Chapter 2282: The Mysterious Man Who Sells Gifts
After hearing Nolan’s account, the Yellow King believers exchanged glances. One of them asked, “How did he contact you back then? Did you actively seek him out?”
“That person approached me first, in the shipping area outside the port. I tried to find him after he disappeared, but I couldn’t find anyone. My mental state also worsened, I had nightmares every day, and I could only lock myself at home,” Nolan said painfully.
“You intentionally locked yourself at home, not only hoping outsiders wouldn’t come in, but also wanting to prevent yourself from leaving. What feeling made you make that choice?” Jayad asked again.
“I, I had a feeling that the sea was constantly calling me, wanting me to return. I spent more and more time in the sea every day, and it required great willpower to get back on shore. But I still had a family, and my elderly parents to support, so I couldn’t just leave and never return,” Nolan said with lingering fear, though he no longer felt that way now.
“So you sealed yourself in your home, then filled it with seawater to simulate the ocean environment, temporarily slowing down this urge to return to the sea. That’s very clever,” Jayad praised.
A fisherman’s dilapidated shack could not possibly be filled with seawater without leaking. In fact, Nolan had used some special abilities awakened through mutation to seal the house, turning it into a sealed space.
When Jayad knocked on the door, Nolan’s mind was agitated and uneasy, which caused cracks to appear in the sealed space, allowing the seawater inside to leak out.
Furthermore, it wasn’t just seawater. The seaweed growing inside the house and the gnawed raw fish were actually things he had created to simulate an ocean environment. This was almost equivalent to a domain.
Sea monsters have a clear tendency: when they enter an unfamiliar environment, they instinctively transform the surrounding environment to suit their survival. Miasma is a manifestation of this environmental transformation.
Nolan also instinctively utilized the sea monster’s habit of transforming their environment to adapt his own home, temporarily satisfying his craving for the sea and stabilizing his spirit.
Because of this, he did not completely go mad. Otherwise, even with the suppression of Imperial Authority against erosion and mutation, he would have completely mutated into a sea monster long ago. At that point, even Jayad couldn’t have saved him.
Of course, if Jayad and the Yellow King believers hadn’t arrived, Nolan could only have sealed himself in a self-made aquarium and completely adapted to the sea monster’s way of life. His eventual fate would still have been complete transformation into a sea monster, which was irreversible.
“Ugh!” Recalling how he had been eating raw, rotten fish for the past few days, Nolan couldn’t take it anymore and began to cough violently, as if trying to vomit something. However, he hadn’t actually eaten much. The fish was something he had split from himself, and it had already been digested upon returning to his body, so nothing came out.
After a forced bout of dry heaving, Nolan surprisingly felt hungry, ravenous. He hadn’t truly eaten anything for several days, relying solely on the powerful vitality and splitting ability of the sea monster cells to sustain himself. Now that the mutated parts had been eradicated, he naturally felt unbearable hunger.
“Um, gentlemen, could you please give me something to eat? But please, no more fish,” Nolan said, as he had developed a psychological aversion to fish.
“Certainly. As long as you answer our questions, you can eat whatever you want,” Jayad readily agreed and took him to a high-end restaurant.
Seafood was cheap on the island, while items like steak and chicken were very expensive, as many had to be transported by ship. Of course, even more expensive were the Monster Materials from all over the world.
But these ingredients had one advantage: they were safe, having basically not been eroded or contaminated by sea monsters. Otherwise, even sea monster cells that had been completely killed and cooked still carried hidden dangers.
Jayad ordered Nolan the highest-grade feast, completely without any seafood, which touched him greatly. He devoured it all, and even before his mutation, Nolan had never eaten a high-quality steak.
During this time, he revealed quite a bit of information. For example, he wasn’t the only one who had received a gift from that mysterious person; several others had also consumed the gifts. He also tried his best to recall the appearance and whereabouts of the other individuals.
He also told them that the gifts sold by the mysterious person varied in grade. According to them, the difference was in Divine Favor and quality, hence the varying prices.
If someone actively sought him out, he would sell it to them at a high price. However, if he approached someone himself, he would advance them the gift, allowing them to evolve first. Then, they would go out to sea to fish and repay him later. However, the mysterious person didn’t seem to care much about money and never chased debts.
Furthermore, through their conversation, Nolan learned that the mysterious person tended to seek out orphans and youths with tragic backgrounds. He would appear when they were bullied or starving, protect them, and after earning their trust, bestow gifts, claiming they could change their destiny.
Upon learning all this, Jayad gained some understanding. He instructed the Yellow King believers to go to the mysterious person’s usual locations to search for him, and also to look for the children who had consumed his gifts.
As for Nolan, after eating and drinking well, Jayad sent him home. His home needed to be dried and cleaned, and he also had to report his safety and apologize to his neighbors.
Jayad reminded him not to eat any more suspicious things given by others and to avoid going out to sea as much as possible. Although Nolan likely still harbored the seed of mutation, as long as he stayed within the suppression zone of Imperial Authority, he could endure for many years without mutating further.
Nolan readily agreed. The events of the past period had left him with psychological trauma. He was now afraid of the ocean and planned to work on the island to get by.
After bidding farewell to Nolan, Jayad prepared to lead the Yellow King believers to search for the so-called mysterious person. However, it wasn’t that easy to find him, and after searching around, they found no suspicious individuals.
As they passed the Bulletin Board, Jayad remembered the clue provided by the black market boss: the Lord of the City was offering a high reward for Sea Monster Corpses, so he decided to go take a look.
Upon arriving at the Bulletin board, they indeed found information about hunting sea monsters in a corner. The bounty was significantly higher than for other Monster Materials, and it explicitly stated that a complete Sea Monster Corpse was required to claim the reward. It also noted that it could be used to offset severe crimes.
The purpose was too obvious. Yesterday, they had thought this section was entirely for hunting monsters, and had overlooked this sea monster request.
Just then, Jayad suddenly heard a familiar girl’s voice from behind him, “Ah, I met you again today. What a coincidence.”
