Translator: Cinder Translations
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"Chief! Chief!" someone at the back of the group shouted.
The blonde man turned around, and the one shouting was a man in a leather jacket, with a bag slung over his shoulder, containing a few dart-like objects with sharp tips reflecting a cold light.
Jiang Cheng and the young master looked toward the man.
The man seemed panicked, his face pale. "Chief," he said, not even glancing at Jiang Cheng and the others, just staring intently at the blonde man, his pupils trembling. "Listen!"
The previously noisy crowd suddenly quieted, and Jiang Cheng and the others held their breath in unison.
They didn't notice anything, nor did they hear anything. It was just that the atmosphere in Blackstone Town had become so eerie that it infected them all.
Gradually, the blonde man seemed to sense something, and his pupils suddenly contracted into narrow slits.
"How come it's here so quickly this time?" another burly man beside the blonde man said, trembling in fear, his outfit shaking along with his body.
The young master slightly lifted his head, looking at the blonde man. Before he could speak, the blonde man suddenly looked at him, and for a brief moment, their gazes met. The young master's brows furrowed even more deeply.
"It's here," the blonde man suddenly said.
The little girl patted the tall man holding her arm, seemingly trying to comfort him. Then, she cast a scrutinizing gaze at the blonde man.
She didn't like people who played tricks, nor did she enjoy being dragged into a rhythm others had set up without seeing any signs of danger beforehand. It made her feel foolish.
"Who's here?" the little girl said calmly. "Please be clear."
Her voice rang out like a breath of fresh air. Upon hearing her calming tone, the Fatty found his breath easing considerably.
But the blonde man was clearly flustered. Without even looking at the little girl, he turned toward the young master and said, "We have to leave. You all take care, and listen!"
He quickly turned back around, his voice urgent, "To break its curse, you must ensure that the light in the lighthouse doesn't go out. Only when the light from there is rekindled can its anger be dispelled!"
"You all have a chance to survive!"
Before the Chief could finish his sentence, the people behind him had already run off, and some were so far gone that even their silhouettes had disappeared, leaving only torches flickering in the darkness.
The torches floated like ghosts in the dark, swaying, ready to be swallowed by the sound of the waves at any moment.
The blonde man, who had introduced himself as the acting Chief of Blackstone Town, also ran toward the brightly lit city on the sea, moving as quickly as the others.
Soon, the torches merged into distant specks of light, and it became impossible to tell who was who.
The Fatty reflected on the blonde man's panic and the townsfolk's fear. It didn't seem like they were pretending. He instinctively turned his head to ask the doctor's opinion.
But as soon as he saw the doctor's eyes, he froze.
Jiang Cheng calmly gazed at the city on the sea. The faint light in his eyes flickered, reflecting the image of the city. But the Fatty found it strange that through Jiang Cheng's eyes, the city appeared much clearer than what he had seen.
The Fatty was momentarily stunned.
Only when Jiang Cheng shifted his gaze did he catch the Fatty staring at him. The Fatty immediately snapped back to reality, and his first reaction was to swallow.
"Tsk," Jiang Cheng glanced at him sideways and said with his usual intonation, "I told you someone was spying on me while I was sleeping. Got you now, didn't I?"
The Fatty nearly cried. "Doctor, can you be more serious?" He pointed at the sea in the distance and said, "Didn't you hear what that blonde guy leading them said? We're cursed. If the lighthouse flame goes out, we're all done for."
At this moment, the young master approached. He hesitated for a moment and asked, "Did you hear any sounds just now?"
"No."
"No."
The little girl, still holding the tall man's hand, walked over. Due to her height, her hand had to be raised in the air to accommodate the man's height.
The tall man seemed to realize that it was because of him that everyone was exposed earlier. He hunched down, moving cautiously like a cat, staying behind the little girl as if her small frame could shield him from being noticed.
The Fatty glanced back and forth at this odd pair, and a thought suddenly crossed his mind. It seemed that the little girl wasn't holding onto a person but rather a pet—one that was quite clingy.
Once they stopped, the little girl shook her head at Jiang Cheng and the others, saying, "I didn't hear anything either."
But from the earlier scene, it was clear that the blonde man and the townspeople were startled by some kind of sound, and they seemed to be terrified of it. They even fled before the Chief could finish speaking.
"I don't think they're afraid of the sound," the young master said. "I think they're afraid of whatever made that sound."
He paused, glancing toward the sea, and slowly said, "Didn't he say it's here?"
The young master had a talent for expression. He wasn't using any fancy techniques, but simply stating the facts in a way that made people feel at ease.
The same words spoken by him seemed easier to accept.
"The 'it' he refers to is the key," he exhaled briefly. "It might even be the source of the curse."
"So, what should we do now?" the Fatty asked. "Like they said, keep the lighthouse light from going out?"
After saying this, the Fatty paused, then lowered his voice in a tentative tone, as if suggesting something, "But I think those people are strange, and their origin is suspicious. What if they're ghosts, trying to trick us?"
A city suddenly appearing in the vast ocean, a group of townsfolk visiting late at night with torches, an unknown curse, an empty and ruined enormous building, and the 'it' that the townspeople dreaded.
If these things weren't happening right in front of them, people would just take them as bizarre Nordic myths or the poor creations of novelists.
Everything unfolding before their eyes had overturned their existing perceptions of the mission, at least for Jiang Cheng and the Fatty.
Based on previous assumptions, everything in the mission had happened in the real world, but now…
"Should we go back first?" The Fatty swallowed nervously and suggested.
As Jiang Cheng and the others started walking toward the hidden door, the little girl holding the tall man suddenly stopped. She turned around, looking at the obedient man behind her.
The man tightened his grip on her hand, even causing her some pain.
In the next moment, the man leaned over and cautiously whispered in her ear, "Sister," he said softly, "I heard the sound they mentioned."
(End of the Chapter)
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Translated 4 Series, 1.65K+ Chapters and 2.01M+ Words.