Mystery: Start with the Reader

"Who is it?" Although Audrey asked aloud, she was sure in her heart that the person outside the bedroom was definitely Mr. "Ta". After all, there would be no one else knocking on the door at this time except him.

"It's me, Miss Audrey...can I come in?" Abner's rich voice came from outside.

Audrey was startled. She didn't expect that the other party would dare to answer so loudly... But after waiting for more than ten seconds, she didn't hear the scolding of her servants and bodyguards, let alone Susie's cry, so she I understand that Mr. "Tower" must have used some means to prevent their movements from being noticed by others...

To be honest, Mr. "Tower"'s ability is really scary... Fortunately, although his reputation is not very good, he is quite upright. He does not rely on being "invisible" and follows a lady closely... Before entering my room at night, he greeted me politely...

That's right, if he was really a wretched person, Xio and Forsi wouldn't be so close to him.

Audrey straightened her clothes while thinking, then stood up and said in the direction of the door: "Please come in."

As soon as she finished speaking, a figure walked out of the wooden door and entered the bedroom.

"Mr. Tower, it seems that you are very skilled at knocking on the door of a lady's room late at night." Audrey rolled her eyes slightly and made a joke, which dispelled the "netizens" feeling a little strange about meeting in real life.

"No, on the contrary, in fact it is usually ladies who knock on my window late at night..." Abner replied "sincerely".

After all it is true.

"Hugh or Forsi?" Audrey asked meaningfully. I want to test Mr. "Tower"'s attitude towards his two friends and want to know which one he likes.

"Both." Abner simply replied without further explanation.

Although Forsi never knocked on the window, she was teleported to her bed...

Audrey, who secretly used the "Mind Reader" ability, failed to read any of Abner's attitude bias. Knowing that the other party had a way to restrain the "audience" channel, she no longer dwelled on this issue and asked instead: "Mr. Tower, when did you know that I was the 'Justice'?"

He knew it before time travel...Abner smiled and said: "Miss Justice, you once entrusted Xio and Forsi to find out the information about 'Hurricane Vice Admiral' Qilingos; you bought it from Xio Several pages of Russell's diary leaked out of my hands; I was also present when Qilingos assassinated Duke Negan, and noticed your behavior of reporting to Count Hall..."

Before he finished speaking, Audrey put on a "polite" smile and laughed at herself: "It turns out that I have so many flaws... Fortunately, I thought I was disguised very well..."

After saying that, she directly brought up the topic and talked about the theme of this "date": "Mr. Tower, can we start exploring the 'sea of ​​collective subconscious'?

"Also, have you completed the items or secret techniques you promised me to develop that can allow you to travel in dreams?"

Abner nodded slightly, took out a giant dragon scale and handed it to Audrey, and said at the same time: "I have developed a secret technique suitable for you.

"Afterwards, I will teach you while taking you to explore the dreamland here.

"As for the scale, it is an item that assists in spell casting and can increase the success rate of the secret technique."

Audrey held the scale and looked at it for a long time, and found that it was different from the ugly dragon scales in her warehouse. The surface was crystal clear, dreamlike and beautiful, which was very consistent with her aesthetics for similar items.

In fact, when Abner made this item, he deliberately adjusted its appearance and designed it based on the scale pattern of "King of the North" Urisian...

"Mr. Tower, what do I need to pay for this item and the accompanying secret technique?" Audrey thought for a while and felt that it was better to clarify the reward in advance so as not to worry about it all the time.

Abner was well prepared for this and asked with a smile: "Do you know Suhit Bank?"

"I know...my father is the third largest shareholder of that bank." Audrey knew that this was one of her family's industries as soon as she thought about it, but asked a little strangely, "Mr. Tower, what do you ask? Do you want this?"

"The reward I want is... to replace the agent installed by Earl Hall in Suchit Bank." Abner put forward his request.

According to the information provided by Cello, Earl Hall's agent in Intis is very close to the Delien family. It is likely that he will violate the Earl's neutral policy at critical moments and make some decisions privately...

Such uncontrollable factors must of course be eliminated.

Audrey didn't expect Mr. "Tower" to make such a request, so she thought for a moment before speaking: "Can I ask the reason?"

"Because he may have been bribed and hindered my plan..." Abner did not hide it from her, and told the situation of Suhit Bank in detail.

The Surrey family... Mr. "Tower" is for that Miss Fanny Surrey? Audrey nodded thoughtfully, then smiled, lifted up her skirt, and saluted: "I will try my best to help you achieve this goal."

This is both for Mr. "Tower" and to help Dad. After all, if the manager really gets involved in the fight between the Intis family, Dad's side will also be put into a passive position... Naturally, the sooner such a moth is eliminated, the better! Audrey thought so.

After discussing the matter, Abner stopped talking and said with a gentle smile: "Miss Audrey, would you be honored to invite you to a dream adventure?"

After saying that, he made a standard invitation to dance.

Audrey pursed her lips, took the blue cloak hanging on the coat rack nearby, put it on her body, stretched out her palm and put it on Abner's hand.

Immediately afterwards, the surrounding scenery changed. The familiar dresser and bed had long since disappeared, replaced by a piece of grass, and hounds were running fast on the grass, chasing a fox.

Among them, the first one was a golden retriever. She was far behind the other hounds...

This is not the real world...this is...Susie's dream? Audrey made a split-second decision and was surprised that she had managed to stay awake without resorting to any means.

"The first lesson of this exploration of the secrets of dreaming is how to stay awake in dreams..." Abner's voice rang in her ears, and he explained the principles and techniques of lucid dreaming in a simple and easy-to-understand way.

Audrey nodded while listening, and at the same time looked at Susie who was constantly winning "victories" on the grass, and thought: It seems that Susie has been very concerned about being eliminated in the "Fox Hunting" training... Well, As a "psychiatrist" and Susie's good friend, I have to give her some guidance after I go back.

——Susie is not a qualified hunting dog, so she became a gift for Earl Hall when he purchased the fox hunting dog.

Abner didn't care what Audrey was thinking. After he explained this part of the knowledge, he walked to the edge of the grass and came to a "door" - that was the "entrance and exit" of this dreamland. ".

Abner held Audrey by the hand. One hand reaches out to grasp the handle, twist it slightly, and pull it back.

The corridor of the Hall family castle immediately came into view.

The main building of this castle has a history of hundreds of years, and many places still retain the characteristics of the past, especially in the corridors - there are no gas wall lamps, and the walls are inlaid with candlesticks made of silver or copper. , with various numbers of candles placed on it, emitting a dim and dim light, illuminating the entire corridor, giving people the feeling that it could be haunted at any time.

Even these are reproduced in the dream...which means that this is actually the collective subconscious of everyone in the manor...well, including Susie? Does every room represent a dream? Audrey looked around, had some guesses in her mind, and asked Abner for confirmation, and finally received a positive answer.

Then, while Abner was talking about the magic model for entering the sea of ​​collective subconscious, he led Audrey to walk on the carpet that continued to extend under her feet, and soon came to several doors that gave Audrey a strong desire to explore. forward.

This is Mom and Dad's bedroom, this is Hibbert's bedroom, this is Annie's room...

The classical doors with reliefs looked particularly mysterious under the dim candlelight, making people want to know what was hidden behind them.

As her thoughts raced, Audrey was eager to explore the inner world of the owner behind each door.

But vaguely, she felt repulsed by such a move.

At this time, Abner's voice sounded again:

“In dreams, you must know how to restrain yourself and respect others.

“Greedyly exploring the hearts of others and digging out privacy and secrets may only end up backlashing you!

"This is a very simple truth: everyone has more or less dark and bad thoughts, but they control them well and do not let them affect their behavior. In this case, if If you persist in digging out these thoughts and digging out the ugly parts under the mask, it will be very easy to be disappointed in human nature and be saturated with all kinds of negative consciousness...

"It's okay for us at low levels now, but when we gain divinity, we will gradually go crazy without even realizing it.

"So unless necessary, don't dig into the deepest secrets of other people's souls...

"The reason why I just chose Susie as the starting point of this 'journey' is because she has a relatively simple mind and has no dark side or privacy..."

While admonishing, Abner also explained one by one the spell structures of the dream secrets on how to penetrate into the isolated island of other people's souls.

Audrey, who had had similar insights before, nodded frequently, but after the explanation, she said with a strange expression: "Mr. Tower, you seem to know a lot about Susie..."

This doesn't sound right... Abner stopped and looked at Audrey for a few times. Then while taking another step, he said casually: "Actually, I know you very well."

"What do you know about me?" Audrey followed up and asked in surprise.

"For example, the story of 'The Beautiful Detective Audrey and Her Assistant Susie'..." Abner said "seriously".

Audrey's face froze and she blurted out: "Do you know this so much?" In the impression, she only had brief conversations with Susie.

At this time, Abner pulled Audrey, who was wearing a blue cloak, along the corridor to the end.

And here is Audrey's own room.

"Of course I know it from here..." Abner pointed at the carved door of the room and smiled.

"Why is there my room?" Audrey asked in confusion.

“The last time you encountered the lady in the crystal cave, you entered the ‘collective subconscious sea’ from the edge of your own dream...

"Of course I have to repeat your previous route this time." Abner replied with a smile.

"That is to say...in reality, I was actually asleep?" Audrey finally realized that it was only the spirit body that entered the dream.

"Don't worry, I put you back on the bed and covered you with a quilt..." Abner said "kindly", "Now it's up to you to open this door, using the 'secret technique' I just taught you. .”

I won't be relieved if you say that... Audrey pursed her lips. She knew that this was just some "bad taste" of Mr. "Ta", so she didn't really care. She was more concerned about what she would dream about now. What……

I hope it's not too childish, otherwise I will be teased by Mr. "Tower" again...

After taking a few deep breaths, Audrey operated the secret technique in her palms based on the previous teachings she had received, and then held the door.

As the wooden door opened back, the scene inside was gradually revealed.

Inside the door, Audrey held a torch high and gave an impassioned speech to the crowd. Then she led the people like a hero. After a fierce battle, she defeated the demons who wanted to invade and rescued two people who were kidnapped by the demons. a princess...

The face of the invading demon looked a bit like Abner.

Seeing this scene, Audrey couldn't help but cover her face.

"It turned out to be a 'hero' dream... There's nothing shameful about it... But it would be better to change the 'villain' next time to another actor..." Abner nodded and said "tactfully".

Audrey calmed down and analyzed with a serious expression: "This may be because I have always been envious of your title of 'heroic detective', so I subconsciously wanted to surpass you, so I had the 'reflection' in the dream. ...In fact, I respect you very much... Mr. Tower."

More than me? Judging from the posture in this dream, you actually want to step on me, right? And those two "princesses", if you look closely, they look a lot like Xio and Forsi... Abner glanced at Audrey, who was still analyzing "seriously", but didn't reveal it.

Next, the two of them came to the edge of this dreamland, on top of a cliff.

Looking outside, gray nothingness spreads, and it is so deep below that there seems to be no bottom.

Last time, Audrey relied on herself to manifest the ladder, and she just entered the sea of ​​collective consciousness... But this time, Abner taught her the final structure of the secret technique:

Show the projection of the spiritual dragon!

Logically speaking, unlike Abner, who is a demigod-level "Bone Dragon", it is almost impossible for Audrey to manifest the shadow of a "Psychic Dragon" on her own... That's why Abner gave her that one Beautiful dragon scales as a medium.

And this dragon scale was actually kindly provided by Miss Crossfia.

－－－－－－Digression－－－－－

4,000 words, including making up for the chapter I owed the day before yesterday

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