Chapter 302: An Unlucky Vacation (1)
Now that she’d finally come into some money, it was only natural to enjoy it while she could.
For the past two months, Old John had been running himself ragged dealing with the inheritance. Now that everything had finally been settled, Everly decided to take advantage of her free time and treat her grandfather to a vacation.
Also joining the trip were Misha and Orff.
Everly had wanted to invite Rebecca as well, but Rebecca declined. Summer was peak season for fortune-telling, she explained. Rather than going on vacation, she’d rather stay in the city and answer lovesick teenagers’ questions about romance. So Everly didn’t press the matter.
After a semester together, Misha and Orff’s relationship had steadily grown closer. One was quiet while the other was energetic; one was cool-headed while the other was warm and outgoing. They complemented each other perfectly. Whenever the three of them hung out together, Everly would occasionally have the strange feeling that she was “Steve.”
…Wait.
Maybe it wasn’t just a feeling.
Thinking back carefully, every time Everly showed up during one of the couple’s dates, Orff would shoot her secretive, resentful glances—too intimidated to actually complain, but obviously wishing she weren’t there.
Oh, so that’s how it was!
That brat Orff actually had the nerve to glare at her!
It wasn’t like she was deliberately playing third wheel. Misha was the one who invited her every time. Hmph!
After sulking for a while upon realizing the truth, Everly decided she should do her best to give her two friends plenty of opportunities to enjoy a romantic summer together.
As for the vacation destination, she’d already made up her mind.
If there was one thing that paired perfectly with summer, it was the ocean and the beach!
So the moment her inheritance came through, Everly spent a small fortune purchasing a seaside villa in Gilosha, complete with its own private beach.
The villa had been built only five years earlier. Its previous owner had transformed into a tent*cled octopus-like creature during the Gilosha Mutation Incident, slaughtered everyone else in the house, and then leapt into the sea, never to be seen again.
Because of that grim history, the villa was priced well below other comparable properties on the market. Everly wasn’t bothered by any of it. She had Rebecca inspect the house through her divinations, and after no problems were found, she bought it without hesitation.
In a way, it was also an investment.
Gilosha boasted a winding coastline and excellent natural harbors, making it a thriving metropolis for both commerce and tourism. Recently, however, the local real estate market had been depressed by the radiation sickness outbreak and the mutation incident. It was the perfect opportunity to buy at the bottom of the market. Everly was confident that once Gilosha had fully recovered from the disasters, the value of her property would continue to rise.
As an aside, worried that the expensive house might be damaged during one of those all-too-frequent horror-movie incidents, Everly also purchased comprehensive insurance for the villa after buying it.
The days passed amid eager anticipation until summer vacation finally arrived.
As soon as school let out, Everly, Misha, and Orff boarded a plane and wasted no time flying straight to Gilosha.
The moment they stepped off the plane, they spotted Old John among those waiting at the arrivals gate. He was dressed for vacation from head to toe—a bright Hawaiian shirt, loose shorts, and a pair of sunglasses clipped to his head—looking completely at ease.
He had previously remained in New Alder City to wrap up the final details of the inheritance. Once everything was settled, he checked the time, flew directly from there to Gilosha, and had already been staying at the villa for three days.
The villa was located in an upscale residential community with strict security. Visitors had to register at the entrance before being allowed inside, and a private security team hired by the homeowners’ association conducted regular patrols throughout the neighborhood.
In addition, at Everly’s request, the newly purchased villa had been equipped with a networked alarm system, door and window sensors, and 24-hour surveillance cameras. If an intruder broke in, the alarm would sound inside the house while an alert would simultaneously be sent to the Gilosha Police Department.
All in all, it was a villa that offered both excellent security and a high degree of privacy.
On top of that, Gilosha was currently in the post-catastrophe “safe period,” and the seaside was practically Everly’s home turf. The safety of this vacation was about as close to guaranteed as it could get, allowing everyone to relax and enjoy themselves without worry.
And that was exactly how things turned out.
After arriving at the villa and taking a short break, the four of them set up a barbecue on the beach just outside.
Each villa in the community was separated from the next by several hundred meters, providing excellent privacy while ensuring that, in the event of an emergency, no one would be completely isolated.
Along Gilosha’s coast in June, brilliant golden sunlight shimmered across the azure sea like molten gold. Dressed casually in shirts and shorts, the four lounged beneath a beach umbrella. Before them, skewers sizzled appetizingly over the grill, while chilled sparkling drinks sat within easy reach. Looking up, all they could see was the vast ocean stretching endlessly toward the horizon.
The salty sea breeze rustled the leaves in the courtyard, sweeping away the heat radiating from the barbecue. Everly stretched lazily toward the sea, feeling more relaxed than she had in a very long time.
This was what a vacation was supposed to be.
After lunch, the sun reached its fiercest.
Everly had no interest in baking under the midday sun, so she stayed indoors by the window, playing chess with her grandfather.
As for the other two…
While walking down the hallway, Everly happened to catch Orff, his face bright red, nervously sneaking over to knock on Misha’s bedroom door. A short while later, Misha came downstairs holding Orff’s hand and cheerfully announced that the two of them were going out for a walk. Then they hurried out the front door together.
It looked like they’d definitely come away from this vacation with plenty of happy memories.
Feeling just a little jealous, Everly played a few more games of chess indoors.
When the afternoon sun finally became less intense, she stood up, and she and Old John set off as well.
The tide had only recently gone out, leaving the beach damp and littered with stranded shrimp, crabs, and shellfish. Changing into sandals, the two of them grabbed a wooden bucket and a set of measuring tools before eagerly heading down to the shore to comb the tidal flats for seafood.
The state of Yanifly had very strict regulations regarding beachcombing and shellfish gathering.
Within the state, anyone aged sixteen or older who wanted to collect seafood from the shore was required to hold a local fishing license and comply with legal limits on the quantity and size of certain species. Sea urchins, for example, were limited to thirty-five per person per day, and each had to measure at least two inches in diameter. Anyone caught exceeding the limit could face fines, and in serious cases, even a trip to the police station.
Even though this was a gated community, fisheries enforcement officers still conducted inspections on the beach from time to time. Now that Everly was fabulously wealthy, there was no reason to invite trouble just to save a little money. Before coming on vacation, she had already gone online and paid for fishing licenses for all four of them.
To make sure this beachcombing trip would be especially rewarding, Everly had also quietly used a bit of her psychic power during high tide, asking the sea to send a few extra gifts ashore.
The result?
When she and Old John reached the beach, they were greeted by seafood everywhere they looked—plump rock crabs, spider crabs, unfamiliar species of shrimp, vibrantly colored fish, and more.
Since there were far too many protected species in the area to keep track of, neither Everly nor Old John had the patience to study the lengthy regulations. They simply collected the seafood they recognized as edible and delicious, while tossing everything unfamiliar back into the ocean.
Halfway through their harvest, Misha and Orff returned from their walk and joined in.
The four of them happily spent the rest of the afternoon filling their buckets with seafood. That evening, back in the villa’s kitchen, they cleaned and prepared their catch. Species best enjoyed in their natural flavor were steamed, while the stronger-smelling seafood was thrown together into one large pot. Everly then added a seafood seasoning mix she had ordered from an Asian supermarket, along with tomatoes, onions, carrots, potatoes, and whatever other vegetables they had on hand, turning it all into a hearty seafood stew.
The moment they lifted the lid after it had finished cooking, an irresistible aroma of fresh seafood filled the air.
The villa even had a seaside terrace overlooking the ocean.
At dusk, the four of them sat together on the terrace, sipping ice-cold drinks while enjoying their meal. They watched the setting sun flatten into a glowing orange disc, painting the sky in brilliant shades of crimson and gold. Upbeat rock music filled the air, blending with the rhythmic sound of the waves and the laughter and conversation of friends.
The scene couldn’t have been more relaxing.
On the first day of the vacation, Everly went to bed that night with a smile still lingering on her face.
On the second day, she built sandcastles, got to know some of the young people staying in nearby villas, and accepted their invitation to play several rounds of beach volleyball. Once again, she had an amazing time.
The third day had started out just as wonderfully.
Under the guidance of those same young neighbors, Everly tried surfing for the first time. To everyone’s astonishment, she blazed through the entire learning curve, going from complete beginner to skilled surfer in no time at all.
That evening, the four of them headed to a nearby fishing spot to try night fishing.
Perhaps Everly simply had a natural affinity for marine life. Even without using any of her abilities, her fishing rod seemed as though it had been coated with fish attractant. One beautiful and unusual fish after another bit her hook.
Unfortunately, most of those colorful fish happened to be on Yanifly State’s protected species list. So after removing the hook and snapping a few photos, Everly had no choice but to release them back into the sea.
Even so, the constant cycle of casting, hooking, and reeling in fish drew the intense envy of the surrounding anglers, many of whom hadn’t caught a single thing all night.
With all the praise and jealous admiration coming her way, Everly was just about ready to believe she was the greatest angler alive.
Unfortunately, just as she was thoroughly enjoying herself, Misha—who had been lazily lying at the neighboring fishing spot scrolling through her phone—suddenly sprang to her feet and frantically waved at Everly.
“This is bad! Everly, come here, quick!”
Keeping her voice low, Misha pulled Everly aside and shoved her phone into Everly’s hands.
Everly looked down and saw a video playing on the phone’s screen.
It had been filmed at night. Judging by the skyscrapers in the background, the location appeared to be a secluded alley somewhere in a bustling metropolis.
The entire video was shot from above. At first, the camera was zoomed out, and the person filming seemed to be at least five or six stories above the ground. Combined with the darkness and the distracting glow of the surrounding neon lights, all the viewer could make out were two blurry figures wrestling below.
Then the person filming zoomed in and refocused the camera, finally bringing the scene into clear view.
Two people were fighting.
One of them was broad-shouldered and powerfully built, with an inverted-triangle physique and bulging muscles covering his entire body. His face looked as though it had been eaten away by acid—pitted and scarred, with no eyelids, nose, or lips. His gaping nostrils and rows of exposed white teeth were permanently visible, giving him such a grotesque appearance that a single glance was enough to haunt someone’s nightmares.
He was wielding a chainsaw, frantically trying to carve up the person in front of him.
His opponent wore ragged, blood-spattered clothes and a plain white ceramic mask. In his hands was a gleaming machete. He deftly dodged the chainsaw’s attacks while seizing every opening to slash his opponent. Every time blood sprayed through the air, a delighted laugh escaped his throat.
That familiar outfit.
That innocent, carefree laughter.
That utterly deranged fighting style.
If that wasn’t Gary, then who else could it possibly be?