Ed ran wildly in the pouring rain. The raindrops were cold and noisy, but he didn't even dare to open the umbrella in his hand.
"Cha—, Cha—" The crow sheltering from the rain under the eaves flapped its wet feathers.
The grotesque huts on both sides fled behind him. He walked through streets, through puddles, through alleyways so narrow that it was almost impossible to breathe.
"Coward——! Coward——!" they seemed to be laughing strangely.
If I turned back, Arthur's sacrifice would be meaningless.
Ed closed his eyes and took a deep breath, his wet shirt squeezing his lungs. The flickering gas lights ahead looked like an orange-blue mist.
In the distance, a four-wheeled mahogany carriage galloped across the asphalt road. Two strong draft horses running abreast, wearing ponchos, galloping in the thundering rain.
They will catch up soon, this is their only chance. Ed spread his arms and shouted loudly, the air was filled with rain, and his voice was soon drowned in the rain.
In the dark night, the carriage did not slow down at all, as if it was going to hit him directly - he would either avoid it or be knocked over by the horse's hooves.
Just when Ed wanted to risk his life and find an opportunity to pounce on the carriage and hang on to the carriage, the carriage suddenly began to slow down slowly.
The driver was an old man with an indifferent expression. His raincoat covered most of his face and body, revealing only his short gray beard and rain-soaked black leather gloves.
"Who are you?" He was cold and dismissive of Ed.
"Help me, someone is hunting me!" Ed pleaded in a hoarse voice.
At this moment, he was thinking that in such dark conditions, the umbrella in his hand could easily be used as a shotgun...
"We have something important, so don't block the way." After saying this, the coachman raised his hand and planned to shake the reins and leave.
"I think the carriage should be big enough for two people, so let this gentleman come up." A female voice inside the car said. There was a sickly frail vagueness to the words.
The driver sighed and raised his chin to signal Ed to get in the car. So Ed climbed into the carriage and followed it away.
Sitting in the car, the rain began to drip along the tips of his hair. He gasped for breath, and his legs were as heavy and sore as lead.
A crystal hanging lamp swayed with the carriage. The girl in front of her had green eyes as clear and dazzling as emeralds, with some light freckles on her cheeks and the bridge of her nose.
The bright chestnut waist-length wavy hair is soft and rich, but it is not braided, but simply tied up.
Go out in a hurry. What is worthy of a noble lady going out all night in the heavy rain? It's obviously not a secret lover, otherwise she should at least comb her hair.
See a doctor? It's a reasonable guess that her body looks a little stiff. But he didn't look very painful, and it was obviously not an acute illness. In this case, why not wait until dawn and the rain stops before going?
Yes, that's it, Ed. Don't let unnecessary emotions interfere with your reason, keep thinking, keep thinking...
He told himself to stay rational, but Arthur's sad smile lingered until everything he looked at became wet.
"Are you crying, sir?"
"It's okay, it's just rain..."
Ed wiped the rainwater from his forehead with the back of his hand, "Edgar Waikolo, thank you for saving me, miss."
"Call me Catalina." She slowly stretched out her right palm and spread her fingers, as if she wanted to shake hands.
Ed glanced at his wet and cold right palm, hesitated, but still stretched it out. The opponent's hand is so light that you can barely feel the weight.
"Your hands seem a little... stiff?" In order to confirm his guess, Ed asked pretending to be casual.
"A strange disease called 'Crystal Malignancy' has been around for almost ten years..."
Katarina smiled nonchalantly, but Ed saw a shadow of sadness flashing across her eyes. She took out a silk handkerchief from the handbag on her waist chain and handed it to Ed with a trembling voice:
"Your cheek is wet, wipe it with it."
"Thank you, Miss Catalina, I owe you a big favor."
Seeing the girl in front of him stretching out her hand with such difficulty, Ed couldn't refuse. He took the handkerchief respectfully, wiped his cheek gently and said gratefully.
Unexpectedly, Catalina answered seriously:
"You don't owe me anything. I'm helping you because you seem to need help. Mr. Lawn will take us to the East District Police Station later, and we will continue our journey after confirming your safety."
"Miss Catalina," the coachman's serious voice came from outside the carriage: "My master's order to me is to pick you up immediately..." The coachman closed his mouth mid-sentence and did not finish the sentence, as if he was aware of Ed's exist.
"You see, Grandpa Lawn, Mr. Waikolo needs help. Once he reaches a safe place, it will not be too late for us to leave the city."
Out of town? A night with heavy rain like this? What could happen in such a hurry?
The young lady named Catalina in front of me didn't seem to care about revealing her itinerary. I don't know if she was sincere or reckless.
Ed heard the coachman known as "Grandpa Lawn" sigh softly and said nothing more...
…
When Ed opened his eyes again, he was lying on the desk in the room of the Hall of Thought, his clothes dry and warm.
How could I fall asleep at such a critical moment... I have to wake up quickly.
matrix? are u there?
no respond.
On the table in front of him, the white card titled "Dream Beacon: White Clock Tower" shone with a faint light, seeming to be waiting for him.
Ed inserted the card into the door, and the pure white light suddenly blinded him. He took a step based on his feeling, but his step missed and he fell straight out.
? !
A familiar hand held him.
"Arthur?!"
What came into view was Arthur's young but determined face. He was wearing leather goggles and an exaggeratedly fashionable leather jacket with a stand-up collar.
What? This is impossible, he has already...
"Is this here?" Ed's eyes were full of surprise.
"The white clock tower is the building closest to the sky in Silvermist City."
Looking down, it turned out that he was standing on a sky-high bell tower, a hundred meters away from the ground. Ed saw the huge circular colored window at his feet. It turned out to be the dial of the clock tower. It turned out that he had only arrived at its interior before.
The sky burned and collapsed, like a bleeding wound, teetering on the edge of collapse. Ed knew that this was Arthur's final dream.
"Before joining the Bureau, I participated in a hang-gliding aerobatic group. Then one morning, we climbed up here and flew over the city."
The two of them leaned on the spire of the bell tower, with a salty breeze blowing from the bay. The red sky shone on the white marble, and the whole city lay at their feet.
Arthur looked at the crowds of people and carriages coming and going like a swarm of ants, his eyepieces shining brightly:
"It's strange, looking from above, the noisy city can be so quiet and beautiful."
Ed and Arthur looked down into the distance silently, and he spoke softly:
"Yes, this city is quite special."
The bustling central urban area has clean roads, numerous power lines, and is as prosperous as people expect. As it continues to the east, an uneasy layer of smoke fills the air, whether it comes from rising condensed water vapor or dust falling from factory chimneys.
"I know you're looking for this, man, take it."
Arthur took out the golden tourmaline from his pocket, which shone with warm glow under the fiery red sky. Ed hesitated but took it.
【》》》Character data is being downloaded...The progress is 99%...》》》]
When the data download was completed, a silver-white card appeared in Ed's hand:
"Arthur Custer"
The fiery red-haired boy was wearing a fashionable brown leather jacket and an exaggerated belt, standing on the spire of the white clock tower, staring at the pure white sun rising in the east.
Boom——
The flames melted the sky into black nothingness, shattering into fragments and falling like broken eggs.
Ed realized that it was time to say goodbye. He must leave here before the dream is completely shattered.
"Arthur, I..." He let go of his hand on the spire and walked to the edge: "I'm sorry that I've caused you..."
"Don't say that. The rest is up to you, Ed——"
Arthur's body burned along with the world. He pushed the eyepiece to his forehead and gestured with his two fingers at his temples.
"Go and go back to your world."
Ed closed his eyes and jumped down from the bell tower that was burning with the world, like a seabird flying down from the cliff...
Then the feeling of weightlessness brought his consciousness back to reality.
…
Boom——.
Ed was awakened by the thunder next to his ears, and the charcoal pot in front of him was ablaze.
He found himself sitting on a waiting chair made of wooden slats in the lobby of the police station, an old velvet blanket draped around him, Catalina's silk handkerchief still clutched in his hand.
The thin old policeman on night duty was wearing metal round glasses and sitting at the front desk reading with a candle. He didn't even notice that Ed woke up.
Ed concentrated for a moment, rubbed his cheeks with his palms, and pretended to have just woken up:
"Why am I here?"
"A gentleman in a raincoat sent you in. He said you needed help. The emblem on the carriage seemed to belong to the Oakland family."
The old policeman glanced up, took off his reading glasses, and walked over with a slight stoop:
"You can stay here until dawn. We will contact your family to pick you up. Where do you live?"
"Bernard Eaton." Ed raised his head and looked at the wall, his eyes flashing with a green luster:
"Please contact Bernard Eaton for me. Wherever he is, I will always be here waiting for him."
Upon hearing this name, the old fat policeman stretched his thin, wrinkled neck forward, narrowed his eyes, and looked a little more solemn.
He nodded to Ed, and then walked tremblingly towards the telegraph machine next to his seat.
I promise you, Arthur, whoever the murderer is, he will pay for it...
