Upon hearing that, the seventh indeed settled down and grew quiet, but his eyes still watched Sheffield nervously.

Unfooled by Sheffield’s gentle and scholarly appearance.

Somewhat savvy.

Sheffield found it interesting and took a longer look, "Artificial intelligence?"

He asked Sixth Hoffman.

Sixth Hoffman denied, "Picked it up in the desert before."

Beside them stood a tree, and Sixth Hoffman, once again straying from propriety, simply leaned against it, his body askew.

After two seconds, he added another sentence, "It wasn’t me who found it; the boss did."

Sheffield’s expression finally changed slightly.

As if he had just remembered something.

Sixth Hoffman continued to explain, "Our boss, sometimes, his heart’s just too big. He’d pick up animals, and he’d pick up people, occasionally reaching out to help some who were in dire straits; if we stumbled upon the good ones, they’d be grateful and repay the kindness, like the seventh. But if we met the bad ones..."

He didn’t finish his sentence and laughed it off instead.

Sheffield withdrew his gaze and looked at Sixth Hoffman, "You called for me to inquire about Hannah, correct?"

Sixth Hoffman didn’t deny it, "The boss once said, you’re—intelligent."

Sheffield smiled and waited for Sixth Hoffman to finish his sentence.

Sixth Hoffman didn’t beat around the bush and straightforwardly said, "I know the boss must be awake by now, and I just want to know if she has escaped."

Hannah had been injured before, and her mental strength had been suppressed for some time.

If it had been in the past, Sixth Hoffman never would have worried about his boss’s safety, but the situation was different now.

Unable to contact her, they were naturally anxious.

"She has already left Mo City," Sheffield answered without reservation, as this wasn’t really a secret; only the royal family thought it shameful and thus had sealed the news.

Sixth Hoffman relaxed, confirming his guess was correct.

After thinking it over, he spoke again, "Don’t mind my prying, but do you happen to know where our boss went?"

Sheffield didn’t respond immediately, wearing a faint smile.

The golden afterglow in his eyes made him appear amiable but not close, "Do you think I would know?"

Sixth Hoffman felt his flask, "Actually, I also don’t think you’d know, but the boss said you were clever, and I trust the boss."

This reasoning felt somewhat convoluted.

Sheffield indeed knew where Hannah had gone.

But whether to divulge that was another matter.

*

In the fog, danger lurked like a shadow.

Gregory initially didn’t take it seriously, thinking that Arnold and Hannah were overexaggerating.

They had been walking inside for two days, and nothing had happened.

Compared to this, the foggy area seemed even safer than the Blackwood Forest.

There were no split-toothed wolves, no man-eating bees.

The only downside was the lack of food.

He had been eating dry rations for two days.

Luckily, on the third day, just as Desolation had mentioned, they arrived at the center of the fog.

And saw that pond of water.

Just like Desolation had described, the pond was very deep, bottomless.

At a glance, it appeared as dark as night.

Around it grew trees and flowers.

The fog had dissipated slightly, coalescing only about five meters away.

As if deliberately avoiding this particular pond.

Gregory squatted by the edge of the water, driven by curiosity, "Desolation, when will this creature you mentioned come out?"

Desolation glanced at him and chose to ignore this somewhat silly question.

But Hannah answered him.

She also squatted by the water’s edge, adopting Gregory’s posture, her voice gentle and light as she answered with a laugh.