From the end of the world

Chapter 491: Little Bowl's Clue 2
"How is it, do you have any impression?" I asked.

"The name Ma Zao... I seem to have some impression of it."

Hearing the cartographer say this, I focused more.

He stroked his stubbled chin and said, "Is she really your partner? You just said 'maybe'..."

"I just have some residual memory of these two names." I said, "Maybe I just came across them somewhere and remembered them by chance... But if it is true as you said, I have forgotten a lot of things, but I still remember the names of these two people, then the probability that they are my partners should be very high."

"Could he be an enemy?" the cartographer said, "I'm sorry, I only have some impression of the name Ma Zao, but I can't remember where I heard it.

"Perhaps after returning to my safe house, I can provide you with substantial information. I have the habit of writing a diary, and perhaps there is content in it regarding this matter.

"But don't have too high expectations. Diaries are unreliable and they always lose information inexplicably."

“Can diaries lose information?” I asked.

"Of course." The cartographer said as a matter of course, "Just like our memories, the diaries we write often have large sections of blackouts.

"Electronic media are useless. I heard that some people use cameras and recorders to record their memories, but after a period of time, the data will be damaged. It seems that there are invisible ghosts following us, destroying our recorded past when we are not paying attention."

This is the first time I've heard of this. Maybe this is one of the strange phenomena that happened in the apocalyptic world. It makes sense. If you can keep your memories by writing a diary, then people who are alone in the apocalyptic world don't have to worry about losing their memories or even their names.

The cartographer said that he had an impression of the name Ma Zao, which was not beyond my expectation. Ma Zao should be a well-known character in the apocalypse era. Although I don’t know how well-known she is, it is not a small probability event that the first survivor encountered in the apocalypse era is someone who has heard of her name.

But Xiaowan is different. Although Xiaowan is a person who follows Ma Zao, the image she presents to the outside world should be that of an ordinary little girl. In the process of spreading rumors related to Ma Zao, let alone whether Xiaowan will be mentioned, it is even possible that her existence will be directly ignored.

Unexpectedly, after thinking for a while, the cartographer in front of him said: "As for the small bowl you mentioned...I seem to have heard of it somewhere?"

"What?" I was surprised.

"Oh, I remember now. It was one of my partners." The cartographer said, "He once mentioned the name 'Xiao Wan'... Well, I don't know if the person he mentioned is the same as the one you mentioned. It may not even be the same name. It may be a homophone or something..."

"Do you have other partners?" I asked. "He mentioned the name Xiaowan. What did he mention in his speech?"

"Yes. I have two other partners in the safe house." The cartographer answered the first half of the question first. "When going out to collect resources, it is best to explore in groups of two, with two people staying in the safe house. We only have three people now, so we need to recruit at least one more person. This is why I invited you."

Then he answered the second half of my question, “I’m sorry, but I can’t remember what the friend was talking about when he first mentioned this name.

“When I take you back to the safe house, I can let you meet him, but… I hope you don’t have any expectations about this.

"Because he is now mentally ill and has lost the ability to communicate with others. He only occasionally speaks some fragmented words to himself...ah, I remember..."

He hesitated as he spoke, as if he was a little unsure. "When he was going crazy, he seemed to have mentioned the word 'small bowl'...?"

A survivor who fell into madness...mentioned Xiaowan's name?
Doubts surged in my mind. The clues related to the small bowl appeared in front of me so quickly. Such rapid progress not only surprised me, but also made me think more.

In the past, in order to comfort Ma Zao, I said that there was a strong connection between Xiao Wan and me. Could it be that my words came true, and this strong connection is now pushing me to shorten the distance between Xiao Wan and me?
"Can you take me back to your safe house now? I want to talk to your partner," I said.

"Of course. Besides, I am also a little concerned about the man called Xiaowan." The cartographer said, "Although the length of the journey back to the safe house depends on luck, don't worry, the time we arrive at the safe house has nothing to do with the time we spend on the road."
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I had actually considered showing the cartographer my true strength and making him obey me, but I was already in a position to reasonably inquire about intelligence. If I continued to add unnecessary details, it might lead to unnecessary speculation and suspicion, and he might resist bringing me to the safe house and to his companions.

Having said that, I have no interest in hiding. If I must say, I prefer the type that "shows off in public".

To reveal his true strength, he must at least wait until he leads the way to the safe house.

By the way, when I followed the cartographer, I also secretly checked the current state of the fake Moon in the Water. When I interrogated the Great Perfection level Wu Chang last time, the fake Moon in the Water had a crack, which caused the power of the fake Moon in the Water to decrease. It can no longer be used to control the mind of the opponent of the same level, and it is also difficult to control the mind of the opponent of the bad level.

In addition, the power of the Word Spirit is not working right now. I don't have the means to ignore the other party's will and force him to tell the truth, or do things according to my own wishes. Unless it is absolutely necessary, it is better not to use violence against this living person who is hard to meet. Moreover, the other party showed up with good intentions and drew his sword to help. I don't want to use violence unnecessarily.

As for the strange thing nailed to the outer wall of the bungee jumping machine, the cartographer did not kill it. Instead, he removed several steel pipes from the roller coaster and nailed a few more on it.

The best way to deal with this kind of immortal monster is to seal it up. Although I don't know if this method is really effective, I still have to give it a try.

It was obvious that the cartographer had considerable strength, as he could twist steel to pieces. His attack method of shooting steel bars to penetrate the strange object at the beginning also demonstrated his ease in using his own strength.

I asked casually and he smiled without giving a detailed explanation of the origin of his power.

"I dare to go out alone, so I'm not without confidence." He said, "You also have ways to protect yourself, right? We are the same."

He is probably a blessed monk.

"Blessed Monk" sounds like a nice name, but in fact, it is a group of people who use killing people to refine souls as a way to increase their strength. Ma Zao also said that some blessed monks will indulge in the pleasure of devouring souls, specializing in searching for survivors on the doomsday land and killing them, and may even degenerate into karma demons.

Maybe he was planning the same thing and wanted to find an opportunity to kill me... But in that case, the target of the steel bars he shot at the beginning should not be the strange object, but my head.

Therefore, the reason why he concealed the source of his power might be that he didn't want to cause misunderstanding and make me suspect that he was a thug who killed people and refined souls. Although in his eyes, I was an amnesiac who didn't even remember the common sense of the doomsday era, God knows if I just happened to have some memories related to the blessed monks.

I also asked the cartographer how to get back to his safe house. From what I observed, his safe house and his companions were definitely not in this abandoned amusement park. Due to the chaos of space, it is extremely difficult to return to the place where I started. For example, now I don’t know how to return to the residential area where I was at the beginning.

Besides, I am also concerned about what he said before.

The time we arrived at the safe house had nothing to do with the time we passed on the way...

"This is how we get back to the safe house."

The cartographer answered, raising the old-fashioned kerosene lamp he was holding.

(End of this chapter)