Ambush

Translator: Cinder Translations 

-------- 

This was probably by the sea.

Because the sound of the waves, at this kind of volume, was something only the sea could produce. It was unlikely that any large river or lake could match it.

The salty, fishy scent in the air further confirmed this.

For now, he hadn't seen his teammates.

He also didn't know if the Fatty from home had come along.

In an unfamiliar environment, whether it was shouting loudly or aimlessly walking around, it could be deadly. Although the mission had just begun, Jiang Cheng still lowered his posture, hiding in the darkness.

The building was quite strange. From his perspective, the dome was high, at least high enough that the faint darkness couldn't be penetrated by the naked eye. The walls around him were steep, like rock faces.

It wasn't exactly rock because there were obvious signs that someone had carved them, and in some places, smooth, clean marble pieces could be seen, proving this.

The area was filled with collapsed stone pillars. The smaller ones were as thick as a thigh, and the larger ones would require two people to embrace.

A big reason Jiang Cheng stayed motionless was because of these collapsed stone pillars. Some seemed to have fallen from a great height, shattering into pieces.

Tiny stone fragments surrounded him, and if he moved, they would make a "crash, crash" sound.

Jiang Cheng had a strong intuition. He felt that there should be more people in this strange building.

Someone was hiding in the dark.

Whether enemy or ally, Jiang Cheng was prepared to be the last person to reveal himself.

His gaze slowly swept through the nearby darkness.

It wasn't entirely accurate to call it dark; it wasn't pitch black. After Jiang Cheng's eyes gradually adjusted to the environment, he realized that the darkness here was more like a thin mist.

The mist was slightly blackish.

He slowly waved his hand, and the black mist before him eerily dispersed a little, revealing a stone pillar under his feet.

He could now see it clearly.

The stone pillar was covered with intricate carvings he couldn't understand. At the very top, there was a break, and part of it had fallen beside him. Jiang Cheng slightly frowned.

Wind erosion and water damage had worn the carvings, and he could only make out a vague outline.

He could tell it was supposed to be a creature.

At least the carver had intended for it to resemble a creature.

But Jiang Cheng didn't recognize it.

It had fish scales but also wings, and there was a spear-like sharp tail behind it.

What kind of strange thing was this?

The last time Jiang Cheng saw something like this was in a mobile game, where he had hatched a weird beast egg and got something grotesque. He thought it was too ugly, so he abandoned it right away.

"Screech—"

A sudden, jarring sound made Jiang Cheng catch off guard.

He immediately looked in the direction of the sound and saw a light crack.

Soon, the crack widened.

Jiang Cheng quickly closed one eye, peeking with just one eye to avoid the bright light.

His eye slowly adjusted, and he realized that the light was coming from a door.

The crack was because someone outside was pushing it.

"This door is so heavy!" A familiar voice called out. Though the voice was strong and even a bit rogue, Jiang Cheng knew the person was just putting on an act.

He was actually a cowardly Fatty.

When the door fully opened, the interior of the building lit up, the gray mist was driven away, and Jiang Cheng slowly stood up against the light.

"There's someone!"

A voice shouted, sharp yet unmistakably male.

The Fatty's eyes lit up when he saw Jiang Cheng. His mouth opened as if he were about to say "doctor."

But then he seemed to realize something, and his excited expression slowly faded, turning into a look of curiosity, as if seeing a stranger.

Fortunately, everyone's attention was focused on Jiang Cheng, and no one paid attention to him.

Looks like these were the teammates for this mission.

Jiang Cheng looked at the group of people.

Why was he always the last one to be found?

Like an orphan.

Just as he took a step forward, ready to join the team, his movements froze. He heard a sound different from the waves.

It was very close! Extremely close!

Right behind him!!

He immediately turned around and saw a young man, around his age, standing by a stone pillar behind him.

The young man, realizing he'd been noticed, nodded at Jiang Cheng, then smiled and said, "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you."

He had a few strands of delicate hair falling on his forehead, and through the gaps in the hair, his gentle eyes looked at Jiang Cheng. His face was warm and polite, like a nobleman from centuries ago.

His clothes were also fitting, giving off a graceful, ethereal aura. He appeared to be someone who admired ancient costumes.

"It's alright," Jiang Cheng replied calmly.

Upon hearing Jiang Cheng's response, the nobleman seemed to have been forgiven, letting out a long breath. He then nodded apologetically at Jiang Cheng before turning to look in the direction of the Fatty and the others.

Jiang Cheng glanced at the stone pillar beside the nobleman.

When he first arrived here, he had carefully observed the surroundings. Only after confirming that there was no danger nearby did he start studying the stone pillars and carvings.

At that time, he had noticed the stone pillar behind him.

There had been no one around then.

So Jiang Cheng slightly squinted. This nobleman had probably snuck up behind him.

Step by step, he had crept up while the sound of the waves masked his movements.

The Fatty and the others had now approached.

There were eight people in total for this mission, including Jiang Cheng and the nobleman.

Perhaps because of the required team composition, there were 4 men and 4 women, one of whom was a man who probably stood over 2 meters tall.

The man stood behind a girl dressed like a loli, who was just about at his waist.

From what Jiang Cheng gathered from the Fatty and the others, the sea was right outside. The strange building was standing about 100 meters from the coastline.

There were no other buildings around, just this one, standing alone.

The building's back was against a steep rock face, and on the other side was an endless forest.

In other words, to leave here, one would either have to climb the cliff, traverse the forest, or build a boat and try their luck at sea.

Jiang Cheng looked at a black, thin woman and asked, "What happened to you?"

The woman, although thin, seemed to have a strong physique. However, she was covered in small scratches, some of which were still bleeding.

"I tried to climb the cliff to see the surroundings," the woman didn't hide it.

Clearly, she had failed.

"The rock face around here is eroded by the sea breeze too much. Many places can't hold up," the woman said, looking towards the door.

(End of the Chapter)

---

Read (NS) ahead on (pa treon . com / CinderTL) – Chapter 260.

Early access starts at $1. Your support keeps this going!

$1 for this novel, or two novels for just $5, RDC/FF/MF Tiers. ;)

Translated 4 Series, 1.5K+ Chapters and 1.78M+ Words.