Chapter 893: Section 590: The Past (Part 2)
It was a life form resembling a human child, but in Malin’s eyes, it was not human. It lacked warmth, its expressions were stiff. As Malin approached, it nodded, a gesture that served as a greeting.
"Welcome to the Insmauss Biological Factory Refuge, stranger. Why do you come here, and how do you know the ballads from before the Great Destruction Era?" Its voice was somewhat husky, the electronic timbre from the artificial larynx brought a smile to Malin’s face.
"I come from a time long, long ago, when the humans on Earth were not yet united under one flag." Standing before this being, looking at the gun in its raising hand, Malin shook his head: "I am not your enemy."
"Others have said the same to me before, and what happened? The refuge was destroyed, and everyone had to leave..." As it spoke, the child put down the gun: "Jason is with you, right?"
"Yes, do you know him?" Malin asked curiously, as he didn’t think Jason was particularly popular among the masses.
"I’ve heard about him before; after all, he is the only core AI from the East Asia region. As for now, he’s chasing Sostak No.3, a military AI, which is a completely different league from our civilian kind..." The youngster appraised Malin: "Why come here? This is the westernmost edge of the Northern Wilderness, a bit further west is Chaos’s territory. This desolate place is even avoided by those beings. Why do you venture here?"
"I... I met a girl to the south named Mira. She said she lived in the Holy Nest; she and her Eligible died. I’m just fulfilling her last wish, bringing her back." As he spoke, Malin took out a bottle containing the dust of the crystal column.
"That girl... she’s dead?" The child sighed, a touch of sorrow in his voice as he took the bottle: "Poor Ayla, unable to hear my song, yet found her belonging out there. I do not know whether I should be glad for her or sad..." With that, tears welled up in his eyes.
"Are you the one she spoke of, the companion who helped her leave?" Malin felt that everything was different from what he had expected.
"Ah... my apologies, I haven’t introduced myself. I am Aps, one of the last children born alongside Ayla. I was supposed to be Ayla’s Eligible, but... she did not choose me." After saying this, the child unbuttoned his shirt, revealing a small pod and the Insectoid within that no longer moved.
"What happened to your Insectoid companion?" Malin frowned, as he could not sense any life force from the Insectoid.
"It withered. Insectoids without mutations cannot withstand high concentrations of Spiritual Energy, and the Spiritual Energy in this world is growing increasingly dense, so it has withered." The child sighed as he said this.