"Doctor Mande, I've been hearing some sounds recently."
Perhaps feeling uncomfortable with the clean and tidy environment of the clinic, Old Mark sat up very straight, his hands on his knees, like a student in a classroom.
"What kind of sounds?"
Upon hearing this, Mande paused momentarily, his eyes showing a rare glimpse of interest, and he asked aloud.
"Um... I can't quite describe it."
Having never been educated and mostly dealing with dead fish and seawater in his daily life, Old Mark certainly didn't possess fluent expression skills and stammered his reply.
"It's... it's like a lot of people talking."
"Sometimes it's men, sometimes women, with varying volumes."
"What are they saying?"
"I... I can't hear clearly." As if he was speaking to himself, Old Mark's tone became urgent, "But I know, they... they're all talking about me!"
Mande sat opposite him, his expression unchanged, but his inner excitement grew.
