Chapter Six Countdown Six
Looking down from the sky at midnight, the vast coastal lake—Lake Mianas appeared like a giant eye, gazing at the sky and observing the earth, while the islands within the lake resembled the pupil of this eye.
That island in the lake has a very interesting name—Bai Ruming Island, pronounced and spelled similarly to the chemical element bromine.
It is hard to imagine that this beautiful and pleasant island, once a resort destination, would be named after a strong oxidizing agent that is bl**d-red in color, highly volatile, has an irritating smell, and is highly corrosive to the skin.
Around Bai Ruming Island, and even further out to sea, there is no detectable presence of bromine, a substance known as an ocean element.
According to some older residents from the Free City, they have referred to that island as such since they were very young, and it is said that this name was passed down from the first pioneers who arrived at the Free City.
Legend has it that those pioneers discovered some terrifying things on Bai Ruming Island and ruthlessly exterminated the indigenous people there, leaving behind records that claimed they were the children of devils.
However, such events are as numerous as the stars in the history of M Country, and as time passed, they faded away and were submerged in the sands of time, no longer addressed. Otherwise, Bai Ruming Island, once home to the children of devils, would not have established a small town or become a resort destination.
However, as the strongest creation of the Saint’s Plan Phase Three and an escapee from the Tethys Laboratory, Shen Baiwei knows the true reason why that island is named Bai Ruming Island.
In fact, there are large amounts of bromine elements present underground on Bai Ruming Island, existing in the form of elemental bromine, which is almost impossible to find in nature.
A massive amount of elemental bromine is deeply buried underground, flowing through a maze of narrow caverns like rivers, exhibiting bizarre activity and emitting vast yet subtle spirit energy fluctuations, as if they were the sealed bl**d vessels of some enormous creature.
It seems to continuously draw bromine-containing substances from the seawater pouring into the coastal lake, and then, through some unknown and strange method, convert them into elemental bromine, storing it in the “organs” underground in Bai Ruming.
It’s as if a venomous snake were storing its venom in its venom sac.
Some staff members of the Tethys Laboratory speculate that it could be some horrific urban legend that has yet to take shape or has long since withered into slumber.
The legend giving birth to such an urban legend might have been concocted by the first pioneers two hundred years ago as an excuse to slaughter the indigenous people, under the name of devilry, or it might have stemmed from some primitive worship by the island’s original inhabitants…
However, how that urban legend came to be is not important. For the seasoned elder members of the Solar Eclipse Society, the key is how to utilize the vast spirit energy generated alongside the birth of such urban legends!
The initial choice of the Tethys Laboratory to establish here, aside from valuing the “simple freedom” of the Free City, was the bizarre bromine “underground river” beneath Bai Ruming, which they utilized as a power supply for the laboratory.
In fact, at least half of the spirit energy required for various experiments at the Tethys Laboratory originates from those bromine “underground rivers”.
As for how the Tethys Laboratory staff extracted spirit energy, Shen Baiwei, restricted in her actions and positioned as a mere product of experimentation and an assistant in the laboratory, could only speculate.
However, this still doesn’t explain why the island is named after the bromine element…
How could those pioneers, or even the earlier indigenous people, discover the large amounts of elemental bromine hidden deep underground and recognize what it was?
Perhaps they had sensed or encountered the deeper secrets of this island long before the members of the Solar Eclipse Society, who arrived over a century later.
It is worth mentioning that the frequent urban legend incidents that led to Bai Ruming Island’s gradual decline several years ago were due to a spirit energy leak caused by an operational error when the Tethys Laboratory was extracting energy from the bromine “underground river”…
High concentrations of Night Erosion and vast amounts of spirit energy spread out, nearly covering the entire island, and along with the urban legends brought by the tourists, real urban legends were spawned, roaming in every corner of the island.
Eventually, as the tourists gradually left, the entire island became a breeding ground for urban legends under the Tethys Laboratory. As for the stubborn residents of the town who refused to leave, the Tethys Laboratory did not care; in their view, those folks would eventually become new urban legends or the fodder for urban legends.
What will Bai Ruming Island become in the future?
Shen Baiwei initially shared the same views as the Tethys Laboratory members, but upon escaping the Tethys Laboratory and having deeper interactions with the town’s residents, after hearing the song of the Indian elder, she couldn’t help but give birth to a slightly different thought.
Could the urban legend hidden underground in Bai Ruming Island be about to awaken?
Could it be that the final phase of the Saint’s Plan is nearing completion, triggering some unknown changes?
What powers does it possess, and what will its true form be?
If it awakens, and can directly annihilate the laboratory that has buried countless cruelties and evils, that would be perfect! Shen Baiwei thought bitterly.
Although she knows little information regarding the bromine river beneath Bai Ruming Island, she always feels that there is something even more terrifying hidden there, something that could potentially destroy the Tethys Laboratory.
Immersed in somewhat unrealistic fantasies, Shen Baiwei sailed in a small boat across the lake that seemed to drift away from the real world. When she came to her senses, the old wooden boat had already crossed the deep lake and docked at a hidden harbor on Bai Ruming Island.
Stone blocks arranged in a square shape, wooden stakes extending into the lake, everything concealed by the red mangroves… From a certain perspective, this couldn’t even be considered a proper harbor.
This was the only small harbor on the entire island that was not controlled by the Tethys Laboratory, which used to belong to a local family that guided tourists for fishing trips; she initially escaped from here, and now, she returned the same way.
However, to her surprise, the townspeople who were supposed to come to pick her up did not appear. The harbor was only adorned by a dim yellow mining lamp swaying gently in the breeze, the rusty ring letting out a creaky groan.
Frowning as she glanced at the empty harbor, Shen Baiwei hesitated for a moment, bit her lip, stood up and jumped ashore, loosely tying the rope connected to the small boat to the wooden stake at the harbor. She took the mining lamp and walked along the pebble path into the fog-laden red mangroves…
————
[“Calamity’s d*ath” Countdown, 105H31M12S]
Departing from Yumen Pass and after several hours, Luxianbei finally met Zhang Hainan at the back of Dachunyang Palace.
Upon her arrival, Zhang Hainan dismissed others and kindly led her into Moon Gathering Cave, brewing a pot of good tea for her.
Luxianbei took the cup but set it aside.
She didn’t dare to drink the tea Zhang Hainan provided.
According to Xuwu, it contained night bright sand, which is bat guano…
“Old man, let’s get straight to the point,” Luxianbei said.
“Oh?” Zhang Hainan raised his eyebrows slightly. “In such a hurry? It seems that the unnamed assassin group of the Assassins has put considerable pressure on you!”
“You already know?” Luxianbei tilted her head.
“That’s natural,” Zhang Hainan nodded and stroked his beard. “If it weren’t necessary to debate with the old man of the mountain, why would I have let that girl Huasang go to meet you?”
As he spoke, his gaze occasionally drifted toward behind Luxianbei, almost as if sensing something there.
“Since you already know, then…”
Before Luxianbei finished her sentence, Zhang Hainan waved his hand to cut her off, “No hurry, no hurry! Before we get to the main topic, I have a question to ask you.”
“A question? What question?” Luxianbei furrowed her brows.
Zhang Hainan smiled, pointing to the space behind her, “Do you know who this little friend following you is? Or is it okay for her to hear what we are about to discuss?”
That old fellow could even sense Xiao Hua’s presence?! Luxianbei was taken aback for a moment, then turned around with a shocked expression.
At the same time, Nanling Yaohua’s face also showed surprise, and she puffed up her cheeks.
She had thought that only Luxianbei could see her, but unexpectedly, upon arriving at Dachunyang Palace, both an old and a young person had noticed her existence.
Not very happy!
Her special connection with Luxianbei is no longer unique in the world!
“You can see her too?”
“Cannot,” Zhang Hainan shook his head. “But just because I can’t see her doesn’t mean she doesn’t exist. Not everything in this world can be seen with the eyes, right?”
Although he couldn’t see Nanling Yaohua like Luxianbei, he had his unique methods to sense her existence, perhaps even more skilled than Huasang.
Hearing Zhang Hainan’s words, Nanling Yaohua’s lips curled into a slight smile, secretly pleased.
She is indeed still one of a kind!
After listening to Zhang Hainan’s explanation, Luxianbei shook her head, “It’s fine; everything we’re about to discuss can be heard by Xiao Hua.”
“Xiao Hua? The girl from the Nanling family?” Zhang Hainan nodded thoughtfully. “I understand now…”
Next, he spent several minutes detailing the plan for the “Calamity’s d*ath” to Luxianbei.
After Luxianbei listened, resting her chin on one hand, she pondered for a moment and raised her little hand, “The parts about using a decoy for a fake d*ath, using special spell formulas to influence perception, and the Solar Eclipse Society issuing announcements—all those details are fine, but I still have two questions.”
“Oh? What questions?” Zhang Hainan frowned.
He believed that the various details of this plan had already been arranged adequately.
“Firstly…” Luxianbei held up a finger, “Two catastrophic-grade life-and-d*ath battles are sure to cause massive destruction, and the geography and environment will undergo tremendous changes. It’s tough to avoid detection in such circumstances.”
“When the time comes, those guys might discover any clues while sneaking into the scene behind your back!”
“Secondly, we are just putting on a show, and we have to damage the environment, which seems a bit wrong, doesn’t it?”
“Then what do you think we should do?” Zhang Hainan asked.
“If it were up to me…” Luxianbei raised an eyebrow. “We could enter my God Realm Prototype together. I could create a temporary area specifically for this grand performance?”
“At that point, it wouldn’t be a problem if they couldn’t find where we battled. The reason they can’t find it would be because the Solar Eclipse Society did a good job at keeping things confidential, and they just lack the ability.”
“Besides, wouldn’t you want to meet the Ancestor?” Luxianbei tentatively suggested, glancing slyly at Zhang Hainan with a mischievous gaze.
Zhang Hainan, “…”
Goodness! The old man originally just wanted to arrange a fake fight, but unexpectedly, this guy even wants to use a fake location?
Moreover, who told you that I wanted to meet that person?
Luxianbei, “…”
Entering the God Realm Prototype has another advantage, which is that it can prevent this old fellow from taking the opportunity for revenge…
With the Ancestor watching beside him, if the old fellow wanted to play dirty, the Ancestor would surely deal with him!
