The representative of the Deep Blue Route hurried through the streets, heading toward the harbor.
His pace was quick, yet his posture remained composed, ignoring the various strange phenomena occurring on the island.
He reached the harbor.
His boat was docked at the innermost private berth—a sleek, medium-sized speedboat, pitch black and devoid of any markings.
The lights on the boat were already on, and the crew was busy on the deck, clearly having received the order to depart.
As the representative was about to board, something caught the corner of his eye.
He turned his head to look.
At a nearby berth sat a boat that looked somewhat familiar.
It was garishly decorated, its hull covered in vibrant, painted murals.
It was the maritime entertainment ship.
That ship had once wandered the nearby waters to amass wealth before vanishing without a trace. How had it ended up here?
The representative’s brow furrowed slightly, then quickly smoothed over.
It didn't matter.
Avenia was finished; why that ship was here was of no consequence at all.
He withdrew his gaze and strode onto his own vessel.
At the same time, from the other berths in the harbor, the guests who had emerged from the entertainment hall were also boarding their respective ships.
One by one, the vessels quickly left the harbor, carving white wakes across the surface of the sea.
The representative’s boat was the first to exit the harbor, racing toward the deep sea.
The speedboat flew across the water, its speed increasing until it surpassed the limits of any conventional vessel.
The hull nearly lifted off the surface, skipping lightly over the waves like a seabird flying low.
The representative stood in the cabin, looking out the window at the sea retreating rapidly. A faint blue light pulsed across his body.
It was the trace of some supernatural power in operation.
The boat's ultra-high speed was clearly not a feat of technology, but the work of supernatural power.
The surrounding waters flashed by, with the silhouettes of small islands occasionally flickering in the distance.
The ships of the guests who had fled Avenia had long since been left behind, their forms no longer even visible as shadows.
The representative of the Deep Blue Route did not notice that the ships behind him were suffering shipwrecks one after another, nor did he realize someone was tailing him.
In the rear, the previously calm sea suddenly surged with violent waves, flipping the ships over.
The people on board tried every trick in the book, but they still could not escape their destined sinking.
Yue Shi strolled across the sea, his pace leisurely. Though the Deep Blue Route ship ahead was moving at extreme speed, the distance between the two remained constant—neither too far nor too close.
Occasionally, he encountered people swimming in the sea; their boats had mysteriously capsized shortly after leaving Avenia.
Some were already dead, while others were barely clinging to life, struggling in the water.
When they saw Yue Shi, they cried out for help with joy, promising him numerous rewards.
Yue Shi would smile and reach out to them. Then, at the blissful moment they thought they were about to be saved, he would ruthlessly shove them back under the water to drown, forcing them to experience a profound sense of despair.
“Your companions’ consciousnesses are trapped in a virtual game, a fate worse than death. Why should you be the lucky ones to escape?”
“The blessing of surviving a disaster isn't something just anyone can handle.”
“I really can’t stand to see you enjoy such good fortune, so... I’ll have to ask you to die. Consider it sharing the hardship with your friends.”
After some time, an island appeared in the distance.
The island appeared abruptly; originally, there had been nothing on that stretch of sea. But after crossing a certain line, an island suddenly stood there.
The island was large, and from a distance, one could see a dense cluster of ships in the surrounding waters.
Most were armed vessels of various models—ranging from high-speed patrol boats to medium-sized gunships—distributed around the island to form a tight defensive perimeter.
Personnel armed with live ammunition could be seen on every ship, along with various heavy weapons.
Beyond the armed fleet lay a forest on the outskirts of the island.
The forest looked ordinary, but Yue Shi could see many things hidden within.
Hidden outposts, patrols, and fortifications cleverly camouflaged by vegetation.
There were not only conventional weapons but also traps set with mysterious runes.
High technology and supernatural power were perfectly integrated here.
Further inland was the main body of the island.
Buildings were constructed along the mountainside, layered one above the other, extending from the coast to the summit. The overall style was somewhat similar to Avenia, but it possessed a much stronger sci-fi aesthetic.
At the center of the island stood a high peak topped by a massive building.
It looked like a fortress-style command center, pitch black with cold, hard lines, surrounded by countless tiny floating points of light.
Those points of light were arranged in a specific formation that shifted every so often, appearing to be some kind of defensive mechanism.
Yue Shi smiled, his eyes narrowing. He had finally reached the headquarters of the Deep Blue Route, this cross-border trade organization.
He hadn't been able to divine its exact location, so he had followed the representative to find it.
The representative’s speedboat entered the harbor. After his identity was verified, he was greeted by a group of armed personnel and entered the island.
...
Meanwhile, at a certain point on the sea near the island.
Amidst the sound of the waves, a flash of white light occurred.
The white light lasted for less than a second.
Subsequently, several people appeared out of thin air above the sea.
Their eyes had been tightly shut, but the moment the white light vanished, they all opened them almost simultaneously.
Several pairs of eyes scanned the surroundings, gathering environmental information in the shortest time possible.
There was nothing but sea in all directions—no land and no ships. They were falling.
Just as they were about to hit the water, one of the women raised her right hand.
A transparent bubble emerged from her palm and expanded rapidly, enveloping all five of them.
The bubble landed on the sea, floating steadily.
The five stood at the bottom of the bubble; the seemingly thin membrane supported their weight perfectly.
The leader was a handsome man with a light dusting of stubble. Far from looking scruffy, it added a sense of rugged sexiness to his appearance.
He looked around, and after confirming all his team members were unharmed, he spoke.
“Since everyone is awake, please enter combat status immediately. Check the plot and the main mission.”
Upon hearing this, the other four raised their right hands simultaneously.
They wore identical black watches on their wrists.
The watch screens lit up, displaying lines of information.
One person read aloud in a low voice, “The current plot world we are participating in is...”
“Wait, why is it garbled code?”
The group’s expressions varied. They all saw it; the screen that should have displayed the world background was now filled with incomprehensible symbols, yielding no valuable information.
The name of the world was also garbled code.
“This... I’ve never encountered this situation before,” a beautiful woman with long, elf-like ears said.
“Me neither,” a man with horns on his head echoed.
“It seems this mission is going to be a lot of trouble,” the captain said, his tone grave.
As a senior Reincarnator from the Lord God Space, he had experienced many worlds and seen all sorts of bizarre plot settings.
But he had truly never encountered a situation like this before.
Why was it all garbled code?
Had the Lord God system malfunctioned?
Or was there something wrong with this world itself?
Rate on N.U.
