Mystery: Starting from the Shadow World

Chapter 60 Old Neil

Ding ding ding!

Klein rang the doorbell in front of the detached house where Old Neil lived, then stepped back to Dunn's side and waited silently.

Thump, thump, thump.

The sounds of people descending the stairs in the sweltering midday heat gradually made the three of them feel tense and serious, yet they also hoped that everything would return to normal, or that the situation would remain within an acceptable and salvageable range.

Soon, the door was opened.

"Dunne, Klein, Leonard?"

Old Neil's face inevitably showed surprise and panic. Even though he quickly concealed it, it was still so conspicuous in front of the group of people who were already fully focused, as bright as a candle in the dark.

"Old Neil, we've come to visit you," Dunn said gently, bowing his head.

"Oh, I'm just on vacation today."

Old Neil stood there, not bothering to hide his embarrassment. He shook his head and chuckled twice. "Sorry, I didn't expect you to come. The house is such a mess. Please wait while I tidy it up."

After a moment of silence, Dunn, still with a slight smile on his lips, simply nodded and said, "Okay."

Clang!

As the door closed again, old Neil inside the house lost his smile, his face showing struggle and inner turmoil. He frowned, trying to hide his pain by gritting his teeth.

But the presence of the three people outside quickly brought him back to reality, and he turned his attention to the piano that was placed in the living room.

Old Neil strode forward, took the few pieces of paper from the piano, then held his breath at the top of the stairs, not daring to be careless, and tiptoed up to the second floor to return to his room.

The bedroom bookshelves were piled high with unfinished manuscripts. Old Neil held them in his hands, his body trembling slightly, as if he were suppressing something, or perhaps anticipating something.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry"

"But please believe me, it will be over soon."

A murmur filled with the aura of old age and weakness echoed in the bedroom, only to be quickly swallowed up. The old man, kneeling on the ground, placed the manuscript in a wooden box, carefully hid it under the bed, and then prepared to get up and go downstairs.

"Old Neil."

Suddenly, a call came from behind.

Old Neil's previously calm gaze suddenly turned to shock, and he froze on the spot, his body stiff, unsure of what to do.

He was all too familiar with that voice.

The owner of that voice was none other than the man he had spent fifteen years with, the man who had helped him complete countless cases, the man he had watched grow from that young man into the mature and reliable man he was today, the reassuring captain of the Night Watch team.

Dunn Smith!

Old Neil's expression suddenly became complicated. He slowly turned around and looked at Dunn, who had somehow appeared in his bedroom. His lips moved slightly, "Dunn, you..."

"Old Neil."

Dunn repeated the call again expressionlessly, then looked at the bookshelf next to him, reached out, and carefully and cautiously touched it with his fingers.

"Have you forgotten? Back when I wasn't as mature and composed as I am now, you warned me not to touch your things without permission. Because this place is always clean and tidy, no matter what."

Old Neil's slightly cloudy, dark red eyes dimmed a bit, as if he were lost in memories.

"You once inadvertently told me that this was to wait for a mistress."

Dunn spoke calmly and then opened his palm. Ripples appeared in the space in front of him, and the wooden box that Old Neil had hidden under the bed appeared in his hand.

"Dunner, wait a minute!"

Old Neil reached out to stop him, but Dunn had already opened the wooden box and taken out the pile of manuscripts. On the top sheet of paper was written:

Life is forged.

Looking at the required materials, and below the large amount of blood from living people, and the note "You can extract my own blood," Dunn suddenly closed his eyes.

He stood there, breathing steadily for a dozen seconds, before raising his head. His deep gray eyes, unlike usual, didn't meet Old Neil's gaze. "Old Neil, let's go. We'll take you back."

"go back.?"

Old Neil's body relaxed unconsciously, tears welled up in his cloudy eyes, streaming down his aged skin. Half-conscious, half-dazed, he murmured, "Go back to where? This is my home."

"My home with Celeste."

Dunn's grip on the manuscript paper tightened suddenly, his body trembled almost imperceptibly, and then he angrily swung his left hand, sending the drafts recording various bizarre rituals flying in mid-air. He then strode forward.

Not a single mistake, not a single poem, not a single post, not a single piece of content, not a single look!

Old Neil, who was kneeling on the ground with his head down, was muttering something silently. His expression quickly revealed pain and struggle, but a hand pulled him up and slammed him against a sturdy body.

"I understand your thoughts, but please also understand me, the selfishness of our team."

"At least we're still here, okay?"

As the dream-like ability dissipated, old Neil, who was standing at the gate, groggily woke up. He looked at Dunn standing in front of him, at Klein clutching the ritual draft in his hand, and at Leonard hiding at the back, his expression complicated, unsure how to react to this situation.

He sighed as if in realization, and a touch of weariness appeared on his aged face once more.

"Feel sorry."

In the afternoon, as Klein was about to leave work, he walked out of the archives and finally heard the news that Dunn had returned.

After knocking on the captain's office door and receiving a response from inside, he pushed the door open and went in, where he saw Dunn trying his best to hide the fatigue on his face.

"Captain, will Old Neil be alright?"

Dunn nodded slightly, let out a breath, and said with a hint of lingering fear, "Yes, I've already had Luo Yao and Leonard take him to Backlund for treatment. As long as he doesn't receive any more knowledge from the Hidden Sage, he should be mostly recovered in two months."

"Klein, thank goodness you're here."

"We made it."

Two months later, Klein was somewhat relieved, but then he suddenly remembered Philip's painful expression in the face of the full moon curse under the blood moon. He suddenly gained a deeper understanding of the world of extraordinary beings.

Currently, the 'Diviner' path doesn't seem to pose any life-threatening problems, but he doesn't quite believe that this mysterious world, filled with chaos, madness, and insanity, would favor one over the other. The current comfort may just be the prelude to future despair.

It could be when one has figured out the gray fog, or when one has reached the level of a demigod, or even in the last step before returning home.

With a somewhat complicated expression, Klein bid farewell to Dunn and walked down Zotland Street. Thinking of his sister waiting at home, he resisted the urge to skip the platform and walk alone. After paying 4 pence, he boarded a public carriage.

Looking at the scenery rushing past the window, Klein suddenly thought of the time he took the bus to school on Earth, and how his parents, who had raised him with great difficulty, might be saddened by his disappearance. In the end, he clenched his fists.

Zhou Mingrui,

you can.

(End of this chapter)