Chapter 1083: NO．206：Outside the Game, Continue the Art of Speech

NO．206：Outside the Game, Continue the Art of Speech

Deep Sea Hunters, an elite military unit belonging to Aoger State, existing to oppose the Faction and its followers, the Deep Sea Church.

Its members are not fully Aoger; they have had Faction genes implanted via bodily modification technology.

Thanks to the Faction's bloodline, they gain astonishing physical prowess: boundless strength, swift agility, and even immunity to blades and guns.

Even injuries that would be fatal to ordinary people are no big deal for Deep Sea Hunters, and they can achieve a certain degree of self-healing.

But precisely because of that, they are continually influenced by the Faction's bloodline.

Even when mentally unstable, they can suffer a backlash from the Faction's blood, revealing an inhuman form.

The Faction also regards them as blood kin, calling them back to the main group.

Usually, over time, Deep Sea Hunters irreversibly succumb to instinct, voraciously consuming the corpses of Aoger compatriots, ultimately transforming completely into another Faction member.

Thus Aoger's authorities—the very state the Deep Sea Hunters belong to—also take precautions against them.

The Sea Patrol, nominally established to counter the Faction, was actually set up to monitor Deep Sea Hunters, and will, when necessary, capture and kill those who have become Faction-like.

But that is all in the past.

It is not because, with federal medical technology's aid, Deep Sea Hunters have already shaken off that destined curse, but because Aoger State remains out of contact to this day.

Including the Sea Patrol, everything related to Aoger's authorities remains shrouded in mist; the only thing we can confirm is that Faction activity roams there.

Considering the Faction's primal craving for nutrients and the Deep Sea Church's inhumane modus operandi, nobody can be optimistic about Aoger State's situation.

Even now, some hunters who have long yearned to return home no longer dare hope to see the people and scenery they miss.

They simply want to reclaim their territory and simply wish to drive out those horrors entirely.

But obviously, having lost their headquarters, their dwindling team lacks such capability.

Although Rhodes Island has taken them in and is willing to facilitate cooperation with land-dwellers,

Although their interaction with the Holy Terra Federation has directly eliminated a rear concern at the technical level,

but none of this can truly satisfy the Deep Sea Hunters.

The Faction threat remains, they have still not reclaimed their homeland—though some are content with present life, some are weary of endless battle—but give them a chance to regroup again,

they will pick up their weapons once more.

Even for certain individual Deep Sea Hunters, the more peaceful and relaxed life here becomes, the more it torments them inwardly, so that after just a few days they return to their homeland to continue monitoring ocean currents at the front, awaiting good news from comrades behind.

However, such hunters do not include Laurentina and……

Skadi.

Although objectively she should be called Isamara, subjectively she considers herself Skadi, and Aomo accepts that will.

After all, acknowledging the other's attitude is fundamental to communication.

Achieving this is not difficult either, for in the realm of philosophical deliberation, how one views oneself indeed determines one's essence.

All Deep Sea Hunters are blood kin of the Faction, and can thus be called humanoid Faction.

The so-called 'enemy and self share the same origin' is precisely this; the topic is already an old chestnut, and as a contradictory issue it has plenty of answers in that tokusatsu studio.

What you think you are, that you are; go on persisting for it, fighting for what you cling to—this itself is an incontrovertible truth, allowing Aomo to face, without pressure, the entity he interacted with just a few minutes ago.

Honestly, this truly makes him feel moved.

A few minutes ago, he had faced Wang and Shu on the Terra simulated by information and data—these remnants of Sui, as well as the fully awakened Isamara.

And a few minutes later, he still has Ling, as well as Shu and Zhong Yue—those Sui remnants—and the Isamara who has not yet achieved self-integration.

In-play or out-of-play, there seems to be no great difference.

What he faces remains the worries of the Sui family loving each other, and Isamara's dilemma of self-tug.

Everything remains unchanged. jpg

It's merely that, compared to the dead‑end situation in the game world where there's no retreat, the present circumstance is still relatively easy mode.

Everything is still not too late; if you sow melons you get melons, sow beans you get beans, then all of this now is merely a seed, not yet bearing that bitter fruit.

Only, he cannot stop the other from seeing the bitter fruit that will appear on the screen.

Skadi will see in that game a 'self' heading toward another future; what she will think at that moment, even Aomo does not know.

After all, he actually does not understand Skadi.

His memories from another world, being from an too‑early version, cannot serve as reference, and current information is likewise rushed and incomplete on this matter, so his understanding of this woman largely comes from present observation.

The conclusion of that observation, however, is not ideal.

Or rather, Miss Skadi remains as silent as when they first met, while those eyes that seem able to speak constantly fix on him, revealing an unchanging yearning, plus a tiny helpless plea that he can still notice.

He is very familiar with that look: the hesitation of someone doubtful yet afraid to speak, the confusion of one wanting help but not knowing where to begin; he saw many such cases in his student days, and once, near the police station coffee shop window, he witnessed the indecision of people coming and going.

In this world, there are always many problems that cannot be neatly solved.

They harbor anguish yet cannot express it by the book; they crave aid but cannot satisfy the system's stipulations, so before such bureaucratic talk they are often helpless, at a dead end, opting for mercenaries who weigh reward and emotion more heavily.

Now, the two Deep Sea Hunters are doing something similar; although they value Aomo's special connection with Isamara, the result is indeed that they are seeking mercenaries' aid.

But for the parties involved, seeking help from those who long for Isamara is itself a judgment hard to call good or bad; even Laurentina, who initially seemed to handle things with ease, now shows some stiff tension in her actions and expression when bringing Skadi over.

They have both seen it.

They have seen this young man before, in the game, interacting with Isamara.

It is hard not to think he is better at communicating with the corrupted heart; even Laurentina, who originally gathered much information on Aomo because of Skadi and thought she knew him somewhat, never imagined she could see such maneuvering in that game.

That already exceeds what she believed Aomo Lindun could do.

But as things stand now, neither of them seems intent on retreating.

That is rare.

In the Holy Terra Federation, research and development in psychiatry and neurology are far from immature.

Even the soul has a comparably systematic research framework.

In such a world, resolving an issue of self‑cognition and bloodline interference is not a matter of ability but of willingness.

If she were straightforward, it would rarely fall to a mercenary like Aomo Lindun—who isn't very connected to either side—to handle the problem.

But obviously, Miss Scati is not so straightforward.

And Miss Laurentina also lacked the resolve to take charge for her.

What worries them that they expect something from themselves? Although Aomo is quite concerned about this, he also knows it's not the main point.

Even for the vast majority of mercenaries, the question of why the petitioner decided to seek mercenary help is not important.

Not only is it unimportant, but one should even strive to avoid it, for it avoids many troubles.

So Aomo didn't ask.

He just went straight to the point.

"I think your worries are actually unnecessary."

His tone was gentle; he naturally had a steadiness and maturity that comes with a businesslike demeanor, which made the little black sheep on his head recall the millet from not long ago.

"After all, just like Miss Laurentina, and that Ms. Galetiya and Mr. Urbian from before, all you deep-sea hunters have already shaken off the hidden worries of becoming Faction."

"They could still shake it off with external help, and you can do the same."

"At this point, the hesitation itself is an undeniable other feeling in your mind."

He looked at the girl with white hair like a waterfall, her eyes downcast, seeming unwilling to admit yet unable to deny, and he then found a small platform made of piled stones to sit on—this place, after all, is a training ground used to train the armed employees of Rhodes Island Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.

In that unrepaired terrain, there are many broken large stone slabs that can serve as makeshift seats.

Although the two opposite him are generally unwilling to sit, he doesn't mind.

Even a bottom‑to‑top upward view does not hinder the level gaze in his eyes.

"Although it's said that once a deep‑sea hunter acknowledges being Faction, their thinking undergoes a decisive change, but nowadays that is already a thing of the past."

"I believe you have also thought of being like them, but you are also clear about how you differ from them."

"And this difference is precisely the cause of your current dilemma—" he clasped his fingers before his knees and delivered his verdict to the girl looking down at him: "Whether or not you are willing to admit it, once you realize how you differ from them, your innermost heart already leans one way."

"This is not worth denying, for this mental activity is precisely the proof of being human."

"The human heart has such inertia; once you notice even a slight difference from those around you, that sense of otherness will be gradually amplified, and at the same time you are well aware that Isamara is quietly awaiting your approval."

"Frankly speaking, this is not worth fearing, for the clash of wills has always been about who is stronger, and you have two colleagues—one called Efreet, the other called Lappland."

"The former fused with the flame demon, the latter overpowered the beast master; they both demonstrated that self‑will, and you too need only face your own battle."