Mermaid Reef

The rising sun shines on the palm trees of the island, and a figure is struggling to climb the cliff.

Juan had a rope around his waist and a climbing pick in his hand.

Five days of real time and about 35 days of special training in dream time made Juan noticeable changes.

——It is impossible to defeat the tyrannical king of prehistoric creatures one-on-one, but I have learned all the thinking and habits of how to dodge and how to make myself flexible and agile.

Juan's movements were still very rusty at the beginning, which was caused by the incompatibility between his body and consciousness, but his speed was slowly increasing.

Memories of climbing the cliff a few days ago began to emerge, along with Hans' teachings in his dream.

A mysterious investigator who can only run on the ground will definitely not live long.

In the dream, mutated monsters will appear from various places and attack humans.

In the shadows of buildings, sewer covers, tree tops, roofs, vehicles on the side of the road...

Juan swears from his experience of almost dying a hundred times, only he can't think of it, there is no place where mutant monsters won't hide.

In a critical moment, being able to climb is one more escape option.

Juan skillfully tested the recesses on the cliff where he could stay, and pulled the stones up to the top of the cliff.

Standing here overlooking the feet, the golden sandy beach is like a ribbon, and the bay is undulating.

Port Royal, the capital of pirates, sleeps under the azure waters.

……

……

"Juan, tell me, where did you find the compass?"

"On a cliff, is this important?"

"If you think of the compass as a mousetrap, yes, its position matters."

In the courtyard of the dream, John held up his pipe and said, "I'm sorry, the reason is the same. Since the evil god wants to use a compass to capture humans, he must make an optimal choice. Just use your experience in catching mice, what do you think What could be the reason?"

Juan has been overwhelmed by John's wisdom in his dreams these days.

Although this metaphor made him very uncomfortable, Juan still thought seriously for the first time.

“…traps are placed where mice tend to be, such as the kitchen, or near a mouse hole in a corner.”

Thinking of this, Juan couldn't help protesting, "But that cliff is so steep that ordinary people can't climb it at all. This is not in line with speculation."

John tapped the map on the table with his hand. It was a Jamaica nautical chart he dug out from a library in London.

"Draw the location of the cliff, including the direction of your camp, where Port Royal sank, and the current city..."

Juan took the pen and not only marked it on the map, but also drew a sketch in a flash, which were the top view on the cliff and the distance between the city and the cliff from the beach of the archaeological excavation camp.

The terrain in the southeast corner of Jamaica is a huge crescent bay.

The arc-shaped land and the deeply recessed bay actually look more like a "C" letter upside down.

The former Port Royal was at the bottom of C, and the current capital of Jamaica, Kingston, is on the top arc of C. Coincidentally, this cliff is located on the side wall of C.

Looking at the sketches with clear and concise composition, John smiled and said, "You said that the evil god chose the wrong person, but I don't think so. You are excellent, and you let me clear the fog in front of me."

Without waiting for Juan to express his opinion, John pointed to the map and entered into a serious discussion.

"The evil god wanted to find a human, but he didn't put the compass in the place with the most people, such as the port, but chose a cliff with few people. What does this mean?"

"...Is it a screening condition? The evil god doesn't want a person with poor ability, but the condition is that he can at least climb the cliff?" Juan said sullenly.

"Very good idea, what else?" John continued to ask.

Juan shook his head.

His only thing is that he is very accurate in seeing people. When meeting strangers, he shows the same judgment ability as a detective, but he is not a detective after all. He has never seen the evil god named Jason, so he can't figure out what kind of person he is. character.

John stared at the map and said, "Because it's safe here."

"what?"

"If there is a huge tsunami, the compass will not be washed away if it is hidden here. You think it is difficult for anyone to go up the cliff, but if the compass is buried in the mud on the seabed, the probability of being discovered will be even lower! The cliff is already the easiest Where humans are captured."

John said in a heavy tone, "The disaster is bigger than we expected. The city will be swallowed by huge waves at any time. This will definitely happen. The evil god's target is human beings, not just your archaeological team or humans in nearby cities, even Including humans who came to the ruins hundreds of years later to rebuild the city."

Juan's hands and feet were cold. He didn't want to watch the people in the archaeological team die. He held back his aversion to the evil god and asked with a frown, "How should I prevent this from happening?"

John seems to have seen Juan's mind, but he has no intention of correcting it. Always staying vigilant and repelling evil forces is the correct way to survive.

"Climb this cliff, and hold the compass there, and let it lead you to the evil god.

"This is the safest place, chosen by the evil god himself.

"Remember to find out if there are any other hints before that."

John was silent for a few seconds, smoking his pipe and saying, "I think there will be."

……

……

Juan picked up the flashlight, took out a simple metal detector from his backpack, and checked along the stone cracks one by one.

Then the detector beeped.

Just where he found the compass, there seems to be something in the depths!

Juan picked up the pickaxe, aimed at that spot and started digging.

In the roots and mud, Juan saw a touch of gold.

The exact same gold chain, but with different things hanging on it, like a pocket watch?

Juan's hands began to tremble.

He remembered John's last warning in his dream last night.

"The compass represents position, and it can also be said to be space. If you find a pearl, a gold coin... buried very shallow, it means that the problem is not serious. It is an ally of the compass owner, another evil god. Come to deepen the 'connection' or capture a second human.

"If it's hidden deep, it's still a matter of time. Juan, we're in trouble."

The sunlight shining on the case of the pocket watch is also a familiar feeling of dizziness.

Juan quickly took out a box from his pocket, then carried the hiking bag, and finally looked back at the camp below.

He opened his pocket watch and compass at the same time.

An invisible vortex dragged Juan in, his figure blurred and distorted for a while.

Finally, it disappeared without a sound.

***

Jason looked at the pocket watch in his hand and sighed.

The slender black vine picked up the pocket watch and stuffed it forcefully into the crevice of the stone.

——The compass that was originally there is gone.

Of course, the compass hidden in the crevice of the stone disappeared from the time when the human broke into this stopped time holding the compass.

"Let's go deeper." Jason said to himself.

For the first time, the human obviously didn't find the pocket watch, only the compass.

Sitting next to him, Gemil rested his chin and asked leisurely, "It's hidden too deep, and that human probably won't be able to find it."

Jason stopped moving, looking depressed.

"Then he will die."

Jason couldn't stop Gu Keluo, but it was impossible for him and Gemil to agree to Gu Keluo's alliance proposal.

"Don't worry, even if that human dies, we can continue to find a second human." Gemil comforted with the thinking of evil gods, "Anyway, time here stops, we are not in a hurry."

If Gu Keluo killed the owner of the compass here, then in the original time and space of the owner, it would become a case of disappearance.

"On the bright side, maybe there will be a detective or police willing to investigate this mysterious disappearance? They will find that the missing person was unconscious, talking nonsense, and got a strange compass. If our luck is better, then A detective found out where the compass was found, and ran here to dig..."

Gemil pointed to the pocket watch, indicating that the second human was successfully captured.

"As long as there is a 'connection', the compass will automatically find the 'pocket watch owner', and then—bang, the person fell in front of us!"

Jason: "..."

Jason suspects that Gemil has watched too many dramas and read too many novels, so there is no such thing as a coincidence.

"I still hope that the humans who discovered the compass are smart enough to go back and look for clues." Jason looked at the pocket watch covered in mud and sighed deeply.

Gemil asked, "Why don't you have confidence in the investigator you're looking for? Surely John will, and so will Hans."

Jason glared at him and said, "You can't expect every investigator to be so good. If it were us, do you think we would have found this clue?"

Gemil: "..."

The evil god, who had failed several times in the detective game, fell silent.

Jason looked at the sea in the distance, and continued to worry: "We can't stop Gu Keluo from killing people. Gu Keluo has space talent, and we can't keep up. So falling directly in front of us is the only way for that human to survive. We can only live here." Waiting for him on a cliff, because this is the place where he is most likely to appear. I hope that even if he does not find the pocket watch, he can overcome his fear and return to the origin of the nightmare instead of fleeing this island overnight."

In cases where the geographic locations of the two planes cannot overlap, random "drops" are more likely.

Only when the human being stands on the cliff and turns on the compass, will the possibility of appearing here be the highest.

If the pocket watch can be found, it is 100% "dropped" at the fixed point, which is the most ideal situation.

"As Gu Keluo said, this human is dead, we don't know when we can wait for the second human, and then the predicament we encounter has not changed at all, the second human will still be killed by Gu Keluo... ...even worse, the first human has a second chance to travel through time and space, so we are prepared. But do you think there will be a second human? We can't leave this cliff, we have to wait... "

Jason's voice stopped suddenly.

He took a step back and looked at the vortex that was gradually forming in front of him.

A human with a backpack fell in front of Jason.

Pocket watch in left hand, compass in right hand.

Jason was dumbfounded, he couldn't help looking at the crack in the stone, so fast?He was just buried!

Gemil quickly picked up the Venetian mask and put it on his face, snapping his fingers.

Then he took a step forward, stood in front of Juan, and said to the magic carpet that distorted the space and came quickly: "I admit that you have talent, you can kill people, but unfortunately, you are out of luck!"