In the distance, a dark line appeared on the horizon.
It was a rain cloud.
Observing the changing weather far out at sea, the staff used the broadcast to notify people playing in the water.
Some had swum quite far and also noticed slight changes in the current.
"The weather is really weird, it changes so suddenly."
Someone grumbled, swimming back towards the beach.
Others remained standing by the shore, gazing at the dark clouds in the far distance.
They looked far away, but they might arrive in just a few minutes.
While they lingered, no one dared to stay in the water.
The crowds on the beach gradually dispersed, and the seawater visibly became murky.
In the crescent rock area, the waves grew larger, causing the yacht to repeatedly crash against the rocks, producing sharp, grating sounds of steel scraping against stone.
Several conspicuous pools of blood remained on the sand in the shallows. The charcoal in the barbecue grill, fanned by the sea wind, flared into flames.
Lighter items were blown to the ground by the wind first, then crashed against the rocks.
Soon after, the sea wind grew stronger, toppling the barbecue grill.
Glowing red charcoal fell onto the blood-stained sand, hissing and emitting wisps of white smoke.
The tide was rising...
Deep inside the cave, the sound of crunching and chewing echoed, sending shivers down one's spine.
The Queen was slightly hunched over, her hands moving in a repetitive, mechanical eating motion.
At her feet lay over a dozen corpses of young men and women, their faces frozen in expressions of terror.
[To give birth to a stronger King, I need excellent soldiers.]
[To give birth to a stronger King, I need a larger, safer nest.]
[Also, I need to be free from worry about enemies, giving my pregnant body ample rest time.]
The Queen bit off the last piece of an unidentified limb, turned her head, and looked at the narrow, dark, and damp surroundings.
[This place... won't do.]
She suddenly reached out, picked up a corpse, brought the corpse's head to her mandibles, and took a bite.
The hard skull broke between her mandibles like tofu. A large chunk of the corpse's brain was gone in an instant.
Chimera Ants are also called Gourmet Ants.
Compared to taste, the Queen prioritized nutrition, but she couldn't deny that this creature's brain was extremely delicious, completely stirring her eating desire.
Outside, the dark clouds rolled in.
The tide surged angrily, submerging the beach.
Waves crashed directly against the cliff face, splashing sprays of water mist.
Within moments, all traces of blood were gone.
The heavy rain continued non-stop for two days. Near the coastline, there stood only a lonely panda-shaped building.
Despite the wind and rain, the station still had two staff on duty: one young, one middle-aged.
The two sat in chairs drinking hot tea, listening to the local news broadcast from the radio.
"Why are there always so many foolish young people who like to line up to send themselves to their deaths at Devil's Cave?"
Listening to the news about a suspected yacht accident, the older staff member said with an unpleasant tone.
Beside him, the young staff member holding a teacup gave an awkward smile, feeling inexplicably targeted.
He took a small sip of hot tea, let out a comfortable low sound, then said, "In this weather, the rescue team can only wait, right?"
"What else? Those youngsters are definitely dead. Don't even think about finding their bodies."
The middle-aged man put down his cup with some force, making a thump.
The young duty officer jumped in fright, carefully observing the middle-aged man's gloomy expression, wondering what was going on.
He also knew that every year, people seeking thrills would go to Devil's Cave.
Just like how a few people inevitably drown at the beach every year, there were always casualties at Devil's Cave. Some were luckier, their bodies found far away, while others simply vanished, bodies never recovered.
Despite this, it couldn't stop those death-defying people.
The young duty officer would curse those people as idiots in his heart, but he wouldn't react as intensely as his colleague.
What he didn't know was that this colleague's daughter had also met her end at Devil's Cave, lured there by someone to have fun, and her body was never found either.
The rain poured down relentlessly, showing no signs of letting up.
This year's climate had been unpredictable. No one knew how long this storm would last.
The longer it dragged on, the more danger the over twenty missing people were in.
However, the experienced rescue team members had a pretty good idea.
Like the middle-aged man in the Panda station, they were locals and knew that group of missing young people most likely couldn't be saved.
...
Ten days later, a treasure-hunting team arrived in the Republic of East Gorteau.
Both the NGL and the Republic of East Gorteau were countries within the Mitene Union that did not allow information outflow.
The former used the banner of 'Protecting Nature' to eliminate mechanical civilization, while the latter aimed to extract blood and shear wool from its own citizens.
In this deformed country of East Gorteau, there was a powerful [Informer Organization] that controlled all intelligence within the country.
Discovering spies from enemy countries, obtaining evidence against revolutionary armies, controlling escape scenes… such achievements could bring organization members a substantial bonus.
When collected intelligence reached a certain quantity, the bonuses for all organization members would increase by one level.
Conversely, if there was false intelligence or a criminal emerged among the members, the entire group would share the punishment.
This was an organization with clear rewards and punishments. Moreover, each member's family was strictly monitored. If a member acted suspiciously, the consequences went without saying.
The existence of this organization, apart from maintaining the country's current operation, was to create an alternate Truman Show world for its citizens.
To feed some privileged classes, it was necessary to extract blood from all citizens, from the bottom up, gathering to the privileged individuals at the very top.
The person at the highest point was naturally a despotic ruler who only knew exploitation.
In such a dire country, the reason the people hadn't risen up in revolt was entirely due to the intelligence organization.
They cut off internal and external intelligence flow, strangled all potential uprisings in their infancy. From the government's standpoint, they broadcast various false news on every household's television.
[In other countries, over half the people starve to death before the age of ten.]
News like this constructed a Truman Show world for the citizens, making them feel fortunate even if they were 'starving to the point of being barely human'.
Moreover, while strictly controlling internal information from leaking out, East Gorteau consistently presented itself as a weakling internationally to seek benefits like international aid.
The aid collected naturally never reached the people… it was all exchanged by the privileged class for sports cars, jewels, and weapons.
Among the higher-ups, no one cared about the hardships or life and death of the citizens.
"Getting this information wasn't easy. Anyway, we're considered stowaways, so we can't be too conspicuous."
A team was making its way through mountain forests. The leader was Feng Xiaoyu.
The team consisted of twenty-one people. Including Ponzu and Feng Xiaoyu, over half were Nen Users.
Their purpose for coming to the Republic of East Gorteau was treasure hunting.
Everyone moved in an orderly manner through the forest, heading up a steep hillside.
Suddenly, someone sensed something was off.
"Karl is gone."
Someone at the back of the team said in astonishment.
Hearing that, everyone stopped.
As the person said, Karl, who had been at the very back, had vanished without a sound.
"What happened?"
The two closest to him were equally baffled.
They hadn't noticed any movement.
In the quiet forest, a thread of chill suddenly spread.