Endless Debt-Chapter 911 - 39: The Void Heart

"Are you two just idle?"

A slightly discontent voice sounded inside the car, immediately followed by another voice responding, "Indeed quite idle, haven’t had anything to do these days."

He continued, "Geoffrey has given both me and Bologue some time off until this guy gets promoted to Negative Power User."

A hand reached out from the driver’s seat and vigorously patted the shoulder of the person in the passenger seat, whose gaze turned toward the window, uninterested in joining the conversation.

"Negative Power User?"

A surprised voice came from the back seat. Church leaned forward, looking unexpectedly at Bologue’s profile.

"You’re getting promoted to Negative Power User?"

Bologue turned his head to respond, "Yeah, didn’t I mention it before?"

"No," Church paused, "Or maybe you did, and I forgot."

"Bologue relies on the characteristics of the Undead, allows for all sorts of shenanigans, plus his soul is surprisingly stable, coupled with his past accomplishments, and the new... training plan proposed by the Order Bureau."

Palmer spoke with a hint of envy in his eyes, "In short, the resources required for the promotion, the Order Bureau has already supplemented for him, just waiting for everything to be ready, and Bologue will be promoted."

"Negative Power User, huh."

Palmer sighed deeply, "Wonder when I’ll become a Negative Power User."

Every Condenser knows that a Negative Power User is a clear dividing line, only upon becoming a Negative Power User, when their body starts Etherealization, can they truly step into the Extraordinary.

Bologue remained silent, knowing that the training plan is a sham, merely Nesanel’s external rhetoric; not being good at lying, his best response was to keep silent.

Silence.

It’s very fitting for Bologue’s nature, giving an impression of calm, humility, mystery, but in reality, Bologue was just putting up a front.

"So what you’re saying is, during this time, we’ll haunt you like ghosts."

Palmer raised his head, glancing at the rearview mirror and meeting Church’s eyes.

"Stop looking so grim, you’re about to meet Afeiya, smile for once."

Seeing Palmer’s exuberant demeanor, Church felt a surge of anger, but then Palmer added, "If you resist, you can always jump out of the car."

Church remained unmoving.

Palmer grinned, seeing through Church, "I told you, you need someone to push you, otherwise you’ll just stay put."

Church took a deep breath, unable to refute Palmer.

Since returning from the mission, Church had always wanted to visit Afeiya, but suspecting that the relationship would likely lead nowhere, he became hesitant and indecisive.

As Church’s former partner, Palmer immediately saw through Church’s thoughts, and while driving, he asked, "Church, do you have... social anxiety? Or is it some kind of avoidant personality disorder?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Just some terms analyzing your psychological state."

Church knew Palmer didn’t truly understand these terms, more like he casually brought them up, "Are you learning psychology-related knowledge recently?"

"Sort of..."

"Are you kidding? A guy like you seriously studying irrelevant stuff?"

Palmer’s expression turned awkward, "Okay, I just randomly came across it, felt it matched you..."

"Don’t apply knowledge carelessly once you learn a bit," Church sternly interrupted, "With preconceived notions, you can almost fit any psychological disorder to someone."

"Is that so!"

Palmer’s voice rose, followed by a long sigh, "Hah, I even thought I had mental issues."

As Church said, while flipping through books, Palmer became increasingly shocked, discovering that almost any disorder could be applied to his own psychological situation.

That night, Palmer’s mood was horribly poor, even claiming to Bologue he might be depressed, but after a night’s sleep, everything was back to normal.

Church said, "I always doubt if you truly have a brain."

Bologue calmly spoke, "The bliss of a fool."

Regarding their evaluation, Palmer didn’t defend himself, as they often argued over similar matters, Palmer thinking these two were always preoccupied, living too burdensomely, whereas the two felt Palmer’s carefree lifestyle was too foolish.

No one could convince the other, but they mutually understood that the other’s seemingly foolish lifestyle had some merits.

Church gazed at Bologue through the rearview mirror, "Are you researching information in this field?"

"Yeah, recently troubled by some psychological issues," Bologue said, "I bought some books trying to understand myself."

"Understanding oneself is not easy, many spend a lifetime unable to see themselves clearly."

Church enjoyed conversing with Bologue, having a mind, sometimes exchanging discussions with him was enjoyable; with Palmer it was just torture.

Bologue rebutted, "Do you understand yourself?"

Church remained silent for a while and shook his head.

"My advice is to seek the guidance of professionals," Church said, "Researching this by yourself can easily get you caught in loops."

"You’re knowledgeable in psychological aspects?"

Bologue sensed Church’s authority through his words.

"Just know a bit, not professional," Church explained, "Psychology is one of our required courses, Palmer learned it too, but evidently, he’s forgotten."