Chapter 476: A Shocking Turn

“What the hell? Where did it send me?” Qin Ziwen glanced around but didn’t step out of the gate.

The scene outside was truly absurd. On the beach, a massive number of fish carcasses were piled layer upon layer, forming small mountains.

Several colossal creatures were mixed in among them.

Qin Ziwen recognized them—they looked like two Fish Dragons.

On the beach beyond the gate, the thick stench of blood mingled with the reek of fish, and countless seabirds circled overhead.

Blood stained the surf red, and dark crimson foam lapped against the pale fish carcasses.

“My Lord, I’ll go scout ahead,” Du Yu said, cupping his fists as he volunteered.

“Be careful.”

Du Yu nodded in acknowledgment.

He first extended his Long Spear, probing out from inside the bronze gate.

The spear shaft wavered.

After a few more tentative probes, he leaped out of the gate, his sharp gaze sweeping across the surroundings.

He scanned the area, and after confirming there was no immediate danger, he nodded to those still inside the gate, signaling it was safe.

Just as Qin Ziwen was about to step out, Qin Ziwu stopped him. “Brother, let me take some men and check things out first.”

Jiang Shan added, “President, I’ll go. This scene outside is a bit unnerving. It’s better to be cautious.”

Qin Ziwen paused, narrowing his eyes to study the scene outside. “Be careful.”

After safety was repeatedly confirmed, Qin Ziwen finally stepped out of the bronze gate.

It was eerily quiet outside, with only the sound of the crashing tide and the cries of seagulls in the sky.

“This is the island where Hongding Mansion was.” Qin Ziwen looked back at the building. The once-towering skyscraper had been sheared in half.

The Urban Village was completely silent.

Not a single living creature had emerged from the Urban Village since the Node’s Teleportation Gate opened.

But he remembered that at least a few dozen people had chosen to stay on the island when he left.

“Has it been a long time since we were here?” Cao Biansheng asked with a frown.

Zhao Pu studied the area before slowly shaking his head. “I don’t think so. Judging by the condition of these buildings, not much time has passed. A few months at most.”

Qin Ziwen walked toward the Urban Village. He stopped just outside of it.

The village walls were covered in marks, and the doors of many houses had been forced open. A battle had taken place here.

Judging from the signs, it didn’t look like a Sea Beast attack. It was more like a violent home invasion.

‘Someone was here. The people who stayed behind must have clashed with invaders.’

“It might have been an intelligent species,” Qin Ziwu said, frowning. He glanced at his brother, then at Lorne standing behind him, and fell into thought.

Luo Hai stepped forward and said in a grave tone, “Chief, this definitely wasn’t the work of Fishmen. The marks don’t match.”

Lorne quickly spoke up as well. “Chief, I can guarantee it wasn’t Fishmen.”

While they had brought some of the Fishmen to join their Home, a portion of them had remained here.

Before leaving, they had given specific instructions not to engage in conflict with the humans on the surface.

Besides, the environments where humans and Fishmen lived were entirely separate.

One lived on the surface, the other deep beneath the sea.

“I don’t think it was Fishmen, either,” Qin Ziwen said. “It must have been other outsiders. Either they appeared suddenly, or…”

“President! I found something!” Jin Hao called out, holding up a small note he’d taken from a room. “I found this in a drawer!”

*A large ship suddenly appeared. The people on board took Brother Long, then they came for us. They seem to be looking for something. There’s no escape on this island. If I don’t make it back, it means we’re all dead!*

Qin Ziwen’s expression tightened as he finished reading the note.

‘The note hasn’t been changed, which means the writer never came back.’

‘A large ship that appeared out of nowhere… it was most likely another Tuiyuan. The writer didn’t specify a race, which suggests they were human. If they were non-human, the note would have surely mentioned it.’

Qin Ziwen continued to analyze the situation. ‘They captured them while searching for something… Is it something in the sea? Are they looking for the underwater Fishmen?’

‘No, that’s probably not it. If they were just looking for Fishmen, they wouldn’t need to go to all this trouble. Maybe there’s some kind of treasure in the sea, or something else they need.’

Qin Ziwen frowned. ‘So, it must be humans from another Home who suddenly arrived in this world to search for something in the ocean. Judging by their methods—crude, ruthless, and cruel—this is an experienced group of Tuiyuan.’

‘Could this be related to Xie Ya…?’

For some reason, Qin Ziwen suddenly thought of Xie Ya.

Based on his previous conversations with Xie Ya, he knew that if two Tuiyuan had been to the same world before, the probability of them meeting again in a subsequent world was higher.

It was like two people leaving footprints in the same patch of a forest; their paths were more likely to cross in the next one.

“This map isn’t safe anymore,” Qin Ziwen said, shaking his head.

“Chief, I just went to check the seafloor myself,” Luo Hai said, approaching with two other Fishmen. “The underwater Fishman Tribe was attacked as well, but some of our people managed to hide.”

The Fishman brought forward had wounds that had not yet healed.

Upon seeing the humans around him, the Fishman flinched and recoiled in fear.

“Take him and get his story.”

They quickly got the story. A week ago, a giant ship had suddenly appeared.

The ship could submerge and travel underwater. They had attacked the Fishman Tribe and captured many of its members.

Fortunately, the massive vessel moved slowly underwater. Aside from the initial, devastating surprise attack, it hadn’t been able to catch the fleeing Fishmen.

After escaping, this Fishman and his kin had hidden in a distant underwater cave.

They noticed that large numbers of fish in the surrounding waters felt some kind of pull, causing them to swarm toward the island.

In fact, they too had felt a faint summons—some kind of voice calling them to go there.

Terrified of the humans, they resisted the sound’s temptation and didn’t dare approach.

Only after the sound had vanished did they dare to slowly return to their tribal grounds, where they found that the humans had mysteriously disappeared.

“Either their time at the Node ran out and they were forcibly sent back, or they accomplished their goal,” Qin Ziwen speculated. “If they didn’t, they might come back.”

Cao Biansheng pinched his nose. “So the mountain of corpses on the shore is their doing. But what’s strange is that we haven’t found any of the bodies of the people who were taken.”

Qin Ziwu offered his own theory. “Could they be mixed in with the fish carcasses?”

Cao Biansheng shot him a look. “We’ve already searched through the carcasses. It looks like a lot, but many of them are huge fish. You couldn’t hide a human body among them.”

“I meant *inside* the fish,” Qin Ziwu said seriously. “Is it possible they’re in their stomachs?”

“…” Cao Biansheng gave him a long, hard look. “You’re a real piece of work, you know that?”

Half an hour later, someone bent over the dissected stomach of a Fish Dragon and pulled out a partially digested pelvic bone. “Found one!”