chapter21：plants
The moment Amy stepped into the living room.
she couldn't help but be slightly stunned.
The large living room was empty, not a single person in sight.
The butler, who was usually as busy as a hard - working little bee, scurrying around every corner, had disappeared completely at this moment, as if he had never existed.
Amy's eyes flitted about the living room in a panic like a frightened deer, and an indescribable sense of fear, like a vine in the dark, quietly spread in the bottom of her heart.
Suddenly, Amy felt as if she had stepped into an abyss, and then her vision went black. She seemed to be drawn into a bottomless, never - ending dark vortex.
The endless darkness, like a raging tide, instantly engulfed her completely.
After an unknown amount of time, a chatter of voices, like clear birdsong, awakened Amy from that chaotic darkness.
She opened her eyes drowsily and was astonished to find herself back on the bus.
Her best friend Lucy was sitting in the seat in front of her, chatting animatedly with several other detectives.
Their laughter and chatter, like skipping notes, echoed merrily in the carriage.
Amy was still trying to break free from the dream - like, fog - enveloped feeling she had just experienced when suddenly, her phone screen lit up like a star in the dark.
An email caught her eye.
It turned out that she had received a job offer for a new job.
The employer was the FB1 Criminal Investigation Section of the United States Air Force, a sub - organization directly under the federal agency.
This should have been great news that would make Amy jump for joy and be over - excited.
However, before she had time to savor this joy, she was dumbfounded by the scene outside the bus window.
Outside the window, a rainbow rain, as if falling from a dreamy fairy - tale world, was falling gracefully.
The raindrops, like living elves, each sparkled with colorful lights, just like countless brilliant gems pouring down from the sky.
The gorgeous colors intertwined to form a magnificent picture.
The people on the bus were also stunned by this strange sight, and a chorus of exclamations rose in the carriage.
The driver's deep and powerful voice rang out timely like a large bell: "Don't be too surprised, everyone. Just turn the corner and we'll be at the villa area."
Just then, a gentle and magnetic male voice, like a soft spring breeze, blew gently by Amy's ear: "This rainbow rain is really strange, isn't it?" Amy turned her head at the sound and saw a handsome young man with deep eyes like the stars in the night sky looking at her with a friendly and charming smile.
"Hello, I'm Jack," the man said enthusiastically, stretching out his hand, which looked strong and firm.
Amy responded politely, also stretching out her hand to shake his: "Hello, I'm Amy. This rain does look very unusual. Do you have any special thoughts?"
Jack shook his head gently, but his eyes, like being attracted by a magnet, were always fixed on the rainbow rain outside the window, with a curious glint in them: "I'm not really sure either, but I always have an indescribable intuition that this rain might have some mysterious connection with the villa area we're about to reach.
Look, such a strange phenomenon occurs just as we're about to reach our destination. Could it be just a coincidence?" Amy nodded slightly, with a bit of agreement in her eyes: "You have a point.
Actually, I also experienced some very strange things on my way here just now. It felt like I was in an absurd dream, illusory and unreal."
Instantly, a concerned look flashed in Jack's eyes. He leaned forward slightly, with an eager - to - care movement, and asked: "Oh? What kind of strange things were they? Can you tell me?"
Amy hesitated for a moment in her heart, as if two little people were fighting in her mind. Finally, instead of telling Jack about what had happened in the living room, she asked instead: "Have we met before?" Although Amy was extremely astonished by everything around her, her memory was still clear. In the last time - shift, Jack was her neighbor. She still remembered the anxious knocking on the door in the middle of the night and his concerned greetings. It felt like the kind of care between old friends, but in her own memory, she couldn't find any trace of their previous encounters.
Jack was slightly taken aback, and then the corners of his mouth turned up, revealing a bright and charming smile like the sun: "Now that you mention it, I also feel as if we've known each other for a long time. But I'm sure we haven't met before.
Maybe this is a wonderful and mysterious fate." Amy furrowed her brows slightly, with a hint of confusion in her eyes: "Fate? But I always feel that things are not that simple. Just now, I had a very strong feeling, as if there were a lot of stories between us, but I just can't remember them.
" Jack's eyes became even gentler, like a deep lake, and he said softly: "Maybe some memories are temporarily sealed.
But it doesn't matter.
Whether there were stories before or not, we can start creating our own stories now."
Amy was amused by his words, like a blooming flower. She felt that the uneasy feeling in her heart seemed to have lessened a bit: "You're so eloquent.
However, I'm still a little worried about the villa area we're about to reach.
After experiencing so many strange things just now, this villa area must also hide a lot of secrets." Jack nodded, his expression becoming serious, like a cloud covering the sun: "I have the same feeling.
From the rainbow rain to your strange experiences, all of this seems to be something. Maybe we need to be more cautious when we get to the villa area."
At this time, the bus slowly turned the corner, and the villa area came into view of everyone.
The villa area was surrounded by a lush forest. The trees were tall and thick, like a group of loyal guards protecting this mysterious area.
From the outside, the villas were distributed in an orderly manner, with unique architectural styles.
Some were like medieval castles, exuding an ancient and mysterious atmosphere; others were like the crystallization of modern art, full of simple and stylish lines.
However, the entire villa area was covered by a faint halo, which was like a mysterious barrier, adding a mysterious and unpredictable color to the villa area, as if warning outsiders not to approach easily.
"Wow, this villa area looks so mysterious," Lucy's voice came from the front.
Her eyes were shining with excitement and curiosity, like a child seeing a beloved toy.
The others on the bus also started talking among themselves.
Everyone was full of curiosity and anticipation for this villa area they were about to enter, like explorers about to step into an unknown and mysterious continent, while also mixed with a faint unease, like a shadow lurking in the bottom of their hearts.
The bus slowly drove into the villa area and stopped in a wide square.
Everyone got off the bus one after another, and Jack and Amy also followed the flow of people and got off.
Jack looked up at the sky.
The rainbow rain had gradually stopped, but there were still some colorful clouds left in the sky.
Those clouds were like an overturned paint box, randomly smeared in the sky.
He turned to Amy and said: "Look, all of this is so unusual.
The atmosphere of this villa area always makes me feel like I've entered an unknown and mysterious realm, full of fantasy and science - fiction colors." Amy took a deep breath. The air was filled with a faint floral fragrance, mixed with a fresh smell of soil, but she could feel the unease hidden behind this seemingly calm, like an undercurrent surging beneath the calm sea surface: "Yes, we'd better be careful."
They walked along a winding path towards the interior of the villa area.
The surrounding flowers, plants and trees all looked vibrant, as if they had been injected with infinite vitality.
But these plants also seemed to have an indescribable strangeness, as if they were hiding unknown secrets.
"Amy, do you think these flowers and plants are growing too luxuriantly? It seems a bit unreasonable," Amy said softly to Jack, with a hint of doubt in her voice.
Jack crouched down like a focused researcher and carefully observed a flower by the roadside.
The petals of the flower presented a strange shape, like some mysterious symbol, and the color was more vivid than ordinary flowers, like a burning flame.
He frowned and said: "You're right. The structure of this flower is very strange, and the plants around here seem to be supported by a special energy to grow.
This energy feels very mysterious, not like the power of natural growth."
Just then, a clear voice came from the side, like a flowing spring in the mountains: "Have you also noticed the special features of these plants?"