The scene before him was so ordinary that Barton didn't see any problem.
Although he felt vaguely familiar, he did not think it was anything to be surprised about:
How could a scene that I see every day not feel familiar?
He moved his eyes and looked up into the sky, where he saw a crimson moon hanging quietly in the sky, radiating its light, which made people feel calm involuntarily.
At this moment, Patton seemed to have unloaded an invisible burden. His body and mind were extremely relaxed. He no longer had the panic, anxiety, and irritability he had before.
His spiritual intuition told him that the matter with Vernal was over and would no longer affect his life.
"Storm is above, thank God for his protection." Patton immediately clenched his right fist and hit his left chest, whispering to himself.
Without that kind of worry and tension, he only felt fatigue like a flood, rushing out from the depths of his soul, flooding his brain, flooding his limbs, and flooding every cell in his body.
Barton couldn't help but put the back of his hand against his mouth and yawned, but there was a more comfortable smile on his face.
He did not stay in the study, but turned around and left, going all the way back to the bedroom, where he took a bath in a pleasant state and drank a small glass of red wine.
That night, Patton did not have any more dreams and slept very soundly.
When he woke up in the morning, he felt relaxed and happy, as if he had gained a new life.
Glancing at his wife who was still sleeping next to him, Barton got up carefully, changed his clothes, and walked around Yu's house.
He had never realized how nice his neighborhood was before:
The air is fresh, the environment is peaceful, the scenery is pleasant, and even the pedestrians are so well-mannered.
This made Barton feel even better. He once again deeply realized that Vernal's matter was over and he had returned to his normal and peaceful life.
He maintained this mood and returned home to enjoy breakfast with his wife and children.
During this process, he even told his wife some jokes from the newspaper, fulfilling a small request of the children.
Seeing the smiles on his wife and children's faces, Patton felt sincerely satisfied.
Then, he put on his coat, hat, and cane, and took a trackless public carriage to the Loen Antiquities Collection and Protection Foundation on the edge of the city.
Entering his office, Barton found his usual rhythm. Instead of rushing to work, he prepared some black tea with some exotic herbs for himself.
He leisurely read the few newspapers that his family did not subscribe to while drinking black tea, and then he picked up the letters and documents he had received and reviewed them one by one.
This process and this rhythm made him feel extremely comfortable.
The only discord was that Barton was still a little worried about receiving another letter from Vernal.
However, this concern did not become a reality.
About a quarter of an hour later, there was a knock on his office door.
"Come in." Barton picked up the cup and took a sip of black tea.
The person who walked in was the deputy director of the "Compliance Department", Pacheco Dawn, who had an ordinary appearance and no special features, but gave people a friendly feeling.
"Did you sleep well last night?" Pacheco asked as if to greet him, standing at the door.
"Very good." Patton did not hide anything.
Pacheco nodded and said with a smile:
"It seems that you have indeed gotten over the impact of this incident."
Barton did not mention the "nightmare" he had, but asked:
"And you?"
"I slept well, too." Pacheco responded with a smile, "The police have completely taken over this matter. They said they found Vernal last night. Unfortunately, he seems to have met with misfortune."
"Poor man, may he find peace." Barton did not say may God bless him, because Vernal had already abandoned his faith in the "Lord of Storms". If there really was a "blessing", it would definitely be lightning and storms.
After saying this, thinking of the help Pacheco had provided before and his friendly attitude, Barton took the initiative to say:
"We'll have lunch together later?"
"Your treat?" Pacheco said with a smile.
"Of course, it's a pleasure to meet a friend like you." Barton stood up and saluted in a gentlemanly manner.
Pacheco nodded slightly and said:
“Then I will wait for your invitation in the Compliance Department.
"Before 12 o'clock?"
"No problem." In addition to being grateful to the other party, Barton also felt that knowing the deputy director of the "Compliance Department" would be of great help in promoting future work.
Moreover, he believed that Pacheco should be like himself, better than the average person in some aspects.
After watching Pacheco leave his office, Barton sat down again and exhaled slowly and silently.
As an ordinary person with normal IQ, he could fully see that the matter of Vernal was full of strangeness and involved issues in the fields of mysticism and religion.
In addition, he was actually very interested in the split of Tamara's family, the secret history of the Fourth Epoch, and the details of Vernal's experience.
But he knew that he could not go into it too deeply. For an ordinary person, it was the greatest luck to be able to see the part of the iceberg that floated above the water and not die. If he wanted to find out the specific situation under the water, he would surely drown.
The archaeological experience in the past made Patton dare not take risks, nor did he want to take risks.
To him, curiosity may be the least valuable thing.
After sighing inwardly for a while, Patton continued to work.
When it was almost 12 o'clock, he put away the things on the table, picked up the coat and top hat hanging on the coat rack, left the office, and walked to the door of the "Compliance Department".
Knock, knock, knock. Patton knocked on the wooden door in front of him.
Soon, Pacheco opened the door, glanced at Barton and said:
"Give me another five minutes. I still have some things to deal with."
"No problem." Patton replied without any concern.
"Come in and wait." Pacheco said casually.
Barton didn't hesitate, walked into the "Compliance Department", found a chair and sat down.
As his eyes moved casually, he found that there were about six or seven people in the "Compliance Department".
Just then, he heard someone knocking on the door.
Before the Compliance Department employees could get up, the door creaked open.
The first to enter was the vice-chairman of the Loen Antiquities Collection and Protection Foundation.
This was an old man with vigorous spirit. He looked around and paused for a second before saying,
“It looks like everyone is here.
"Let me introduce you to a new colleague."
As he spoke, the vice president took a few steps forward, allowing the new employee of the "Compliance Department" who was following behind him to appear in front of everyone.
This is a woman in her twenties with a high nose, plump lips, dark grey eyes, and a very pretty face. She is wearing a common blue dress.
However, there was no expression on her face and she looked more like a wax figure than a real person.
Patton and Pacheco's gazes suddenly froze.
The vice chairman continued with a smile:
"She will serve as the deputy director of the Compliance Department, just like Pacheco. Her name is Alicia Tamara."
(The daily life of an ordinary person)
PS1: Of course, it is impossible to go too deep into the daily life of ordinary people. This is a presentation of the surface part of the iceberg without involving what is below the surface. Well, it can also be regarded as a narrative attempt.
PS2: If the ending is written purely for the sake of horror effect without considering the character's values, it should be written like this:
As he spoke, the vice president took a few steps forward, allowing the new employee of the "Compliance Department" who was following behind him to appear in front of everyone.
This is a woman in her twenties with a high nose, plump lips, dark grey eyes, and a very pretty face. She is wearing a common blue dress.
Patton and Pacheco's gazes suddenly froze.
At this time, the lady's mouth curled up, and she said with a bright and natural smile:
"Hello everyone, I am Yalishia Tamara."