[Punitive Expedition Fails Anew, Yet Their Valor is Undeniable]
[Do We Have a Future?!]
[We Have Found the Only Known Manifestation of the Calamity, But We Are Powerless Against It]
The newspapers were filled with cries of anguish and despair.
The Night Calamity and the Plant Calamity had also wreaked havoc on the world, but not as overtly as the Third Calamity. At least one could take refuge from the first two in the warmth and light of their hos.
Silence was different. Every one of its appearances left behind countless families torn asunder by grief.
Scientists were trying to develop a drug that could put infants to sleep for a short ti, but progress was slow. Fast-acting sedatives inevitably hard their health, and the fragile infants could barely tolerate the side effects.
In addition to the usual four newspapers, there was another one today.
"The Believer's Gazette."
This publication from the Main Continent held an opposing viewpoint. It criticized the recklessness of the operation, fearing that the two attacks would anger the Third Calamity and invite even greater misfortune.
This conspiracy theory clearly desecrated the mory of the fallen, but it resonated in the dark corners of people's souls—many thought the sa and bought "The Believer's Gazette," otherwise it wouldn't have been included in the bundle.
The root of the problem was their defeat, and those who remained had to reap the bitter harvest.
The irony was that today's Silence still only affected humans, lasted for just ten minutes or so, and quietly retreated.
It was as if it ignored human resistance, acting on its own whims.
Lu Li was quieter than usual, a fact that even the not-so-sharp Jimmy noticed.
The next day, the major newspapers tore into the position of "The Believer's Gazette," calling it absurd: if a robber breaks into your ho, do you plead for rcy instead of throwing him out?
If pleading could help, people would have gladly sacrificed their pride. But anomalies were hostile by their very nature.
A lion cannot live alongside sheep.
The Trader delivering the newspapers was about to leave when Anna suddenly called out to him, "How many investigator points does it take to get us to the Wastelands?"
"Seven hundred investigator points."
That was equivalent to seven thousand shillings—almost as much as it cost to travel to the Lennon Archipelago, as no vessel would risk approaching the source of the Third Calamity.
When the Trader had left, Anna turned around. A ripple disturbed the dead calm in Lu Li's eyes, which were as still as a deep pool, and he watched Anna in silence, waiting for an explanation.
"We have to do sothing."
These words, coming from Anna, were surprising—she always put Lu Li's safety first.
But his reaction surprised Anna even more. He just shook his head quietly. "I'm powerless."
Anna disagreed. "I believe you can, just like with the Mother of the Swamp."
"That was different. I never intended to confront the Mother of the Swamp," Lu Li replied calmly.
The incident with the Mother of the Swamp had been an accident; he was simply fulfilling Jojo's request to find her brother, Oliver.
Anna's dark red eyes fell in disappointnt. "Even you are powerless..."
She had hoped he would act as he had before.
"Mm."
Lu Li was not stingy with his kindness, but he didn't waste his energy on hopeless causes, like fighting the insurmountable Silence. Besides, avoiding it was simple—all it took was the sinister radio.
He only acted within the realm of the possible—like saving a fish washed ashore.
After preparing a al and waiting out another Silence, Anna left Watcher's Cliff as usual, heading into the ruins to hunt.
Amper had been eating a lot lately, and even half of Jimmy's portion wasn't enough for it. Remi suggested that Amper might be preparing for hibernation—if so, her earlier guess could be correct.
Amper was a dosticated, selectively bred anomaly.
Just like the blood dandelions—a fusion of anomalous power with the local flora.
Speaking of them, in the past two weeks on the south of the continent, they had only attacked a few villages. The dampness and constant overcast weather were holding them back.
In ti, they would rot in the earth, becoming its nutrients.
Or, one day, they would burst forth, creating fields that blushed as red as a sea of blood.
...
The Coastal Quarter
The dreary, deserted streets no longer held any mory of their forr liveliness.
Shattered windows and ruined, scorched houses could be seen everywhere.
"Why did you bring
here?" Selika Daler asked, surveying her new shelter.
It was a rickety but cozy two-story house where the furniture had miraculously survived.
Selika took an imdiate liking to it, even though she would still have to hide in the basent.
"It's safer here than there," Anna answered reservedly.
This was partly true. The coastal quarter was farther from the center of Belfast than Selika's previous hiding place.
Another reason: the second floor offered a view of Lu Li's forr "ho."
As long as Anna was around, Selika didn't have to rush to set up the basent. She settled into an armchair and asked in surprise, "No possession this ti?"
Because of her missing lower lip, her speech was slurred, with a slight whistle.
"Mm."
Anna needed a break...
Although possessing Selika Daler gave her the sensation of a new life, and her emotions no longer plunged into the abyss, a side effect was a growing, almost fanatical passion for Lu Li.
At tis, she could barely restrain the urge to possess Selika and go to Watcher's Cliff to see Lu Li.
Anna was searching for a balance between this passion and her cold rationality.
"I failed," she sighed with a mix of regret and slight relief. "He has no intention of leaving the Cliff... his safe haven."
"Makes sense. Not everyone is born a hero."
A note of mockery laced Selika's voice. An instant later, an icy chill gripped her soul. But, unusually stubborn, she stood her ground, pointing to her missing lip. "I once cared that much for a man, too."
She stood up. The pressure from Anna shattered Selika's illusions—this wasn't a ho, and the girl in the white dress across from her was no angel.
"And now, all food tastes like tal to ."
Now she had to set up the basent, where she would have to live once again.
"You don't understand anything." The coldness in Anna's eyes gradually faded. She followed Selika Daler and listened as the woman talked about Lu Li while cleaning the dusty basent.
"I take back what I said."
After finishing with the basent, Selika placed a radio on the steps. If it couldn't pick up the signal from Himmfast, she would have to move it higher.
She pushed back the strands of hair stuck to her forehead with sweat and dust. "He really is an extraordinary man."
"And that's what made a vengeful spirit get attached for eternity?" The absurd thought flashed through Selika's mind.
"But if he won't co out, how will you ever touch him?"
"An opportunity will present itself," Anna replied, adding ntally, "An opportunity will definitely present itself."
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