Chapter 80
It was Jiang He’s second instance after entering the game.
As a Newcomer to the system, he was still ignorant of the rules. He happened to run into Chen Ping’s team. The arrogance of youth made him unwilling to be controlled or threatened, and he rejected Chen Ping’s recruitment offer to his face.
“That instance could have been cleared without any injuries, but I don’t know what trick Chen Ping used. The final boss actually required a Live Human Sacrifice, and the designated choice was me and only me.”
Recalling the story, Jiang He’s face turned pale. Even his lying posture became awkward, his whole body speaking incoherently, his lips trembling.
He would never forget that sacrifice.
The others listening exchanged glances but said nothing. Jiang He, lost in his own thoughts, shivered, took a deep breath, and then calmed down, his face grim. “Anyway, at the most critical moment, Chen Ping asked me again if I was willing to do things for him.”
At that time, Jiang He had no choice. He was willing to agree to any outrageous request as long as it would let him live.
It was only after he relented that Chen Ping burst out laughing. With just a snap of his fingers, the frenzied boss calmed down, suddenly released the dying Jiang He, and turned to leave, never to be seen again.
It was because he had witnessed all this firsthand that he developed an indescribable fear of Chen Ping, even obeying amoral commands like stealing.
Gao Yuan listened for a long time, constantly shaking his head in denial. “This isn’t right, this isn’t right.”
He didn’t say exactly what was wrong, but he kept repeating this phrase as if possessed.
Jiang Liu noticed that his fishtail, which had been relaxed behind him, was now exceptionally tense. It seemed that when Jiang He mentioned controlling the plot’s development, he had associated it with something that made him extremely wary.
Although he didn’t say it outright, everyone realized that this situation was not normal.
To this, Tang Ruo raised her hand to speak. “My instance supervisor mentioned that the props available to players all have limited functions. Things like changing the instance are unthinkable. Even NPCs might not have that authority.”
Jiang He shook his head. “I don’t know, but Chen Ping doesn’t have an instance supervisor behind him. I accidentally overheard them talking. It seems there’s another player above him.”
Not only were Jiang Liu and the others hearing this for the first time, but even Jiang He, who had been with him for so long, couldn’t believe it himself.
Chen Ping was already a major client at the cafe. What kind of person could possibly be above him, controlling so many things from behind the scenes?
He didn’t have the mind to think about it in detail and could only sigh. “He has a communication device. Even if they are in different instances, they can still communicate, as if he’s being monitored.”
Jiang He looked at the ring on his finger with disgust, feeling that this damn thing was like a time bomb. Chen Ping could see clearly whether he had followed his instructions or not.
The strange thing was, after entering this sea region, that indescribable feeling of being watched suddenly disappeared. He had tried to contact Chen Ping again but had received no response. Only then did he dare to speak his mind.
As his voice fell, the group inside the bubble fell silent.
The mermaid queen’s claim that she could control the sea region was no exaggeration. This seemingly thin and soft bubble had already risen to the sea surface in a short time and was now drifting rapidly eastward with the churning waves.
Jiang Liu pursed her lips and subconsciously fiddled with the ring, calling out for Xiao Si in her mind.
There was no response, only the endless sound of waves looping. They had actually spent a whole day at the bottom of the sea.
The top of the bubble continuously emitted a faint blue light, illuminating the small space they were in. The surrounding seawater was pitch black, and it was impossible to tell with the naked eye what was waiting for them ahead.
Jiang Liu changed her position and lay down, half-closing her eyes to sort through the messy clues, while also keeping her attention on the people around her.
Perhaps because he was a bit tired, Jiang He didn’t say another word after he finished speaking and closed his eyes, it was unclear if he was asleep. On the side, Tang Ruo leaned against the bubble, her sharp eyes occasionally glancing at the unknown darkness ahead.
The most intriguing was Gao Yuan. He was clearly an NPC in the system and definitely knew more than the three of them combined, yet at this moment, he sat silently to the side, his head bowed, lost in thought.
Jiang Liu withdrew her gaze and looked down, recalling the many sights she had seen at the bottom of the sea. For some reason, she suddenly remembered Zhang Xiaochen’s parting words.
He had said, “Help me take care of Jiang He.”
At the time, all her attention was on the Communication Ring, and she hadn’t noticed the complex and unpredictable tone in his voice.
Recalling it now, Jiang Liu’s heart couldn’t help but jolt. The most impossible idea suddenly leaped to her mind.
Could it be that Zhang Xiaochen had known all along that she would be traveling with Jiang He this time, which was why he had said those words in such an earnest tone?
Chen Ping had no instance supervisor, so what about Zhang Xiaochen?
He had approached her, even going so far as to place his brother at the bottom of the sea to remind her. Was it because he knew something?
In other words, was there someone behind the scenes trying to prevent her from recovering her memory, which Zhang Xiaochen had noticed, leading him to try and remind her along the way?
Could this person be Qiao Ke?
These names repeatedly appeared in Jiang Liu’s mind, turning over and over, making it difficult for her to sleep.
If her guess was true, then Zhang Xiaochen’s actions seemed to be telling her something in a roundabout way.
Jiang Liu glanced at Jiang He, who had fallen asleep at some point, and felt her palms turn cold.
The time pointed to two in the middle of the night. They successfully approached Lucky Island.
Unlike the island they had briefly stayed on, this one was clearly very different.
A dozen searchlights on the edge were constantly sweeping the surroundings. The overly harsh light immediately made Jiang Liu squint her eyes in alert. She reached out and pushed the sleeping Jiang He, her tone wary.
“Wake up, we’re here.”
Tang Ruo and Gao Yuan, who had been resting with their eyes closed, opened them at almost the same time. Their gazes swept towards the gradually clearing silhouette of the island in the distance, and they were stunned.
“This is not going to be easy,” Gao Yuan muttered, pointing at the figures moving around on the island in the distance. “Look, there are too many people.”
Tang Ruo looked at him suspiciously. “Where are the figures?”
From her position, all she could see were messy searchlights that were almost blinding.
Gao Yuan straightened up. “Right there. You can’t see it?”
Tang Ruo shook her head honestly, then saw Jiang Liu also squinting in that direction. To them, it was just a dark blind spot with no light.
“A mermaid’s vision should be better than a human’s?” After a moment, Jiang Liu thought of a possibility.
Gao Yuan scratched the seaweed on his head, clearly a bit unsure himself. “Probably?”
Jiang Liu looked away speechlessly, deciding not to dwell on this for the time being.
The brightness of these searchlights was too strong, and their range was very large. It would be easy for them to be spotted.
She patted the fishtail. “See if there’s a hidden place.”
Even if she hadn’t said it, Gao Yuan was already looking around diligently, his expression unusually grave.
“It’s hard not to be discovered. There are more than twenty people on this island, and there are patrols.”
Moreover, there were even two or three small boats moored near the island. It was clear that most of the players who were still alive at this time had already gathered here.
He looked around for a long time, then suddenly frowned while staring in one direction. He pointed to the right and squinted, describing, “Isn’t this the speedboat Xiao Yang gave you? Tang Rui and the others should be on shore, right?”
Tang Rui and the others were already here?
Hearing this, Tang Ruo immediately became restless. She stared intently in that direction while taking out her phone to contact her brother, but the signal on her phone was still empty.
Jiang Liu spoke up suddenly, “Try using the ring to contact him.”
From what Jiang He had said, it was clear that communication between rings was not something an ordinary person could do. The connection between her and Xiao Si must have been tampered with by Xiao Si.
If her earlier guess was true, and Zhang Xiaochen really had that much power, he would definitely have opened a convenient door for them in this matter.
“The ring?” Tang Ruo was stunned, looking at Jiang Liu with some confusion. However, out of her personal trust in her abilities, she did as she was told, even though she didn’t understand the situation.
“Hello, hello, Xiao Rui, can you hear me?”
Tang Ruo brought the ring close to her mouth, feeling that this action was a bit neurotic. She cleared her throat and spoke with some embarrassment.
A moment later, her eyes widened in disbelief, and she looked at Jiang Liu as if she had seen a ghost. “There’s a voice!”
Jiang Liu pointed towards the speedboat, signaling her to talk.
Tang Ruo suppressed her surprise and, in a few sentences, understood the situation from the voice on the other end. When she put her hand down, her face was a little grim.
“The situation is not good,” she said directly. “Xiao Rui said they had a conflict with the people on the island and are now locked up. He’s trying to find a way to sneak out.”
Gao Yuan glanced at Jiang Liu thoughtfully but said nothing.
“Does he still remember the direction?” Jiang Liu ignored his gaze, stood up on the sea surface, and used her hands to support the bubble, temporarily stopping it from moving.
The bubble seemed to sense this and gradually stopped its forward movement, and even the faint blue light at the top dimmed.
Tang Ruo nodded quickly. “We have to land on the west side of the island. He said the guards there are asleep, so it’s not easy to be discovered.”
“Let’s go.” Jiang Liu made a decisive decision and tried to control the water ball to float towards the west, doing her best to dodge the moving beams of the searchlights. Half an hour later, they finally saw the land on the shore.
The bubble, as if it could no longer hold, completely burst as it approached the shore. The four of them were thrown into the cold seawater, scaring the non-swimmer Jiang He so much that he opened his mouth to scream.
Tang Ruo silently moved over and covered his mouth, pulling him to her side. “Don’t shout.”
She had learned how to rescue people in the water. She held Jiang He’s head and approached the shore, all four of them holding their breath.
Jiang Liu was the fastest. She paddled close to the shore and peeked out to observe. After confirming that there were no guards nearby, she said, “Everyone, come up.”
This island was not small. The west side should be the back, and there was basically no light on the shore.
While the others were climbing up, Jiang Liu gripped the dagger on her arm and went ahead to scout.
Unexpectedly, just as she lifted her foot, a beam of flashlight light from the distance landed accurately on her. The dazzling light instantly blinded her, and everyone froze on the spot, not daring to move.
Discovered?