I, Stone Golem, only want to forge.

Chapter 113 The Spirit's Opinion

Murphy looked the dwarf up and down again, pondered for a moment, and then asked another question.

What do you think of this dam?

"I don't know." As expected, Big Rock and Murphy simply shook their heads.

"When you were building this dam and related things, did you ever feel something was off?"

"It feels like something is hitting my head."

Big Stone pointed to his forehead and said with a confused and aggrieved expression.

Murphy became even more certain of his thoughts.

It once had a guess: what exactly does "thing" in "animism" refer to?

Does it refer to a specific object, or a generalized concept?

Murphy had actually been guessing the latter, but he just couldn't find a reason to confirm it.

However, after thinking about it for a while, it roughly figured it out.

In the concept of animism, "things" should be seen as something akin to a set, with larger sets containing smaller sets, and smaller sets containing even smaller sets.

Until it can be divided into the most basic unit that may or may not exist.

For example, a mountain range, a mountain within a mountain range, a tree on the mountain, a leaf on the tree —

Therefore, the ecological environment near this dam may also be a special kind of thing.

That's why it asked the big rock if there were any unusual occurrences when it was making things.

After all, if it were just a wasteland, there might not be much, but there are living organisms near the dam.

If the collective spirit of organisms perceives a dam as a threat, it is not impossible for them to produce some corresponding reactions.

The big rock sensed an attack because of the aggregation of those creature spirits, but Murphy didn't know exactly what it was.

However, it probably won't be like the mountain core, which, as a collection of the mountain's spiritual essence, has a special physical form.

Otherwise, they would have started making some kind of commotion to stop these people from building the dam long ago, and it wouldn't be that only people with strong perception like Big Stone could discover this.

"Is someone hitting you?"

Ling Ya listened attentively, her expression initially calm. But upon hearing this, she raised her eyebrows slightly, then frowned and pondered for a moment before asking a question to confirm.

"Yes, but there are no wounds, and it doesn't hurt."

Big Stone explained hesitantly, and after finishing, he looked at Murphy with some reverence and sincerely exclaimed.

"You're a smart stone man! That's amazing!"

"I've always thought the Stone Golems are an intelligent race."

Murphy nodded in agreement and said with certainty.

Lingya was too lazy to comment on the conversation between the two. She just combined her understanding of the Big Stone Physique with her own experience and sighed again, asking a question with even more helplessness.

Why didn't you tell me about this?

She knew quite a bit about spirits, so with a little thought, she knew why Big Stone had a headache.

They instantly understood Murphy's sudden question and his opinion on the dam.

It's just that we've discovered this a little too late.

The basic framework of the dam has been largely completed, and with the flood season fast approaching, modifications are unlikely. All that can be done is a somewhat helpless complaint.

"Nobody asked me—I'm in pain, but no one cares if I tell them. Why should I say anything?"

Big Stone explained, puzzled, that it really wasn't his fault, and that he and Ling Ya were not related; they could just exchange work-related information at work.

Who would report such a strange feeling when they are perfectly healthy?

Why not start from when you were six years old and were taken to the air?

After get off work, he has no family around, only the head of the workers' union, with whom he occasionally chats.

But they won't go on to talk about physical health.

"Alright then————"

Lingya could only accept reality helplessly, but she still felt a headache coming on.

Although she didn't understand the specifics, she could infuriate even the spirits of nature to the point of aggression.

The environmental damage caused by this dam is estimated to be quite significant.

The main reason is that their Vatican also worships the Goddess of Life, so theoretically, this matter should actually fall under the jurisdiction of the Vatican.

However, she herself is not from the Goddess of Life faction, so in some ways, she is not in charge of anything.

But then again...

She transferred from the College of Cardinals to the College of Academic Affairs, and according to the College of Academic Affairs' official requirement, she had to believe in all four gods.

Of course, only about half of them truly believe in all four gods; most just say it.

But even if it's just a superficial form, it still needs to have a form.

So ultimately, whether this matter falls under her jurisdiction or not is another matter, but if something really goes wrong, she will be 100% blamed.

"So, Mr. Murphy, your opinion is that this dam will negatively impact the surrounding ecosystem? Therefore, you hope we will rectify or dismantle it, is that right?"

Ling Ya looked Murphy up and down, thinking that this stone man was probably sent by Ling to negotiate with them.

"I want to take full control of the remaining dam construction project, and all procedures and subsequent modifications will be handled by me."

"ha?"

Ling Ya's breath hitched slightly; she didn't quite understand what Murphy meant.

What does it mean to take over all the remaining work and have the authority to make all the changes?

Has a parachuted-in leader come to seize power?

Isn't that a bit too blunt?

Shouldn't we at least exchange pleasantries a few times before gradually reclaiming command and responsibility?

More importantly, this is assuming it's a relatively large, normal project.

Lingya might not be so surprised, and might even be a little angry.

However, this project may appear glamorous on the surface, but it already has the suspicion of being abandoned.

More importantly, it was that stone golem on the other side who discovered the suspicion that the project was unfinished.

So it's not the kind of situation where someone can't see the problems with the project and wants to plunder the fruits of others' labor and take a slice of the pie.

After much thought, the only explanation is that the stone man wanted to take the blame for himself.

It seems only these dwarves and stone men are fooling themselves together —

Ling Ya's gaze swept back and forth between the large rock and Murphy.

It didn't seem like these two were fooling him at all, let's leave Murphy aside for now.

Having worked with the dwarf beside him for so long, he hadn't been completely oblivious to the fact that he hadn't investigated the man's background in private.

He certainly doesn't seem like the kind of person capable of scheming against others.

If all of these things are disguises, that would be terrifying.

Lingya pondered for a while longer and decided to be cautious and test Murphy's specific level before making any further considerations.

So instead of agreeing directly, she asked another question from a different angle.

"I built this project from scratch, after all. It seems a bit too frivolous for you to just take it over like that. There needs to be some reasonable explanation and convincing justification, right?"

"Child's play?"

Murphy paused for a moment upon hearing the word, then looked puzzled.

"Are you referring to this project? Although it's a bit naive, it shouldn't be something a child would do."

Lingya felt a tightness in her throat, wanting to say something, but hesitated and finally just pursed her lips again.

I had a feeling that Murphy was looking for trouble from the beginning, but looking at his sincere eyes, it didn't seem like it.

She crossed her arms and paced back and forth in the room a few times, her leather shoes making a series of crisp clattering sounds.

After walking a few steps, he stopped in front of Murphy again, tilted his head back, and looked directly into Murphy's eyes with a stern expression, his slightly chubby face serious. He said, word by word, with utmost seriousness, "Here's the deal: I'll take you to the dam. You point out the problems you see. If you agree with everything I say, I'll agree. How about that?"