Chapter 898
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Chapter 898 The Whereabouts of Wang Mian
The swaying rain fell on the deserted mountain path as a figure in a pure black kimono held a red paper umbrella, climbing the steps.
The rain dripped from the edges of the paper umbrella. As the umbrella lifted slightly, a handsome face was reflected in the water droplets.
Ring ring ring—!
A crisp phone ring sounded.
The figure paused briefly, hesitated for a moment, then pulled out a phone from within and held it to their ear.
“Hello?”
“Hey! Brother Amemiya!”
“Ah, little Yuzuri? What’s the matter?”
“I went to that cliff again today! Guess what I found!!”
Hearing the excitement in Yuzuri’s voice, Amemiya Seiki was stunned, thinking of a possibility, a glimmer of hope flashing in his eyes.
“Has he returned?!”
“No, I found an old man!”
“…”
“This old man also drifted here with the ocean current, and when I found him, his time was frozen too, just like Brother Shinya back then!” Yuzuri grew more excited as she spoke, “I feel like he might be from the same place as Brother Shinya!”
An old man from the same place as Lin Shinya?
Wouldn’t that be Da Xia?
Amemiya Seiki raised an eyebrow.
“Can he understand what we’re saying?”
“Doesn’t seem like it. After he woke up, he just sat silently in the corner, ignoring everything I say to him.”
“…I see. Once I’m done with what I’m handling, I’ll come to the Kazamatsuri house to take a look.”
“Brother Amemiya, haven’t you found the last Magatsukami yet?”
“Not yet.”
“Alright then, I’ll wait for you at the Kazamatsuri house.”
“Mm.”
Amemiya Seiki hung up the phone and walked along the mountain path for a long while. After searching the entire mountain, he sighed helplessly.
“Was Shota’s prophecy wrong again today…”
He shook his head, held his paper umbrella, and turned to walk down the mountain path.
…
“Yesterday at 4 PM, another group assault incident occurred at Shinsaibashi. Eight drunk violent residents broke into a jewelry store with knives, stabbed the store owner sixteen times, and stole all valuable items. The store owner fell and begged passersby for help, but no one extended a helping hand. He ultimately died from excessive blood loss…”
“…As of yesterday, within this week, Osaka has experienced 132 consecutive cases of violent attacks by pedestrians, with casualties involving thousands. The Osaka Police Department lacks peacekeeping personnel. Currently, the Black Kill Group has intervened with armed forces, replacing the police in suppressing all violent riot incidents in the Kansai region to maintain order…”
“…Here, Dawn Radio reminds all residents to avoid going out unless necessary. If you experience symptoms such as red eyes, insomnia, or unexplained agitation, please seek isolation treatment at the nearest hospital as soon as possible…”
Click—!
In the Japanese-style courtyard of the Kazamatsuri house, Yuzuri turned off the radio switch and stood up from the tatami.
Not long ago, the [Nightfall] team had cut down [Pure Land], shutting down 92% of electronic devices within the “human circle.” All televisions and electronic displays were unusable, and all TV stations were shut down. Now throughout Japan, only radio, the least energy-consuming broadcast method, could be used to transmit information.
“The world is getting more and more chaotic…” Yuzuri sighed, went to the kitchen to make a cup of tea, held it in her hands, and walked to the corner of the room.
There, a white-haired old man was staring out the window at the falling cherry blossoms, lost in thought.
A gentle breeze blew, lifting his gray hair at the temples. A few pink cherry blossoms fell on his wrinkled hands with the wind. He sat there blankly, his eyes dim and lifeless, like a dispirited stone statue.
In his hand, he clutched a mask with the character “King” (Wang) written on it. A fine crack ran through the center of the mask, seemingly from hitting something.
“Grandpa, would you like some water?” Yuzuri held out the teacup in front of the old man, speaking softly.
Wang Mian remained motionless.
Yuzuri pursed her lips, placed the steaming teacup beside him, and patiently began making hand gestures, trying to convey that the tea wasn’t poisoned and was safe to drink.
After gesturing for a long time, Wang Mian still ignored her, remaining completely still.
Yuzuri, who had worked up a sweat from all the effort, seemed to get a bit angry. She stood up from the tatami, pouting as she muttered to herself: “How can someone be so stupid? Can’t understand even after all that gesturing… Seems like not all Da Xia people are as smart as Brother Shinya.”
Hearing the last half of the sentence, Wang Mian slightly startled.
He suddenly turned to look at Yuzuri, opened his cracked lips, and asked in somewhat awkward Japanese, “Da Xia? How do you know about Da Xia?”
This time it was Yuzuri’s turn to be stunned.
“You can understand Japanese?!” Yuzuri stomped her feet in anger, “Then why didn’t you respond when I was talking to you all this time?”
Wang Mian stared straight into her eyes and repeated his question, “How do you know about Da Xia?”
“Because Brother Shinya drifted here from the sea too, and his body was also frozen in time then, just like when you arrived… Brother Shinya told me he came from Da Xia.”
“Brother Shinya?”
“That’s Asaha Shinya.” Yuzuri paused, then added, “His original name was Lin Shinya.”
Lin Shinya?
Hearing this familiar name, a glimmer of light flashed in Wang Mian’s eyes. He leaned against the wall, letting out a bitter smile.
What a coincidence…
After being awakened by Yuzuri, it took Wang Mian only a short time to realize where he was.
As the captain of the [Mask] team, he knew about the existence of “human circles” in various divine countries within the mist, and he had recently heard about [Nightfall]’s return from Japan’s “human circle,” so he roughly knew about the situation inside the “human circle.”
Most importantly, as a divine proxy, he had promised the God of Time that he would retrieve something from Takamagahara.
To retrieve this item, Wang Mian had been preparing for a long time, which naturally included learning Japanese and analyzing Japanese culture. He knew that one day he would have to embark on a journey to find Takamagahara.
However, he never imagined that before he could actively search for Takamagahara, he would be directly swept into Japan’s “human circle” by ocean currents, and the first person he saw upon opening his eyes would know Lin Shinya…
All of this was too coincidental.
Previously, Wang Mian would have been full of curiosity to explore this “human circle” and search for traces of Takamagahara, but now… he wasn’t in the mood.
The “human circle,” Takamagahara, and his promise to the God of Time – none of it mattered anymore.
The moment Wang Mian was awakened by Yuzuri on the shore and his time-frozen state was released, his first thought was to immediately travel back in time to before [Mask] entered the fishing village, to prevent everything from happening, to save his brothers’ lives.
But he discovered he couldn’t…
Because,
He didn’t have enough lifespan left.
