Night Journey

Chapter 138 Convocation
Dismissed.

The night, like a slightly intoxicating intoxication, gradually spread and filled the sky.

Amidst laughter and cheerful conversation, everyone pushed open the door of the ink house and bid each other farewell.

That's all for today, see you next time, everyone!

Elton waved goodbye to everyone. After such an intense social interaction, it's unclear whether he's still closed off emotionally, but at least his behavior is no longer timid and hesitant.

"Good! Good!"

Wenxi waved excitedly, her cheeks flushed, clearly drunk again.

"Thank you all for your help."

Paul helped Wenxi up apologetically, wondering if he should urge her to quit drinking.

His gaze was both pitying and wary, as if afraid that Wenxi would vomit all over him again.

"Everyone had a great time, let's go together next time!"

Meifuni laughed.

She loves parties, loves it when everyone is gathered together in a lively atmosphere, and she's happy to participate even if it means telling corny jokes from dusk till dawn.

The group parted ways at the fork in the alley, their figures appearing long and short in the dim light of the newly lit streetlights, gradually disappearing into the hazy corner of the street.

In the end, only Cillian and a few others remained.

Elton was the first to say goodbye.

"I have to go now, I have a radio program to host tonight."

Without giving them a chance to stop him, he turned and disappeared into the streets.

Clearly, today's gathering has already worn down Elton's social energy, and continuing would be putting him in a difficult position.

Meifuni quietly approached and asked curiously, "What were you and Dalin doing when you were gone for so long?"

Cillian answered without hesitation.

"Discussing life and ideals, as well as love and peace."

"Huh? You!"

Meifuni looked incredulous. "If you're going to lie, at least try to put some effort into it."

Cillian smiled. "But I'm just telling the truth. Believe it or not."

Meifuni maintained her skeptical gaze.

Cillian's neurotic and morbid mentality is so deeply ingrained in people's minds that changing their perception of him will not be a matter of just a day or two.

Moreover, Cillian had no need to change anything; he had never cared about other people's opinions.

"Then we'll leave first."

Dai Lin and Anya walked together, and before leaving, he said something meaningful.

"For love and peace!"

Cillian cooperated by raising his glass, even though his hands were empty.

Meifuni looked at the two suspiciously, wondering if the so-called "love and peace" was some kind of code.

When Dalin and Anya disappeared from sight, only Cillian and Mefuni remained.

Meifuni whispered, "They came together and left together. I bet they're living together. What do you think?"

"I think... Miss, you care about far too much gossip!"

Cillian was in an unexpectedly good mood and vigorously ruffled Mafoni's hair, which earned him a flurry of punches and kicks from her.

"Ha ha!"

Despite being beaten up, Cillian kept laughing, which further angered Maefoni.

In a fit of anger, she simply grabbed Cillian's hand and bit it.

"You boy!"

Cillian tried to shake off Mefuni, but she was like a koala, clinging to him and refusing to let go.

According to the normal plot development, Cillian should have softened at this point, praising the young lady's benevolence and morality, and the young lady would then reluctantly relent and forgive him.

Cillian is not a normal person, and the plot cannot develop in a normal way.

He stared at Meifuni, who was biting him, with a hint of encouragement in his eyes.

This time, it was Maefoni's turn to freeze. If she continued to bite hard, she might break Cillian's skin, but if she let go like this, she would look ridiculous.

After a few awkward seconds, Maefoni took the initiative to let go, wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth, and looked at the faint teeth marks on Cillian's arm.

"You guy!"

Mafoni complained and kicked Cillian again.

This time, he obediently took the hit. Knowing Mefuni as he did, he knew that if he had dodged it, she would have been furious.

"stupid!"

Meifuni uttered those words and turned to leave.

After spending this time together, it's absolutely impossible for me to say that I don't have any good feelings towards Cillian.

But every time Maefuni tries to advance the relationship by using some ambiguous tactics, Cillian responds in all sorts of strange ways.

"How stupid of you, Cillian."

Meifuni sulked and complained in a low voice.

It seems like Cillian uses all his intelligence on how to kill, and he's always incredibly stupid when it comes to his own ambiguous relationships.

Something is wrong!
Meifuni suddenly stopped.

No, no!
Even the slowest person can sense your good intentions, unless, of course, this person was perfectly lucid from the start and was just pretending to be stupid.

Thinking back on his past actions towards Cillian, his seemingly clumsy responses were like a child playing tricks on an adult.

Shame and anger!
Maefoni turned to find Cillian, determined to give him a good beating this time. But when she retraced her steps, Cillian had vanished without a trace.

"Ah!"

Mefuni clutched her head and groaned, "Damn it, Cillian, did you even consider this?"

Cillian had indeed foreseen it.

He had originally planned to play along with Meifuni's little tricks, but he was in an unexpectedly good mood today and inexplicably felt a mischievous urge to tease her.

The allure of being neither too close nor too distant is always the most subtle and captivating.

Humming a tune, Cillian turned into the street and walked through the bustling crowd. He decided that his next enemy would be dealt a quick and painless blow.

Before night completely enveloped the city of Hel, Cillian returned to his apartment.

"Bruce, I'm back."

As soon as he pushed open the door, Cillian saw Bruce manipulating a pair of prosthetic arms, drawing up a complex design.

"What are you doing?"

Cillian sat down beside it and tried to decipher the contents of the drawings.

“I’m planning the interior design of the vehicle, such as beds, toilets, kitchens, etc. You don’t want to live too miserably in the wilderness, do you?”

Bruce's previous wilderness trip left him with considerable psychological trauma, so this time, he was determined to improve the quality of his trip.

"Considering that we need to stop and set up camp at night, we can allocate less living space inside the vehicle, leaving only one bed, so that we can take turns resting during the daytime journey."

Bruce meticulously planned, "We can connect the vehicle's cooling system to the freezer, so we'll have fresh food, and this, that... oh oh oh, and most importantly, the shower room!"

As Bruce narrated, the vague vehicle became more concrete in Cillian's mind, small yet complete.

"Oh, there's something you need to consider, Cillian."

Bruce suddenly stopped and asked, "We need to name the vehicle for identification purposes. Do you have any ideas?"

"Name it?"

Cillian crossed his arms and began to think seriously.

If nothing unexpected happens, this vehicle will accompany Cillian for a long time and a long journey, so it can't be given a name casually.

"Think about it carefully, and you'd better come up with a name that has some meaning."

Bruce reminded him, "In our Institute of Universal Law, there's always been a saying that names have magic, and having a name is a prerequisite for something to have a soul."

"Perhaps, machines have souls."

soul.

From the very first day that Cillian embarked on his destiny's journey, he repeatedly heard about the so-called soul.

It is not something ethereal or illusory, but something that truly exists within each person's body, originating from the distant Sea of ​​Origin.

Even so, Cillian still didn't have a precise concept of what a soul was, not to mention that Bruce claimed that machines possessed souls.

Cillian wasn't bothered by this for long when a rapid ringing came from the bedroom.

His communicator rang.

Cillian connected to the signal and heard a repeating broadcast.

"Emergency situation. All staff, return to the city garrison immediately to report."

Cillian's expression turned serious.

The last time he received an emergency call was when Dalin informed him that Valerie had had an accident. This time, however, he clearly recognized the voice on the radio as that of Decal, the head of the city's garrison.

Bruce asked, "Has something happened?"

"It seems so."

Cillian quickly changed into his city guard uniform, took out a loaded ammunition pouch, inserted the jet revolver into the holster, and gripped the blade of the Boiling Sword.

In the blink of an eye, he was fully armed.

"I go first."

After saying that, Cillian, as usual, vaulted over the balcony and leaped to the ground.

As he walked down the street, Ciri could clearly feel an invisible tension gripping the throat of Hel City.

On the wide asphalt road, the mounted police squad resembled a moving black dam. The horses snorted heavily and paced restlessly, while the mounted police officers on horseback had tense expressions.

Sheriffs were scattered around street corners and alleyways, waving their arms and sternly driving away lingering crowds.

"Go home! Go home right now!"

The commotion spread like ripples through the crowd.

People hurried along, their expressions panicked, pushing and shoving each other as they surged in all directions.

Cillian rushed towards the city guard headquarters, bewildered and unsure of what had happened.

Just then, from deep within the shop, from the loudspeakers hanging on the high-rise building, came an exceptionally clear, cold, and monotone female voice.

"Urgent notice: A temporary curfew has been imposed on the entire city. All residents are requested to immediately cease all non-essential activities, return to their residences promptly, and close all doors and windows. The specific time for lifting the curfew will be announced separately. Thank you for your cooperation."

The broadcast repeated itself over and over, offering no explanation, no reassurance, only blatant commands.

Ciri quickly arrived at the City Guard Bureau. The streets were deserted, but the bureau itself was packed with staff who could participate in the battle.

The crowd gathered in the office area on the first floor. Among the crowded figures, Cillian saw Dalyn and Anya, and even office workers like Elton and Mefuni were there.

Mefuni noticed Cillian's gaze, turned her head, glared at him fiercely, and tried to squeeze closer to him.

"Cough cough..."

The man's cough silenced the whispers of the staff. Everyone looked up and saw the city guard chief, Decal, standing on the stairs looking down at them.

Without any preamble or passionate speech, De Karl simply stated his position in a cold and detached manner.

"We have successfully decapitated the leaders of the Claws. Tonight, we will go all out to wipe out the remaining forces of the Claws."

(End of this chapter)