Nan Xian and Yu Lin successfully reunited. The two of them pieced together the parchment scroll, and it turned out to be a complete map of the island.
The clues on the map are distributed irregularly, making it impossible to tell which one is special.
Yu Lin turned the map around and examined it carefully for a while before suddenly saying, "It's strange. Some of these clues are connected, while others seem completely unrelated..."
Nan Xian's heart stirred slightly. She took the map and looked at it, pointing to several clues in the middle: "Connect them, doesn't it look like the Big Dipper?"
Yu Lin's eyes widened in surprise. "It really is! So our destination is located at—"
"The location of Polaris!"
The two spoke in unison, exchanged a glance, and quickened their pace to set off.
They soon arrived at the location of the North Star on the map, which was the village temple.
Nan Xian used the bag of pearls to "bribe" the temple gatekeeper and then used the key to open the last door in the temple, only to discover that there was a stone statue that was half human and half fish enshrined there.
The stone statue has weathered many years of vicissitudes; its face is no longer discernible, and most of the scales carved on its body have fallen off and become mottled.
Beside its fish tail, there was a thin book.
The first half of the book describes the villagers' bizarre encounter with mermaids, while the second half tells an infuriating story—
In the 1980s and 1990s, science and technology developed rapidly, but at the same time, a large amount of chemical pollutants were discharged into the sea.
These pollutants are ingested by marine plankton and then enter the bodies of shrimp and fish. Local villagers rely on fishing for a living, and their daily meals almost always include fish and shrimp...
Over time, a large amount of chemical toxins accumulated in their bodies.
Some people with weaker immune systems begin to experience a series of adverse reactions—their skin becomes dry and prone to peeling, their fingers become thin and long, their nails become increasingly sharp, their feet become wider, and even their toes may fuse together...
"So, there are actually no mermaids, but some people have been mistaken for mermaids because they exhibited similar physical characteristics to mermaids due to the toxins, or because the stories were passed down by word of mouth?" Yu Lin guessed.
Nan Xian, recalling the previous Gu poison, declined to comment on this claim.
It was getting late, so they returned to their starting point.
Seeing the two of them appear together, Yao Mingke leaned close to Nan Xian and asked curiously, "I haven't seen you two all afternoon—what, are you and Yu Lin sure you're going to form an alliance? I heard he said last time that he would help you get a medal, aren't you afraid of someone..." As she spoke, she glanced at He Mingxiao intentionally or unintentionally.
Nan Xian sighed and explained, "We each have half of the clues; it's just a temporary alliance. By the way, did you make any progress this afternoon?"
Yao Mingke shrugged. "I guess so. I got two low-level clues and traded them for a mid-level clue with Brother Langzhuo."
As they spoke, everyone gradually arrived.
Today, the production team finally showed some consideration and stopped making things difficult for them. They even prepared a fruit platter and a seafood feast for them.
The atmosphere was unusually harmonious; everyone chatted and laughed about their afternoon experiences. As dinner was drawing to a close, Director Deng suddenly appeared—
“I just checked the number of clues each of you has. The most is four, and the least is only one. How about we play something exciting tonight? The top three winners can draw any one of the bottom two clues. And if the first-place winner originally had the fewest clues, then their number of clues will be increased fivefold!”
Upon hearing the rules, everyone was eager to try, especially those with fewer clues, who were already itching to get started.
The props team pushed up five large boxes covered with black cloth. Before they even came to a complete stop, a clattering sound came from one of the boxes.
Yao Mingke, who was closest to the box, was startled. "This...this can't be a horror box, can it?"
Director Deng smiled and said, "That's right. There are five different items in these five boxes. You get one point for each item you take out, and you have one minute to finish each box."
Yao Mingke backed away in fear, "I hate this kind of part the most, can I just give up?"
Lang Zhuo looked at her in surprise upon hearing this, "I thought you were very brave after seeing you catch a longhorn beetle with your bare hands today."
She shook her head vigorously. "I'm not afraid of what I can see, I'm afraid of the unknown. Even if you tell me there's a rabbit in that box, I won't dare touch it until I see it with my own eyes!"
Lang Zhuo chuckled, "Alright, then I'll go first!"
As he spoke, he walked to the first box, tentatively put his hand inside, and then withdrew his hand after a while, realizing what he had done.
He quickly touched all five boxes and wrote his answers on the whiteboard.
Next up was Yu Lin, who was bold and finished touching her quickly.
Yao Mingke, with a long face, moved to the box, hesitated for a long time, then turned to Lang Zhuo and asked, "Brother, which one should I choose?"
Lang Zhuo pointed to the third box.
"Really? Bro, please don't lie to me!"
"Really, everything's fine."
“Okay, I’ll do as you say.” She took a deep breath and reached into the box.
The next second, Yao Mingke cried out "Ah!" and pulled his hand back, clutching his right hand as he fled several meters away.
"What is that?! Why is it pulling at me as soon as I put my hand in?!" She looked terrified. "Brother, you're lying to me!"
Lang Zhuo was laughing so hard he couldn't stand up straight.
In the end, Yao Mingke gritted her teeth and touched another box, but judging from how quickly she withdrew her hand, she probably didn't find anything.
Next up is Nan Xian.
After observing the reactions of others, she was able to roughly determine which boxes were more difficult and which were easier.
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
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