From Prisoner to Si Chen

"Miss Torina, I'm sorry to bother you again."

Gillan took off his hat and saluted the girl in the wheelchair.

Torina shook her head.

"It's not disturbing... I'm glad you can come over."

As she spoke, she put down the watering can, tilted her little head and asked:

"Would you like to have a cup of tea together?"

"Of course." Jilan smiled.

Torina smiled and hummed, then reached out and picked out a few "Dream Night Night" flower stamens in the flower bed, and gently held them in the palm of her hand.

She then turned the wheelchair with one hand and changed the direction.

Seeing this, Ji Lan strode forward and pushed the wheelchair for the other party in a gentlemanly manner.

The latter was startled and looked back at him, but did not refuse, just pursed his lips and smiled.

"Where's the black priest from last time?"

Gilan pushed Miss Torina towards the main building of the castle and asked casually.

"Mr. Gillan should be talking about Mr. Jorah Jocks. Well... he is the butler of Castle Black, but he has been busy recently, so he is not here today."

Torina's clear voice came.

"Butler?" Gilan was a little curious. "I thought Miss Torina was the only one in the whole castle."

"Actually, apart from Jorah, I am the only one who lives in this castle."

Torina said in surprise.

Ji Lan hesitated and asked again:

"Miss Torina, why don't you wake up from your dream and go to reality..."

Halfway through, he stopped talking.

Because Gillan has already guessed something.

Parra told him that existences above the Transmitter cannot directly come to the world... Perhaps Torina is an existence beyond the sixth level.

豱,豱......

The wheels of the wheelchair turned on the stone pavement, and Gillan pushed Torina into the interior of the castle. The dark environment was filled with candlelight.

However, there is no eerie atmosphere here, instead it gives people an extremely warm feeling.

Gilan followed the familiar path up from the spiral staircase at the end of the hall to the small tea room.

"Please take a seat, sir."

Torina smiled at him, then pushed her wheelchair to the table and made new tea. At the same time, he said without looking back:

"Wait a moment, it'll be fine soon."

"Yeah." Jilan nodded.

He took off his coat and hat and sat at the small round table, feeling inexplicably relaxed.

After a while.

Torina came pushing the wheelchair again, holding a pot of freshly brewed Yelan scented tea.

Gurgling...

She poured two cups, and the aroma suddenly filled the tea room.

Ji Lan closed her eyes in intoxication and sniffed quietly.

Torina saw this and chuckled.

"Mr. Gillan, I can actually answer your question..."

She put her elbows on the table and supported her chin with one hand.

"It's not that I don't wake up, it's that I don't fall asleep at all... Not only can I not go to the mortal world, I can't even leave this black castle."

Ji Lan opened his eyes, looked at the girl, and couldn't help but be startled.

This time, he finally understood.

Why is Torina so curious about everything in the outside world? Because she can't leave here. The familiar things are limited to the bricks, tiles, plants and trees of Castle Black.

Gillan felt that this was no different from the life of a prisoner.

He did not continue to ask.

Instead, he fell into a brief silence.

The experience in his previous life allowed Jilan to understand the other person's feelings very well. Even though Torina always showed a positive and optimistic smile, she must be in great pain inside.

Especially being trapped in this dreamy sea where the sun never shines, under the same pitch-black night.

Trapped in this huge but empty black castle.

Face the same things day and night.

"Miss Torina, let me tell you something interesting outside...well, what happened around me recently."

Gilan smiled slightly and suggested.

Hearing this, Torina's black eyes lit up.

"OK!"

The smile on her face was as bright as the night flowers.

"Well, where to start?"

Ji Lan pondered for a moment, picked up the tea cup, took a sip, then cleared his throat and said:

"Some time ago, I made a call through the 'Alchemy Hotline' and got in touch with a man named 'White Sage'..."

Immediately afterwards, Gillan told Torina about his connection to "Midnight Rose".

After that, he became a "prohibition agent" and began to practice the secrets of "actor"... He experienced the staff competition, the private dinner of the "Heavenly Evil Order", and the interception of the "Golden Bough of Dawn".

Finally, he stopped the "Black Mass" at Didier's birthday dinner, destroyed the "Defilation Ceremony" in the Imperial Plaza, and so on.

During the whole process, Torina listened very carefully. She held her chin with her hands, and her eyes seemed to be reflecting stars, as if she was immersed in the story.

Halfway through, he would cover his mouth and chuckle because of some inexplicable jokes, which made Gilan a little confused.

After he finished talking about how he successfully passed the "Gravedigger" test and met with the head of state.

Torina, who was originally smiling, suddenly frowned.

Although the movement was subtle, Gillan still noticed this detail.

"What's wrong, Miss Torina?"

Gilan asked doubtfully.

The girl's expression returned to normal in an instant. Although she still had the same smile, it was just a little more forced.

"It's nothing, I just remembered some bad past."

Ji Lan wisely did not ask further questions.

Torina picked up the teapot, refilled the two cups, and chuckled:

"I always find it so interesting when I hear my husband talk about the outside world, especially the stories about your time as a detective... Of course, there is also the fact that you entered the 'Nightmare in the Monument' and easily found the core of the nightmare, and took it out Destroy."

"Also, there is also...the fight with the group of secret cult members in the Imperial Plaza."

"Hmm..." She nodded seriously. "I think it's awesome!"

Gilan knew that Miss Torina was not simple, and he was somewhat ashamed to be praised by such a big shot.

So he shook his head and said:

"Thanks to Miss Torina's messenger, if it hadn't been for the 'evil wind spell' given by it, I wouldn't have been able to defeat the enemy so easily."

"Miss Torina helped me a lot, not only with this incident, but also with that day... helping me to go on my own path."

"You are very kind, thank you."

When Gilan thanked and praised her in turn, the smile on Torina's face became gentler.

"I'm lucky that you can visit 'Castle Black' and tell these stories about the outside world for me."

Torina said softly.

"Thank you too, sir."

…

…

The two chatted for a while.

Wait until the pot of Yelan scented tea is finished.

It's time to say goodbye again.

As usual, Gilan spent some time pushing Torina up to the main tower in the center of the castle.

The two of them looked at the Dreamland Sea under the night sky.

Jilan took the initiative and asked:

"Miss Torina, do you want to see the outside world?"

The girl in the wheelchair was startled.

She turned to look at the blond young man beside her, a little surprised. But she nodded with little hesitation.

"Of course I want to take a look...but it's impossible."

"No way?" Ji Lan was puzzled.

Torina fell into silence and just shook her head slightly.

But after a while, she spoke quietly again:

"Unless there is peace in the world, there will be no more war and pain..."

"Then... what about the 'other'?"

Gillan tried to ask.

Torina was a little surprised, as if she was surprised that Gilan knew about the "other and me".

But she still bit her lip and shook her head.

"The 'other self' needs a carrier, and the carrier is not so easy to be born..."

Hearing this, Ji Lan felt certain in his heart.

Miss Tolina must be a being of level 7 or above.

The girl raised her eyes, looked at the blond young man, and said:

"But thank you, sir. It's funny, no one has ever asked me such a question, and no one is willing to help me get out of here..."

"you are the first."

The scene fell silent.

The two of them looked at the scenery on the sea.

Suddenly, Jilan said abruptly:

"If I have the ability in the future, I plan to help you go out and have a look."

"gentlemen?"

Hearing this, Torina turned her head and looked at him blankly, her mouth slightly open.

Her heart trembled slightly, lingering in confusion.

Only Jilan knew that he not only wanted to repay his kindness, but also had a sense of compassion.

Because from Torina, he saw the shadow of his own past.

Painful, closed off, longing for redemption.

If you have the ability in the future, you can do something to help this girl.

…

…

October 18th, at noon.

Gilan went out to the Triumph Mansion.

He went straight to the Armed Forces Department on the 75th floor, asked for an "exchange booklet" from the old man in overalls behind the window, and read through it carefully.

Soon, Gillan found what he wanted in the catalog:

"Mermaid Potion. Functional alchemical potion. After taking it, you will have the ability to breathe underwater in a short period of time. The effect time varies from person to person, usually between 50 minutes and 70 minutes."

"Exchange price, 15 merits."

Looking at the introduction in the catalog, Jilan's eyes lit up.

‘With this “Mermaid Potion”, I can go to the bottom of the Black Lake and conquer the “Nightmare Monument” of the “Hermit” Rembrandt Eddy...'

He thought to himself and handed the booklet back to the old man in work clothes. Through conversation, we learned that the other party’s name was Abe Shahram.

"Leader Jilan, have you selected the items you want to exchange?"

"Well, get me two 'mermaid potions'."

Gillan nodded.

The old man in overalls, Abe, chuckled and said:

"No problem. One has 15 merit points, and two are 30 merit points. After deduction, you still have 270 remaining merit points."

"good."

Not long after.

Abe returned to the window from the inner room and handed over a palm-sized flat iron box.

Gillan took it and opened it.

Two finger-sized glass reagents were placed in it, and the bottles contained a light green viscous potion.

Snapped.

"Thank you." Gilan closed the lid, put it in his pocket, stood up and thanked him.

"You're welcome, please walk slowly."

The old man Abe had a smile on his face, crossed his arms, and gave him an imperial salute.

Ji Lan pinched the brim of his hat and nodded in response.

Immediately, he turned around and left.

After returning to the rental apartment again, Gillan went to the master bedroom without stopping and took out the real film "Black Lake" from the dimensional space.

Place it on the projector, plug in the mercury battery, and flip the switch directly.

Click.

The beam of light hit the curtain, and Gilan sat on the floor.

Movie watching begins...