Is Ethan afraid of dealing with strangers?

It's hard to say, especially considering it was he who proactively approached her in the Eternal Theater, inviting her to participate in the "mayor election" and even claiming to become her advisor.

And up in the Ice Crystal Giant Tree, where his gaze was less than respectful, constantly eyeing her behind. Despite the commendable gesture of helping her free from the tree branches when her butt got stuck, it didn't obfuscate the fact of his wandering eyes.

Bazarian found it difficult to imagine how Ethan managed to say that sentence with a straight face.

"Anzi, why are you looking at me like that?"

Ethan felt hurt, "We're so familiar with each other. Imagine if another personality of yours gets awakened; wouldn't I have to get acquainted with her all over again?"

"She is the Goddess of Life, a True God bringing hope to the world, and everyone loves her."

"On the other hand, her precepts could fill a book, and I bet she's the kind of person so rigid that she wouldn't tolerate a speck of dust in her eye."

Ethan remarked, "I mean no disrespect, but abruptly speaking with such a person could very well result in being ignored."

"That's indeed true."

"Imagine a guy like me, already scared to interact with people, finally mustering up the courage to start a conversation, only to be completely ignored; it'd certainly result in a severe psychological scar."

Ethan analyzed thoroughly, "In the worst-case scenario, I might never muster the courage to start a conversation with a stranger again in my life."

"Smooth talker!"

Bazarian was left dumbfounded.

"But on another note, I've discovered a problem."

"What problem?"

"Anzi."

"Hmm?"

"Aren't you grappling with self-loathing?"

Ethan sensed a hint of psychological issues, especially considering Bazarian's description of the Goddess of Life. At that moment, her face briefly stripped of its composed and elegant smile, as if an illusion had been momentarily peeled away.

It was that very question that altered Ethan's judgment of Bazarian.

"Self-loathing? Ridiculous, why would I loathe myself?"

"Well said! Even a super signal receiver can live a wonderful life!"

This time Bazarian didn't respond with words, but landed a hard punch on Ethan's shoulder.

No magic, nor did she channel divine power, just pure physical assault.

Ethan realized Bazarian's punch packed quite a punch, making him wince in pain.

"What about you? Why are you investigating them?"

"Because I actually have another hidden identity that I've never revealed publicly."

Ethan said, pretending to be mysterious, "I'm telling only you this secret. I'm a secret agent from the Imperial Military Intelligence Seventh Department, codenamed Pangolin, responsible for secretly investigating the forces behind the God of Truth... ah ah ah, a gentleman uses his mouth instead of his fists!"

Seeing Bazarian raising her seemingly soft yet weighty fist again, he hurriedly rephrased.

"I don't like waking up and suddenly finding myself in an unfamiliar place, becoming someone else."

Ethan grew serious, "Experiencing it once is enough."

"Indeed, once is enough."

Bazarian nodded in agreement.

All the grievances between her and her other self, as well as everything that has unfolded in this world, stemmed from one experiment. Such an absurd experience was sufficient to endure just once.

While her life as a super signal receiver had ended, what came next?

Returning to this now unfamiliar world, witnessing people's admiration for her other self, she felt out of place here...

"I understand now, you have no intention of awakening that pathetic woman."

Bazarian exhaled deeply, her tone easing a bit, "But are you still intending to use rhetoric to persuade me, moving on from sticking to the past to embracing rebirth?"

She had heard such rhetoric from a priest in a confessional.

The last person who spoke to her this way had turned into a voiceless mass of flesh.

"The election isn't over yet, doing so would be cheating."

Ethan shook his head, "Besides, the one who can change you has never been me."

"The little human girl with a tuft of golden hair?"

Bazarian wasn't buying it at all.

Mary was just another believer of her other self, a "genuine" Goddess of Life could not change her mind, let alone a counterfeit?

"I heard she's still in special training, and without your help, she would have already failed."

During the prison riot, it was Ethan's Elemental Magic that was used in the end to suppress Laris's allies, even though he didn't directly engage, he altered the course of events. Otherwise, by the time Mary would have arrived, she would have faced a monster fully transformed, and even if she could eventually slay the monster, all the prison guards and inmates would have been assimilated by it.

The judgment Mary relied on to change this city would cease to exist.

"Anzi, have you not heard a saying?"

"Say it."

"The invincible often lose to unexpected individuals."

"Gods do not belong to the ranks of humans."

Bazarian snorted coldly, "You might as well inform Mary, the next attack will happen on the day of the first public trial."

"Wise choice, as most residents of the Lower City supporting her will be present, leading to more innocent people, a more complex situation, and if she fails, it would be witnessed by everyone who trusts her."

"Aren't you worried?"

"You can also inform Laris that before his next attack, Lizi will have certainly researched an unexpected secret weapon against him."

"What secret weapon?"

"Uh, well, hmm, it wouldn't be a secret if I told you."

"You haven't thought of one yet, have you?"

Bazarian had no intention of letting Ethan off, she chuckled disdainfully.

A newbie with no understanding of her own powers, how could she possibly beat her?

"Moreover, this time you're not safe yourself."

She raised her right hand, pointing forward.

Just as Ethan was about to sneer, he followed the direction of Bazarian's finger and saw a white-haired, red-eyed girl watching them from across the street. He was so startled that he leapt up from the ground like an acrobat.

"It's not what you think!"

The girl on the other side of the street merely gave Ethan a meaningful look before turning and entering the dilapidated old house behind her.

"What are you looking at me for?"

Bazarian, still sitting on the ground, spoke calmly, "Go and chase her."

Ethan quickly stepped forward, running straight to the rundown house across the street, sensing something unusual.

Was Lindong jealous and angry?

Although his little girlfriend often got very jealous, she typically turns that jealousy into strength and never resorts to silent wars.

And more importantly... the house across the street wasn't a shop; it was a residence.

Whose house had an unlocked door, and how did she just walk into someone else's home through an open door?

That door still stood ajar.

But as Ethan touched the doorknob, he felt an unprecedented pull, an irresistible force propelling him forward, akin to those RPG game heroes breaking into people's homes and rummaging through their belongings.

But this time, awaiting him beyond the door wasn't a treasure chest, nor the humble interiors of a residence.

He felt as if he was in the cosmos, with stars forming a long path under his feet, extending to a figure waiting deep amongst them.

"Long time no see."

The woman, who shared the same visage as Lindong, greeted him proactively.

After more than a year, Ethan saw this girlfriend who seemed to be from the "future" once again.

Strong, possessing a power no less formidable than the Old Gods.

Thus, upon their first meeting, Ethan presupposed she was Lindong from some future timeline, seemingly placed at time's end, displaying to him a world on the brink of annihilation.

After over a year, Ethan developed a new perspective.

"Long time no see."

He replied to her.

He couldn't help but wonder if this "girlfriend" really came from the future?