Old-time musicians

Fanning held the brim of the hat in his left hand.

Then the memory in his dream emerged and began to flow away at a moderate speed. This feeling was not too difficult to grasp. Fanning habitually took out his notebook and began to record his dreams.

He had very efficient recording skills. With the listing of keywords or the prompts of the necessary scenes, the plot skeleton, main picture or main emotion of the dream were mostly preserved.

Finally, he closed the notebook, rubbed his head, and took a sip of water from his glass.

The intensity of the confrontation between forgetting and recording is a normal experience on weekdays, but this dream is indeed a bit tortuous and bizarre, and a lot of secret information has been obtained. Fanning believes that this must be an experience of wandering in the migration layer. Since it is the will of the world, it means that it has the same authenticity as what happens in the world's appearance.

And when did I fall asleep and enter the dream? I can't seem to find the connection point between it and the real experience.

Boarding the bus, counting the number of people, chatting with classmates, talking about production safety accidents and "ghost stories", this must be what happened in the waking world.

Later, the train stopped due to a malfunction, they talked about photos with candles, talked about Kaplun's leukemia, and Lu got off the train to check the maintenance. This should also be the case.

Later? The disappearance of people one after another, the reappearance of the feeling of being watched, the comfort of passengers, Roy's divination? After the mysterious factors really appeared, Fanning was a little uncertain.

As for leaving the train, stepping on the wilderness with both feet, the feeling of being detached from the dream began to become 100% obvious.

Time? Fanning took out his pocket watch, and the pointer showed 4:50 in the afternoon.

Could it be that after so many things happened, the time in the real world did not pass at all? This time is basically consistent with the sky I saw just after the train broke down, and it may even be seamless.

The wrong time and space are really wrong.

I still can't determine the dividing point between reality and dreams. At that time, I didn't look at the pocket watch, but continued to chat with Lu and Kaplun. It wasn't until night fell that Roy ran over to ask everyone, maybe the malfunction had started for a long time.

Fanning put away his top hat, stood up and stretched his body, then walked towards carriage No. 2. At the connection, he met Roy who was also walking towards him.

Her eyes were full of fatigue and confusion, but her expression brightened a lot after seeing him. She quickly approached him and whispered in a soft voice: "Mr. Fanning, I just felt..."

"Shh, I know." Fanning stretched out his index finger and pressed it on her lips, "Let's go to the back first."

Roy immediately understood that Fanning wanted to check the people again.

Vasius was also one of the passengers on the train. It was indeed not prudent to start communicating rashly without verifying the situation at this time, and it was unknown whether this "ghost train" that returned to reality was completely out of danger.

During the whole mysterious incident, although Fanning sorted out some of the previous confusing nodes through his own analysis, he felt that there were still many things that were in the fog.

The two walked towards the No. 2 carriage. Across from the sofa where Roy sat, the second violinist Edith was leaning against the window with her eyes closed. Looking back, the two found that all the classmates were still asleep.

Then, Fanning saw Julius's seat, with two girls lying opposite her, but no one was sitting where she sat. Only a light red shoulder bag that looked expensive stood by the window at the innermost part of the sofa, with a white silk scarf on it.

"Is it her personal belonging?" Fanning asked.

"'Tiffany' was launched in June this year. I don't like this taste very much." Roy wrinkled his nose, bent over and stretched out his hand to unzip it, and found a ticket among a pile of bottles and jars. "She did disappear."

The two came to the public carriage again and confirmed that Vassius's seat was also empty, but the broken glass was in good condition at this time, which may indicate that the incident of breaking the glass happened in the wrong time and space.

When they returned to Car No. 1, Xilan and Joan had already woken up slowly. At Fanning's instruction, Lu was also woken up. The few of them quickly communicated. As the co-experiencers after getting off the train, Fanning and his group of four had the same memory. Lu, who stayed in the car, had a vague memory of the second half of the night and could only recall the extreme anxiety, but his dream control method had also been practiced to a relatively proficient level, and he could remember that there seemed to be several conflict scenes that were still under control.

After a brief exchange, Lu quickly woke up the sleeping conductor and staff, the technicians continued to start the maintenance work, and the crew re-counted the number of passengers according to Fanning's requirements.

The passengers also woke up one after another, and Fanning communicated with several classmates and passengers. In general, everyone had similar feelings about this incident. They slept and had a nightmare, and they could not distinguish the nodes of being awake and dreaming.

But the memory of the ignorant is forgotten faster. They only remember some keywords such as failure, night, disappearance, quarrel, waiting, panic, and then woke up.

The maintenance work on the other side was completed quickly. After eliminating an occasional but minor power failure in twenty minutes, the huge body of the steam locomotive began to move inch by inch again.

The next thing to complete was a head count. One maintenance person was missing, or one more safety helmet was added. As for the passengers, the torn off ticket stubs looked the same as those present, but Fan Ning's notebook drew a rectangular combination to indicate the location of the missing persons' toilets, coupled with the incident records of passengers who broke the window and left, those people indeed appeared out of thin air. evaporated.

The inventory work was quickly completed. Amidst the "clang" of the train, Fan Ning and his party of five returned to Car No. 1 to discuss the next arrangements.

"We are now faced with two practical problems." Fan Ning said, "Our concertmaster disappeared unexpectedly, and so did Special Inspector Vasius."

"Leave the other two pieces to me to lead the band." Sheeran said, "It's just your "Violin Concerto in E minor"..."

"The most conventional way to deal with it is to sit on top of the classmates sitting in the row behind Julius." Fan Ning didn't have much trouble with this decision. "My band part is not complicated to write. It depends on the soloist's ability." The skill is enough to support the effect of the concerto. The arrangement of the string players has been strictly and carefully considered. The level and leadership ability of the second player are not too inferior, just a little less effective. "

In the last few days, I didn’t have time to think of any other alternatives. Fortunately, the song that was affected was the simplest song in the band part.

"Actually... I think it has improved overall." Roy agreed very much: "Objectively speaking, the effect of the concerto will definitely be worse than before, but those two pieces that rely entirely on the orchestra, after the school girl came to lead the group It will definitely be a big improvement compared to before.”

Fan Ning didn't like Julius very much, but he couldn't find a suitable replacement for the time being, and it was inconvenient to directly replace Sheeran, who had not yet reported for school, so he wrote a concerto for Sheeran, in this way, The band members became familiar with her.

Of course, Roy could see the above joints very clearly.

The disappearance of the lead lady of the orchestra is a big news in the Santa Lenia Symphony Orchestra. Even Professor Fan Ning, who is highly trusted by everyone, would definitely have a lot of trouble explaining it on a normal day.

——But the current situation is that a weird and horrifying mysterious incident happened before, and everyone has truly felt it. With extremely dangerous psychological expectations and the foreshadowing of the disappearance phenomenon, one more person missing can only be said to be... "The unexpected."

This problem is not complicated. The real thorny problem is Vasius's problem.

Fan Ning frowned and said: "The second-in-command of the Uflansel branch of the Special Patrol Office, a high-level knowledgeable person, just disappeared on a train to Fort St. Taran... Investigator's itinerary It is full of variables and it is difficult to estimate the time accurately. This incident may be considered normal for a day or two in the short term, but if it takes longer, we as a group will not be able to get away with it. "

Anyway, the result has not changed. There is no need for him to talk too much about the details of the process in front of Lu, especially the process of his game with Vasius and their so-called climbing path containment work.

Although Lu is not an investigator of the Special Inspection Office, as a large factory owner, he is inextricably linked to the outer circle of the Special Inspection Office. It is no longer a good thing if the incident occurs in the area he is responsible for... If it happens again... Informing him of such sensitive information would push all parties into a more difficult situation to deal with.

Fan Ning's way of expression was enough for the other three to understand, and it was also enough for smooth communication with Lu.

"It is better to take the initiative to report as soon as possible." Lu said, "As you said, after the incident, you recommended Mr. Vasius as the commander for all to see, and his "reckless behavior" of jumping out of the window is also for all to see. This is the direct reason for his disappearance. , is also our best explanation. If you know it disappeared but did not report it, it will be more difficult for you, the official knowledgeable people, to explain clearly. "

"This is indeed the only way." Fan Ning nodded. Although Lu's understanding of the facts and truth is not complete, this does not prevent the correctness of his suggestions.

But if this happens, the Special Patrol Office will definitely dig deep into the reasons why a few people escaped from trouble. There is no other way to do this. We can only start from the chaotic nature of the mysterious field and constantly reiterate that a few people know nothing.

But when he thought that the Special Inspection Office paid much more attention to and understood him than expected, Fan Ning's eyes flashed with worry. It was definitely not a good thing to be paid more attention to in this way. It was hard to say whether he could pass the test smoothly.

"Caron, I don't think you need to worry, right?" Joan noticed Fan Ning's expression, "...Anyway, in the wrong time and space caused by the 'Hidden Light', the disappeared people will remain hidden, and all traces of direct contact will be erased. , the Special Patrol Office doesn’t even know there is such a person, why are you afraid..." She suddenly realized that what she said was contradictory, and covered her mouth with her hands, "Isn't it right? We... why are we still here? Remember Vasius?"

Fan Ning's hand holding the water glass froze in mid-air.

No one knows who the other people who disappeared are now. Judging from the direct traces such as account ledgers, ticket stubs, and the memories of the people sitting next to them, everything is normal. Fan Ning only discovered it through indirect evidence.

Everyone remembers Julius, which is understandable. Her accident was not caused by evaporation, but Vasius? …

Could there be something different about his disappearance?

Strictly speaking, yes, he has neither been away from the attention of others for longer than the time limit, nor has he suffered from hidden diseases, and he is also protected by a ritual tool suspected to be related to the "hidden lamp". His disappearance is purely because Fan Ning Exhibition card No. 2 was dealt to his hand, and the occult trigger was triggered.

Perhaps he did not completely return to secrecy and nothingness, but was left somewhere.

"Anyway, I will report it as soon as possible." Fan Ning said at last.

Just don't let him return to the real world to report his work, otherwise I really can't control the progress of the situation. Now... think about how to deal with the Special Patrol Office.

After the brief discussion, everyone took a break separately. After surviving the disaster, they were all exhausted. This time they rested until more than six o'clock in the evening. Fan Ning, who closed his eyes, was awakened by the whistle.

Arrived at the station, the steam train slowly stopped.

The specially prepared train group played a time difference and opened the doors of carriages 1-4 about 45 seconds in advance. Under the arrangement of Kapulen and ten students in charge of administrative logistics, the medium and large musical instruments were in place, and everyone began to get off the train in an orderly manner.

"I thought that the preparations I asked these guys to do for the younger students would not be used." Lu did not expect that after such a tortuous and bizarre incident, the train could still arrive at the station at the expected time. He shook his head and smiled and walked down the stairs.

The person in charge of the Imperial Capital Station knew that Master Adair would take this train, so he obviously made a grand scene.

Carpets, banners, guides in several rows, hired workers who took over the transportation, pre-demarcated cordon areas, drinking water and sweets for quick energy replenishment.

"Why do I feel like I am a musician from a world-famous band on tour?"

"Senior Adair, is this arranged according to the reception standards of the Santaramborg Philharmonic Orchestra?"

Many students immediately felt flattered and held their heads high.

Fanning, however, felt a hint of tension in the grand reception arrangement of the railway company.

Among the crowded platforms, he noticed that many people were in a more tense state of mind, including security personnel wearing railway work clothes, people in police uniforms, and a considerable number of plainclothes officers who were also armed with live ammunition.

Perhaps there are also a few knowledgeable people's spiritual perception fields.

These secret organizations naturally cannot compete with the official knowledgeable people head-on, but what they like to do most is to hide in the dark to run gathering points or concoct vicious mysterious events. Coupled with the larger number of "wild" offenders who act out of personal interests or desires, it is enough to make the firefighters run around.

It is really unthinkable if something happens in such a crowded place.

And... those guys in the Special Patrol Office? In name, it is a mysterious control agency representing the authorities, but Fanning has long discovered that public safety is not their first principle of action.

Fanning took a deep breath and felt that his respiratory tract was filled with moisture and dust, fine and warm.

Anyway, Saint Taran Castle, after a long and unexpected process, everyone finally arrived here.

－－－－－－Digression－－－－－－

Thanks to Tan's deacon reward and monthly ticket~Thanks to Baiya Langbei for the monthly ticket~