Late at night, on the shore of a harbor.
A man stood quietly, his long golden hair fluttering in the sea breeze.
A faint vibration came from his pocket. Adam pulled out his phone. When the screen lit up, its fluorescent glow made his already pale complexion look even more sickly.
On the screen was the Ascender’s Home website. A private message was slowly unfurling.
"Moon Key foresaw your death. I have a pact with her to help you. If you see this message, please contact me."
This message was, of course, from Guan Tong. It was the only way he could contact Adam.
Staring at the words "foresaw your death," a look of grim resolve flashed through Adam’s sapphire-blue eyes.
He typed a reply: "Thank you for your concern. If I die, it will be for a worthy cause."
After sending the message, he put his phone away and gazed out toward the distant ocean, his eyes seeming to pierce through the layers of darkness to reach a specific place.
"Eden Island..."
He mulled over the name, knowing his other three wives and children were on that island.
If it weren’t for wanting to see them, he would never have agreed to the King of Soloma’s request to capture the Pope of the Fire Worship Cult alive.
But the ugly deal had ended in complete failure because of a traitor, directly leading to the death of his wife, Amanda, who had accompanied him.
He couldn’t accept it. After leaving Liluo’an City, he cut off all contact with the authorities and went to bury Amanda alone.
But he knew the Soloma authorities would surely guess he was going to Eden Island and would undoubtedly tighten their defenses there.
Adam knew he couldn’t be impulsive. He had to wait for the right moment.
He believed Moon Key’s prophecy wasn’t baseless. Besides, the King of Soloma had previously warned him there would be a price to pay for landing on the island without authorization.
’Are there some hidden defenses on the island?’
Adam frowned in thought. He didn’t recall discovering any during his time living on the island.
After a moment’s hesitation, he made his decision. ’I’ll wait until after the new rules are announced to go to the island. The announcement is bound to distract some of the authorities’ attention, creating an opening for me.’
...
"So this is your hometown, Yunhua City? It looks..."
Shangyuan Zi sat in the car, gazing at the city in the distance—now almost a complete ruin—and didn’t know what to think.
She glanced at Guan Tong, who was in the driver’s seat beside her. He didn’t seem as sad or upset as she had imagined he would be.
"This city was destroyed by an earthquake and a tsunami," Guan Tong said. "It’s a shame. It used to be a beautiful, bustling city. But that earthquake and the chain of disasters it caused destroyed so many countries and cities. Yunhua is just one of them."
Shangyuan Zi fell silent.
In terms of devastation, the entire island nation of Sakura Prayer had sunk due to an earthquake, ranking it among the most severely affected countries. Most of the Yingqi People who survived fell into a state of numbness afterward. With the fall of the Mizusawa Clan, Sakura Prayer had essentially lost its voice in the international community.
In the eyes of nations like Soloma, the country was now a vassal state completely under the control of North Star. But in this day and age, several smaller nations actually envied Sakura Prayer. What did being a vassal matter? Being protected and surviving was what truly counted.
"Is the person we’re looking for really here?" Shangyuan Zi changed the subject.
She had rendezvoused with Guan Tong as soon as she received his message.
The two of them then traveled to Yunhua together, their purpose being to find the woman known as "Wei Huo."
"I can’t be sure either. But Moon Key is so famous, and she’s employed by the Soloma authorities, so her prophecies should have some merit. It’s worth a try. We don’t have any other leads right now anyway."
Shangyuan Zi nodded.
Guan Tong then brought up the matter of the organization’s new members. "After we finish our investigation here, I plan to hold a meeting to discuss the future development of the Origin-Tracing Expedition. Before, with just the two of us, there wasn’t much to discuss. But now that we have Black Star and White Star, our numbers are growing, and the organization should have some long-term plans."
"Okay."
The vehicle drove on for a little while longer before the road ahead became impassable.
The earthquake and tsunami had not only destroyed the main city but had also obliterated the nearby transportation routes. The once wide, neat highways were now mostly collapsed and cracked, making them impassable for vehicles.
The two abandoned the car and continued on foot. For the sake of efficiency, Guan Tong had his Shadow lift them both forward, their speed creating a sensation akin to "flying just above the ground."
Guan Tong turned his head to look at Shangyuan Zi, who was fully kitted out with sunglasses and a mask, and said, "There shouldn’t be anyone else here. You don’t have to be so covered up."
Shangyuan Zi hesitated for a moment before removing her coverings.
Her face was almost completely covered in scales, with only a small area of skin around her eyes still exposed.
"It’s actually not bad," Guan Tong said. "Fewer weak points, at least."
"..."
"I’m not teasing. I’m serious."
"I know."
The scales were extremely tough, with astonishing defensive power. Now that they covered her almost completely, it meant Shangyuan Zi had gained full-body automatic protection.
It wasn’t very pretty, but in this era, looks and power were completely incomparable. If in the past "good looks" could compete with "wealth," now "good looks" were dust in the face of "power." It was a clear sign that survival was the true top priority.
"Shangyuan, can you now petrify targets with your gaze?" Guan Tong asked, recalling the vision he had seen when he was affected by the Crimson Fear.
"How did you know?" Shangyuan Zi added, "But the ability isn’t petrification. It forcibly transforms the target’s genes."
"Transform their genes? Like how you transform Snake Servants?"
"Something like that. But this time, the transformation doesn’t turn them into monsters. They become a solidified substance, similar to deep-sea rock."