I! Cleaner!-Chapter 1218 - 1108: The Ruins (Part 2)

"?!?!?!" x2

Listening to "Evangelin" speak with such a familiar tone, even the abstractness matched perfectly, not only did the old merman gasp in shock, but even Leon unconsciously widened his eyes.

This is... what the hell! Definitely not right!

The "Evangelin" before them compared to the beautiful mermaid woman looked younger, had flatter chest and buttocks, and seemed more of a "superior" in demeanor, feeling unlikely to be the same person.

Yet her words... hiss... even when pinned to the rock, still couldn't resist being abstract, that's just too damn accurate!

"You, you..."

Listening to the mermaid statue's provocative words that tasted just like his daughter's, the old merman couldn't help but lean forward a bit, eyes full of suspicion:

"Are you really Evangelin?"

"Evangelin..."

Upon hearing this, the mermaid statue pondered for a moment, then with a smile asked back:

"Of course I am... huh? Why are you here?"

Is someone behind me?

Seeing "Evangelin" suddenly looking behind him with astonishment, the old merman quickly turned around, but there was nothing behind him. Yet, once he turned around, a fierce gust suddenly came from behind.

"Bang!"

A half-human tall jade hand abruptly smashed down, knocking the old merman to the ground once he turned his back, and looking at the old merman who passed out in the pit, "Evangelin" pinned to the rock let out a contented sigh, then happily explained to the frowning Leon:

"Sorry, ever since I saw him, I got a bit annoyed and couldn't stop myself from giving him a smack... although I didn't use much force, weren't you two together? Why didn't you save him just now?"

"..."

Because you indeed did not hit hard, whereas I merely touched you earlier, and a significant amount of the root of color from my palm got absorbed, and it hasn't replenished yet.

Looking at the mermaid statue in front, seeming both dead and alive—or rather, whether it's even a living being is hard to determine—Leon furrowed his brows and then asked, as he tucked away the root of color missing from his palm:

"Who exactly are you? Why can you absorb my root of color?"

"Root of color?"

Upon hearing Leon's words, a bit of surprise flitted across the mermaid statue's face, then with some realization, she said:

"Indeed, the power that comes from glimpsing the root, like smearing color off a canvas, calling it the root of color isn't wrong.

As to why I can absorb it, naturally because I too have this power... at least once did have."

"?!"

Seeing the somewhat nostalgic expression of the mermaid statue before him, Leon's heart jolted.

"Source between?"

"Certainly."

With eyes gleaming peculiarly at Leon, the mermaid statue nodded slightly, then curiously said:

"Aside from those methods in main root between, there are no other ways to acquire root of color, right?

And you've clearly awakened a talent to face the root directly, why do you seem clueless? Didn't the consciousness left by the guide in source between inform you all of this?"

"..."

Source between... guide...

After hearing the mermaid statue's inquiry, the scattered information in Leon's mind finally pieced together.

Previously, after passing through the Origin Mud Plate under Source God Platform and going deeper, he entered "Number 3 Source Between" where he learned William might be from an ancient race and had been mistaken as one due to the badge's effect that overlapped his identity.

However, before he went down, the third-generation director had gone once, awakening the consciousness of the guide in Number 3 Source Between, exhausted its "retained duration," leaving only a phrase about going to Old Soil then vanished.

And since there can be a "Number 3" Source Between, with William transformed from an ancient race to pure human, then there might be other numbered Source Between, with "Evangelin" who transformed from ancient race to merfolk!

"Some error happened on my side, and he couldn't tell me everything."

Having confirmed the identity of the "Evangelin" before him, Leon's eyes flickered slightly, then actively asked:

"Are you one of my kind too? What's your number in Source Between?"

One of my kind?

Looking down at Leon who was gazing calmly back at her, the mermaid statue remained silent for a while, then suddenly couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"?"

"Sorry sorry, not intentional."

Raising the hand of her broken right arm, she wiped the tears of laughter from the corner of her eye with the back of her hand, then said:

"Dear kin, if I'm not mistaken, your guide must've made more than a mere error, right?

The relationships between us, the reasons we survived, and the missions assigned to us poor selected few... Did he tell you any of this?"

"..."

"It doesn't matter, having a bit of vigilance is a good thing, and I'm more or less dead now anyway, just living briefly thanks to the bit of root of color you gave, so there's no need to worry whether you're wary of me."

Looking at the silent Leon after having his little plan exposed, the mermaid statue extended her pure white wrist on the black rock base, adjusting her posture to rest more comfortably, then with a smile said:

"For the grace of letting me live a little moment, I can answer your previous question... My Source Between number is Number 9, meaning the race I was born into, is a strong race ranked within the first 10, hence highly likely to accomplish the ultimate mission."

Ultimate mission? Number 9?

Leon's eyebrows arched involuntarily.

Judging by her words, it seemed the lower the number, the more distinguished the race? Her birth being Number 9 meant a race like the Sea Race, then William's birth being Number 3 meant... humans?

"What do you mean by the ultimate mission?"

Memorizing this unverified piece of news firmly, Leon pursued further:

"Could it be we are born with some kind of mission?"

"Yes."

The mermaid statue nodded, then with a slightly indifferent gaze said:

"Yet whether willing to bear this mission is up to you and me... I for one have no interest in a ridiculous mission more stinky than rotten crabs."

"So what exactly is this ultimate mission?"

"Hehe, take a guess~"

"?"

Glancing over at the frowning Leon, the mermaid statue leaned against the rock base, swaying her battered mermaid tail, saying leisurely:

"I already said I dislike this mission, now that you're clueless about the specifics, why should I explicitly tell you, because you fit my aesthetic?"

"..."

"By the way, strange~"

After blocking Leon with a sentence, the mermaid statue began to appraise his appearance, clicking her tongue in surprise:

"You shouldn't have awakened long ago, I must be meeting you for the first time, but why do I find you so pleasing to look at?"