"If I could swallow a ’Mythical-level’ Curiosities Fragment, wouldn’t I just fly to the skies?"
"But it’s too hard to find such a thing. Currently, all known Mythical-level Curiosities Fragments are with the Salvation Society. The only one I know of is the ’Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Sun Wukong’."
After thoroughly understanding the mechanism of the third machine, Ji Minghuan quickly figured out that the immediate task for this device was to make the shark consume more Anecdote Fragments and strive to grow its body to over two hundred meters in length.
In the end... swallow the Legendary Whale in one bite.
And once the Legendary Whale is consumed, the shark’s growth potential would almost be exhausted.
Ji Minghuan used the shark’s tail to close all the panels reflected in its pupils, and then tested the effect of "Undercurrent Swell" in the Crystal Ball.
In the next moment, dark blue currents suddenly appeared around the shark, dragging its body to move rapidly within the Crystal Ball, stirring the seawater inside into turmoil.
But just then, it heard a sound of footsteps coming from outside the bedroom, it should be the Third Prince returning.
So Ji Minghuan promptly turned off the skill and lay quietly in the Crystal Ball, watching the bedroom entrance.
Cezar walked in dejectedly, the crown on his head tilted, almost about to fall.
"Where is that ’Li Qingping’ you mentioned?" the shark asked as he approached.
Cezar sighed, "Li Qingping said he encountered some troublesome matters when he and the Second Prince went to Tokyo for an auction. He must report these things to Father before coming to meet me, and I don’t know how long that will take..."
"What’s the big deal?" the shark said indifferently, "We’ll see him later."
Cezar hugged the Crystal Ball, lay on the bed, and stared dazedly at the little shark.
"Actually, I really want to be like Second Bro, leave here, and see the world outside."
"You’ll have your chance in the future."
"Really?" Cezar asked softly.
The shark hummed confidently, thinking to itself that once I swallow the Legendary Whale, you’ll have to see the outside world whether you want to or not. Happy now?
A brief silence hung between them; Cezar seemed unwilling to speak.
"You look a lot like a friend of mine," the shark in the Crystal Ball suddenly said.
"Why?" Cezar tilted his head, "Does your friend have albinism too?"
"Albinism is really troublesome. When the sunlight is too strong, I can barely open my eyes," Cezar pouted and mumbled.
"It’s okay, I can be your eyes."
The shark’s gaze was intense, its tone sincere as if it had read ’Three Days to See’ a hundred times overnight.
"Yaguba... you make it sound like I’m blind," Cezar puzzled.
"Oh, then I won’t be your eyes."
As they chatted, Ji Minghuan suddenly recalled Lan Duoduo, who died violently in the auction hall. It then controlled the shark to ask, "By the way... if an Anecdote Envoy dies, will the Anecdote Fragments in their Anecdote Atlas disappear? If they don’t disappear... where do these fragments end up?"
Cezar explained, "The textbooks mention that if it’s a Generational-level Anecdote, it would remain in place, while other levels of Anecdotes would return to nature."
"I see... could you take me outside for a look?" asked the shark, thinking to itself to quickly let me see how big a piece I’m supposed to swallow next.
"Of course, you come with me!"
Saying this, Cezar, hugging the Crystal Ball, slipped out of the blanket, got off the bed, and trotted to the balcony connected to the bedroom.
He placed the Crystal Ball on the railing, raised his head, and together with the shark gazed at the world inside the belly of the whale.
The sky was the color of a sunset, with fiery light cascading down from the belly of the whale above, as multicolored schools of fish swam like birds beneath the sky.
At this moment, Cezar and the shark were on top of a floating island.
Looking down from the medieval castle’s balcony, there was a vast ocean below, with isolated islands floating here and there. Half of each island was mountainous, the other half was human towns. Today seemed to be some kind of celebration, with residents gathering around a bonfire, dancing in circles, drinking strong liquor.
"Is it very high up here? Where exactly are we?" the shark asked curiously.
"This is the Floating Royal Court. My father, mother, and brothers have lived here since childhood. Everyone else lives on the small islands below. Every few days, the islands float on the sea and gather together, and that’s when the residents concentrate on the central island, where everyone sings, dances, and shares food."
"So is it evening now?" the shark asked.
It looked up to the scarlet sky, which wasn’t the sky per se but the belly of the whale.
"Yes! There’s no daytime in the Whale Terrarium, only dusk and night, and it’s about to be night," Cezar explained patiently as he looked at the gradually darkening sky.
"And what is that place over there?" the shark pressed its head against the surface of the Crystal Ball, staring at a floating palace.
Outside the palace stood a gigantic knight statue. The last rays of the setting sun fell upon the statue, giving it a solemn appearance.
"That’s the Royal Court Hall!" Cezar said excitedly, "When members of the Royal Court Team died in history, the royal family would build statues for them in that hall, with inscriptions recording their life’s experiences."