The blazing sun, eternally motionless in the sky, cast its radiant light down.
The boundless sea surface seemed calm, yet a bizarre scene unfolded.
The tranquil surface slowly split in the middle, without any warning.
This sight caused the Dawn's Voice, hovering in this area, to frantically dodge to the side.
Fortunately, despite the inexplicable split in the sea, the resulting flow force did not seem very strong.
The Dawn's Voice, along with the Golden Trout ahead, escaped the drag and entered safe waters.
"That sudden crack couldn't be an illusion caused by spatial chaos, right?" Alka asked, turning around.
After all, the split in the sea surface did indeed convey the drag felt by the water trough, though it wasn't overwhelming.
Julia nodded.
"It's definitely not caused by spatial chaos."
"Then what caused it?" Jason leaned over, curiously asking.
"Space damage."
"...That's worse than chaos." Hearing this, Alka was somewhat speechless.
Damage will indeed cause damage to the surrounding area, while chaos only changes the appearance, but the fundamental difference is the same.
If their ship had just been sucked into the crack, it would have been terrible.
This damn place is really dangerous.
However, the ocean rift caused by the spatial damage didn't last long. After about ten minutes, it suddenly disappeared.
In an instant, the ocean current brought a strong pulling force, and a huge vortex appeared at the damaged area.
There's even a second attack?
"Full speed! Full speed!"
Arka shouted, the spells on the Dawn's body radiating a powerful blue light as it veered frantically, facing the whirlpool.
Though it looked a little nervous, it wasn't.
If it truly couldn't defeat the enemy, it could naturally enter diving mode. Even if it sank to the bottom of the ocean, it wouldn't matter much.
Luckily, the Dawn's Voice was a ghost ship, and even at full speed it instantly broke free from the pull.
This wasn't a huge challenge for her; it was just a warm-up.
After all, to account for speed, Arka and Simon later added more speed-related spells to the Dawn's Voice.
They managed to break free, but others might not.
"The Golden Trout can't hold on!" Lucille's voice came from overhead.
Hearing this, everyone looked off into the distance.
Seeing that the Golden Trout was too large, it failed to turn in time and was being pulled sideways towards the whirlpool.
Even though he was equally loaded with spells, his speed was still no match for the pull of the massive whirlpool.
Even though they were on the periphery.
"Help them," Alka shouted.
Julia Pororo, Matresa, and the other two came to the bow.
They simultaneously raised their hands.
These three sea creatures were born with the ability to control ocean currents.
They exerted their strength simultaneously.
A huge wave suddenly rose from the edge of the whirlpool, surging into a wave that moved in the opposite direction of the whirlpool, quickly reaching beneath the Golden Trout.
The powerful current dragged the ship's stern, pulling it away and helping it to right its course.
With the help of the current, the Golden Trout's emergency situation quickly subsided, and it was then propelled by the current to quickly escape the vortex's reach.
As the vortex gradually dissipated, the Golden Trout was completely out of danger.
At this moment, a ding-dong sound was heard overhead.
"I see the island!"
Hearing this, everyone looked in the direction Lucelia had pointed.
Soon, a small black dot appeared at the end of their field of vision.
"Finally, we found this island. It was so difficult," Jason said with some resignation.
Border Island was so far away from Southern Cross Island that they could only determine its approximate range.
Even if Border Island were reconnected, it would not appear in a fixed location, but would fluctuate within a large area of the sea.
This meant they had already reached their target, but were still wandering around the sea, searching for the island.
They had been searching for almost two days, and finally found it.
Had they been a few days later, Border Island would have been gone, and it wouldn't return until 100 days and nights later.
Arka and his crew had discovered the island, and the Golden Trout, not far away, had also spotted it. The two ships sailed towards it together.
Before long, the entire island came into view, and the island's border was visible at a glance.
The sudden appearance of an island with a clear view of its border was a bit strange.
In terms of size, this island was only about twice the size of Arka's current home, Golden Wheat Island.
For the Silverless Sea, it was only a small island.
However, the vegetation on the island appeared to be quite lush.
As they sailed, they gradually approached the island.
They began circling the island's edge, searching for a suitable natural harbor.
However, after circling it for a while, they found no natural harbor.
It truly wasn't a habitable island.
They had no choice but to anchor the ship further away.
The front cockpit door of the Voice of the Dawn opened, and the Swallow was finally pushed out.
For Simon and Matresa, this was their first time on this small boat.
The larger Golden Trout also launched a small boat not far away, revealing only about ten crew members.
The rest of the crew naturally stayed on board.
Alka and the others were all dispatched, as half of the puppet army had been left on board.
Thirty girls with strength exceeding the Eight Spiral were sufficient, and the vice-captain, who had reached the third stage of the Dao, also remained on board.
Although the puppet girls were small, there were enough of them to make the Swallow seem a bit crowded.
Pororo and the other three sea creatures swam directly across from the surface.
Soon, they reached the beach, towed the boat ashore, and dropped anchor.
Baraz eagerly approached and gave Alka a big hug.
"Thank you so much for what you did just now. If it weren't for you, our voyage would have ended today."
His words were filled with fear.
The crew members behind him were also terrified.
They had practically brushed death with death. Without Alka and the others' help, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
Hearing this, Alka smiled and shook his head, then asked curiously, "Don't you possess the treasure? Hasn't your ship been revealed as a ghost ship?"
As a ghost ship, a short period of sinking wouldn't affect it. Even without any stealth features, it could still sail for a while.
It was more than enough to escape the whirlpool, so to say it saved lives is a bit of an exaggeration.
Hearing this, Balazs smiled awkwardly and said, "This ship was actually replaced just a year ago. The core of the previous ship hasn't yet been fully adapted to this one."
Hearing this, Alka nodded in understanding.
If that's the case, then it certainly can't be considered a ghost ship. They had just walked along the edge of a cliff.
"Well, no need to thank us. After all, we're temporary companions, aren't we? Let's see if this is the island first."
Everyone turned their attention to the island. There were some weeds around the beach.
Some broken ship planks could be seen on the sand, and a completely deserted cabin could be seen not far away.
These all indicated that the island was inhabited.
A footpath could be seen among the weeds, winding its way towards the nearby woods.
However, the uneven ground ahead obscured their view of the surrounding area.
Then Balazs looked at Alka.
"How will you proceed? I know nothing about treasure hunting. You take the lead."
Alka nodded, not refusing.
He glanced around.
He said directly, "One, take your team and explore ahead. Nine, you will scout from the sky."
Alka was unfamiliar with the island, and this was, after all, the vast ocean. Besides, the inhabitants of this island are all former exiled criminals, so it's better to be cautious.
"Yes, Captain."
The two puppet girls nodded.
Yi and his five team members leaped directly into the shadows of the woods and disappeared.
Jiu and his team members fluttered into the sky, and Sofia waved.
Light surrounded them, obscuring their figures.
They dispersed and began to scout the island.
The rest of the group naturally waited.
With their strength and speed, the puppet girls didn't take long; after just over an hour, they all returned.
The island wasn't large, and they quickly explored it.
"How's it going?"
"From the sky, we see that the island is completely deserted. There's a small village about a kilometer away.
But the village has been abandoned for a long time. No one has been seen. The farmland around it is completely deserted and overgrown with weeds."
Jiu, who was conducting aerial reconnaissance, was the first to report.
After hearing her report, Alka looked at Yi, who was standing beside her.
Yi said, "We checked some areas in the woods. While there are signs of past habitation, it's been a long time since then.
We also went to the abandoned village and didn't see a single body. Everything inside was very well cleared."
After hearing their reports, Alka nodded.
"That means all the exiled people on this island have moved away," Alka said, frowning.
The people on this island are all exiled criminals who live on the island.
Now all the criminals have relocated, yet they hadn't gathered any information about this while gathering intelligence on the island.
This suggests that the island's inhabitants had fled in secret. Furthermore, given its extreme distance and limited connections to Southern Cross Island, no one knew about it.
This suggests that the relocated villagers may have sailed directly to an unknown destination.
Furthermore, as the island's laws gradually became more robust, no more criminals were exiled.
Thus, the place slowly fell into ruin, unnoticed, until they arrived.
"Could they have already dug up the buried treasure?" Balazs suddenly said.
After hearing this, the others pondered and concluded that this was indeed a possibility.
Alka shook her head. "If he's so easy to find, is he still a pirate?"
"Anyway, let's go to the island and take a look."
He led the way forward, and the others followed immediately.
They followed the path, observing the island's landscape.
Although the island had vegetation, its growth and density suggested that the soil wasn't fertile.
Furthermore, they could see rocks surrounding the island, as they passed and not far away. The cultivated area wasn't very large.
Alka dismissed most of the puppet girls, allowing them to freely search the island for areas of interest.
See if they could find any interesting traces and report back later.
Only Yi and her assassin team remained.
Soon, they came into sight of the abandoned village.
"Something's not right about this island. We'd better be careful," Julia suddenly said as they walked.
Hearing this, they immediately stopped and looked at Julia.
This was clearly not a good statement.
"I can sense that there doesn't seem to be any major problems around here, but it also feels strange. I have an inexplicable intuition."
Looking at Julia's slightly serious face,
Everyone nodded.
They didn't underestimate this so-called intuition; it was a very important perception.
Balazs also turned to look at his subordinates behind him: "Hear that? Everyone, cheer up."
"To be honest, I actually feel quite comfortable on the island. I feel like I've become much lighter," Alka suddenly said.
He had felt something different about the island since he arrived. After arriving, he felt unusually relaxed.
It felt like a good rest after a tiring day, like waking from a long sleep.
Matthia swam up, her snake tail swaying, and reached out to touch Alka.
She examined Alka's body.
"There's nothing wrong with your body. Are you sure it's not an illusion?"
Alka shook her head. "It can't be an illusion. I even feel like my magic power has become easier to control."
This was a clear improvement; illusions and hallucinations wouldn't bring such a change.
Julia closed her eyes, and her legs instantly transformed into fish tails. The water curled around them, lifting her up.
Transforming into her true form would enhance her perception, and combined with the spell ritual she was currently using, it would allow her to accurately determine if there was any trouble with the island.
She raised her hands slightly, and invisible waves emanated from the surroundings.
The sudden change startled Balazs.
"Mer…merman?"
At Balazs's surprised voice, Alka turned to look at him.
"Haven't you seen one?"
Shouldn't have.
"I've heard of them, but never seen one. I didn't expect Miss Julia to be a mermaid," Balazs's voice was still a little surprised.
"Really?" Alka didn't ask any further.
After all, he hadn't seen any mermaids on Southern Cross Island, and he hadn't even seen many merpeople.
The Vast Ocean was truly vast.
Julia was now carefully examining the surroundings.
After a moment, she opened her eyes, a hint of confusion in them, but she shook her head.
"The magic around here doesn't seem to have changed. While I'm sure there's something strange going on, I have no idea what it is."
For a mermaid whose mission is to protect the environment, her strong environmental perception, both innate and acquired, has never failed her. But now there was a problem.
Alka's brow furrowed, and he was already considering whether to abandon this operation.
If Julia could sense something was wrong with her surroundings but couldn't tell where it was, then something must be seriously wrong.
Julia's environmental perception was no joke; it far surpassed theirs.
And, crucially, this perception stemmed from her racial bloodline, enhanced by divine intervention.
He pulled out a copy of the simplified line map.
Alka tapped on the golden light.
He looked at the difficulty of the treasure.
[Difficulty: Seeker]
There's really no standard based on skill. If the treasure is on this island, if the island is dangerous, then the difficulty will be indicated.
He'd never made a mistake.
The one time they made a mistake wasn't due to the difficulty marking, but rather to external factors.
In other words, if they were simply searching for treasure, they wouldn't be in danger.
He handed the map to Sofia.
"Are you sure this is really the island?"
After all, the lines were a bit sloppy, but it was indeed a map.
Xadaiti, aware of the seriousness of the matter, carefully compared it once more, combining it with the surrounding surveys she had been conducting.
Nodding.
"There's absolutely no problem."
Their exchange left Balazs and the people he brought with him bewildered.
They understood each word, but when they put it all together, they couldn't quite make sense. They could only stand there, bewildered, listening to their exchange, unable to get a word in.
It seemed as if the conversation had concluded.
Balas asked cautiously, "Is this island dangerous?"
As a businessman, while adventurous, he still had a certain fear of death.
"Well, there's a problem, but we don't know where. For now, it doesn't seem dangerous."
"That's good."
At this moment, a member of the crew following Balazs looked around and asked.
"Could this place really contain the pirate's treasure? It's so desolate."
He clearly expressed some disbelief.
"If not, why am I here?" Balazs said, turning his head and glaring at the crew member.
Alka simply smiled and said calmly, "Don't worry, we're treasure hunters. Our vision won't be flawed."
Then he glanced at the map.
Then at the abandoned village before them.
He focused his attention on where the golden spot would be.
"Boogie!"
"What?"
Jason's expression suddenly changed. He raised his left glove and unleashed a freezing ice bullet.
"What are you doing?"