Ke-style law enforcement officers

Chapter 408 Opera

Chapter 408 Opera
"So the pool under the opera house wasn't entirely built to store groundwater."

Milo carried the kerosene lamp to the edge of the pool.

At this moment, Eric's figure slowly emerged under the kerosene lamp.

He gestured in sign language to say, "I'll go down and take a look first."

"No need."

Milo sidestepped a wild beast that suddenly pounced from behind, easily crushing its neck before wiping the blood off his hands against the wall. He said calmly:

"The real Nanwei City should be on the other side of the pool. I can smell it."

He stretched and muttered a complaint:

"Another terrible experience of having my underwear soaked through."

After saying that, he plunged headfirst into the pool.

……

...

The reservoir is about ten meters deep.

However, the pool in the world of imitators seemed to be bottomless. Milo sank for two or three minutes in complete darkness but never touched the bottom.

As time went on, he began to notice a strange shift in the force field in the water. The direction of gravity, which was originally vertically downward, began to reverse, and he began to feel himself "rising."

Or rather, Milo sank headfirst.

Because he could see some dappled light and shadow projected onto the surface of the pool below his feet, which indicated that the bottom of the pool was actually another surface connected to the pool.

If Milo remains in this position without moving, he will simply bounce back and forth like a ball at the intersection of two opposing forces of gravity.

So he changed direction and swam toward the water surface where the light was shining.

……

When he was about ten meters away from the shimmering water, Milo saw something in the blurry depths.

Those were hundreds of people bound together by chains.

They were not dead, but in a state of unconscious, chaotic dream, with chains firmly fastened to shackles around their necks, and a metal object resembling a birdcage covering their heads.

All the figures floated motionless in the deep water, a chilling sight.

The iron chains around their necks occasionally collided with each other, making a clanging sound in the water.

As he got a little closer to the water's surface, Milo heard faint sounds coming from the opera house above. Due to the obstruction of several meters of water, the sounds seemed muffled, as if they were being kept in the dark.

Milo quickly realized what was happening.

The clues Rick had left him.

“The sound of chains” and “some muffled thuds that were hard to distinguish”.

The voices came from the missing young psychic, Marty.

Soon, Milo spotted Marty's face among the people trapped in the chaotic dreamscape underwater. His face was swollen from being submerged in water, but like the others, he was still alive, just "alive" in a subtle way. This way was not much different from being dead, because as the Foolish God's Plan progressed, everything in the real world of Nanwei City would eventually be replaced. At that time, not only these people underwater, but the entire Nanwei City on the surface would be forgotten by time, order, and the gods, and even they themselves would forget their own existence.

……

There are also many broken iron chains underwater.

Those are people who have awakened from their dreams after being transformed into beasts. They have broken free of their chains and either floated into the real world or into the world of imitators, depending on the depth they were at.

……

Milo quickly swam to the surface.

And this side is the real world.

In fact, the "real world" is just a term. To some extent, the imitator's side is more like a normally functioning city, because at this moment, Milo saw many people sitting on the ground with blank expressions on their faces. They were not dead, but immersed in a dream, in a state similar to time being frozen.

It's not hard to deduce that everyone else in the entire city of Nanwei outside is doing the same thing.

People in the real world have fallen into a dream, and everything they have has been plundered to become the basis for the existence of imitators.

This seems to contradict Milo's understanding of the law of conservation of matter and energy, because Imnar has essentially created another identical city of Nanvi out of thin air, including all the creatures within it.

But perhaps that's why it was revered as a deity by mortals.

That is, the true power contained in the name Imnar.

……

Milo stepped over the sleeping people on the ground and went straight to the stairwell.

Eric and his companions appeared, asking Milo if they should pull the people soaking in the pool ashore first.

Milo shrugged: "There are hundreds of people down there, this is a huge project."

Eric gestured – “They’ll be dead by the time they wake up.”

"Whatever you want." Milo waved his hand. He hadn't expected the group of seven to have so much confidence in him, thinking he could definitely turn the situation around, and even anticipating the problems that would arise after the crisis was over.

Clearly, those people in the pool who were forcibly plunged into the chaotic dream were Imnar's test subjects before he obtained his true name. At that time, he did not have the power to bring down the entire city, so he could only try in this rather cumbersome way.

After receiving Milo's permission, the seven jumped into the water and dragged those chained to the bottom of the pool up one by one.

Myloko had no time to participate in this massive project because, at that very moment, someone on the ground was waiting for him.

……

...

Climbing the stairs to the underground level, Milo quickly entered the ground level. Passing through the backstage area where the sleepers were crowded like dolls, Milo entered the horseshoe-shaped main hall.

All the candlesticks and lampstands along the way were lit, and everything seemed normal except for the motionless figures.

The closer he got to the stage, the clearer the operatic melodies became to Milo.

The gentle orchestral music, paired with the melodious and beautiful female vocals, was deeply moving, and sounded somewhat familiar to Milo.

When he walked through the passage and arrived at the stage, he saw the opera "La Sonnambula" being performed on the main stage under the spotlight.

The performer was pale, and under the cold lights, her deeply sunken eye sockets and cheeks were visible. Her eyes were lifeless, but her singing was still poignant and moving.

Behind the soloist, the band continued playing, their fingers bleeding from the friction against their instruments, but no one stopped…

The audience below the stage, which had an eerie layout, was packed.

The entire sloping, tiered seating area was packed with spectators. The lights didn't reach the audience, but Milo could still see their stiff, pale faces and empty, lifeless eyes.

This includes the VIP seating area on the several luxurious corridors at the rear.

Everyone was like a statue, completely still.

This is the world that is about to be forgotten.

……

Oh, I misspoke, not everyone.

In the center of the front row of the audience, a smiling face was waving at Milo and pointing to an empty seat next to him, politely inviting Milo to come and enjoy the performance together.

And that face was familiar to Milo as well.

Carter Garnier.

That rising young designer.

The designer of this stunning opera house that captivated the entire southern border.

When the opera house was under construction, Milo helped him solve a small problem.

...

Milo was wondering what kind of person Imnar would appear in to meet him this time.

But he did not expect that the face that appeared in the audience would be Carter Garnier.

However, if you think about it carefully in retrospect, you'll understand.

When everyone was amazed that a young, unknown designer with no outstanding works could create such an elegant and exquisite opera house, Milo should have linked Carter with Imnal.

Clearly, only the Great Old One, who has played and replaced countless human roles, could have drawn such amazing blueprints.

Again.

Rick was right again.

The night Marty disappeared.

Carter Garnier was indeed sitting in the audience at the opera house, and he also enjoyed the beautiful melodies of "La Sonnambula".

……

Milo walked calmly to the front of the stands.

At this moment, Carter gracefully raised his hand, inviting Milo to sit down.

Milo didn't stand on ceremony. He took off his soaking wet trench coat and threw it aside, then sat down in the empty seat to Carter's left.

Carter personally poured Milo a glass of red wine, smiling as he said:
"I knew you'd find your way back eventually."

"Did I keep you waiting?"

Milo picked up the glass and pretended to swirl it a couple of times, then took a light sniff of the rich fruity aroma in the glass.