A scorching wind stirred the rising Black Flame. Wisps of black smoke swirled toward the great hole in the cavern roof, blotting out the silver moonlight. Everything in the cave seemed to carry a faint smell of burning.
"I'm not sure I understand. What do you mean, most people are fake, created by a typewriter?" Xia Lun looked at the tear-streaked Attendant in surprise. "And what do you mean by 'living person' and 'writer'?"
Just when he had thought he had reached a dead end, a path had opened up. He had assumed the trail went cold when "the mummified Hornard" dropped dead, but now the unassuming Attendant had picked it up again!
Before the Attendant could answer, Xia Lun shook his head. "Wait. First, tell me what happened after I left the Submarine. Why did you bring it here?"
"I think the light from that 'lighthouse' had a hypnotic effect. We all fell into a dream without realizing it." After a moment's silence, the Attendant added, "Once we were dreaming, we piloted the Submarine here like moths drawn to a flame."
Something clicked for Xia Lun.
He suddenly understood why his trail of clues had inexplicably gone cold.
He had been too serene for "Nuo Ring Hour" to pull him into the dream. That also meant he could not learn anything from it!
"..." Xia Lun almost made a dry joke, but swallowed it at the last moment.
He cleared his throat. "I understand. Please go on."
"Most of us aren't real people. We were only created a short while ago by the 'typewriter' in the Sea Abyss. That typewriter 'wrote the Scenario,' and we're nothing but puppets controlled by it."
A sad, self-mocking smile crossed the Attendant's face. He lowered his gaze to the Oceanographer, who was gradually