"By the seaside?" Kong Yue repeated the phrase in confusion.
"Exactly, by the seaside," Yan Island nodded and explained, "For some unknown reason, the temperature near the shore dropped sharply, and by last week, the entire area—about 700 to 800 meters—was completely frozen over. The fishermen and residents nearby had to evacuate. This whole situation is strange. The local authorities tried to investigate but found nothing. Non-sorcerers can't even get close to the area, so they suspect there's a cursed womb developing under the ice."
"A 700-meter-wide ice formation... That's not something an ordinary curse or cursed womb could create. It might even be a special-grade curse. But why at the seaside?" Zhang Yiyi voiced her confusion.
"That's exactly the problem. If we can guess that, others can too. If there's a special-grade cursed womb, no regular organization or group would dare attempt exorcism, no matter how much the reward is," Yan Island stroked his chin and continued, "As for why it's happening at the seaside, that's a mystery. This kind of curse is extremely rare."
After thinking for a moment, Hayashi spoke up, "I don't think this is that simple. The area could be very dangerous."
It was an intuition. He didn't know if there was a direct correlation between curses and elements like ice, but he had never encountered such a phenomenon before.
Elements, like metal, wood, water, fire, earth, wind, and lightning, usually had nothing to do with curses. But since the ice was forming by the sea, it was clear that whatever curse was manifesting had a connection to water and ice. Its strength was unknown.
Everyone else understood this without Hayashi needing to say it, which is why no one had dared to investigate so far.
However, if left unchecked, the curse inside could grow stronger. If it matured, there might not even be a fight—nearby residents could be wiped out.
"I think we shouldn't rush into this. Let's wait and see if any other organizations take the job first. The reward is high, after all," Yan Island said, clearly pleased with the payment offered.
"How much?" Kong Yue asked.
"It's enough for the five of us to eat instant noodles for a year," Yan Island replied. His joke lightened the serious mood instantly.
Even Hayashi couldn't help but laugh. Measuring payment in instant noodles was certainly an amusing way to quantify things.
But, honestly, the amount of noodles five people could eat in a year was substantial, especially if you factored in breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It wasn't a small sum.
"I'm in!" Zhang Yiyi slapped her thigh and declared.
"What? Yiyi, aren't you going to think about it first?" Yan Island had wanted to hear everyone's opinion, but the strongest person among them had already decided to take the mission. Naturally, that would influence the others.
Jie Zhiyong immediately interjected, "I say we should pass on this one. Only three of us can fight, and Island and I won't be of much help."
"Three is enough. It was going to be just two," Zhang Yiyi dismissed Jie Zhiyong's concerns, showing no interest in his contribution. "This mission will be tougher than usual, but if we run into any major problems, we can always retreat."
Hayashi, however, shook his head. "Have you considered what might happen if that curse can cast Domain Expansion?"
His words sent a wave of silence across the room.
Hayashi was mostly trying to scare them a little. He knew curses that could use Domain Expansion were extremely rare, but it wasn't impossible.
After a brief pause, Zhang Yiyi broke the silence. "That's definitely not possible. The place has only been frozen for a little over a week, and we're not even sure if there's a special-grade curse there. As for Domain Expansion, that's absolutely out of the question!"
"I agree. The probability is practically zero," Kong Yue nodded. They had yet to encounter a special-grade curse with Domain Expansion, and those that could use it were extremely powerful and well-documented.
The likelihood of encountering such a curse was incredibly low.
"Hayashi, if you have concerns, feel free to voice them," Yan Island noticed Hayashi's hesitation. He knew everyone in the room had some level of anxiety about facing non-human curses.
While Yan Island acknowledged that Hayashi's strength wasn't weak, he was still just a student and lacked real-world experience in certain areas.
Hayashi's concern wasn't baseless—he had indeed encountered a special-grade curse that could use Domain Expansion before. That's why he was being extra cautious.
But perhaps he was just overthinking. There was no way his luck would be bad enough to run into another special-grade curse with Domain Expansion so soon.
"I don't have any objections. If everyone agrees to go, then I'll go as well," Hayashi ultimately nodded. This wasn't a solo mission. If it were, he wouldn't take the risk. Not until he had mastered more jujutsu.
He didn't know Kong Yue's exact strength, but since he was second only to Zhang Yiyi, he couldn't be weak. With three of them, they should be able to handle a special-grade curse, even if they encountered one.
"Alright, it's settled then. We'll head out next week," Zhang Yiyi clapped her hands and stood up.
"I think we should go tomorrow, not next week," Hayashi suggested, giving his reasoning. "If it's a special-grade curse, the longer we wait, the more dangerous it will become. If we let it grow, none of us might make it back."
Kong Yue shot Hayashi a glance. "You seem quite experienced."
"I wouldn't say experienced. I just think it's better to be safe than sorry," Hayashi replied. It was only Friday, but anything could happen over the weekend. Who knew what might develop by Monday?
"Hayashi's right. There's a saying: 'the longer you wait, the more dangerous it becomes.' We should listen to our ancestors, right?" Zhang Yiyi agreed with Hayashi's suggestion. "Let's go tomorrow."
"Alright, if that's the case, let's all get ready. After all, this is an unknown curse we're dealing with," Yan Island instructed before officially accepting the mission.
Meanwhile, in Hokkaido.
A man sat in front of his computer, suddenly becoming excited. He turned to a middle-aged man wearing a large gold chain and said, "Boss, someone accepted the job!"
"Really?" The boss had been stressed out for days. The strange phenomenon had occurred at his dock, and he had lost a lot of money. If this didn't get resolved soon, he would be bankrupt.
He had initially hired people to investigate, but they couldn't even get close to the ice before freezing up about 40 or 50 meters from it. They were at a loss.
That's when the boss reached out to some connections and found out it might be something supernatural, but no one wanted to investigate further.
Frustrated, the boss turned to the internet, posting a job and offering a reward.
But after three or four days, no one had accepted the job. People asked questions but never followed up. The boss couldn't afford to wait any longer. Every minute that passed, he lost more money. So, he increased the reward.
After raising the price, more inquiries came in, but still, no one accepted the job. Finally, out of desperation, he raised the reward one more time. He had expected to wait another day, but within half a day, someone had taken the job.
"It's true! They said they'll be here tomorrow!"
"Quick, contact them right away. Even if they want more money, give it to them. I can't afford to wait any longer!"