Malin was startled — after his first deep dive encounter with this child, he had made many changes, all to prevent the post-war chaos from becoming the main theme of the future world.
But he hadn’t anticipated that the little bastard of the Mowish family would pick up such a huge loophole.
However... considering Manli, Malin suddenly felt that this lady was a natural-born winner in life.
Congratulations to you, Manli.
"By the way, which royal family did the Mowish Royal Family form an alliance with?" Out of curiosity, Malin asked.
"With the Turin Dynasty of the Northern Kingdom," the child said.
It was a dynasty that Malin had no knowledge of, it seemed that the Lulu families had all but declined after this upcoming war.
"So now the Western Human World is the Sydney Empire, right?" Malin casually inquired.
Thinking of the Mowish family eventually achieving a sovereign status, Malin couldn’t help but marvel at the wonders of this world — you see, Sydney was considered a poor backwater when it was established, yet ultimately it was a royal family from this backwater that came to rule the Western Human World.
"No, it’s still the Sydney Union. To use the royal tone, the entire Western Human World is united under the glorious Sydney surname. Sydney has an interesting tradition; they are a parliamentary system where mega-corporations, ancient nobility, and various powerful representatives form a council that may often resort to full-fledged brawls, but surprisingly, they have done quite a few good deeds for the welfare of the people. When the Mowish family will exit the historical stage is something that gives us political scholars in Thainan gray hairs."
"Okay, now I have a question. How do you know my body is Engma Jane Haus? You said you couldn’t see what I looked like, right?"
"Yeah, but after following you here, I knew who your body belonged to... By the way, I have lived in my world for a year now, I’ve gone on twelve deep dives, seen many clansmen, learned some skills. This time I came to Carterburg with the academy for a deep dive visit and encountered you. The afternoon before I fell asleep, I had been here, and I must say, the arrangement looks almost unchanged from six hundred years ago."
The words of Mars made Malin yearn — a millennium later, the humans on this planet once again broke free from the shackles of gravity, venturing out into space again. It was all too wonderful; an entire ten millennia of decline, from before the Great Destruction to the era in which this child lived, countless people wanted to restart civilization but failed. However, no generation gave up; every individual strove on, each breath taken by these ancients and newcomers alike... was the epic of civilization.
"Ancestor," the calling of Mars made Malin nod his head: "Speak, do you have anything else to ask?"
"After entering the school, I checked the Book of Sequences and couldn’t find any record of the Star Observer." Mars’ question furrowed Malin’s brow, but soon, Malin thought of one possibility — it couldn’t be that the Sequence was too profound, for the child completed the apprentice stage of the Sequence after visualizing the Sequence tree with Malin.
The only possibility was that it was a bloodline Sequence — only Malin’s descendants could possibly obtain it.
And all the Sequences in the Book of Sequences were likely ordinary Sequences; high or low, they were accessible to everyone.
"It might be a bloodline Sequence. I have only reached Step Five myself, child, what about you?"
"Sequence Nine, Author. It’s such a hassle, I hate essay writing." When Mars mentioned the Author step, the wrinkles on his face seemed almost intractable.
This made Malin understand — Maya didn’t like studying either, and this child with her bloodline appearance likely wasn’t one for study either.
"But that’s not good, child. Remember, knowledge is power — books are filled with ways to take revenge. Remember, my child, knowledge is more powerful than anything you’ve seen." Malin encouraged the child, and unexpectedly, he nodded: "I know, ancestor, I know the books are full of maxims about revenge, I study them hard every day, I get top grades in every physics and chemistry quiz, but language arts is difficult, and essay writing is my weakest point." The child spoke with bitter anguish when it came to language arts: "I want to become stronger, ancestor."
"I don’t have a new Sequence for you this time, but I have confirmed a nice one for you. When I obtain it, and if you come across me again, I’ll teach you." Malin looked at the child before him, thought for a moment, then decided to teach the kid how to use daggers, crossbows, and bows.
At his age, the child should have been living carefree in school, either laughing or crying with his peers... His childhood shouldn’t have been spent memorizing revenge, but Malin understood that this child had chasms in his heart—he had watched his father die before him, been pursued by killers, and if he hadn’t entered Deep Diver, he might have died alongside his father on that rainy night.
Malin had no right, and even less reason, to ask the child to give up his hatred.
All he could do was to teach the child how to survive in that cruel future.
Thinking this, Malin reached out, and an iron spoon flew into his hand. The metal object transformed in his grasp and finally, an unguarded short dagger appeared in Malin’s hand, "Remember, child, this is the most ingenious aspect of Spiritual Energy. You can be unarmed, or armed to the teeth; if someone has metal implants, you can even manipulate Spiritual Energy to turn the metal embedded in their gums into a lethal weapon that takes its owner’s life."
Having said this, the dagger flipped through Malin’s fingers and, guided by Spiritual Energy, it embedded itself in the wall.
"Try to pull it out," Malin said.
So the child ran over and tried hard to pull out the dagger but ultimately returned without success.
Malin then extended his hand, and the dagger came out of the wall and returned to its owner’s hand.
"Child, guns may be useful, but many times they can be quite noisy. That’s why at times, a dagger, a crossbow, or even a bow, can be the quietest weapons in your hands," Malin handed the dagger to Mars, then he reached out his hand again.
This time, the disassembling chair legs, the self-reinforcing steel wire of the bed, and the stainless steel pulley formed from a stainless steel basin, all these things eventually self-assembled into a small crossbow in front of Malin.
Malin pulled back the string and placed the steel bolt, which had been transformed from the dagger, into the bolt slot, using it to pin a mouse that had just poked its head out in the corner to the ground.
"No!" Mars’s face changed drastically.
"What happened?" Malin was puzzled.
"That’s Engma’s pet mouse!" Mars looked at Malin.
Malin looked at his successor with a puzzled face, "You never mentioned it!"
With a wave of his hand, the mouse along with the bolt came to his hand, and with the help of the healing Divine Arts, the mouse quickly escaped its near-death state.
The ignorant creature seemed to sense its owner’s voice, squeaking as it hopped out of Malin’s hand and then scampered under the table.
"That was Divine Arts, right?" Mars admired the white light that had just blossomed in Malin’s hand.
"Yes, I don’t know if you can still learn it in your era," Malin asked.
"Yes, but not with such efficient effects. Healing a superficial wound is no problem, but saving a life like you did... that’s no longer possible," Mars said with regret.
What a pity, Malin lamented, then beckoned, "Child, come, let me teach you how to use these quiet friends of yours