Cindy: "When we found Reynaud, he was a bit dazed. After questioning him, we discovered that part of his memory seemed very blurry. Lord Ferro speculated that it might be due to the unique field of the Mist Belt affecting his Soul Body, or perhaps his Soul Body was injured, or he actively sealed off his memories. The specific situation is still unclear to us for now."
Angel was silent for a few seconds and then nodded: "Go on, tell me everything about how you met Reynaud and what happened afterward, including what Reynaud told you."
Cindy nodded and began to recount under the watchful eyes of everyone present.
They encountered Reynaud in a sea reef area deep within the Mist Belt; he appeared like a rootless sea ghost, aimlessly wandering near the reefs.
Such ghosts, though not common, can occasionally be found in the Devil’s Sea and are mostly the Dead from shipwrecks.
Originally, they had no intention of interacting with Reynaud until they noticed the tattoo on his face, which led Ferro to bring the wandering Reynaud back.
Initially, Reynaud was very confused and wary of them, until Cindy discovered his true name and Ferro revealed their general purpose, awakening Reynaud from his self-absorbed state.
During questioning, they learned that Reynaud had escaped from a laboratory, where everyone had numbered tattoos on their faces.
This laboratory mainly focused on biological experiments, with body parts scattered everywhere and numerous prisons holding various creatures.
"Due to certain events, Reynaud resisted the laboratory’s authority, the outcome of which he couldn’t remember. Somehow, he appeared in the Mist Belt in the form of a soul," Cindy explained. "That’s the general situation."
After listening to Cindy’s narrative, there were many doubts in everyone’s minds, and Nis was the first to speak: "What’s the name of that laboratory? Who are the leaders?"
Cindy shook her head: "Reynaud doesn’t remember either, but according to him, the reason he forgets is not due to the memory damage from this incident. The name of the laboratory itself was so peculiar that even when his memory was intact, he would always forget it."
Cindy’s words brought a term to the minds of Angel, Nis, and Ironclad Granny: soul text.
Just like the text on Nis’s stone slab, even after seeing it, the memory would turn blurry in a moment.
Moreover, this laboratory is connected to the black hand behind the Underground Altar, and the Underground Altar is related to certain forces in the Quest World. Hence, using Quest World’s text as the laboratory name is possible.
Cindy continued: "As for the leader of the laboratory, Reynaud doesn’t remember any specific names, but he knew that everyone referred to each other by numbers—the numbers being the tattoos on their faces."
At this point, Cindy seemed to recall something and added: "By the way, Reynaud was the same; he also had his own number, which was used to refer to him by others in the laboratory. His real name was actually his number. As for the name ’Reynaud,’ he came up with it himself later."
Angel: "Regarding the internal situation of the laboratory, including their research, has Reynaud been completely unable to recall anything?"
Cindy: "Due to memory damage, Reynaud often spoke incoherently, and sometimes the nouns he used seemed unfamiliar even to himself. His impression of the laboratory is filled with fear, terror, omnipresent blood smell, blinding white light, villains in cloak uniforms, souls’ screams... various mutilated limbs, insane ceremonies, and a large number of oddly named instruments."
Sometimes Reynaud could mention a few names of these instruments, but when asked to describe them, he couldn’t remember.
"His memory is quite jumbled, making it difficult to obtain detailed information from him. Mostly, Lord Ferro had to guess with limited clues."
Nis: "And what about Reynaud himself? Wasn’t he also part of the laboratory? Even if his memory is partly obscured, he should have some impressions of the experiments, right?"
Cindy shook her head: "Lord Ferro asked similar questions, but every time the experiment itself was mentioned, Reynaud showed intense resistance and fear. He repeatedly talked about the dazzling white light, and the omnipresent blood smell, and those horrifying and ferocious faces."
"Based on Lord Ferro’s speculation, Reynaud might not have been a staff member of that laboratory at all; he... might have been an experimental subject."
As Cindy said this, she couldn’t help but show a look of pity. Every time Reynaud answered similar questions, the kind of resistance and fear emanating from the core of his soul couldn’t be faked. Such a scared emotion was enough to infect them, the living.
Due to this, Ferro concluded that Reynaud might simply be an experiment.
Nis: "Are there any other pieces of information?"
Cindy thought for a while: "Although Reynaud doesn’t remember the specific internal situation of the laboratory, he remembers its general location."
Because Reynaud delineated a general area, Ferro decided to trace and investigate it alone two days ago.
"Apart from that, there’s no other information... Oh, right, there’s one more thing. Lord Ferro once asked Reynaud about a name: Ginny something-sen."
Ironclad Granny whispered: "It’s ’Red Butterfly Witch’ Ginny Watson."
"Yes, yes! Just the person Granny mentioned." Cindy nodded vigorously.
Ironclad Granny: "How did Reynaud respond to that?"
Cindy pondered for a moment and recalled: "Upon hearing this name, Reynaud reacted strangely; he looked at Lord Ferro with a peculiar expression, and then said this sentence."
"Reynaud asked Lord Ferro—Are you going to compete with her?"
"Compete with her?" Angel narrowed his eyes: "Who is this ’her’?"
Cindy shook her head: "Reynaud didn’t say. When Lord Ferro continued to pursue this question, Reynaud turned taciturn and refused to answer."
Ironclad Granny: "Although Reynaud didn’t say it, from his response, it’s quite certain that he knows something about the Night Butterfly Witch."
Nis nodded: "Exactly, perhaps it was Reynaud’s reaction that made Ferro a bit restless, leaving so hastily that he couldn’t even send a notification before going to investigate... such reckless behavior."
Angel glanced at Nis who seemed full of emotion and thought to himself: accusing Ferro of recklessness, when it was you who pushed Ferro to take the task in the first place.
Angel turned to Cindy: "Is there anything else?"
Cindy shook her head.
"Really nothing else, he didn’t mention having any companions?"
Cindy still shook her head: "No."
Angel’s continuous questioning, especially mentioning Reynaud’s companions, drew some attention from Nis and Ironclad Granny.
Angel noticed their attention but didn’t explain immediately. Instead, he continued asking Cindy: "Did he mention anyone named Nausicaa?"
"Nausicaa?" Cindy was a bit taken aback: "Do you mean Asperloo?"
Angel nodded: "You know Nausicaa too?"
A light gleamed in Cindy’s eyes: "Yes, I once worked on a task with Shan, and she spoke a lot about Nausicaa. Although I haven’t met Nausicaa myself, her name is like thunder in my ears."
After pausing for a moment, Cindy realized she had strayed off topic and quickly corrected herself: "Reynaud didn’t mention Nausicaa."