They didn't even know what Jessica actually wanted.
If it really was a human head...
Nan Yue shared her analysis with Su Qian, whose face turned completely pale.
"A head... a human head?"
She walked back in a daze, and Zhu Xi Ning let out a sigh.
They couldn't help with much, and she suspected there weren't even any balls on this ship.
John hadn't appeared the entire time, and they weren't sure if the adventure had actually ended.
It wasn't until Zhu Xi Ning returned to her room that night that she found a card slipped through the gap under the door.
"Distinguished explorers, congratulations on completing today's adventure. Tomorrow's adventure mission is: Find Amy."
Zhu Xi Ning fingered the card. Amy... the daughter of deaf Joseph, the girl who had secretly followed her father onto the ship but went missing and was never found?
As expected, not a single clue in this mission was redundant.
Su Qian hadn't returned yet, and Zhu Xi Ning was beginning to suspect something had happened to her.
But just as Zhu Xi Ning was about to fall asleep, the door creaked softly, and she immediately woke up.
"Su Qian?"
"Yeah, I'm back. Sorry to disturb you."
The lights weren't on in the room, so Zhu Xi Ning could only hear Su Qian's voice. She seemed fine.
Zhu Xi Ning didn't sense any danger or dissonance either.
Since she was fine, why did she only return now?
And... how did she survive Jessica's trial?
Su Qian's voice sounded somewhat exhausted. "I'm going to take a shower. You should rest first."
Zhu Xi Ning gave a brief response and then kept her eyes open in the darkness.
She smelled the thick scent of blood coming from Su Qian.
...
Everyone woke up early the next day. Unlike Jessica, few people knew of Amy's existence.
If Nan Yue hadn't perfectly completed Joseph's adventure that day and prompted John to say a few extra words, they wouldn't even have known Amy was Joseph's daughter.
Unlike Jessica, the existing clues suggested Amy had been missing for a long time, and no one had ever found her again.
If Amy were that easy to find, Joseph wouldn't have been trapped on the Devil's Bay for so long.
All the scavengers spent most of the day turning the cabins upside down, but still, no one could find Amy.
"Let's split up and search."
Nan Yue felt a bit helpless. "It might be another solo mission."
Nan Yue thought for a moment and reminded them, "Joseph is deaf, and no one else knows his daughter exists. The only person who would be looking for her is Joseph."
Zhu Xi Ning instantly understood her meaning. "So you mean our identity in this adventure is Joseph, Amy's father."
Nan Yue nodded and looked at Gu Xiang Kai. "Joseph is deaf and can't speak."
Gu Xiang Kai nodded. During the previous mission to find the ball for Jessica, he had made a simple ball out of leather found on the ship.
When he gave it to Jessica, her deformed facial orifices seemed to petrify.
Afterward, Nan Yue kept a very close eye on him, fearing he would do something else whimsical.
Nan Yue's gaze shifted to a corner of the restaurant. "You guys go ahead."
She walked over and sat down across from Jiang Siyan. "Were you looking for me?"
A glass of sparkling water had already been placed in front of Jiang Siyan, looking so refreshing that it seemed to dispel much of the salty stickiness of the sea breeze.
"I have a lead on the matter you asked me to look into."
Jiang Siyan smiled faintly. "If you're not in a hurry, let's discuss it."
Nan Yue was amused. "From your tone, you think the adventures are quite simple."
Jiang Siyan's gaze was soft. "Don't you also know that the adventures are just small troubles? The focus isn't on the adventures themselves."
Nan Yue grew serious. "What did you find?"
Jiang Siyan didn't answer her directly. "Today, ink stains appeared on my photo as well. Yours too."
Nan Yue naturally knew this.
"Tell me, what is something we've all done, just in varying amounts?"
There were too many things: eating, sleeping, drinking water, or even the number of times they went to a specific place.
But Nan Yue's thoughts instantly stalled on Zhu Xi Ning's prophecy.
Barnacles.
The prerequisite for barnacles to appear was... water.
Nan Yue's gaze sharpened. "Contact with water."
Jiang Siyan looked at Nan Yue with admiration. "Clever."
To think of that key point so quickly...
Jiang Siyan's eyes flickered slightly. This person always gave him many surprises.
He hadn't felt this kind of emotional fluctuation in a long time.
He couldn't help but wonder what would happen next, if... he could have more contact with Nan Yue...
Looking at the contemplative Jiang Siyan, Nan Yue wanted to test the waters and ask if he had any intention of forming a team, but now wasn't a good time.
"But it's impossible not to use water on the ship."
This mission was long. They had at least three days left, and they needed contact for washing, eating, and drinking.
While thinking about how to gain more emotional experiences, Jiang Siyan multi-tasked and asked Nan Yue.
"Do you know whose photo has the most ink stains right now?"
Nan Yue had actually noticed this. "Xie Rui."
Jiang Siyan took a sip of sparkling water. "Yeah. From my observations, Xie Rui has a small habit. He sweats profusely whenever he gets nervous."
Nan Yue realized. "So he showers frequently."
Jiang Siyan nodded. "I've personally run into him frantically washing hands in the bathroom several times. So his water usage is higher than everyone else's."
Nan Yue pondered for a moment and decided to share her own clue. Even though Jiang Siyan didn't need it, he would still owe her a favor if she spoke up.
"You know Zhu Xi Ning in our team has a foresight talent. She sensed that the greatest danger in this mission is barnacles."
Jiang Siyan's expression didn't change in the slightest. He didn't seem to care what the danger was.
To him, such a danger was as good as non-existent.
But he still smiled gracefully. "I see. Thank you."
When Nan Yue finally left, she seemed somewhat hesitant to speak, which made Jiang Siyan feel even more pleased.
As expected, Nan Yue valued his ability highly. He believed it wouldn't be long before she invited him to join her.
He wanted to see what exactly was attracting Nan Yue in this boring world, allowing her to still hold onto hope in such despair.
Jiang Siyan finished his sparkling water and slowly stood up to return to his room to rest.
Nan Yue reminded the others to minimize contact with water, and she also shared this news with Bi Danyuan.
"Well..." Wen Xiang Yuan was a bit dejected. She loved cleanliness the most. Although she knew showering was dangerous in missions, she would still wipe her body down with a towel every day.
Now that she knew barnacles might grow on her... she felt that staying dirty wasn't so bad after all.
Gu Xiang Kai teased, "Be grateful. If this were a monster battle royale mission where we had to roll in piles of corpses for days, that would be truly dirty."
Wen Xiang Yuan politely told Gu Xiang Kai to shut up.
"Time is running out. Everyone, hurry up and find Amy."
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