I Forged the Myth of the Ancient Overlords
Chapter 400 - 400 399. Dream_1

Chapter 400: 399. Dream_1 Chapter 400: 399. Dream_1 The streets of the Abandoned Capital at night, where poverty meets wealth, still resonate with the sounds of factory operations.

After a long silence, there was a dull, heavy reverberation, followed closely by the sounds of pistons and gears, then came a burst of fragmented noise, and finally, it returned to calm, waiting for a while before the cycle repeated itself.

Lu Ban thought of trains, the overnight sleeper trains, listening to the clacking of wheels on the tracks, it was just as noisy and rhythmic.

He lay on the ground, the blanket borrowed from Cui Siter wasn’t particularly warm, but thankfully the weather in Abandoned Capital wasn’t cold either. The smog permeating through the poor districts had a greenhouse effect, making the air warm and moist, but living here long-term would assuredly lead to lung-related diseases, inflicting deep damage to the body.

After midnight, Shia prayed and then began to sleep soundly, even snoring loudly, which somewhat surprised Lu Ban.

It was probably because she ate too much during the day.

Lu Ban temporarily blocked out the day’s sights and sounds from his mind and closed his eyes.

Cui Siter also fell into a deep sleep; he lay on the sofa, which, soft and molded to the shape of his body, supported him perfectly, allowing Cui Siter to fall asleep peacefully.

Of course, what enabled him to sleep securely was the handgun placed under his pillow, which he could grab at any moment.

Cui Siter quickly entered a dream.

He felt as if he was sitting somewhere.

It was cold, damp, and dark, and the air reeked with a foul odor that made his skin crawl.

“Wake up.”

A voice roused Cui Siter.

He saw that he was sitting in the corner of an alleyway, unable to muster any strength in his arms and legs, and beside him was a girl with disheveled hair and a dirty face.

“Thank goodness, I thought you weren’t going to wake up,”

the girl said, and then she took out a piece of bread, somewhat dirty but evidently wiped clean.

“This is all I could find, I’m sorry, let’s eat it together.”

The girl broke the bread in two, handing the larger half to Cui Siter.

Cui Siter took a bite that tasted slightly bitter, unidentifiable as bread; even though he knew it was a dream, he still felt an urge to vomit.

But the girl ate earnestly, even licking clean the crumbs on her fingers.

“Once you feel a bit better, we can go work together at the factory. I heard they have free soup there. Aunt Jennie said in a couple of days I can start working, and once I can work, we’ll surely have the money to get you treated,”

she said, full of longing, and despite the dirt on her face, her eyes sparkled with hope.

Cui Siter was momentarily spellbound.

“What’s wrong? Don’t worry, I won’t leave you behind, we’re going to be together forever.”

The girl smiled at Cui Siter.

He felt dizzy.

When he awoke, Cui Siter found it was still dark outside.

Thud—

The sound of machinery operating at the factory came from a distance; when one is exhausted enough, even such noises can become a lullaby aiding sleep.

Cui Siter felt a heaviness in his chest, as if something was pressing down on him. He tried to move and realized he couldn’t.

Twisting his neck and lowering his head, Cui Siter saw the large Orange Cat lying on his chest, the heavy creature curled up tight, sleeping soundly.

“Scat!”

Cui Siter tapped the Orange Cat’s backside, but it only twitched its ears, showing no intention of moving.

Only when he sat up did the cat jump off, having lost its soft cushion, and then disappeared who knows where.

Cui Siter licked his tongue, the bitter taste of the bread as if it lingered in his own mouth, as if he became the guy paralyzed in the dimly lit alley, waiting for a companion’s help.

The feeling of helplessness made Cui Siter clench his fists in secret.

He saw Shia and Lu Ban both deep in sleep, Lu Ban’s hair peeking out with a few blades of grass, bathed in moonlight.

Grabbing some homemade liquor, Cui Siter guzzled it down.

He sobered up because of the alcohol, and then a thought belatedly struck him.

“What did I just dream about?”

Cui Siter hadn’t lived through such experiences; his upbringing was relatively good compared to the Abandoned Capital’s present conditions—clearly, the dream wasn’t a product of his own memories.

So what was it?

Cui Siter knew that in the Foreign Domain, sometimes it was not people chasing after knowledge, but knowledge chasing after people.

The dream he just had might have been some polluted knowledge that had burrowed into his own head.

“Is this related to this case?”

Cui Siter decided to wait until his two teammates woke up before discussing it.

He downed the wine in his cup in one gulp, sitting for a while. When the effect of the alcohol kicked in and his consciousness became blurry, he lay down again.

This time, Cui Siter slept until dawn, and no one disturbed him again.

At dawn, Abandoned Capital had long since awakened.

The sounds of factories echoed through the streets, and newspaper deliverers rode their old bikes through the streets and alleys, ringing their bells.

Cui Siter got up, rubbing his headache from falling asleep drunk, and saw that Lu Ban and Shia were already up. Lu Ban seemed to be making breakfast, while Shia was staring motionlessly in a stare-off with the Orange Cat.

“I had a strange dream last night.”

Cui Siter recounted what he had seen.

“Do you still remember what the girl looked like?”

Shia asked.

“I remember, but her face was so dirty at the time that I might not recognize her even if I saw her.”

Cui Siter shook his head.

“This is not a dream,”

Lu Ban said.

“I’ve read some books on dreams and psychoanalysis. Dreams usually don’t have such specific visual imagery. Many pieces of information are not actually conveyed to you through visual images. Old Cui, what you just described, it’s like what that sick person saw. It might be a stretch of memory that has been directly poured into your head.”

“…Indeed,”

Cui Siter closed his eyes. The scene from his dream appeared before him, clearer than his own memories. This was not something that a normal dream could achieve.

“Combining what you felt yesterday, maybe you’ve already caught the killer’s attention,”

Lu Ban said seriously.

“…Don’t scare me,”

Cui Siter chuckled dryly.

“No, this is no joke. If you really have caught the killer’s attention, it’s a good thing for our mission. We just have to wait for him to come to us,”

Shia said earnestly.

“Don’t talk like that. What if he comes to make me ‘blossom’ and you can’t stop him?”

Cui Siter waved his hand.

“Then on your death anniversary, I’ll bring something tasty to visit you,”

Lu Ban pledged solemnly.

“I don’t want you to do that. Go find the killer properly!”

Cui Siter smacked the table.

“However, there might also be a possibility that due to some reason, you’ve established a connection with the killer, who involuntarily transmitted a part of their memory to you,”

Shia tried to analyze.

Suddenly, Lu Ban’s expression turned solemn, which made Cui Siter’s eyelid twitch.

Lu Ban then reached out and gently brushed aside the hair on Cui Siter’s forehead.

Cui Siter didn’t know what Lu Ban was about to do and dared not move, letting him examine him carefully.

Lu Ban looked for a long time before moving away, letting out a sigh.

“What’s wrong?”

Cui Siter asked cautiously.

“I was looking for a lightning-shaped scar.”

“?”

Cui Siter was confused.