"Since you don't like it, I'll change my style."
The Mentor smiled, indifferent.
He reorganized his words and then said: "Anecdote Envoys generally don't appear in market cities. Their hiding place is within the belly of a whale named 'Chikanao.' Inside this whale's belly lies a vast world, which we commonly refer to as the 'Whale Terrarium.'"
Seeing Ji Minghuan drawing circles on the table with his fingers without speaking, he continued:
"Judging by the size of the whale alone, you can't possibly guess how expansive the world inside it is. The Whale Terrarium hosts a series of massive structures: seaside cities, royal palaces, where the Anecdote Envoys' royalty resides inside the palaces."
Ji Minghuan's eyelids drooped, as if about to fall asleep.
He said puzzledly: "I'm not interested in whether they live in a whale's belly or a shark's belly. Can you first introduce what exactly an Anecdote Envoy is and what special abilities they have?"
The Mentor said calmly: "Each Anecdote Envoy awakens at a certain age and acquires their own 'Anecdote Atlas.' The Anecdote Atlas helps them locate nearby secret realms of curiosities… where Anecdote Fragments are hidden within. If they can conquer the curiosities with their own strength, they will obtain the corresponding Anecdote Fragment."
He raised his hand to adjust his glasses and continued, "Through the atlas, they can activate the anecdotal power existing in the fragments, which is their way of fighting."
"Right, couldn't you just get to the meat of it right away?"
"No choice, I was afraid you'd fall asleep."
Ji Minghuan laid his chin on his folded arms, sprawled on the table like a lump of mud.
He casually asked, "And then… what is the specific use of those Anecdote Fragments picked up like garbage?"
"Anecdote Fragments are generally stored inside the Envoy's atlas, and based on their strength, they are divided into four levels: Mythical-level Curiosities, Generational-level Curiosities, Common-level Curiosities, and Universal-level Curiosities."
The Mentor paused, "Among them, the most powerful is the 'Mythical-level Curiosities,' as its name suggests, closely related to myths worldwide. Historically, very few 'Mythical-level Curiosities Fragments' have appeared. According to records, only fragments of the following deities have appeared: Zeus, the Head of the Gods, Orochi, Ra the Sun God, Hades, the God of the Underworld…"
"Oh, oh, and how about the slightly lower level 'Generational-level' curiosities?"
"You should have heard most of the names of Generational-level curiosities: 'Santa Claus,' 'Titanic,' 'Night Parade of Hundred Demons'… these curiosities fall under the category of Generational-level. Currently, the strongest among the Envoys are those possessing Generational-level Anecdote Fragments; each of them has the power to awaken history."
Ji Minghuan raised an eyebrow, showing a bit of interest.
He said: "Let's not talk about those familiar ones like 'Santa Claus,' 'Night Parade of Hundred Demons'. Isn't 'Titanic' the ship that sank in the Atlantic Ocean in 1912, and I remember it was later adapted into a romance movie?"
The Mentor nodded: "Yes, after these events were spread by word of mouth, they became 'curiosities.' Wherever there are curiosities, fragments will be left behind, and Envoys can extract the power from these fragments… It's not an exaggeration to say, if any Anecdote Envoy possesses a 'Mythical-level' Anecdote Fragment, it is akin to acquiring a portion of ancient deities' power, and destroying a country would just be a matter of time."
"From the sound of it, aren't these Anecdote Envoys even more dangerous than me?"
"Ignoring that historically there have been very few Envoys capable of conquering 'Mythical-level Curiosities,' let's not forget… the difference between the power to destroy a world and the power to destroy a country is fundamentally different."
Ji Minghuan rolled his eyes: "So I'm just a lone star of doom, huh."
"I hope you understand that we are here to help you."
With that, the Mentor crossed his hands, and his voice became much more serious: "Only by understanding how your superpower works do you have a chance to leave here. For example, you are like a nuclear bomb, and we need to find the 'launch' switch on you. If we can't find the switch, we will have to keep you sealed here, otherwise, we cannot ensure that someday you might set off on a crowded street, detonating yourself without any warning, which would lead to the death of thousands upon thousands of innocent people."
As he spoke, his tone suddenly relaxed and became gentle: "But if we can find the switch, it's a different story. Something controllable and something uncontrollable are absolutely two different concepts."
"You say it like a nuclear bomb with a switch deserves to walk the streets."
"At least there's a chance… better than being locked up here forever, isn't it?"
Ji Minghuan sighed: "Even if you say so, I still don't know where that 'switch' is."
"So, our job is to stay with you here wasting time until we understand where the 'switch' on you is. If you're unwilling to cooperate, we don't really have any particularly good methods."
The Mentor responded calmly.
"Who exactly are the 'we' you mentioned? I still don't know who you people are."
"This needs to be kept confidential for now."
"Aren't you people from the Mutants Association?" Ji Minghuan probed.
"Wrong… Our job is far more dangerous and noble than the Mutants Association. Similarly, we don't belong to the Envoys or Exorcists forces."
Seeing Ji Minghuan not responding but only lowered his head in thought, the Mentor slowly shifted the topic:
"Where were we earlier, right… let's end the discussion on 'Anecdote Envoys' here for now."
[A series of key intelligence regarding the 'Anecdote Envoys' world view has been obtained.]
[Current development progress of the 'Anecdote Envoys' branch world view has changed: 1%→30% (Due to the increased development progress, the probability of generating a higher potential 'Anecdote Envoy' role will also improve in the 'character creation phase')]
Ji Minghuan glanced at the text on the panel, thinking: "Whoa… jumping directly to 30% progress. Looks like the intelligence from the Mentor isn't just tricking me."
He's eager to create an 'Anecdote Envoy' character to test it out, even though it's only been two days, the Black Cocoon superpower user role has already bored him slightly.
So, Ji Minghuan looked up at the Mentor, continuing to try to extract information from him:
"Since 'Anecdote Envoys' is finished, what about 'Exorcists'?"