Chapter 1115: 102. Conversation

Muen pushed open the door, and a room not entirely unfamiliar to him appeared before his eyes in the darkness.

The simple furnishings, the old office desk, and the walls covered in cracks—everything was as plain and simple as it had been in his memory. The only difference was that the chair behind the office desk was not empty. A pale-faced, handsome man was sitting there, focused intently on reading through something.

A breeze came in from outside the window, and the tough grass on the Gobi swayed, as if displaying its vigorous vitality to Muen... or perhaps some kind of resolve.

“You’re here?”

Sensing the arrival of his guest, Theodore put down the work in his hands and reached out to pull open the drawer beside him.

“Would you like some tea? Real tea is a rare thing here.”

“No.”

Muen sat down in the seat that seemed to have been prepared especially for him and smiled.

“For me, tea isn’t exactly a rare thing. And I’m not very fond of black tea.”

“...”

Theodore’s movement froze. He raised his head and looked suspiciously at Muen. Then, as if he had read something from that meaningful smile of his, he suddenly came to a realization.

“You already know that I know your true identity? No wonder you were able to get a perfect score on that examination. So you came prepared.”

Those words sounded rather convoluted, yet they plainly displayed Theodore’s outstanding insight.

With only one sentence from Muen, he immediately understood the reason his earlier action had failed.

Although he still did not know that last night, Muen had directly infiltrated this very room and watched his actions clearly from beginning to end.

“No helping it. Who told me I’ve always disliked falling into a passive position?”

Muen shrugged. “Mr. President may not understand me very well. My life creed is to be a man who is always on top, to firmly hold the initiative in my own hands... although I’m still working hard in that regard right now, and the road ahead remains long and heavy.”

“So you, too, are a person shouldering a heavy responsibility, just like me.”

Theodore’s expression immediately became solemn and full of admiration. “Judging by your speech and bearing, could it be that outside, you are actually a great personage who holds authority in his hands?”

“I wouldn’t dare call myself a great personage who holds authority in his hands.”

Muen’s expression also turned solemn. “At present, I’m merely still fighting for the right to distribute several hundred million living beings at certain times. Unfortunately, my strength is still weak, and for the time being, I lack the power to suppress those arrogant fellows. I can only endure humiliation, bear the heavy burden, and work hard to maintain balance.”

“What? Hiss—”

Theodore could not help sucking in a cold breath.

Several hundred million living beings?

The right to distribute them?

Although the situation did not sound very good, and it seemed there were several even more powerful people pressing down over him, to possess such authority...

A king? An emperor? Or perhaps the leader of some great power occupying its own territory?

“I was negligent.”

Theodore suddenly rose and bowed toward Muen. “To have tried to hold you in that manner before was truly offensive. I now solemnly apologize to you.”

“Ahem, no need. Although that is how I said it, I am still a very peaceful person. I won’t mind such a small thing.”

Muen gave a dry cough and waved his hand reservedly.

“Let’s return to the main topic. Mr. President called me here. Surely it wasn’t purely to invite me to drink tea.”

“Correct. Now is not exactly a time when one can drink tea in peace.”

Theodore sat down again, facing Muen across the desk.

“First, allow me to introduce myself. My humble name is Theodore Carter. I am the president of the City-State United Pioneering Association of Annabawei, as well as a Pioneer with fairly old qualifications, identity code 03001. Of course, I have not carried out pioneering work myself for a very long time. Most of the time, I stay behind the scenes and am responsible for coordinating the actions of the various Pioneers, gathering intelligence, raising supplies for them, and occasionally handling the affairs left behind by sacrificed Pioneers.”

“Sounds busy.”

“It’s all right. These are merely the necessary duties of a president.”

Theodore touched the top of his head. The few remaining blades of tough grass were still rooted in the Gobi for now and did not seem inclined to leave him, which made him feel very much at ease.

“Muen Campbell.”

Muen thought for a moment, then said, “I have already said this name before. As for my identity... what identity I have outside should not matter to the people here or to you, Mr. President. Therefore, you can simply regard me as an ordinary traveler... just as I said before.”

“A traveler... is that so?”

Theodore interlaced the fingers of both hands and propped up his chin, half of his face sinking into shadow.

“Then may I ask, Mr. Campbell, what exactly is your purpose in coming here?”

“To track down a certain existence,” Muen said directly, without hiding his intention.

“A certain existence?”

“A certain... evil existence.”

Muen considered his wording. “Probably the kind that, if left alone, might even endanger the safety of the world. My purpose is to find him... or them.”

“...Do you have any clues?”

“A little.”

“Would it be convenient to disclose them?”

“About that...”

Muen suddenly smiled meaningfully. “With your intelligence, Mr. President, I think you should already have guessed something.”

“...”

Theodore lowered his eyes and said nothing for the moment.

But in his heart, stormy waves had already surged.

An evil existence?

If left alone, it might even threaten the safety of the world?

Theodore had originally believed that such a person did not exist in Annabawei. After all, in such a barren place, the people here already found it this difficult merely to keep living. How could they possibly become devils capable of endangering the world?

Even wreaking destruction required a full stomach first.

But then his thoughts suddenly changed... What if this existence was not limited to a “person”?

In that case, a target that met both of those conditions appeared naturally before Theodore’s eyes.

The Goddess of Night.

This outsider... was searching for the Goddess of Night?

“It seems Her Ladyship the Goddess was right. You truly are the key person who will complete that matter, and our interests are indeed aligned.”

Theodore raised his head again and revealed a smile.

“Interests? Aligned?” Muen raised an eyebrow. “That matter? Sounds like you called me here not only for more than tea, but also while brewing some sort of terrifying conspiracy.”

“It cannot be called a conspiracy. It is merely a choice made out of helplessness.”

Theodore’s expression grew complicated, and his eyes suddenly dimmed as well.

“May I ask you a few more questions, Your Excellency Campbell?”

“Ask.”

“What do you think of this Annabawei now?”

“Now?”

Muen thought seriously for a moment. “Do you want me to be a little tactful, or direct?”

“A little tactful?”

“This place is probably going to be finished after a while.”

“And direct?”

“This place is definitely going to be finished after a while.”

“...”

Theodore’s mouth twitched. “Mr. Campbell’s descriptions... truly are tactful enough, and direct enough.”

“Is there a problem with what I said? This Annabawei is going to be finished. If it continues developing like this, there is no second possibility.”

Muen rose and came to the window.

As the president’s office, this room was finally somewhat different from the burlap curtains Muen had seen earlier at Grandma Meg’s place. The curtains seemed, to the touch, to be made of some kind of cotton cloth and were heavy enough.

Only curtains this heavy could completely block out the sunlight when the sun was shining brightly.

Unfortunately, now these heavy curtains had already lost their function.

Because... ℯℯ𝑙.

Muen pulled the curtain open, but no sunlight poured in to drive away the darkness in the room.

The sky was dark.

Outside, just like here, thick night covered everything. The dead-silent city had long since lost its earlier noise. There was not even a single point of lamplight... nor did anyone dare to have one. Night was the domain of the Goddess of Night. Even though the people here had already abandoned their former faith, they still did not dare offend her casually.

“If I calculated the time correctly, the moment it became dark just now was noon here.”

Muen took out his pocket watch and confirmed the time on it.

“According to Marcie, even on the last day of the Daylight Period, noon would absolutely never directly enter night. Not to mention that by calculation, the Daylight Period has not completely ended. At the very least, it should not have become dark here until four hours later.”

“In other words, this night has descended at a point in time when it absolutely should not have appeared.”