Chapter 60

The crime scene of Andre’s death was quickly dealt with. The mayor sighed regretfully and kindly reminded the remaining investigation team members, “The Great Sacrificial Day is nearly upon us, and everyone has been busy lately…”

Hearing the mention of the “Sacrificial Day,” Zhou Zicheng snapped out of his thoughts as if jolted by electricity. He looked at the mayor’s back and quickly pulled out his phone to check the date.

The mayor seemed annoyed, muttering something inaudibly, then said, “The town’s been restless lately. Outsiders, don’t stay out after dark.” With that, he turned and walked away, leaving the abilities users feeling heavy-hearted and with mixed emotions.

Eda kept her gaze fixed on Jiang Suliu, seemingly ready to confront him at any moment.

However, Jiang Suliu appeared completely unbothered. He even asked kindly, “Is something the matter, Ms. Eda? Did you discover something new?”

Yue Yin was drinking cola, muttering about a missing vending machine and fries. When she heard Jiang Suliu’s words, she and the others looked at Eda.

Under their gazes, Eda turned back to Jiang Suliu, momentarily unsure of herself.

Had she miscalculated? What could Jiang Suliu gain from this?

From what she knew, Jiang Suliu was just an ordinary person; how could he possibly kill an A-ranked individual like Andre? …Or could he?

Eda steadied herself, ready to question Jiang Suliu, when Zhou Zicheng took a deep breath and said gravely, “I know who killed Andre.”

He raised his phone, opening a date he had specifically marked. “According to legend, the Great Sacrificial Day on Surina Island is in five days.”

The group looked puzzled. Luo Anna asked again, “Sacrificial Day?”

Zhou Zicheng explained solemnly, “It’s said that every three hundred years, the brightest, fullest tidal moon appears. When the moonlight is at its peak, the sea floods the island, and their god, the Thousand-Faced Moon, Hydra, descends from the deep, granting eternal life to all followers.”

Everyone was stunned into silence. Luo Anna went pale, and Eda scoffed, “Ha?”

She sounded incredulous, “Don’t tell me the people of Surina really believe in such a ridiculous myth?”

Yue Yin chimed in, “Why wouldn’t they believe?”

Eda looked at her, laughing. “If this story were true, and the island was flooded every three hundred years, the islanders would all be long dead by now! Who could survive that?”

Eda found it absurd, but Yue Yin gave her an odd look. “They know how to swim.”

Eda took a deep breath, holding back a retort. Even if they could swim, who could survive alone in the vast, endless ocean?

Eda dismissed Yue Yin as nonsensical and ignored her.

Feeling somewhat insulted, Yue Yin sighed, her hands behind her back, looking up at the sky. “Ah, foolish humans!”

Everything she’d said was true, but no one believed her!

Hands clasped behind her, she looked up to the sky with a resigned expression. “So, the great ones must be lonely. Jiang Suliu, don’t just stand there—take a few pictures of me! I need to post proof of my overseas vacation online to stop those people from calling me a big-mouthed poser.”

Jiang Suliu: …???

Zhou Zi Cheng, Eda, and others: …Is she out of her mind??

Standing to the side, Jiang Suliu’s Adam’s apple bobbed uncomfortably. Sometimes, he felt truly helpless.

Many times, he’d been exhilarated by the greatness of the Thousand-Faced Moon, passionately worshipping every aspect of it. But now and then, like right now, he felt a bit embarrassed about the whole affair.

Yue Yin was still posing, and an awkward silence fell as everyone stared at her without saying a word.

Only the sea monsters in Jiang Suliu’s mind were still chattering, loudly urging him:

—“What are you standing around for, you useless thing! Obey the Great One’s command!”

—“Ah! Look at the majesty of our Great One! Amidst all these feeble beings, how her glory shines!”

—“Aaaah, I want to crawl ashore and worship at her feet!!”

—“Just standing there, Hydra illuminates the eight-thousand-meter depths of Surina’s ocean! Her dark eyes, her shifting tentacles, her golden gaze—she is the perfect Hydra!”

—“I told you this human is useless. Look, he’s just gawking at the Great One! Take the photo, idiot!”

Jiang Su Liu: …Great. Now he knew where Yue Yin’s peculiar self-assurance came from.

With the deep-sea creatures clamoring in his head, Jiang Suliu squatted down, gripping his phone and opening the camera app while the other investigation team members watched in disbelief.

“Look here,” Jiang Suliu called, and Yue Yin immediately struck a pose, folding her arms and gazing at the sky with a serious expression.

“Relax. Try another pose,” Jiang Suliu said coolly.

Yue Yin stretched her arms wide, embracing the sky in a flamboyant, carefree way.

Jiang Suliu looked at her, hesitating, “You… never mind.”

A god of his choosing, a god of his choosing, a god of his choosing… Only yesterday, he had killed a heretic who disrespected her.

Jiang Suliu clicked the shutter, carefully taking the picture.

Eda couldn’t take it anymore and whispered to Zhou Zicheng, “What’s with her, anyway?”

She had never encountered an abilities user like this. On this perilous island, with death looming, everyone was tense and irritable. Even the usually composed Zhou Zicheng had a grim expression as if he were mourning.

Among the eight people here, only Yue Yin remained carefree, seemingly oblivious to any danger.

Zhou Zicheng shook his head, remaining silent. Since Yue Yin hadn’t revealed herself as the ninth S-rank abilities user, he wouldn’t disclose the truth to Eda and the others.

As Yue Yin and Jiang Suliu walked farther away, the rest had grown numb to their antics.

Eda, with no patience for them, turned to Zhou Zicheng. “Why do you think Andre’s death is connected to the Sacrificial Day?”

Zhou Zicheng replied gravely, “So the story goes. Surina Island is isolated with a unique culture. They worship the Thousand-Faced Moon, and five days before the Day of Worship, the townspeople sacrifice heretics. Today happens to be exactly five days before the festival, so I suspect Andre’s killer was a townsperson.”

Without any useful leads, they now had yet another troubling revelation.

Hearing Zhou Zicheng’s words, everyone’s expressions changed. “So, you’re saying that in the five days before the Sacrificial Day, one of us will die each day?”

Luo Anna forced a smile. “That’s impossible. We’re abilities users, after all.” But her voice trailed off at the end.

After all, Andre was also an abilities user—an A-rank, much stronger than her. Yet he had died silently in the night. Beneath the vast, boundless ocean, they all knew many powerful malevolent entities still lurked.

Soft sobbing started within the group as others considered their potential fates, their expressions darkening.

Feeling a bit bored, Yue Yin spoke up, “Oi, stop crying. Look on the bright side.”

Luo Anna, gathering her composure, agreed, “Yes, maybe the mayor was lying to us. Maybe there won’t even be a Sacrificial Day or any sacrifices.”

Yue Yin cast her a sympathetic glance. “That’s unlikely. The Great Sacrificial Day, after all, requires gifts.”

As for whether the Great Sacrificial Day would be canceled, given the zeal of the believers, that was almost impossible.

Using the word “gifts” strangely, Yue Yin caught a curious look from Eda, though no one else noticed.

Yue Yin shook her head, saying, “What I mean is, there are eight of us left and five days until the Sacrificial Day. Even if they kill one of us each day, we’d still have three survivors by the end.”

As everyone fell into silent unease, Jiang Suliu smiled slightly, adding, “Right, no need to worry. According to legend, Surina Island will be submerged on the Great Sacrificial Day. Even if we survive, we’ll all end up together in the ocean in the end.”

The others: …Are you serious!?

…

Andre was dead, and now they faced an ominous deadline of the Great Sacrificial Day, but the investigation had to go on.

Watching the mayor’s retreating figure, Eda turned to Zhou Zicheng and the others, saying, “The mayor is lying.”

Luo Anna and the others stopped in surprise. “What?”

With her hands in her pockets and the sea breeze brushing her hair, Eda’s expression was serious. “The mayor claimed that an abilities user once brutally killed a young child from town and shared in eating them… He wanted us to believe that the townsfolk consider us monsters because of that incident.”

“But today, I went to the library to research the Thousand-Faced Moon, and I found that the people of Surina have long been extremely xenophobic. Their hostility toward us and reluctance to cooperate in the investigation wasn’t just because of recent events.”

Zhou Zicheng, suddenly understanding, said, “Ah, so that’s it. They were never warm toward members of our Metaphysical Society either. We thought it was just their nature…”

Luo Anna still seemed puzzled. “But that doesn’t make sense. Surina is known as a popular tourist spot. Online, people say they’re welcoming to visitors. Are they purposefully treating us differently?”

The group struggled to distinguish truth from deception.

Eda sensed something was off. She recalled something she had read about the Thousand-Faced Moon, and Jiang Suliu’s words echoed in her mind.

“If the book is accurate, and the townsfolk are devout followers of the Mother of Monsters, then wouldn’t they consider our refusal to worship as disrespect?”

Eda’s frown deepened as she slowly spoke, “The townsfolk are friendly toward tourists but seem strangely hostile to our investigation team and the members of the Metaphysical Society…”

Zhou Zicheng’s brows knitted. “Could they be hiding something? Maybe clues about malevolent entities or merfolk, and they don’t want us investigating?”

Luo Anna looked thoughtful. Eda shook her head. “They treat all outsiders the same. There must be a specific reason they differentiate between us… What’s the difference between our investigation team and regular tourists?”

As she spoke, her gaze shifted subtly to Jiang Suliu.

The young man, with his clear features and high nose bridge, wore gold-rimmed glasses and a blue shirt, the sleeves casually rolled up to reveal an expensive watch.

He smiled faintly, catching Eda’s gaze before glancing down and taking the cup from Yue Yin’s hand.

Zhou Zicheng, unaware of Eda’s suspicions, considered her words. “What’s the difference? Our ethnicity? Or that we’re abilities users?”

At this, he froze, and the others also paused.

It seemed they had realized something: “Why are they targeting abilities users specifically? Can they tell we’re different?”