Chapter 166: Book Cafe Tonight
Annie felt numb when she heard what Athena said.
The line, "Did you all have that dream" had at least two defined implications.
First, she had used "you all", meaning that she wasn't just referring to Annie, but her entire family.
Secondly, "that dream” meant a particular dream, which was the same one as she had.
All in all, it meant that Athena knew, or for some reason assumed that Annie and her family had the same dream last night.
But the scariest and hardest-to-understand part was — How had she known?
Annie swore that it had only been about 10 minutes since she had woken up and she was certain she hadn't done anything in her daze that might have let on.
Unless Athena had installed surveillance measures here... But she wasn't such a person nor would she have been instantly able to know about it even if there were!
An even more absurd conjecture popped up in Annie's mind and she felt her heart pound rapidly.
With a trembling voice, she asked, "What's wrong Athena, why do you ask?"
Athena sensed something from Annie's tone and immediately answered excitedly, "Do you all also see the Chapel of Charity, Father Vincent, the old priest, and that reaper... And the huge fire!"
Her words were slightly incoherent and Annie could practically imagine the spittle flying from her good friend's mouth. However, right now, she was more concerned about what Athena had just said.
She used the word, "also"!
She had also dreamed those things. It's the same dream!
"Yes." Annie felt a shudder throughout her body. She took a deep breath in a bid to forcefully calm herself down and continued, "Yes. George and the two kids also had the same dream."
Then, she heard Athena say, "I also had this dream. Not just me, but Paul too!"
Paul was Athena's husband.
Annie felt that things were a little out of hand. A mere coincidence could no longer explain this. Could it be the malignant spirit of Father Vincent... But the Church still had a bounty on him which meant that Vincent wasn't dead yet.
What was going on?!
On the other end of the call, Athena also echoed her disbelief as well, "Oh my goodness. What's happening?!"
Annie clutched the phone and asked, "Since you are calling, do you know something?"
When encountering such circumstances, it was normal to choose to call someone close.
But normal logic suggested that the first question asked should be what to do in the face of such a situation instead of asking the friend whether she had also had the same dream.
Asking such an indicative question meant that Athena probably had some key information!
Athena hushed her voice, adding in an air of feigned mystery. "It isn't just you and I. There are at least a hundred people who had the same dream at the same time!"
At least a hundred?! Annie's eyes narrowed.
This number was startling. She immediately asked, "How do you know this?"
"I've been told that they are currently preparing a secret gathering for those who've had the dream to discuss it. I even heard that those who've had these dreams were all people that Father Vincent had helped before."
Athena continued, "Do you think what we saw in the dream was real?"
"A secret gathering to discuss it? What time? Where? How many people? What do they intend to do?"
"6 p.m., tonight at the newly opened book cafe on 23rd Avenue. I heard that they are expecting only a few dozen or so," Athena muttered. "As for what... How would I know..."
She paused, and whispered, "But I also heard that there's a Central Police Unit officer. Apparently he knows some inside information on the Church of the Dome which has something to do with Father Vincent."
Annie's heart skipped a beat. "There's a Central Police Unit officer involved in this gathering?"
"Yes!" replied Athena. "That's why I kind of believe this dream now. How could a good man like Father Vincent be what the news portrayed him to be!"
She then asked, "So... Will you be going?"
Annie hesitated for a bit and glanced at her husband. "Let me think about it."
She had a vague feeling that this choice could be extremely important and might have a huge impact on her life.
"Alright! Think about it properly before telling me your decision. I've already signed up and will be in charge!" said Athena. "I'm well-versed with 23rd Avenue and occasionally purchased discs at that audio-visual store. That gloomy bookstore next door didn't seem to have any business, yet it's the audio-visual store that has turned into a book cafe..."
Annie had a lot on her mind as she listened to her friend's chatter.
——
In fact, Annie and Athena's estimations couldn't be more wrong.
There were more than a few hundred people who had the same dream last night. Vincent had used Mu'en's power to expand her dream realm to its limits, so all the people he had associated with were all included.
And in his tenure as a priest for several decades, the people he had helped numbered more than 3000.
"Amongst them, approximately a thousand would choose to believe, most of the remaining ones would be doubtful, some would choose to remain silent, while a few would report it to the church."
Vincent assessed the situation by taking in everyone's reactions from within the dream realm.
These were all within his expectations.
These thousand or so would be the new faith's first batch of believers.
But he couldn't lead a thousand people straight away, and electing 'apostles' to spread the gospel was a necessary process.
That's right, the secret gathering in the adjoining book cafe was to choose apostles.
Out of the dozens of participants, ten would eventually be selected to be apostles of the Sun God's faith.
The so-called Central Police Unit officer was there to show the friendly stance the knights of Secret Rite Tower had.
The truth that was to be revealed was of course the information they had gathered that could bring down the Church of the Dome.
Vincent left the dream and opened his eyes to see Claude standing before him.
The latter had just received a report from a subordinate that was acting undercover and blending in with the common folk. Claude handed over the list of participants and relevant details regarding those attending the rally, then patted Vincent on the shoulder. "From here on, it will be up to your performance."
Shutting his eyes and taking a deep breath, Vincent nodded. "I won't let Boss Lin down."
——
Cherry was in high spirits, humming a little tune and skipping about on the journey to the bookstore.
"Woohoo!"
Her feet hopped over a pothole on the road as she turned around and urged, "Hurry up, Bella! I can't wait to see Mr. Lin again!"
Cherry's curved brows and little protruding canines were especially adorable, making her seem much more lovable.
Following behind with an exquisite black leather suitcase, Bella called out somewhat helplessly, "Mistress, Mr. Lin is not going to run away. Please calm down."
Cherry placed her hands on her hips and raised her head. "I'm not going to calm down. I just want him to know how much I've missed him."
Her gaze slid to the suitcase and her lips curled upwards. "My present will definitely be the best and most incomparable one. It will let him feel my intense passion!"