ID No. 019 - Chapter 3.1

The mass of islanders drew closer. They wore coarse clothing similar to those of the crew. The group of men pulled a cart with a hemp rope that had a kerosene lamp hung at the front.

It seemed they had come to collect some supplies, not to confront them.

Chen Yang and his companions let out a sigh of relief. They were worried that one of them would be lost after stepping foot onto the island.

The island was enshrouded in a gray mist, with small stone houses arranged in a U-shape. Each home was encircled by a ring of oddly shaped stones, only leaving enough space to fit a small entrance.

It looked like a stone necklace from afar.

The full name of the middle-aged man who hosted them was Li Dafu. He lived with his elderly mother who was still able-bodied, but was hard of hearing which made conversing with her difficult.

After they sent the mother and son off, they silently sat under the light of the kerosene lamp. This should mark the beginning of their arrival on the island.

Chen Yang peered outside the dilapidated wooden windows. Dawn was fast approaching. Who knew what horrors awaited them today?

The leaves of the old tree in the courtyard rustled as the wind blew. The faint smell of firewood drifted into the room when the call of a rooster broke the silence.

“Cock-a-doodle-doo…”

The rooster’s crowing revitalised the dreary atmosphere, imbuing everyone with a subtle sense of security.

However, that feeling of safety soon vanished into thin air when they returned to their stone house after a morning of inquiry.

Unlike what they expected, there had not been any deaths on the island, and there were certainly no rituals for living sacrifices arranged to take place within the next few days.

Every household had their doors wide open and smoke rising out of the chimneys as they cooked. The adults were busy while the children played and the elderly laughed. It was a picture perfect scene of peace and harmony.

The group grew increasingly unsettled.

If they were actually on vacation, they could have enjoyed the simple life led by the locals. Unfortunately, they were here to brave through whatever the danger was and survive. Yet, the situation they were witnessing was extremely abnormal.

The bizarreness of the situation rendered Zhang Yan’s previous experience with ghosts useless. His expression turned grave, “Did anyone feel that something was off when you walked around the village? As if there was something you can’t quite put your finger on, but you still felt uneasy. Like there was this unnerving feeling that someone was watching you from behind?”

The rest of the group shook their heads. They hadn’t felt anything at all.

Nighttime on the island was eerie while the day was bright and sunny. The fishermen were simple folk who were just filled with curiosity at the new arrivals.

The group were at their wits’ end. They turned to the only two that did not go out — Chen Yang and the young man.

The young man, despite his handsome looks, was not an easy person to get along with. As a matter of fact, the man had never spoken in front of the group. There was something unsettling about him. It was as if he was always on the verge of exploding and they had to tread carefully while around him.

None of them expected to get any information out of the man. They simply directed an inquisitive look towards Chen Yang, wanting to know if anything strange happened in the room.

Chen Yang shook his head and said, “I’ve been in the house this entire time, and nothing happened.”

The room descended into silence.

“Maybe we’re just lucky? Our mission this time around might not involve ghosts and dead people. It could just be that we simply need to stay on the island for two days.” Zhou Xiaoxiao’s trailed off as she spoke. Not even she believed what she was saying.

Though it was horrifying to see ghostly figures and bloody handprints, the unknown was a lot more terrifying. Their imagination would torment them to the point of madness.

“The most suspicious detail right now is that giant pile of fertiliser.” Zhang Yan said.

Everyone nodded in agreement. The staggering number of bags of fertiliser was concerning.

The two-day duration likely marked the time they had to survive. The mission likely revolved around the fertiliser that travelled with them across the sea.

What else could they do with it besides nourish plants?

“It’s time for breakfast!”

There was a loud sound coming from the courtyard followed by Li Dafu’s shout. He seemed to have kicked something. Although he had a fiery temper, he wasn’t someone who was inherently dangerous. He was like an open book.

“Let’s go.” Zhang Yan noticed they were apprehensive and said, “It’s generally safe to eat the food in the mission world.”

Zhao Yuan remained paranoid, “That might not be the case considering how unusual the situation is this time.”

Zhou Xiaoxiao staggered as she stood up, toppling the stool she was sitting on to the floor. The noise it made engulfed the room in a suffocating silence.

Zhang Yan hesitated before denying, “It’s probably fine.”

“If veterans like you can’t make sense of this bizarre situation, who are you to say that the possibility of such a thing is non-existent?” As a hardcore movie enthusiast, Zhao Yuan’s mind was filled with scenes of blood, gore and man-eating monsters as he scanned around the room. His wild gaze finally landed on the bags some of them had brought to the island.

On the table were two backpacks and a red, leather handbag which belonged to Chen Yang, Zhao Yuan and Lin Yue respectively.

Zhao Yuan’s eyes lit up, “Did any of you bring something to eat?”

There was a shift in the expressions of some people present.

Zhang Yan frowned, “We must have our identity cards on us at all times, even when we’re asleep. There’s no warning before entering a mission, so we can’t even make preparations.” He continued, “If I hadn’t entered this time, I’d be heading to my brother’s place to crash for a few days.”

He was implying that he only brought a change of clothes and no food.

Lin Yue silently opened her bag to reveal its contents. There was only a pack of tissues, a data cable, a phone that had no service, and lipstick. She was on a business trip and never ate while she was in the car.

The group focused on Chen Yang, the only person left who had a bag.

Chen Yang felt sheepish when faced with their desperate gazes and said, “I have a box of milk candy in my bag.”

At that, the stiff atmosphere seemed to lighten up a little.

Zhao Yuan immediately perked up, “Let’s tough it out then. It’s just two days, right? We can just cut down on food. If there was an issue with the water source on the island, we would’ve all been dead. Now’s the time for us to unite and cooperate. Let’s survive and leave this place together.”

The flicker of hope that started to light up was soon extinguished.

“But if the water source really was compromised…” Chen Yang paused, then said with some difficulty, “Then it’s already too late.”

The group blankly stared at Chen Yang, unable to comprehend what he was implying.

Chen Yang let out a deep sigh and reminded his temporary teammates, “When we arrived at dawn, the old lady poured us some water and we all drank it.”

The temperature in the room instantly plummeted. Everyone fell silent as they recalled drinking that cup of water.

Chen Yang’s hand tightened into a fist. He was the only one who noticed that the young man hadn’t drunk any. If the water truly was contaminated, he wouldn’t be much help given his leg.

A deathly stillness descended upon them. Zhou Xiaoxiao started to cry again, much to the annoyance of the rest. Huang Qing, in particular, wanted to sew her mouth shut. He didn’t have the leisure nor the patience to care for her while his own survival was uncertain.

“Stop f*cking crying!” Huang Qing kicked over a stool in anger.

Zhou Xiaoxiao was startled into silence.

As someone of the same age, Zhao Yuan didn’t approve of the way he was acting and spoke up, “Why are you mad? None of us wanted to come here. Why would anyone want to be in a crazy situation like this? It’s normal to cry when you’re scared. Can’t you act more like a gentleman and treat the girls better?”

“It’s okay.” Zhao Yuan tried to reassure Zhou Xiaoxiao, “Don’t be scared.”

Huang Qing grimaced in disgust, “Stupid c*nt.”

Zhao Yuan was incensed and stormed towards Huang Qing. He looked down at him and shot back, “Who do you think you’re cursing at, you midget?”

The two men glared daggers at each other, both raring to fight like two roosters with their feathers ruffled.

Lin Yue clapped and sarcastically remarked, “Your first day here isn’t even over yet and you’re already fighting. You’re newbies alright. ”

Huang Qing and Zhao Yuan immediately felt embarrassed.

“And you, little princess.” Lin Yue gave Zhou Xiaoxiao the side-eye, “Do you feel smug having two decent-looking guys fight because of you?”

Zhou Xiaoxiao denied the accusation, “No, I didn’t–”

Lin Yue, disgusted with her duplicitous behaviour, cut her off, “The group in my last mission had fifteen people. Eight of them were girls, but I was the only one to survive. Do you know why?”

Zhou Xiaoxiao trembled, “Why?”

“Because while they were busy smiling prettily and batting their eyelashes, I toughened up to survive.” Lin Yue gave a cold smile, “The weak and useless are among the first to be abandoned.”

Zhou Xiaoxiao went silent.

Zhang Yan tried to mediate the situation, “Alright, that’s enough quarrelling. Since it’s too late, we might as well just eat so that we have enough strength to run or fight back.” He paused before continuing, “Besides, you’ll probably be restored to normal as long as you’re alive when the mission is completed.” 

Zhou Xiaoxiao, Huang Qing and Zhao Yuan froze. Though each had their own plans, they had a common goal — which was to live till the end.

Madam Li was very hospitable to her guests. She had prepared a large pot of rice congee, two large bowls of pickled vegetables of unknown origin and scallion pancakes.

They had barely any appetite remaining and the time seemed to move excruciatingly slow. After breakfast, Zhang Yan suggested they part ways to investigate and meet up at Li Dafu’s house at noon.

Zhou Xiaoxiao hurriedly asserted, “Didn’t you say that we shouldn’t move alone since we can’t know for sure if a person became a ghost?”

“The situation has changed.” Zhang Yan stated. “We have no leads at the moment, so it’s best to utilise our manpower effectively, which is by spreading out to search for useful information. We don’t have much time left.”

It was a sensible suggestion that was derived from the only information they currently had, that is, the duration of their stay which was two days. Time was not on their side and they had to make the most of what remained.

They had no other choice. Zhao Yuan and Huang Qing went their separate ways while Zhou Xiaoxiao quivered where she stood. She hesitated to speak, but begrudgingly left when she realised no one bothered to pay her any attention.

Chen Yang stared at Zhang Yan as he left. He retracted his gaze when he noticed the young man limping out of the room and followed after him, not forgetting to take his backpack along.

“Where are you going?” Chen Yang asked.

The man turned towards the west.

Chen Yang put forward a suggestion, “There’s no need for you to strain yourself. You can sit down somewhere and just wait for all the girls to come to you. Honeytraps are very effective.”

“…” The man leaned on his crutches as he looked down at him from above. He did not speak a word and simply stared.

Chen Yang grew increasingly flustered. He couldn’t shake the feeling that he was being watched by the eyes of a behemoth. He fidgeted and attempted to give a genial smile, “I’ll head south. Take care and stay safe.”