The long dusk has ended, and night has fallen.

The electric lights were lit to dispel the darkness in the room, and Taran El stood in front of the window, frowning and staring out the alleys - the glow of the gas lamps illuminated the streets, and the occasional night guard with his guard dog appeared near the junction, but beyond that, the whole city seemed to die in the night, empty and silent.

It didn't take long for him to withdraw his gaze from the window, look at the stacks of materials and books on his desk, and sigh imperceptibly.

He had put all these things in order before the sun went down, and it was time to pack them up and send them to the college library, where there was a new office, blessed by the god of wisdom and blessed with many divine blessings, where he could safely study and read.

But the number of scholars who qualify for a "safe house" in the college's library is destined to be only a minority, and for the vast majority of people, when the sun goes down, "reading" becomes a taboo, and for safety reasons, all books must be sealed for the duration of this night until the next sunrise – which is also part of the "night ban" just issued by the government department.

At the same time, the teaching activities in the schools must also be halted - the young students do not have the strength and experience to deal with the monsters that chase from the spirit world and the deep sea, which is too dangerous.

Of course, there are those who think that the situation in Lighthaven is not so bad, because the glowing geometry next to the city-state has a sun-like power, and within its "sunlight" coverage, people may still be able to live and conduct research in a normal way - but this is only a conjecture after all, and people have never tested the power of the luminous geometry in such a long night, and it is impossible to determine the limit of its protection, so naturally it is impossible to risk it.

As far as Taran El knows, a group of scholars have been testing this near the luminous geometry, fully armed and protected by equally heavily armed guardians, who will try to "read at night" at different times and in different locations to see how well the "sunlight" is protected.

But even Taran El didn't know how long the test would last or how many times it would need to be verified.

The door opened, and the young apprentice Joshua walked into the room, he pushed a small cart, and was a little stunned when he saw the teacher: "...... You haven't been to the Big Library yet? ”

"I'll go with the next group," Taran El said casually, gesturing to the things on the table, "The things are sorted out, just take these things from the table and leave the rest here...... I came back after dawn. ”

"Okay, teacher." Joshua honestly agreed, and began to silently bundle and pack the books and materials on the table and carry them to the small cart, he kept his head down the whole time, as if to avoid seeing the words on the materials, and as if to avoid seeing the teacher's eyes.

"Once you're done cleaning up this place, you can go home with the others," Taran said casually, looking at his young apprentice, "you're on vacation." ”

"Can I go to the Great Library with you?" Joshua hesitated for a moment, then looked up, "I...... There is also one paper that is not completed. ”

"Started to move up at this time?" Taran raised his eyebrows and said in a deliberately squeezing tone, "Don't you usually shout all day long about taking a vacation?" ”

Joshua pursed his lips, as if embarrassed: "I ......"

"Alright, joke," Taran laughed, shaking his head slightly, "Go home, don't think about your papers—those 'safe houses' in the Great Library aren't that safe either, and an experienced scholar like me knows how to do it carefully with the help of those safeguards, but not a young man like you...... Even if the safe house were to block the spirits, the whispers coming from the book would have left you delirious.

"Let's go on vacation, have a good rest, recharge our batteries, and we'll have long days after that...... You won't have such a comfortable vacation. ”

Listening to the teacher's words, Joshua just nodded slowly, and then he hesitated for a moment before he dared to ask, "Will it really be bright after that?" ”

“…… Yes," Taran said with a serious expression as he looked into his apprentice's eyes, "remember?" You and I worked out how fast the sun would set, and it fell below sea level on time as we calculated it would be—and it would rise as we calculated it would be, but it would take a little time. ”

The tense expression on the young man's face seemed to have finally relaxed a little, and he silently packed up the rest of his things, said goodbye respectfully to the teacher, and then pushed the cart out of the room.

Taran El looked at Joshua's back as he left, and after a while, he suddenly turned to the window and said, "How long are you going to be over there?" ”

The air near the window suddenly distorted slightly, and the figure of Ted Lille, the keeper of truth, appeared out of thin air: "I just don't want to disturb your communication with my apprentice." ”

“…… Do you dare to rush with a 'miracle'? Taran glanced at the Truth Keeper, "Forgot about the last subspace butterfly swim?" ”

Ted's expression suddenly distorted, and then he pressed the tremor at the corner of his eyes: "Naturally, I confirmed that it was safe...... Do you have such a big grudge? ”

Taran didn't speak, just silently gestured with a middle finger.

The corners of Ted's mouth twitched, then turned into a wry smile.

"Shouldn't you take your guardians to protect the city at night?" Taran casually asked, "Why do you still have time to join in the fun with me?" ”

"I finally don't have to deal with those rookies who put together assault papers, and I'm in a good mood right now, so I'm going to talk to you about it—is that a reason?"

Taran didn't speak, just silently looked at the Truth Keeper in front of him.

“…… Well, I'm here to personally escort the second group of scholars, including you, to the Great Library," Ted shrugged, "There's a squadron of knowledge guards standing by downstairs, and when the others are ready, you'll come with me." ”

"As for this? Escorted by the Truth Keeper in person? Taran frowned, "It's only a ten-minute drive from here to the big library, and I'll ......drive there myself."

"The city-state of Moko, two scholars vanished into thin air on their way to the library for refuge - the night swallowed them," Ted interrupted, the secret keeper's expression becoming more serious, "The night has become more dangerous than we realize, and the 'knowledge' in your head ...... It's very sweet to 'them'. ”

Taran El was stunned, and silently turned and walked to the low cabinet beside him.

"What are you going to do?" Ted asked curiously.

"Bring my revolver, as well as a dagger and amulet for self-defense."

……

The sound of the pages turning echoed in the room, and Morris scribbled through a thick notebook as he looked at the notes he had written before, pausing to think and adjust his train of thought.

His large notebook is filled with dense text records and abstract symbols, and there are many dazzling schematic diagrams, outlining the appearance of the world.

He is completing one of his most important studies – trying to construct a "model" that can explain the entire world, from the beginning of the Great Annihilation, to the beginning of the deep-sea age, to the current state of this "shelter" and its possible future.

The study had been a long time underway, and it wasn't until the world came to an end that he saw how it could be done.

Not far from Morris's desk sat Shirley, who was dozing off, and Dog, who was intently looking through the materials.

After a while, a low, faint murmur suddenly appeared in Maurice's ears.

And with the sound of this murmur, a cold air flow suddenly filled the entire cabin! The room seemed to suddenly turn into an ice cave, and the chill condensed on the roof like a substance, turning into a white mist that drooped downward, and an invisible shadow gradually seeped out of the white mist, poking out a tentacle in the direction of Morris......

Morris didn't raise his head, and while continuing to write in his notebook, he said casually, "Knock it down." ”

Before he could finish speaking, the dog on his side suddenly turned into a whirlwind of broken bones and pitch-black smoke and dust—bone fragments and black mist whistling across the roof, and in the blink of an eye, they ate away the twisted thing that chased knowledge.

In the next second, Ah Gou's figure returned to its original state and fell back to the floor.

Shirley suddenly woke up: "Ah...... Yes?! What happened?! ”

"Another shadow chasing knowledge," Dog muttered casually, turning his head to look at Shirley, "...... Go on sleeping, not for you. ”

Shirley thought for a moment and nodded, "Oh. ”

She simply crawled next to Ah Gou, leaned on Ah Gou and half lay down, and the next second she let out a thin snoring sound.

Morris stopped what he was doing, looked up at Shirley helplessly, sighed, and then lowered his head again, solemnly leaving the last footnote on the page.

And at the moment when he wrote down the last letter, an unfamiliar voice suddenly came into his ears-

"Research Excellence...... You have wandered before the last gate of truth. ”

Morris was startled for a moment, and jerked his head in the direction where the voice came from.

A figure in a shabby white robe sat quietly next to him, smiling gently, looking at the notes and materials spread out on the table.

The muscles of his body tensed in an instant, and Morris reached for the revolver under the desk in the blink of an eye, and the dog on the side also reacted immediately and got up instantly-Shirley fell to the ground with a thud, and then saw the uninvited guest who appeared in the room, and immediately widened her eyes, and a bone spur popped out from behind her like an arrow, as if she was about to stab the figure of the uninvited guest in the next second-

However, the figure in the shabby white robe sat there silently, as if unaware of the sudden vigilance and hostility rising around him, still immersed in Maurice's manuscript.

After two or three seconds, he slowly raised his head with a gentle smile on his face: "I'm going to talk to your captain." ”

(End of chapter)