Chapter 70

As the saying goes, the day’s plan is made in the morning. Jiang Liu and her group sailed on the sea on a summer morning. The waves rolled past them, and the cool sea breeze dispelled some of the summer heat. Even Tang Ruo, who usually had a stoic expression, couldn’t help but smile.

If this weren’t an instance, it would certainly be a leisurely and beautiful affair.

But no one on the boat was completely relaxed. Their eyes were cautiously fixed on the nearby sea surface. Below them were the most terrifying creatures of the seabed. The moment one of them opened its mouth, they might get lost in the sea and end up buried at the bottom.

“Awesome! I want to drive it too!” Tang Rui was practically standing up, feeling the wind on his face as he shouted. The next second, his sister slapped him back into his seat.

“The hell you will.” Tang Ruo seemed to roll her eyes, holding up her phone to find their direction on the vast sea.

This thing wasn’t something just anyone could drive. She had learned a little before, but in a place like this, she had no confidence in controlling it. Unexpectedly, Jiang Liu’s skills were exceptionally high. Looking at her appearance, you really couldn’t tell.

“The compass seems to have lost control,” she said, looking at her phone again, her tone cautious.

“It’s useless. There’s no signal here, so the direction will probably be interfered with too,” Jiang He chimed in. “And the network in each instance is separate. If the System doesn’t grant permission, we can’t use it at all.”

This was also why the Tang siblings had sent countless messages to Xu Meng, but there had been no response from the other side.

Jiang Liu glanced over at his words and saw him lazing on the seat, looking as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders compared to before.

“You seem to know a lot,” she said, taking a moment from steering to reply.

Jiang He was a little proud. “Of course. Don’t look at him having entered before me. I’ve found out more than you guys.”

Although he didn’t name names, both of them knew who “he” was.

Jiang Liu didn’t react at first and was about to make a teasing remark, but then she suddenly froze. The boat slowed down for a moment as she belatedly processed Jiang He’s words.

“He entered before you?” Jiang Liu repeated, her tone strange.

The howling wind was too loud, and everyone was practically shouting. Because of this, Jiang He didn’t notice her mood and just shouted back, “Yeah, who else do you think I came in here for?”

After coming to this sea region, Jiang He’s demeanor seemed different from before. In the past, he was awkward and secretive, as if he were blatantly telling others, “I’m hiding a lot of secrets, but I’m not telling. You can guess for yourself.”

But now it was different. Even though they could encounter danger at any moment, he was much more relaxed than he had been in the photo studio.

Why was he so relaxed?

Recalling his words about the signal and direction being interfered with, and connecting it to what Hou Yuqiang had mentioned, Jiang Liu had a faint guess.

But there was still one thing that didn’t add up.

According to Zhang Xiaochen, Jiang He had disappeared after a big fight with him. Half a year later, he had entered the game by a twist of fate and had only run into Jiang He again by chance, realizing he was also in here.

Jiang Liu narrowed her eyes, her expression becoming grave, but the others behind her didn’t notice. They could only hear Jiang Liu’s seemingly casual inquiry.

“Oh? Then why did he come in?”

Jiang He stared at the back of her head in confusion, surprised. “You don’t know?”

He had thought Zhang Xiaochen had told Jiang Liu everything, given how familiar they seemed.

Jiang Liu’s fingertips tapped rhythmically on the steering wheel, a gesture that revealed she was thinking. But her tone remained as light as before. “I respect my companion’s privacy.”

Except for Zhu Yan, who wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, anyone who would voluntarily enter the game must have been driven to a dead end with no other choice. Such matters were not usually spoken of lightly.

Jiang He thought about it and felt she had a point. Even though Jiang Liu couldn’t see him, he still spread his hands, his tone laced with a complex mix of guilt and disappointment.

“You know about our relationship, right?” he asked with feigned ease, not even noticing that his voice had become a little hoarse the moment he spoke, like a child full of grievances who could finally speak out but was still trying to act strong.

Without waiting for Jiang Liu’s reply, he continued on his own, “At that time, the coach saw my potential and wanted to train me, but we had no money. I was about to give up, but he was so worried, insisting that I go practice.”

The two brothers had different opinions on this matter. Jiang He didn’t want to see him do illegal things with others, and he certainly didn’t want him to beg for money. They had a huge fight at the time, and the two went their separate ways.

“The next day, he happily gave me a card, saying that our grandmother’s spirit had blessed me and that I could continue my studies. He didn’t mention where the money came from.”

Jiang He pursed his lips, not caring if the others around him were listening, just venting as he shouted.

At the time, he had been tricked by Zhang Xiaochen into joining the team. It wasn’t until the next day that he realized something was wrong. But Zhang Xiaochen had vanished. His phone was off, and he wasn’t at home. Jiang He was frantic but couldn’t find him.

“I searched for a long time. Later, I heard about a game that could make wishes come true. I opened my eyes, and I was in.”

Jiang He spoke intermittently, his voice already laced with a sob at times. The man was still stubbornly unwilling to admit he was crying, claiming it was just the strong sea breeze.

But Jiang Liu listened very carefully.

His emotions were not fake. Jiang Liu could see through this boy’s nature at a glance. He was originally a straightforward and hot-tempered person. If he hadn’t really studied acting, he wouldn’t be able to perform such complex emotions.

No matter the circumstances, the true feelings revealed from one’s heart would not lie.

So the question was—

Why did Zhang Xiaochen lie?

She still remembered his panicked and helpless appearance in the first instance, as if he really knew nothing about the Lost Way Game. It didn’t seem fake.

Especially when he talked about Jiang He, his anxiety and urgency came from the heart.

A person might be able to lie, but their eyes couldn’t.

Qiao Ke’s repeated reminder echoed faintly in her ears. Jiang Liu couldn’t help but lower her gaze, her grip on the steering wheel tightening.

When they met at the photo studio, Jiang He was clearly still angry at Zhang Xiaochen for putting himself in danger. As for Zhang Xiaochen, he seemed to want to explain something. Their concern for each other was real, so what kind of accident had happened to make their two accounts completely inconsistent?

The confusion in her heart grew heavier. Jiang Liu took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down.

The speedboat was fast. By the time it was almost noon, they could no longer see the beach they had set off from, even with binoculars.

Xiao Ya could fish, and there was a case of drinking water on the boat, as well as some extra clothes to wear. They didn’t have to worry about food or clothing on the boat. But after the initial novelty wore off, Tang Rui found the endless blue around him extremely boring. He leaned his head out listlessly and asked, “Which way are we going?”

“East,” Jiang Liu replied without hesitation.

Since Yang Caisi had said to follow the note, there must be something she had arranged in advance in the east.

Tang Rui was just asking casually. After all, no one knew which direction the Lucky Island was in, so it didn’t really matter which way Jiang Liu went.

Unexpectedly, as soon as Jiang Liu’s words fell, Xiao Ya, who had been silent since getting on the boat, suddenly spoke up. “No, we’re off course.”

Jiang Liu let out a soft “huh” and looked down at the direction on the instrument panel, frowning.

It showed due east.

The speed of this boat was clearly beyond Xiao Ya’s imagination. She had been looking around curiously since getting on, but after a while, she was clearly worried about her mother’s illness again and sat quietly in the corner listening to the others talk.

Her sudden outburst surprised Tang Rui a little. He then reassured her, “This is a very advanced boat. It usually doesn’t make mistakes.”

Xiao Ya frowned and continued to stare at Jiang Liu. “We are indeed off course. I can feel it.”

She pointed to a flock of seagulls flying past them. “I often fish by the sea and have a good sense of direction. These kinds of seabirds will hover in the wind over the sea. The wind direction has changed since just now.”

The group was stunned for a moment, not expecting her to say such a thing.

Jiang Liu subconsciously raised an eyebrow. Methods of determining direction by the sun, wind, etc., also came to her mind, but they were just vague impressions, not in-depth knowledge.

But Xiao Ya spoke with great conviction, without a trace of hesitation in her voice. She even stared at Jiang Liu with a certain stubbornness.

She hadn’t spoken up before because she didn’t know the location of the Lucky Island, so it didn’t matter which way they went. It wasn’t until Jiang Liu accurately stated their destination that she couldn’t help but speak out.

The group looked at each other. Tang Rui hesitated and said, “We don’t need to be so particular, right? We’re just going randomly anyway. No one said the island is definitely in the east?”

His answer was Jiang Liu turning the steering wheel without hesitation.

For some reason, she was more inclined to believe Xiao Ya’s words. People who had lived by the sea for a long time had a good grasp of direction. In an instance where even signals and compasses could be interfered with, perhaps listening to her advice was the right thing to do.

Jiang Liu didn’t pause at all, turning to look at Xiao Ya and saying, “You be the judge.”

Xiao Ya nodded vigorously and quickly directed Jiang Liu to set sail again.

Tang Ruo was a little puzzled. “Why do we have to go east?”

Jiang Liu chuckled, her lighthearted voice echoing across the sea. “The god of fortune told me that the place we’re looking for is in the east.”

The group drifted on the sea for most of the day. As the sky darkened, they finally saw the faint shape of an island in their vision. And along the way, no mermaids had attacked them at all. It was so smooth that it was almost unbelievable.

As the silhouette of the small island became clearer, Jiang He and Tang Rui grew excited, almost standing up to get a better look.

Could this be the legendary Lucky Island?

Was this mission really completed so easily, without any casualties or hardships?

Jiang Liu felt a sense of unease. Under the expectant gazes of the others, she slowly brought the boat to the shore.

Soon, one after another, beams of flashlight light swept over them. Someone shouted loudly, “Who’s there? Are you players?”

The blinding light made Jiang Liu’s eyes ache. She quickly put on her sunglasses and scanned the island. There were at least seven or eight points of light nearby, and even some firelight in the distance.

The few players at the forefront were covered in blood. Their light-colored clothes were almost soaked in it, and a foul, fishy smell emanated from them. The familiar scent made her hold her breath.

This was the blood of mermaids—and a lot of it, to create such a scene.