Hello, is this a letter addressed to Demon Fortress?

The date of the Kuroshio's arrival is never fixed.

It only vaguely follows a fuzzy pattern.

It always happens at the end of the year when snowflakes fall.

It could be October, it could be November, or it could be delayed until December.

Therefore, these three months are solemnly referred to by scholars and those in the know.

"The Last Moon".

The Dark Ages, October 25, 1942.

White Stone City.

Fine snow, like salt, sparsely fell on collapsed rooftops, frozen streets, and silent ruins.

A slightly rough wooden sign hangs at the entrance of a stone house that has been simply reinforced:

[7 Copper Coin Post Office, White Rock City Branch.]

inside the house.

"...I remember, it was like this that day, with a light snow falling."

An old, hoarse voice with a heavy accent echoed faintly in the empty room.

"The fog drifted in quietly from the eastern valley..."

"First the livestock stopped mooing, then the babies stopped crying..."

"And then..."

The voice was rambling on and on, recounting events from over a decade ago.

The scene when this small city-state was swallowed up by the "End of Silence".

The other end of the house.

Lin Gui and Eve sat side by side on two overturned wooden barrels.

Both of them had their hands tucked into the thick pockets of their robes and were hunching their shoulders.

Their faces bore the same, almost numb, helplessness.

The old gentleman in front of me started reminiscing about the past as soon as he came in.

It then fell into a cycle of nostalgia.

Lin Gui didn't actually mind the other party saying a few more words.

But the problem is...

This old gentleman has said far too much.

He was lost in memories from the moment he walked in...

Almost twenty minutes have passed.

The same past event, repeated over and over, with no detail missing.

Lin Gui finally couldn't hold back any longer.

When the old man mentioned "the mist swallows people, and silence annihilates" for the eighth time, he decisively interjected:

"Um... old sir."

"Do you have... a letter to send?"

"Is there a letter sent to you on the list?"

The old ghost's narration came to an abrupt end.

A moment of bewilderment appeared on his translucent face.

He then scratched his head somewhat sheepishly.

"Send a letter..."

"Well, I've been single my whole life, and I don't have a partner."

"Friends, old buddies... I've almost all 'seen away'."

He spoke in a flat tone, as if he were talking about something very ordinary.

Lin Gui and Eve were taken aback when they heard this.

"Send them away?" Eve repeated softly.

"Yes," the old ghost nodded, his ghostly figure swaying slightly in the air.

"When I die... oh, when I become like this, I'll be eighty-nine."

"I've been drifting here for another sixteen years..."

He counted on his transparent fingers, then looked up, a hint of smugness on his face:

"By all accounts, I'm almost 105 years old now!"

"I have witnessed the descent of demons, the blood rain disaster, the collapse of order, and the rise of city-states."

"He was practically buried alive, who would have thought that after what happened, he'd still be 'alive' for so long in this state?"

"Making a fortune, making a killing."

"I really have to thank Kuroshio."

He chuckled twice, a hint of smugness in his eyes.

Lin Gui: "..."

He was momentarily at a loss for how to react.

This was the first time he had ever seen someone consider encountering the Kuroshio a good thing.

"Sir, if you don't send a letter..."

Lin Gui tried to steer the conversation back on track.

"We still have to go to the next stop, you see..."

"Oh, I know, I know!"

"Let me finish... Wait, where was I?"

Before the old ghost could reply...

Several low but urgent "voices" suddenly came from the corner of the room, outside the window, and even under the door.

"Old Gerry, are you done rambling?"

"The messenger still has so many letters to deliver!"

"Exactly, you're delaying everyone's progress!"

"Make them leave quickly! We still need them to deliver my reply to Blackwater!"

It turned out that, without anyone noticing, many other ghostly glass beads had silently drifted into the vicinity.

At this moment, he was "watching" Old Gerry, his mental fluctuations filled with silent urging and helplessness.

Old Gee felt a little embarrassed after being told off by his "neighbors".

"Alright, alright..."

He waved his semi-transparent hand at Lin Gui and Eve.

"Thanks, sir/madam."

"Have a safe journey..."

After seeing off the talkative old man, and finishing up the other glass bead collection and delivery matters, I realized I had done everything I needed to do.

There were no more faint blue lights lingering outside.

Lin Gui closed the creaking wooden door of the makeshift post office.

It shut out the fine snowflakes and the deathly silence of the ruins outside the door.

Inside the room, he lightly flicked his fingertips.

A cluster of flames ignited by the [Ignite] spell fell into the stone stove.

The dry, broken wood crackled and ignited.

The flickering flames of the disc player dispelled the chill, casting long shadows of the two people onto the mottled wall.

Lin Gui and Eve sat around a small fire.

I sorted through the letters I received and sent today, placing them into labeled wooden boxes according to their categories.

More than ten days have passed since I left Blackwater City.

With Eve by his side, Lin Gui traversed the edge of the Howling Corridor, passing through the ruins of nine city-states swallowed by the "End of Silence".

White Stone City is the tenth.

The process of the Forest Ghost is quite fixed each time he arrives at the ruins of a new city-state.

He would first choose a relatively intact building in a prominent location.

These are usually shops located near the old city hall, the clock tower in the square, or along the main road.

A quick clean-up, hanging up the portable post office sign behind the White Rock City branch—that's how it "opens for business."

He wasn't in a hurry to activate his Netherworld Eyes to search around and frighten the ghosts.

Instead, it delivers all the letters that need to be sent to this city-state.

The letters were neatly hung on the large display board that the post office had converted into its own exterior wall.

Just like when I first arrived in Karan and worked at the labor dispatch center.

He believed that the "residents" here would come and see for themselves.

as predicted.

Often, less than a night later, while he and Eve were resting inside the post office...

The system notifications will then begin to ring in your mind:

[Ding! The mail delivery rate has reached 5%.]

[Ding! The mail delivery rate has reached 7%.]

……

Wait until the next morning.

In the shadows under the display boards, in the crevices of the walls.

Often, a few slightly reflective glass beads will quietly gather together.

Only then will Lin Gui step out the door.

He calmly introduced himself and his purpose to the "hidden" beads.

The first batch of ghosts who received the letter could not contain their excitement.

By taking the initiative to inquire or express gratitude, a bridge for communication can be built.

The fear gradually dissipated after confirming that "this sorcerer was not a messenger from the underworld."

Instead, there is cautious anticipation and trust.

Only then will normal parcel collection and delivery services be fully launched.