person troubled by a nightmare. A cold, aggressive aura swept around her, and in an instant, Anna, now fully awake, retracted all her presence. She sneaked a worried glance towards Lu Li behind the desk, whose figure was only looking back at her with an inquisitive gaze. “What’s wrong?” Feeling somewhat relieved, Anna showed an expression of recollection, “I... I just dreamed that my sister was calling out to me.” Lu Li knew that Anna couldn’t dream, so he asked, “That elm tree?” “Yes!” ... Bang— The saloon’s gate door opened, and a figure engulfed in the scent of alcohol stood on the cold street, looking back and waving to his companions in the saloon, “It’s getting late, if I don’t get back, the brown bear at home will shred me and my non-existent lover.” As his words fell, the saloon erupted into laughter and whistling, mixed with sarcasm directed at the figure. With an unconcerned smile, the figure walked home, carrying an oil lamp. Passing by a dark alley next to the saloon, he suddenly heard a woman’s plea for help from the alley, followed by fast-approaching footsteps. He stopped in his tracks, barely making out a silhouette running to the edge of the alley before being dragged back in, leaving only the sounds of struggle echoing in the night sky. He was cautious and smart. After a brief pause, without a second thought, he turned and walked back to the saloon to call his friends for help. But he didn’t know what he was dealing with. In the bustling bar, men laughed and drank together, and no one noticed one of the saloon gates being pushed open, only there was nothing behind it. Except for the oil lamp rolling down the steps. A voice barely emerged in the quiet darkness of the alley. “Why didn’t you save me?” “I wanted to go back and get others to help you! I did intend to save—” His voice disappeared with the abrupt crunching sound. For a long while, a low plaintive voice slowly emerged. “Why didn’t you save me...”

Chapter 321 - 321 178

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