Chapter 868
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Chapter 868: The Discovery of the Anqing Fish
Lin Qiye pondered for a long time, his body infused with a hint of night color. Countless insects crawled out from the earth, swirling around him for a moment before orderly burrowing back into the ground.
Since no clues were found near the fishing village, perhaps he could use the “Starry Night Dancer” to communicate with the nocturnal creatures nearby and see if he could find something different elsewhere.
He didn’t know how long had passed when Lin Qiye seemed to sense something, his gaze fixed on the ground beneath his feet, letting out a soft “hmm…”
…
Fishing Village.
An Qingyu held a cigarette in his hand, hesitating for a moment before tentatively taking a puff.
“Cough cough cough…”
He began to cough violently.
“What’s wrong? Can’t smoke?” Chen Gou saw An Qingyu’s awkward appearance and couldn’t help but smile, the last bit of his wariness dissipating.
This is just a naive kid!
“First time.” An Qingyu coughed for a while before slowly putting down the cigarette, giving a helpless smile.
“If you can’t smoke, then don’t. This stuff is bad for your lungs.”
“By the way, Uncle Chen,” An Qingyu asked casually, “do you smoke every day?”
“Pretty much. I’m an old smoker; if I don’t smoke half a pack a day, I feel uncomfortable all over.”
“Then where do you usually get your cigarettes?”
“There’s a small shop at the west end of the village where I usually buy them. Why?”
“Oh, nothing much. I was just thinking if there’s a shop, I could buy some drinks too… Uncle Chen, do you have any change to spare?”
“Sure, wait a moment.”
Chen Gou stood up, turned back to the house, and after searching for a while, came out with a few crumpled bills and handed them to An Qingyu.
“How do you want to exchange?”
An Qingyu’s gaze fell on the crumpled bills, his eyes slightly narrowing before quickly returning to calm. He fumbled in his pocket, scratching his head awkwardly, “Sorry, Uncle Chen, I just checked my pocket and found I have some change. Really sorry to trouble you…”
Chen Gou was taken aback, “It’s fine, it’s fine.”
“Uncle Chen, I’m going to sleep now. You should rest early.”
“Mm, okay.”
An Qingyu walked back to his room, locked the door behind him, and the gentle smile on his face gradually faded, replaced by an unprecedented seriousness.
“Qingyu, what did you find?” Jiang Er asked with some concern upon seeing An Qingyu’s expression.
“I have some ideas, but I need to verify them.” An Qingyu walked to the window, quietly opened it, and turned back to Jiang Er and Jia Lan, saying, “You stay here; I’m going out for a bit…
Remember, don’t let your guard down. Always stay alert; this place is definitely not as simple as it seems.”
“Okay.”
An Qingyu’s figure swayed, and he directly climbed out of the window, disappearing into the night.
…
As dawn broke, Bai Li Pangpang, Shen Qingzhu, and Cao Yuan, sitting at the village entrance, couldn’t help but yawn upon seeing Jia Lan and Jiang Er approaching from a distance.
“You guys are here so early?” Jia Lan said, somewhat surprised.
Bai Li Pangpang’s mouth twitched slightly, “Don’t mention it; we’ve been sitting here all night…”
Jiang Er glanced at the dejected trio and uncertainly asked, “You guys didn’t manage to find a place to stay overnight, did you?”
The three silently turned their heads to the distance, seemingly ignoring Jiang Er’s question.
While they were chatting, a figure stepped out from the void. Lin Qiye, holding the handle of “Zhan Bai,” stood in front of them, scanning the group with a puzzled expression, “Where’s Qingyu?”
“He went out alone last night and hasn’t come back yet,” Jiang Er said, biting her lip, worry flashing in her eyes.
Alone?
Lin Qiye raised an eyebrow.
An Qingyu wasn’t the type to wander aimlessly; since he left Jia Lan and Jiang Er behind and took the initiative to go out, it meant he must have found some crucial clue…
“Don’t worry, Qingyu is our vice-captain of the ‘Nightfall.’ What could happen? He’ll probably be back soon,” Bai Li Pangpang said, trying to reassure Jiang Er upon seeing her expression.
Lin Qiye nodded, “Then let’s start. Tell me what you all discovered.”
Bai Li Pangpang cleared his throat and recounted everything they had seen and heard last night, along with Shen Qingzhu’s speculations.
“Over fifty years ago?” Jiang Er’s expression was one of shock, but after thinking for a moment, she still spoke with some skepticism, “Indeed… all the items here have a very vintage feel, and there are almost no modern electronic devices. The magnetic field seems much cleaner than the outside world.”
“But I still can’t understand. We just walked along a coastline; how did we inexplicably return to over fifty years ago?” Cao Yuan frowned.
“Indeed, if this is time travel, it seems too easy,” Bai Li Pangpang agreed.
Lin Qiye pondered for a moment and said, “The theory of time travel doesn’t hold up.”
The others looked at him in confusion.
“Last night, I tried to leave this fishing village,” Lin Qiye said calmly, raising his head. “No matter which direction I tried or what means I used, I couldn’t leave this fishing village even a step. If we really just returned to the past, there would be no reason to be confined to this village.”
“Qiye is right; this isn’t time travel.”
At that moment, a voice came from afar. An Qingyu, dressed in casual clothes, was slowly walking out from the village.
“Qingyu, what did you find?” Lin Qiye’s eyes lit up upon seeing An Qingyu return.
An Qingyu walked up to the group, adjusted his glasses, and said, “When that fisherman handed me a cigarette last night, I noticed something was off. That brand of cigarettes was discontinued many years ago; it shouldn’t be available in modern society.
Later, I confirmed the villagers’ currency, which made me certain that the timeline here is problematic.
So, I immediately planted ‘fish seeds’ in the local rats, trying to leave this fishing village in different directions. The result was the same as what Qiye tested; no matter what method was used, we couldn’t leave the confines of this village…
So, a critical question has arisen.”
An Qingyu opened his palm, revealing a half-burned cigarette resting quietly in his hand, his expression serious as he spoke, “If this fishing village is completely sealed off, where did these discontinued and vintage supplies come from?
In such a large fishing village, the essential supplies like kerosene, rice, and vegetables add up to a significant amount. I’ve already checked the only small shop in this village, and the stock there is only enough to last the village for five days.
So, in a situation where we can’t contact the outside world and can’t restock, how did these things appear?”
