Chapter 16 Go to sleep already!

The place where the sisters lived was very small, only about ten square meters. The only furniture was a bed and a small desk, with a worn notebook on it that included a pen stuck between its pages; there were no cabinets, and their clothes were sloppily piled on the floor or hung over chairs, giving the room a musty odor. Since they didn't have a private bathroom, they had to use the communal women's toilet in the hallway for baths and restroom breaks.

Once back home, Karlo finally relaxed, sighed deeply, and collapsed onto the bed. Cherie came over, set a portable kerosene lamp on the desk, turned the knob to light it, and the room brightened up at last. A mouse in the corner startled by the light squeaked and darted into a crack in the wall, vanishing from sight.

"Karlo..."

Cherie whispered softly, "Don't be too harsh on the landlady, she means well. Besides, what if she really kicks us out? This is the best place we've managed to find."

Karlo snorted and didn't respond. She turned over in bed and then asked, "Cherie, what's actually written in that book?"

Cherie set down her bag, pulled out the book, and said, "Haven't looked yet, but the title mentions [Ruby]."

Karlo paused for a moment, "Ruby? That name sounds… somewhat familiar."

Cherie snorted, "That's because you don't listen to the radio! She's the notorious criminal that was arrested a while back, supposedly involved in some vile experiments that almost threatened the steam tower. I bet she's a powerful Transcendent, so there's bound to be valuable information in this book."

Karlo slapped her forehead, "Oh! I remember now, a street performer was singing about it the other day. Is she really that powerful? The performer also said Ruby used to be... a sewer worker."

Cherie frowned, "You should ignore such nonsense!"

Karlo, however, began to get excited, "Then do you think this book might contain knowledge on how to become a Transcendent? Uncle Pan really gets to me, knowing so much about Transcendents but never sharing a thing with us!"

Cherie seemed about to open the book but hesitated, "Uncle Pan has a point though, becoming a Transcendent seems dangerous. Didn't you hear him say, it's easy to come across nightmare creatures..."

Karlo sat upright on the bed, "Being a Transcendent is dangerous, but isn't it also dangerous living like us, pressed for rent every month, extorted by gangs for protection money, forced to venture deep and risk our lives? Isn't that dangerous too?"

She swung her fist angrily, "I've had enough of this shitty life! I'd rather die than not become a Transcendent!"

Cherie fell silent for a while before responding, "Alright... I'll see what's really inside..."

As she turned the pages, she saw a line written in bold:

"Ha ha, dogs of the Special Duties Bureau! The contents here are just basic knowledge, useless even if you find it! Eat shit!"

Then there was a stick figure flipping the bird, its outline flashing with iridescent light.

"...??"

Cherie looked stunned, falling silent for a moment.

...

Ybur stealthily followed a few people into the sewer, eyeing the filth floating on the wastewater.

Suddenly, Ybur froze, its Eye Point fixating on the surface, unable to move a step further.

It felt a primal call...

Ybur took a step forward, then snapped back to reality, its body color turning a shade paler with fright.

Ybur, get a grip, it's filthy stuff!!

But it looks like it might be edible!

No, no, no, absolutely not!!

I am Slime, not Sewage-Slime, for crying out loud!

Instinct and reason clashed violently in its mind, and Ybur shivered twice, trying hard to suppress the urge to "take a bite," and continued to carefully follow, keeping a safe distance. Its pace was indeed slow, and it thought that after its brief holdup, the people would have long gone, but for some reason, they had stopped at the ladder, as if waiting for something, which allowed Ybur to catch up relatively comfortably.

Once they left, Ybur stretched itself out, wrapping around the ladder's vertical pole like a snake, circling it as it climbed.

The manhole cover was even easier to deal with.

The cover was a gridded lattice, and Ybur easily squeezed through the openings.

But having spent some time climbing the ladder, the people had already moved away.

For a moment, Ybur felt a pang of sadness: Had it lost them?

My book...

No, wait, now that I think about it, didn't those people say they were going to some divination shop tomorrow? Anyway, the streets are empty now, I'll just wander around nearby, find that whatever divination shop, and squat here waiting for them... Ybur thought while crawling along the curb, but after a while, having not found the divination shop, Ybur suddenly noticed that in the distant high-rise, there was a room glowing faintly.

Is it there?

...

"My goodness..."

Cherie curled up on the bed, the book spread open on her knees, engrossed in it, and she couldn't help uttering a soft exclamation.

Karlo leaned over, "What's wrong? What does it say?"

Cherie murmured, "It's knowledge of the Transcendents..."

Karlo didn't catch on immediately, "What?"

Cherie's body started shaking slightly with excitement, "Knowledge of the Transcendents! It records how to become a Transcendent!!"

Karlo froze for a moment, her pupils contracting. The next second, a strong emotion exploded from the bottom of her heart, so fierce that for a moment she couldn't tell north from south, nor could she discern whether it was joy or something else.

She almost subconsciously wanted to shout, but Cherie quickly reached out, covering her mouth with her hand.

Immediately after, Karlo also came to her senses, controlling her urge to yell, simply shaking her fist excitedly, her body wiggling and bouncing a few times on the bed as if in a fit.

From next door, the landlady's dissatisfied knocking sounded on the wall, "Damn it, what are you doing so late! So noisy!"

Karlo paid no heed, just grabbing Cherie's hand, excitedly saying, "Really? Is it really true?!"

Cherie nodded vigorously, and with a bit of nervousness, "Karlo, this is a forbidden book!"

"...Right."

Karlo came to her senses, and whispered in a lower voice, "Those old fellows won't let such knowledge circulate! Cherie, we mustn't let anyone know about this book..."

"What about Pan?"

"Uncle Pan..."

Karlo thought for a moment, "Uncle Pan himself is almost a Transcendent, and he knows a lot about these things, and he's trustworthy. It's okay for him to know about it, but we need to remind him tomorrow, we can't let him spread the word about this."

She urged, "Keep reading, what does it say? You've always had a great memory since you were little. Here's what you do, remember the contents here, you must know it by heart. Later, we'll figure out how to get rid of this book, like throwing it into the deep underground. It's not even safe to keep it at home, what if someone steals it?"

"Right!" Cherie nodded again, refocusing her attention on the book.

...

Outside the window.

Ybur stretched its body long, winding round and round like a snake around the water pipe, climbing up, poked out its Eye Point, and couldn't help but get excited.

This is the place! My book is right here!

Then it just quietly waited there.

Waiting and waiting.

Waiting and waiting.

Waiting and waiting and waiting...

Ybur couldn't stand it any longer: Why won't these humans go to sleep?!

Don't they know the saying 'early to bed, early to rise makes a person healthy, wealthy, and wise'?!

At this time, Slime is already asleep yet you're still awake, hurry up and go to sleep!!

Ybur, in its irritability, extended its tentacles, slapping its own belly with a patter.