Ark Traveler, I want to take a day off today too

The kid named Bench came down from the wall at some point and ran away.

"Are you going to chase that kid?" Tallulah pointed to another alley. "I just saw him running into that alley."

“No need. He’s just a kid. Compared to these guys… it would be better to find a local who is willing to communicate with us.” Linley shook his head and looked towards the shadows on the other side: “Let’s go over there. It looks like there are still people who are willing to communicate with us.”

As he spoke, Linley put away his harpoon and took the lead to walk over. Skadi subconsciously exchanged a glance with Tallulah—they hadn’t sensed anyone in that corner before.

At the same time, Skadi whispered, "Don't you understand Iberian?"

"You just can't speak it, and I really couldn't understand it before... But I don't know why today... I can roughly understand what you are communicating with each other." Talulah naturally would not show any displeasure to this girl who did not have any bad intentions. She just spoke the truth.

In addition, Draco could also feel that her power was subtly undergoing some or many changes - at least she could feel that the mineral disease she had deliberately contracted before was decaying at a rapid rate.

"As expected, the changes in the power of Froststar and Patriot and the disappearance of Ore Disease are closely related to this guy." The girl clenched her fists and followed the two of them. Her face, which was covered by the mask, was extremely red. The reason was simple - someone simply thought of the experience of being mistaken for a dragon rider last night, but she was indeed a dragon.

Linley’s voice pulled the girl out of her delusion:

"I didn't expect it to be Lin Daiyu~"

Before Tallulah could ask what "Lin Daiyu" meant, the person that Linley said was "willing to have a good conversation" came out from behind a pile of waste and tremblingly greeted the three people:

"Hello... Hello."

I saw a black-haired girl wearing a thin suspender skirt and bandages on her hands and forehead. She raised her hands in embarrassment. Her thin but lively face twitched slightly.

"What do you mean by Lin Daiyu? We don't seem to have anything like that here."

“I’m just praising you for your good looks.” Linley stroked his chin. “What? It seems my Iberian is pretty standard. Little girl, you’re quite different from the group of people we just met.”

"Because I can sense that you have no ill will towards us...otherwise Bench should...should...ah!"

Before the Iberian girl could finish her words, Linley pulled out another flying knife like a magician and spun it in front of the girl. The flying knife, which was like a work of art, danced up and down on the man’s fingertips with a little flame.

Seeing this, the girl's panic turned into a faint obsession: "What is this?"

"Just some trivial acrobatics. If you want to learn later I can teach you."

"Forget it then. Besides, compared to your two friends, I am not that good-looking." The girl shook her head like a rattle, and her eyes, which could be called bright, flickered:

"Besides, my name is Anita... Of course, you can also call me Wooden Frame like Ironhide and the others."

“Just call me Dredger. As for the two behind me… you can call the masked one the Tyrant, and the one in red clothes… uh, the Singer?” Linley smiled and stretched out his hand, while Anita hesitated for a moment and then stretched out her hand and gently shook it.

"What does it mean."

"You can understand it as a gesture of friendship. After all, we are here to look for someone, and it would be much easier if we have the help of locals." The man shrugged. "Then Anita, have you ever seen people like us?"

"People like you? There aren't any... Even the outsiders who come here are very rare. If there are people who are similar to you, I will definitely have an impression of them." The girl shook her head and said, "People who are similar to you, do you mean in appearance or in clothing?"

"Looks like you have white hair and red eyes like me." Skadi then said slowly, "If you don't know, then who knows... Besides, you are different from other people in this city."

Then she added: "You talk more than those other guys."

Hearing this, Anita laughed and said, "Maybe it's because I was born a little weird, or maybe it's because Grandma Petra taught me well."

“Yes, if you want to find someone, I can take you to see Grandma Petra. She is the oldest person in this city who knows the most things.” The girl then tapped her palms and looked at Lin Lei - she naturally knew who had the final say in this three-person team.

“Of course. I’ll trouble you to lead the way… and here’s a reward.” Linley took out a package of compressed dry food and stuffed it into the girl’s hand. “If possible, don’t let others see it… unless you also want to be robbed by those people.”

"This is...?"

“Dry food… in your words, it’s food.” Linley glanced at her inconspicuously, and the girl immediately stuffed the dry food into her arms, fearing that others would see her holding it in her hands.

Tallulah, who was standing behind him, asked curiously, "How do you know they need this?"

“Life experience…” Linley smiled and snapped his fingers. “After all, a city that lives by the sea…if there have been no outsiders for such a long time, and there are no living creatures on the seashore…what do you think would be the most lacking?”

“Then it sounds like it can only be food. After all, the expressions of these people are somewhat similar to those of people in famine-stricken areas of Ursus.” The Dragon Girl said with sudden enlightenment, while Linley looked at Skadi:

"Did you come out without any food?"

"Deep-sea hunters can go without food for a long time without any problem...but I really didn't bring any." After hesitating for a moment, Skadi decided to tell the truth.

"Then eat what we have. We brought a lot with us. If we eat sparingly, there will definitely be enough."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

008. Old lady, what are you talking about?

Linley and the others followed Anita through the alleys. Just like when they first arrived, the streets were filled with residents standing like sculptures, and they all repeated the same word like stone statues.

"What are they talking about?" Tallulah walked carefully past these 'statues', fearing that she would bump into them.

"They are counting, but I don't know what they are counting." Skadi shook her head: "Also, the number they are repeating is ninety-nine..."

“When the number reaches one hundred, we will probably know what they are counting.” Lin Lei said in a low voice. At this moment, Anita had already walked ahead like a happy little bird, so the girl could not hear anything they said - more importantly, they were not speaking the official language of Iberia.

No matter what they said, the sculptures never looked up at them. This scene made Tallulah, as a "normal person", feel uncomfortable:

“Hey, Lin Lei, is their situation really okay? Compared to them, I think those who wanted to come up and beat people up are much more normal.”

"Don't worry about it. We can't change the mental state of these guys... They have been brainwashed to some extent." The man explained indifferently while he quickened his pace again. After all, if he didn't walk faster, Anita would soon disappear.

Talulah stopped talking after hearing this - if she was brainwashed, she really wouldn't listen to anything, and wouldn't care what other people were doing. Skadi was quite curious:

"How did you figure this out?"

How did I know? This kind of thing can probably be seen by scanning their brains with psionic energy. These guys' brains and mental fluctuations are almost a mess. It's hard to tell that there is a ghost!

But he certainly couldn’t say this directly, so Linley raised a finger and smiled:

"Just speaking from experience, I've seen guys in similar situations to these guys..."

"Is that so? What about that old lady?" Skadi nodded thoughtfully, then pointed at the old lady standing next to Anita and spinning around and asked, "That person should be the old lady Petra that Anita mentioned, right?"

I saw an old woman in patched clothes circling around a pillar on the street. Her thin and trembling body might fall down if the wind blew. However, her steps were very steady, without the slightest sense of staggering.

The conversation between the girl and the seemingly crazy old man also drifted into the ears of the three people along with the sound of the wind:

"Please turn slowly, or you'll get dizzy again."

"Nonsense, I can't even spin it eight or ten times in one breath... cough cough cough, Anita, you little bad boy, help me... I feel a little dizzy..."

Hearing this, even the expressionless Skadi couldn't help but twitch his lips, while Anita, who was supporting the old lady, nodded while taking her to sit on a stone pier nearby:

"Then you should sit down and have a good rest. Also, go and see our wandering singer. She has some questions for you."

"A wandering singer? I haven't seen a wandering singer for decades." After hearing Anita's introduction, the old lady's wrinkled face suddenly relaxed and she looked much happier:

"In the past, after sunset... there would always be people who could play the piano and sing in the bar. Do you also play the piano?" Petra looked up at the 'wandering singer' approaching her:

"Well....you also have a beautiful red dress."

Suddenly, as if the red dance dress was a trigger, the old lady's eyes, which were originally clear, suddenly became cloudy, and her pale and cracked lips began to tremble as she began to recall her past. Her extremely crazy words were combined together and turned into one incomprehensible sentence after another:

"Red... No, I don't want it... I don't want red... Sea water! Sea water is alive!"

Fortunately, the Deep Sea Hunters were not the only ones here. Linley glanced at the shadows to the side once more without leaving a trace. He was certain that the three of them had been targeted, but it was hard to say what force it was.

"I don't know if that thing belongs to the Inquisition or the Deep Sea Church."

As Linley pondered, he stretched out his hand and instantly sprinkled the scorching sunlight into the body of the old lady who was talking nonsense: "Ms. Petra, please wake up... This red dress is not on you, and the sea water now can't be called alive!"

Linley’s words, combined with the light energy, were like a shot of adrenaline, pulling the old man out of his dream and illusion.

The old lady also shuddered, and her cloudy eyes regained clarity again, even more sober than when she was dancing just now: "Um... cough cough cough, thank you, young man."

"You're welcome, but old lady, I want to ask what you mean by sea water is alive?"

Linley walked forward slowly and squatted down. He wrapped the old man’s wrinkled hands in his palms and slowly injected the power of light into the man’s not-so-healthy body. “My companions and I also walked along the beach, but we didn’t see any living things... Can this kind of seawater be considered alive?”

“Is it possible that because the seawater is alive… it devours everything that can be eaten by humans?” The old man’s voice was as light as a mosquito, but it was enough for Lin Lei to hear. “This happened decades ago. At that time, I was also as lovely and charming as Anita.”

The old lady then continued, "Young man, there is something in the sea watching you. Others say that I am blurry-eyed or that I am hallucinating... But I think you should believe what I am saying..."

“I understand what you mean.” Linley nodded, and Petra turned to look at Skadi.

"Well... little girl, if you want to find your companions in this place... there will be no clues in the residential area." The old man said slowly, "You should go to the church, there should be clues there..."

Then the old lady lowered her head again, her eyes were once again filled with chaos, and her words became crazy again:

"...My beloved, my fiery red clothes...my fiery red clothes..."

009. Uninvited Guests

“Although there isn’t much useful information, it’s better than before…” Linley stroked his chin and stood in the distance, looking at the still slightly crazy old lady: “What a clever little old lady.”

"That's right. Grandma Petra is the most knowledgeable person in the whole city." Anita stood beside the three people with her hands behind her back and swayed in circles. "It's a pity that she often says things that no one can understand, like now."

Then the butterfly-like girl chattered on: "By the way, do you want to go to the church later? Yes, the priest is also an outsider like you, but he came here a long time ago."

“How early is this?” Skadi raised her eyebrows. To be honest, if Linley and Tallulah were not still here, she would have wanted to go straight to the church that the old lady mentioned.

"It was a long time ago. I can't remember exactly when." The girl scratched her face with an extremely awkward smile: "He is also one of our brothers. We got along well only after the priest came."

Then Anita shook her head and recited like poetry what the priest had said to them:

"We want to survive, so we love each other more. Because of love, we are closely connected. We can't rob or fight."

“That sounds quite normal. It even sounds like something that the guys from Lateran would say.” Tallulah commented, while Linley frowned.

"It's hard to say. At least this place gives me a strong sense of déjà vu. Whether this guy is from Lateran or not can only be concluded after we meet the priest."

Anita looked at the man with confusion:

"What are you talking about? Why can't I understand a word you say?"

"It's our dialect, so it's normal that you don't understand it." The man patted the girl's shoulder, "Are we going to church now?"

“(⊙﹏⊙) Uh… not really, because the church should be closed now.”

"So where are we going?"

Anita didn’t know if it was her illusion, but she felt that the beautiful singer’s aura had become extremely frightening for a moment. But when she turned her head to look at Skadi, she found that the girl seemed no different from usual—except that she was holding her head with both hands and looking at Lin Lei angrily.

"We are now going to the best house in the north of Yanfeng City. You can just find an empty room and move in... There are plenty of houses in this area anyway."

“That’s great. You know, in my hometown, if you want to buy a house of your own, you’ll probably have to spend most of your life savings.” Linley sighed, “This is the advantage of having fewer people… Anita, do you still barter here?”

"Yeah, but if we really have to say what everyone likes...it's probably only food." The girl nodded and subconsciously touched her arms, where the dry food the man had given her was still there.

I don't know what this thing tastes like. I really want to share it with Tiepi and the others, but since Mr. Drjie doesn't recommend that I tell them about it... then forget it.

Although I didn’t think Linley was a bad guy, the flaming knife in his hand was still scary. So Anita decided to follow her heart, and Skadi asked again:

“So when will the church open?”

Miss Killer Whale's bloodshot eyes were fixed on the church on the cliff not far away. If it had not been in disrepair for many years, the small church with a white base and several spires could be considered a stunning sight.

And now this place, like the entire Saltwind City, is dead.

"Probably in these few days?" Anita counted on her fingers. "After all, I'm different from those guys who count on their fingers. I don't calculate the time too much... But it should be in these few days... Then the church door will open, and the priest will appear in front of us and actively communicate with us."

"When that time comes, you can ask the priest for help again and he will definitely not refuse!"

“Then we’ll ask Anita to take us there.” Linley nodded and looked at the row of flat-roofed houses nearby. Although the wooden doors looked shaky and the wall paint was peeling off in the humid environment, at least there were no small animals or mosquitoes.

After all, this place may not even be able to support humans, so where would other creatures come from to provide support for these beings to survive?

"Anita, is anyone living here? If not, we can stay here temporarily."

"There shouldn't be anyone here. I'll go in and help you check." The girl then skipped over, and taking advantage of this opportunity, Skadi and Tallulah immediately surrounded her:

“I want to go to that church and take a look!”

The killer whale girl’s eyes showed no emotion, but her words were full of unquestionable momentum. Linley stroked his chin.

"Leave this to me. I am better at infiltration and dealing with the locals. You and Tallulah should take a good rest here today..."

"But..."

"No buts. Since we are here to help you, you should listen to us on some matters." The man patted her shoulder and said, "I have seen ghost sharks. Besides... I am very strong, nothing will happen to me. Also, I hope you and Tallulah can ensure the safety of this little girl and the old lady."

“I’m afraid that the guy who’s been spying on us tonight might do something bad.” Linley narrowed his eyes and looked at the church in the distance in almost the same way as Skadi. Unlike the Deep Sea Hunter, he could clearly sense that there were several guys inside who were spying on them.

"It sounds like there are no better ideas... But Skadi and I will try our best to meet your needs." Tallulah nodded, "How about letting Anita rest with us?"

"It's not impossible."

Just as the three of them finalized the plan for tonight, Anita opened the shaky-looking wooden door and walked out at the right time: "Mr. Drijer, this place is quite clean, and I see there are not many people here... You can indeed live here!"

“Okay, but Anita, you must be hungry too.” Linley narrowed his eyes and pointed at the girl’s rumbling stomach. “How about you finish your meal with us in the house?”