Chapter 114: Barbecue party
"You're only in your 20s? Your life experience is way too rich."
Jiang Yu ate mushrooms with surprise.
"It's kind of a family business. When I was little, my family sold meat, then we opened a restaurant. I studied medicine in college and worked as a doctor for two years after graduation."
Lin Ye briefly introduced his short life experience.
"That's kind of tragic - having a decent job but getting dragged over here."
Jiang Yu handed Lin Ye some carefully grilled offal. Lin Ye hesitated for a moment, then put the grilled offal into a box and placed the box into Alice's snack bag.
He didn't know if Alice would like offal, but trying new things wasn't a bad thing.
"You might have some misunderstandings about the working environment for young doctors. Let's just say my mood has improved a lot since coming here."
Lin Ye picked up the last piece of offal. Since they were having a group dinner later that evening, they hadn't grilled much.
"That's good... I might actually be more suited to this side too. You might not believe it, but I rarely spoke over there - could count my close friends on half a hand. But since coming here, I chat with friends in the group every day." Jiang Yu ate the last blue-green mushroom and extinguished the campfire.
"Let's go, time to meet up with the others."
Lin Ye dropped an artwork and left the forest together with Jiang Yu.
Unlike the dark cave, this place didn't try to keep them.
"Huh?"
Lin Ye noticed an extra bottle of liquid in Alice's snack bag.
"What's wrong?"
Jiang Yu asked.
"Just got a reply from that snack exchange - our friend seems to really like your grilled offal."
Lin Ye took out a label-less brown liquid from the snack bag. Looking at this bottle, he suddenly had a bad feeling.
"Here, you provided the snack, so you should taste this drink too."
Lin Ye smiled as he handed the drink to Jiang Yu.
"...No, she's your friend, so this drink is definitely for you."
Jiang Yu's intuition remained sharp.
"...Half each then."
Lin Ye believed good things should be shared.
"...Fine."
Jiang Yu would regret this reckless decision for a long time afterward.
Lin Ye opened the bottle and poured Jiang Yu a cup of the brown liquid.
"Cheers."
"Cheers... Wait, did that thing just move?"
Jiang Yu sniffed the suspicious liquid in the cup but detected no scent, as if it were just plain water.
"...You're seeing things."
Lin Ye had seen it more clearly than Jiang Yu.
They looked at each other and, under each other's urging gazes, drank the liquid simultaneously.
Lin Ye had intended to just take a small sip, but the liquid eagerly surged into his mouth until not a single drop remained in the bottle.
The liquid tasted like offal.
Heavy, lingering offal flavor.
The texture gave the sensation of drinking some kind of flowing solid.
They walked back to the hotel in silence, neither speaking along the way.
Lin Ye: I'm going to the cliff. You guys exchange the ingredients for tonight's barbecue.
Jiang Yu: I'll go with you. It's easy to encounter accidents when alone.
Lin Ye: No need. An accident would be even better.
Jiang Yu: Okay, contact us in the group if anything happens.
Lin Ye: Will do.
Returning to the hotel, Jiang Yu met up with the other two on the first floor while Lin Ye headed alone toward the southern cliff.
Moving alone was faster. In just over ten minutes, Lin Ye stood at the cliff's edge.
After throwing an artwork down below, Lin Ye turned to return to the hotel for the barbecue when a tall figure wearing an oil-painted mask and dark green robe watched Lin Ye from a distance.
Lin Ye didn't waste a single second. The moment he saw the other party, he activated all his runes and moved to the figure's side.
Red light flashed as Red Blade effortlessly sliced through the figure's body, dividing it into upper and lower halves.
The blade light reflected as Lin Ye stabbed at the mask, the blade penetrating through the figure's head.
Lin Ye withdrew Red Blade and casually flicked off the oil-painted mask.
Beneath the mask was a bloody, mangled face. Some dark green tendrils crawled out from inside the corpse, squirmed a few times, then went still.
Lin Ye scanned the surroundings but found no one else, though something seemed to move below the cliff.
This time Lin Ye didn't approach the cliff. If the masked figure's function was to trigger whatever was below the cliff, approaching now would be dangerous.
After carefully inspecting the masked figure's corpse, Lin Ye didn't linger and quickly headed back to the hotel.
Lin Ye: I was attacked by a masked figure. Not injured. Be careful. (Corpse photo)
Feng Youcai: We've already exchanged the barbecue ingredients and seasonings. Wang Yao hypnotized the chefs and hotel staff. No one can add anything to dinner.
Wang Yao: I chatted with everyone. Here's their personal information. I didn't notice anything wrong.
Wang Yao sent a large amount of information in the group - not just tourists but also detailed information about drivers, guides, and hotel staff.
Jiang Yu: We discovered some kind of tendril monster in the cave. The pond and cliff likely have these monsters too. This mission is probably related to these monsters. The forest seems safe.
Lin Ye: Hard to say. Have any of you sensed masked figures in the hotel?
Feng Youcai: No.
Lin Ye: There might be more than one masked figure. If there are others, they're probably hiding below the cliff or in the forest.
Wang Yao: How strong are the masked figures?
Lin Ye: Average, but they have tendrils implanted in their bodies. They likely have the ability to guide tendril monsters.
Jiang Yu: Not sure if the tendril monsters can leave their habitats. If they can, we're in trouble.
Lin Ye: They? How do you know there are multiple tendril monsters?
Jiang Yu: ...If there's only one, then it's way too big, right? Wouldn't that mean the hotel is built right on top of a tendril monster?
Lin Ye: That's exactly why I didn't immediately take everyone away from here. The bus isn't that fast - we might not be able to escape.
Feng Youcai: Then what do we do? The mastermind might strike during the barbecue or at night.
Lin Ye: It's fine if they make a move. As long as they don't flip the table completely, we can handle it.
Jiang Yu: What if they do flip the table?
Lin Ye: I'll try to find and solve the problem before that happens.
Lin Ye analyzed the personnel information Wang Yao had sent, already forming some suspicions in his mind.
Jiang Yu: Then let's go to the barbecue. I'm still not full.
Feng Youcai: I'm kind of hungry too.
Wang Yao: Perfect timing - it's almost time.
Lin Ye returned to the hotel to find barbecue stalls already set up outside, with hotel staff arranging tables and utensils.
The four gathered at the hotel's ground floor and found a table to wait for the barbecue to begin.
Tourists gradually came downstairs. Song Qi spotted Lin Ye and pulled her little friend to sit at their table. A couple who knew Song Qi also joined them at the same table.