Night Journey

Chapter 129 Sharing life and death
"That's all the information I learned from Chief Rolf about the Giant God Sleeping Lord and the Path of Destiny."

At the dimly lit bar, Cillian forked a chicken nugget, dipped it in ketchup, and mumbled something indistinctly.

Dailin sat beside him, dejected.

After saying goodbye to Rolf, Cillian rushed back to his apartment.

The outfit that Mefuni gave him was too formal, making Cillian tense up as well. After changing into his casual everyday clothes, Cillian felt much more relaxed.

After a short rest, he contacted Dai Lin, and the two arranged to meet here to exchange information.

"God..."

Dalin sighed and drank his wine in silence, while Cillian looked around.

There weren't many customers in the bar, only a handful of figures, most of whom were hidden in the dim light and their outlines were impossible to see.

At first, when Dalin suggested meeting here, Cillian was somewhat wary. The topic they were going to discuss was far too important and dangerous, and they should find a safe place to avoid being overheard.

But after Dailin's repeated assurances, they still came here.

Ink house.

Meifuni had briefly explained the operating model of the Ink House, and Cillian had accompanied her here countless times, but Cillian still felt a strange sense of unease about this place.

When asked why he trusted Mowu so much, Dai Lin gave this answer.

“Meifuni said that if you encounter danger, you can seek shelter at the Ink House.”

Dai Lin didn't know anything about the Ink House, but that didn't stop him from making things up in his head.

"With the city council's rejection, it is extremely difficult for the Lof family to do anything in Hel City. The Ink House may be the Lof family's secret property."

The more Dailin learned about the history of Hull, the more he felt that the Centipede Merchant Guild, represented by the Lof family, was more reliable than the city council.

"Looking at it this way, the invisible ones are really troublesome."

"Once we're captured by the power of Nirvana," Dai Lin said gravely. "we might not even know how we died."

"Don't put too much pressure on yourself. The truly powerful ones are the decadent ones."

Cillian comforted him, “They are desperate people who can easily abandon even their own selves. If the Unseen Ones were the Fallen, then the City Guard would have fallen long ago. Therefore, I deduce that the Unseen Ones are the Sober Ones.”

“The delusional sober ones usually dare not overuse the power of returning to stillness, as this would exacerbate their own descent into nothingness. This also explains why the invisible ones only intervene in the investigation to the minimum.”

Dai Lin gripped the wine glass tightly with both hands, the icy wine almost warming up from his body heat.

"You have a broad perspective, do you have any ideas?"

"Yes, there is, but the plan is very rough."

"Tell me about it."

Cillian finished the last chicken nugget and spoke.

"The invisible need a lot of things to anchor their existence, and extend their memory cycle through recording methods such as memory."

He pointed to Dalin's brain, "In other words, his memories are unreliable; what's reliable are the anchors. If conditions permit, we can try to corrupt the memories of the invisible ones."

"Um……"

Dai Lin began to think seriously, gently swirling his wine glass.

While Daelin was thinking, Cillian stirred the drink in his glass, and the various colored liquids mixed together, creating a subtle gradient.

"Martin, what's the name of this drink?"

Rather than a beverage, what was in the cup seemed more like some kind of strange potion, like something drunk during an ascension ceremony.

Hearing Cillian's call, bartender Martin came over.

According to Mae Fonnie, the bartender Martin is the owner of this ink shop. After meeting many times, the two became somewhat familiar with each other.

Martin was wearing a leather apron stained with wine, the sleeves rolled up to his forearms, revealing old, tangled scars on his forearms. He was using a corkscrew to pry open a bottle of bubbling amber liquid, his right hand gloved with a worn leather glove.

He glanced at it and gave a crisp, decisive answer.

"The Hull City-style special blend is a must-order for travelers."

"What a strange name?"

After much hesitation, Cillian took a sip through the straw.

It was sweet and refreshing at first, with a hint of orange flavor. From a taste perspective alone, the drink was acceptable. But then, Cillian's vision became blurry.

"Oh, damn it."

A blurry phantom of the city of Hel appeared before Ciri's eyes, and he could hear the rushing sound of a river, as if the entire city was slowly rising and crashing towards him.

Hallucinations and auditory hallucinations come suddenly and disappear in an instant.

Before Cirion could react, everything returned to normal.

Cillian froze for a few seconds, then shouted, "Martin, did you dilute hallucinogens with water?!"

"Haha, this isn't a hallucinogen."

Martin carefully wiped the glass, saying mysteriously, "This is a specialty of the Ink House. After a series of special blends, it is finally infused with source energy, giving it extraordinary properties so that customers can have a wonderful experience." Cillian looked at the drink suspiciously for a while, then cautiously pushed it away.

The Ink House is definitely not an ordinary club. It is suspected to have the support of the Love family behind it, and may also be hiding deeper secrets, but these are none of Cillian's business for the time being, and he can't be bothered to worry about them.

Just then, Dai Lin's thoughts came to a conclusion.

"The invisible entity is lurking within the City Guard Bureau, constantly monitoring our movements, while a large amount of information records provide it with anchor points."

In the entire city of Hel, there is only one place where the city guards are so transparent to him…

Cillian immediately thought of the place Daelin had pointed to.

The two said in unison.

"Level Three Archives!"

A hint of joy appeared in Dailin's eyes. After chasing the Unseen for so long, he finally saw the dawn of victory.

“We might be able to fabricate a false case, seal it in the third-level archives, and set a trap for the unseen.”

Dalin's voice became tense with excitement, "For example, we intercepted some important intelligence related to the Claws, or some kind of item, or even..."

"Calm down, Dalin."

Cillian was not blinded by joy, but calmly asked in return.

"When you were investigating the Invisible Ones before, you tried similar methods, didn't you? Deliberately throwing out false information, and whoever took the bait was the Invisible One."

After calming himself down, Dai Lin replied.

"Yes, but they all failed."

He then explained, "The City Guard Bureau often faces a lot of false intelligence. The previous failures were probably seen through at a glance."

Cillian nodded in affirmation.

"Besides, it would be too cheap to use such an important pawn as the Invisible One just because of some information. The only information he really cares about is the information that can be sealed in the Level 3 Archives."

He changed the subject and asked Dai Lin a question in return.

“However, the information that can be sealed in the Level 3 archives is all extremely important, even potentially affecting the situation in Hull City… Do you think you have the ability to fabricate a trap of this magnitude?”

Cillian then cautioned, “A completely fictitious trap won’t fool the Invisible Ones; we must mix in something real.”

"..."

Dai Lin lowered his eyes, his head throbbing with pain from deep thought.

He was just one step away from catching the Unseen One. If he could just take a few more steps forward, he could kill that bastard and wipe the blood debt clean.

“Dailin, I have an idea.”

Cillian took another sip of his drink, and this time the towering beacon of light came into view, its brilliant rays illuminating the earth.

After calming down for a moment, Cillian pushed the drink aside. Even though he was mentally prepared, he still found it hard to accept this weird thing.

"Remember that rumor from before? Everyone was curious about what exactly 'Blazing Sun' was."

Cillian stirred the drink in his glass, the color of which kept changing.

"Since everyone keeps guessing and thinking endlessly, but still can't determine the truth about 'Blazing Sun,' then why can't I be 'Blazing Sun'?"

When he talked about these things, Cillian's tone was extremely calm, as if he were talking about what to eat tomorrow and what to drink at noon.

Dai Lin was stunned and said in horror.

"Damn it, do you know how dangerous this is?"

“I know, but the Invisible Ones will never let this opportunity pass, and our trap only needs a tiny bit of truth.”

Cillian said calmly, "Use my story as a blueprint, make slight modifications, and present him with a carefully prepared trap."

"You...you didn't need to go to this extent."

Dalin tried to persuade Cillian, but he refused outright.

"No, that's not how it is, Dalyn."

Cillian shook his head vigorously. "You didn't have to do this. What motivated you to do all this? Was it resentment towards your deceased colleagues, or a sense of justice?"

At most, you're just a senior city garrison officer. Even if you die, the city garrison will only provide your body with a separate cold storage.

Cillian's tone turned stern. "I'm not like you. I bear a real, tangible blood debt!"

Dai Lin didn't know what to say, and the two sat silently at the bar, listening to the soothing and relaxing music.

Suddenly, Cillian put his hand on Daelin's shoulder.

"Now, we're really going to be together through thick and thin."

Dai Lin smiled with relief and raised his glass.

"Yes, we'll be together through thick and thin."

(End of this chapter)