Chapter 1022: Why Did She Want to Kill You?
At Lin Sanjiu's speed, combined with Silas's assistance, it should have been more than enough for her to catch up to "Luther" within ten minutes. However, just shortly after they rushed out of the control room, "Luther" disappeared around a corner. Despite several inquiries to Silas, the system seemed clueless.
Obviously, the other party had used some ability or item to interfere with her tracking and hide their own traces.
"What are they playing at?" Bohemia complained breathlessly. "This is a spaceship. Where else can they run? Are they planning to jump ship?"
Frowning, Lin Sanjiu stopped in her tracks.
Indeed, they couldn't pretend to be Lin Sanjiu and order the ship to stop anymore, nor could they abandon the ship and escape because Exodus didn't have a single aircraft on board. In that case, there was only one possibility.
"They are looking for the part of the ship that was swallowed by the Great Deluge," she said softly, as if her thoughts were clear as a mirror.
"How do they know?" Bohemia murmured. "They can't see it."
"Although we didn't show it, I looked out of the porthole for quite a while... From that particular window, you can only see a part of the ship, and there's nothing interesting to see except for the presence of the Great Deluge. Plus, the ship paused for a moment, and the personalities knew that we could see the Great Deluge... If they were a bit more quick-witted, they would have understood it on the spot."
Once they willingly entered the Great Deluge, they might never see Lin Sanjiu again.
Bohemia opened her mouth to speak but hesitated. When she finally spoke, it was apparent that she had changed the topic: "But... do they know where that part is?"
Matching the ship's exterior and interior was not a simple task because Exodus was circular in shape. Even Lin Sanjiu sometimes got lost inside it, let alone someone who was new to it.
"Perhaps they are guessing and taking chances," Lin Sanjiu sighed. "Perhaps they are hurrying there... It all depends on how well the Chicky brothers knew this ship after so many years in the Twelve Worlds."
As she spoke, she raised her arm and waved the loose sleeve of her T-shirt.
Bohemia's eyes widened instantly.
After Luther lost his shape-shifting ability, the black vest he wore returned to its original state, becoming a dirty T-shirt that one of the Chicky brothers often wore. It seemed that the shape-shifting ability not only allowed them to create something out of nothing but also enabled them to "utilize resources."
The last personality, who was left alone outside with a nervous expression, was indeed one of the Chicky brothers. With this revelation, another piece was added to the puzzle.
"I have no idea what's going on with those Chicky brothers!" Bohemia, feeling defensive, preemptively scolded. If someone unaware heard her, they would think she was the one who should be held accountable. "You were careless, don't blame me."
"No one is blaming you," Lin Sanjiu responded, finding the conversation headache-inducing. She raised her hand and called for two hover pods. "You made a valid point earlier. The Chicky brothers have been in the Twelve Worlds for so many years; they couldn't possibly be personalities. Their abilities are unique, so it's highly possible that they were already on Lyanna's radar. When she found out they happened to be on Exodus, she simply turned them into personalities."
Thinking about it, the Chicky brothers were indeed unfortunate victims—unjustly caught up in this situation.
Perhaps because the Chicky brothers were also victims of Lyanna's "vacant seat" [Note: It's unclear what "vacant seat" refers to], they withheld information from her. Although it wasn't clear how the "Pledge Implantation" worked, it was reasonable to assume that this ability had limitations. It wouldn't allow Lyanna to impose all her intentions on others simultaneously, and it was normal for there to be oversights.
Of course, this also meant that unwittingly leading Lyanna to discover Exodus and indirectly causing the Chicky brothers to lose their humanity was actually the doing of Bohemia. However, Lin Sanjiu naturally didn't mention a word of it to the party involved.
Bohemia hadn't even considered this aspect, and her mood instantly lightened. "Of course, what I said makes sense! What are you planning to do now?"
No matter how good the personalities' anti-tracking abilities were, since they knew their destination, the two of them just had to wait for them at the rear of the ship. The part that was submerged by the Great Deluge was a fairly large power room, which could already be seen shimmering with vibrant waves of light on the white walls from a distance—it truly looked like sinking into a colorful deep sea.
To be safe, they didn't dare approach too closely. After all, it was uncertain whether the Great Deluge advanced at a constant speed like Exodus; no one could say for sure. Just in case it suddenly surged forward, they wanted to leave themselves enough time to react.
"Actually, I think that lunatic is right," the two of them huddled behind a corner of the wall and waited for a while. Bohemia suddenly spoke in a low voice, "You've already avenged him. Besides feeling uncomfortable, what's the point of finding out how he died?"
Lin Sanjiu remained silent.
Because she didn't know what purpose her question served either. She couldn't help but want to know—for some reason, she felt that through this method, she could touch Luther's spirit before his death and stand beside him. However, she was well aware... The departed had already departed, and everything the living clung to was just an attempt to find a bit of solace.
"Are you planning to let the personalities go? Do you really want to kill them?" Bohemia hesitated for a moment, stuttering, "In-including Bliss?"
The victims who were threatened by Lyanna with their lives, Bliss, who secretly helped her, and even the personalities who were likely still unaware... She truly couldn't cold-heartedly lead them all to their deaths like Twelve.
Bohemia quietly observed her expression and whispered, "Then... let's just let them go! We still have a lot to do, and we can't keep entangling ourselves with them."
Lin Sanjiu glanced at her.
After a while, she suddenly let out a sigh and a faint smile appeared on her face.
"You've changed a lot," she reached out and picked up a wood chip from Bohemia's messy curls, feeling a hint of nostalgia. "If it were the old you, you would definitely have killed anyone and everyone involved, whether relevant or not."
"What are you talking about? What's wrong with you?" Bohemia immediately frowned, feeling unhappy, and she pulled her hand away. "You've become a softie!"
This person really didn't know how to give compliments.
"Alright," Lin Sanjiu raised her hands in surrender. "You're right. There's no point in continuing to entangle with them. However... Septimus still has something of mine, and I need to retrieve it before we decide."
"What is it?"
"The Ability Polishing Agent."
These five words were not spoken by Lin Sanjiu— the voice carried a slight chilly tone, as if the speaker's body temperature was naturally a few degrees lower than others. Both of them were startled and turned their heads towards the source of the voice. They saw Septimus standing not far from the Great Deluge, his sharp eyes shining brightly.
"Don't be surprised. We don't know where the part submerged by the Great Deluge is, or even if there is a part submerged. That's why we split up and started searching," Septimus said.
Septimus's face was like ice, cool, clear, and devoid of any human warmth. "...Since you're here, it means the Great Deluge isn't far away, right?"
He extended a few pointed fingers and aimlessly traced them through the air. As if disturbed by his touch, waves of colored light rippled and gradually spread out. Being a personality, he didn't have a physical body, so even if he encountered the Great Deluge, he wouldn't be transported away.
"I... I seem to be able to sense something," Septimus looked at his fingertips in a daze and said. Then, he lifted his head and locked eyes with Lin Sanjiu, not far away.
"Give it to me," she held out her hand, "and then... you can leave."
Septimus tilted his head, seemingly surprised by her decision. "Really?"
"Nonsense." Lin Sanjiu paused for a moment, then sighed. Luther was already gone, and holding onto the things he left behind would be futile. "It doesn't matter what happens to you from now on. But... in consideration of Luther splitting you apart, take care of his body."
"It's our home too," Septimus said calmly. "Of course, we will take good care of it. However... I can't give you what you're looking for."
"Why not?"
"I didn't bring it with me." Septimus remained calm. "Since I don't have a physical body, everything I had on me will fall off when I return to Luther's body. So, the possessions of our personalities are all stored on Luther himself. For some reason... after obtaining the Ability Polishing Agent, I gave it to someone else."
"To whom did you give it?"
Septimus suddenly turned his head and looked at a distant corridor. "Do you remember what I said to you that night?"
"I remember," Lin Sanjiu snorted. "It was all nonsense, and there were hardly any true words."
"I have a Pledge Implantation, and if I don't speak in vague terms to remind you, I won't be able to communicate a single word. That includes now... Although Lyanna is dead, the Pledge Implantation on me is still in effect. I can't directly tell you the answer."
Septimus paused, glanced at the depths of the corridor as if waiting for someone. He turned his head back and spoke slowly, "What I said that night wasn't all lies... Marcie did succumb to fear. And there's one question you have forgotten."
"What question?"
"Why did Lyanna want to kill you?"
As Septimus smiled faintly, a barely audible and unbelievably fast series of footsteps could be heard from deep within the corridor. "If she didn't come to kill you, you might have never discovered that Luther was dead, right? Without knowing that Luther died, you wouldn't seek revenge on her. She may be impulsive, but she's not stupid... She did what she did because she had a reason that forced her to kill you."
As he finished his sentence, the footsteps grew faster and closer. Lin Sanjiu turned her head and saw "Luther" rushing out of the corridor at high speed—what occupied his body at this moment was likely the unfamiliar man with eyes shining like a wolf. He was incredibly fast, and his target was clearly this part of the power room submerged by the Great Deluge.
"Explain clearly, what reason?" she shouted as she turned, and "Luther" was already approaching. Lin Sanjiu swiftly twisted her body and threw a punch at his face, but to her surprise, the man didn't evade or back down. Instead, he met her fist head-on, a faint smile forming at the corner of his mouth.
She could kill Luther's body, but she couldn't bring herself to smash this face, which still bore traces of his youth.
Just a second before her fist would land on Luther's face, she abruptly retracted her hand. Without wasting any time, the man ducked and pounced towards Septimus behind him.
"Until we meet again."
Those words from Septimus dispersed like clouds in the wind as he and "Luther" vanished into the vibrant colors of the Great Deluge's waves.
As soon as it "swallowed" the individuals, the Great Deluge seemed to awaken its appetite, and its brilliance surged, sweeping towards the front of the spacecraft.