Seagull Town once again welcomed a rare bout of good weather, with bright sunshine and clear skies.
In the Lord's estate, a rosy-cheeked girl leaned against the warm light, quietly confiding something to the young lord in front of her.
Moments later, Lin Lan's expression turned strange.
"Are you saying the Lion Heart Royal Court plans to wipe everyone out with the Blood Plague Curse?"
Lin Lan felt incredulous; he thought the nobles who ruthlessly enslaved commoners were excessive enough, but there were even stronger players in the Royal Palace!
Wendy nodded and fumbled in her pocket for a moment, then pulled out a small notebook.
"My father was an ocean researcher for the Alliance, and this is a relic he left behind."
She handed it to Lin Lan, but her gaze lingered on the notebook's surface, somewhat reluctant: "Inside records all his opinions on the Lion Heart Kingdom."
Lin Lan reached out to receive it.
The notebook was only palm-sized, moderately thick, with a spotless brown cover clearly cared for meticulously.
Opening the cover, neatly beautiful handwriting greeted his eyes.
"Under the influence of the war across the North and South Sea, internal conflicts within the Alliance have become more complex and acute."
"The divide between left and right factions is severe, the members endlessly hold meetings, and the insane right faction intends to throw the witches into battle against the Empire's war machinery!"
"Now the right-wing officials have begun to dominate the war situation, for the safety of my wife and children, I decided to leave the Alliance temporarily and accompanied them with an academic guise."
"As a researcher under Professor Calvin, I was responsible for perfecting the world layers theory he proposed, and with the help of the academy, my research location was ultimately set in the Lion Heart Kingdom."
"Hope all goes well."
Seeing this, Lin Lan furrowed his brows.
Wendy's father intended to take his family away from the war, but why did he choose... the Lion Heart Kingdom?
It seemed like an invisible hand was pushing him forward, yet he was completely unaware.
Like a chess piece moved at will.
Lin Lan continued to read.
"The Lion Heart Kingdom is truly a backward and ignorant country; the nobles here can kill commoners at will without any liability, this makes me quite uneasy."
"Fortunately, Princess Olivia is willing to accept support from the Alliance, I believe people's lives will improve step by step."
"I started focusing on research, the academy sent people to inform me that rulers of the Lion Heart Kingdom suffer from a special blood loss condition, they often hear strange calls when no one is around, within which might lie clues to the world layers..."
"I discovered..."
The text suddenly was crossed out in large distorted lines.
Many pages were torn, the broken edges covered with dried mottled blood stains.
Lin Lan's expression turned grave.
Going further, the writing in the notebook became messy, fragmented, and frantic.
"All the past monarchs of this country are complete lunatics!"
"The Blood Plague is merely the shadow of the Abyss; what they hear, see, and touch, all come from another world's curse!"
"Professor Calvin is right! The world truly has layers, and the Lion Heart Kingdom is slowly sinking toward the Abyss layer!"
"No... no... I must warn everyone, I must take my wife and daughter away from this land, as soon as possible..."
"It's already too late... I saw them, they saw me too, I never thought knowledge would be a poison..."
"I am sorry to them; it's me who harmed them..."
Lin Lan closed the notebook.
"From that moment, my father fell gravely ill."
Wendy looked out the window, her voice very light: "Mother took care of us, she forbade me from stealing a look at father's notebook, and forbade Lisa from listening to father's thoughts."
"Then, our family booked tickets to return home."
The girl's shoulders began to tremble.
Lin Lan looked at the girl's profile, he stayed silent for a moment, then rose and reached out, gently tousling her hair.
In Lin Lan's eyes, she was ultimately a child who hadn't grown up.
"It's okay now."
His tone was slow and firm, his eyes seeming to harbor a blazing flame deep within.
Wendy instinctively tightened her grip on Lin Lan's hand, the girl silently choked on sobs, she ceased controlling her expression, her beautiful face full of sadness.
And in the shadowy corner of the room, a blood-red eye slowly opened, scanning maliciously, searching for the sacrifice that glimpsed the Abyss.
Lin Lan suddenly looked up, meeting its gaze directly.
The moment the Abyss saw the Foreigner, the Foreigner also cast his gaze onto the Abyss.
Come down to measure up?
The incomplete eye trembled significantly, it quickly closed its eye, swiftly fleeing Lin Lan's gaze.
Lin Lan slowly retracted his gaze, this time he didn't withdraw his hand.
Wendy cried for a long time.
Lin Lan quietly stayed by her side, allowing the girl to vent her emotions,
Meanwhile, Lisa slowly peeked her head from behind Lin Lan, offering the treats she could never bear to eat to her sister.
"Sis... eating till you're full won't make you sad."
Wendy gradually calmed down.
She looked at her sister's innocent face, then felt the warmth in Roland's palm, and a blush quickly surfaced on the girl's face.
"Sir Roland..." She hurriedly wiped her face, her voice as faint as a mosquito's hum: "I'm not a child anymore..."
Before Lin Lan could respond, little Lisa's pointed ears twitched: "Sis, can I listen to your thoughts? I can help share some..."
"No! You can't just listen to other people's thoughts!"
Wendy's gentle face swiftly turned stern, she grabbed Lisa's pointed ear: "I haven't even reckoned with you for listening to Sir Roland's thoughts without permission!"
"Sis, it hurts! It hurts!"
Little Lisa pleaded with a pained expression, quickly defending: "It was Sir Roland who asked me to listen!"
Lin Lan: ...
This indeed was his fault.
The sisters bantered for a while, the room's atmosphere quickly lightened, immediately after, Wendy turned to Lin Lan once more.
"Sir Roland, please allow me to take over my father's duties and continue researching the world layers."
Her expression turned serious again: "I am certain this knowledge can help you."
"Sir Roland, Wendy is a one-in-a-million genius girl!"
As she spoke, the pinched-eared Lisa displayed a proud expression: "Even Grandpa Calvin from the University praised her, oh! Sis, let go..."
...
Lin Lan left the bedroom.
His mood was slightly uplifted.
Seagull Town was lacking in everything right now, and talent was all the more crucial. Scholars like Wendy could always help him see deeper and farther into this chaotic world.
He glanced at the system interface.
[Dungeon Card 'Sunken Ideal City' is ready!]