Chapter 403 : Found

Haywood rubbed his lips faster and faster, the originally blood-colored lips switching back and forth between pale and dark red.

Suddenly, Haywood spoke, “I want the formula.”

“Keep dreaming,” Saul smiled.

Haywood immediately said, “I can offer more in exchange.”

Saul lowered his hands, retracting them into his cloak, “Then we’ll talk about the price of the formula next time. For now—potion for Heidi. Deal or not?”

Haywood gripped his own chin as if he was about to crush it.

“I want the potion, but I can’t give you Heidi,” Haywood flicked his sleeve, and a… ribbonfish flopped out!

“I don’t care what you’re trying to find in the interlayer, I absolutely cannot let Heidi take that risk. Besides, I believe, if something needs to be retrieved, it’s best to go personally.”

Saul frowned, “But only soul bodies or cursed existences like Heidi can enter there.”

“Yes, I know. Soul bodies get severely burned upon entering. But if you hide inside this fish, you can avoid the burning gaze for a short time. Of course, you’ll still need to be careful—if you get chased, you must leave immediately.”

After speaking, Haywood propped up his chin again and smiled at Saul, “Moving as a soul consumes a lot of energy. If you get hungry inside, you can eat some of the fish meat. It’s very delicious.”

Just as Haywood finished speaking, the ribbonfish in his hand suddenly twisted its body, lifted its head, and opened its sharp little mouth at Saul.

“If you’re hungry, you can eat me. I’m very tasty.”

It was unclear whether it was a coincidence or if Haywood’s words had triggered some kind of mechanism.

Not only did the fish in Haywood’s hand start talking, but a dozen white mushrooms with long slender legs suddenly scuttled past behind him with a series of “tap-tap-tap” sounds.

From behind Haywood’s tall figure, the First Storage Room emitted whispering, rustling noises.

It was as if the world behind him had suddenly come alive.

Saul took the ribbonfish, lifted it up, and examined it closely—left, right—it was just an ordinary ribbonfish.

Only, it could talk, and it enthusiastically recommended its delicious meat.

Saul’s finger gradually turned transparent, and he slowly inserted it into the fish’s body.

Although he trusted that Haywood wouldn’t lie about something like this, he still had to figure out exactly how this fish operated and check if there were any hidden dangers inside.

What surprised Saul was that not only could this fish store a soul body, but its internal space was remarkably large, and its spatial structure extremely stable.

Haywood caught Saul’s look of surprise and couldn’t help but proudly explain, “Although I can’t perform soul projection myself, I have a deep interest in such things. Including the information I gave you earlier about the Nightmare Butterflies—all of it is the result of years of research, deductions, and experiments.”

After examining it several times, Saul had no choice but to once again raise his evaluation of Haywood.

Anyone recognized by Gorsa was truly not simple.

Haywood, on the other hand, didn’t immediately inspect the potion Saul gave him, intending to study it thoroughly later.

If he could unravel the formula hidden inside, he would make a huge profit.

Saul naturally wasn’t worried—there was his own soul power mixed in as a stirrer.

Without even having the formula himself, how could Haywood possibly decode it?

The two completed their exchange, each returning with their gains.

Back in the Second Storage Room, Saul drew a protective formation on the ground and had Little Algae guard his physical body.

Then, without delay, Saul confirmed the route one last time with the diary and separated his soul from his body.

The moment Saul entered the soul state, the ribbonfish lying quietly by his right hand suddenly floated into the air, swimming as if in water.

Saul first reshaped his soul form to match his body’s appearance—just in case he found a living person, they wouldn’t fail to recognize him.

According to the information from the Soul Mouth, the living person hiding in the candle conduit was most likely Byron.

His senior would not recognize Saul’s original form.

Stretching out his arm, his soul arm twisted and extended over two meters, snatching the wandering ribbonfish back.

Then Saul let out a silent sigh and dove entirely into the ribbonfish!

The fish, which had been swimming aimlessly, suddenly seemed to have a clear goal, diving headfirst into the floor.

Despite being tangible enough to touch, the ribbonfish easily passed through the solid wall, entering a space filled with countless eyes.

Unlike last time, when Saul had immediately suffered burns upon entering, this time his soul body was shielded inside the ribbonfish.

And he immediately smelled a scent of grilled fish.

Though he couldn’t see it, Saul had the distinct feeling that the “fish skin” wrapped around him was slowly yellowing and carbonizing.

But it was far less damaging than exposing his soul body directly to those gazes.

“Now, I need to find the living person hiding in here.”

Saul spread out his mental power, scanning his surroundings while staying alert for any changes among the countless eyes.

The overall silver ribbonfish, with slightly charred skin, wandered in the dim space, the fish-eyes growing from both sides of its head constantly swiveling up, down, left, and right.

Although, in truth, it could see nothing at all.

All around, countless half-open, half-closed eyes floated—like extremely drowsy people lost in chaos.

The eyes paid no attention to the ribbonfish, seeming completely uninterested.

Occasionally, an eye would detect the faint mental waves emitted by the fish and momentarily awaken, its pupil shifting slightly. But upon discovering it was just a fish swimming around, it quickly lost interest again.

There was no sense of time passing here; Saul could only silently count in his mind to gauge how much time had gone by.

Far away, no feedback came from his probing mental waves, and Saul was left to wander aimlessly through the interlayer.

After about half an hour—or so Saul estimated—the spiritual wave he sent out finally detected something unusual.

Judging by the outline formed by the feedback, it appeared to be a… chibi-sized child.

However, Saul could definitely feel a living human aura from it.

Immediately, he directed the ribbonfish to swim closer.

As he approached, Saul sensed even more clearly that the figure’s appearance was abnormal.

Its body surface was like a bloated piece of bread. While it had the general silhouette of a human child, no external features like eyes or mouth could be found.

It was as if a human had been coated entirely in a layer of foam.

Saul could not sense any familiar mental fluctuations from the foam.

He frowned slightly, “Could this not be Senior Byron?”

He maneuvered the fish around the figure, circling it once. The figure remained utterly unresponsive, like a breathing corpse.

“If this person really isn’t Senior, then this exchange was a bit of a loss…” Saul felt a little anxious. If he failed to find anyone this time, even if he could conduct Dreamscape Drifting again, the hope of finding someone would diminish greatly.

After all, the longer a soul was lost, the slimmer the chances of retrieval.

Sigh.

Saul couldn’t help but sigh.

Unexpectedly, the little black mass twitched. At roughly where its neck would be, a small crack opened, revealing tender new flesh underneath.

“Saul?”

Hearing the unfamiliar voice but familiar tone, the ribbonfish suddenly puffed up.

“Senior Byron, is that you?” Saul immediately transmitted his words through the small crack using spiritual communication.

“It’s me… How did you end up in such a dangerous place?” Byron’s voice carried both confusion and delight.

(End of Chapter)

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