Chapter 12 Chapter 9 A House in Braston Street

There was not a single street lamp on Braston Street, and two rows of dilapidated buildings stood beside the dirty street, as if extending into endless darkness.The inhabitants of this place are accustomed to living in the dark, because in this way they do not have to see how far they have fallen.I walked down the street with Joanna, hearing nothing but the footsteps of rats crossing the street.The ground is full of rubbish, the walls are covered with graffiti, and the air is filled with the smell of corruption, not only material corruption, but also spiritual and emotional aspects.All buildings have no windows, some are sealed with wooden boards, and some simply leave a large window hole in the wall.

Excrement can be seen everywhere, some are left by animals to mark the territory; the other part is left by humans who don't care about anything.All the buildings are old apartments that have been in disrepair. If they were not built side by side and supported each other, they would have collapsed at this moment. Maybe Walker's idea is right, destroying this place is a great progress for the overall civilization of mankind. But no matter what... the situation in front of him is not quite right, even more wrong than usual.The streets are eerily empty, as if abandoned.No homeless person dying at the door, no homeless person lying under the fire escape.There were no beggars, no robbers, no desperate people doing any business, not even a pale face hiding behind a window.Normal Braston Street feels like a rotten wound, full of people and traffic.However, there is silence here now, and it seems that all the hustle and bustle has been pulled away abruptly, and disappeared into the distance, even to another world.

"Where did everyone go?" Joanna asked in a low voice. "Good question," I said. "I don't think we'll like that answer. I wish everyone had escaped, but... I doubt they were that lucky. I don't think anyone made it out alive. Some very bad things have happened here, and It's not over yet." Joanna looked around, trembling slightly: "What on earth would summon Cathy to such a place?" "Let's find the answer." I said to awaken my talent and open my mind again.Although the power of talent is much weaker than before, due to the close distance, I can still sense the image of Cathy all at once.She walked happily down the street, her face glowing with joy, and finally stopped in front of an unremarkable house, staring at the door with wide-eyed eyes.The door opened slowly before her eyes, and then she ran up the steps laughing wildly all the way, entered the house, and disappeared into the endless darkness.She's smiling like she's heading to the best party in the world.The door closes behind her, and the video ends without a follow-up.For some unknown reason, Cathy never left the house again.I took Joanna's hand and recreated a scene from The Talent for her.

"We found her!" Joanna clenched her fists so excitedly that it hurt my hands. "Here she is!" "Here she is." I said and let go of her hand. "Before going any further, I'm going to check the past history of this house and its owner." We went to the house, stopping at the foot of the dirty steps in front of the gate.Old bricks, broken doors and windows, no signs of life.The gate doesn't appear to be strong, so it shouldn't be a problem if you try to force your way in.However, this is the Night City, and everything should not just be seen on the surface... I used my talents and focused on the house itself, and then I couldn't help but let out an exclamation.Before my eyes there was no house at all, no past, no emotions, no memory, not even the slightest sign of existence.From the perspective of my own mind, there is only an open space in front of me, without any buildings, and there has never been one since ancient times.

I took Joanna's hand again and showed her what I hadn't seen.She also called out. "What does that mean? Where's the house?" "Not going anywhere." I said. "It doesn't look to me like there are any houses here at all." I let go of her hand, took back my talent, and the big, ugly old house reappeared in front of my eyes. "Another ghost building?" Joanna said. "It's the same as Eagle Wind Charcoal Grilling?" "No, I recognize something like that. This house actually exists, not a hallucination, and we saw Cathy walk in. There's something in there that's obfuscating, hiding it from us."

"What's in the house?" "I guess so. It also means there's no other way to find out except by breaking in. A house that...isn't a house. What the hell is it?" "Whatever it is." Joanna said excitedly. "As long as you can find Cathy, it's right to leave here." I grabbed her arm and stopped her from rushing up the steps.Seeing Cathy so close, she was agitated, blushed, her hands trembled, and she turned to me angrily.I calmly comforted her. "Such recklessness can't help Cathy. The situation is unknown at the moment, and we can't just rush around blindly."

"I'm here to break through, right?" Suzy Huett said. I immediately turned back to find Suzie the Shotgun standing on the street behind me, the shotgun pointed at me with a smug expression on her face.I gave her a hard look. "First Walker, now you. No one has ever been able to sneak up behind me without being seen before." "You're old, Taylor." Suzy said. "No use. Help me find the target?" "Maybe," I said, pointing to the house behind me. "The girl I'm looking for is inside, but my talent shows that this house is extremely weird."

Susie disdained: "It doesn't look good, just go in. If you are worried, I can go ahead." "Not this time, Suzy," I said. "This house gives me a very bad feeling." "You always have a bad feeling." "And my hunches are usually right." "That's right." I walked up the steps slowly.No one else was around, but I felt like I was being watched.Susie held the gun in her hand and followed me. This feeling was very familiar, as if I had never left Nightside at all.Joanna was last, and seemed less than happy to be sidelined by Suzie's presence.Our footsteps were unnaturally loud, but it didn't matter.Whatever was waiting for us in this house that wasn't a house, they already knew we were coming.I stopped at the door to find no bell, no knocker, not even a mailbox.I reached out to knock on the door, and every time I knocked, the door panel was dented a little, as if it had been rotten.The knock on the door was surprisingly small, as if suppressed by an invisible force.After knocking for a long time, no one came to answer the door.

"Should I blow the lock?" Suzy asked. I tried to turn the doorknob, but it opened with just one turn.The faded doorknob was wet and hot to the touch, eerie to the touch.I withdrew my palm and wiped it on my clothes, then pushed open the door with my toes.It was pitch black behind the door, and there was no sound.Joanna pushed Suzie away, squeezed beside me, looked into the darkness behind the door, then opened her mouth to call Cathy, but I stopped her immediately.She gave me a displeased look, showing some anxiety in her expression.Suzie took out a flashlight from the secret pocket, lit it and handed it to me.I nodded and waved the flashlight towards the hall inside the door.Although the light is not as far away, we can still see that the hall is spacious, but there is no furniture.I walked slowly into the hall, followed by Joanna and Suzie.When all three of us entered the house, the door automatically closed immediately.In this regard, no one is surprised.