Chapter 105 Anomaly

After asking about the location of the aid station near the square, Heidi left on her own, clutching her head. Duncan, however, had no intention of dealing with the "official personnel" there—mainly because he now had Shirley by his side, and this girl who could summon abyssal demons clearly didn't want to deal with the Church of the Deep Sea.

Watching Heidi's figure gradually disappear into the distance, Duncan breathed a sigh of relief and first turned to Nina: "Are you hurt?"

"No," Nina was still a little shaken. She had been subconsciously grabbing Duncan's sleeve, and only now did she suddenly realize it and let go. Then, she looked at Duncan with some surprise, "You still haven't told me, why were you at the museum?"

"I happened to be in the neighborhood on business," Duncan said with a smile, "and then I suddenly heard about the fire at the museum, so I came to rescue you."

Then, before she could say anything else, he reached out and ruffled her hair, comforting the frightened Nina: "Alright, it's all over now. It's good you weren't hurt."

"I'm not a child anymore!" Nina shook her head. Then, her gaze fell on Shirley standing beside her. She was just about to speak when a strange look suddenly appeared on her face, as if she had suddenly recalled something incongruous. She looked the girl up and down, "Shirley... why do I suddenly feel... you're a little..."

Shirley's attention had been focused on Duncan a second ago, but when she saw Nina's reaction, a visible look of panic appeared on her face. Her eyes widened slightly, and she glanced at Duncan in a flustered manner, her expression showing even more fear.

Duncan's heart stirred when he saw the change in her expression, because the girl's expression was exactly the same as when she was caught sneaking onto the bus before. He glanced at Nina thoughtfully, and then slightly recalled his interactions with Shirley and the identity she was currently playing—

Known, both times he interacted with Shirley were when Nina was at school. Also known, Shirley's true personality was extremely nasty, rude, and irritable, not a "quiet, good child" at all. Furthermore, Agou's (the abyssal demon) abilities included interfering with ordinary people's judgment to disguise identities...

And her current "identity" was Nina's newly acquainted friend at school, an identity full of loopholes.

Duncan stroked his chin, reached out and pressed on Nina's shoulder, then pointed his chin in Shirley's direction: "Do you really know her?"

"Yes, I know her. Her name is Shirley, and she's a new friend I made, but..." Nina frowned, "But for some reason, I suddenly can't remember when she appeared at school..."

Duncan turned his head and quietly stared at Shirley, who was already trying to reduce her presence. After a long silence, he spoke softly:

"You still have a chance to explain yourself, or I..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Shirley rattled off a long string of words: "I'm sorry, I was wrong! I just wanted to investigate the matter, so I snuck into the school, but I really didn't hurt Nina! And I even helped her block the falling wood in the museum just now! Please believe me! I really didn't know she was your family! I don't understand the interests and hobbies of a big figure like you! Please, let me go..."

Duncan was stunned by the long string of tearful words that the dog-swinging girl blurted out before he could even finish his sentence. His first reaction was that this girl had extraordinary talent and could perhaps be used as a sparring partner for Goathead.

Then, he cleared his throat twice and interrupted Shirley's rapid-fire speech: "Not family, this is my niece."

As he spoke, he also noticed Shirley's hands.

There were traces of burns from the fire. Although only faint scars remained due to her amazing healing ability, she did seem to have been injured in the museum.

If she wasn't lying (and she probably wouldn't dare), then she really was protecting Nina.

Shirley certainly didn't know what Duncan was thinking. At this time, she was almost in a state of blankness: "You... you said niece, then she's your niece..."

Nina vaguely reacted at this moment. She looked at her uncle in surprise, and then at the "friend" in front of her: "Wait, you guys... know each other? And Shirley, why..."

"We met by chance," Duncan said indifferently. He didn't let Shirley speak, because who knows what this girl would reveal in front of Nina. "It looks like we have a lot to talk about. Don't you think so, Shirley?"

Shirley was about to cry. She looked at Duncan with a mournful face: "You said it, then..."

"You said it."

"Yes, it is."

"Uncle, don't be so fierce with Shirley," Nina was still confused at this time, but she could tell that her new friend was very afraid of her uncle for some reason, and her uncle was not very polite to Shirley, which made her a little uneasy, and at the same time a little confused, "My mind is a mess right now... Can someone explain to me what's going on?"

"Let's go home and talk slowly," Duncan breathed a sigh of relief, looked up at the museum that was emitting green smoke, and then turned to look in the direction he had come from, "It's too chaotic here, and you two are covered in dust and dirt right now, you need to go back and take a bath and change your clothes as soon as possible."

Shirley stammered: "I... I have to go too?"

Then, before Duncan could speak, she nodded vigorously: "You're right!"

Duncan sighed a little bit amusedly. It seemed that no matter what Shirley's purpose was in approaching Nina, she would definitely be harmless to her from now on. Then, he shook his head and prepared to leave with the two girls.

At this moment, his gaze happened to sweep across the edge of the museum square.

A figure standing near the crowd at the edge of the square suddenly caught his eye.

It was a figure wearing a black coat, facing away from this side, gazing at the direction of the fire. Judging from the back, it seemed to be a tall, thin man. The style of the coat was somewhat like a long trench coat, and the long hem almost covered his entire body. But the most peculiar thing about this figure was that he was holding a large black umbrella on this sunny day.

In weather with no wind, no rain, and not too strong sunlight, a tall, thin man in a long trench coat stood at the edge of the square, holding an umbrella and gazing at the fire. This scene would seem a bit strange no matter where it was, but there were many people gathered at the edge of the square, and not a single one of them glanced in the direction of the umbrella man.

"Uncle?" Nina noticed that Duncan had suddenly stopped and curiously looked in the direction he was looking, "Is there something there?"

"There's a person holding an umbrella on a sunny day over there, it's very strange," Duncan said casually.

"A person holding an umbrella on a sunny day?" Nina was stunned for a moment, "Where? I don't see it..."

"I don't see it either," Shirley also rubbed her eyes and curiously looked in the direction of Duncan's gaze, "Are you sure you didn't see it wrong..."

"You didn't see it?" Duncan frowned instantly. He glanced at Shirley and Nina, but after he turned his gaze back to the direction of the square the next second, the figure with the umbrella had disappeared without knowing when.

"Uncle?" Nina looked at Duncan with some concern, "Did you inhale a lot of smoke just now? Are you feeling unwell?"

"I'm fine, maybe I 'saw it wrong'," Duncan shook his head to reassure Nina, and said calmly.

But his gaze still lingered on the square, and he took one last deep look there before withdrawing his gaze.

If it was just a strange person holding an umbrella, then it wouldn't be a big deal.

But if it was a figure that only he could see, then the situation would be different.

He remembered that figure.

Vanna arrived near the Ocean Museum with a team of elite Guardians, but by the time she arrived, the sudden fire was already coming to an end.

A Deep Sea Priest covered in dust and dirt led several Guardian warriors who had also just rushed out of the fire to the Inquisitor.

"The fire subsided on its own suddenly," the Deep Sea Priest said immediately after saluting Vanna, "but we didn't find any traces of transcendent power remaining at the scene."

"Subsided on its own?" Vanna's expression became serious upon hearing the priest's report, "...You led the team into the fire, did you find any clues?"

"There was widespread excessive panic, hallucinations, and delirious muttering among the citizens who escaped from the scene. I suspect there is transcendent contamination in the museum," the priest nodded, "But we searched inside and found nothing... The only unusual thing is that the fire suddenly subsided on its own."

Speaking of this, the priest made a gesture of praying to the Goddess and added, "But it was precisely because the fire subsided that the Guardians and I were able to retreat safely."

Vanna thought for a moment and nodded slightly: "Alright, after the fire is completely extinguished, I will arrange for people to thoroughly search the museum again to see if there are any signs of abnormal changes in the collections..."

After giving a simple instruction, the young Inquisitor raised her head and swept her gaze over the citizens who were receiving aid and guidance, as if she was looking for something in the crowd.

And just then, a voice suddenly came from not far away: "Vanna! I'm over here!"

Vanna looked up and saw the disheveled Heidi waving vigorously at her from the crowd.