"I'm feeling so unwell... Li Ang..."
Zoe gritted her teeth, her usually rosy and lively cheeks now as pale as a lifeless doll's.
"Where are you feeling unwell? Has it happened before?"
Li Ang quickly observed her body, trying to find the problem.
"No, it's the first time... My head feels swollen, and there are many voices inside, talking to me..."
Voices? Could it be related to the roar from earlier?
"What are the voices saying?"
"Pain, hatred, rebirth..."
Zoe tightly closed her eyes, her fluttering eyelashes instantly covered with tears, sweat-soaked hair sticking to her face, her lips trembling non-stop.
Li Ang hurriedly picked her up and returned her to her room, laying her on the bed.
The young girl's body kept trembling, she struggled to grip Li Ang's arm, relaxing only when he held her hand, their palms clasped together.
It was then he realized her hands were quite small and cute, though they were now white from gripping too hard.
Several minutes passed before Zoe's pain seemed to slightly diminish.
Outside the window, nightfall had descended, and the entire Satus Island was eerily silent.
During this season, when grass grows and warblers fly, the woods and meadows of Satus Island would typically be filled with the sound of insects after nightfall.
He wondered if Zoe's house was particularly soundproof, but when he listened intently, there was still no sound.
After a few minutes, the low, cave-like echo roar from earlier reappeared, this time startling a large number of birds in the forest.
It seemed that the sound was heard not just by Li Ang, but across the island.
But Zoe seemed to be able to receive more voices.
Li Ang took out the Adventure Lantern from his waist and lit up the room.
As an adventurer, he always carried such a tool. Though called a lantern, it was an item produced with magic guidance technology; as long as its energy source was not depleted, it could keep shining, unaffected by wind or water.
He stayed with Zoe for two to three hours, during which, as the sounds of insects began to arise outside, the girl suddenly sat up from the bed.
The pain seemed to vanish instantly, and her face once again wore a spirited smile.
"I'm okay now."
"Is there any more discomfort?"
"No, I feel great, clear-headed and energized."
After getting out of bed, the young girl even hopped a little.
Li Ang found it a little strange and opened her character panel.
[Name: Zoe]
[Race: Unknown]
[Profession: Swordsman, Tier 2.]
[Summoned Beast: ?]
[Energy Source: ?]
[Equipment: Sootsteel Bracers, Tier 3. Desert Beast Leather Boots, Tier 3. Wind Breath Sword [Treasure Artifacts], Tier 3.]
[Secret Technique: Professional Secret Technique - Gale Slash]
[Skills: Star Soul Greenhouse, Swordsman [Strong Physique, Morale Boost]]
Soon, Li Ang noticed she had acquired a passive skill, a concept he had never heard before.
What was Star Soul? What was Star Soul Greenhouse?
He clicked on the skill alone but found no detailed information.
[Skill: Star Soul Greenhouse]
[Activation Method: Passive]
[Special Physique, Unknown Situation]
From this moment, the mysterious aspect of her identity as "world's female lead," carried by Zoe, seemed to reveal a small glimpse.
Li Ang began to ponder things he had previously overlooked.
Her summoned beast and energy source were marked with question marks, and her race was listed as "unknown."
When she drew the Wind Breath Sword, the energy source turned out to be the wind elemental crystal inside this treasure artifact. This indicated that the question mark might mean "exists but not yet revealed."
From this perspective, she had already contracted a summoned beast, though she didn't know where it was.
In the three days that Li Ang had been with her, he hadn't felt any signs of it, nor did she seem aware of her ability to summon a beast.
Regarding her race, the unknown race was one of the classifications in the Nebis World.
On countless islands that were difficult to tally in various aerial realms, there were numerous races, and even if a race had been separated by the skies for tens of thousands of years, they could still biologically confirm they were the same ethnicity.
Yet, some people, though resembling a particular race outwardly, and they themselves might think so too, would display completely different traits.
Either their bodily strength was many times stronger or their bodies naturally harbored energy, and among these people, the most extreme cases would sprout characteristics of a demon.
Scholars in the City of Magic speculated that mysterious bloodlines caused this.
Such situations were all categorized as "unknown" race.
The system didn't lie, Zoe indeed had her unique characteristics, but Li Ang couldn't tell.
In terms of appearance, physical fitness, and even talents, she was no different from an ordinary human.
Now, the only thing possibly related was this "Star Soul Greenhouse."
"Zoe, do you feel any change compared to before you heard the voices?"
"I feel light on my feet!"
Li Ang originally thought the young girl's hopping was due to her nature, but now it seemed not.
Whether acknowledged or not, human actions and thoughts often relate to their physical state; she now felt good, likely because the Star Soul Body activated some power.
"Can you tell where the voices you heard came from?"
"I feel it's... over there..."
Zoe squinted her eyes, recalling the feeling, then pointed in a direction.
The young girl led the way, and Li Ang followed. After leaving the room and turning a corner, he found her pointing directly to her house's basement.
"What's in your basement?"
"I don't know. My parents told me not to go in when they left, saying it was full of discarded odds and ends."
"Let's take a look." Li Ang felt it necessary to explore.
"Oh."
Zoe glanced at him, a subtle emotion flickering in her eyes, before obediently going to open the door.
As soon as the basement door was pushed open, a flurry of dust fell. Li Ang shone the lantern at the entrance and saw that it indeed contained some clutter.
He adjusted the Adventure Lantern to beam mode, effectively using it as a flashlight, and the two descended the stairs into the basement.
There was a long table here with books covered in dust, dried ink bottles, and curled quill pens left on it.
Not far from the long table, there seemed to be a well.
A well in the basement? Such a combination was rare to see.
The well lacked a water-drawing setup, and a huge stone pressed onto the brick-lined wellhead.
Approaching the stone, he saw it had a seal with patterns he had never seen.
Without breaking the seal, moving the stone was impossible.
[Prompt: Satus Island exploration rate reached 90%, hidden location: Earth Abyss unlocked. The hidden location contains rich rewards, please strive to explore.]
Was Zoe's basement considered part of the exploration rate? A hidden location?
Li Ang opened the minimap and saw the marker "Earth Abyss" now overlapped with his position.
It was practically indicating the entrance to the hidden location was here.
What significance did this basement hold?
Li Ang approached the long table, placed the lantern, and picked up the book, realizing that it was a notebook.
He flipped open the first page, and Zoe nestled her little head closer as they read together.
"Guild Calendar Year 291, September 17th
"Today, the new house was completed. Zoe ran up and down, and it seems her body is no longer affected. Lily and I are very happy. Satus Island, such a remote and backward island, shouldn't have any more Star Souls. I just hope the child grows up healthy."