Things further away might not be so clear, but with such an obvious anomaly so close by, Yang Zicang quickly confirmed it through the perception of his “Silent Night. “

“That man is right there, but he shows no reaction at all to the person you said just approached the plane. And it seems that woman earlier also approached him to investigate the anomaly. “

Amid the stirring sound of military drums, Yang Zicang pondered and said in a low voice:

“I think, even if the major general’s men really do find something unusual in the restroom and report it back to that officer in the banquet hall… ” He tilted his head towards the door of the brightly lit banquet hall, “they’ll just report back that there’s ‘nothing unusual.’ “

He Yishu took a deep breath, then let it out heavily.

“Buchen, you’re really something! ” He gave Yang Zicang a firm slap on the shoulder.

Although the kid before him seemed to have just taken a reckless and extremely dangerous gamble, the intelligence he had gathered was undoubtedly crucial.

He felt a surge of excitement.

If the two of them were right in their speculation, then the hosts’ entourage and the guests’ followers on this small island were likely conspiring together in a plot against the major general in the blue-green military uniform, who was currently enjoying the dance and song inside the hall.

Some of the scouts emerged from the end of the right corridor, chatting and laughing.

“I’ll go first. ” He Yishu put on a slightly urgent look, as if nature was calling, glanced left and right, and headed in that direction.

A few steps later, the young man turned back with a smile and gestured at his wrist, “Looks like we made the right call. “

Yang Zicang gave a faint smile.

A pair of “family comrades ” walked over, chatting and laughing. Yang Zicang turned to greet them, steered the conversation, and sidled a few steps toward the main entrance, accepting a cigarette from their hands with a grin.

Only then did the lady finally return.

He needed to find an opportunity to make slight contact with the major general’s people.

Spotting the slender, long-haired lady just stepping onto the wooden stairs of the banquet hall, Yang Zicang, who had been leaning against the pillar, quickly rubbed his face and straightened up.

Now was the chance!

“Miss, hello. “

Yang Zicang approached with a smile, taking two steps closer.

The woman’s face, adorned with an exotic charm, soft yet strikingly heroic, turned toward him.

“Would you like a cigarette? ” Yang Zicang offered the one from his hand.

“Nyet. ” The woman held her palm upright in a gesture of refusal. “Frak, blagodaran. “

He understood absolutely nothing, and she showed no sign of knowing “Ubang ” either, striding straight inside.

“Chairman, picking up chicks, huh. “

Two brothers from the guild who had been chatting under a tree were utterly shocked that their notoriously stern-faced chairman of the “Hotel Unified Check-in Management Association ” had actually taken the initiative to hit on a local.

And she was a woman whose bearing and status were clearly far from ordinary.

What’s more, he hadn’t even succeeded!

They jogged over in a few quick steps.

“Cough… ” Yang Zicang nearly choked, as that beauty still hadn’t walked far. He tucked the cigarette between his lips, struggling to maintain the nonchalant, roguish facade he had just put on.

“Hmm… yeah, what a pity. A top-tier babe like that—delicate yet sharp—I’ll never get to have her. “

The woman, who had already taken a few steps inside, slightly stiffened her stride in her tall leather boots, but her expression shifted to calm and composed as she continued her way down the corridor leading to the banquet hall.

At that moment, Yang Zicang was already being embraced by the two brothers, who struck a match to light his cigarette.

After a few exchanges, he suddenly seemed to remember something and said offhandedly:

“Oh, right, I have some stuff to take care of. You go ahead. “

He snapped the cigarette cleanly in two, shoved half into each of the hands slung across his shoulders, then brushed off their arms and made his way down the wooden corridors.

By then, two people who had just come out of the banquet hall were already headed toward the restroom.

……

Inside the banquet hall.

The woman smoothed her attire, sitting down straight like a sword on the chair beside the Major General.

“No anomalies, sir. ” Hailikoni said softly.

“Mm. ” The Major General nodded slowly.

But no sooner had she sat down, with her back ramrod straight, did the woman catch sight of two people inside the hall, as if receiving some urgent command. After glancing in her direction, they slipped through a side door into the adjacent room.

It looked exactly like something major had suddenly happened.

……

He Yishu, an overcoat draped over his arm, stepped naturally through the broad fronds of a palm tree.

The night wind, carrying the scent of sea salt, brushed against his cheeks, also calming his slightly accelerated heartbeat. The earlier encouragement from the distributers had already manifested; indeed, if this event played out well, he should… perhaps be able to obtain a share of “｛Radiance: brilliance light｝ ” and splendor.

He kept an eye on Yang Zicang’s actions. That man, by virtue of the vast number of Celestial Null Sequences in his hands, had put the elders hiding within the Sea of Mist in their place right from the start, intimidating the entire crowd while reaping multiple fragments of Glow.

Compared to him—aside from this face that tended to attract unwanted attention—he could only rely on taking risks.

A man with his hands adjusting his trousers emerged from a right-angled corner gallery, humming an incomprehensible tune under his breath. This islander glanced at him and then let out a belch just as the scent of Feng-dweller, who had deliberately drawn in a deep breath and held it in his stomach, passed by him heading into the restroom.

“This man didn’t stop me. “

He Yishu breathed a huge sigh of relief.

It seemed that for now, the toilet wasn’t refusing entry to outsiders.

The single-story building’s toilet was tiled with faded ceramics. After confirming there were no eyes on him, He Yishu quickly slipped inside.

“This place… “

He gave a light sniff through his nose.

The interior was slightly more spacious than he’d imagined. Four wooden door cubicles with exhaust vents lined up in a row, with a sink at the far end. The air indeed carried a bitter almond smell mingled with the toilet’s disinfectant scent.

“That’s a strong disinfectant smell. “

If this toilet was truly cleaned this diligently all the time, the ingrained grime here wouldn’t be this heavy. This doesn’t look right for a properly cared-for restroom—was it specially cleaned because fewer people come by?

He Yishu’s footsteps lightened. With a composed air, he pushed open one cubicle door to peek inside—it had been cleaned. Then he pushed open the next one.

On the corridor outside, two people scrambling out of the restaurant were hurrying this way.

“That Fogfolk guy went in. “

The thirtysomething man with crew-cut hair stared intently down the corridor, his eyes sharp as torches.

“He came all the way out here just to find a toilet? “

“Less talk, just kick him out. “

On the walkway, the islander who had just fixed his belt stared in confusion as two tense figures rushed past him.

The bend at the corridor’s end was just ten paces ahead. Right then, He Yishu was pushing open the third door, and inside, there was something different.

“Faster.“

The two men outside sped forward, their pace nearly matching a jog.

Just as they were about to round the corner, the one in front suddenly felt his foot wobble, inexplicably twisting his ankle. He stumbled, his body lurching sideways and crashing into his quick-witted companion, who was reaching out to steady him.

Thud!

Their heads collided with a sharp, muffled crack as they whiplashed together.

With two“Ouchs“, the burly men tumbled to the ground near the corner.

Yang Zicang, twenty meters away, turned around in surprise and called out loudly in Chinese, “Hey, you two, you alright? Need a hand?” He started walking over.

In the twilight on the open ground outside the banquet hall, several people nearby looked their way. A few who had just noticed the fall chuckled under their breath.

Before Yang Zicang could offer help, two islanders had already walked toward them. Among them was a tall, hardened man in a deep green military uniform who had been keeping watch on the open ground.

At the sight of the Major General’s men approaching, the two who had just gotten up wore strained expressions.

“Watch yourself, will you?” grumbled the slightly shorter man. “All this panic—they’ll be keeping an even closer eye on us now.“

“Damn it, it’s not like I meant to.“

“Need a hand? ” Seeing the two men trying to enter the restroom, the military man still twenty or thirty meters away called out, his tone clearly an attempt to stop them.

“Ah, no, thanks. You go ahead, Mr. Lan Kaosi. “

“Haha, hey guys, what did you eat that’s got you in such a hurry? ” Lan Kaosi said. “Good timing though, I need to go myself. I heard this island once had some mysterious incidents. Is that true? “

Success! Yang Zicang saw that this person had noticed, and his inner tension had already subsided quite a bit.

“Ah, well… ” The two men on the corridor exchanged a glance. If they still insisted on entering the restroom now, that would completely give away that there was something wrong inside.

The pair exchanged a discreet wink, then laughed and made small talk with the approaching Lan Kaosi as they all walked in together.

What to do… The two came out to check, their hearts filled with anxiety. But with Lan Kaosi right beside them, they had no chance to enter the restroom alone.

‘What lousy luck!’ the duo thought to themselves.

Just as they were about to reach the restroom entrance,

A janitor with a mop suddenly placed a “Out of Service—Temp ” wooden sign in front of the restroom door.

“Sorry, you three. A guest just threw up inside,” the janitor blocks them. “My apologies. There’s another restroom around back near the small building by the banquet hall. Please go there. Let me get this cleaned up first.“

The two glanced at the clean-shaven, dark-skinned janitor, and the knot of tension in their chest finally loosened.

“Haha, Mr. Lan Kaosi. We’ll head over there, then.“

The soldier’s gaze cut across the cleaner’s face like a bayonet, while the latter nodded apologetically with a chuckle.

Lan Kaosi’s eyes bored into the restroom once more, as if they could pierce through it and see the runway behind the palm grove.

Could there really be nothing wrong inside? A sliver of doubt crept into his mind.