Chapter 13: Haiyue Shrine. Liu Ming: What Haiyue Shrine? Isn’t this…

Du Shui and Liu Ming exchanged a glance. The Miko¹ of the Third District and the heir of the First District both saw shock reflected in each other’s eyes.

This guy…

He could hear the voices coming from the depths of their Mental Landscapes.

Even though their Spiritual Bodies had been withdrawn into their Mental Landscapes, he could clearly sense the essence of the secrets they were determined to hide in the deepest parts of their souls until death.

But how was that possible? This bastard was clearly a Sentinel. How could he possess such a bizarre ability that even a mental-type Guide couldn’t achieve?

Liu Ming looked at Du Shui. “Your Captain… is he really a Sentinel?”

The feeling of being seen through just now was definitely not an illusion. Even if Yun Zhou was a Sentinel, Liu Ming suspected the man might possess some unreasonable skill that even Guides lacked, like the ability to hear the “Voice of All Things².”

Du Shui’s lips twitched. “Correction: he’s our Captain. As for your question… now I’m not so sure myself.”

Before Liu Ming and Du Shui could say another word, Yun Zhou suddenly covered his ears as if he had heard a piercingly loud noise.

“Hey, why are you two just standing there? Stop spacing out. I can hear that crying getting sadder and sadder.”

Yun Zhou’s ears twitched. His brow furrowed deeper, yet his eyes looked blankly at the two people who seemed struck dumb, appearing completely unaware of why their expressions had suddenly become so complicated.

He even tilted his head, his silver-gray hair sliding over his forehead, looking entirely innocent. “Stop staring. I can hear that the crying isn’t right… Can’t you feel it? Those voices?”

Crying? Not right?

Du Shui and Liu Ming snapped back to reality, forcibly suppressing the turmoil in their hearts. Du Shui’s heart was still pounding wildly. She tried to make her voice sound as steady as usual, even adding a touch of deliberate casualness to maintain her composure. “Are you kidding? Tell us then, what exactly did you hear, and where are they?”

Liu Ming also quickly adjusted his expression, his blood-red eyes returning to a calm state, though a sliver of cold wariness remained deep within them. He didn’t speak, merely staring at Yun Zhou, waiting for an answer from this “protagonist” who never failed to shock.

Ying Huo, in the other room, was also drawn by the commotion in the living room and pushed the door open. Before he could even put down his camera, he saw Yun Zhou enter a state of “deep thought”—though the expression looked a bit silly on his face.

Yun Zhou’s face was an open book. He seemed completely unaware of the shock he had just caused, his mind entirely occupied by that eerie “crying.”

“It should be at the shrine in the Third District!” Yun Zhou spoke with absolute certainty, his tone incredibly firm. “Because I think I heard the sound of wind chimes. Very crisp, but very sad. A faint crying sound is traveling on the wind…”

He tried his best to describe it. “And… there’s a faint but very distinct scent of an Anomaly. It’s a bit like those monsters on the platform last night, but also different. If I had to say, it’s colder and deeper? It feels like being in the deep sea.”

As he spoke, he pulled out his phone, his fingers flying across the screen as he searched for famous nearby shrines. A moment later, he turned the screen toward the three people crowding around him. “The wind told me it should be this shrine!”

The three of them leaned in to look. A travel blogger on Yun Zhou’s phone was introducing one of the most famous attractions in the Third District—Haiyue Shrine.

In the culture of the Third District, “Haiyue” carried the meaning of a jellyfish. A jellyfish floating on the sea was like the moon reflected on the water’s surface—boneless, yet signifying eternity.

Most of the Third District’s territory consisted of islands and island chains. In ancient times, the history of humanity’s struggle against Anomalies had given rise to many beliefs regarding the ocean. Haiyue Shrine was one of the most famous holy sites for seeking blessings. According to the legends of the Third District, the shrine was dedicated to the deity who guarded the peace of the sea, “Umizuki no Mikoto,” and possessed a long heritage spanning over a thousand years.

The travel blogger on the screen was conveniently showcasing the shrine’s stunning scenery. A solemn, vermilion Torii stood at the entrance of the stone steps leading up the seaside mountain. Ancient wooden buildings exuded a sense of historical weight under the shade of green trees. Most striking of all was the tranquil bay behind the shrine which, from certain angles, reflected the sky like a giant circular mirror—Kanagawa. This was the legendary place where the Corrector “Umizuki no Mikoto” had lit the fires upon the sea, using fire within water to slay the Anomaly Y008, the Sea King Kraken.

It was also the sea area where the Third District’s defensive chain was located.

Anomalies ranked within the top ten were difficult to truly kill. Calculating by the passage of time, the former Y008 had indeed reached the time for its resurgence. This was one of the reasons why both the Third District and Black Swan were so anxious.

“Haiyue Shrine…” Du Shui murmured. her eyes were dark and unreadable. Liu Ming keenly noticed her unusual emotional state. As a Miko of the Third District, she knew better than anyone the special status this shrine held in local belief. No matter what her attitude toward the shrine was, she shouldn’t have such a…

Complicated expression, like seeing an ex-boyfriend.

Liu Ming looked at Yun Zhou, wanting to confirm Du Shui’s abnormality with him, only to see the man staring back blankly. His pure golden eyes made him look like the type of person who might start drooling at any moment.

Liu Ming looked away.

It seemed he had overestimated Yun Zhou after all. This Savior could probably only hear those strange voices from the Mental Landscape during moments of intense emotional fluctuation. Now that Du Shui’s unease was so obvious, he hadn’t even realized it.

For a member of the Liu Family, uncontrollably exposing one’s inner thoughts was the most terrifying thing in the world. It seemed the Savior’s “Voice of All Things” skill was only a “limited edition.” This was still within the range of what Liu Ming could accept.

The perfect, gentle smile on Ying Huo’s face also froze for a split second. “Crying? An anomalous aura? Captain Yun Zhou, are you sure it’s at Haiyue Shrine? That’s a famous tourist attraction with many visitors. If there really is an Anomaly… we must report this to the administrators of the Third District immediately.”

“I’m sure!” Yun Zhou nodded vigorously. “The wind won’t lie to me! That crying is coming from right there, and… it’s getting clearer and clearer!”

He gave an involuntary shiver. “I don’t know exactly which Anomaly’s aura it is, but… I just feel like something terrible is about to happen there.”

Ying Huo and Du Shui exchanged a glance, accepting this news with practiced ease as they began packing their gear. “Then we leave now.”

After all, this wasn’t the first time Yun Zhou had startled them. Since they were staying in the Third District anyway, they had to follow whatever leads they found to resolve the situation. Compared to the possibility that an Anomaly truly existed at the Haiyue Shrine, even a wasted trip was acceptable.

Liu Ming, however, didn’t move. He stared fixedly ahead. In a space only he could see, bullet chat messages regarding the “Haiyue Shrine” were refreshing at a frantic pace.

【As expected of the wolf pup, that nose is incredible. He can smell it from this far away.】

【Liu Ming: Who’s the actual Mental-type here?!】

Liu Ming frowned in irritation. Why did these bullet chats always enjoy making fun of him?

【Wait, holy crap! Haiyue Shrine! High-risk flag! That sounds like one of those total party kill holy lands!】

【It might not be a TPK holy land, but it’s not far off! I remember in one cycle they were wiped out because they went to the Haiyue Shrine midway through. And now they’re going right at the start…】

【What’s going on… In the First Cycle, Yun Zhou didn’t go there until the very end of his time in the Third District. Isn’t this the First Cycle?】

【Umizuki no Mikoto? That’s not a god at all! It’s ???????!】

【Run, wolf pup! Don’t go! I don’t want to see this cycle end so quickly again!】

【It’s over, it’s all over. How did they stumble onto this place right at the start? In the First Cycle, this place turned the entire Third District into a wasteland just like the Seventh District.】

【By the way, which cycle is this now? I haven’t watched in a long time and forgot where we are.】

【To the person above, do you really have to ask that at such a critical moment? Even though the plot has deviated, I recall this should be the First Cycle. Not that it matters now; looks like everyone’s going to be wiped out again! 】

…

As he scanned through the lines of bullet chat, Liu Ming’s heart sank. The information contained in these messages was overwhelming. Aside from the comment asking “which cycle is this,” which revealed that this world might have been reset more than twice, the more important thing was…

The Haiyue Shrine was actually a site where they had been wiped out in a previous cycle? And they were running into it right at the beginning?

Yun Zhou was practically a master at initiating disaster.

Liu Ming narrowed his eyes, experiencing a rare urge to just bolt right now.

Maybe he should just abandon them and walk away. At the very least, the Plot Strings hadn’t mentioned him dying in the Third District; he could still survive for a while longer.

Unfortunately, the moment Liu Ming’s negativity surfaced, he suppressed it with his sense of duty as the heir to the Liu Family. The T231 his grandfather had given him still radiated a cold aura against his fingertip. The serpent ring coiled around his finger seemed to warn him that there was no path for retreat behind him.

In the end, he simply sighed and followed in Yun Zhou’s footsteps.

Translator’s Notes