Shrouded Seascape

Anna knew that if the woman before her were to make ten statements, she could only trust about three out of those ten statements, but she still agreed to Stewart's request. After all, she could also probe them while they were probing her.

Anna just had to ensure that her responses would never go below her bottom line, and conversations like this would only serve to further her understanding of the organization, which would increase her chances of escape.

"Don't bother pretending. Who is it today? Is it that psychologist from yesterday again?"

"No, they're my other colleagues."

The screen flickered, showing two middle-aged men sitting at a table.

As this was their first meeting, Anna took note of their appearances. However, the two were the epitome of ordinary, without any distinguishing features. One of them was wearing half-frame glasses while the other was unbespectacled, and the two looked so similar that others would believe that they were twins.

"Hello. Nice meeting you. Your name is Anna, right? My name is Carlo," the bespectacled middle-aged man said.

"Hello, my name is Lucius," said the unbespectacled middle-aged man. His voice sounded hoarse as if his throat was injured.

Anna stared calmly at the two while standing before the desk.

The men exchanged glances. After a while, Carlo said, "Anna, I don't like beating around the bush, so let's get to the point. What do you want? And what is your goal?

"We know you're different from those affected by your rituals. You don't seem particularly devoted to God Fhtagn. You're the High Priestess, but you don't even join the daily prayers on your ship.

"I know that from both Wang Sheng and Li Long, the first two people to have made contact with you.

"Since you're clearly not a devotee of that god, then you must have other motives. Tell us what you need, and maybe we can help you. Who knows? This might become a win-win situation for both of us.

"We understand that you don't trust us, but you have to know that we're not going to let you out unless you start talking. This site is also built in a polar region, and there are no people within a radius of five hundred miles.

"In other words, even the world outside can be considered a prison. In addition, this place contains Anomalies far more powerful than you. The fact that they haven't been able to escape means that you cannot escape as well."

Anna quietly memorized that piece of information. It turned out that her assumption was correct. There were other relics being contained here. If she wanted to escape, she had to make use of them somehow.

Carlo spoke no more, awaiting Anna's response.

To his surprise, Anna was rather quick in her reply, saying, "How about this? I answer one question for each question you answer for me. What do you think? It's fair, isn't it?" ᚱᴀΝ𝐨฿ΕŜ

Anna stared into Carlo's eyes, and her lips curled up slightly into a smirk.

Carlo was pleased to hear that. Anna's suggestion meant that she was starting to open up, and it was a good starting point.

Before coming here, Carlo heard that 315 was difficult to handle, so he was pleasantly surprised to learn that 315 was far more cooperative than he had expected.

Although pleased, Carlo's expression remained unchanged. He couldn't be too eager here, or Anna would take advantage of that eagerness.

"Please give me a moment; I have to consult with the higher-ups," Carlo said, and the screen briefly went dark.

"We agree with your suggestion. Ladies first," Carlo said, gesturing with his open palm to Anna.

Anna already had a question in mind, so she replied quickly, asking, "You said that this place contains Anomalies that are far more powerful than me. Can you tell me which among them is the most powerful?"

The brows of the two men furrowed slightly. Anna's question was like an open-ended threat.

"We can't tell you that. Please ask another question. Besides, an Anomaly cannot be described with the word 'powerful' alone."

"Oh, what's this? You're refusing to answer my very first question? There's nothing to discuss, then. I can't feel your sincerity at all."

"Miss Anna, I can't feel your sincerity, either. If you want to work with us, then be honest. And remember, you're under containment. We also have other methods to extract information from you in addition to a conversation like this."

The bare threat made the atmosphere a bit tense.

Just as Anna was about to say something, the silent Lucius finally spoke, saying, "All right, I'll tell you."

Even Anna was surprised to hear that. She truly did not expect that they would be willing to tell her such a piece of valuable information that surely required a high clearance level to peruse.

"A special Anomaly is being contained in the deepest level of this site. If we talk about the harm that it can bring, that Anomaly is probably the strongest here."

"What is it called? And what does it look like?"

Lucius shook his head. "It's indescribable. And I'm not using that word as an adjective; it is literally indescribable."

"We can't use any noun or adjectives to name or describe it. We can only define it by what it is not. In other words, we can only use negation."

"Negation? How does that even work?" Anna asked, becoming curious. She had seen plenty of relics in the Subterranean Sea, but she had never heard of such a bizarre relic.

"Let me give you an example—among the primary colors, it's not red, and it's not green as well. You can probably use that information to deduce its color, but it's not that easy to create a complete picture of it.

"It's not pure; it's not clean.

"It's not heavy; it's not dead; it's not happy; it's not fond of humans.

"It's not square; it's not round; it's not an organism; it's not a plant. It can't generate friction with any objects.

"It does not possess wisdom, but it's not stupid."

Anna paused at Lucius' words. It was indeed a special Anomaly.

"It's no wonder you decided to answer me. You said a lot, but you basically said nothing."

"No, I said a lot, but you have to deduce the truth by yourself."

Anna didn't argue. Instead, she asked, "So what is its special ability? How can it bring harm?"

"One question for another. That's your second question, and now, it's my turn. Where are you from?"

Anna's pupils constricted slightly, but she smirked again. She had just realized that it would be fine even if she divulged some information.

"I'm from the Subterranean Sea. It is an inverted ocean beneath the earth. You guys should look for that place. There are many good things there, and I think you'll like that place."

"Nonsense. The pressure of the Earth's outer core reaches 1.36 million atmospheres. A subterranean world cannot possibly exist underground beneath that much pressure!" Carlo retorted.

"Have you been there? How can you say that it doesn't exist?" Anna asked.

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