Stranger Danger

"If you commit a crime on the island, don't even try to run away. See those birds in the sky? It's a kind of Stranger the Floating Island is raising. They're called One Eye because they're one-eyed, but that's not a reason to look down on them. That's because the damn bird can see everything down to the finest detail from several kilometers away. No illusion or concealment art works on them either."

Hu Da was a chatterer, and he could not stop once he began. "The One Eyes hovers everywhere above Floating Island both day and night. If someone commits something, they would immediately catch the One Eye's attention. From that point onward, you would be found no matter where you hide, where you run, or who you morph yourself into."

"If you are found, you will be charged for resisting arrest on top of whatever crime you've already committed. One of your eyes would be dug out and fed to the One Eyes. See that group of one-eyed men carrying big bags at the port? Hehe, they're most likely people who tried to escape after committing a crime. Not only do they have to serve as labor workers, they had to give up an eye as well. Tsk tsk..."

Ye Qing followed Hu Da's gaze and saw eight one-eyed men as he claimed. Dressed in coarse clothes, they were carrying cargos under a Floating Guard's watchful eye.

"That is why you must never, ever try to commit a crime while on Floating Island, and you definitely do not want to offend the Floating Guards. They're mad dogs, all of them."

Hu Da cursed under his breath before continuing, "Brother Ye, Miss Feng, this is your first time entering Floating Island, right? I'll tell you all about the rules once we get on the island. You do not want to break a taboo and earn the attention of those mad dogs."

"Thank you, Brother Hu." Ye Qing saluted Hu Da before looking at the large eyeball on the tower. "On a related note, what is that eyeball?"

"I was just about to tell you about it!"

Hu Da looked at the eyeball and began his explanation, "The eyeball is called Evil Finder. It's a Strange Artifact the island lord of Floating Island created using the eyeball of a Disaster-class Stranger living in the Crushed Star Sea known as the Evil Eye. The reason it's called the Evil Finder is because the eyeball can identify and see through the disguises of evils and Strangers."

"Floating Island is the core of the Profound Alliance, and it produces a type of wood called the Floating Wood. The Floating Wood is as tough as metal but as light as a feather. It is one of the best ship-making materials out there. The Strangers of the Rakshasa Kingdom have always thought of Floating Island as a major threat and often dispatched powerful Strangers to infiltrate it and assassinate key targets. Once, they had even tried to sink it."

"Because of this, the island lord created the Evil Finder to identify all evils and monsters. There are four Evil Finders in total, and they are positioned at each cardinal direction. Any Stranger who thought they could infiltrate Floating Island without trouble would be sussed out instantly."

Ye Qing asked, "Didn't you say that Floating Island possesses a mysterious power that keeps Strangers from approaching it?"

"That only works against common and mundane Strangers. It's useless against the stronger ones."

Hu Da explained, "As I said, the Rakshasa Kingdom views Floating Island as a major threat. Naturally, they wouldn't send Strangers who would be deterred by Floating Island's presence. That is why the island lord created the Evil Finder to deal with the powerful Strangers."

Ye Qing asked, "Do they work?"

"Of course they do!" Hu Da declared in a proud voice, "Ever since Evil Finder is created, we have killed at least hundreds of powerful Strangers. We've even killed a Rakshasa prince before."

The Rakshasa Kingdom had a strict hierarchy. The Rakshasa King was the highest power, followed by his descendants and bloodkin. They are collectively known as the Rakshasa Royal Clan. The Rakshasa Princes were the Rakshasa royals who shared direct bloodline with the Rakshasa King.

From what Ye Qing heard, the Rakshasa Kingdom currently had thirteen Rakshasa Princes. Each one was at least a Disaster-class Stranger belonging to the top rung of the tier. To make a comparison, they were on par with human Great Truemen, Great Grandmasters, and Half-Sages. They were not to be taken lightly.

This was why Ye Qing was surprised to hear that Floating Island had successfully utilized the Evil Finder to kill a Rakshasa Prince.

It looked like there was something to it after all.

Very soon, Hu Da's ship sailed into the port. When the Floating Guards had inspected and registered his vessel, and Hu Da had paid them the entrance fee, the Floating Guards gave him a token.

"This is a vessel token. It is what I need to park my vessel here and take it back later. Without it, no vessel can park their vessels in Floating Island," Hu Da explained to Ye Qing while showing him the token.

After that, Hu Da maneuvered the boat into a berth, moored his boat, and ordered his men to begin unloading the cargo.

Ye Qing and Feng Qingyou steered clear of their way and took a moment to watch the ships and boats. Some of them left the port through a different exit after they were done unloading their cargo, and some passed through the cargo and sailed deeper into the sea region beneath the Floating Island.

When the boats and ships reached a certain area, a massive whirlpool suddenly appeared from the bottom of the sea. It consumed both the vessels and the humans aboard whole. One could vaguely see a titanic, terrifying shadow underneath the whirlpool as well.

The phenomenon should have inflicted panic and terror upon everyone, but the reality was that barely anyone even responded to it. Those who did did not look surprised in the slightest either.

"That is the Stomach Fish. It is yet another Stranger that the Floating Island has tamed. The Stomach Fish is also called the World Fish. It is named this way because an independent space exists inside its stomach. Ever heard of the saying, 'a single seed can hide Xumi'? That's it. The Stomach Fish is used to contain vessels that are expected to remain in Floating Island for a long period of time. Once the ship owners are done with their business, they can simply retrieve their vessels from the Stomach Fish's stomach. It is very convenient."

Noticing that Ye Qing was eyeing the whirlpool with interest, Hu Da added smilingly, "If you like, I can take the two of you on a tour inside the stomach of the Stomach Fish."

"Thank you, Brother Hu." Ye Qing saluted him.

"You're welcome. We are brothers, aren't we?" Hu Da let out a guffaw and waved his men along. "Work faster, my brothers! Once all the cargos are unloaded, I'll treat you all to lunch on the island!"

"Thank you, Boss Hu!"

"The boss is generous!"

The workers' motivation skyrocketed after hearing that, and it was reflected in their work. It wasn't long before they finished unloading all the cargo. After that, Hu Da arranged for someone to move these goods into the city and deliver them to the merchants who ordered them. As for him, he sailed his boward toward the bottom of the Floating Island.

Ye Qing stood on the bow and looked down on the shadow beneath the sea; the Stomach Fish Hu Da mentioned just now.

He hadn't used his demonic thought earlier because he was a little far away from the Stomach Fish just now. It wasn't because the Stomach Fish was beyond his range, but because he didn't want to cause any undue trouble. As a result, he couldn't even see it clearly. Now that he was close, he realized that the Stomach Fish was massive. So massive, in fact, that it was almost as big as the Sunchasing Dragon Whale.

But of course, the two Strangers could not be any more different. The Sunchasing Dragon Whale was powerful and domineering, whereas the Stomach Fish was amusing and positively cute.

An ordinary fish had a flat, thin, and elongated body to help facilitate movement through water. However, the Stomach Fish was round and massive like a ball of flesh, so much so that its features such as its eyes, mouth and more looked like embellishments. Appearance wise, they did not really fit well with its body and looked hilarious even.

That said, the Stomach Fish wasn't weak. It was a bonafide Disaster-class Stranger.

He could not sense any brutality or violent tendencies from the Stomach Fish though. On the contrary, it felt kind and friendly.