"Esther, come here."

"Old gentleman. Mr. Smith."

When Esther heard someone calling her, she immediately came out of her daze. Just now she tried to communicate with the little bug huddled in her breast pocket, but there was no response at all. She began to stare at the vase in the corner of the room. , I don’t know if I was abandoned by that little insect.

Or maybe its lifespan has expired? It's just a bug after all.

Just when Esther thought about it for a while, she would shed tears because of the loss of her friend, as she recognized it, the door was pushed open, interrupting her random thoughts in time.

"Yes, we need to wait for the senior deacon sent by Backlund to confirm the situation. You need to live behind Chanis Gate for these two days."

Esther didn't ask any questions, just thinking it was some kind of temporary detention center, and followed Dunn and Old Neil obediently. In front of Esther, the two nighthawks didn't communicate too much, so as not to Ste was wary and then hostile.

There were only three footsteps in the long corridor.

Esther looked at the double door carved with seven special patterns. The door was mottled and thick, and seemed to have been there for a long time. Esther's intuition told her that those patterns contained special connotations and power.

The guard next to the door looked particularly old, which was more due to the sense of silence in his soul. He nodded with Dunn, and after whispering to each other, the guard holding a lantern opened the black iron door. Old Neil did not follow the gap where people passed sideways, but stayed outside and waited.

Dunn told Esther: "Follow me, don't get lost, there are many roads inside."

"Okay," Esther followed Dunn through the crack in the door and asked curiously, "This door looks very special. Is it to prevent the prisoners inside from mutating?"

"You can say that."

Esther's first impression of Dunn was that he was silent and reliable, with a bright hairline and deep and peaceful eyes. However, Dunn's age deepened her evaluation of him as mature and steady. Esther recalled the look in Ms. Daly's eyes when she occasionally said the word "captain" in the store. She seemed to admire the captain very much, which made Esther curious about Dunn's impression of Daly.

But immediately, Esther's endless thoughts were brought back to the present.

The temperature behind the door was much colder than outside, but what Esther felt more was the source of this temperature, the deathly silence that was similar to the aura on the guard's body. But the wonderful thing is that this did not make Esther feel uncomfortable. Instead, her fear of this gloomy environment was quickly soothed. She stared at the air around her. She could not see anything, but this strange power gave her an inexplicable feeling. sense of familiarity.

Even a little affectionate? Esther thought confusedly.

Candlesticks hung on the walls, with silver-white candles with carved patterns standing upright. The blue flames looked like the will-o'-the-wisps in Esther's imagination. The caretaker closed the door behind Esther, and Dunn led her through the aisle. Esther suppressed her curiosity and did not look around.

This place seemed to be a secret place, and Esther was embarrassed to show too much interest, which might make the other party unhappy. After all, Dunn and the caretaker looked very serious at this time.

They walked down the stairs leading down, and the environment became darker and darker. If it weren't for the caretaker holding a dim lantern, Esther felt that she might have missed the mark.

Finally, the caretaker found an unmarked slate door in the rooms on both sides of the corridor. After he opened the door, Dunn motioned for Esther to enter.

The door behind the door looks like a single cell. The tables and chairs are made of stone and are connected to the ground. In the corner is a stone bed with an undulating pillow, and there is an empty iron bedpan in the corner. Other than that, the room is There is nothing else.

Esther immediately looked at Dunn: "Mr. Smith, can I have a quilt and a blanket? If that doesn't work, just ask someone to go to Slim Bakery to get them for me. Including... there is a wallet in the attic where I live. "

Esther felt a little embarrassed at the end, as she seemed to be too much trouble for the other party.

Dunn nodded, unexpectedly showing his easy-going attitude: "No problem, we will send someone to help you get everything. You stay here for a while."

"okay, thank you!"

Dunn hesitated: "Do you need food? We can order an extra serving for you."

Esther's eyes suddenly lit up: "Is it really possible!? Then do I need to pay you? I don't have much savings, and I may not be able to afford food and accommodation..."

"No, we can discuss the cost later."

Esther's funny reaction made Dunn's tone soften slightly, but after he realized this, he immediately tensed up his nerves and nodded to Esther. He immediately closed the door and left the underground with the caretaker. .

Esther touched the stone bed and found that it was not as cold as she thought. Perhaps it was because every corner here was filled with the power of death that made her relax. Esther lay down on the bed with peace of mind, stretched out, and felt quite comfortable.

"It turns out it just looks bad. It's much better than I thought. There's still a bed to sleep on."

There is a glass cover on the wall, and the candle burning inside is also blue. There is a mask next to it. Just pull the hanging rope to block it, completely losing the light in the room.

After Esther reached out and played with it twice, she covered the candle and let herself be surrounded by rich darkness.

"Little bug? Are you still there? Are you okay..."

no respond.

Esther put her palm on her heart and patted it twice: "Forget it. What a sweet dream."

There was a hint of weak crying in her voice, which looked quite pitiful in the underground cell without any light.

——

As soon as the caretaker and Dunn walked out of Chanis Gate, Old Neil came up to him nervously: "Everything went well?"

"Well, Esther is very cooperative."

Dunn briefly explained to the guard. After the guard nodded, Dunn and Old Neil left Chanis Gate.

Walking on the long corridor leading to the ground and sunlight, Old Neil looked back at the closed black iron door: "How is she?"

"She was unresponsive inside Chanis Gate."

"Even if it's a Nighthawk—"

Dunn took over what Old Neil said: "Even me or Daley will feel uncomfortable every time we enter Chanis Gate, but she seems to be adapting well."

Old Neil was silent. It was hard to believe that a girl who would smile silly because of hot cocoa could have such a weird thing about her. Dunn specifically emphasized the situation between him and Dai Li, because the two were already the highest ranked among the Nighthawks in Tingen.

Dunn seemed to suddenly remember something: "By the way, there is one more thing. In the telegram from the church headquarters, the description of her was referred to as 'it'."

Old Neil looked at Dunn in shock. His mouth was open and he didn't speak for several seconds, and the tip of his gray beard was trembling. He turned on his spiritual vision and looked at Esther. She looked no different from ordinary people. At most, the golden light on her head was brighter...

Golden light?

Seeing that Old Neil's face was getting more and more ugly, Dunn couldn't help but ask him: "What's wrong?"

"I turned on my spiritual vision to observe her at that time. But now I recall carefully, I only saw the astral body at that time, and Esther did not have an etheric body! At that time, I ignored such a weird anomaly and just regarded it as an astral body. The light is so strong that it covers the etheric body..."

Dunn recalled the occult knowledge he had learned: "This is an impossible situation. 'Biology' must have the characteristics of the etheric body, which is closely connected with our physical condition."

Old Neil sighed heavily: "Oh, no wonder it's 'it'..."

"As long as there is contact, you will continue to let down your guard against Esther. This is inextricable."

Dunn patted Old Neil on the shoulder: "Don't worry, the Holy Church is paying close attention to this matter. They have asked Lord Sesima to take over the work immediately and come directly to Tingen tomorrow."

Dunn walked into his office, and he still had to report the preliminary results of this matter to the church. Just before Old Neil was about to leave, Dunn suddenly stopped him again: "By the way, one more thing, you ask Roxanne to order an extra meal for lunch and evening today, and I will take it for Esther. If I have something to do and I’m on a mission, I’ll ask the gatekeeper to help me get it in.”

Old Neil nodded: "No problem."

"There should be nothing else."

Old Neil didn't move.

Sure enough, Dunn turned around from the telegraph machine again: "By the way, and Leonard is responsible for appeasing the residents of the bakery today, right? Let him take Luo Yao there again in the afternoon to bring Esther All the things are collected and sent over. Luo Yao is a lady after all, so it is more convenient than Leonard going by himself. Also, Esther specifically requested a set of quilts and blankets, and I will send them to her after we prepare them together."

Only then did Old Neil agree, mentally shaking his head at the captain's old habit of forgetfulness.

Walking into the reception hall, sunlight filtered in diffusely from the window, dispelling the heaviness on Old Neil's body. The brown-haired girl sitting behind the table was lazily flipping through a popular magazine and gesturing at the knitted patterns on it, with a look of boredom on her face.

"Hey, Roxanne, is Leonard back?"

The brown-haired girl's bright eyes are always full of emotion and curiosity: "Not yet, he should go to the police station to communicate the news about the incident. Didn't the girl Dai Li mentioned come out with you? I still hope to be able to follow her Let’s have a cup of tea and chat.”

Roshan is the most "enthusiastic" clerk in the Tingen Nighthawks. To be precise, because of her passion for gossip, Roshan can always chat with everyone quickly. Of course, if you tell her something , it’s not far away from everyone knowing.

Old Neil smiled wryly and waved his hand: "You'd better not ask about this matter, it involves a lot. When you order meals for lunch and evening, remember to order an extra meal, ask Mrs. Oriana for the expenses, and reimburse them together with others. That’s it.”

"Okay, give it to the girl, right? Is there anything she doesn't want to eat?"

Old Neil was stunned for a moment: "I really don't know, just order some ordinary food."

Roxanne nodded and wrote this matter on the memo: "Then when Leonard comes back, I will ask him to find you?"

"Okay, let's do it."

"What if Dai Li asks? Isn't that a kid she knows?"

The smile on Old Neil's lips disappeared: "If she asks... let her talk to the captain."

There is one update in the evening. Because I am worried about spoilers, I may not reply to questions too frequently, but I am still very grateful to everyone...Thank you!