Duncan recalled what he had read in the book.

Lachem, the god of wisdom, is one of the four gods who protected the world in the Deep Sea Age. Like the goddess of storms and the lord of death, this god also holds two contradictory powers at the same time - He is the giver of wisdom, and also has the holy name of "God of Stupidity" or "Gospel of Stupidity".

There are not many believers following this god, and they often need to pass very strict tests to be qualified to convert, but once they successfully convert to this god, the believers will receive two kinds of protection at the same time.

The first is wisdom, which enables mortals to gain insight into the truth, master knowledge, more easily understand the workings of all things, and perceive the truth that may interfere with their own destiny.

The second is stupidity, which can hold up a barrier called "ignorance", keeping people away from those premature truths, away from the pollution and temptation of the warp - in this dangerous world, stupid people are the most blessed.

It is obvious what the meaning of these two blessings bestowed by Lachem are in this deep-sea age full of anomalies and visions, with madness beneath the deep sea and dark clouds above the sea surface - there may be few believers in the God of Wisdom, but each of them is definitely the elite of civilization.

From upstairs came the sound of Nina busy in the kitchen. The sounds of cars and horses on the street outside the door gradually became less frequent. The first floor of the antique shop seemed particularly comfortable and quiet amid these daily sounds.

Duncan sat behind the counter, his fingers crossed on the counter, looking thoughtfully at old Mr. Morris.

The protection of the God of Wisdom is a good thing, but obviously, due to their professional habits and their instinct to pursue knowledge, the dangers their followers face on a daily basis are even greater.

Even gods cannot stop the output of the team-annihilation engine - if this old man who studies history were put in another script, the tentacles growing from his body would probably be a foot long by now.

Duncan had already understood what was happening. He had a slight idea of ​​his own uniqueness, but at this moment he was more curious: "Can all the followers of the God of Wisdom see through my situation like you do?"

"I'm afraid only the most outstanding people who are most favored by the God of Wisdom can..." Morris rubbed his head. Duncan's voice still sounded a bit sharp to him, but at least most of it was understandable to humans. "You may find this ironic... but most of Lahem's followers are not qualified to have their minds taken away by you."

"Oh, so you are especially blessed," Duncan muttered with a strange expression. He felt awkward when he said the word "blessing". "The 'blessing' in your place is really terrible... Wait, then why were you fine the last time you came?"

Morris was a little surprised. He didn't know whether Duncan really didn't know or was just playing the role of an ignorant mortal for fun. But in the current situation, he didn't dare to let his thoughts run wild. He could only try to gather his thoughts while answering: "Even the blessed Lahem believers don't always have the 'Eye of Truth' open. The last time I came here, I didn't use any divine power, and this time..."

The old man gave a bitter smile and raised his finger to point at his eyeball - the monocle that was used to enhance the effect of the ceremony had been removed, but one of his eyeballs was still glowing with a faint white light, and a floating halo could be seen between the white of the eye and the pupil, which was easy to distinguish when you got closer.

Duncan was curious: "...So you can't terminate this effect now?"

"...I tried, but it didn't work." Morris shook his head. "And even if I succeeded, it wouldn't mean much. I've already seen...what you look like."

"...I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do that either," Duncan felt bad. "Will you be able to recover after you go back? Or do you need some special treatment?"

“I…” Morris opened his mouth, feeling extremely strange. In his early years, he had imagined whether his long-term study of history would lead to a connection with some strange and dangerous existence. He had also imagined how terrible it would be if he came face to face with a being from the deep sea or the warp one day. However, he never thought that the situation would be like this—

He really saw a crazy warp shadow. This "shadow" was very polite and even cared about the human who was frightened by "Him".

But this being from the subspace...is his "concern" really the kind of "concern" that humans can understand?

"I'm fine," the old man finally shook his head, "I'm much better now. After you have restrained your... breath, I think I should be fine."

"That's good. I have to be more careful when I move around in the city-state in the future. There are people like you with good eyesight among humans. This is a very troublesome thing." Duncan nodded, and then asked curiously, "In that case, you didn't just come here to 'look' today. Why did you open your 'eye of truth' outside the antique shop? What are you looking for?"

Morris' heart skipped a beat.

He met Duncan's gaze and all he saw was an ordinary middle-aged face with a hint of curiosity and concern. However, around this face and between the shelves behind him, those shaking and distorted things began to emerge little by little.

It was not until the other party's voice suddenly sounded again that the distortion in Morris's vision returned to normal.

"You are hesitating. You have concerns. You don't want to answer this question." Duncan read the old man's emotions from his eyes, and at the same time, the answer vaguely emerged in his mind, "Is it related to Miss Heidi?"

"How do you know..."

"Miss Heidi is a psychiatrist, and seems to be a follower of Lahem—although she doesn't look as 'senior' as you," Duncan replied calmly. "Now that I think about it, she seemed a little strange when she left with Miss Vanna last time... Considering your reaction to my question just now, it's not difficult to make the connection."

"...It's just as you said," Morris sighed, knowing that he could no longer hide it. "After Heidi went back, I found that one layer of her mental protection had been penetrated. But at that time I just thought that there was something dangerous in this antique shop. I didn't expect..."

He sighed again and looked across at Duncan.

Duncan frowned.

Heidi...the young psychiatrist just gave Nina a hypnosis treatment in the antique shop, and her mental protection was broken?

He had no idea of ​​this—and Heidi herself didn’t seem to notice it at the time!

Morris looked at the middle-aged man across the counter with some uneasiness. He saw that the other party seemed to be lost in thought, but he didn't dare to ask questions casually. He took advantage of this brief silence to try to control his thoughts and repair his damaged mind. At the same time, he took the opportunity to secretly glance at the stone bracelet on his wrist.

There are four more colored stones.

Laheem's protection was peaceful.

He finally breathed a sigh of relief, and at this time, Duncan finally raised his head from his thoughts.

"She shouldn't know anything, right?"

"Yes, Heidi doesn't know anything," Morris said immediately. Only when it comes to issues related to his daughter, his mind is as clear as usual. "She didn't even realize that her protection was damaged, let alone that I came here today..."

"Then I won't bother her. I'll just express my apologies to you," Duncan said politely. "Just think of it as a compensation for the help I gave her at the museum."

He paused for a moment, and then thought of a question that made him curious: "Can you describe it to me in detail? Describe what you just saw - if it's not too much trouble."

Morris was stunned for a moment, and Duncan explained, "I'm curious about how I look to different 'observers' - looking in the mirror won't solve that problem."

Duncan is really curious about this matter, and understanding his "true form" in the eyes of different people may help him master his special powers and uncover the secret of this body as soon as possible.

Morris hesitated for a moment. The inhuman horror scene he had just seen at the door of the antique shop reappeared in his mind. He even felt that his sanity, which had finally calmed down, was showing signs of loosening. However, under Duncan's direct gaze, he finally swallowed his saliva and spoke slowly in a low voice:

"I... saw you as a giant filled with chaotic light and covered in starlight, standing on a twisted and bizarre street. You were holding Nina - she was an arc of flames that was erupting violently..."

Duncan had just nodded slowly when he heard the first half of the sentence, thinking that his image was indeed worthy of his reputation in the Infinite Sea. However, when he heard the second half of the sentence, his eyes widened and he almost choked on his saliva: "Cough... cough cough... what did you say? What is Nina in your eyes?!"

Morris was startled, but he didn't have time to think about it: "A... a violent arc of flames erupting... Is there anything wrong with this?"

Duncan: “…”