And this is also the crux of Old Ai’s problem.
If he wants to cure this patient, he must delve deeper to find the source of the chatter.
Theoretically, he is in a pollution zone, facing an existence similar to Old Ba.
"It’s alright, my little pet didn’t want to communicate with me when it first came in either."
"Its willpower was very strong, daring to defy my orders for the sake of its human friends."
"But it couldn’t hold out for more than a year."
"And its friends left it here alone, waiting to be corrupted. It has now realized that humans are selfish creatures!"
With each step forward, Ethan has to endure the chatter at a rate of ten sentences per second.
He feels he is getting closer to the source of the voice; perhaps it has already sensed his intentions, along with some other things.
"What about your friends? Haven’t they come to find you?"
As Ethan poses his question, all the whispers suddenly vanish without a trace.
The previously playful tone fluctuates intensely, becoming rather sharp.
The change being that now there’s only one sentence per second.
"I have brought some news about your friends."
Another long period of silence.
Not knowing how much time has passed, its words suddenly become fewer, and after a long while, it managed to squeeze out a single word—"Speak!"
"First is Old Ba, oh, I mean Mr. Bazatous, he has always been engrossed in the study of avant-garde art; several epochs ago, he finally established a dynasty of his own. People refer to his era’s artistic style as ’Crimson Art,’ which is still talked about by many to this day.
"Next is Kane, that’s the name he recently gave himself. We found from some ancient books that his true form is likely an Old God known as the Blood Demon. He slept for a very long time and, upon waking, has been wandering the world. Not long ago, he visited Dark Furnace City in the Empire, spreading his doctrine of conflict to the locals.
"Then there’s your other friend, although we don’t yet know its name, it has started a consortium, amassing a great fortune, enough to easily purchase a small country. It should be living quite comfortably. Recently, it visited Ophira. Oh, and they spent a considerable amount to meticulously plan for me to come here."
Ethan speaks slowly, unable to manage ten sentences per second.
However, as his narrative comes to an abrupt halt, the voice almost eagerly sounds out, "What did they send you here to do?"
"To murder your pet."
Ethan says, "Personally, I don’t care much for the task, but if your pet dies, who else would you have to speak with?"
Indescribable in words, like a tidal wave of rage.
Anger instantaneously tears everything around him apart, everything he sees appears as a broken curtain, with light shining through from afar.
There, there’s only a table, and a crystal fishbowl is placed on it.
The fishbowl contains seawater, in which is a miniature land, small enough to appear decorative.
Yet Ethan recognizes it as the outline of the Western Continent.
Perhaps in the eyes of the Evil God, the Western Continent truly resembles a toy floating in the fishbowl.
Ethan senses some higher-tier gaze—directly above him, still lurking in endless darkness, some indistinguishable existence.
It coldly asks, "Speak his name, who wants to murder my pet?"
"Mr. Flor, the overt ruler of the Lofic Consortium, and your friend’s most devout follower." Thɪs chapter is updated by Novᴇl_Fire(.)net
Ethan says, "But you’re trapped here; even if you know his name, you can’t do anything to him, right? Besides, he’s protected by your friend."
Ethan hears the sound of a sharp intake of breath and looks up, "But rest assured, I have no intention of harming your pet. I came here for something important."
The voice above the pitch-black sky responds with mocking laughter, "Do you want power? Or for me to give you this fishbowl?"
It seems as if it has experienced such things before.
"No, I’m not interested in your power or the fishbowl. I heard anger in your previous words."
Ethan shakes his head, sitting at the table with the fishbowl, "We have plenty of time, and there’s no one else here. If you wish, you can talk to me about your matters."
"You? Mere human? Why would I tell you about my affairs?"
Nonetheless, the voice above trembles with intense fluctuations.
"Your friend Old Ba cares a lot about you, specially commissioning me to come here to see you."
Ethan says, "No need to worry, the psychological consultation fee has been paid by it."