Chapter 112: The End of the World

“What does it say further on?” Brother Long urged as he saw Zhang Xingmin stop reading, impatient for him to translate more of the diary.

Zhang Xingmin flipped through the notebook several times before replying doubtfully, “I’m not sure why, but it seems a few pages are missing. According to the earlier entries, they were supposed to head to the City That Never Sleeps, but somehow ended up here instead.”

“Could it be that an old friend named Ryan led the fleet here? Didn’t he say this was his hometown?” Brother Long speculated.

“That’s impossible! The crew was diverse, and even if Ryan were a demigod, he couldn’t just change the ship’s course on a whim. Remember when we were on Ghost Island trying to rescue Xiao Feng? Everyone else was more interested in the bounty. We had no choice but to go along with them. Look here—it’s clearly written that Ryan and Zhao Zeyi pretended to be strangers all the way until they arrived here. Only after everyone else left did they drop their guard,” Zhang Xingmin translated sentence by sentence.

“Just give me the gist; I don’t understand half of this anyway!” Brother Long said impatiently.

Zhang Xingmin glanced at Brother Long’s grim expression and smiled before summarizing the remaining diary entries. The missing pages remain a mystery, but the story jumps from the two recognizing each other to their arrival at Williams Port.

For reasons unknown, the fleet arrived at Williams Port, a remote and desolate town.

When the ship docked, including Ryan and Zhao Zeyi, nine people disembarked. They seemed to be waiting for someone who never showed up. Soon after, winter fell in the southern hemisphere, trapping everyone in this southernmost city in the world.

Gradually, they grew familiar with one another—hunting together by day, throwing lively parties by night, almost forgetting their original purpose for coming.

The good times didn’t last. As the weather warmed, the captain grew restless with no news about the awaited person and decided to leave. The others followed, leaving only Ryan and Zhao Zeyi behind—one with a home here, the other with nowhere else to go.

Yang Dalong looked at Zhang Xingmin and said, “After everyone left, Ryan and Zhao Zeyi, a man and a woman alone together, fell for each other. Then they went to that Ghost Island Ryan had photographed before, weathered hardships side by side, and started a business together... Am I right? I’ve seen this episode before—it’s just another cliché romance story!”

Zhang Xingmin chuckled, “Almost. But they didn’t go to Ghost Island—they went to the Peruvian Highlands. Also, they didn’t leave on their own accord; someone was chasing them.”

“Who’s chasing them? The person the captain and others were waiting for?” Brother Long asked.

“I don’t know,” Zhang Xingmin shook his head. “But maybe we should go check it out. Judging by the timeline, they left the Peruvian Highlands only two or three months ago. After that was when they incited Lin Xiaofeng’s rebellion.”

“You think the answer lies there?”

“Who knows? Let’s see for ourselves! We’ve got nowhere else to go anyway.”

So, the two set out once more, undeterred, taking a route through the mountains toward the Peruvian Highlands—the place recorded in the diary.

...

Using a GPS device, they pinpointed their destination and journeyed through icy forests, lush grasslands, and skirted the Amazon rainforest before finally arriving.

“Do you think these people are crazy? Why pick such godforsaken places? We’re not going to die out here, right? I don’t want to perish with you, a grown man!” Brother Long grumbled, gazing at the barren plateau ahead, feeling suddenly like an eighteen-year-old youth.

“I think your intelligence is deteriorating!” Zhang Xingmin shot back. Despite knowing each other a long time, none of their wit seemed to have rubbed off on this big guy.

Ryan had said the dark organization had been too poor to buy prime land for their base at first. Besides, remote locations are less likely to be discovered and reduce security costs.

“You’re the smart one? Do you think a deserted place like this would suddenly have a big city? If so, I, Yang Dalong, would take your family name!” Brother Long said, then regretted it.

After climbing a gentle hill, a modern city emerged ahead—not large, but not small either, matching Ryan’s diary descriptions closely.

Brother Long swallowed awkwardly and muttered, “How can anyone live on such a desolate plateau? Are these people idiots? Aren’t they afraid of oxygen deprivation?”

“You might get altitude sickness visiting Lhasa, but have you ever met anyone living there long-term with problems, Mr. Zhang Dalong?” Zhang Xingmin smiled inwardly at Brother Long’s quick reversal but kept a calm expression.

Hearing his full name, Brother Long scowled, “That doesn’t count! Don’t call me that!”

Zhang Xingmin teased but didn’t argue further. Instead, he draped an arm over Brother Long’s shoulder. “How can it not count? Our word is bond! Let’s head into town and take a look, shall we?”

“Keep joking, and I might just have to teach you a lesson!” Brother Long said, quickening his pace toward the city. The journey from Williams Port had been exhausting—no proper sleep, no decent meals, no showers; they smelled of sweat and hardship.

As the saying goes, “Seeing the mountain can tire the horse.” Though the city was close, it still took time to reach it. They arrived at dusk.

Unlike ordinary cities, this one retained some feudal customs—walls, gates, and such. Fortunately, Zhang Xingmin and Yang Dalong were young and strong, arriving before the gates closed; otherwise, they would have had to sleep on the streets.

Once inside, they didn’t rush to find lodging but spent about an hour and a half familiarizing themselves with the city. The developed area covered just over 100 square kilometers, with streets laid out in a grid, dividing the city into districts. Irregular spaces were squares and church-like structures.

The population was incredibly diverse, spanning almost every social stratum—forming a mini Pantone color chart, as they joked. They tried greeting a few locals; some didn’t understand their language, others ignored them coldly.

Night was falling, so they planned to find a place to stay and make further plans the next day.