Three days later, the small island where Lu Ye and Hua Ci were located had grown to ten times its original size, having merged with several drifting islands along the way. Some islands harbored enemies, while others were empty.
Lu Ye had wanted to observe the pattern behind the merging of islands, but in the end, he discovered there was no pattern to speak of.
They encountered the first small island one Shichen after their arrival. Then, there was no activity for half a day, yet the second and third islands almost arrived at the same time. At that moment, Lu Ye and Hua Ci were quite tense; if both islands had enemies, their situation would probably not be very good.
The islands that came afterward would suddenly appear within sight. There was no way to find a pattern. The islands seemed to drift with the waves upon the Chess Sea, drawing closer to each other until they merged.