DA chapter 86

The cat was still asleep, looking quite carefree.

Lin Jia casually draped a blanket over its belly and asked, “What were you about to say just now?”

They had spoken at the same time. Since Lin Jia had already said what he wanted to say, it was now Yan Xu’s turn.

Yan Xu sat back in his chair. He didn’t answer immediately. After a moment of silence, he said, “You saw the information about J0001.”

Lin Jia responded with a sound of acknowledgment.

When treating Yan Xu’s wound, the J0001 cloud data had fallen out from Yan Xu’s arms.

Yan Xu wasn’t asking how Lin Jia had obtained the J0001 information. Instead, he said thoughtfully, “I should have gone to J0001 earlier. The desire to leave the Underwater World was most likely stripped away there because I can’t remember that part of my memory.”

Lin Jia glanced at the cat, then looked up at Yan Xu.

Now seated again, Yan Xu was no longer looking up at the ceiling, but at Lin Jia. “J0001 might have a way to leave the Underwater World. Of course, this is just speculation for now. Maybe after I merge with the cat, I’ll recall memories related to J0001.”

Lin Jia’s first instinct was that Yan Xu wasn’t entirely right.

Not that the logic in his words was wrong, but that these weren’t what Yan Xu truly wanted to say.

It was similar to how he had actually wanted to ask, “How are your injuries?” But when it came out, it turned into, “If it’s uncomfortable for you to sleep, I suggest you go back.”

Yan Xu had also changed what he originally wanted to say, switching to the topic of J0001 Cloud Layer instead—unable to return to the “you” he had started with.

Of course, everyone was the same. Lin Jia didn’t intend to dig deeper.

Just as Yan Xu had followed Lin Jia’s topic earlier, Lin Jia now followed Yan Xu’s. “Merging is simple. You just need to press your forehead against the cat’s.”

Yan Xu looked at Lin Jia silently. After a while, he asked, “Are you in that much of a hurry?”

It seemed as if he had said the wrong thing. Lin Jia replied, “I’m just stating the method truthfully.”

“Being in a hurry won’t help.” Yan Xu crossed his legs and hung his arms straight down at his sides, almost touching the ground with the backs of his hands. “We’re not sure if merging will have any effect. This is a four-star Fish Belly. To be safe, let’s wait until we leave the Fish Belly.”

It was unusual to hear such cautious words from Yan Xu, who usually liked to take risks.

Lin Jia agreed, “Alright.”

The topic of J0001 ended just like that, and the room fell silent. But it didn’t stay quiet for long. Soon, Yan Xu spoke again. “Out of four people, it picked you. Any thoughts?”

Lin Jia answered casually, “No.”

It was only the first night in the Fish Belly, and the night wasn’t over yet. Trying to find the trigger that locked them in the coffin was indeed difficult.

Yan Xu glanced out the window. The night outside was littered with faint points of light, signaling that daylight would arrive soon.

Looking out the window, he asked, “What about the Fishman issue? What are you going to ask?”

“If you have any ideas, Captain Yan, you can ask directly when it’s daytime.” Lin Jia lay back on the bed. “I’m sleepy.”

Yan Xu kept his head turned toward the window and didn’t speak anymore.

He could tell that Lin Jia didn’t want to compare answers with him. That made sense—the fish had already taken the bait, so the bait itself was no longer important.

He stared at the window until his neck grew stiff. He watched until daylight arrived and Lin Jia’s reflection in the window was scattered by sunlight.

But it still didn’t feel like enough. Yan Xu rubbed his neck and quietly looked at the person on the bed.

The sun quickly filled the sky, driving away the chill of the night. The room gradually warmed up. Lin Jia wanted to lift the blanket, but he didn’t want Yan Xu to notice that he was pretending to sleep.

There was a reason for his pretense. Lin Jia didn’t want to talk to Yan Xu anymore. He was afraid that if they kept talking, Yan Xu would say what he really wanted to say.

Sometimes, being too perceptive wasn’t a good thing. Lin Jia knew very well what Yan Xu wanted to ask—“You… why did you take the blame for me?”

Not knowing how to respond, Lin Jia pretended to sleep.

Lin Jia couldn’t tolerate the heat well, and it was becoming unbearable. He secretly glanced at Yan Xu and saw that he had fallen asleep with his head tilted, still holding onto something while he slept—his hand clutching the hem of his clothes.

So Lin Jia lifted the blanket, got up, and covered Yan Xu with it.

Perhaps because he had been searching for Lin Jia and staying up late these past few days, when Lin Jia placed the blanket over him, Yan Xu subconsciously waved his arm once before being subdued by the weight of the blanket.

It was almost dawn. Without paying further attention to Yan Xu, Lin Jia went to wash up.

When he came back, he saw that Yan Xu had been woken up from the heat.

Lin Jia: “…”

Yan Xu rubbed his hair, stood up holding the blanket, and then froze for a moment. When someone wakes up from overheating with insufficient sleep, their mind isn’t fully awake, so they can’t immediately understand why the blanket is on them.

Lin Jia noticed beads of sweat on Yan Xu’s forehead. He silently stepped aside to let Yan Xu go wash his face.

There was some movement outside the room. Lian Xin and Lian Ye, siblings who had gotten up early to prove their worth, were planning to prepare breakfast in the kitchen.

Lin Jia heard their careful footsteps as they passed by the room. It seemed that, during both halves of the night, the only person locked in the coffin had been him. Otherwise, how would the newcomers have had the mood to prepare breakfast?

Daytime in the Fish Belly was mostly used to search for clues. The siblings only made a simple pot of plain porridge, blanched a plate of greens, and served them with pickled vegetables from the fridge.

Still, it was far better than dry compressed biscuits.

After breakfast, Lian Ye cautiously discussed the matter with Yan Xu. “Brother Yan, are we going to look for clues later? Can we not split up?”

Yesterday, while searching for the Fishman, Lin Jia had required them to search separately. Lian Ye still remembered the fear and helplessness he felt when he encountered the Fishman alone, so today he asked not to separate. Lian Xin looked at Yan Xu pitifully, with his hands clasped together. “Please.”

“Let’s ask the Fishman questions first.” Yan Xu didn’t agree immediately. “We’ll see about the rest.”

Lian Xin and Lian Ye nodded repeatedly. “Okay.”

In a four-star Fish Belly, safe Fishman questions were extremely valuable. To prevent the newcomers from accidentally wasting them, Yan Xu briefly explained the situation with the Fishman and the rules about Fishman questions on the way to the riverside where the Fishman was located.

The two nodded repeatedly, assuring Yan Xu that they wouldn’t speak recklessly in front of the Fishman.

“Brother Yan.” Lian Ye moved closer to Yan Xu. “How many Fish Bellies have you been to?”

Lian Xin also looked at Yan Xu curiously.

Yan Xu: “I don’t remember.”

Not remembering meant the number was high and that he had successfully escaped each time. Lian Ye said sincerely, “Brother, you’re amazing.”

The distance from the inn on the south side of the ancient town to the Fishman’s location was considerable. It took about twenty minutes on foot. On the way, Lin Jia listened silently as the siblings chatted with Yan Xu. The conversation went from questions about the Fishman to which “Yan” was in Yan Xu’s name.

Just as he had introduced himself at the Yile Welfare Institute’s Fish Belly, Yan Xu said: “Yan Xu. ‘Yan’ as in the character ‘upper-three encirclement, ‘Xu’ as in ‘connection.’”

As they chatted, the siblings grew more familiar, changing their way of addressing him from “Brother Yan” to simply “Brother.”

Chattering nonstop—noisy.

Lin Jia remained expressionless.

The trigger for entering the space where the coffin was kept was still unclear, and not everyone could reach it. However, if the ancient tomb materialized, then everyone in the Fish Belly could go there to search for clues. After all, one person’s perspective and energy are limited, and important clues could easily be overlooked.

Yan Xu’s question about the Fishman matched Lin Jia’s thoughts, and their answers aligned.

The Fishman said: “Yes.”

The moment he answered, a loud rumble sounded and a towering mountain rose from the ground.

In a four-star Fish Belly, such materialization happens in an instant.

Although Yan Xu had warned the two newcomers that Fishman questions would materialize, Lian Ye was still shocked by the scene. His hand trembled, and the chalk fell from his grip.

This was the task Yan Xu had given him. Lian Ye hurriedly tried to catch the falling chalk.

He fumbled a few times. Just before the chalk hit the ground, a well-defined hand suddenly appeared and steadily caught it.

Lian Ye froze for a moment, then looked up and saw that it was the aloof person in their group who rarely spoke.

Lin Jia—that was the name he had heard Brother Yan use.

To be honest, Lian Ye was a bit afraid of Lin Jia. He was too cold and always surrounded by an unapproachable aura.

“Th-thank you… Brother Jia.” Lian Ye forced himself to say.

Dropping the chalk wasn’t a big deal, but Yan Xu might think he was useless—too frightened by the materialization to hold onto the chalk.

Fortunately, though, the chalk hadn’t broken. Lin Jia had caught it.

Lian Ye reached out to take it back, but Lin Jia’s beautiful hand withdrew.

Lian Ye paused, confused, and looked at Lin Jia.

Lin Jia said calmly, “I’ll write.”

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