A few days after the tragedy that struck the hospital, the investigation of the police force had identified at least 20 deaths and 60 disappearances. No leads had been found on the identity of the terrorists so far.
The problem with that estimate was that it was solely based on the blood DNA samples found in the crime scene. There was hope for the families that the blood found may just mean injury, and that the terrorists have kidnapped their loved ones or that they have managed to escape on time somehow.
This gave them false hope, as they were unaware that anyone who had been in the parking lot or the lower floors was dead.
Harker felt so much guilt burdening him from this thought alone. He tried to focus on chasing leads with this 'An Xin' that his dad has mentioned, but the weariness was visible in his eyes.
"Tea?" Roland asked him as he set down a teacup in front of him.
Harker took a sip while reading the files they found so far. "There are too many results for An Xin, man….. And they're so random too. A fictional character from a comic series, a reverse of the name of a village in Guangdong Province…. Hell, even a fucking pork chop restaurant!?"
He rubbed his face. "None of these were even remotely connected to the occult. All so fucking useless…"
Roland grimaced a little from his friend saying that all the efforts he and his men had put was useless. He sipped his teacup in silence.
Harker noticed this, and quickly apologized.
"I'm sorry…. I sound really ungrateful. I just…. This is…."
Roland sighed. "I know. The stress and pressure is getting to you because of your mom. I would be a little cranky too if I was in your shoes."
Harker's jaw clenched, and he felt the urge to hit himself. He needs to get it together. He wasn't able to get any sleep for days, and even though he was a Demon Lord, that won't be good in the long run. He needs to calm his nerves and think straight.
"There's still my upcoming finals and our research deadline. I'm sure you have other stuff to take care of too, sorry for burdening you with this." Harker sighed.
Roland shook his head. "You're not burdening me, Hark. I know how important it is to you. I will do anything to help you find out more about my uncle, just please be patient with me."
"I am. I will be patient," Harker promised, even though the anxiety was slowly killing him.
Harker decided to change the topic to ease things up a bit. "Your dad is coming home too, and Mina will have to go somewhere else, right?"
"Yes. She's already packing her things now and they're preparing for her to move things to an apartment in uptown Manhattan."
"So she'll be nearby." Harker felt relieved.
"Yes, she requested it." Roland took a sip again. "And even though she stayed here in America for revenge, she does look like she wants to take her studies seriously too."
"She'll be a Bachelor freshman the moment I get into my Master's freshman year." Harker thought. "Even though she's already way older than me."
"I decided to take Masterals too while doing some work in the government." Roland said.
"Yeah, I remember you said you wanted to be a public defender. Your pay would be way less." Harker told him.
Roland nodded. "Yes, but I could at least help more people who deserve it. Poor people who can't afford to hire lawyers and easily get eaten by the prosecution who never follow the 'innocent until proven guilty' rule unless it's a rich white man."
Harker couldn't help but smile in admiration for his friend. Public defenders were known to be severely overworked and underpaid. But Roland was willing to do it for the sake of justice.
Justice….
Harker's head hurt again, as if a spot was being slowly pricked by a skewer and then churned. He had started seeing flashes of scenes that he could not recognize ever since he had that dream.
It was in that dream where he first heard An Xin. And he was sure that the An Xin there was related to the An Xin that G.G. Faust talked about, he just needed to remember a bit more.
Yet the more he forces it, the more it slips his grasp.
Harker told Roland all these worries and the frustrations of not being able to remember. Roland listened carefully with a serious expression.
"Maybe you should try the opposite approach."
Harker blinked. "Huh?"
"If you can't remember something no matter how much you force it, then you should try to let it go and remember it naturally. That's what I do when I forget where I put something. Looking around for hours and panicking about it won't do anything. I sometimes have to sit down, do something else, and then the memory comes naturally to me."
Roland put a hand on his shoulder. "I know this may sound like an excuse to get you to rest, Hark… And it kinda is. You need it. Please take care of yourself."
Harker considered this, and took Roland's advice. He did his best to keep his mind off his mother, the zombie incident, and An Xin. He focused on other things while Roland and his men still looked for leads.
Eventually, Mina had fully settled in to her new place before Mr. Faust returned to his home. Roland took back the servants and workers in the house before them, ensuring they wouldn't say anything about their sudden vacation. The former mermaid then invites Harker to her place to celebrate.
It was also time for them to share their DNA in order for the Shapeshifting cells to remain in her body.
Her flat was much simpler than Harker expected. It was still expensive and bougie as fuck, of course, but it was rather minimalist in style. The decor reminded him of corals, and the white walls were decorated with all sorts of sea-themed items.
Mina was wearing a rather simple blue dress shirt for this 'party', which only consists of the two of them. She went to the fridge and took something out.
"I have some cognac brandy here, Lewis XIII Gold Pearl Magnum. Roland suggested it to me, and I was interested because of the name. But I have never tried liquor before."
Harker looked at the expensive bottle. "I have never tried something this expensive yet either."
Mina chuckled. "Guess it's kind of a first for both of us, huh?"
"Yeah…."
Harker looked at this beautiful woman in front of him, and yet his mind still wandered off to his missing mother. He then remembered something Roland said a while ago, while he was having tea and talking to him as Xi Hua.
"Being a family guy is a good thing, but everything good in excess is bad. If home is where his heart is, how could he have space for anyone else?"
He then recalled his recent advice: "If you can't remember something no matter how much you force it, then you should try to let it go."
Harker then steeled his resolve, and got him and Mina two glasses for the brandy.
"Let's drink and have a toast to our first together, then."
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