Chen Ming glanced at the Delusion Stone placed beside him, somewhat reluctant to imagine what kind of torturous powers it might develop as its effects continued to strengthen.

"Does this person have to actually exist? Also, if the stone's effects become stronger, can I still keep doing what you suggested earlier about handling the Whispering Stone?"

The boss answered Chen Ming's questions one by one: "As the Spiritual Stone's effects grow stronger, just shorten your contact time. As long as you don't always carry it, there won't be any issue. After all, you are a Psychic."

"Regarding whether this person truly exists, let me ask you this: Do you know this person?"

"No."

"Do you think you can construct a complete image of such a person purely from imagination, with all the details?"

"No."

"Then that settles it; this person is actually the one whom the pirate resented the most as he was dying."

"That's why I find it strange that it's not you or me. I truly can't figure it out."

"Anyway, as long as you trace back along his network of contacts, you're sure to find this person."

The boss explained all the benefits Chen Ming might achieve from acting on the hallucination, but Chen Ming still had concerns: "What if I don't follow through with this?"

The boss wasn't surprised by Chen Ming's hesitation and said, "The power of resonance will gradually fade and completely disappear over time."

"By that time, your Spiritual Stone will only retain the enhanced effects produced at the moment of resonance; any extra effects will dissipate along with the hallucination."

Which means there's no actual downside.

"I understand now."

"Yes, how you handle this is entirely up to you. I'm just here to watch... ahem... help you understand the situation, offering you some advice."

"You can always come to me for things like this in the future; I actually enjoy doing these sorts of tasks."

"If you're looking for specific leads to find someone..."

Chen Ming immediately thought of a suitable person and said, "I can ask Old Wu; he should know where to start."

"Right, asking him is a good idea. Let's leave it at that."

"Thank you, boss."

"No need to be so polite. Feel free to contact me if you have more questions."

The communication ended.

Chen Ming tossed his terminal aside, preparing to rest.

Old Wu had mentioned earlier that he knew where to buy information around here, so for sure, there must be one or two contacts with the intelligence merchant.

Investigating this pirate's identity through the intelligence merchant shouldn't pose much of a challenge, especially considering the pirate is now dead.

However, Old Wu went out to have fun, so there's no option but to wait until the auction starts or ends tomorrow to ask.

If later it turns out that it's convenient to deal with this middle-aged man, Chen Ming would then take some time to find a way to resolve it.

At this thought, Chen Ming suddenly felt a bit lost.

He realized that he no longer seemed to have any reluctance towards the act of killing, even if he didn't know whether the other person was good or bad.

The indifference to rules in the surrounding environment was affecting him; he was drifting further away from the Prosperous Star Realm where rules and order coexisted.

Drifting further away from the peaceful and stable life he had once desired.

But it doesn't matter.

Chen Ming suddenly firmed his resolve.

It had already become difficult to return to the Prosperous Star Realm once he relied on his abilities to acquire everything he currently possessed.

To stay long-term in such a place as the Edge Star Realm, he absolutely couldn't follow the Prosperous Star Realm's protocols.

He couldn't afford to give up an opportunity for profit because of some notions within the rules.

Unless someone he trusted and a tempting benefit were at opposite ends of the path, only then would he need to weigh benefits against personal relationships.

In such a situation, Chen Ming wouldn't hesitate to exchange benefits for trustworthy friends.

Chen Ming was an orphan, having had very few friends while growing up; he could say almost none.

So the friends he already had, he valued, but what does he care about other strangers?

Killing this middle-aged man could allow Chen Ming to further strengthen his Spiritual Stone, and in the hallucination, the middle-aged man's pocket contained another Spiritual Stone.

If the middle-aged man truly exists as the boss claimed, then that Spiritual Stone also likely exists.

And this Spiritual Stone is an unknown type.

It shares the same possibility of being gentle as the boss's Spiritual Stone.

A possibly existing gentle Spiritual Stone, with the ability to bring calmness and dispel inner distractions, could never be something Chen Ming would sacrifice for the sake of rules.

Chen Ming closed his eyes, letting the thoughts in his mind gradually settle.

Awaiting the arrival of the next day.

While Chen Ming was resting.

Old Wu, after having a good meal and some drinks.

Relying on his previous experiences here, found a massage parlor.

Such places are ubiquitous anywhere.

After all, the construction of colonies can't start from scratch; it's conducted through large-scale population migration relying on stated benefits.

The migrated population doesn't necessarily comprise high-quality individuals.

There's always a need for ordinary people to fill foundational gaps.

With more people, competition naturally arises.

Once someone cannot outcompete others, their social status naturally sinks to a suitable level.

Even in the most advanced interstellar age, there will always be a multitude of people at the bottom.

Thus, places like massage parlors will never be scarce.

Of course, this has nothing to do with Old Wu, whose mind was filled with *scrap at the moment.

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