Chapter 80 The Gatekeeper

As I greeted the sea once more at dawn, an island emerged from the water, lush with trees and covered in white sand.

Nestled among the lush greenery are several small houses with white walls and thatched roofs, exuding a very primitive and simple charm.

The roof is covered with seaweed and coral, and it looks like it suddenly emerged from the seabed, not like it's inhabited.

The island is quite large, practically new land. There is no dock, only tall, unpainted logs stuck in the seabed, used to tie ropes.

At this moment, several riders were walking back and forth on the shore. Why are they called riders? Because all of these dozens of people were wearing spur boots, and their horses must have been looking for food in the nearby woods.

However, when Billy and his crew dropped anchor and entered the island, they discovered that the group didn't look like riders at all.

They were wearing tattered clothes, and some even wore them inside out.

So where did those spur boots come from? They must have been stolen or robbed.

Sure enough, a shipwreck was discovered to the south, near the island.

The victims previously recovered from the ocean were very likely from this ship.

Many island residents are scavenging for supplies.

An elderly man holding a small iron bar found a red vest, but didn't know how to wear it.

Another guy who had already looted a knife found a large wooden barrel at the stern of the boat. He turned the barrel upside down, but couldn't find an opening, so he scraped it a few times with the knife, and the boat was instantly filled with the smell of gunpowder.

Just then, a wind blew at sea, carrying the gunpowder onto the lit torches.

"Watch out!" Billy shouted.

But it was too late; most people didn't even have time to react.

There was a loud bang, followed by a second one. The mast, which had fallen sideways, broke in two. Three islanders, with nowhere to hide, tumbled off the boat as if they had been wronged. The rest of the people were also terrified, as if they had never seen a powder keg in their lives.

Judging from the helplessness and dullness on their faces, I have never seen anything like it before.

They are likely not reincarnated beings, but descendants of the ancient Podrol!

To confirm this possibility, the captain randomly stopped a person who was fleeing towards the center of the island and asked, "Where is this?"

As expected, the person couldn't understand Earth's language, broke free, and ran away.

The group had no choice but to follow in their footsteps, venture into the jungle, and arrive at the center of the island.

There used to be a primitive town here.

However, in most people's eyes, it doesn't even qualify as a small town. There's a river in the town, and no one knows where it leads. Almost all the houses are built around this river.

There are bridges over the river, and houses can be built on the bridges. The roads are paved with sand and pebbles, and the flammable dwellings are densely packed together.

The houses all looked the same style: simple, low, black walls full of holes, with cracks here and there. It didn't matter that there were no windows, because there were ventilation holes everywhere!

The narrow road is almost squeezed between walls, and there are many ancient gun holes on the ground. Even if someone trips and falls on one of the gun holes, no one is willing to repair it.

Behind a building that looks like a ceramics factory, there is a large open space, which is lush and green, and there is a proper-looking factory on it.

It is indeed a factory, and much better than those residences.

The factory gates were locked, bearing the inscription of West Coast Energy.

In the factory courtyard stands a statue of an exploration expert, holding instruments in both his left and right hands, with someone's name inscribed on a stone tablet at his feet.

Upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that those are not personal names at all, but rather a tribute to a group of people from a particular period.

The inscription reads: "This land is dedicated to the Western Energy, which has made the greatest contribution to the development of the other world."

“They used the word ‘greatest,’ so they don’t seem to be a humble bunch,” Billis said.

The captain rang the shipyard bell, and a man came out and asked, "Who goes there?"

"Excuse me, what happened on this island?"

"Did it happen? No! It didn't happen! They're all dead!"

Who died?

After saying this, the man was eager to take it back, but the captain seized on it and kept asking questions.

From any perspective, this person was very unfriendly; he still hasn't opened the door for the guests.

"Who I'm talking about is none of your business!"

"We can't pretend we didn't hear you. Are you talking about West Energy?"

"So what if it is? So what if it isn't?"

“Hey, we’re not here to argue, and I know you’re not like the people on the island.”

"Oh, you have a good eye, but you haven't looked closely enough. I'm not the same kind of company as West Energy."

“You’re the gatekeeper for the factory, aren’t you?” Billis asked.

The man never expected to be seen through so quickly. With a hint of displeasure in his eyes, he replied, "You're right, I was hoping they would encounter a shipwreck, and now my dream has come true!"

"You mean they went out to work and never came back?"

"Even someone with eyes could see that this is an energy processing plant. Every morning, the people from West Energy go out to sea to work on the platform, leaving me alone to guard the factory. They only come back at night. They bring me utensils to hold fish bones and make me live in a doghouse. In my opinion, it's because God couldn't stand it anymore and punished these people!"

How many people were originally employed in this factory?

"Including me, it's exactly sixty-one."

"None of the sixty people have returned?"

"Isn't that surprising? People are dying at West Energy Company every day, especially recently with the constant tsunamis and earthquakes. West Energy has built sixty exploration platforms and thirty processing plants at sea, as well as six bases, and now half of them are ruined."

"You've claimed it was a geological disaster, but it's probably not that simple, is it?"

“This matter is not my responsibility; I am only in charge of the iron gate.”

"And what about the island's residents? What's their relationship with the people from West Energy Company?"

"It has nothing to do with anything. The people from Western Energy just happened to need this land, so they simply snatched it from those islanders. Because it's related to global development, plundering has been legalized. Everyone's first thought is naturally themselves, right?"

"The islanders pose no threat to Western Energy?"

"Is it a threat if they run around without pants? When Xi Nengyuan first discovered this place, they were all very good monkeys, the kind of primitive humans who could be dealt with with a few tattered clothes."

How long have you been working here?

"I worked for several years during the major restart. Besides that, there wasn't much other suitable work. The benefits at Xi'an Energy were pretty good: a doghouse and two big pancakes for every meal. You wouldn't starve, but you wouldn't be full either."

Have you heard any suspicious news lately?

"There's no TV or internet here. Are you expecting me to read the newspaper every day?"

"So how did you know about the earthquake and tsunami?"

"Anyone with ears can hear it! The loud noise comes from the seabed, mostly at night, sometimes during the day. As soon as the sound comes, the tsunami comes. I can't think of anything other than an underwater earthquake."

"Have you ever wondered why earthquakes have suddenly become so frequent recently, when everything was fine a few years ago?"

"That's a matter for geologists, what does it have to do with me?"

"Everyone in the factory got into trouble, and it has nothing to do with you?"

"Ha! Are you deaf? I told you I'd love for them to be swept away by the waves, so the whole island would be mine!"

"Are the island's residents willing to listen to you?"

"Hmm, communicating with them isn't so bad, you know? The food and fruit here are all provided by the islanders, and they already treat us like gods."

"Well then, I hope you have a good time on the island."

Where are you going?

"Let's go check out the nearby exploration platforms."

"Alright, if you really want to go, you'd better sail ten nautical miles further west. The workers at that processing plant usually work there."

"If anyone is still alive, I will bring them back safely."

"Living? Absolutely not! No one can escape a tsunami, because it's not just the tsunami, there's something else too."

"You saw everything?"

“The islanders will tell me; they see me as a god.”

The gatekeepers never wanted to admit that they were still alive, as if surviving a tsunami meant certain death.

He must have seen things far more terrifying than a tsunami.

But no matter how they asked, the gatekeeper refused to speak.

A spark lit up, followed by a burst of fire, the distant sea surface flickering, and the factory's shadow stretched long by the firelight.

Immediately afterwards, a deafening roar was heard, as if an underwater volcano was erupting.

The gatekeeper wasn't afraid at all; he'd seen this happen several times before.

He shrugged and said to the outsiders, "Look, another exploration platform has exploded. I told you no one would survive."