Chapter 69.1 – Atsha (1)
The next morning, while Jiang Yujin was waiting for the flight with three high school students, his gossip buddy called to share some big melon.
The gossip was juicy and explosive this time. Everyone in the SIU was secretly enjoying it. Although there hadn’t been any progress so far, it was still a piece of good gossip. His gossip buddy couldn’t wait to share it.
Jiang Yujin, sitting comfortably, asked curiously, “What’s the story?”
On the other end, Xu Gao spoke in a hushed tone like a conspirator, “You don’t know, right? Team Captain Xu might have found himself a partner!”
“?”
Jiang Yujin: “Is that so?”
Xu Gao continued to share the details of the incident that happened that day. Jiang Yujin listened, occasionally responding with a couple of words.
As the other side spoke, he suddenly gasped, prompting Jiang Yujin to ask what happened.
“…I told him that the cat in his hands was so ugly, and he corrected me, saying it’s a dog. He called that ugly thing cute!”
“Do you know how vengeful this person is? During the mission, he made me go to the most dangerous basement. There were terrifying mutants there. Luckily, I ran fast, just got scraped a bit. I’m applying medicine now, hiss—”
Jiang Yujin: “How is it just a scrape?”
Xu Gao: “?”
Xu Gao doubted whether he misheard, asking his gossip-buddy to repeat.
Jiang Yujin: “Wish you a speedy recovery.”
Xu Gao: “Thank you.”
It seemed he indeed misheard.
When it was time for boarding and ticket inspection, the gossip session ended, and Jiang Yujin put away his phone and stood up.
He carried a backpack containing only personal items, looking completely at ease from head to toe. Next to him, a high schooler had a bag on his back and carried a suitcase in each hand, tirelessly moving forward.
Once on the plane, during the first half of the journey, a few high school students who had just finished their exams and woke up early seized the opportunity to catch up on sleep, while the adult opened Xiaoxiaole on his device.
In the second half of the flight, as the plane had already vaguely revealed the South Sea beneath the clouds, a few high school students peered down while the adult guardian peacefully closed his eyes and began to snore.
Upon landing, Jiang Yujin hadn’t fully awakened from his slumber. He walked somewhat dazed, almost stumbling over his own feet, but was steadied by a high schooler walking beside him.
In the morning, they set out, and by the time they reached the hotel for check-in, it was already noon.
After lunch, Boss Jiang, who had been busy all day, lay down in the room, while the three high school students took the opportunity to gather information nearby.
The coastline here was vast and beautiful, and the local area had rapidly developed its tourism industry in recent years, now bustling with tourists everywhere.
Amidst the crowd, Xiao Pang looked around, and his gaze finally settled on a restaurant. He didn’t continue walking forward.
Chen Jing also stopped, following his gaze, and happened to see several figures disappearing through the entrance of the restaurant.
The person walking in the middle was tall, dressed in a black shirt, wearing silver-rimmed glasses. Someone led the way in front, and others followed behind, giving off an imposing presence.
Xiao Pang frowned, somewhat uncertain, and asked, “Is that Lu Dongcheng?”
The figure looked similar, but this was far from A City, and they had heard that Lu Dongcheng was currently in A City conducting business. He shouldn’t be here.
Chen Jing said, “And Shi Bu.”
For a moment, they couldn’t figure out how these two were connected. Zhang Xin also looked over, but didn’t catch a glimpse of any figures.
Chen Jing withdrew his gaze and said, “Let’s first find information about Atsha.”
Asking tourists didn’t yield much, so they tried to approach the locals. The locals were friendly, but their expressions changed when they heard “Atsha.” They just shook their heads, claiming not to know.
The information blockade was still effective, and Atsha seemed to have become a taboo word in this area.
After being rejected several times in the afternoon, they failed to find information about Atsha. Instead, they learned of a recent missing person case a few days ago. A girl had gone for a walk by the seaside and never returned. Local police had been searching the beach and nearby areas for several days, but there was still no sign of her.
With no progress, the group sighed in frustration. Zhang Xin looked towards a nearby sea supply store, seeing an elderly man with graying hair sitting behind the counter. She suggested, “Let’s ask there.”
This supply store was quite a distance from other shops, with fewer customers inside—only four or five people. The elderly man with graying hair sat behind the counter, half-closing his eyes and seemingly lost in thought, paying little attention to the customers, as if daydreaming.
Before Xiao Pang could approach the elderly man to inquire about Atsha, Chen Jing’s hand moved slightly, stopping him.
“… There must be a lot of good stuff inside Atsha. After all, it’s a country. Finding it would make us wealthy for a lifetime.”
“But that damn coordinate is so hard to find, and that girl…”
“That’s enough.”
The man with small eyes who was still talking was interrupted by the scar-faced man next to him.
This scar-faced man always looked terrifying no matter when, and the man with small eyes was a bit displeased at being stopped halfway through his words. However, after glancing around, he silently stopped talking.
Not far from them, a woman with dyed blonde hair glanced at them. Her gaze lingered on the man with small eyes, and she said, “We’ll eventually die because of your big mouth.”
After getting what they wanted to buy, they turned towards the counter. The three people who were originally at the counter had shifted their gaze away before they looked over, starting to assess the store.
The scar-faced group consisted of four people, including a big guy who hadn’t spoken a word from the beginning. After paying, they left the store, and once outside, they started arguing. However, the content of their argument couldn’t be heard inside the store.
The elderly man who had been half-closing his eyes behind the counter finally opened them. He accepted the money handed to him by the group and said, “Those who disturb Atsha will surely pay the price.”
The three people looked at the old man.
He had lived here for too long, witnessing the prosperity and disappearance of Atsha.
After Atsha disappeared, there were many people with intentions similar to those just now. However, most of them found nothing, left in regret, and the rest simply disappeared at sea.
As time passed, the number of disappearances increased, and rumors spread. From the initial belief that those disturbing the dormant Atsha would die, it evolved into the current curse associated with mentioning Atsha.
The three high school students exchanged glances.
No wonder those people earlier changed their expressions when Atsha was mentioned. There was this layer of reason behind it.
They had initially wanted to ask the old man more questions, but he had completely closed his eyes, clearly unwilling to continue speaking.
The three of them said goodbye and left the store. Once outside, their expressions instantly changed.
Chen Jing said, “I’ll go find those people from earlier; you guys check out other places.”
*
After spending the afternoon lying in the hotel, Jiang Yujin finally woke up. He stood on the balcony, feeling the wind outside, and noticed that the three high school students hadn’t returned yet. Eventually, he decided to go out for a stroll.
He put on his usual wrinkled shirt, wore beach shorts, and slipped into flip-flops before wandering onto the beach, seamlessly blending into the crowd.
The area was crowded, with children playing around. Eventually, he changed direction, heading towards the less populated edge of the cliff.
The cliff was steep and high, and no one would come to this side. The wind here was the strongest, creating a sound as it passed through the gaps in the rocks.
Half-crouching on the rocks, the strong wind blew his hair back. Jiang Yujin lowered his head and saw four people on the deserted beach, trying to launch a boat.
Unlike the other side with a gentle beach, this area was filled with rocks and overgrown weeds. It wasn’t a place favored by tourists, making it suitable for some specific activities.
As the wind rustled through his hair, Jiang Yujin, at the highest point of this area, glanced down to see a substantial figure among the rocks behind the four individuals.
Faint footsteps approached from behind. He withdrew his gaze, turned his head, and said, “You’ve been following for so long, and you finally decided to show yourself.”
?who is it