Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

----

"Drowning curse?" Nan Rongni looked at Mu Ningxue with a terrified expression.

According to Mu Ningxue's description, the drowning curse had been around in the East Maritime Fortress for quite some time. There were quite a number of cases of the drowning curse too, but since the town was on a maritime battlefield, the demon creatures were blamed for their deaths. The victims did not show any signs prior to their death, and did not leave any clues behind, either. As a result, no one could really explain the cause of the drowning curse.

"It sounds spooky enough," admitted Jiang Shaoxu.

"The intern also told me that his group has conducted autopsies on a corpse before, but they didn't find any clues from it. However, not long afterwards, a member of the group was killed by the drowning curse… the scariest thing about it is that there isn't any sign at all, like the occurrence is happening to people in the East Maritime Fortress randomly," Mu Ningxue told them.

"Even if it's a strange disease, there must be a reason for it. How is it possible to not have any clue about the drowning curse?" asked Nan Rongni.

Mu Ningxue shook her head. She had gone to ask around and collect information about the drowning curse, but all she learned was that there was not any sign or clue about it.

"Strange, aren't the Japanese scared? If something like this happened in our country, the people would go nuts," said Jiang Shaoxu.

"We're in the East Maritime Fortress. Lots of people die at the hands of the demon creatures every tide rise. The drowning curse doesn't happen often in comparison..."

"There are still people dying. How could they ignore it just because there are fewer casualties? It would be troublesome if it turns out to be some kind of epidemic! Does anyone know about the plague in Hangzhou, the people didn't think it was anything serious, but more people started dying, and in the end, they figured out that it was the doing of the Silver Skyruler from the mountains in the west!" rebuked Jiang Yu in a serious voice.

"But the defense of the fortress in Hangzhou is pretty solid. Even a pack of demon creatures won't be able to do any damage to it. Didn't they find a solution to the plague pretty quickly? I heard a young man managed to find the cure, I think his name was Wang Xiaojun or something..." said Zhou Xu.

"Do you seriously think it was that simple?" refuted Jiang Yu, who proceeded to explain, "The Silver Skyruler is an old ancestor for the Heavenly Eagles. Back then, the army of Heavenly Eagles started revolting. Luckily, the general in charge decisively commanded the soldiers to kill them in time… they spent millions on the Heavenly Eagles, yet they all died at the hands of their riders. You have no idea how cruel it was!"

"Are you for real?" Everyone's eyes widened. The news did not mention anything that Jiang Yu had told them.

"There are lots of incidents that are not reported by the news. Do you know that the plague was actually started by a Councilman who was producing fake blood serums?" added Jiang Yu.

"Damn, are you serious?"

"Fake blood serums? Did he really dare to produce something like that? Was that even possible?"

Jiang Yu harrumphed coldly when he saw everyone's reaction, "A plague is a lot scarier than a curse. Normally, a curse only affects a single entity, but a plague will bring doom upon a whole community. In my opinion, the Japanese government should pay more attention to it. It will be too late to do anything if it turns into a plague!"

Mu Ningxue nodded. She had witnessed how the woman ended up despite her lively appearance just a minute before. Most terrifyingly, she could not forget how the woman was running toward the ocean insanely prior to her death.

"It's none of our business anyway, what's the point of discussing it here? Why are we being worried when the Japanese government doesn't even care?" Guan Yu thought otherwise.

"There are always diseases that we can never explain. Perhaps those people are feeling depressed from the pressure of fighting the sea monsters every day, so they took some drug and jumped into the sea to kill themselves!" Li Kaifeng also agreed that the incident was too ridiculous.

"Let's focus on tomorrow. I've already asked around the fortress. The tide has fallen further away this time, which means the tide rise tomorrow is going to be extreme. We should replenish the energies of the equipment we have and make sure they are ready for the battle tomorrow. Remember to get your hands on some emergency healing serums, too. Make sure you have enough supply of antidotes. Sea monsters are infamous for their poison. Don't lower your guard!" Nanyu warned them.

The drowning curse had been around for quite some time. If the Japanese were unable to find the reason behind it, there was nothing they could do, either. Their only choice was to focus on the matter at hand.

"Is Mo Fan coming back to the team?" Jiang Yu asked Mu Ningxue.

Mu Ningxue did not answer. Whether that asshole was coming back to the team or not was none of her business!

------

Qiyi Mountain to the north of Tokyo...

Qiyi Mountain was a famous attraction in Tokyo. It had scenic views of mountains, streams, and temples. There were camping spots along the river too, and lots of maple trees with fiery-red leaves during the right season.

Mo Fan followed Mochizuki Chihaya up the mountain and immediately saw quite a number of families setting up tents on both sides of a river blessed with clear water and lots of pebbles. It was a peaceful, heart-warming sight.

It was a trend for the people in modern cities, a getaway from the concrete buildings, all the noise in the cities, a time to enjoy and appreciate nature by breathing fresh air and eating clean food...

"Take this thing back yourself. Seriously, such a waste of my time."

The pleasant view did not dispel the grudge in Mo Fan's heart.

They had come all the way here to find Mochizuki Ken's old friend, yet it turned out that the man had already passed away three days ago.

Mo Fan was seriously doubting if the man was actually Mochizuki Ken's friend. He had no idea that his friend was already dead, and he did not even come to mourn for him. He even asked Mo Fan to deliver the evil orb to the man!

"The old man has been living in seclusion all along. He didn't use any modern communication device, and he never told anyone how he was doing either. It's most likely that people would only learn that he's dead after at least half a year if we weren't trying to deliver the orb to him..." Mochizuki Chihaya remained respectful toward the old man.

Mo Fan, on the other hand, was running out of patience.

Didn't they promise to give him the battle soul after he delivered the orb? His Swift Star Wolf was still waiting for an upgrade. Why couldn't that old man's friend wait a few more days before passing away? He should at least have died AFTER cleansing the orb! Now what, the orb was still in his hands...

"You keep it first, I'll contact teacher after we go down the mountain," Mochizuki Chihaya was utterly scared of the orb. There was no way she would take it from him.

Their phones finally had signals once they were almost down the hill. Mo Fan was wondering why Japan's mobile network coverage wasn't available in every area. Why were there no signals on Qiyi Mountain?

"Crap, my girlfriend is in trouble!" Mo Fan took out his phone and saw messages swarming in. There were all from Zhao Manyan!

"Which one is your girlfriend?"

"The silver-haired one. Take this, I'm heading to the East Maritime Fortress!" Mo Fan immediately summoned the Swift Star Wolf.