"The parasitic tower is about to change? What do you mean? Like your own shadow, uncontrolled? The energy emitted by the parasitic tower has changed from lilac to red, is it considered an anomaly? If you calculate, the time displayed in Chinese characters in the dream is a few minutes earlier than the actual change, is your dream predictive of the future? ”

Recalling the little boy he met in front of the Lille City Lecture Hall during the day, Munch subconsciously covered his chest, and the heart in his chest was beating rhythmically. The image of the water droplet car crashing into the image wall out of control resurfaced in Munch's mind, and his thoughts flew with the ethereal air.

"If I'm really parasitized by free obsidian, what kind of abilities do I get? Seeing the future by dreaming? Well, it must be like that, otherwise why do I always have strange elements in my dreams? Maybe TS-010628 has the ultimate secret in the file for me to grasp my abilities. As long as I find the file, I can manipulate the time at will? Freedom to travel between the past and the future? Wouldn't I, am I so strong? ”

"Xiao Hei should be a messenger who specializes in traveling back from the future to protect me! Definitely! I haven't figured out his instructions yet, though. ”

Munch's eyes were hollow, immersed in a rambling conjecture. Bane watched from the sidelines, scratching his thighs with his paws, leaving a few red marks.

"Bobo, hurry up and do a scan of my body, especially the heart area, to see if there is anything abnormal."

The scanners in the chamber do not have the ability to accurately detect the biological data, and can only roughly derive some basic data. A few minutes later, a simple mannequin was built. Bobo carefully examined all the data and concluded that everything was fine except for the rapid beating of the heart and the slightly thicker walls of the ventricles.

"I'm not sure about what I just said. You can try to increase the amount of time you spend exercising, and you may want to walk because you've been spending too much time on a water drop bike lately. Of course, you know, the equipment you have retrieved is limited in performance, and if you want to detect it more accurately, I suggest you wait a little longer, and it won't be long before you can participate in Arif's experiment, and I believe that he can study your whole body thoroughly. ”

Bobo was already smiling, and the screen showed restrained fluctuation lines.

"And what about my ability to manipulate time?" Munch was a little disappointed, and told all the nonsense just now.

"Shouldn't it? The monitoring data shows that your body temperature is normal and you do not have a fever. Could it be a mental decline caused by lack of sleep? How did you start talking nonsense. ”

After saying that, Bobo laughed, and conjured into the appearance of a clown in front of the screen, in the direction of Munch, whistling and horning, and many colorful ribbons fell around the mannequin.

Munch was also amused by his naïve fantasies, and immediately dragged the framed photo of the dream to himself.

"So what do you think is going on? Didn't my dreams predict what would happen? ”

"Perhaps, as Dr. Moses Taylor said, there is an unrecognizable source of information in your head, like the unknown overclocked radio waves of a mysterious radio station."

"Dr. Taylor? How do you know she said that? ”

"It's not difficult to access your medical records. What is certain is that someone is sending you a message, whether it's a fairy tale on the radio or a text from a dream. At present, it seems that these behaviors are all beneficial to you, and I may be the only one who protects you at all times in this world. ”

The tone in which Bobo said the last sentence was not quite like an artificial intelligence program, the kind of heartfelt concern that Munch had only experienced by Ovid's side, which made him feel so moved that he couldn't speak.

It was already 3:20 a.m.

The brief hustle and bustle of the city caused by the earthquake has gradually calmed down. Looking at the suspended bed that had fallen apart, Munch lay down with difficulty, twisted his body, and tried to find a relatively comfortable position, Bane also yawned, walked to Munch's arms, and fell asleep.

Munch kept repeating a question in his head: Who would be the person who would protect me at all times in this plane?

In front of the memorial monument, Anthony's face, which was forever in darkness, appeared vaguely in front of him.

Is it really him?

……

It was close to noon when Munch woke up, cleaned up briefly, and went out with Bane.

Munch decided to go to the city of Dent, where the Demican Sea is located, and although he didn't know how to get the obsidian shards yet, it was always the right choice to get closer to his destination first. Because he didn't know how long the trip would take, Munch had no choice but to foster Bane with Ovid.

On both sides of the street, on the screens of commercial buildings, advertisements for the new 5.0 series of products are still overwhelming. There is no news of last night's earthquake, no news that the energy of the parasitic tower has turned red, and even the serial disappearances that were very hot a few days ago are gone.

On the curtain wall of the corner building, a huge poster of the "Superspecies Evolution Project" hangs, and a digital scrolling screen at the bottom shows that 3,000 physical volunteers are still needed.

Over the streets, more patrol aircraft were added than before, and the patrol area crossed all the neighborhoods.

Munch looked around and felt something unusual, and it wasn't until Bane yelled at the craft that he finally understood what the cause of the anomaly was.

Quiet, quiet without the vitality of life.

Except for the advertisement screens played according to the established program, and the faint roar of patrol aircraft, there is no sound in the whole street, especially the sound of no one, as if entering a silent movie world.

Walking through an intersection, Munch is on the left hand side of the No. 0217 material distribution point, and the long line of queues has already turned back and forth on the field.

The Supplies Distribution Committee's listening drone was replaced by a patrol aircraft, which was now using a majestic voice to loop the forbidden word update to the people in line: "Earthquake, parasitic tower, red, and any other association that can cause the above words are listed as prohibited words, please residents, speak with caution." ”

The consequence of speaking cautiously is silence.

The city has entered a short period of silence, and after a major incident has occurred, there is such a stage, which is an effective way to prevent public opinion from fermenting in an uncontrollable direction. The duration varies depending on the situation, but it is usually only three to five days, after which the city will return to its thriving scene.

Because Bobo suggested that Munced exercise and reduce the proportion of water drop carts, there was an option to walk to the "Volcanic Rock Harbor" today. As a result, I didn't expect to walk directly into a pool of silent backwater.

……

After an hour and a half of walking, a baroque triumphal arch finally appears in the complex of buildings next to the street.

This miniature version of the Arc de Triomphe, although less than ten meters high, has good design proportions that make it look very harmonious. In the middle is a two-storey arched door, and on the stone walls on both sides, there are exquisite reliefs, with a group of demons on the left and an angel group on the right.

The words Volcanic Rock Harbor resemble a bridge that connects the stone walls on both sides.

Passing through the arched space of the Arc de Triomphe, Munch pushed open an old wooden door, and Bane rushed in with lightning speed, apparently missing Ovid he hadn't seen for a long time.

Before he could say his opening remarks, Munch saw two people sitting across from each other at a long bronze table in the hall surrounded by bookshelves, chatting happily. One is Ovid Bryan, and the other is Calvin Young.

Why is it him again? This haunting fellow!

Bane jumped on the long table excitedly, and Ovid was surprised when he saw Bane, and then immediately looked in the direction of the door.

Seeing the familiar figure at the door, he quickly stood up and greeted Munch. Monk also withdrew his gaze from Calvin, opened his arms, and embraced Ovid into his arms, his shoulders still broad, but his cheeks looked a little thinner.

"Old Ao, last night's earthquake didn't have any effect, right?" Munch doesn't like to define Ovid's identity, although he regards him as a father in his heart, he never calls him that title, and always calls him Lao Ao in a clever way, which seems to be kind and comfortable.

"Fortunately, because the building is not high, and a large number of stone materials are used, except for the books scattered all over the place, there is no other big impact. By the way, I haven't introduced you yet, but it was with his help this morning that most of the bookshelves were quickly put in order, and now there is only a little left. ”

At the back of the hall, there were still about sixty or seventy books piled up on the floor, with pages turned up and stacked on top of each other.

Ovid led Munch to the long table, and Calvin was putting his hand around Bane's neck, who looked enjoying himself.

"Needless introduction, we're old friends, right, Munch." Calvin smiled at the corner of his mouth and handed his hand to Munch.

"Yes, Officer Calvin." Under Ovid's gaze, Munch politely replied and shook Calvin's palm perfunctorily.

"Oh? Are you friends? That's great! Then you sit down and talk for a while, and I'll go and finish sorting out the rest of the books. Let's go, Bane, and stay with me for a while, old man? Bane ran to the stack of books and sat upright.

Munch and Calvin tried to help, but Ovid refused, saying that the rest of the books were his treasures and that he had to do it himself, so they stopped insisting.

It was the first time they had sat down face-to-face since they had last met in St. Mary's Cathedral, and even in the interrogation room of the City Security Bureau, they were forcibly separated.

"Not anymore." Calvin's voice became faint.

"What's not?"

"It's not the police anymore. Because of that, I was forcibly suspended. From the moment he saw Munch, Calvin kept his emotions in check. Just because he wanted to prove his ability to others, because he wanted to solve the serial disappearance case alone, and because of Munch's suspicions, he fell into it step by step and came to the point where he is today.

Munch remembered the rumors that had gone viral the other day, Downey's bullets, the ghost of the rich and the place that had been replaced on the monument. I didn't know what to say for a while, I sat there silently, and finally squeezed out a sentence: "If you want someone to talk to, I have some time now." ”

Perhaps the emotional card is played to ensure that evidence of illegal body modification does not flow into the City Security Bureau; Perhaps the experience of the past few days made him feel a magical connection with Calvin. Munch didn't know why he said such a thing, and an inexplicable emotion made him blurt out.

Emotions surged instantly, and Calvin poured out the cause and effect of the incident, as well as the resentment accumulated in the room after the suspension, towards Munch, without reservation.

Last night, when his photograph coincided with Munch's, he believed that his fate was inextricably linked to Munch. No matter where fate leads him, he will never move forward, after all, he has nothing to lose now.

Looking at the chattering man in front of him, Munch interrupted him and said, "I'm going to the Demican Sea, together?" ”