Chapter 202: Yūmi Island (8)

Chapter 202: Yūmi Island (8)

UFOs, little gray men, alien creatures. These sounded like made-up stories from cheap magazines, yet they appeared right before Yuki Ham’s eyes.

Fang Jing, who was following Yuki Ham, also saw the blue fireball rising into the air.

“That’s strange, what is that thing again?”

Indeed, just like the UFOs seen in movies, that blue fireball soared upward and vanished in an instant from his and Yuki Ham’s sight.

Because of the distance, they couldn’t tell its size, only that it was a huge blue glowing fireball, radiating blinding and dazzling light.

But in just a moment, the thing completely disappeared without a trace, as if it had shot up into the sky, flying to an extremely high altitude, vanishing from his and Yuki Ham’s view.

This scenario really made one think of UFOs or alien life forms.

But… could it really be that?

Thinking of this, Fang Jing showed a faint, sardonic smile.

———-

“What… are you even talking about?”

Sakuma Bohei snorted with a cold laugh.

“Are you sure you’re not coming down with a fever, Yuki? What nonsense are you babbling? What Kanno? What blue fireball? Do you even understand what you’re saying?”

“I know.”

Yuki Ham took a deep breath and spoke again.

“I know it sounds absurd, but this is truly what I just experienced. And Kanno should really exist. Besides Kanno, our group had two other companions.”

Yuki explained the conclusion he had reached.

He told everyone present that when they boarded Yūmi Island, there should have been twelve people.

But on this island, they had unconsciously lost all memory of the other three.

“I don’t understand what exactly happened, but one thing I am sure of is that you have all lost information about Kanno and the other two…”

“Nonsense without any logic.”

Sakuma snorted disdainfully with a cold laugh, then turned and left Yuki Ham’s room.

“What do you all think…”

Kōsaka adjusted the glasses on his nose bridge and asked Kase Mi and the others behind him.

“Sorry, this just sounds too ridiculous.”

Kase Mi and the others all shook their heads, unable to accept Yuki Ham’s explanation. They exited the room one by one.

“Yuki.”

Finally, Associate Professor Tomatsu, who had been sitting in the chair, also stood up. He walked over to Yuki Ham’s side and patted his shoulder. The kind-hearted associate professor sighed.

“I think you’re working too hard. Take a day off tomorrow. As for today’s events, everyone won’t make too big a deal of it, but aliens and such… that kind of talk is just too absurd.”

Even Professor Tomatsu couldn’t accept Yuki Ham’s story.

Actually, that was quite normal.

By this point, they had all lost their memories of Kanno, Azasa, and Ōsawa.

To these nine people who had come to the island, in their memories, these three individuals simply did not exist.

Fang Jing, sitting in a corner of the room, certainly had a grasp of the current situation.

The mindsets of Tomatsu, Kase, Sakuma, and the others were understandable, because in their consciousness, the memories related to those three had been erased by some abnormal supernatural force.

And for Yuki Ham to try and prove this by himself naturally wasn’t going to be easy.

(Currently, the most peculiar property this ‘Strange Phenomenon’ displays is that it invisibly erases all traces of the disappearances of Kanno, Azasa, and Ōsawa…)

The people present in the photos—everyone except Yuki Ham—were unable to perceive them.

It was as if something deep within their group’s consciousness had been altered and twisted. So even if Yuki Ham found some evidence, it wouldn’t prove anything.

Because even if evidence existed, it would be ignored by these people.

Yuki Ham’s misfortune lay precisely in this; he was completely like a normal person living among a group of blind people. Given the circumstances, the abnormal treatment he received was also “understandable.”

“I’m so very sorry, Senior! If I hadn’t fallen asleep, maybe this wouldn’t have happened…”

Ato Shiho looked at Yuki Ham with moist, sorrowful eyes, expressing her apologies.

“It’s alright. I already anticipated something like this might happen. If I were in their place, I probably wouldn’t be able to accept such a story either.”

Yuki Ham let out a long sigh. Putting himself in their shoes, if he heard a companion spouting such absurd nonsense, he would also suspect whether that person had lost their mind.

But being doubted by his companions still felt like a blow to him; his face was full of dejection.

“However, on my part, I feel Mr. Yuki’s words are quite noteworthy.”

Noticing Yuki Ham and Ato Shiho looking lost and disheartened, Fang Jing lightly coughed twice, intending to encourage them.

“I don’t know about anyone going missing, and I haven’t seen anyone named Kanno, but when I rushed over, there was indeed a flash of light in the forest…”

After returning, Fang Jing started playing dumb. He didn’t reveal that he also knew about the disappearances, but instead acted just like the others, as if he knew nothing at all.

This was because he didn’t want to expose himself, so he kept pretending ignorance.

He had also witnessed the blue fireball in the woods, but after returning, he claimed he hadn’t seen it either.

“Is that true?”

Ato Shiho looked at him in surprise, her expression somewhat excited. “But, Kume-kun, why didn’t you say anything about it after we returned?”

“Because I didn’t see it very clearly either. I had some doubts about the light in the forest, wondering if I might have seen wrong.”

Fang Jing shrugged.

“I followed Mr. Yuki into the forest, but I was quite far behind. From my vantage point, I only saw a patch of bright light. From that angle, it was hard to tell if it was artificial light or lightning streaking across the sky.”

“Oh… that makes sense!”

Ato Shiho became a bit embarrassed. She lowered her head and said, “I wrongly suspected you, Kume-kun.”

“I don’t mind.”

Fang Jing smiled and said in a joking tone, “So what should we do now? According to Mr. Yuki, this is already the third person missing… Shouldn’t we have some plan? You know, since there’s a pattern of continuous disappearances, couldn’t the next targets be us?”

This was also something Fang Jing himself was worried about.

He had some experience with “Strange Phenomena.” Because he had dealt with them himself and also obtained a lot of information and knowledge from the “Jiling Local Customs Research Survey Collection · Continued,” he understood them well.

He deeply knew that Strange Phenomena were divided into three categories in total.

The first category was “Things with Form and Substance.” Nocturnal Species like the Corpse Hound were typical of the first category.

The second category was “Things with Form but without Substance.” The Spirits inhabiting the Apartment, as well as the supernatural entity encountered last time at the hospital, fell into this category. They were also called “Evil Filth.”

Besides these, there was the most dangerous third category of Strange Phenomena. The third category consisted of things without form or substance, with an extremely high danger level. It was said that merely coming into contact with them, or even just knowing information about third category phenomena, could pull you into it.

“First, we must confirm which of these three categories the Strange Phenomenon on this island belongs to.”

If the Strange Phenomenon was at the level of a Nocturnal creature, as long as it had a physical body, he could fight against it.

The second category, Evil Filth, was more troublesome because Fang Jing didn’t have any particularly effective methods to combat them.

“However, I now have the power of the Corpse Poison Curse, and the secondary talent provided by the Beast of Rage. I wonder if I can use those to fight them?”

As for the third category, Fang Jing hadn’t even considered making contact. Third category phenomena were the most dangerous existence because simply knowing a certain amount of information about them could cause them to appear. They were the kind of thing that posed a danger just by being known.

“The more you learn about their existence, the more unfathomable they seem…”

Fang Jing sighed inwardly, but on the surface, he remained completely expressionless.

I don’t know what good options we have now either. Kanno is also missing, and if things continue like this, it will definitely become more dangerous.

Yuki Ham was also thinking about how to solve the current problem.

He thought the best way was to leave this island, but nobody believed him, so how could he persuade others to listen to him?

“About Professor Horikawa, should we try talking to him?”

Ato Shiho spoke softly, as if remembering something.

“Maybe that could be a breakthrough too!”

Yuki Ham could only give a bitter smile. He didn’t think this was a good idea. As his assistant, he understood the professor’s personality quite well—he was the type who hated talk about aliens and such things the most.

He thought for a moment, then dismissed the idea in his heart.

“So, should we try to get some information from the Shinzaki Tenrikyo people?”

Fang Jing said calmly, “The cult doesn’t know about the situation yet, right? If we report what happened here to them and ask for their help—those guys claim to communicate with alien life forms and beings from other dimensions, don’t they? If it really was aliens who took those three people you mentioned, they might have some way to deal with it.”

For now, he couldn’t find any breakthrough on his side either.

Fang Jing wondered… if he should find a way to drag Shinzaki Tenrikyo into this as well.

It was also possible that the strange phenomena at the residence were connected to the cult in some way. If he leaked the information, there might be some new developments.

As for him, he just needed to stay in a safe position and watch how things unfolded.

Fang Jing wasn’t used to putting himself in danger. He thought Yuki Ham and Ato Shiho were two people he could use. Through them, he should be able to gather more “clues” related to this island.

————————

“Is Muko using a note to make contact?”

After interviewing a follower of Shinzaki Tenrikyo, Shusu Yuki unexpectedly obtained a small piece of paper covered in densely written characters.

“This is…”

It was surprisingly useful information.

But this actually solved a problem he had been struggling with.

After talking with Hayasaka Muko, Yuki felt very sympathetic toward the young girl and was willing to help, but he himself was also in a difficult position.

That was, he had to take Muko off the island within a certain time limit.

According to Hayasaka Muko, in a few more days at most, she would be forced to marry Kuzunoki.

Originally, the best solution would be to report this to the police or a human rights group. As long as he could explain the situation clearly, it wouldn’t be too difficult to get Hayasaka Muko off the island with outside help.

But the time limit Hayasaka Muko mentioned was real.

At first, Yuki had another idea: to have a good talk with this Kuzunoki person.

Kuzunoki didn’t seem like someone without common sense. He should understand the trouble this could cause, and as a person with real power on the island, given his status, the problems Hayasaka Muko worried about could be resolved.

“No, Mr. Shusu.”

After hearing his idea, Hayasaka Muko shook her head desperately to stop him.

“Kuzunoki is not a good person. I heard he killed someone on the island. Previously, a follower who couldn’t endure the brain stimulation training tried to escape from the island, but Kuzunoki took people after him. He fell off a cliff and died.”

Her eyes showed great fear, and she whispered with a lowered voice, “Kuzunoki isn’t that easy to talk to. If he finds out about our plans, he might kill us.”

After being persuaded by Hayasaka Muko like this, Shusu Yuki had no choice but to give up on that idea.

He sighed, looking down at the note in his hand.

“Switch to stealing a boat… to leave the island?”

————————

The next day, the rain was still getting heavier. The rain beat violently against the window, as if pouring out grief and anger.

After thinking it over, Yuki Ham and Ato Shiho regained some energy. They finally decided to go to the cult’s shrine and inform the cult about the abnormal events of the past few days.

They didn’t know if this decision was right or wrong.

The only frustrating thing was, they both felt this was the only path left to take.

If the situation spiraled further out of control, besides the previous three people, even they themselves might fall into danger.

And the others who knew nothing might also become new victims.

“How boring. Ato really is hanging out with Yuki Ham. Hey, what do you think, Sakuma? I remember you were after her!”

Thinking of the two who had left, Kōsaka snorted and laughed, his freckled nose crinkling.

“Don’t talk nonsense. I have no interest in that woman at all.”

Sakuma Bohei’s eyebrows twisted, and he let out a cold, seemingly bored laugh.

The atmosphere in the cafeteria became terrible.

Everyone was either eating lunch, playing cards, or chatting, but Ato Shiho and Yuki Ham, who should have been here, were both gone.

They hadn’t even told their other companions that they went to the cult side.

“By the way, I remember there was also that kid named Kume. Where is he now?”

Kase Mi, who was reading a mystery novel, asked quietly.

“He went to the archaeological site to retrieve something…”

Someone answered casually.

————————

In the quiet forest, Fang Jing moved slowly, arriving at the place where the strange change occurred last night.

Among the trees lining the path, the number of broadleaf trees gradually increased.

He took steps, moving through the lonely mountain forest, very curious about the “blue fireball” he saw that night.

He also had serious doubts about it, so he came here specifically to check for traces.

“What is this…”

On a patch of melastoma on the ground, he could see something like powdery stains.

He reached out and touched it, finding a bit of glowing powder on his finger.

Maybe it wasn’t powder at all.

But something else, like spores released by plants.

“Could it be… this thing is the true form of what I saw yesterday?”