Night Journey

Chapter 87 A Reason That Needs No Reason
Dalyn couldn't quite understand Cillian's series of morbid statements, but she was certain that Cillian was willing to fight against the Unseen.

This is good news.

Cillian finished the milk at the bottom of the carton in one gulp and asked.

"Is Valerie's mental regression also related to the Invisible Ones?"

“Most likely,” Dalin explained. “Every time we make progress in our operation against the Claws, a similar accident happens, and all the leads are completely cut off, leaving us with no way to trace them.”

After a moment of deep thought, Cillian said, "To be so well-informed, the Unseen One must hold a very high position within the City Guard."

"Anya has analyzed this point. The key question is, how did he do it?"

Dai Lin still couldn't understand, "How could they do all this without anyone noticing, and hide it for so long?"

"Have you conducted an internal search within the city sanitation department?"

“We’ve investigated and found a few suspected targets,” a hint of sadness flashed in Dai Lin’s eyes, “but they all died in various chaotic events later on.”

Cillian asked the crucial question.

"The unseen have noticed; are you investigating him?"

Since the Invisible Ones are so mysterious and powerful, it's impossible that they didn't notice their investigation. So how did Dalin and Anya manage to escape unscathed?
"He should realize that someone is targeting him."

Dai Lin wasn't entirely sure about this, "but we hid it very well, and everyone in the bureau can see that."

By the time he finished speaking, Daelin could no longer hide his embarrassment, and Cillian, after thinking about the meaning of his words, also became awkward.

Within the City Guard Bureau, the most talked-about gossip is the one-sided love affair between Dai Lin and Anya.

Long ago, the two had a cold relationship, even a bit hostile. But after a certain mission, Dalin fell madly in love with Anya, but Anya was not interested in Dalin and did not accept his advances no matter how much he tried to win her over.

Everyone was laughing at Dai Lin, but Dai Lin didn't care and continued to pursue Anya with great enthusiasm.

Anya, however, did not explicitly refuse, and would occasionally date other people, ranging from ordinary employees to the elite.

She is indeed a very charming woman; Valerie cannot win against her.

"Hmph... So, all that stuff between you and Anya was just a cover-up? To ruin your reputation and lower the guard of the unseen forces?"

Cillian answered himself, "That's true. If you can't even handle your own private life, how can you handle something so important?"

"Uh……"

Dai Lin was speechless.

Cillian frowned, and asked suspiciously, "Could it be... that the rumors about you and Anya are true?"

"Part of it is."

Dai Lin's answer was dry and uninspired.

Cillian pressed further, "Which part?"

"It would be a bit difficult to continue."

Dai Lin took a deep breath and said helplessly, "I can only say that Anya and I have different needs."

"for example?"

“I long for a soulmate, but Anya only wants a comrade-in-arms to fight alongside her.”

To avoid making himself look too embarrassed and to preserve his remaining dignity as a man, Dai Lin added.

"But we still have a very good relationship, the kind where we can live together in our daily lives."

Cillian roughly understood.

When Dailin got down to business, he said, “We suspect that the invisible beings come from some lost path of destiny.”

"Loss? You mean the fate beyond the six giants?"

The current mainstream system of destiny in the civilized world consists of the Three Sages and the Six Colossi, but besides them, there are many other Colossi whose destinies still exist.

These giants are either in an endless slumber or weary of the strife of the mortal world, and simply wish to wait somewhere for the end to come.

Over time, these giants were forgotten by the world, and few extraordinary individuals ascended their paths of destiny, which became covered in dust and a lost destiny.

"The invisible one may come from a lost path of destiny, therefore, we know nothing about the power he possesses, nor can we deal with it."

Dai Lin analyzed, "But correspondingly, as long as we figure out which path of fate he came from, perhaps we will have a way to find him out."

"The invisible leave no direct trace, but what about the indirect ones?"

Cillian offered a conjecture: "Perhaps we can look back at those files and look for connections between the various events. There must be a point of intersection that subtly points to his identity."

“Anya did mention this, but as you know, the City Guard Bureau has very strict access control over its files. There are many things that only the director can access.”

"We have to take it slowly," Dai Lin said helplessly.

"Ok?"

Cillian's gaze suddenly froze for a moment. A certain keyword in Daelin's words triggered a memory in his mind.

He tried desperately to grasp the spark of thought, but it vanished in an instant, leaving Cillian's mind momentarily sluggish and confused.

"Is there a problem, Cillian?"

Seeing Cillian's unfocused gaze, Daelin asked worriedly, "No...it's nothing."

In the end, Cillian still couldn't grasp that spark, filled with confusion and bewilderment.

Cillian didn't dwell on the matter any longer and then spoke.

"Before Valerie's mind returned to normal, did you get any important information from her?"

Dalin replied, "There is a lot, but it's all irrelevant intelligence, such as lists of peripheral members of the Claws, meeting places, etc. There's very little crucial information about the Claws."

"Did she deliberately hide it?"

“At the time, I also felt that she was deliberately hiding it, but when I thought about the huge shadow that you and Gavin had cast on her, and what happened to her later…”

Dailin crossed his arms uneasily. "I'm more inclined to believe that she had already been cleansed by the Unseen at that time. The key information wasn't something she deliberately concealed, but rather that she no longer remembered anything about it."

"Is that so?"

Cillian gradually became aware of the terror and oppression of the Invisible Ones.

It truly lives up to its name as the invisible one; it cannot be seen or touched. It might be a colleague you greeted in the morning, or a cleaning staff member you would never notice. Sometimes it is far away, and sometimes it is right in front of you.

“Good news, Dalyn, not all the leads have gone cold,” Cillian said. “And for that, we have you to thank.”

"You mean... oh, your private conversation with Valerie back then!"

Dai Lin recalled it and slapped his thigh.

“That’s right, I know the approximate whereabouts of a high-ranking member of the Claws, but I want to handle this alone.”

Cillian's tone was firm and left no room for argument.

"As for you, I hope you can help me find a suitable interrogation space that can prevent the invasion of chaotic forces and ensure sufficient secrecy, etc."

Most importantly, this operation must be carried out outside the city garrison's sights.

Dailin belatedly realized, "You're going to act as the Reverse Falcon?"

"Who in Hel do you think would fear the Reverse Falcon?" Cillian asked himself, answering, "Those with ulterior motives."

"Okay, then we'll do it your way."

Dai Lin suddenly laughed and said with emotion, "I don't know why, but with you joining us, I feel like I'm one step closer to defeating the Invisible Ones. Even if Anya and I die, you can take over our work and continue the investigation."

When talking about these things, Dai Lin's tone was unusually relaxed, and life and death were described as light and casual.

Cillian stared into Daelin's eyes, trying to find a hint of panic and fear in his relaxed demeanor.

He found nothing.

Only then did Cillian belatedly ask, "Why did you and Anya go to such lengths?"

"Even if the investigation yields results, there's no guarantee of a reward, and failure could mean death. Is there some uncompromising reason supporting you?"

Cillian couldn't understand it.

"Reason?"

Dai Lin pretended to be deep in thought, but still started talking about whatever came to mind.

"At first it was just out of duty, but as more and more people died, the motives for the investigation became confused by all sorts of things..."

Dai Lin sighed deeply, "To be honest, even now, I don't know what my reasons were for doing this... Maybe it's an obsession. So many people died because of this, how can there not even be an explanation?"

"But now that you mention it, I feel that these reasons are not sufficient."

Dai Lin finally began to seriously consider all of this, searching for a reason for his motives, his purpose, and this long pursuit.

“Cillian, I don’t think there’s a reason for doing this kind of thing.”

Dailin revealed his true thoughts: "On the contrary, you need a reason not to do this kind of thing."

"For example, cowardice, weakness, fear of death, etc... I am not that kind of person, so I will continue to investigate and fight the invisible to the death."

Cillian praised, "I like your answer, Dalyn, you get ten points."

Another voice said, "These days, there aren't many people like you anymore, so I'll add ten points to your score."

Dai Lin smiled sheepishly, "Thank you, but... wait a minute!"

He suddenly stood up and looked around warily.

Even though it was just him and Cillian in the living room, he had just heard another voice commenting on him.

Dailin's gaze shifted back and forth before finally settling on the bald, ugly, gray-white dog.

The gray-white dog swallowed hard, and after consulting with Cillian, it spoke.

"Hello, Dalyn. You can call me Bruce."

Dai Lin froze for a moment, then screamed in shock.

"what?!"

(End of this chapter)