Build an ancient-level power in the nightmare world

The vehicle gradually drove away.

On the rooftop of apartment building 037 Nottingham Street, a pair of vertical pupils, glowing with a deep, dark purple luminescence, silently watch the car drive away.

……

The car stopped at 117 Tulip Street.

Chris got off the bus with Morphy and Benjamin.

After everyone got out of the car, the driver started the car again and drove forward. Chris watched the car leave, not knowing where it was going.

The group remained silent throughout the journey.

Standing in front of the three-story building, Chris couldn't help but peer inside.

There is a pointed-roofed porch in front of the Western-style building, and an old-fashioned oil lamp hangs on one side of the porch.

This oil lamp is not connected to the municipal gas line and requires manual kerosene filling.

In this day and age, these oil lamps are mostly used for temporary emergency lighting. Hanging one like this in front of the door as a night light means you have to get up at least once in the middle of the night to add kerosene, which is quite troublesome.

Murphy walked in front, with Benjamin and Chris walking side by side, each taking a half-step forward.

Chris kept glancing at Benjamin.

He felt a mix of trepidation and anticipation.

Morphy gently knocked on the door.

A moment later, the door slowly opened.

An old woman stood behind the door.

She wore a white dress with a dark coat over it, and her eyes, with a faint blue tint, carefully observed the people outside the door through her half-rimmed glasses.

Then, the old woman's gaze returned to Morphy.

She looked at Morphy and slowly said, "Little Morphy, you forgot your keys again."

Upon hearing this, Morphy's face showed embarrassment for the first time.

"The mission was too urgent, I forgot, I'll definitely do it next time, Mrs. Sterling." Murphy subconsciously raised his hand and scratched his head.

"Come in." Mrs. Sterling looked away from Murphy, glanced at Benjamin and Chris, and then slowly turned and walked into the house.

Chris, standing next to Benjamin, glanced at him.

He recognized the old woman.

In his dream, he met Nick once.

At this moment, Chris realized that the building in front of him must be the Marlowe Detective Agency.

In his dream, he went directly from the base to the detective agency for a tour, and never went to Tulip Street.

Chris followed Morphy and Benjamin into the detective agency.

The layout of the room was almost exactly the same as the one he had seen in his dream.

It seems that the reality projected in that dream is very close to the time he is in now, otherwise it would be impossible to explain why the details in this room are almost exactly the same as in the dream.

Only one wall lamp was lit in the room.

The dark-colored furniture around the room was somewhat old, and the lacquer on the surface had been worn away by time, making it almost non-reflective and giving the whole room a gloomy feel.

Upon entering, you'll find the reception room. On the left side of the room, there's a huge dark wooden table.

The wooden table is L-shaped, with two chairs behind it.

There are some office supplies on the table.

Further in, there is a corridor hidden in the shadows.

Mrs. Sterling walked to the middle of the corridor, then suddenly turned to Murphy behind her and said, "I won't keep you company."

"Okay, you should get some rest," Morphy replied simply.

Mrs. Sterling glanced at Chris one last time, and Chris was looking at her too; their eyes met briefly.

Chris couldn't detect any emotional fluctuation in the other person's eyes.

However, he noticed something: Mrs. Sterling seemed to be ignoring Benjamin the whole time.

As far as he knew, Mrs. Sterling was also a formal member of the Torchbearers team, but there seemed to be some unclear situation between her and Captain Benjamin.

Then Mrs. Sterling opened a door in the middle of the corridor and slowly went inside.

The door closed gently.

Seeing this, Murphy secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He turned to look at Benjamin, who was expressionless, seemingly already used to Mrs. Sterling's disregard.

Then, led by Murphy, Chris was sandwiched between him and Benjamin as they walked down a long, descending corridor into the Torchbearer's Hall.

On the way, Morphy frequently looked back, glancing behind him out of the corner of his eye.

Chris couldn't tell if he was looking at him or at Benjamin.

But he caught a glimpse of doubt in Morphy's peripheral vision.

In short, he entered the Torchbearer's Hall without any problems.

The path from the Marlowe Detective Agency to the Torchbearer's Hall was remarkably smooth, unlike the hidden doors found at Madison Asset Management.

Although Chris already knew what the hall looked like, he still squinted slightly as soon as he stepped inside, dazzled by the bright lights.

It took him a while to get used to it.

At this moment, in the hall, a figure dressed in a black suit was sitting with his back to them at the central long table.

Hearing the footsteps of the group entering, the man slowly stood up and turned to look behind him.

Chris's gaze involuntarily fell on the other person's face.

The man looked to be in his thirties, with a striking strand of white hair on his forehead.

Chris's eyes met the other person's. He subconsciously lowered his eyes to avoid the other person's scrutinizing gaze, while noticing the black pistol in the other person's hand.

At that moment, Chris suddenly remembered a name: Sean.

The other party was the torchbearer in charge of managing the armory.

He was one of only two torchbearers he hadn't seen at this outpost. The other was Kylian, who was in charge of liaising with the branch.

Morphy's gaze also fell on the man holding the gun.

With his back to Benjamin and Chris, he subtly winked at them while quickly glancing at himself, as if sending a secret signal.

The man received Morphy's encrypted signal.

His expression didn't change much. He lingered on Chris for a couple more seconds before turning to Benjamin beside him.

He knew there was an urgent mission tonight, but the outpost couldn't be left unattended.

Although Mrs. Sterling was also a torchbearer, she was not generally considered part of the stronghold's defenses, so he stayed behind.

All he knew was that this emergency mission was related to the missions Vivian and Chase had been on before, but neither of them had returned to the base yet.

He was equally curious about who this stranger who had followed Benjamin and Murphy in was.

Seeing that the atmosphere was a bit off, he didn't ask any more questions at that moment, and simply greeted them:

"team leader."

Benjamin nodded slightly upon hearing this, then his gaze fell on Chris in front of him. He stepped forward and stood beside Chris, saying in a normal tone, "Come with me."

Chris glanced at Benjamin, and their eyes met again.

The reflection from the other person's monocle made it so that Chris could only see one of his eyes.

He had always wondered if these monocles were actually useful.

"Oh." Chris also sensed that the atmosphere was a bit strange, so he didn't say anything more and simply responded.

Chris then followed Benjamin into a room on one side of the hall.

Benjamin led Chris into the room and closed the door.

The slight tension between the two people in the hall instantly dissipated.

Morphy quickly walked to the long table and plopped down on it.

He picked up a piece of cut melon fruit and began to eat it in large bites.

At the same time, he looked at Sean beside him and gestured for him to sit closer.

Seeing this, Sean smiled faintly, moved a few steps, and sat down next to Morphy.

"Speak," Sean said calmly, turning to the side and gently stroking the black gun in his hand with his thumb.

Morphy swallowed the fruit in his mouth, his eyes widening slightly as he looked at Sean. Suppressing the urge to confide, he asked instead, "Don't you have anything you want to ask?"

"What do you want to ask?" Sean still had that faint smile on his face.

"You're really boring." Morphy suddenly turned his head and took another big bite of the melon in his hand.

"Heh, alright then. Who is that person?" Sean asked, his smile unchanged, following up on his question.

Murphy immediately turned to Sean and began to describe tonight's mission with great enthusiasm.

When discussing the part where Benjamin brings Vivian back to reality, he specifically highlighted Chris, who appeared halfway through the journey.

"That's quite interesting." After listening to Morphy's story, Sean's eyes also showed a bit more curiosity.

However, he didn't press Chris further, instead asking, "Is Vivian alright?"

Upon hearing this, a hint of seriousness flashed in Morphy's eyes.

"The captain said it wasn't anything serious, but Vivian didn't wake up at the time. After returning to reality, the captain immediately had Chase take her to Rockwell Rum Hospital."

After listening to Morphy's words, Sean slowly nodded, glanced at the pure black pistol in his hand, and said in a normal tone, "Since the captain makes this judgment, then there should be no problem."

……

Unlike the bright lobby, Benjamin's private room was much dimmer.

Benjamin walked to the desk, pulled out a chair, gestured for Chris to come forward with his eyes, and said softly, "Sit down."

Chris had no choice but to sit down.

Benjamin took out a brown-covered notebook, opened it, placed a pen next to it, and said calmly, "Write down everything that happened before, in detail."

Chris, sitting at his desk, glanced at Benjamin and asked uncertainly, "Was it something that happened in that dream?"

Benjamin's expression remained unchanged upon hearing this. He stared at Chris's questioning eyes for a few seconds, then said casually, "A dream? You can think of it that way."

After saying that, Benjamin stepped aside and added a reminder: "This is about how we'll deal with you next, so don't even think about lying."

Chris lowered his head, looking at the notebook in front of him, his eyes flickering slightly.

He took a few deep breaths, picked up the pen beside him, and began to write.