Chapter 81
Jiang Liu discreetly tightened her grip on her dagger. Her movements were almost too fast to be seen as she instantly put on her sunglasses. With her vision plunged into darkness, the single beam of light became exceptionally dazzling.
At the same time, the flashlight beam was rapidly approaching them. Jiang Liu tensed slightly, waiting for the right moment to strike.
The person seemed to have anticipated her move, leaning back sharply as they closed in. A cool arm wrapped around Jiang Liu’s neck, and the salty sea breeze carried a familiar woody scent, causing Jiang Liu to freeze in place.
A lazy voice, tinged with a smile, said, “Don’t move.”
The flashlight was turned off. In this environment, Jiang Liu could barely see a thing, yet she calmly put away her dagger and raised her hands high in surrender. “I won’t move. Please spare me.”
Her soft tone almost made the person behind her laugh out loud. Jiang Liu could only feel an unsteady breath brush against her neck, but the person quickly suppressed their amusement and cleared their throat, feigning seriousness. “Stop fooling around. Walk forward.”
With that, they tugged on Jiang Liu’s arm, leading her forward as if guiding a blind person.
Jiang Liu had already recognized the voice. Her earlier defensiveness had long since vanished, and for a rare moment, her heart completely relaxed. She truly didn’t watch where she was going, letting this person lead the way.
Yang Caisi curved her lips into a silent smile, not forgetting to shoot a cool glance at the other three.
Tang Ruo and the others couldn’t see clearly, but Gao Yuan, whose vision as a Mermaid was superior to a normal person’s, saw it all perfectly. He couldn’t help but twitch the corner of his mouth.
I can’t watch this! Can’t these two be more mindful of the situation?!
Despite his internal complaints, the tension that had gripped him since he arrived finally eased. He let out a long sigh, wrapped an arm around Jiang He, and raised an eyebrow. “Looks like it’s someone we know. Let’s go, let’s go.”
Jiang Liu completely relaxed, relying entirely on Yang Caisi to move forward. She wasn’t worried at all that this person would lead her astray, feeling an unusual sense of peace. She had intended to play along with the act, but when she spoke, her words were laced with a smile. “Weren’t you being punished?”
“I was worried about you, so I wanted to come and check,” Yang Caisi said, her tone gentle as she tidied Jiang Liu’s damp hair.
Noticing that the other three were still far behind, she raised a hand and took off Jiang Liu’s dark sunglasses. She leaned down and placed a fleeting, light kiss on her bright eyes.
Jiang Liu felt an inexplicable blush creep up her face and gently pushed her away. Her vision cleared, and she realized it wasn’t that there were no lights nearby, but that Yang Caisi had turned off most of the scattered flashlights on the ground.
Three or four players lay on the ground, unconscious.
The two of them stopped walking. Jiang Liu noticed a makeshift tent nearby, where a person was furtively peeking at them. When they realized she had seen them, they didn’t hide but instead waved excitedly at her.
“I’m over here!” The voice was clear and lively. It was Tang Rui.
Tang Ruo heard her brother’s voice and hurried forward to check on him, but Tang Rui stopped her, looking a little embarrassed. “Sis, I’m fine.”
He grinned and pointed at Yang Caisi. “She showed up right after I told you my location. I took a look and thought, hey, isn’t that Sister Jiang’s girlfriend?”
A series of violent coughs came from the side. It was Gao Yuan, who had been trailing behind.
The heavy expression he had worn on the way had vanished, replaced by a look of speechlessness and amusement. He interjected sarcastically, “Girlfriend, oh…”
Jiang Liu and Yang Caisi both rolled their eyes in unison.
Gao Yuan flinched and ducked behind the tent, shaking his head. “Who was it that said you two weren’t a thing before?”
“If you don’t know how to talk, you can just shut up,” Yang Caisi glared at him, adopting the authoritative demeanor she used at work in the system. In the past, Gao Yuan would have immediately fallen silent, but now, in a rare display of courage, he not only wasn’t afraid but even had the nerve to mutter, “All you know is how to be fierce. If you’ve got the guts, why don’t you try being fierce in front of her?”
Yang Caisi was speechless. “…?”
What’s going on? Has this guy’s verbal sparring skill leveled up after just a few days?
Watching the three of them banter as if no one else was around, Tang Ruo’s brow couldn’t help but twitch. “Shouldn’t we be getting down to business?”
Her words brought the conversation back on track. Jiang Liu cleared her throat and turned to Tang Rui. “You were imprisoned here? What about the others?”
Tang Rui gestured for them to enter the tent, where another person was already waiting inside.
“Hi, we meet again,” Zhang Zhong said, giving Jiang Liu a harmless smile.
“Shortly after we approached the island, a side quest option suddenly appeared in our minds. I figured you guys must have done something,” Tang Rui said, pointing to a few small stools inside the tent and motioning for them to sit down and talk.
He had heard Jiang Liu talk about the scale, so he guessed it was related and chose to help the Mermaids without hesitation.
However, the remaining crew members and some of the people on the island didn’t know what was going on. They just felt the atmosphere was extremely strange and insisted on sending Xiao Ya home and leaving.
Because of this, the two sides started arguing. The islanders initially found their behavior suspicious and wanted to capture them to feed to the Mermaids. It was only after Tang Rui’s persistent persuasion that they gave up the idea, but they still hadn’t fully earned their trust and were temporarily detained here, forbidden to leave.
“Xiao Ya and the others are locked in that warehouse over there. Zhang Zhong and I snuck out.”
He pointed to a tin-roofed building not far away. It looked like it had been there for many years, weathered by the elements. The colored steel on the roof was almost completely rusted, and the wide gaps in it would probably turn the place into a waterfall on rainy days.
“There’s a hole near here,” Tang Rui said, jogging ahead to lead the way while explaining breathlessly, “I crawled out through the hole.”
Jiang Liu glanced down and couldn’t help but click her tongue.
He called it a hole, but it was actually just a narrow gap formed where two sheets of tin had curled up. Tang Rui and the others had pried it open with tools, and a person could barely squeeze through by lying flat on the ground.
Seeing this, she noticed that Tang Rui’s arms and legs were covered in scrapes, looking bloody and caked with mud. Yet, he was grinning as if nothing was wrong, seemingly feeling no pain at all.
The people nearby had already been knocked out by Yang Caisi. Jiang Liu fumbled around on her person for a moment and pulled out a hairpin to pick the lock.
A voice soon came from inside. “Is that you, Brother Zhang?”
The voice was muffled and sounded weak. Jiang Liu kicked the door open and discovered that there were quite a few players inside.
Besides the ones she had seen on the island before, there were also some unfamiliar faces. Their arms and faces were injured, suggesting that it hadn’t been as simple as Tang Rui described. Besides verbal arguments, they had probably fought as well.
The bright light of the powerful flashlight made several people raise their hands to shield their eyes. It was Xiao Ya, who had been thrown into a corner, who cried out in pleasant surprise, “Is that you?”
Jiang Liu grunted in acknowledgment. Knowing that this group consisted of players who didn’t want to take on the side quest, she pursed her lips and looked at Tang Rui. “Where are the speedboat keys?”
Tang Rui sighed and spread his hands, his tone a little troubled.
“They were snatched. I don’t know who has them.”
Yang Caisi patted Jiang Liu’s shoulder. “I have spares here.”
Gu Ran’s boats all had fixed serial numbers, so of course, there wouldn’t be only one key.
She took out two keys from her pocket and tossed them to Zhang Zhong, speaking quickly. “Take her back to the beach, and your mission will be complete.”
Zhang Zhong felt the cold keys in his hand, his mind still a bit slow to react. He let out a hesitant “ah.” “The NPC hasn’t…”
Before he could finish, he saw Jiang Liu walk past the crowd and reach Xiao Ya in a few steps.
The girl’s face was pale. The initial joy had been fleeting, replaced by dejection and loss. She leaned against the corner, completely lost in thought, as if her dream had been shattered. She had never expected the legendary Lucky Island to be like this.
Jiang Liu patted her hand reassuringly and discreetly slipped the bottle of medicine into her palm. “Don’t worry. Your mother’s illness will be cured after you go back.”
Feeling the hard object in her palm, Xiao Ya’s eyes widened, and she started to say something, but Jiang Liu gently covered her mouth and shook her head slightly.
A figure suddenly inserted themselves between the two. Yang Caisi’s cool voice sounded nearby. “You should all leave quickly, before they wake up.”
As she spoke, she naturally took the hand Jiang Liu was holding Xiao Ya with. Her grip was a little tight, causing Jiang Liu to look up, only to see the back of her head.
It dawned on her belatedly. Could Yang Caisi be jealous?
Unfortunately, this wasn’t the right time or place. The nearby players were helping each other up, preparing to leave. The sound of hurried footsteps and swaying flashlight beams filled the air. Jiang Liu’s eyes shifted, and she extended a finger to draw circles in Yang Caisi’s warm palm.
The muscle at the base of Yang Caisi’s thumb tensed for a moment before relaxing. She squeezed Jiang Liu’s hand tighter and let out a soft snort through her nose.
The sound of the speedboat starting was too loud and would likely alert the nearby players soon. Tang Rui jumped up and down before climbing onto the roof, his tone a bit serious. “Head east from here. That’s where the iron cages holding the Mermaids are. There are at least seventy or eighty of them, and they won’t let me get close.”
To the right of the iron cages was the resting area for the island’s players, about thirty or so of them, with regular patrols outside.
As for straight ahead, which was the tallest and most luxurious building on the entire island, it was a clearly renovated two-story building where the lab personnel gathered. The island’s main control console was in there.
Jiang Liu gazed into the distance for a moment, her brow furrowing slightly.
Looking down from above, there were countless buildings like this tin-roofed house. Why were they imprisoned here?
In terms of location, it was neither convenient for guarding nor for punishment. It didn’t serve the purpose of a penalty at all. It was even very close to the sea. If they could find the keys, no one would notice if they escaped in the middle of the night.
Besides—the path they now had to take to complete their mission was remarkably simple and direct, as if someone was blatantly pointing the way, welcoming their arrival.
Was it Zhang Xiaochen?
Jiang Liu looked down in Jiang He’s direction, her expression gradually becoming grave.
Yang Caisi had jumped up at some point and was standing beside her, also staring silently at the central building. Recalling her own suspicions, Jiang Liu couldn’t help but look up and say, “Zhang…”
Before she could finish her sentence, a deafening alarm suddenly blared across the entire island. Countless lights below slowly lit up, rapidly converging on their location.