After the bell rang, the entire city fell silent.

Although it was quiet before, it was different from true silence.

The sound of the bells is a bit like the alternation of the sun and the moon.

When the bell rings, the sun rises; when the bell rings again, the moon rests.

Standing in the darkness, Lin Mo could actually understand the meaning of the bell at this moment.

The weirdness and horror contained in this heavenly city are much more than what Lin Mo encountered along the way after entering the second level dream.

Perhaps it is because of this city that many terrifying existences can be suppressed, and this is why there is the so-called "balance".

That’s why Tiancheng needs the ghost bell.

Obviously, the danger level of the Heavenly City in the second level of the dream is far greater than the Ghost City and Ghost Pavilion under the abandoned mine in the eastern suburbs, so even if it means sacrificing those two, this place must be preserved.

Liu Jia said this before.

She is the bell ringer.

Also a defender.

Well, just having the ghost bell is not enough. She also has to be here for the ghost bell to really work.

This is what Lin Mo understood when he saw Liu Jia ringing the bell.

Liu Jia, who came down from the bell tower, saw Lin Mo waiting below at a glance.

Her big eyes were full of joy.

However, it was quickly suppressed, but it was the kind that could not be suppressed and still showed up.

"Why did you come back?"

Lin Mo didn't answer, but pointed to the top of the clock tower and asked back: "Have you found a new job?"

"roll!"

"That's enough. You are already an adult but you still act like a child. Aren't you afraid of being laughed at by others?"

"I am happy to do so."

"Okay, if you like, take me around."

Lin Mo pointed at the eerie street.

That means you have to take me around and let me experience the customs of this ghostland.

Liu Jia nodded and pulled Lin Mo forward.

The two walked side by side on the dark street. Because the bell had rung, except for the "inspector", that is, the ghost with a red lantern, everyone else went back to "rest".

No one spoke during the whole walk. Perhaps they were waiting for the other to speak first, or perhaps everything was implied without words.

In the end, it was Liu Jia who broke the peace first.

"When you were strolling around school before, you were like this, you liked to pretend to be deep."

"I'm not pretending, I'm really deep."

"Come on, even if others don't know about your social status, I know that every girl in the class is your best friend."

"Hey, please don't spread rumors about me. Our friendship is pure."

"You are guilty."

"I feel guilty? What a joke."

Another silence.

They wandered around in the strange streets and alleys, and when they came to an intersection, they chose one at random, with their steps in unison.

"It's been a long time since I walked on the road like today."

"Is there?"

"Yes, for many years."

“But I don’t feel strange.”

"Me too."

Liu Jia said at this time: "Actually, I miss you a lot."

Lin Mo glanced at her: "Me too."

"I actually hope you forget me. It's good to forget. There will be no pain if you forget." Liu Jia wanted to look up at the stars. She used to like to look at them, but she forgot that this was not the school playground and there were no stars above her head.

There was only pitch black, which was depressing.

"Do you know? I cut off my memories myself." Liu Jia suddenly said this.

Lin Mo was stunned at first, then he was shocked.

But on second thought, I understood.

It was definitely a painful torture to be alone in a place like the Ghost Pavilion and recall the scenes when I was alive in the past.

Although Lin Mo had never experienced this kind of pain, he knew how painful it was just by imagining it.

It's like touching a cactus; as soon as your hand touches it, you'll pull it back in pain.

Before, Lin Mo didn’t quite understand why Liu Jia didn’t go home.

Now he knows.

She can't go back.

Perhaps she was forced, or perhaps she became the bell ringer voluntarily.

It feels like I have taken on some kind of responsibility.

So, she had to stay where the ghost bell was.

Perhaps after the ghost bell was lost, she was joyful in her heart. From a certain perspective, she was free during that period of time.

But this freedom was short-lived.

It's fleeting.

Lin Mo still had some doubts about Liu Jia cutting out her own memories.

"But you seemed to still remember me at that time!"

Lin Mo asked.

"Yes, I have retained a small part of my memories, including you."

Liu Jia was very frank this time.

This is different from her usual behavior of going against others and not liking to admit what she likes.

But this reaction made Lin Mo feel a little distressed.

Lin Mo didn't know what to say.

He thought for a moment and asked, "Are you not going back?"

Liu Jia nodded: "I'm not going back."

"Uncle and aunt..."

"I still have you here, I can trust you to do the job!"

“But this place is boring.”

"I'm used to it."

"No friends either."

"How about you stay with me?"

"Sure!"

The two looked at each other and Liu Jia smiled.

This girl has several kinds of smiles: sly smile, sneer, disdainful smile, and happy smile.

This time it is undoubtedly the last one.

And it's pure happiness.

"Forget it, you still have your own things to do. Why don't you look for your brother?"

"I looked for it, but I couldn't find it."

"I know where your brother is."

Liu Jia pointed downwards.

Lin Mo looked down.

"basement?"

Liu Jia went up and pinched him twice: "You are out of your mind, the ghost's basement is the fourth level of dreamland."

Lin Mo didn't react for a while.

After a while, he said, "This dream also has nesting dolls? Two layers are not enough, there are actually four layers. Tell me, how many layers are there?"

Liu Jia counted on his fingers: "There are only four layers in total. I only told you what I know. I don't know if there are deeper dreams, so I can't tell you."

Lin Mo was speechless for a moment.

According to what Liu Jia said, he really couldn't stay here.

Seeing that Lin Mo didn't say anything, Liu Jia smiled and said, "See, I knew it. You were lying when you said you would accompany me before, you scumbag."

This made even Lin Mo, the social elite, a little confused.

Seeing Lin Mo hesitating, Liu Jia said, "I'm just teasing you. Don't take it so seriously. When are you leaving? I'll see you off."

"I have something else to ask you. Who built this city? And what are those red lanterns?"

Liu Jia said she didn't know who built Tiancheng.

"Mr. Chunfeng has been here before, as have his disciples, your brother, and the ascetic monk. Finally, it's you and me. There will definitely be more people coming here in the future."

"As for those inspectors, you can understand that they are a kind of humanoid mimicry of the Sky City itself."

This topic is a bit high-end.

"Who is the Heavenly Master?" Lin Mo continued to ask.

Those red lantern ghost soldiers mentioned this name.

"It's Mr. Chunfeng." Liu Jia answered.

"Then, how do we enter the fourth level of dreaming?"

"I don't know. I can't even enter the third level of dreams. It's beyond the scope of your question to ask me this, classmate!" Liu Jia waved her hands.

"After all this trouble, you still have to figure it out yourself."

"Otherwise, do you think there will be door-to-door pick-up service?"

"Okay, I'll figure it out myself."

"That's right!"

"Walk with me again."

"You're so annoying. There's not even a ghost in the city right now. What's the point of walking around?"

Although Liu Jia said this, it can be seen that she was still very happy. She took Lin Mo's arm and told Lin Mo that there was a widow living in the dark house in front, who was very scary; and there was a creature in the well in front that looked like Sterculia lychnophora.

"That must be disgusting."

"No!" Liu Jia shook her head: "It's quite cute. I was too bored the past two days, so I chatted with it. It's very considerate."

"Let me introduce myself to you." Lin Mo really wanted to see how cute this Sterculia lychnophora was.

Liu Jia ran over and threw a stone into the well.

After a while, a fat guy emerged from the well.

Lin Mo found it hard to describe this scene.

The first was the terrifying cold aura, which could be clearly felt even from several meters away. There was malice and resentment that made people shudder, but after seeing Liu Jia, it dissipated a lot.

"Xiaopang, this is Lin Mo, you two should get to know each other," Liu Jia introduced.

Lin Mo observed carefully.

This thing really looks like a soaked Plantago ovata. Some of its skin and flesh have become transparent. It is huge in size, but has nothing to support it. If it is taken out of the well, it will most likely turn into mud and scatter all over the ground.

You know what, it looked scary and disgusting at first glance, but after looking at it for a long time, I actually felt that this fat guy was a little ugly.

“It’s good to have friends.”

Lin Mo knew that he would have to leave eventually and Liu Jia would have to stay here.

So he squatted at the mouth of the well, held Xiaopang's hand, which was wet and felt like a jellyfish, and gave him some instructions.

This conversation completely confused the fat guy in the well.

The other party wanted to withdraw his hand, but Lin Mo pulled him back forcefully.

"Don't be impatient. I haven't finished yet. Jia Jia is stubborn, but she is really good to her own people. Don't worry, as long as you are loyal, I will not treat you unfairly."

In the end, Liu Jia pulled Lin Mo away, and the conversation came to an end.

Xiaopang fell headfirst into the well and never moved again.

Next, the two of them walked around almost all the streets and alleys in the city. At this time, Liu Jia looked up at the clock tower in the distance.

"It's time to ring the bell again."

"So soon?"

"Yeah, the days actually go by pretty fast, so you don't have to worry about me."

"I'm not worried..."

Lin Mo was interrupted before he could finish his words.

"Go away." Liu Jia took his hand away from Lin Mo's arm and straightened Lin Mo's collar.

It's time to go.

I already know that Liu Jia is fine. At worst, I can come in and see her when I have time. But the road is a bit far. Lin Mo asked what the name of the horse Liu Jia rode before was.

"You want to ride?"

Lin Mo nodded.

"Then I'll give it to you."

Liu Jia untied a bone whistle tied with a rope from his neck and handed it to Lin Mo.

Lin Mo took it and tried to blow it.

The ground in front suddenly collapsed and a crack appeared. A black horse galloped out, turned around, and stopped in front of Lin Mo.

"This is a benefit from the city lord, but I may not go out often in the future, so it's useless to keep it. If you like it, I'll give it to you. This thing runs very fast, and you can ride it to travel without any problem."

As he was walking forward with the black horse, Lin Mo wanted to look back, but he heard Liu Jia shouting.

"Keep going and don't look back!"

The voice was crying.

Lin Mo knew Liu Jia's personality. She didn't like others seeing her cry.

Now all Lin Mo can do is take a few quick steps.

Lin Mo walked all the way to the city gate before turning around and looking.

At this time, Liu Jia could no longer be seen behind.

After waiting for a long time, Lin Mo heard the sound of bells from the bell tower in the distance.

Almost at the same time, the houses on both sides of the street began to open, and the eerie residents woke up one by one and began to repeat what they did every day.

Lin Mo had asked Liu Jia before why Tiancheng could maintain the so-called balance and why Tiancheng must exist.

This is a very technical question.

It’s not easy to answer this question.

At that time, Liu Jia thought about it and gave Lin Mo an example.

If a group of people are idle, uneducated, and unruly, they will sooner or later cause trouble. Because in essence, humans are also a kind of "beast", so there are doctrines and etiquette to restrain desires, and there are social classes and jobs to release energy. These things are like shackles that restrain people unconsciously.

The founder of Tiancheng should have thought so too.

Use means to educate the weird.

From this point of view, he is a master.

Because weirdness is inherently chaotic, a body of fear dominated by resentment and malice. In Lin Mo's opinion, what the master did was against the will of heaven.

Knowing it is impossible but still doing it, what else can this be if not a master? ...

Liu Jia is not wrong.

The black horse was indeed running very fast and completely tireless. Lin Mo called it the 'Undead Horse'.

Running back to the wooden door connecting to the painting world took less than a third of the time, which was much faster than walking.

Lin Mo walked through the door and climbed out of the picture frame. He said to the ghosts in the painting, "I'm taking this painting away. When Zhang Meng comes back, tell her."

After saying that, he took the painting back to the eighth floor.

Lin Mo made up his mind that he would go in and see Liu Jia when he had time.

As for why Liu Jia did not come out for a stroll between the ringing of the bells, it is said that it is because she cannot leave Tiancheng at all now. Once she leaves, some strange things in the city will be known.

It's like the water plug under the swimming pool, it can't be moved.

I'm not in a good mood.

Lin Mo planned to eat a bean and go out to play games.

The cheapest way for men to relieve stress is to play games.

Although Lin Mo is rich now, he just likes this.

After waking up, I called Bingyangzi and the others, but no one answered.

I guess he is either sleeping or playing games.

"Then I'll play alone."

Lin Mo sat down, put on the VR device, and entered the "Death Chamber" game.

Now Lin Mo is very proficient in this game. Since he has obtained the "player's" inventory, there are many game scenes to choose from.

Lin Mo didn't even have time to study most of them.

He definitely wouldn't be able to continue the subsequent scenes that he had to tackle with the sickly guy and the tailor alone.

So he began to search among the vast number of scene cards.

"A haunted town doesn't look interesting at first glance."

Lin Mo muttered.

"A staircase that you can't leave from is quite novel. I'll put it on the list as an alternative."

"Girls' Dormitory No. 13. Hmm, this is something we can study."

Lin Mo has a fear of making choices.

It took him more than an hour just to find the game scene.

I think this one is okay, and I also think that one is okay.

And there are still many scene cards that have not been viewed.

"Or, let's choose the girls' dormitory. I feel like this scene should be quite exciting." Lin Mo subconsciously flipped over another scene card at this time.

After seeing the contents of the card clearly, Lin Mo was stunned and his heart started beating wildly.

It says on this card.

"The Flesh and Blood Canteen on the Glutton."

(End of this chapter)