Nightmare's Call

522 Awakening: Part 1

The notification sound came again. Lin Sheng glanced at his mobile phone; it was the third message now. Would the fellow not give up?

He was sitting in the sanctum, while a few personnel in charge of Shermanton’s promotion were standing in front of him. They were reporting back on their search of the illegal broadcast in their jurisdiction.

“In summary, we have found none related criminal activities. Other than a few cultists tried to spread their black magic using homemade loudspeakers, everything was normal.”

The head of the propaganda division was used to be one of Khadula’s avatars. With enough manpower now, a professional had taken over the role. As many avatars as Khadula had, a multitasking mind was not as efficient as dedicated personnel.

“Normal?” Lin Sheng frowned. He took up his mobile phone and took a look. The message was short and simple.

“There will be a clawed monster attack in Hengyu Square on Saturday night.”

“Another prediction SMS.” He turned off the screen. “The last two text messages were also making predictions. And both came true. This one could also come true. What is the person’s motive? How did he know about such accurate information? By releasing this information, he must be hiding his motive.”

Lin Sheng was in deep thought.

“If there is nothing else, Lord, we will leave now. There is still much to do,” the propaganda head said.

“Okay, go now.”

Lin Sheng had told him about the text messages, and his reply was the person knew his number; it was a point-to-point transmission but an indiscriminate broadcast. That puzzled him further since he knew his mobile phone was entirely normal; it was just a number. Perhaps, someone who knew his number may have inadvertently leaked it. The key question was, what was the motive of sending him those text messages?

Thinking of that, he clapped his hands. In the empty hall, two girls, white-haired, slender, draped in body-hugging white leather armor, appeared in front of him.

“Lyla, at your service.”

“Jahn, at your service.”

Both girls were typical twins. Armed with the inborn Paragon of Destiny ability, no one had tried to understand them since they were small. They had been persecuted, raped, and having abortions. It was not until during a recruitment exercise that Khadula rescued the two girls from hell. As a result, they were extremely loyal to the Sanctum that had saved them, and they followed Khadula so fervently that they were willing to become martyrs for her.

As the Sanctum continued to expand, the number of powerful beings like the two girls was increasing. Those with some potential, after careful training and nurturing, had grown up and become an important force of the Sanctum.

“I’m glad to see you two recovering,” Lin Sheng said gently. “Have you two found anything about the man named Lange?”

The two girls looked sweet and innocent when they smiled, no different from the average pretty girls.

However, looks could be deceiving. They were in charge of the enhanced interrogation division, which was essentially a sector that tortured captives to extract information from them.

“We have found several things, but the information is scrappy. We didn’t compile it into the report,” said Lyla, the elder sister.

“We have filtered thirteen people with the same name in Shermanton and locked on to one major suspect. This is all we have found.” Jahn, the younger sister stepped forward to hand a tablet computer to Lin Sheng.

Lin Sheng took it and looked at the information.

“Lange, male.

“Age: 31

“Background: unknown. Strength: unknown.

“The earliest record shows one day he suddenly appeared in a deserted street, a place closest to the Black Tide outbreak.

“The day before his appearance, a group of Oppressor-class monsters was attacking and massacring the residents in the area. It was the Steel Lord who killed all the monsters and cleaned up the place.

“Lange has spent an unknown amount of money to open a café in the suburbs of Shermanton. He is now suspected of having contact with Lin Xiao.”

“This is it?” Lin Sheng frowned deeply after he read it. “What I want is deeper, not this superficial information!”

“We are sorry. That is all we could find. The only way to get more information is to enter the Black Tide,” Lyla said.

“The Black Tide?” A stern expression flashed across his eyes. “I know. Leave me now.”

“Aye.” The two girls left.

Sitting on the principal seat, Lin Sheng’s face was still, seemingly deep in thought.

...

Two days had passed. Lin Sheng had received three messages, two of which were predictions of monster attacks, and the other was a direction to some treasure. He had sent men to investigate and found that things in the text messages had come true. He found the hidden gold bars.

Another two days later, a new text message arrived. This time, it marked a faraway location with even more treasure, diagonal from Shermanton and near the border.

Multiple prediction fulfillments had aroused Lin Sheng’s interest. So this time, he would personally investigate and dig out the so-called treasure. This ability of precise predictions of the future seemed to be like his Wheel of Fate ability. But unlike this mysterious person who could predict things beyond his own, Lin Sheng’s Wheel of Fate could only predict his own future. So Lin Shang wanted to find this mysterious person who sent him the text messages. If he could master this prediction ability, he might gain some advantages over the Black Tide.

For the next two days, Hanyu and Nisse were dishing out everything they had to deal with the situations that might crop up. They had given up all their strengths and traveled with their souls through time back to their childhood bodies. But their experience, knowledge, and consciousness, even special abilities, were still intact. As it was an era of chaos, where many controlled items were not strictly controlled, the two thought their preparation was more than enough.

The two torturing days slipped past as they went without sleep.

On the morning of March 31st at Lin Sheng’s house.

“We are going out now. Have a good rest. Don’t forget the medication and drink more water!” Gu Wanqiu shouted her reminder to her daughter upstairs.

“I know,” Lin Xiao was heard replying.

“Stop babbling already. She’s an adult now. She knows how to take care of herself. Come one, we need to hurry up!” Lin Zhounian urged her impatiently as he placed the painkillers, neatly divided for consumption at different times of day, on the most conspicuous place on the table.

“Don’t rush me. What’s wrong with giving a few reminders?” Gu Wanqiu glared at him. “Didn’t I warn you about taking Mestinon last time? It still turned out that you almost overdosed yourself!”

“You know nuts! That was the last time. Who has never made a mistake? Don’t be double-standard!” Lin Zhounian barked, trying to tough talk but deep inside, he knew he was guilty.

The argument continued as they went out of the door, riding their electric bike toward their shop. They had to deliver a big order today. But they first needed to go back to the shop and then headed to the factory to check out the goods. The place was far away, and by the time they came home, it could be late in the day. That was why they kept urging Lin Xiao.

Lin Xiao had been having fever for the past two days, body arching, losing energy. It worried them.