Chapter 802: Spection
Sensing the hastened breathing of the man who imed to be the Admiral of Hope Ind in the darkness, the bald man pretending to be the skeleton couldn''t hide the tremor in his voice.
"Uh… M-my child, go back. You don''t need to think about avenging me. I''m happy enough to see that all of you are living well. I… I have to go now. The time''s up."
As soon as the bald man''s words fell, two other men lifted a ck cloth to cover him and his glow-in-the-dark markings.
Instantly, darkness engulfed the interior of the tent.
The conmen held their breath as they silently prayed for theirtest customer to leave as soon as possible. Now that they had stumbled upon an influential figure just like that, money was no longer on their minds. All they wanted to do was to hop on the next boat and flee far away.
In the pitch-ck darkness, Bandages remained silent for a moment before he fished out a stack of bills and ced it on the ground beside him.
He then turned to exit the tent. Just as he lifted the tent p letting the light illuminate half of his handsome face, he suddenly stopped.
"Tell me… What method… did you use… tomunicate with…the dead?" Bandages asked in an eerily calm tone.
"ording to… a close friend''s… personal experience..he said that the…souls of those who perish at sea… all belong to… Fhtagn… Retrieving a soul… from Him… is extremely difficult."The mustached man swallowed his saliva with much difficulty. He didn''t have an answer to the question. They were just a bunch of conmen and nothing more.
Bandages seemed to intend to stay where he was until he got an answer. Seeing that, a firm resolve crossed the mustache man''s face. He moved behind the bald man and frantically drew something on thetter''s back.
Getting the order from his leader, the bald man, still covered in glowing pearl dust, emerged from behind the ck cloth. He waved his arms dramatically as he proimed, "I am the Chosen One of the great God Sparkle! In the entire seascape, only She has the power to reim the souls of the dead from Fhtagn! Mortal! Do not delve into knowledge beyond your reach!"
At the bald man''stest promation, a wave of relief washed over the remaining conmen. Their leader was a genius indeed foring up with such an exnation.
However, their joy was short-lived as the ground beneath them began to tremble violently. A colossal tree trunk burst from the earth; its twisting branches extended and lifted the entire tent into the air.
Amidst the conmen''s cries and howls of fear, the tent was then shredded apart by the growing branches, and everything previously shrouded in darkness was exposed under the bright sunlight.
Now quaking in fear, the mustached man and his henchmen abandoned any thought of continuing their charade. Like a dam bursting, they confessed everything to Bandages, who was standing on one of the massive tree branches.
"Sir, we''ve only arrived on Hope Ind for a week! All the money we scammed is all in that yellow box over there. Please let us go! We''ll never do this again."
Bandages'' silence stirred a sense of unease among the conmen.
Clinging onto a tree branch, the bald man frantically wiped the luminous pearl powder from his face and agitatedly tried to justify his actions. "It was all Johnson''s idea! I have nothing to do with this! Sir, if you want to pin the me on someone, me him!"
Seizing the opportunity, the other henchmen were quick to follow suit. Each of them echoed the same sentiment and pushed the me onto the mustached man.
Johnson trembled in rage at the betrayal, and his eyes were filled with murderous intent as he red at his treacherouspanions.
Just then, the massive tree branches beneath them slowly began to wither.
The once vibrant green trunk shriveled and darkened and gradually lowered everyone gently back to the ground.
Bandages regarded the conmen with a conflicted expression. "If only… if only you really could… I think… I''m starting to… understand now… why the captain… did what he did…"
With that, Bandages turned and walked away without saying another word.
The four conmen were left behind in their original spots, and they exchanged confused nces, not fully understanding the situation.
It took more than a full minute before the bald man lifted his right hand to p himself half across the face. Feeling the sting, he turned to Johnson and eximed in excitement, "Boss! This is great! He didn''t punish us at all!"
However, before he could truly rejoice, Johnson mmed his fist into the bald man''s right eye. "You fucking traitor! How dare you sell me out like that! I''m going to kill you!"
***
Meanwhile, on the Ropelings'' ind, Charles stood in the middle of the multicolored forest. His gaze was filled with anticipation and unease as he looked toward the distant structures.
Norton had already ventured into theplex to look for his eyes. He had given Norton precise directions and instructions. Logically, everything should go ording to n.
Yet despite all that, Charles couldn''t bepletely at ease until Norton emerged from the buildings.
"Daddy, have you decided on your wish?" Sparkle asked. She was seated atop a colorful stone nearby and was swinging her legs idly.
Charles remained silent for a couple of moments before he answered with apparent uncertainty, "I guess so."
"Oh? Then can you tell me what it is first?" Sparkled continued, her curiosity piqued.
"Nope. But you can make a guess. Who knows? You might just get it right," Charles replied.
"Hmm…" Sparkle''s brows furrowed as she pondered over what kind of wish her father would make.
"How about wishing for both Mommy and you to be gods?" Sparkle suggested. "Humans have short lifespans. If both of you be gods, we could be together forever like a real family."
"Gods…" Charles let out a soft sigh. "My dear girl, wishing to be a god isn''t hard. But knowing your mother''s personality, what do you think she would do next once she bes a god?"
Sparkle didn''t even have to spare a moment to think. She immediately answered, "Of course, she would keep pushing herself to be even stronger until she bes the most powerful god out there. She has always been really strong-headed."
"Mmhmm. And if she bes the strongest god, she will inevitably have to face those <em>things</em>. And when that timees, what are the chances of her winning aspared to the Foundation?
"I''m not afraid of those gods; I''m just stating a fact. The Light God is powerful, isn''t He? But ording to the records of the Foundation, this man-made god only possesses a fraction of Fhtagn''s strength—a thousandth at best. Anna''s odds of winning are too low; she could die."
Charles'' words triggered Sparkle''s memory. She clearly remembered the fear she felt and the instinctive recoil of her physical body as she tried to go close to the surface. A bitter expression surfaced on her visage but she didn''t retort Charles. Deep down, she knew he was right.
"Then how about we go to the surface? Don''t you have three wishes? We could all leave the Subterranean Sea together," Sparkle said.
Charles shook his head. "It''s not that simple. 005 said that the three wishes have to be different. And also, if Anna really made it to the surface, the surface might be done for."
Charles wasn''t merely saying it out of pure spection. He knew exactly what Anna''s ability to alter memories was capable of. If she were to go to the surface with that kind of power, coupled with her personality, she would surely create havoc on the surface.
As much as Charles hated to admit it, Anna was, after all, a monster. A man-eating monster.
His family, along with over seven billion other humans, was still living on the surface. Charles couldn''t risk that happening. He wanted to reduce the impact the Subterranean Sea had on the surface.
As their technology developed, humanity in the Subterranean Sea was on a slow march toward extinction.
If the people on the surface ever learned about the Subterranean Sea and everything that happened beneath, their fates would be tied to the doomed fate of the humans in the Subterranean Sea. That was something Charles never ever wanted to see.