Kong Xiangdong’s face changed dramatically as he asked harshly, "What happened?"
The person who came in was one of his subordinates, usually stationed at the sea to guard on behalf of Kong Xiangdong.
Sea gathering is divided into two types, one of which Zhao Ya had participated in, where one would go to the seabed to collect things during the morning low tide.
This method of sea gathering yields the most, but simultaneously comes with the greatest risks.
Because a large number of Exotic Beasts also go to the seaside at this time to look for food.
In addition, one can also keep watch by the sea.
After all, under the wash of the waves, fish and crabs inevitably are swept to the shore.
This method, although yielding far less than the morning sea gathering and involves some element of luck, is safer, so some of the older, more cautious Sea Gatherers prefer this method.
And this subordinate would often follow those old Sea Gatherers to the sea. Now he ran back in such a panic; obviously, something had happened.
"Fog... dense fog!" The person said, gasping for breath, his face full of unspeakable terror.
Upon hearing the word fog, the three people in the room all had their expressions change dramatically.
Because they almost simultaneously thought of one thing, which was the death of the Old Leader.
It’s important to know that the Old Leader and his team of Sea Gatherers disappeared after encountering a mysterious fog.
Kong Xiangdong’s face was ashen, "What on earth is going on? Speak in detail!"
At this point, the informant finally caught his breath and spoke in a trembling voice.
"I was keeping watch by the sea then, but unexpectedly, the fog suddenly surged, and instantly enveloped those Sea Gatherers by the sea."
"If I hadn’t run fast, I might have been trapped in there too."
Hearing this, Kong Xiangdong didn’t have time to say more, grabbing his belongings and running outside.
Zhao Ya also said in a deep voice, "Senior Brother Jing, you hold the fort here, I’ll go see what’s happening."
Jing Rou’s face was serious, "Okay, but you must be careful too. After all, the Wuyang Sea is very dangerous, especially the fog, which shouldn’t be rashly provoked."
"Understood!"
As he spoke, Zhao Ya had already dashed out of the house. By the time these words dissipated, he had already left the small town, catching up with Kong Xiangdong, who ran ahead.
With their combined strength, they arrived at the shores of the Wuyang Sea within moments, traveling with all their might.
Then they stopped.
Because at this time they couldn’t see the Wuyang Sea at all.
Earlier, although the fog had covered the entire sea area, at least the coastline and the black waves were visible.
But now the white fog enveloped everything, rendering the situation ahead completely invisible.
Kong Xiangdong’s face was ashen, his lips trembling, and his eyes seemed to have lost focus, standing dazed in place.
Zhao Ya, on the other hand, was much calmer. He carefully identified the surrounding environment, ultimately confirming through the rolling snow mounds that they were at least a mile away from the coastline.
This discovery made Zhao Ya’s expression extremely solemn.
"Has something like this ever happened before?" Zhao Ya asked in a deep voice.
Kong Xiangdong, who was initially at a loss, finally regained his composure at this moment.
"No!" He shook his head firmly, then added.
"At least in all these years of sea gathering, I have never encountered such an occurrence."
"Even the Old Leader’s death happened during morning sea gathering, and there was never any mention of fog coming ashore before."
"That’s strange!" Zhao Ya looked at the surging fog ahead, his eyes flickering.
If what Kong Xiangdong said was true, then the surge of this fog was indeed unusual.
Just when Zhao Ya was lost in thought, a strange sound suddenly came from within the fog.
This sound was not sharp; on the contrary, it was somewhat muffled, but its penetration power was extremely strong.
At least standing before the fog, Kong Xiangdong felt his ears were about to be deafened.
Subsequently, Kong Xiangdong’s facial expression changed dramatically.
As someone who had been mixing in the Wuyang Sea for many years as a Sea Gatherer leader, he naturally knew what this sound meant.
Sea Dragon King’s patrol!
A name seemingly imbued with magic, its appearance could instill terror among countless Sea Gatherers, even prompting them to worship.
Kong Xiangdong had witnessed such a phenomenon before, having heard it once when he first entered the profession.
But the sound at that time could not compare to this one.
While compared to Kong Xiangdong, Zhao Ya was even more shaken.
Because this sound seemed so familiar to him, it was remarkably similar to the horn sounds of those giant ocean liners in his past life.
Could it be that within the fog of the Wuyang Sea, some colossal ship was hidden?
This speculation was outrageous, yet upon careful consideration, it seemed somewhat reasonable.
After all, the Miracle Creation proved that there must be some unknown civilization existing within the Wuyang Sea.
But the problem is, if the speculation were true, then where did this civilization come from, and was it friend or foe, and what was the meaning of this fog?
Zhao Ya’s mind raced with countless thoughts.
At this moment, the surging fog suddenly retreated like a tide.
The deafening "horn" sound receded along with it.
In the blink of an eye, the empty snowfield was left only with Zhao Ya and Kong Xiangdong.
After a long while, Kong Xiangdong gradually regained his senses.
But upon looking ahead again, he saw nothing on the ground except the frozen together, mirror-like snowfield.
No people, no traces of blood or wreckage.
So clean it seemed as if those missing Sea Gatherers never existed.
Kong Xiangdong’s face turned a bit pale, ignoring the danger, he quickened his pace toward the seashore.
Zhao Ya followed closely, arriving at the seaside as well.
Everything was normal here, with the black seawater continuously lapping at the shore, the fog like a curtain hung between heaven and earth, obscuring all scrutinizing gazes, harboring numerous secrets within.
"Gone!" Kong Xiangdong murmured softly, his eyes somewhat unfocused.
Those missing were all experienced old Sea Gatherers, a significant loss for Kong Xiangdong.
But that was not the main issue.
The main issue was that Kong Xiangdong had no idea what happened.
It was as if, out of nowhere, the fog that never came ashore surged onto the coast, and his people strangely disappeared.
According to common folklore, it was like a situation where there were neither living nor dead bodies.
This left Kong Xiangdong, who made a living by the sea for years, inevitably feeling anxious.
Unlike the lost-looking Kong Xiangdong, Zhao Ya continued to closely observe the surroundings.
Then he discovered something unusual.
That was the snowfield frozen into ice.
You should know, in the extremely cold Northern Realm, fallen snow without external interference, would remain as snow for a long time.
At most, over time, they gradually compact together, forming hard snow blocks.
Freezing into ice would be quite difficult.
Because it requires the right temperature to first melt into water, then refreeze into ice.
Even when constructing those houses in the small town, the snow had to be pressed together with molds, then heated to melt the outer layer, relying on the seeping snow water to freeze it together to make ice blocks.
Yet at this moment, a broad ice surface appeared on the ground, resembling a river.
Zhao Ya squatted down, gently touching the ice surface with his hand, finding it incredibly smooth, as if something heavy had slid over it, smoothing out all the uneven spots.
Could it really be as I speculated, that a giant ship slid over here.
But even that still doesn’t make sense.
Because as far as Zhao Ya knew, such enormous ships dared not to even near a slightly shallow port, afraid of being stranded, never mind going ashore.
So if such a giant ship truly managed to come ashore, how did it manage to retreat?
At this time, some figures moved in the distance, then Yang Zhan brought some people from the town, having rushed over upon hearing the news.
Upon seeing the scene and learning what happened, those town folks fell into a commotion.
"First, it was the Old Leader, then Leader Kong, my god! Could it be that the Sea Dragon King no longer allows Sea Gatherers to exist?" Someone muttered softly, face pale.
Hearing this, everyone fell silent.
Zhao Ya also remained silent, merely pondering something deeply with his head lowered.
Suddenly, he felt a cool touch on his cheeks, he looked up to find snowflakes drifting in the sky.
It’s snowing? Zhao Ya was slightly stunned.
At this moment, someone trembled and said, "Look at the sun!"