Chapter 201: Chapter 200: Deceiving You and Unpreventable
In the cabin, Richard stood on the ground and looked at the Black Robed Man, explaining in a faint voice, “The iris is the black eyeball, which fully forms ten months after a person is born and never changes throughout their life. And like the patterns on your fingers, it is extremely special, each person has a different one.”
“Everyone is different?” the Black Robed Man was skeptical.
“Everyone is different,” Richard confirmed. “If you observe carefully, you’ll see there are many colors of irises; some people have blue, others have brown, and there are also green, gray, and amber. This is related to one’s constitution. Moreover, depending on the density of the fibers, the iris also has various structures like thread-like, linen-like, and net-like. On the front surface of the iris, radial blood vessels present uneven folds, which are called iris textures. You can simply understand them as special patterns, just like Magic Runes. And these patterns, combining with fine threads, spots, pits, and stripes, form unique characteristics. Hence, once someone recognizes your iris, they can identify you.”
“You really recognized me?” the expression of the Black Robed Man slightly shifted as he moved in his chair. Mentally, he did not believe Richard could recognize him. But Richard had spoken a bunch of incomprehensible words, making him think it was possible. So…
“Heh.” Richard looked at the Black Robed Man and suddenly laughed, shaking his head, “Just kidding, how could I? Indeed, every iris is unique, but I’ve lived for only a few decades, how could I closely remember everyone I’ve met?”
The Black Robed Man internally relaxed.
Richard continued speaking, “You should know I have always been moving from place to place, seeing many people. In the beginning, I stayed in the ‘Blue Lion Kingdom’ for many years… After leaving, I went to the ‘Forest’… Then I arrived in ‘Cuijin City’. I lived in ‘Cuijin City’ for a while… sometimes even ‘leaving the city’… I remember one time ‘Gro’… accompanied me to the ‘mine’ to look for ‘ore’.
In the ‘mine,’ I met a group of ‘Miners.’ One ‘Miner’ made a significant impression, though somewhat ‘old’, he took the initiative to talk to me, and also helped to find the ore I needed. At that time, with Gro’s help, I gave him ‘Gold Coins’. Ah, ‘Gold Coins’!”
The Black Robed Man listened to Richard’s ongoing story, unable to help frowning as he felt more and more uneasy. Richard’s speech was fragmented, emphasizing certain places and names, and it seemed like he was gradually converging towards a specific event, until…
The Black Robed Man suddenly realized, abruptly looking up, and Richard’s words had already stopped.
“Ah, ‘Gold Coins’!” Richard narrowed his eyes, “Okay, I’ll be honest, the previous explanation about the iris was theoretically correct, and indeed, I do remember quite a few people’s iris characteristics, but I can’t guarantee absolute correctness.
Therefore, the main purpose of that speech was to trigger your emotional fluctuations, which would then allow me to use linguistic testing to confirm your identity. Now, I am indeed sure.”
“You…” the eyes of the Black Robed Man flickered.
Richard raised his hand, waved, and greeted.
“Hello, Old Marlon. Hmm, maybe now it’s more accurate to just call you Mallen.”
The eyebrows of the Black Robed Man stiffened, staring straight at Richard, and in the next moment, with a “puff” sound, green ghostly flames reignited in his eyes, his voice turned somewhat chill, “Kid, I have to say, talking with you… hmm, is not pleasant. Your actions, they make me feel somewhat offended. Do you really not think that you are taking a risk now, do not feel like you are dancing on the blade?”
“Of course, I understand,” Richard spoke, “and I also know how to maintain a safe conversation. But if the conversation is too safe, then it’s very likely that all you’ll get is meaningless trash. Therefore, I think taking risks is acceptable.”
“You’re not afraid I’ll kill you?”
“Of course, I’m scared! That’s why, until now, I have still not put down the Crystal Skull in my hand, my body’s Mana continually circulating. Moreover, I’ve made some arrangements in this cabin, hmm, you haven’t noticed, which reassures me and gives me some protection.
“I never put my safety in someone else’s hands, and I never let my life and death be determined by another person’s mood. Rather than blindly trying to please you, I would prefer an honest conversation—a truly fair conversation, not one that is ‘charitably taught’ in any sense.”
“But the problem is, how do you ensure that what you say is true? You said you’ve made some arrangements, but if I didn’t discover them, how can I be sure that you actually have them? I can completely take your arrangements as lies and then kill you.”
“That’s a logical loop. In fact, I do not intend to explain. You can, of course, assume I have no arrangements and then try to kill me. The choice is yours. Of course, whether or not to strike back, that choice is mine.”
Silence, a long silence.
“Ha! Haha!” After the prolonged silence, the Black Robed Man suddenly burst into laughter and said, looking at Richard, “Alright, alright, you’re quite something, kid. Fine, I can assure you now that I won’t lay a hand on you, and I can admit my identity. Yes, as you guessed, I am Old Marlon. So now we can really have a proper talk, hmm, a fair conversation.”
The Black Robed Man stood up, pointing to a chair, “You now have the right to sit down. As for me, hmm, I can sit on the bed. Just now, when I was holding the little girl, I felt it was quite cute; I don’t mind squeezing in with her.”
“Forget it, keep the chair. You should understand that I’m not after the right to sit in a chair, just the right to a fair conversation,” said Richard, thinking to himself: Pandora, cute? Hmm, you haven’t seen Pandora in battle, clutching a log over ten meters long, swirling it and knocking down dozens of wild beasts—truly adorably boundless!
You want to squeeze in with Pandora? Forget about it. Really, if you wake Pandora up and she starts throwing a temper, wanting to tear down the giant wheel, would you take responsibility? Besides, I don’t want to bother explaining about Pandora’s Dragon identity. After all… there are still several unresolved questions.
Hearing Richard’s refusal, the Black Robed Man didn’t insist and sat back down in the chair, saying, “That’s fine, then what shall we talk about next?”
“Continue answering my questions,” Richard reminded. “Earlier I asked you why you didn’t kill me. You said there are two reasons. The first is that you liked me, which is why I guessed your identity. But what is the second reason? You haven’t said yet.”
“Ah, right,” the Black Robed Man realized, “There is a second reason.”
With a slightly solemn expression, the Black Robed Man said, “The second reason, actually, is more important than the first. After all, as you said, liking someone is just a temporary emotion and doesn’t mean much. The reason I treat you specially is because of this second reason.”
“I want to utilize you,” the Black Robed Man said.
The Black Robed Man continued, “Don’t misunderstand; it’s indeed usage, literal usage. It’s because you are useful to me that I look after you. Otherwise, that Prince Gro, who also helped me like you did, why wouldn’t I look after him specially? Because he’s useless, a completely useless thing! But you, you’re not useless.”
“If you say that, Gro would be really heartbroken.”
“Useless people don’t have the right to feel heartbroken.”
“Hmm, that makes sense, please continue.”