When evil gods hold a meeting in my head

The sewing machine is now operating without a driver...

After Richard picked up the silk with a small hole frozen in the turquoise, the silk flew to the sewing machine's needle bar as if guided by an extension of his arm. The hand crank spun automatically, and the needle moved up and down through the silk thread.

The small light that came with the sewing machine flashed a dazzling white light, the light contracting and expanding within a small area, flickering like a block of iron being hammered.

Richard watched as the sewing machine went through several rounds of operation, and the silk was woven into a brown top hat under its precise workings.

The white brim of the top hat was slightly warm, and Richard could see hot air flowing inside. He gently tapped the top hat, and a ring of flames emerged around the white brim, blood red and fierce, bright and holy.

The perfect temperature dispelled the chill from his body, and his previously cold limbs returned to normal.

"I could be a magician," Richard said with a self-deprecating laugh.

He never expected that the sewing machine could actually "create" a hat that could ward off the cold, just like the sound described, based on his urgent desire for warmth!

The price is 20 gold coins for the signature silk from "Xixi Creek Beauty Shop".

[This broken stone is more than just an ordinary "fearsome object"—it has developed sentience? In my 137 years of life, I've only seen three extraordinary objects with self-awareness.]

"Then you really have a narrow mind..."

So, he's been hit with all sorts of good things? Richard sighed and used his right hand to lift the mat, slowly wrapping the turquoise so that not a single bit was exposed. Then he found a hemp rope and tied it securely to prevent it from moving again!

"A moving stone, a fire-breathing top hat..." Richard ran his fingers along the edge of the top hat, looking at the rope bindings in his hands with a turbulent expression.

After pausing for a moment, he put the wrapped turquoise back into the box and locked it.

He no longer wanted a "legged" stone to sneak into his pants, its cold part pressing against his warm thigh, robbing him of the chance to become rich!

It was 2:33 PM, and it wasn't yet time for his appointment with Alice. Richard washed his face and decided to head to the coffee shop to see if this hidden heiress, who was also his former senior sister and dining companion, was still alive.

As for top hats, we'll have to look into that later!

After tidying up the house quickly, the heavy sewing machine could only remain in the small dent it had made, and the box was buried back in the fireplace. Until he understood what had happened to Alice and himself, the box couldn't be discovered by anyone!

The white pigeons that liked to gather have dispersed, leaving behind puddles of green liquid on the window.

Richard covered his nose to avoid the unpleasant smell, put on his top hat, and followed the route he remembered to a café where a piano was being played.

He pushed open the shop door, and the bell above it jingled, summoning a waiter. The waiter, dressed in a white employee uniform, gave a professional smile and pointed to an empty seat in the corner: "Welcome, please sit here."

The shop's tables, chairs, and bar are mostly made of light-colored wood, and the air is filled with a faint aroma of coffee. As soon as Richard sat down, he felt a long-lost sense of freshness and relaxation.

The shop was of average size, but it had quite a few customers, yet he didn't see Alice.

"Do you have a preferred flavor?"

"Just one cup of honey goat milk coffee will do."

"Yes, sir, your taste is just like that of a blind lady—very...unique! Most of the customers I've met can't stand the goaty smell of goat milk."

As the waiter spoke, his eyes would occasionally glance towards the area near the bar. Richard looked over naturally and discovered that Miss Anna was sitting there, drinking a rich, creamy honey goat milk coffee.

Shouldn't she be drawing with charcoal ash in the rented room?

Richard dismissed the waiter and sat down next to Anna with some doubt. He asked, trying to be as gentlemanly as possible, "Is your painting finished?"

"Of course, that's absolutely the best work I've ever drawn, because it used the charcoal ash you gave me, Richard." Anna recognized Richard's voice.

Anna's hearing and memory were indeed excellent, but the time and place she appeared always made Li feel somewhat uncomfortable.

"You came to the coffee shop quickly. Did you see Alice?" he asked after a moment's thought.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you, Alice and I are actually good friends. We were just having coffee together. She just went to the restroom and will be back soon... but you took her spot."

"Is that so?"

They were friends? Richard tried his best to recall, but he felt that he had never met Anna before today.

He gave up his seat with some skepticism, then sat on the other side, listening to the elegant piano music, waiting for Alice to return.

A short while later, he really saw that familiar face.

Alice calmly sat down next to Anna. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Richard and a look of surprise appeared on her face, as if she hadn't expected to see her classmate in a coffee shop.

The three of them getting together was like a casual afternoon tea with friends on a weekend. It was perfectly normal that Alice was still alive, and Richard's doubts gradually faded away.

"Your hat is really nice," Alice praised, giving a thumbs up.

Alice really wasn't dead. Richard was both happy and guilty, and subconsciously lowered his top hat: "I think so too."

"This is my best friend Anna. You... know each other?" Alice asked.

"She is my neighbor."

Richard wanted to add that he only learned someone was still alive because of Anna, but that seemed rather impolite. Alice, however, thought it might have a curse-like connotation, so he remained silent.

Alice nodded thoughtfully, then gently touched Anna's face and turned it toward Richard: "She's a very curious person. If it weren't for her eye problem, she would definitely have gotten into Tehran University much faster than us."

"curiosity?"

"Yes, yes!" Anna's ears perked up, and she continued, "For example, I'd really like to learn about some legendary supernatural powers. Do you know anything about them?"

Extraordinary power!

She was an extremely curious woman, but sometimes being too curious is not a good thing; many people have died because of it!

"I'm only interested in my own beliefs," Richard tried to change the subject.

"Yeah, you're a student in this major, so what kind of person do you think Alice is? I feel like you might be interested in her?"

Upon hearing this, Richard blushed. He had never had such thoughts before, yet Anna said something so surprising. Her thought process was really unpredictable.

Furthermore, whether or not one likes something is the original owner's business; isn't it a bit much for someone to interfere...?

After thinking for a long time, he came to this conclusion: "She is a very good person, at least she takes good care of me."

"Have you tried to find out the cause of her death?"

Richard was taken aback: "How...how would I know how she died?"

Death... no!

Alice... is dead again?

Richard frowned, feeling that the things in his field of vision were becoming increasingly illusory, ethereal, incomprehensible, and impossible to grasp.

【Oh dear, what a pathetic illusion.】

How could anyone fall for such a trick?

Richard gripped the brim of his hat uneasily, the flames burning fiercely and rising in swirling motions, guided by his spirit. The warm ring of fire restored his clear reason, the cloudiness in his eyes cleared, and the dullness he had been unaware of before slipped from his mind.

He saw the white bar counter.

The bar was not made of brownish-red wood, and Anna and Alice were nowhere to be seen.

Richard held half an old newspaper in his hand, covered with soot, as if it had been pulled from the fireplace.

"I feel like I've seen this newspaper somewhere before..."

He saw the report in the first column of the newspaper:

"On June 23, an explosion occurred in a restroom at Tehran University, tragically killing a student named Alice Via. Experts analyze that this incident may have been meticulously planned by extremist cultists..."