While walking on the busy street, Anna suddenly stopped. Half of her body quickly turned into a dozen thick tentacles. The tentacles swung out and tightly wrapped around a child who looked only six or seven years old who was standing next to his mother.
The boy was terrified, and his expression and body language were very realistic.
However, under the effect of the tentacle suction cups, the opponent's disguise quickly collapsed, and he turned into a Futan believer with tentacle patterns tattooed all over his head. A small stack of leaflets slid from his chest to the ground.
"Pagan!! You have betrayed the Almighty! Wake up on His behalf—"
Before he could finish his curse, a meter-wide mouth opened on Anna's slender waist and swallowed her directly.
"Disasters are indeed the breeding grounds for cults. Recently, the Futan Cult has started to make some small moves again. Their followers are growing very fast. You should also keep an eye on them on your island."
"Lady Anna, don't worry. The belief in the God of Light is popular on the island now, and the islanders will not change so easily. I will also send people to guard them and will definitely prevent them from infiltrating." The current World Crown Governor, Aarondi, replied quickly.
"Shan Shan?" Anna turned her head and saw the portrait of Shan Shan hanging in the shop. She burst into laughter.
"Are you looking for someone to flatter me? I tell you, I won't fall for it." Anna glanced at Aarondi.
"Absolutely not. This is a spontaneous choice made by the islanders. Moreover, this belief is not only found on our island, but also on other islands and even other sea areas."
"Is that so..." As Anna clapped her hands gently, Shanshan appeared in front of her in an instant.
"Daughter, look what that is? It's your portrait. How do you feel about becoming a god that people worship?"
Shining's green cross-shaped pupils blinked. "I don't have any feelings."
"These people worship you as a god, don't you have any thoughts in your mind?" Several tentacles stretched out from Anna's abdomen and picked up Shanshan.
“Why should they worship me?”
"Because you brought them banana seeds and hope,"
"But what does this have to do with me? My father asked me to deliver it. I actually didn't want to deliver it at all. It would be really troublesome to find so many islands."
Hearing this, Anna was stunned for a moment. She stared blankly at her daughter lying on her chest.
"Mom? Why are you in a daze? What are you thinking about now? Can I read your memory directly?"
Anna came back to her senses and touched her soft, shiny hair. "It just occurred to me that maybe the gods believed in by the people in Earthsea all think the same way as you do now."
"Maybe. Human worship doesn't bring me anything. It seems to be the same whether it's there or not. I don't think it matters."
"Haha, your little mouth is really getting more and more talkative. You're already two years old. That's fast." Anna leaned over and kissed Shanshan on the cheek.
"I have learned a lot now. I feel that learning is a very happy thing, even happier than playing with Nini."
"That's a good thing. Learn more. He's already like this at the age of two. I'm really looking forward to what he'll be like when he grows up."
The twinkling eyes blinked again, "I feel like I will be very powerful by then."
"Oh, sometimes I really envy you. You can improve your strength easily without doing anything. Unlike me, I have to find all kinds of ways to make myself stronger." Anna gently pinched Shanshan's soft face.
Shanshan looked at her mother carefully. The next second, she turned her head 180 degrees and looked at Nini and Donna who were walking by.
"Mom, please send Nini and the others to Dad's Island. It's not safe here, and life there is not good either. Farming is too tiring."
"Is that your friend?"
"Well, my good friend, she taught me some of the things at the beginning."
"Okay, I'll take care of it."
"How is it? Do you feel it? Do you feel that energy? I am not lying to you. This is really the power of the God of Light." Lily heard some vague voices in her sleep.
She tried hard to open her eyes, but she couldn't. She could only hear some fragmented sounds.
"Let's make a deal. I know what you want. Although the probability is very low, what if it succeeds?"
Another voice with a different tone came from a distance, full of urgency. "Let me see it first, I want to take a look first! Just one look!"
Lily wanted to struggle, but her limbs were locked tightly and she felt very uncomfortable.
"Haha, how could I possibly give it to you first? Remember my rule, work first and then I'll pay you."
After a moderate shake, the drowsy Lily was awakened and found herself still in Mr. Charles' pocket and had not gone anywhere.
"What a strange dream! Why did I have such a strange dream?" Lily squatted in Charles' pocket and scratched her furry face with her little paws.
There was no way, there was not even any water to drink, let alone water for bathing.
"Lily, we're here." Charles' words made Lily's drooping ears stand up immediately.
When she excitedly poked her head out of her pocket, she found that the Giant Pit Fortress was right in front of her.
"Ah!!" Lily climbed down Charles' trouser legs and rushed towards the supply point with a group of colorful mice.
"I want to eat all kinds of fruits! I want to take a bath!! I want more... I want more... I haven't decided yet!"
Charles looked at Lily who was so excited with a smile. Sometimes he really envied Lily who was always so easy to be happy.
"Captain, I'll send the bodies of the chief engineer, the second mate, and Sanshui over first." Linda, the ship's doctor, said calmly while carrying three gray bags.
Hearing this, Charles' heart suddenly ached. "Go ahead and send another telegram to James to compensate their families."
"clear."
Although Charles was physically and mentally exhausted, he had no time to rest now because he had more important things to do.
The news that the Governor of Hope Island's car had returned quickly spread throughout the Giant Pit Fortress.
"Governor, so many days have passed, we almost thought you would not be able to come back." A familiar explorer approached Charles and teased.
But when Charles looked at him coldly, he embarrassedly retracted his smile. "Bud, how many have you brought back in total?"
Brigadier General Bader, the person in charge of the Giant Pit Fortress, stepped forward immediately. "Report, a total of 62 teams have returned. The rest have been gone for so long, they probably won't be back."
Compared to the loss of more than a dozen teams of explorers, Charles is now more interested in what they have found.
"Have you found any clues about the darkness?" Charles asked with a hint of nervousness in his voice.
The explorers around looked at each other for a few seconds and shook their heads in unison.
Charles thought for a moment, then said to Bud next to him, "Gather all their photos and diaries for me. I want to look through them carefully."
(End of this chapter)