Chapter 88: Mass Disappearance

As soon as the boat slowed down, Lu A’yao was the first to dash up to the deck. I noticed the visibility outside was dropping fast, so I turned to nudge He Yu, who was slumped beside me. After a few tries, all I got out of him were drunken mutterings. Left with no choice, I threw on my windbreaker and went out alone to check the situation.

The moment I stepped onto the freighter ship’s deck, I realized something was wrong. The mountain ridges that should have been faintly visible in the darkness had completely vanished. We’d been traveling for a while and hadn’t seen any sign of fog earlier. This fog had come out of nowhere. I looked toward the nearest canyon rocks, but something about them felt off, though I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.

Han Jian was talking to the ship captain nearby. I walked over and asked, “Where are we? Why did we stop moving?”

“Something’s wrong, something’s definitely wrong! We hit something, we can’t go any further,” the captain said, his face flushed with anxiety. He held a flashlight in one hand and shakily spread out a map with the other. “I followed the route you gave me exactly. I can only take you this far. I can’t go any further!”

“Why not? You charged us triple what others would, and now you want to bail before we even get there?” Han Jian’s expression darkened.

The captain waved his hands frantically. “No, no! I’m a man of my word. But you can’t trick people like this! We can’t go forward. The bottom of the boat just hit something. I’ve been sailing this river for over ten years and never hit anything before. And look at these rock formations—I’ve never seen anything like them in this river. If we go any further, I won’t know the way. The fog’s too thick. We’ll get lost in there for sure!”

I glanced at Han Jian, about to suggest we turn back for the night. Worst case, we lose a day and head in again tomorrow morning.

But before I could say anything, he suddenly pulled out a gun. He moved so fast I didn’t even see where he drew it from. One second I was thinking of heading back, the next, the barrel was pressed against the captain’s head. His men had already subdued the rest of the crew.

What the hell is this? Are we dealing with the mafia now?

“Boss Han, please, you’re an important man. We’re just trying to make a living here. I really can’t take you any further. If we get lost in there…” The captain was practically begging, clearly terrified, nearly dropping to his knees.

I grabbed Han Jian’s arm. “He’s just trying to make a living. Don’t be rash. Put the gun down. The fog’s heavy tonight. It really isn’t a good time to go in. We can come back at dawn.”

“You’re right, Little Master, we—”

“No.” Han Jian shook off my hand. “We’re reaching the destination tonight. He’ll take us in.”

Then he gave me a slight shove backward, eyes locked on the captain but speaking to me. “You’re still young. There are things you don’t understand yet. But the captain, he remembers the right path, don’t you?”

His words were strange—spoken to me, yet clearly meant for the captain. And after hearing them, the captain fell completely silent.

I tried to step forward for a better look, but Lu A’yao suddenly darted over and blocked me. He glanced at the standoff on deck, then shoved two full sets of diving gear into my arms and whispered, “Don’t get involved. There are things I can’t explain to you right now. Go wake He Yu. We’re getting off this boat.”

His tone left no room for argument. I knew this wasn’t the time to ask questions, so for once, I did as I was told. I turned and hurried back into the cabin, lugging the heavy gear. Once inside, I ran over to He Yu, shaking him awake while struggling to pull on the tight wetsuit.

The makeshift “bed” of cargo was already narrow. With my shove, He Yu rolled off before he even opened his eyes. Still dazed, he mumbled, “Who?! Who dares ambush the emperor?!”

Halfway into the wetsuit, I was already annoyed with how tight and uncomfortable it was. I didn’t bother explaining. I tossed the other suit at him. “No time to talk. Get dressed!”

He Yu must’ve sensed something was off too. As soon as he heard the urgency in my voice, he snapped to attention, rolling to his feet and stripping down without another word.

Back when I followed Hou Jinshan into the ruins, we didn’t have gear this advanced, but Xiao Wu had taught me a lot about diving theory during prep. So I wasn’t completely lost handling the tubes and tanks. He Yu’s suit-up was sloppy, but at least he managed to get everything on.

Outside the cabin, it was eerily silent. I thought, it’s been twenty minutes. They can’t still be in a standoff, right? I stepped out, only to find the deck—where it had been packed with people just moments ago—completely empty.

I rushed up to check. My eyes weren’t playing tricks on me. There really wasn’t a single soul in sight. Cold sweat broke out all over me.

He Yu was still inside, calling for help with his oxygen tank. I didn’t have time to deal with him. I ran to the cargo hold in the back, searching every corner of the ship. Front to back, top to bottom—aside from me and He Yu, the entire vessel was deserted.

I returned to the deck, squinting at the dark rock formations surrounding us. The ship was still in the same spot, but the people—where the hell did they go? Where did everyone on board disappear to?

“What are you doing just standing there? Weren’t we getting off the boat? Huh, why’s it so quiet? Did your Uncle Han ditch us and run?” He Yu came bounding over, still clueless.

I couldn’t make sense of it. It wasn’t just a few people. There had been over thirty of them on board. And in just twenty minutes, all of them vanished—Lu A’yao included, the one who told me to wake He Yu. The lights in the cargo hold were still on.

“What’s wrong, Little Yao? You look pale.”

My mind was spinning. I couldn’t hear a word He Yu was saying. I turned and stubbornly headed back to the cargo hold, determined to search it one more time.

He Yu didn’t understand what was going on and tried to pull me back, but I shook him off. Still, he kept blocking my way. When I finally stopped in my tracks, I completely broke down. “Everyone on the ship is gone! Twenty minutes ago they were still here, and when I came back out, they’d all vanished! All their stuff is still here—how could they just disappear into thin air? How is that even possible?!”

After I finished shouting, the world seemed to fall silent. The light above the cargo hold kept swaying from side to side, and my mind started to clear a little.

“Don’t panic! Can you calm down for a second?” He Yu yanked me toward him, his gaze unusually steady. “If you’re still not thinking straight and want to keep yelling like a lunatic, I’ve got no problem dunking your head in the water to snap you out of it. So they disappeared—so what? It’s not like you’re the only one left here. I’m still with you, aren’t I? What’s there to panic about? For all we know, they found some kind of treasure and decided to go dig it up without telling us.”

His casual tone started to rub off on me, and the taut string in my mind finally loosened. If there’s one thing that makes He Yu so formidable, it’s this—no matter what happens, he stays calm. Even if we were face-to-face with a swarm of centipede-like creatures the size of train engines, he’d still be able to ask you what you want for lunch tomorrow.

“Did you check their gear? That stuff’s important. If they were going to leave the ship, they’d definitely take it with them,” He Yu said, glancing around before turning to ask me.