Night Journey

Chapter 64 Rest
When Cillian left Rolf’s mansion, it was already afternoon. He took the light rail out of the inner city, and along the way, the citizens looked terrified, uneasy, and bewildered.

Rolf banished the Worms in time, but they still caused some damage to the city of Hel.

A narrow gap appeared in the high wall, extending into the city, causing the ground to collapse and buildings to topple.

Citizens were evacuated immediately, and scholars awakened primal energy to continuously purify the area to prevent any residual chaotic forces.

Many more guards patrolled the streets and alleys, and even all sorts of mechanical creations appeared on the streets. The city council announced on the radio that a curfew would be in effect in Hull for the next week.

"What can we do? The high walls aren't indestructible..."

"Should we move? But where else can we move to? The inner city? The housing prices there are just too high..."

"You say you're leaving Hel City? Are you kidding me? How can you leave? And where can you go?"

Inside the light rail, panic filled the carriages.

Cillian remained expressionless, standing out starkly from the terrified crowd.

"Rolf Reid..."

Cillian recalled the conversation that morning.

Through his conversations with Rolf, Ciri gained a deeper understanding of the Sunflower Clan, the Oath-Taking Legion, and other related organizations.

Rolf harbored some goodwill towards him, but in their final conversation, Cillian could tell that his goodwill towards him was nothing more than that.

The Yangkui clan has long lost its former glory, and the situation in the civilized world has become increasingly unpredictable and chaotic. Not to mention, the disputes among the torchbearers are becoming more and more intense.

Rolf will neither harm nor help Cirion, thus remaining isolated from the conflict.

It doesn't matter. Cillian doesn't expect anyone's help anyway. In fact, their help might actually affect Cillian.

Jigsaw puzzles are best played alone; the addition of any other person will diminish the enjoyment Cillian gets from them.

The carriage became crowded, people's breaths mingled, and the air became hot and stuffy.

Ciri's tense nerves relaxed at this moment, and a strong sense of fatigue and drowsiness washed over him, causing him to squint his eyes.

The carriage shook violently a few times, and Cillian regained consciousness.

The light rail arrived at the station, and Cillian followed the crowd onto the street. He could see citizens carrying large and small bags; some were moving, while others were stockpiling supplies.

Cillian stopped on the street, and only now did he have time to carefully sense the changes in the concentration of soul essence in his body.

In the bloody battle of the Tidal Night, Cillian slew countless demons and, together with Rolf, killed the Corrupted Mountain and repelled the Devourers.

The Ouroboros Seal was extremely satisfied with this, and in addition, Ciri himself had been repeatedly purifying his own soul essence, and now his soul essence concentration had reached 8.2%, a rapid progress.

At this rate of advancement, after slaying a few more Chaos Cultists, Cillian will be able to advance to Rank Two.

"Only when you advance to the second rank, Fusion Warrior, will you truly be qualified to wield the Boiling Sword."

Inside the mansion, Rolf preached in this way.

Rank 2 - Fusion Warrior will comprehensively enhance Ciri's original traits and grant him a brand new trait - Flame Hands, which allows him to concentrate the smoldering heat within his body onto his hands.

At that time, Cillian's hands will easily melt metal and heat the boiling sword he holds into an extreme fire sword.

After buying a cup of coffee on the street corner to perk himself up, Cillian returned to the city guard bureau.

The aftershocks of the night tides were still surging, and the atmosphere inside was extremely tense. Everyone looked serious and their brows were furrowed.

As soon as Cillian walked in, he attracted everyone's attention.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at Ciri.

Even with his excellent mental fortitude, Cillian still felt a bit embarrassed and awkward in this situation. Fortunately, he was holding a sword in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other, otherwise he wouldn't even know where to put his hands.

A moment later, applause broke out.

"Wow, Cillian is amazing!"

"That's insane! Aren't you afraid of dying?"

"I heard you were invited away by that strange old man Rolf? What did he talk to you about?"

The staff gathered around, chatting amongst themselves, and the suffocating atmosphere from before vanished completely.

Cillian had been working at the city's garrison for a while, but this was the first time he had received such a warm welcome, and he didn't know what to do for a moment.

Until a slender hand pulled him out of the crowd.

"It's working hours now. Cillian has something to report, so please be quiet for a moment."

At the critical moment, Meifuni offered a helping hand, solemnly persuading the crowd to leave.

"saved."

Cillian was dragged into the office by Mefuni, and only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.

"They are not completely saved yet."

Mefuni blinked, and only then did Cillian notice that Dalyn and Anya were also in the office, looking at him with curiosity.

"Ugh……"

Cillian sighed, "Alright, everyone, let me explain slowly."

Cillian didn't hide much about what happened on the night of the tides, only blurring the truth in certain necessary places.

Anyway, it was just me and Rolf at the time, and Dalin and the others didn't dare to go to Rolf to verify, so they could only believe whatever I said.

"When we arrived at the manor, Rolf and I talked about how he rose from apprentice to Chief of Technology..." Cillian omitted the story about Boiling Sword and the Oathwalker Legion.

"Alright, that's the end of the story. Do you have any more questions?"

Dailin and Anya exchanged a glance, both of them tacitly guessing what the other was thinking.

Cillian didn't tell the truth, or at least he didn't tell the whole story.

However, their guesses were completely opposite to the facts.

"Could it be that both the Holy City of the Sun and the Court of Ten Thousand Laws are preparing to intervene in Hel City... because of that previous rumor?"

Dai Lin thought to himself.

"The blazing sun will rise from the edge of darkness, bringing forth all evils and the beginning of strife."

He initially thought it was just a crazy rant, but the recent repeated surges of energy and the increasing activity of the chaotic forces made Daelin think about the worst-case scenario.

"No problem, just the usual procedure, you need to write a report, the director will review it."

Anya walked up behind Cillian and squeezed his shoulders hard. "But the good news is that the high walls have collapsed, and the Chaos cultists in the city are starting to stir again. The director is very busy and doesn't have time to investigate these things for the time being."

"You should rest, Cillian."

……

"What are you doing now?"

As soon as Cillian pushed open the apartment door, he saw Bruce sitting cross-legged on the coffee table. He wondered how a dog's lower limb structure allowed him to sit in that position.

Shh, don't bother me.

Bruce gestured for Cillian to remain silent.

Cillian took a few steps closer and saw Bruce wearing an iron helmet covered with bolts of varying lengths, and wires that stretched out to the balcony, where a makeshift satellite dish stood.

"Hmm...it seems like there's some movement..."

Bruce squinted, his body inexplicably trembling, and commanded, "Cillian, turn it a little to the left."

Cillian cooperated by adjusting the orientation of the satellite dish.

“Oh…” Bruce rolled his eyes. “No, a little more to the left.”

"I've got the hang of it, this is probably it..."

Bruce took a deep breath and slammed his paw down on the button.

Bright currents flickered between the satellite dish and the wires, sparking a series of flashes.

"Fuck you!"

Realizing something was wrong, Cillian immediately climbed off the balcony, skillfully grabbed a drainpipe on one side, and landed safely on the first floor.

As for Bruce?
Hearing a loud, pitiful bark coming from inside the apartment, Cillian could only wish it good luck.

Cillian pushed the door open again. The room was a mess, and the air was filled with a pungent smell of burning.

Based on the scene, Bruce should have been electrocuted and jumped up, smashing the ceiling chandelier and overturning the coffee table. He rolled around in pain, and the tethered power cord pulled the satellite dish over, which in turn knocked down the glass door of the balcony.

Cillian accepted the absurd plot that seemed straight out of a comedy film with a blank expression.

"What are you doing?" Cillian kicked Bruce. "Knowing you can't turn back into a human, are you preparing to commit suicide by electrocution?"

Bruce's head, which already had very little hair left, was now completely singed. He lay on the sofa, retching painfully.

After a long pause, it slowly spoke.

"I didn't commit suicide; I was trying to connect to the network of peers."

What is the "Network of Same Law"?

When Rolf built the giant cannon to repel the Devourers, he spoke with the Void and mentioned the so-called Web of Harmony.

Bruce looked up at the void. "The Network of Harmony is a source energy network jointly forged by the Heavenly Craftsman Iron Father and generations of Spirit Craftsmen. Its true form remains one of the highest secrets of the Institute of Harmony of All Machines, and I have no way of knowing it."

Before he could finish speaking, Bruce added, "Remember what I told you?"
Spirit craftsmen store design blueprints directly in their minds, forging them from scratch when needed. However, the brain's storage capacity is ultimately limited. Leaving aside the design blueprints for certain complex creations, even the combination schemes of basic components are enough to push the cognitive limits of ordinary spirit craftsmen.

“Therefore,” Bruce leaned forward, “when it is necessary to forge an object that exceeds the memory bank, the Spirit Craftsman will request access to the Network of Harmony, and a massive amount of data will flood into his mind like a tide, and the memory cache will be automatically cleared when the forging is completed.”

Cillian glanced at the equipment scattered all over the floor.

"Did you succeed?"

"Obviously not."

Bruce shook his head. "Based on previous deductions, I am suspected of being a sinner in a certain Forging Court. I tried to connect to the Network of Laws to verify this conjecture."

Spiritual craftsmen deemed sinners will be banned from the network of shared laws, denied access.

"You were rejected?"

Ciri felt a chill run down her spine. Bruce really was a sinner, the Spirit Craftsman. Would Rolf have noticed the strangeness just now?

"reject?"

Bruce smiled sadly. "The premise of rejection is that a connection can be established, and I... I haven't even found the Network of Equal Laws."

It deflated and collapsed amidst the mess.

(End of this chapter)