He didn’t even need to think twice. He couldn’t imagine a lake creating waves of this intensity. Furthermore, the salty air agreed with him. He temporarily didn’t see any teammates. He had no idea if Fatty came with him or not.
Screaming or wandering around aimlessly in an unknown situation could be fatal. Even though the mission just started, Jiang Cheng got on all fours and hid in the dark.
This building was strange. From his perspective, the domed ceiling was tall. At least he couldn’t see the ceiling from the ground. The walls looked like steep cliffs. The way he could tell it was not an actual cliff was because he caught signs of human carving. Some of the walls also had exposed smooth marble surfaces. Collapsed pillars lay scattered all around him. Some of them were as thin as a person’s thigh, while others were as large as coliseum pillars.
One of the reasons Jiang Cheng didn’t move was because of these pillars. They looked like they had fallen from a high spot before crushing into pieces. Jiang Cheng was close to piles of rubble. Once he moved, he’d make noise.
Jiang Cheng had a feeling that he was not the only person there. There were others hiding in the dark. They could be friends or enemies. Regardless, Jiang Cheng planned to hide until the very end.
His eyes scanned the darkness. After his eyes adjusted, Jiang Cheng realised he was not in actual darkness. The darkness was created by a light layer of mist. Since the mist was black…
He slowly waved his hand. The black mist before his eyes dispersed, and he had a clearer view of the stone pillar before his feet.
The pillar was carved with many unknown patterns. The top of the pillar cracked and landed beside him. It was the carving of a… Jiang Cheng frowned. The sea, wind and water had exhausted its original shape. Jiang Cheng had to say the carver meant for it to be a creature. Regardless, Jiang Cheng didn’t recognise it.
The last time Jiang Cheng saw something was in a fantasy mobile game. Back then, he thought the game dev was playing a prank on the players by throwing random things together and calling it a day.
The sudden sound flustered Jiang Cheng slightly. He turned to the sound, and he saw the light. Eventually, the gap opened wider and more light streamed through.
Jiang Cheng closed one eye and used his other eye to look at the light. He needed his eyes to get used to the light as soon as possible so that both of his eyes wouldn’t be blinded at the same time.
Soon, he realised the light gap was a door. It opened a gap because someone pushed the door open.
“This door is so heavy…” A familiar voice said. Even though it sounded powerful and even experienced, Jiang Cheng knew that the owner was acting. He was the cowardly Fatty.
Once the door opened fully, the inside of the building became brighter. The black mist was chased away. Jiang Cheng slowly stood up, facing away from the light.
“Someone’s here!” Someone shouted. The voice was shrill, but it was undeniably male.
Fatty’s eyes glowed when he saw Jiang Cheng. He opened his mouth, ready to greet the Doctor. However, he soon realised something. He put away his excitement and regarded Jiang Cheng as if he were a stranger. Thankfully, everyone’s attention was on Jiang Cheng, and no one noticed the change in him.
It looked like… these were their teammates this time.
Jiang Cheng studied the group. He wondered why he was always the last one to be found by the group… just like an orphan.
Just as he was about to take a step forward to embrace the group, he paused. He heard a sound that was different from the waves. It was very close! It was just behind him!
He instantly turned around. There was a young man with a handsome face standing beside the pillar. He was probably one or two years younger than Jiang Cheng. When the young man realised that he had been spotted, he nodded at Jiang Cheng and smiled, “I’m sorry. I hope I didn’t scare you.”
A few strands of hair fell down the young man’s forehead. His eyes looked through Jiang Cheng the gap in his bangs. His gentle face accentuated his cultured upbringing. He was like a young master from the wuxia novels. He should be an ancient costume enthusiast. Even though his clothes were fitted, he carried him with a fluttery air.
“It’s fine,” Jiang Cheng replied calmly.
The young man sighed in relief, like he had been forgiven. He nodded apologetically at Jiang Cheng before turning to the rest of the group.
Jiang Cheng looked at the giant pillar beside the young man. When he first arrived, he checked his surroundings. He made sure there was no one around before he started studying the stone pillar and carving before him. Back then, he also checked this stone pillar behind him. There was no one around it then.
In other words… Jiang Cheng narrowed his eyes. This young master probably slunk to Jiang Cheng’s back while the waves were roaring to cover his movement.
Fatty and the rest walked over.
Including Jiang Cheng and the young master, there were eight travellers for this mission.
There were four males and four females. One of them was a man about two metres tall. The man stood behind a girl in a Loli outfit. The girl’s head only reached the man’s waist.
From Fatty, Jiang Cheng found out that they were extremely close to the sea. This strange building was about 100 meters away from the shore. There were no other buildings nearby.
The building backed into a steep cliff, and the other side faced an endless forest.
In other words, if one wanted to leave the place, one had to climb up the cliff, trek through the forest, or find a boat to brave the sea.
Jiang Cheng looked at a tanned and thin woman. “What’s wrong with you?”
The woman looked lanky, but she was extremely athletic. However, her body was covered in tiny scars. Some of them were even bleeding.
“I tried to climb up the cliff to have a better vantage point,” The woman answered honestly. Clearly, she had failed.
“The cliffs around here are too worn out by the seabreeze. There are too many spots that cannot support the human weight,” The woman said as she looked out the door.