Chapter 69.2 – Atsha (1)
The person behind him, unsurprisingly, was Lu Dongcheng.
Lu Dongcheng unbuttoned one of the shirt buttons and asked, “When did you notice?”
“When you followed me to the beach.”
Jiang Yujin expressed his genuine thoughts, “You’re really a freak, you know that?” Taking photos and tracking was a relentless pursuit.
Previously, he had heard from Yuan Sanshui that Shi Bu was on a business trip here. Unexpectedly, it turned out that he was on a business trip with this person.
Lu Dongcheng took the comment as a compliment and accepted it.
Jiang Yujin asked, “What are you doing here this time?”
This was the first time he had proactively inquired about Lu Dongcheng’s business. Lu Dongcheng’s lips slightly curled, and he said, “Business.”
“Squat down, don’t let the people below spot us.”
Jiang Yujin finally glanced at the person beside him and said, “Are you going to Atsha?”
Lu Dongcheng crouched down, first glancing at the four people below who were still busy, then nodding, “There’s something I want over there.”
“It’s dangerous over there.” Jiang Yujin reached out, patting the other’s arm, blatantly ignoring the visible muscles beneath the shirt. He said, “Look at you, so fragile. Everyone around you is usually office workers. It’s dangerous to be out and about like this.”
Lu Dongcheng leaned in, smiling as he listened to Jiang Yujin’s remarks.
Finally, Jiang Yujin drew a conclusion, “That’s it. I think you need a bodyguard.”
He rolled up the sleeves of his shirt, attempting to showcase his bodyguard skills, as if implying that he had a reliable bodyguard right beside him.
To be honest, his arms and legs were just like that, not as sturdy as Lu Dongcheng’s, with a hint of paleness. He was truly a lazy person who loved to stay at home.
However, the skilled negotiator Jiang successfully became a bodyguard, negotiating an hourly rate of a modest ten thousand. With the goal achieved, he found the person next to him much more agreeable and asked, “When do we leave?”
Lu Dongcheng said, “Tomorrow morning… afternoon at three, at the harbor.”
While Jiang Yujin listened to him, he observed the four people below securing the boat and opening the compartment usually used for fish.
Inside the compartment was a girl wearing shorts and a short-sleeved shirt, her skin tanned from constant exposure to the sun. Her eyes were closed. Scar-faced bent down, as if confirming whether she was still alive. After confirming, he locked the compartment door and the group left.
When Jiang Yujin saw the person who had been standing among the rocks heading towards the boat, he stood up, clapped his hands, and left directly.
Lu Dongcheng, left behind, continued to enjoy the breeze before finally getting up.
On his way back, he coincidentally met Shi Bu and informed him, “We’re leaving tomorrow afternoon at three.”
Shi Bu, straightforward as always, said what was on his mind, “Didn’t you say it was nine in the morning before?”
Lu Dongcheng loosened his tie and said, “The bodyguard can’t wake up in the morning.”
*
The next day, before dawn, or perhaps not long after it turned dark, there was activity in the hotel corridor. The three high school students quietly left through the hotel’s main entrance.
The security guard at the entrance was somewhat surprised to see the three individuals, probably not expecting anyone to be up so early. At this hour, even if they were planning to watch the sunrise on the beach, it was considered early.
The security guard kindly reminded them that there was still a long time until sunrise. The three students thanked him and still left the hotel.
The previous day, Chen Jing had followed the four individuals who left the supplies store. Xiao Pang and Zhang Xin managed to acquire a boat and some potentially useful scuba equipment. The process had some twists and turns, but the results were relatively good.
The progress this time was surprisingly quick, thanks to the four individuals from the supplies store. After they left, Chen Jing rescued the girl from the boat, who turned out to be the one who had gone missing earlier. According to the girl, these four people interrogated her, discovered that she knew the coordinates of Atsha, deceived her into coming to that deserted coastline, and, after extracting the coordinates, left her there. They didn’t trust her to keep the secret, so they confined her in the boat’s compartment, believing she might still be useful.
Upon rescuing her, and after confirming that Chen Jing was just a high schooler interested in investigating the Vanished City, she revealed the coordinates.
Despite knowing that Chen Jing was asking for the coordinates for investigative purposes, she reiterated several times, warning them about the monsters near Atsha. Now, the girl was being protected at the police station, and the boat by the shore had disappeared. Perhaps those four individuals had realized the girl was gone or simply didn’t care. Either way, they likely headed to Atsha.
Xiao Pang was the one piloting the boat, and it could only be said that it was operational but far from being well-handled.
In any case, Zhang Xin, sitting at the back, dared not move.
According to the coordinates provided by the girl and comparing it with the map, Atsha was approaching the center of the South Pacific. The surroundings were vast open seas.
The existence of the island itself was a miracle, and it was no wonder that no one immediately noticed its disappearance.
The weather was excellent that day, with slight waves on the sea within normal limits. However, coupled with Xiao Pang’s less-than-pleasant boat skills, it wasn’t the most comfortable ride. With three people in the boat, only Xiao Pang, the one steering, occasionally spoke.
His boat-handling skills were mediocre, but fast. After witnessing a magnificent sunrise at sea, another boat appeared in their line of sight.
Although the distance was significant, Zhang Xin squinted for a long time before finally making out four faint figures on the distant boat, with one particularly large figure standing out prominently.
There was no cover on the sea surface, so anything that appeared would be clearly visible. The small-eyed man on the distant boat also noticed the situation behind them, feeling that there was something indistinct. Originally intending to say something, he was interrupted by the blonde woman sitting beside him, who lowered her head to look at the sea, somewhat puzzled, and said, “Has it become darker below?”
When she looked earlier, the sea was still blue, and she could vaguely see the fish inside. Now it had turned ink blue, and nothing else was visible.
“It’s probably your imagination,” the small-eyed man said. “Let’s not worry about that for now. There seems to be someth—”
Before he could finish his sentence, the sea began to churn uneasily, and the boat rose and fell with the undulating surface.
Something was amiss.
“Ugh—”
Not far away, the sea spouted upwards, growing higher and higher. When something broke through the sea surface, a loud sound reverberated, gradually spreading towards the sky. The entire field of vision on the boat was replaced by a black color with water stains.
The woman with blonde hair widened her eyes, and the entire pupils were filled with the giant silhouette.
It wasn’t her imagination earlier.
The darkness below the water just now wasn’t a coincidence; this thing had been beneath them. Due to its colossal size, she even mistakenly thought there was an issue with the seawater.
A colossal eyeball, several times larger than their boat, stared directly at them, unmistakably locking eyes with them.
Scar-faced cursed, “Why the hell didn’t anyone mention that there are monsters here?!”
The enormous creature leaping out of the water caused the waves to rise steadily. As the boat was tossed upwards, gradually tilting, the bulky man pulled out a gun from beside him and aimed it at the enormous pupil.
The bullet penetrated the eye but seemed to merge into the ocean without any effect, without the slightest change.
On the rising waves, the small-eyed man looked towards the direction where he had noticed something earlier, finally discovering another boat over there with three people aboard.
Or rather, three little devils who appeared frail.
The small-eyed man quickly turned to Scarface, who was steering the boat, and said, “Go over there, lure this monster towards those little devils.”
After the appearance of the colossal monster, Xiao Pang also saw a boat quickly approaching their side.
Zhang Xin frowned, “I’ve never seen this kind of strange species before.”
Not only had she not seen it, but she hadn’t even heard of it. Logically, strange species of this level should have been mentioned in the Game.
Chen Jing picked up a wooden board from the boat, raised his eyes to the enormous figure not far away, and said, “Zero’s headquarters should be here.”
If it was a new species, the only possibility was that it was created by Zero, perhaps placed here as a guardian.
Xiao Pang gripped the steering wheel, asking, “What’s the plan?”
The wooden board in Chen Jing’s hand gradually turned metallic. He said, “I’ll handle it. You guys watch the boat.”
The strange species was enormous, and they couldn’t even see its full form. The four people on the boat only felt the increasing pressure from behind. Eventually, they didn’t dare to look back, continuously heading towards the direction of the other boat.
As the distance grew shorter, something passed them by, leaping directly towards the monster behind them.
It was a person, wearing a wetsuit with an outer coat, the coat’s brim already wet from seawater. The person was also fast, passing them almost instantly.
With no time to look back, they continued rapidly towards another boat not far away.
After Chen Jing left the boat, to prevent the boat from being overturned by the monster, Xiao Pang also steered the boat away from the area.
“We can’t let them get away.”
Scarface shouted to the big guy, who understood his meaning. The gun in his hand was raised again, but this time aimed at the boat not far away.
Xiao Pang noticed the commotion and turned to look while steering the boat. Zhang Xin patted him, saying, “Just focus on driving the boat.”
A gunshot erupted from behind, and bullets quickly shot towards the boat. Zhang Xin turned around, and in an instant, flames erupted. The bullets, which were rapidly approaching, exploded in mid-air.
Before the smoke could dissipate, the big guy’s hand holding the gun trembled, and the small-eyed man’s already small eyes widened.
*
Around noon, Jiang Yujin woke up naturally after a good sleep, finding a set of clothes waiting for him.
The employer seemed quite considerate. Originally hired as a temporary worker, the employer even prepared a set for the bodyguard. After some picking and choosing, he put on a black shirt and trousers, looking like a temporary bodyguard with messy hair while getting ready.
The high school students were undoubtedly off doing their own thing. After getting ready and having breakfast, he still had time, so he leisurely walked to the harbor.
Some people were already waiting for him at the harbor, mostly dressed in suits, looking unusually serious.
Amidst the serious-looking crowd, an eccentric guy emerged. Shi Bu, dressed as an elite, eyes full of excitement, he was about to greet with a loud “Brother,” but he stopped under Jiang Yujin’s gaze.
That gaze was quite intimidating. Shi Bu felt wronged, but he refrained from speaking. Completely unconcerned about what others might think, he quickly approached and bombarded with questions, “Brother, what are you doing here?”, “Brother, have you eaten?”, “Brother, are you here to find me?”
An earful of “Brother, brother, brother,” made Jiang Yujin’s eye twitch.
Before he couldn’t resist the urge to physically silence the noise, someone put a hand on his shoulder, and there was a greeting from behind.
Without needing to look, he knew who was behind him. In a reflex, he twisted around to dislocate the hand. But before he did, he remembered his current job and casually let go of the grip, patting the other person’s sleeve as if dusting it off and as if nothing had happened.
