On the third day, the challengers experienced no accidents except for being sunburned by the sun. After dark, everyone stopped their boats.
Since there were silent hunters last night, the challengers further raised their vigilance. Many people chose to sleep in the afternoon and simply didn’t sleep at night. Xiao Lou’s team still kept watch in shifts according to last night’s arrangement.
Yu Hanjiang was very clear in his heart that the hunters had been eliminated and wouldn’t reappear. The next thing was to defend against infighting between challengers. However, they were a strong team, as was seen last night, and no one dared to move against them.
At midnight, everyone’s floating boxes had a prompt appear at the same time.
[Endless Sea, day four, 00:00]
[Number of challengers remaining at sea: 434.]
This number made Xiao Lou frowned. “The number isn’t right. A group of 10 people misjudged and followed the police back, being eliminated. Then a total of 40 people, one group of 10 and two groups of 15, went to Full Star. At that time, the secret room told us that the number of people remaining on the Caribbean was 450.”
Yu Hanjiang also remembered this matter. “Yes, before the arrival of the typhoon, there were 450 remaining on the Caribbean. Full Star had 40 people and the number of challengers surviving in the secret room should be 490 people.”
Xiao Lou nodded while thinking. “After the typhoon, two escape boats were involved in the whirlpool and 20 people were killed. Last night, two teams were struck by hunters and 16 people were killed. Along the way, we didn’t see the bodies of other challengers so the number of survivors should be 490-20-16=454. How can it be 434 people? Where did the other 20 people come from?”
Yu Hanjiang frowned. “It is likely that something happened to Full Star.”
The other teammates were a bit confused when they heard the conversation, especially Shao Qingge who hadn’t paid attention to the details. Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang were worthy of being big gods in the Hearts room. They were just as careful in investigating in the survival room.
The elite team of girls from Luoying Pavilion collectively transferred to the Full Star cruise ship. According to Yu Hanjiang’s speculation, they should’ve hijacked the cruise ship and drifted at sea for seven days to clear the instance.
He stated, “I remember that the ship had three elite teams. One team of 15 people that was a mixture of young men and women. There was only one team of 15 who were invisible. There were a total of 40 challengers. Either a typhoon or something else happened to kill half the people, such as infighting between teams. 20 of them died.”
Xiao Lou speculated, “I think they had an accident. According to Old Mo, the Luoying Pavilion association is very famous and general guilds and teams are afraid to provoke them. There is the Luoying Pavilion team so the other teams won’t act randomly. It isn’t good to face an elite team. The smartest way is for the three teams to join forces to clear the instance. Out of 40 people, half actually died. This death rate is higher than our side and it probably wasn’t a simple typhoon.”
The typhoon would at most blow the Full Star over. These three teams weren’t so weak that they couldn’t cope with a typhoon. Even if they fell into the sea, as long as they weren’t sucked into a whirlpool, they could swim and save their teammates in time. What was the accident that left the 40 strong elite teams dead and wounded by more than half?
Xiao Lou suddenly exclaimed, “Full Star headed in the opposite direction of us. Perhaps they encountered a sea monster!”
Xie Qi was surprised and his face became frightened. “It shouldn’t be a big shark or something? What if it directly eats a person?”
Old Mo nodded seriously. “It is possible. The attack of beasts is a common difficulty in the Spades room.”
Xie Qi immediately shrank back. “So we must be careful. Professor Xiao, can the safety circle resist sharks?”
Xiao Lou stated, “Yes, any attack can be blocked.”
He spoke as he took out Compass and drew a circle around the escape boat. At midnight, all the card skills were refreshed. Yu Hanjiang looked at Xiao Lou and whispered in his ear, “The heart channel is broken. Reconnect it because I have something to say to you.”
Xiao Lou nodded and used Qin Guan’s skill to set up a channel of communication again with Yu Hanjiang. Yu Hanjiang’s voice was soon heard in his mind, “The skill of the card my brother left to me, Absolute Field has also refreshed. I want to go in and see but if I suddenly disappear, our teammates will suspect it. Help me establish a cover.”
Xiao Lou readily agreed. “No problem.”
Yu Hanjiang opened his mouth and told their teammates, “I will use the Water Ghost card to investigate and see if there are any sea monsters nearby.”
Long Sen actively raised his hand. “I and Wanyue will also go. Our chameleon card can integrate with the sea. Even if there are sea monsters, they won’t be able to find us.”
Yu Hanjiang nodded. “Okay, be careful.”
The trio used cards to enter the sea and investigate the nearby area.
Long Sen and Qu Wanyue dived into the sea with the help of cards. They found that the deep sea had a large number of colorful fish as well as a variety of beautiful coral and seaweed. This spectacular underwater world was many times more shocking than what was seen on television. Countless small fish shuttled back and forth at the bottom of the sea. The mysterious and magnificent deep sea was unforgettable.
The two people swam around the bottom of the sea and didn’t find sharks and other dangerous species. The largest fish was more than half a metre long. Returning to the escape boat, Long Sen couldn’t help exclaiming, “The fish at the bottom of the sea are really beautiful!”
Qu Wanyue smiled and said, “You can rest assured. We have checked a few kilometers of the sea and didn’t find any dangerous fish.”
These words were a relief to everyone.
Xie Qi couldn’t help saying, “The chameleon card is so useful. Due to the environment fusion, you don’t need to breathe in the sea, right?”
“We just turn into seawater.” Long Sen laughed. “Do you want to try it? You can go into the sea when it is safe tomorrow.”
Xie Qi shook his head. “There is no need to see the scenery here when we should be focused on safety. If something happens, it will be more useful for you to have this card.”
Qu Wanyue’s eyes looked around and she wondered, “Group Leader Yu? He hasn’t come back yet?”
Xiao Lou smiled. “Don’t worry about him. He is going to check the situation of the challengers.”
In fact, Yu Hanjiang had swam in a circle and came back together with Long Sen and Qu Wanyue. However, he was wearing the invisibility cloak. Despite sitting next to Xiao Lou, no one could see him.
Yu Hanjiang opened the Absolute Field card and entered the space left by Lu Jiuchuan. This time, the space was still a vast sea. The moment he entered, he stood on the sea like he did yesterday. Yu Hanjiang tried to take a few steps and walked on the sea like it was flat ground. This was obviously a scene effect set by Lu Jiuchuan.
The moon hung high in the sky, the stars shone and the sea sparkled. This closed off sea was like a dream. In front of him stood a man with his back to Yu Hanjiang. He was standing with both hands clasped together, looking up at the stars like he was thinking about something.
He perceived that Yu Hanjiang had entered and turned around with a smile. The handsome face had a shallow smile, flying sword eyebrows and deep eyes, revealing a trace of the confidence and assertiveness that Yu Hanjiang was familiar with. It was as if they had returned to the real world and Lu Jiuchuan was still the brother who patted him on the shoulder and encouraged him.
Yu Hanjiang’s mood was complicated as he whispered, “Brother Jiu.”
Lu Jiuchuan said, “I think you would come in at midnight. Why are you 10 minutes late?”
Yu Hanjiang explained, “My teammate found that the number of challengers isn’t right and speculated that something might’ve happened to Full Star. They suspect there might be a sea monster attack so a few of us went to investigate the sea to confirm our safety.”
Lu Jiuchuan raised his eyebrows. “Is that so? Your teammate is really careful.”
Thinking of Xiao Lou’s witty caution, a hint of gentleness and appreciation appeared in Yu Hanjiang’s eyes. “He is really very clever. If he didn’t remind me, I really almost thought that you joined the hunter organization.”
Lu Jiuchuan gave a faint smile. “Yesterday, your attitude toward me suddenly changed before because of him?”
Yu Hanjiang nodded. “Yes, we have a card that connects us spiritually. The words I say and what I’m thinking can be felt by him. He was the one who calmed me down and who thought that Brother Jiu’s nature can’t change so thoroughly. There must be a reason.”
Lu Jiuchuan was very interested in Yu Hanjiang’s teammate. “You have a cold personality and from childhood to adulthood, you rarely become close to others. You are actually willing to share your spiritual world with him… do you trust him that much?”
Yu Hanjiang didn’t hesitate to say, “Yes, he is a forensics scientist and I worked with him several times in the real world. We’ve been teammates since meeting in 2 of Clubs and have been walking together in this world ever since. He is my most trusted friend in this world.”
Lu Jiuchuan found that every time his brother mentioned this person, the always serious and cold face would involuntarily have a bit of gentleness… the most trusted friend? Lu Jiuchuan joked, “He really is just a friend?”
Yu Hanjiang nodded decisively. “Yes.”
Lu Jiuchuan stated, “Let him come in, I want to see him.”
Yu Hanjiang wondered, “See him? Why?”
Lu Jiuchuan laughed. “I have to judge if the people around you are reliable before deciding on the next step.”
Yu Hanjiang conveyed this sentence to Xiao Lou through the spiritual channel. “My brother said he wants to see you.”
Xiao Lou might be confused but he also wanted to meet Yu Hanjiang’s brother. He speculated that Lu Jiuchuan had joined the hunters to go undercover and had many questions to ask Lu Jiuchuan.
Xiao Lou promised and asked, “Okay. Then how am I going to enter your brother’s Absolute Field?”
Yu Hanjiang looked at his brother and asked, “How can he come in?”
“Tell me where he is and I’ll pull him in.”
Yu Hanjiang replied, “He is on the escape boat, sitting next to me. Our escape boat has a white awning and is easy to find.” after that, Yu Hanjiang told Xiao Lou in his heart, “My brother is coming to you now. Make up an excuse for everyone to put on your invisibility cloak, so that you don’t disappear and make everyone worry.”
Xiao Lou’s voice was soon heard in his mind. “Yes.” Then he spoke to his teammates. “I can’t swim. Group Leader Yu told me to put on the invisibility cloak and try out the Water Ghost card. If I suddenly disappear later then don’t worry.”
His teammates didn’t doubt him.
Moments later, Lu Jiuchuan accurately found Xiao Lou and Xiao Lou was also pulled in. Xiao Lou appeared in a strange sea. There was a bright moon and stars and he found himself standing on the sea. Xiao Lou wasn’t surprised. He glanced around and walked calmly to Yu Hanjiang.
Not far away from them stood a tall man. He was as tall as Group Leader Yu and was nearly 1.9 metres. The two of them had a similar appearance but Yu Hanjiang was stern, solemn and calm. Meanwhile, Lu Jiuchuan looked vigorous and his smile was unrestrained. In particular, the scar on his face made him show a trace of wildness when he smiled.
Yu Hanjiang introduced them, “This is Xiao Lou, an associate professor of forensics at Jiangzhou Medical University. This is my uncle’s son, my cousin who grew up with me and the leader of the Navy’s commando unit, Major Lu Jiuchuan.”
Xiao Lou greeted him politely with a smile. “Major Lu, hello.”
Lu Jiuchuan’s eyes narrowed as he looked up and down. The young man looked clear-headed. His smile was gentle and elegant. In this unfamiliar environment, he was still calm and his psychological quality was obviously very strong.
He stood next to Yu Hanjiang and came up to this person’s nose. His figure was much thinner than Yu Hanjiang and his height was also 10 cm shorter, but the atmosphere around him didn’t appear weak at all.
Yu Hanjiang was too cold. His sharp eyes and strong pressure meant that if other people stood beside him, their momentum would be completely suppressed. However, Xiao Lou’s gentleness seemed to complement Yu Hanjiang. The picture when they stood together was very harmonious. Xiao Lou wasn’t suppressed by Yu Hanjiang’s atmosphere and actually neutralized Yu Hanjiang’s sharpness.
It was wonderful. His younger brother and Xiao Lou stood together and gave off a strange matching feeling.
Lu Jiuchuan smiled gently. “No need for courtesy. Hanjiang calls me Brother Jiu and you can also call me that.”
