On a sweltering summer day, amid the refreshing evening breeze, under the setting sun, a white sail ship was speeding across the ocean. Its destination was the mysterious land not far away.
The crew spent the remaining time in anticipation and excitement, and it wasn’t until the ship finally drew close to the shore that they could clearly see what it looked like there.
It was a stretch of light brown earth that seemed to have no end at a glance. Across the ground, there were continuous mountains and vast plains, but no forests were in sight. Astonishingly, not a single tree could be seen anywhere.
"This environment is a bit strange..." Lord Bear stood at the ship’s side with his eyebrows tightly furrowed.
The others, however, didn’t think too much and were all eager to go ashore to explore.
The sail ship cruised along the shore for a few minutes until it found a protruding flat rock, resembling a natural dock, perfect for people to disembark.
Once the ship was steady, Zhang Xiaoman, who happened to be standing at the entryway, was the first to step out.
"Incredible! It feels like we’ve arrived at an uninhabited paradise unknown to the world, it’s just so beautiful!"
Behind him, someone let out a sigh of amazement, and the rest of the expedition team followed suit. Zhang Xiaoman turned around and saw that the speaker was the only female in the expedition team, Ji Xiaoqi.
Looking around, Xiao Man nodded to himself as well; the scenery here was indeed stunning. Beyond the rocks, there was a beach, and on this beach, strange plants grew everywhere—oddly shaped and vibrantly colored, unlike anything he had ever seen before, feeling as if he had arrived on an outer planet.
"What are these? They look so weird. Have we come to a land of the dead?" Hu Peng looked around at the environment and couldn’t help but speculate wildly.
"Land of the dead? Old Hu, even if you want to make up stories, could you at least stick to something plausible? Our ship isn’t called the ’Flying Dutchman,’ are you planning on going to the underworld or what?"
Xun You at his side mocked him briefly and then analyzed, "I think we’ve traveled through time; we’re no longer on Water Blue Star. That strange sea area was actually a Space Node, and after passing through it, we’ve arrived in another world!!"
After speaking, he took out his cell phone to check it, then his face changed dramatically as he said:
"Look! Look! I told you I was right! My phone can be turned on, but there’s still no signal! This is a high-priced satellite phone, mind you! Something has never happened before!!"
As his voice trailed off, the others glanced over, and a few also took out their phones to check, then changed their expressions as well.
"Mine doesn’t have a signal either!"
"Me neither! Oh, my God! We couldn’t really have traveled through time, could we!"
Zhang Xiaoman watched everyone’s reactions, feeling a bit amused.
These fellows really dared to dream, even concocting a time travel scenario.
But he knew that they were still on Water Blue Star, only that the land they were now on was strange, probably never discovered before, as if it had suddenly risen from the sea overnight.
"Wait! Overnight, sea bottom, could it really have risen from the sea floor? These... could they all be the doing of the Ultimate Item..."
Zhang Xiaoman suddenly grasped some key clues, and a shocking conclusion emerged in his mind.
Combining this with the previous news report about a super-massive tsunami, he felt even more certain about his recent speculation!
"Could this be... the gang territory given to me by the System?"
Zhang Xiaoman suddenly had this extraordinary thought.
At this moment, Bell, who had been silently observing the surroundings ever since disembarking, suddenly made a move.
He first pinched a handful of sand and rubbed it in his hands, then found a nearby red plant and gently caressed it a few times before speaking with uncertainty:
"These should be corals... And the sand here is so fine, there is also a strong smell of trimethylamine, and some shellfish I have never even heard of! This is really strange, why is it ..."
Next to him, Hu Peng asked curiously, "Lord Bear, are you saying these are corals? Then what does trimethylamine mean?"
Bell looked at him and explained:
"If I’m not mistaken, these should indeed be corals! As for the smell of trimethylamine, well... it’s a scent that comes from the inside of fish, to put it in layman’s terms, it’s commonly known as the ’fishy smell’."
As he said this, his gaze suddenly sharpened, and he quickly walked a few steps to the side, rummaged through the sand, and soon pulled out several white, elongated objects.
Seeing this, the crowd gathered around curiously to see what he held in his hands.
"What is this? Is it a snake?" asked Hu Peng.
Hearing this, Xun You mocked him, "Have you lost your mind? You can’t even recognize hairtail fish? Don’t say you’re from our expedition team in the future! I won’t acknowledge you!"
"I... I’ve only seen hairtail fish when they’re braised or in sweet and sour sauce; when they’re this decayed, how am I supposed to recognize them..."
However, Bell did not pay attention to their banter and was still frowning, as if thinking about something.
"Lord Bear, what’s wrong? Is there something wrong with this fish?" Ji Xiaoqi asked.
Bell came back to his senses and said, "No, there’s nothing wrong with the fish, but there is something wrong with this place!"
"Ah? What do you mean?"
"Hairtail is a deep-sea fish species that usually ranges around 100 meters deep at night; it shouldn’t be appearing on the beach..."
Xun You couldn’t help asking, "But isn’t it normal for dead hairtail fish to occasionally get washed up on the beach? Why do you say there is something wrong with this place, Lord Bear?"
Bell shook his head and said, "It’s true, it’s possible for an occasional one to wash ashore, but generally, you wouldn’t see as many as we do now!"
He pointed at the four or five hairtail fish corpses on the ground around them and continued:
"Furthermore, based on my observations just now, the environment here is quite peculiar. Not just hairtail, but also many types of shellfish, corals, and other deep-water organisms that shouldn’t be seen in shallow waters! This entire area feels like a piece of deep-sea floor that has suddenly risen to the surface!"
Zhang Xiaoman was startled upon hearing this, having not expected that this guy would be able to guess so much in such a short time.
He himself had only made a rough guess by combining the ’God’s view’ map and the foresight given by the System.
It seems one cannot underestimate anyone, and it will probably not be long before forces from various countries will land here, right?
No, maybe they have already arrived!
He must find that place on the map as soon as possible!
After Bell finished speaking, he glanced at the surprised expressions of everyone and then continued:
"These are just my speculations, but no matter what, let’s head back to the sail ship later, it’s going to be dark soon. This place is still unknown to us; staying out here is too dangerous. Let’s return and spend the night!"