12 11. Going to Night Watchers Base

It turns out that I was too exhausted, having fallen asleep directly on the stone table in the basement.

Angel remained in a waking pose, staring blankly for nearly a minute before she regained her senses. The dream was too real, leaving her waking up feeling a chill down her spine and covered in cold sweat.

Now thinking back, wasn't the middle-aged police officer with grey eyes in her dream the same one she encountered in the police carriage under the Iron Cross Street the night before last?

It seems that what one ponders by day, one dreams of by night. It appears she was too hopeful for official involvement in this matter, dreaming about Beyonder policemen barging into her home, even spilling her innermost thoughts thoroughly.

Even if this isn't modern society, the "Night Watchers" representing official power wouldn't just break into someone's home early in the morning, sitting on the sofa as if they owned the place, saying "please sit", right?

Looking at the row of specially made bullets on the stone table, Angel carefully packed them into a box and took them out of the basement, just as she had done in her dream.

Fortunately, the bullets were real. Had this also happened in a dream, wouldn't she have to make them all over again?

Angel thought with some relief. She placed the bullet box into the drawer of her desk, looked at the sky turning pale outside the window, and planned to wash her face to wake up before going to the Saint Selena Church to inquire about whether yesterday's bishop had informed the Beyonder organization.

If the Church of the Evernight Goddess was slow to respond, she was prepared to try reporting to the Church of the Lord of Storms, "River and Sea Church."

Upon opening the living room door, Angel froze once again.

The "Officer Dunn Smith" she had seen in her dream was sitting by the bay window on the sofa, legs crossed, wearing the same black and white checkered police uniform, cap on head, holding the same notebook. Seeing Angel walking out of the study, he gently tossed the notebook onto the square table, adjusted his cap, and stood up from the sofa.

"Let's reintroduce ourselves, Dunn Smith, Night Watcher." He bowed slightly, like a gentleman introducing himself at a ball.

"You... Hello, I am Angel Granger, but I suppose you already knew that." After a brief shock, Angel quickly recovered. The "Dunn Smith" from her dream was clearly the same person in front of her; he might have "invaded" her dream.

This reminded her of a kind of extraordinary creature from her previous life known as "nightmares."

At present, the person in front of me has normal facial features and intact limbs, not resembling a "nightmare" that looks indistinguishable from an abstract painting. Thus, another explanation is that the potion consumed by Dunn Smith granted him the ability to invade and manipulate dreams. With this thought, Angel asked:

"Is this your Beyonder ability? Is it the same for all night watchers?"

"Not exactly, everyone has their different sequence paths. I belong to the 'Sleepless' sequence," the brown-haired, gray-eyed officer replied with a smile, completely different from his grim and serious demeanor in the dream.

"Sleepless" sounds like it's related to the night and sleep. Dunn Smith did not specify which level of the Sleepless sequence he was, and Angel did not ask further, only noting down quietly that this sequence had the ability to manipulate dreams.

"In dreams, people often release emotions suppressed in reality, magnifying the darker aspects of their psyche, making everything in the dream absurd and chaotic. But even the most chaotic dreams reflect the true self. For someone like me, the real you in your dreams is more trustworthy than the awake you in reality."

No wonder I answered everything I was asked, as if talking to an old friend for many years. Was it because I lost control over myself in the dream? Angel suddenly realized.

Dunn Smith continued to explain his ability.

"It might sound terrifying, but I just guided your dream a bit to get the answers I needed. You probably don't remember the specifics, but I can assure you, we had a delightful conversation in the dream, and it didn't involve your personal privacy."

He winked at Angel in a mockingly humorous manner.

But I remember quite clearly, even the words you mocked me with for thinking I could challenge Mrs. Sharon... Angel was a bit confused. Should I have forgotten the dream just now?

Most importantly, my answers in the dream were all about avoiding important issues and deliberately blurring the concepts of "Cole Granger" and "Angel Grey". Although I almost didn't lie, through the art of language, I masked my identity beneath the rest of the truth.

This is far from the "true self in dreams" mentioned by Dunn Smith. According to him, after being invaded into the dream, one should become an excellent respondent who answers all questions.

Is it because I'm also a Beyonder, so I have some resistance to dream manipulation? Angel wondered secretly but quickly dismissed this thought. As an experienced Beyonder person, Dunn Smith would have considered this.

Then, is it due to my personal uniqueness, such as my soul not belonging to this world? Or perhaps…

Several guesses flashed through Angel's mind, but she couldn't confirm any of them and had to temporarily set aside the question.

However, she knew the advantage of this "uniqueness" was obvious.

"I... I seem to remember some things. You asked me many questions..." She pretended to recall, raising her hand to her forehead in pain, speaking intermittently, "Mrs. Sharon... Right, have you seen the report letter?"

"Yes, we received the letter forwarded by the police station last night, and your confession to the bishop at Saint Selena Church was the same. By reviewing the police records, along with your testimony in dreams, we can basically confirm that the eleven murder cases and three mass incidents causing seven deaths or disappearances in Tingen City over the past year are all related to Cole Granger, with the mastermind being Sharon Khoy, Mrs. Sharon." Dunn Smith pointed to the documents spread out on the table. "Once my colleagues come down, you'll come back with us to the 'Night Watchers'' branch in Tingen. I can't say it's the safest place in Tingen City, but it's certainly more appropriate than here."

It turned out just like in her dream; he didn't seem to plan on letting me join the fight against Mrs. Sharon... Wait, colleagues? Coming down?

Angel was about to argue further when she suddenly realized something was wrong.

"Ah, they've already arrived." Dunn Smith looked over Angel's shoulder towards her rear. Angel turned back to look, and saw two people stepping out from the shadows at the corner of the staircase leading to the second floor.

Angel felt incredibly absurd, waking up to find three strangers in her home. Was this a team-building visit by the "Night Watchers"?

Leading was a young lady wearing a black robe with a hood, now taken off, revealing blue eyeshadow and blush on her face, holding a candlestick in one hand and a copper goblet in the other.

Following her was a male police officer, in his early twenties, wearing a black police uniform like Smith's with all buttons undone, revealing the vest and tight shirt underneath, no hat, short black hair, and reckless abandon in his green eyes.

"Daly Simone, Leonard Mitchell, they're both 'Night Watchers'," Dunn Smith briefly introduced the newcomers to Angel. "You came down so quickly?"

"Spending too much time alone with this beautiful lady, Leonard and I might get jealous," Daly Simone entered the living room first, finding a sofa to sit on, placing the candlestick down, but still holding the goblet in her hand.

"Cough cough..." The young police officer Leonard Mitchell followed into the living room, standing at a corner next to Angel, emitting an awkward yet polite cough before replying:

"Captain, there's nothing unusual upstairs, just ordinary furniture and clothes. There is a hidden compartment in the floor of the master bedroom, but it's empty. Ms. Daly's 'seance' didn't reveal anything either."

"To be precise, even the normal 'spirits' in this house have disappeared, as if they left with something else, and new 'spirits' don't want to come near here. I tried divining, but it was fruitless. Hehe, I'm becoming more and more curious about this Cole Granger," Ms. Daly said softly.

The hidden compartment is what Cole Granger used to store his notebook, which is now on the table in front of us... Additionally, he mentioned "spirit"? Does it refer to a soul, or does it signify something else? Could this mysterious lady possess the ability to communicate with spirits?

Angel thought about what Dunn Smith had mentioned earlier about "everyone having their own sequence path" and speculated that this lady might be a Beyonder person from another path, possessing abilities even more "extraordinary" than those of an assassin, such as dark vision and lightness of body.

Thus, this person must also be a Beyonder individual, though it's unclear what abilities she possesses... She turned her head, glancing at a young police officer nearby. Noticing the glance, the young man with black hair, referred to by Dunn as "Leonard Mitchell," looked back and nodded slightly in greeting.

Three Beyonder individuals set out together, including Dunn Smith, the "Sleepless," who can directly invade dreams, blurring the line between illusion and reality. If Cole Granger were still alive, just the "Sleepless" holding him in a dream would allow the others to freely enter the house, rendering him utterly powerless to escape.

It seems this is the "Nightwatchers'" method of combat, which is extremely effective against a single target.

Angel was pondering how to counter this strategy when Dunn Smith spoke again: "Since we haven't found anything here, let's take this lady back to 'Blackthorn Security Company' for now. On one hand, to protect her, and on the other, to avoid leaking any information before the operation."

"Operation," Angel caught this keyword. It appears that before she woke up, the "Nightwatchers" had already agreed to take action against Mrs. Sharon.

She wanted to participate, using the memories of Cole she possessed to increase the success rate of combat against Mrs. Sharon, ideally killing her on the spot. Not only would this eliminate a Beyonder individual brewing some conspiracy, but it would also prevent her true identity from being revealed.

However, after witnessing their method of combat, especially Dunn Smith, the "Sleepless," and his ability to invade dreams, Angel felt her participation would be meaningless. Although she was unclear about the combat abilities of "Spirit Medium" Daly Simone and young police officer Leonard Mitchell, being able to act alongside Dunn Smith meant they were no novices.

There was no need for her to insist on helping, especially since these individuals might not even trust her.

Watching the three casually but strategically position themselves around her, Angel came to a conclusion.