DA chapter 77

The clouds and mist dispersed. Lin Jia raised his head to look at the scene before him.

The Fish Belly he had seen before and the Fish Belly he saw now were clearly not on the same scale. This Fish Belly was enormous. At a glance, it was clear that it was a typical ancient town built with modern technology.

A shimmering stream ran through it, lined with densely packed river docks. Bluestone slabs paved the ground beneath his feet, and dark, glossy, curved roofs clustered together like blooming flowers, layer upon layer, stretching endlessly into the distance.

Long ago, ancient towns were no longer known for their antique charm, but rather for the shops on both sides of the road selling modern products.

Lin Jia saw at a glance that all the shops were open. Some shelves extended from the storefronts and were filled with dazzling goods that were impossible to take in all at once.

But there were no shopkeepers or travelers. There were no shopkeepers calling out and no travelers on the road. The entire ancient town was deathly silent, as if forgotten by the world.

Lin Jia could not be considered a traveler. He had only come to escape the relentless pursuit of the hounds.

Lin Jia walked into an inconspicuous alley.

Since entering the Fish Belly, he had naturally needed to find a Fishman to obtain the Soup Surface. However, this place was large, and the location of the Fishman was unknown. It was also unclear whether the hounds had followed him in. He definitely wouldn’t expose himself just to get the Soup Surface, so he needed to find a place where the Fishman could see him, but others couldn’t. Once he had the Soup Surface, he would deal with the hounds.

Inside the Fish Belly, it was daytime, but clearly, the time didn’t match the Underwater World. Based on the position of the sun, Lin Jia estimated that it was around four in the afternoon.

He moved slowly through the silent ancient town, stopping occasionally in shaded spots. The tip of his umbrella touched the ground as he lightly leaned on it to rest.

After walking for some time, Lin Jia gained a preliminary understanding of the town. He divided it into north and south. The southern side mostly had guesthouses, while the northern side had more residential homes with storefronts on the first floor and living quarters on the second.

Lin Jia had experienced several Fish Belly instances before and knew from experience that the scenes inside the Fish Belly were not random—they were closely related to the Soup Surface.

A certain person’s figure surfaced in his mind. That person, who had a bad reputation, had smiled and said: “After countless grinding and blows, it still remains firm and strong. Let the winds from east, west, south, or north blow as they please.”

Judging from that person’s behavior, the Soup Surface was most likely related to the Fishman. So, the scene was related to the Soup Surface, the Soup Surface was related to the Fishman, and therefore, the scene was related to the Fishman.

This ancient town was vast. After wandering for a long time, Lin Jia noticed many details. Where the stream flowed rapidly, the docks were darker; where the stream was calm, the docks were lighter. The bluestone slabs of the main roads were smooth and polished from countless footsteps, while the alleys were uneven. Shop signs and banners showed signs of weathering—those facing the sun had developed brittle cracks from long exposure.

And so on—countless such details.

If the Fishman were a traveler, they likely wouldn’t have such a clear memory of the town. It was more likely that the Fishman was a native of the town.

Lin Jia went to the northern side of the town to search for the Fishman.

He chose to walk through the alleys anyway. They were narrow and cramped, like long corridors, with sunlight piling up at the exit.

When he was only a short distance from the exit of the long alley, Lin Jia heard voices.

A girl asked uncertainly, “Where is this place?”

“How would I know?” A man answered, his tone very familiar. “You made the plan. I just paid and followed you.”

“That’s not it.” The girl sounded anxious. “Brother, didn’t you notice? The scene is wrong! We weren’t here a moment ago! Did you forget? We were shopping in a mall just now!!!!”

The man paused, as if he had just woken up from a dream. “Holy shit!”

Lin Jia judged that the speakers were siblings.

They couldn’t understand how they had gone from the mall to this place.

“Is this filming?” the younger sister asked, confused.

“How could it be filming?” The older brother finally became clearheaded. “Even if it were filming, we couldn’t directly go from indoors to outdoors. The mall was right across from the hotel where we stayed, wasn’t it? Look—there’s no hotel here, and our phones have no signal.”

“So…” The younger sister still couldn’t believe it; her tone was full of shock at the absurd reality. “Did we time-travel? Is that even possible?”

“Lately, the news has been filled with reports of the living dead. If time travel exists, too, then it’s not that strange.”

“But didn’t experts say it’s caused by mental stress? That going out more can relieve it?”

“You actually believe that? Never mind. Let’s find someone and ask about the situation first.”

Hearing the words “living dead,” Lin Jia felt a sense of time distortion. He had been in the Underwater World for nearly three months, but in real time, maybe only one day had passed.

Because of the situation with the living dead, the company had already started to accumulate pending matters. Fortunately, time flows differently between the real world and the Underwater World. His disappearance for only one day wouldn’t halt operations completely.

If he disappeared for too long, it would be hard to say what would happen to the company—he needed to return as soon as possible.

The siblings, their faces full of anxiety and confusion, were newcomers who had just been drawn into the Fish Belly. Lin Jia had never liked explaining situations to newcomers, nor did he intend to take care of them.

Judging by the area covered when the clouds descended, this was at least a four-star cloud layer. Because of its size, even if those targeting Lin Jia saw him enter the Fish Belly, they wouldn’t be able to find out where he would come out.

Lin Jia treated the Fish Belly as a portal. He planned to shake off the hounds, find Yan Xu, and let Yan Xu merge with the cat. Then, they would put the plan to leave the Underwater World on the agenda.

So, he needed to find the Fishman, obtain the Soup Surface, and leave the Fish Belly. He wouldn’t let anything slow his pace.

Lin Jia took a step closer to the exit of the corridor. Suddenly, the siblings’ voices became excited.

“Brother, there’s someone!”

“Coming!”

They had probably noticed him. Lin Jia heard the sound of footsteps approaching. He didn’t react at all; he wouldn’t delay his plan for unimportant people. This pair of siblings was destined not to receive any information about the Underwater World from him.

The footsteps grew louder and louder. Lin Jia raised his eyes—The corridor divided his field of vision into an oddly proportioned rectangle.

The siblings rushed into view but didn’t stop. They quickly disappeared from sight, their footsteps fading from near to far.

Lin Jia slowly walked toward the exit. Just a few steps away, he heard their voices again.

“Hello, do you know where this place is?”

“We were in a mall, and suddenly we appeared here. Did you also come here like this?”

It seemed the person they found wasn’t Lin Jia. That was even better—he didn’t need to spare them a glance.

Just as Lin Jia was about to leave the corridor and step into the alley across from it, a voice from the side, trying hard to suppress urgency, sounded.

“I don’t have time to explain everything to you. Just remember, this place is dangerous—you can die here. Keep your voice down; don’t let the Fishman hear you.”

“Fishman?”

“You’ll know when you see one. How long have you been here?”

“For a while.”

“Have you seen this person?”

The familiar voice made Lin Jia pause. His steady steps forward came to a halt.

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