Chapter 18 Invitation

Going down was inevitable. Regardless of whether the newcomers were friends or foes, the building had enough space for them to maneuver for a while. But being trapped in the lighthouse was another matter, especially since there was only one stone staircase leading up.

If the staircase was controlled, they would be caged animals, lambs to the slaughter.

Chen Ran's unrestrained gaze swept over the others, a subtle smile playing on her lips.

"We'll stay," Su Xiaoxiao said directly.

By "we," she naturally meant herself and her younger brother, Su An. She knew very well that her brother's current physical condition couldn't withstand any more tossing around. Besides, no one could be sure what would happen if they went down.

Liang Long's eyes brightened a little after Su Xiaoxiao volunteered to stay.

According to the people of Black Stone Town, the town was the way it was because of a curse, and the way to break the curse was to ensure that the lighthouse fire burned continuously.

Without knowing whether the people of Black Stone Town were lying, everyone chose to believe them for the time being, so someone needed to stay behind to watch over the flame.

This was important.

After helping Su Xiaoxiao move Su An to a corner, Chen Ran was the first to walk out of the room, followed by Jiang Cheng and Fatty. Liang Long was the last to get up.

She glanced at the old woman in the basket and ran off, her movements not very agile.

Although the old woman hadn't done anything to her when they were alone in the room, she... she was just afraid. She hadn't seen anything or heard anything.

An inexplicable fear...

If she had to explain it clearly, she swallowed unconsciously as she walked down the stairs. It was based on intuition, she thought, and couldn't help but quicken her pace.

When they reached the spacious area on the first floor of the building, the group of people holding torches arrived, and the two groups looked at each other through the windows.

The one leading the group was still the blond man.

However, there were more people from Black Stone Town this time, probably dozens.

Illuminated by the torches, they gathered together, the harpoons stuck on their shoulders and in the leather pouches on their backs glinting coldly.

An ominous premonition rose in Liang Long's heart.

The blond man's eyes lingered on the group for a moment, then he sighed and said, "It seems you've also encountered some trouble and lost some people."

"Yes," Chen Ran nodded.

Fatty didn't dare to get too close to the window, so he could only peek at the sea through the cracks. The city lights on the sea were brilliant, but they were shrouded in a thin layer of mist, giving a somewhat unreal feeling.

He opened his mouth and asked in a timid voice, "What's with that black fog? Why is the night here...black fog..."

Before he could finish, the blond man looked at him and said, "This isn't the place to talk. Please come with me to Black Stone Town and see for yourselves."

"We haven't had contact with outsiders for a long time," the blond man said with a wry smile. "The people in town will be very happy to see you."

Chen Ran narrowed her eyes and looked at the blond man. After a long while, she nodded. "Alright."

Fatty was stunned.

Could such a request be agreed to?!

They clearly hadn't figured out the details of the people in Black Stone Town yet. Weren't they afraid it was a trap?

Liang Long had similar thoughts. After what happened before, she was even more apprehensive than Fatty. Perhaps in her mind, Chen Ran still intended to use her for experiments.

Both of them placed their last hope on Jiang Cheng, but what they didn't expect was...

"Then we'll be intruding," Jiang Cheng said, looking at the blond man and nodding.

Even as they were walking towards Black Stone Town, Fatty's head was buzzing. He couldn't understand why Doctor would agree to such a request.

Had he discovered something?

Liang Long didn't come along. She refused very firmly, saying that she would stay behind and wait for them to return, ostensibly to look for clues.

Fatty actually thought so too, but he couldn't help but worry about Doctor, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and agree.

Walking towards Black Stone Town, Fatty gained a deeper understanding of the weirdness of this world. On their sides were waves lapping with the shore, but under their feet was a road paved with pure blackness.

About 3 or 4 meters wide, it twisted and turned towards the seaside city.

It turned out that what they saw from the lighthouse window wasn't the residents of Black Stone Town walking on the sea, but on this strange road.

Stepping on it gave the illusion that they would sink into it the next moment, but they didn't. Fatty lowered his head, observing as he walked, and found that this black road seemed to have a fundamental connection with the overwhelming black fog.

"Doctor," Fatty took advantage of the others not paying attention and sidled up to Doctor, complaining in a voice that only the two of them could hear, "What are you thinking? How could you agree to come here with them?"

"This place..." He looked around, his throat bobbing hard, "This place doesn't look right. I even suspect that Chen Ran and the people in Black Stone Town are in cahoots, deliberately setting up a trap for us."

Jiang Cheng narrowed his eyes, seemingly looking around, not noticing Fatty, but his voice came over, "Don't you think it's strange?" Jiang Cheng asked, "Such a large island, yet we can't find any food or water?"

Fatty had thought about this question before, but couldn't figure it out.

Logically speaking, with the sea and the forest, they shouldn't have been reduced to the point of starving or dying of thirst.

But this world... just managed to do it.

Thinking of this, Fatty's pupils shrank slightly. "Doctor, do you mean that coming here is one of the basic settings of this mission, which means it's a necessary part?"

After a pause, he continued, "Restricting our food and water supply is to force us to come to Black Stone Town. There... there are important clues here!"

Jiang Cheng nodded, his tone becoming serious. "We've lasted for more than a day. I don't know how much longer we can last, but rather than just holding on until we can't anymore, it's better to come here while we still have the strength and see what's going on."

"And..." Jiang Cheng suddenly lowered his voice, his eyes darting left and right. After noticing that no one was paying attention, he continued, "Do you think that if we didn't come today, these people would let us off so easily?"

Fatty's eyes widened.

"Look at their numbers, and the weapons they're carrying," Jiang Cheng said. "Do they look like they're peacefully inviting us to be guests?"

The people who came were all burly men, rarely wearing clothes made of woven fabric. Most of them wore leather clothes, and judging by the texture, they weren't the kind they usually saw.

The muscles exposed outside the leather clothes were full of rough, rock-like lines, looking like they contained great power, coupled with their average height of nearly 2 meters...

Fatty swallowed nervously.

This wasn't the demeanor of a host inviting guests, but clearly a band of bandits coming down from the mountains to plunder, and a particularly powerful one at that.

"We're here," the blond man suddenly stopped, the city in front of him bathed in a sea of fire.