Chapter 1144 — An Unexpected Way to End

"Gao Yang, my friend, seeking a path to survival in this world has never been a tender fairy tale, nor a knight's game where a hero need only raise his arm for dawn to break," a low, gentle voice came from within the golden giant egg. "Though I know you understand this very well, still, time and again, we cannot help but remind ourselves."

Gao Yang said nothing, only unconsciously tapping the armrest of his chair, his expression growing somewhat grim and solemn. Enya's voice sounded again a moment later, reaching his ears: "We have talked a great deal today. At the very end, I have a few small suggestions."

Gao Yang raised his eyes toward Enya's direction: "Suggestions?"

"This planet may be but a speck of dust in the universe, yet even upon this speck of dust, mortals today still have many realms they have never explored. You have already made great progress in the field of long voyages, and you have the aid of the sirens, who can count as allies... So if you have the capacity to spare, go and explore those distant, unfamiliar continents. In the succession of civilizations past, intelligent beings did rise on other continents. They are gone now, but perhaps they left behind some useful traces of civilization; and on certain continents one may still find the legacy left by the Voyagers — secrets of great value may lie buried there.

"In the age of myth, the dragons and I were both bound by the 'two-way shackle.' We could not explore those things too far from Tarrond, or too deeply connected to the Voyagers... But now, the shackle is gone."

Gao Yang had not expected the other's suggestions to be so concrete and so clearly directed. His expression turned earnest, and he nodded very seriously: "Thank you for your suggestions — rest assured, I understand the value of ocean exploration. In fact, exploration of other continents and distant sea regions has long been part of my future plans; it will be one of the Alliance's goals in the next stage."

"That is good," Enya's voice carried a sense of relief, and a smile returned to her tone. "Then, any other questions?"

Gao Yang thought carefully, and at last slowly shook his head: "None for now — I have gained enough intelligence today; it will keep me and the scholars busy for a while. Of course, if I think of anything later, I will certainly come to ask you."

"You are welcome at any time — provided, of course, that I can answer," Enya said with a light laugh. Seeing that Gao Yang had already risen, she suddenly said, "Do not be in such a hurry to leave. We have talked for so long — would you like something to drink?"

Gao Yang was taken aback. Then an unexpected smile of delight broke across his face. He looked toward a long table behind Enya, his tone full of anticipation: "You succeeded?"

"Not certain yet. After all, the 'reflection' that served as the god's miracle can no longer be reproduced; I could only try, based on your description, to mix a 'mortal drink' from worldly materials," Enya said as invisible magic stirred. A cylindrical container and a porcelain cup floated over from behind her; the container gave a faint sound as it drifted, clearly filled with liquid — perhaps with ice as well. "It is probably still far from the taste in your memory, but I hope it is at least pleasant enough to ease your fatigue and stress."

"I am already looking forward to it," Gao Yang could not help but say with a smile, watching the container drawn through the air by an invisible force, pouring some dark brown liquid into the porcelain cup, the sound of bursting bubbles rising from it. "By the way, has anyone tasted it yet?"

"No — after all, this was made specially for you," Enya said as she sent the cup into Gao Yang's hand. "I did try a little myself, but my sense of taste now seems different from ordinary people's... whether I even have a sense of taste is still a question."

As she spoke, Gao Yang had already taken the cup. He glanced down at the dark brown liquid swaying within it; Enya's words made him hesitate for a moment, but after confirming that no strange odor rose from the liquid, he raised the cup and downed a large gulp.

An indescribable, fiercely pungent — Gao Yang felt it was even somewhat "unnameable" — flavor rushed up at once, mingled with a piercing chill and a huge release of compressed gas. How many layers of stimulation hammered his senses, it was impossible to say; the willpower of a legendary powerhouse lasted less than two seconds against that force.

"Pff—"

To be fair, spraying water all over a lady at close range is rather impolite — especially when that lady is, strictly speaking, a goddess (though her current form is an egg) — but Gao Yang truly could not hold it back.

The dark brown liquid ran down Enya's eggshell. The atmosphere in the incubation chamber grew a little awkward. Gao Yang clutched the cup, still mostly full of the "unnameable mixed special drink," staring stiffly at the scene before him. After a long while he managed to force out: "Uh, sorry... I didn't mean to..."

"It seems my first attempt was not a success," Enya's voice came from within the eggshell, still remarkably calm and utterly deadpan. "I need to adjust the proportions of the various ingredients... Do you have any suggestions? Based on the flavor you just tasted."

"...I feel like I have already lost the memory of it," Gao Yang's mouth twitched. "Anyway, my only suggestion is that you absolutely must not let anyone else try this stuff. They may not have a legendary-level constitution."

"All right, I understand completely. It seems the degree of failure is rather severe — a more thorough improvement is necessary," Enya's voice remained utterly deadpan. "My apologies — are you all right?"

"Thankfully, at least I didn't swallow it just now," Gao Yang said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. He felt that at a moment like this he ought to comfort Enya over her failed "experiment," but the words reached his lips and were swallowed back down again. The goddess's voice carried not the faintest trace of defeat; instead it seemed brimming with a kind of fighting spirit, which made him think that perhaps not offering comfort was actually the better course — and besides, what Enya needed now was plainly not consolation but a wipe-down. "Let me wipe it off for you first..."

"Just have Betty help wipe it off in a moment; it's about time she came to wipe down my eggshell anyway," Enya said, taking it quite philosophically. "Rather than fretting over my side of things, do you need to go change your clothes?"

Gao Yang looked down at his own chest, and only then noticed that his clothes were wet as well. He sighed, caught between laughter and tears: "Well, I never expected a deep conversation like this to end in such a fashion... In a sense, though, it really did relieve a good deal of my stress. So I'll be on my way first."

"Take care. Forgive me for not seeing you off. Also, please look forward to my next finished product — I just came up with an improvement plan, and this time I'm quite confident."

Gao Yang: "..."