Shrouded Seascape-Chapter 1118. Time

The bizarre temporal distortion affected not only Dipp but everyone else as well. Just like him, they all froze in place, stuck at a certain point in time, endlessly doing whatever they were doing in a loop.

The fresh water plunged and retracted dozens of times between Dipp's mouth and the canteen. Eventually, time returned to normal, and the water finally entered Dipp's mouth.

However, Dipp couldn't perceive the bizarre phenomenon, so he had no idea that it even happened in the first place. After gulping down a few mouthfuls of fresh water, he wiped his mouth clean and took to the skies.

Kicking off against the roof, he landed nonchalantly on the street down below and grabbed a copy of Hope Island Daily from the nearby newsstand.

A special advertisement was on the front page of today's newspaper.

Fantastic news! The miniaturized differential analyzer for civilian use will soon be available for purchase! Dear readers, I'm sure you don't know what a differential analyzer is, but I'm here to tell you that it's a product ahead of its time!

This new product from the Relic Research Institute has been named 'computer' by the Governor; it can help you calculate, record, and even solve your problems! I dare say that it's the first man-made, controllable relic on Hope Island!

Most importantly, it can be mass-produced without any side effects. At the moment, only two models are available for purchase—the X1 Series, which runs on electricity, and the X2 Series, which runs on fuel.

The X2 Series' smokestacks are miniaturized, so please keep in mind to use conventional fuel to power it. The products stated will be available for purchase on September 2nd—

Dipp didn't bother to continue reading and simply flipped to the next page. He pursed his lips and remarked, "Every day, they always say that a product ahead of its time has been made. How many times have they used that line at this point?

"Can't they come up with some phrases to use? I'm definitely smarter than the writer of that ad."

The content on the other side of the newspaper was much more normal than that on the front page, so it instantly captured Dipp's attention.

The Governor of Whereto's private physician has clarified the Governor's inexplicable fainting—"Our esteemed Governor is in perfect health; she's not under any curse nor has she been poisoned. The Governor's fainting spell was caused by a recent episode of binge eating and drinking in addition to her obesity.

The physician has also expressed confidence in treating the Governor's obesity. The physician has stated that the Governor's health will be restored in the next three to six months, and she will appear in public by then.

I hope nothing serious will happen. The Governor of Whereto... isn't she the Captain's woman? Should we go and visit her? Dipp thought. Just then, the bizarre temporal distortion happened once more, and it was even longer than earlier.

Like a tape was being rewound, Dipp flipped the newspaper back to the front page and jumped back to the rooftop. He then opened his mouth, and a column of fresh water rushed out of his throat, returning to the canteen in his hand.

The time distortion continued, and one particular distortion pushed time back so far that Dipp returned to his home and almost vomited his breakfast back onto the plate.

Eventually, it ended, and the distorted time resumed its normal, slow flow that resembled a calm river.

Lily slowly rose from the depths of the ocean and appeared next to Charles' colossal figure. She stared at the enormous flesh island next to her, and she sounded apologetic as she said, "I'm sorry, Mr. Charles. The combined weight of the Subterranean Sea is too heavy for me. I can't control them all at once, and it's also too difficult to separate humanity's time from the time of their environment."

The recent temporal anomalies were products of Lily's experiments on reversing time. One of Charles' fleshly bodies appeared next to Sparkle; it opened its eyes and was frowning in contemplation.

Charles' brand-new solution was to turn back time for the entire Subterranean Sea. As long as time was flowing backward, Fhtagn's inevitable awakening would never happen.

The solution itself wasn't the problem; it was the execution.

Lily was too weak to execute the solution.

The idea of strengthening Lily popped into Charles' mind, but a question appeared as well—how could he do that?

Charles could easily strengthen himself. In fact, it was so easy that it was like taking candy from a baby. If he wanted to become stronger, he just had to absorb as much knowledge as he needed to become strong enough.

However, making Lily powerful enough to execute their solution was incredibly difficult.

Charles severed a large portion of his own flesh and tried to make Lily devour it, but she no longer had a mouth, making it impossible for her to do so.

Charles tried a few more ways to strengthen Lily, but they all failed. In the end, he could only resort to his last option. Soon, a huge, bizarre array appeared on the fleshy ground before him.

The bizarre array was a summoning array for the Feaster.

Soon, 005 appeared before Charles. She looked the same as always; she was wrapped in black bandages, and the Feaster was still in her arms.

"I want to make Lily strong enough to reverse time for the entire Subterranean Sea," Charles said bluntly.

"Hmm... your wishes are getting more and more tricky to handle. But first of all, I'm sure you're aware of my rules." 005 raised her right hand slightly and said, "You help me; I'll give you a wish."

Sparkle's heart trembled upon hearing that. Clearly, her father no longer had any more wishes. If he wanted 005's help, he would have to offer something interesting for her.

Then, Sparkle reached a conclusion, and a trace of grievance appeared on her delicate face. However, she still started walking toward 005.

Charles immediately grabbed Sparkle's wrist and pulled her back behind him. He stared straight at 005 and reached into his old Captain's uniform with his steel arm to take out a white ball.

When Sparkle saw the white ball in Charles' hand, she was stupefied. She was so shocked that she wouldn't be as shocked had her father decided to trade her away.

"Wait, Daddy! Why do you still have a wish? I thought you had already used them all? And w-what did you trade for it?"

Instead of replying, Charles remained silent and even pushed his daughter away with a flick of his wrist.

The white ball turned red, and Charles stared at the being before him. "You've obtained it. Now, fulfill your end of the deal."

005 glanced deeply at Lily before speaking directly to Charles in the latter's head.

"I need you to explain your wish to me."

"Do you want to reverse time for the entire Subterranean Sea, or do you want Lily to obtain the ability to reverse time for the entire Subterranean Sea?"

"Is there any difference?"

"Of course. If you want me to strengthen the man-made god before you to the point that she's strong enough to reverse time for the entire Subterranean Sea, then I'm sorry, but I can't do that.

"If you simply want to reverse time for the entire Subterranean Sea, then... I'm sorry, but I can't do that either.

"And as I said, I can only grant a wish if it's within my capabilities."