Theus's pupils contracted instantly.
This... how could his shell move on its own?
Could the shell have come to life and developed self-awareness?
Or had the Church tampered with it, causing this shell to mutate?
No, that wasn't important. He first needed to make contact and find out whether it was hostile.
Theus took a deep breath.
"Hello."
With an unchanged expression, he greeted Worker Theus.
Worker Theus showed no reaction. He stared blankly at his surroundings, moving only occasionally.
"Who are you?"
Worker Theus suddenly stopped moving. Then his body trembled slightly, as though he were struggling to break free, yet some immense force inexplicably held him down in the chair.
For some reason, Theus vaguely felt that there were sounds by his ear, like the howls of someone near death, yet also like unconscious whispers.
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After all, there was nothing else to do here.
He had deliberately avoided making eye contact with this shell before, afraid that he might accidentally descend into it.
The Pollution within this body was likewise evenly distributed throughout its limbs and bones, only far denser and more stable.
Even ordinary physical Pollution could serve as fuel. Wouldn't Worker Theus, whose internal Pollution had condensed like steel, be a nuclear reactor?
In any case, Theus discovered, rather inexplicably, that this shell seemed to have changed from an immobile puppet into a moving puppet. Other than that, there were no further changes.
"It worked, it worked, but... where is this?"
Theus's eyes lit up.
No, it could hardly be called a trait of being alive. It could only move.
Theus rubbed his chin.
After pondering for a long time, he still couldn't make sense of it. It did not react to anything Theus said, whether he tried to communicate or issue commands.
Unfortunately,