Chapter 117 Preparation

Clearly, Morris was now burning with a passion for seeking the truth—in this old gentleman's eyes, those cultists who frightened ordinary people had probably become stacks of walking papers and materials.

"Then the only question is how to drag those Annihilation cultists who enter the Dream of the Nameless out of the real world," Vanna said, watching the energetic old man beside her, and quietly moved a little to the side. "I will contact the church tomorrow to see if we can strengthen the monitoring and search for the Annihilation cultists in various city-states—they need to frequently enter the Dream of the Nameless and have unified command and information exchange, so they will definitely be more active than usual."

Morris nodded. "I will also remind the academy... although they probably don't need reminding."

They discussed plans to drag the cultists out of the real world, and just then, Lucretia, who had been quietly pondering the problem, suddenly raised her head and looked at Shirley and Agou: "If it's in the Dream of the Nameless, can you still find that cultist from last time?"

"That depends on whether he happens to be nearby, and whether he has the guts to enter the Dream of the Nameless again," Agou shook his head. "Besides, Shirley and I severely injured that Annihilation cultist last time. Although it didn't hurt his body in the real world, his spirit won't recover in a short time."

Lucretia listened, thoughtfully nodding, not knowing what she was thinking.

Outside the window, the sun had gradually sunk behind the buildings at the edge of the district, and the remaining scarlet glow was spreading along the rooftops, mixed with the golden "sunlight" that had spread from the distant sea in the increasingly bright sunset.

Nina suddenly raised her head and looked at the sky that was gradually brightening inside the window, muttering loudly, "The sky is getting slower to turn white again..."

Your heavy voice interrupted Shirley's thoughts. The former got up from the sofa, walked to the window, and quietly watched the street.

The "Knowledge Guards" of the Truth Academy had not yet started preparing for the handover work at the day-night transition. Behind the security哨所 on the corner, a team of guards was talking with the sheriff.

But Nina was the first to come over, with even a hint of anticipation on her face—she raised her head, looked at her "Uncle Duncan," and a faint smile appeared on her face as usual.

"Luci," Duncan looked intensely at the nearby "Sea Sorcerer," "Don't worry, it's just an ordinary 'mark'—if the Dream of the Nameless appears again, the power in the mark might be able to help you."

"We are preparing for tonight," Duncan also came over and said softly next to Shirley, "Although there is still no evidence that the Dream of the Nameless will reappear tonight..."

Vanna shuddered instantly, only managing to exclaim, "Oh hell..."

They were certainly familiar with the captain's flames, and in fact, they had more than once contacted this spirit fire to varying degrees, but "instinct" was an irresistible and strangely wonderful thing. The particularly active and obscure nature of this flame was somewhat different from the "irritable" flames they usually saw on the *Ghost Ship*. It was this slight difference that made them subconsciously feel a little uneasy.

The emerald green flames surged around him, turning his body into a phantom spirit made of fire. His gaze focused on his palm, and the spirit fire gathered there, gradually turning into the most obscure and active flame.

Then the "Sea Sorcerer" turned around, slowly walked to the corner of the room, picked up the giant rabbit doll, and returned to Shirley.

Lucretia took a deep breath, and then stepped forward to touch the flame.

Shirley nodded impatiently to Duncan, and then reminded, "Vanna needs it too."

"We have so many problems to solve ourselves," Duncan's tone was a little serious. "If the Dream of the Nameless reappears, we don't know what will happen—we may be gathered and drawn into the dream again, we may appear in different places than before, we may encounter enemies, or we may directly enter the most dangerous areas called 'erosion zones'."

"Need it," Shirley looked at the abyssal demon with a serious face, "Relax, it's just a harmless temporary mark. As long as you don't have my order, this flame won't cause any damage to you."

"Dinner time!" Alice said happily. She didn't seem to notice the atmosphere in the living room at all. "Are we going to eat in the restaurant, or right here in the living room?"

After a brief moment of contemplation, Shirley stretched out her hand, palm upwards—

Shirley looked at her intently: "This is my power."

Shirley didn't wait for it to finish, directly flipped her hand over and pressed it on Vanna's head, rubbing hard on her flat and soft skull.

The rabbit doll, which had been playing dead for a long time, finally made a move, twisting its body in Lucretia's hands, and the frightened voice of a little boy came from the cotton-filled body: "Mistress, what are you doing! Laby is just a rabbit! Laby is just a..."

Then she reached out and gently touched the flame in Shirley's palm with her index finger.

"It's warm," Nina laughed, turning her head and beckoning to Agou, "It's your turn!"

Vanna, who was about to turn around and walk away, suddenly became alert, raised her head to look at the flame, her blood-red eyes filled with materialized fear: "I... I don't need it..."

There was a propaganda vehicle driving on the street, urging citizens to stop outdoor activities as soon as possible and return home before the gas lamps were lit. Tonight's curfew would be advanced by one hour—the broadcast repeatedly reminded that if any citizens failed to get home in time, they should immediately go to the nearest guard post for help, and the academy would arrange personnel and vehicles to escort them home as soon as possible.

Now, there was only one person left on the scene.

But no matter what, he successfully completed the preparation work before entering the dream, and then... he just had to wait and see if the Dream of the Nameless would really happen again tonight, and verify his many guesses and plans in the dream.

Shirley didn't react at first. He had been wondering why Lucretia brought the doll over, and it was only then that he vaguely thought of something: "This is... you want to bring this doll into the Dream of the Nameless?"

The city-state authorities and the academy had not announced any emergency—but in the eyes of those who knew everything, it was already possible to discern the change in atmosphere from many details.

Duncan and Creesi also came over. They each recited the prayers of the gods they believed in, and then touched the flame in the captain's hand with serious expressions.

"Laby is able to move in the dream—it dreams," Lucretia said. "I want to try to see if it will be drawn into the dream realm when the Dream of the Nameless expands. When the *Radiant Star* was docked in the port before, Laby said it didn't notice anything abnormal in the city, which may be because the port was too far from the center of the dream outbreak, or Laby was too little affected by your power."

Just then, footsteps came from the direction of the living room door, and Alice and Lunie appeared in Shirley's sight, pushing a dining cart.

The people in the living room reacted differently—the most common was the inevitable astonishment and hesitation.

The emerald green flames poured down from above, flickering and flowing in the bone frame body of the Abyssal Hound.

Duncan: "..."

Vanna was clearly still a little conflicted: "I..."

Lucretia raised her hand and pressed the rabbit's face into Shirley's hand.

"I know, I know..." Agou grumbled, and took two steps forward a little reluctantly, stretching out his hand while muttering, "Anyway, the captain won't hurt me..."

No pain, no burning heat, no expected erosion and negative disturbances on the spiritual level—she only felt a peaceful warmth, with coolness and reassuring comfort.

"I know," Lucretia said softly, a hint of complex emotion seeming to be in her eyes. She raised her head, looked at her father's illusory spiritual form standing in the flames, and the obscurely dancing flame. After a few seconds, she finally stepped forward and slowly stretched out her hand towards Shirley, "... is this subspace power?"

"Quiet," Lucretia pinched the rabbit doll's back hard, silencing the terrifying doll instantly, and then stretched it forward. "Father, give Laby a mark."

The number of guards today was twice as many as usual, and there were many higher-ranking clerics with significantly better equipment among them. This may have been the elite force drawn from the central elementary school in the city-state.

In the nearer part of the district, the tall spire clock tower was bathed in the intersecting sunlight and sunset. The golden-red light seemed to cover the clock tower with a layer of crystal plating. The giant steam pipes extending from the two wings of the clock tower were emitting wisps of white mist, preheating to ring the "Twilight Bell."

A flash of emerald green fire flashed in Lucretia's eyes.

Shirley held the weightless flame, and in the soft crackling sound, his voice entered everyone's ears: "Come, touch this flame."

Shirley ignored the guy and looked up at the others.

He suddenly felt like he had become a buff-adding wooden stake... wasn't that a little different from what he originally planned?

The others gathered together, and many eyes were on him.

Threads of flame flowed around her fingertips like water, then quietly dissipated.

The rabbit doll struggled again, making a small voice: "If I had known, Laby wouldn't have come..."

Duncan didn't speak, he slowly turned around, his gaze sweeping across the living room.