Putting away the notebook left by the night watchman, Lu Li pushed open the carved wooden door of the secret passage.
The wooden door, swollen by moisture, made a grinding sound like sawing wood, revealing the deep secret passage leading to the real library.
The night watchman "Matthew" was guarding this place, and Lu Li and others walked along the cold and safe damp passage.
"What do we do when we get up there?"
Pusius asked from the side of his trousers.
"What?" Catalina lowered her head.
"What should we do after we find the Twisted Vine Church? Will they communicate with us?"
"I don't know..." Catalina looked at Lu Li's back.
It's not a good idea to approach an unknown church.
But there is no better way.
The only good thing is that Lu Li, who lost his humanity and returned to ordinary people, will not arouse the covetousness of the church.
The secret passage in the Investigator's Base is longer than the Mayor's Secret passage in Verna's Freezing Port. It is difficult to understand that such a passage would only lead to the library.
The stone steps extending upward emerge from the edge of the oil lamp.
Climbing up the steps to the top floor, they saw the simple wooden door with a sense of history.
Because it is far away from the coastline, its corrosion situation is much better, and it is as beautiful as a piece of art.
Lu Li leaned closer to the wooden door and listened, but there was silence on the other side.
The ancient wooden door slowly opened a gap as it rubbed against the doorway, letting in the diluted smell of burning firewood smoke.
The use of fire is one of the defining characteristics of humanity.
Maybe the Church of the Twisted Vine isn't as bad as it seems.
or even better
The neatly stretched bookshelves are filled with books, and everything remains as it was twenty-four years ago. The humidity fades away as you step into the real library, and the burning smoke rising outside the high windows keeps the library dry.
The Church of the Twisted Vine protects the books here.
"So many books..."
Pusius' throat made an uncontrollable sound.
Someone has been cleaning here. The floor is faded but dust-free, and the high windows clearly reveal the clouds.
In addition to the main door, the real library has several secret passages.
But thinking that the twisted vines might be able to communicate, Lu Li did not leave from the secret passage, but opened the library door.
A gathering place surrounded by layers of wooden boards like a walled city appears behind the gate.
A silhouette shrouded in black robes stood beside the door, gradually getting lower.
"The Almighty Father told me to wait here for your arrival. Please come with me."
The believers who had already known about Lu Li's arrival walked in front.
"Who is that and where are you taking us?"
Although the incident itself was full of weirdness, Lu Li still followed.
There are many survivors in the gathering place of the Church of Twisted Vine. They wear linen clothes and are busy working on fortifications or planting. They are not only humans, but also aliens with growing organs, alien species with changing body shapes, and even ferocious monsters. They live harmoniously in the gathering place.
Psius liked this scene, it reminded him of old sewers.
"Our leader; the beacon that guides the way; the fire that protects us, He knows you are coming and He wants to see you."
The believers led them away from the real library. The gathering area was very large, and several nearby blocks were integrated together. The houses were bulldozed and turned into fertilizer and piled up to form a city wall surrounding the gathering place. The unsightly shacks were spread out like slums.
Everywhere.
He is in a building that looks like a withered giant tree. The brazier is burning, dispelling the darkness and cold. An old silhouette is sitting in a wooden chair, with his body wrinkled like tree bark.
Some kind of invisible influence exerted on them, looking at the outline of the seat was like looking at an old banyan tree.
Cultists exit the building.
He sat on the tree stump seat and looked at Lu Li silently.
Lu Li looked back, as if he was remembering something.
"You...you knew we were coming?"
Catalina broke the silence that lasted several minutes.
"This is one of the things I care about in my eternal life. I stay in the ruins not just because I was born here."
Slow and thick whispers slowly sounded, making his image closer to the ancient tree. He nodded gently towards Lu Li, as if he knew him...
"Long time no see, Mr. Lu Li."
"Is it twenty-four years or twenty-four trillion years?" Lu Li also recognized him.
When the detective agency still existed, the man who asked him for help because of a long dream, the Ever Dreamer.
The eternal dreamer seems to be smiling.
"I have seen civilizations like anthills from establishment to collapse, and I have also seen the earth be endowed with life and civilization. Dragons and rockets flying into the sky, planets from birth to destruction; each tentacle is like a galaxy as huge as a god; more powerful than the universe.
The vast and magnificent existence spreads its body..."
"Calculating time will only make it longer, so I stopped caring about the passage of time a long time ago..."
"...It's not healed yet?" Lu Li asked after a brief silence.
"It's better now, or...I'm used to it."
Yongmengzhe seemed to have a glimpse of Lu Li's thoughts and said slowly.
"It's not that bad...near-eternal life is indeed a painful ordeal, but after I learned to forget, the only thing that tortured me was the pain of experiencing those moments."
"I can not understand……"
Catalina frowned. She guessed that the old man on the tree stump had lived for a long time, but she didn't understand the sentence itself.
"Mr. Lu Li will tell you the answer." Yongmengzhe just said.
Lu Li answered Catalina on behalf of the Ever Dreamer: "You have experienced 100 million years. The long 100 million years is a kind of pain, but when the experience is over, forgetting what happened during this period will also make you forget the pain."
This is the reason why the Ever Dreamer hasn't gone crazy yet, or rather... he went crazy once, but he woke up after a long time.
"Eternal life is a curse, everything must come to an end." The Eternal Dreamer whispered.
"Did you know we would come?" Lu Li continued to ask.
"Of course. A glimpse into the future is just a small thing that comes with a long life."
"A glimpse of the future..." Katarina repeated with a frown.
"For example, Twisted Vine is two churches, on both sides of the library. You will come to us first, not the other side."
So the believers are waiting for them at the gate of the real library.
Catalina was flattered by the Ever Dreamer's answer: "You mean two churches?"
"The Church of the Twisted and the Church of the Vine. We are the Vine."
"So...you also know our purpose, right?" Katarina continued to ask.
"Where is Anna?" Lu Li asked more directly.
It's just that the Ever Dreamer didn't intend to tell the answer directly, he just replied: "Let other people in the church tell you. Go to the Twisted Church at the other end of the library, they know the answer you want... there are also people you are familiar with."
"You can read those books at any time." The Ever Dreamer looked at Pusius and said kindly, and then looked at Catalina with the slyness of an old man: "I will keep the secret for you."
"Can't you tell me?" Lu Li asked.
"The future will change by knowing the answer in advance. All I can say is"
The deep and wise eyes of the Everlasting Dreamer returned to Lu Li and spoke softly.