As scheduled, Xia Lei and Tsukino Kyoko made their way across the island in about half an hour.
The other side of the island was no different from the side they landed. The bun-shaped hills were covered by dense forests. At second glance, the island resembled less of a gourd and more of a brassiere.
Unsurprisingly, there was a complete lack of inhabitants. He shifted his gaze towards the far corner of the horizon but there was nothing.
“Boss!” Kyoko pointed towards a far corner. “Is that a boat?”
Xia Lei was invigorated by a simple statement as he instantly turned towards where she directed. Yet within his vision were a void of nothingness. Not only were there no boats, but there was not even a bird in sight.
“Is that a Turkish or an Iranian boat?” Tsukino Kyoko enthusiastically added.
Xia Lei frowned in dismay. “You really see a boat?”
“Well yeah, there it is. You don’t see it?” Tsukino Kyoko's head slightly tilted as she turned towards Xia Lei.
“Tell me then, what kind of boat is that?” Xia Lei stared at the vast ocean as he added.
“It’s a little blurry, but I’m guessing it’s a cruise ship,” Kyoko answered. “You really don’t see it?”
Xia Lei promptly figured out the situation. It was not that his sight was blinded, but Kyoko who was the one hallucinating. The culprit was none other than the crystal skull!
“I need to catch their attention!” Tsukino Kyoko sprinted towards the beach before she began screaming and vigorously flaying her limbs.
Xia Lei, however, was occupied with something else. “Something that could disrupt the most cutting-edge of technology, one that could wash the memories of the strongest of wills, even creating hallucinations in many minds at once…”
These powers fittingly reminded Xia Lei of Zhu Xuanyue.
Excluding the military-grade equipment created with that intended purpose, Zhu Xuanyue could also create hallucinations or mess with a person’s memory at will. Could this be a member of Zhu Xuanyue’s tribe? One could only wonder what he could do when he was alive!
The reason his deduction of the skull’s owner was a “he” was that the crystal skull was a man’s skull. The Mayans, however, created theirs resembling a female’s.
Professor Mark stated that the Mayan’s crystal skull was a replica of this one, which wasn’t the case. Unless there was a different skull of a tribe woman, and the Mayans based theirs over that...but where could it be?
The truth was shrouded in mystery.
“If the crystal skull was from Zhu Xuanyue and her tribe, would that mean…” Xia Lei shifted his thought back to himself.
He was reminded of his current evolutionary status, currently approaching thirty percent. If he keeps his momentum, his evolution percentage will only go up from there to a full hundred percent!
And when the time comes, who knows what would happen to his brain? Will I have a crystal skull too?
The mere thought kept him on his feet.
“Hey, you rascals!” Tsukino Kyoko scowled towards the open sea. “We’re here! Hey! Steer your ship over here you dimwits!”
She actually drew her gun.
Xia Lei came to a certain realisation as he hurled himself towards Tsukino Kyoko and they both went toppling down on the beach.
Tsukino Kyoko aggressively wiggled and struggled as she attempted to shake herself free from Xia Lei’s overpowering clutches. She was intertwined with Xia Lei as her muffled screams struggled to reach its intended volume, like a beast in chains.
Xia Lei clamped down upon her while disarming the Viper from her possession.
Tsukino Kyoko utilized the split second that he loosen his grip to wrap her arms around his neck, her legs locking onto his waist, instantly closing in on what little gap that was left between the two bodies. The prey had instantly become the predator.
The sudden change in position caught Xia Lei off-guard. Staring blankly at Tsukino Kyoko, he took to questioning. “Kyoko, snap out of it! It’s just a hallucination created by the crystal skull. It’s the reason you’re seeing things, there is no boat!”
Tsukino Kyoko mumbled fervently, “Doomsday is here. Doomsday has caught up to us. We’re all going to die…”
“What’s going on in your head? Or should I say, who's telling you all of that?” Xia Lei was getting anxious. Yet amongst the nonsensical statements, it reminded him of Ning Jing. She saw hallucinations too. She even drew out the unprecedented visualisations in her head.
Tsukino Kyoko mumbled on, “Doomsday, destruction...corpses everywhere, devils who feast on the human mind…”
Xia Lei was visibly shaken by her words as he aggressively clenched onto her shoulder. Panicking, he asked, “Kyoko, how did you know about the devils that feast on human brains? Who told you that?”
The devil that feasts on the human mind was none other than Zhu Xuanyue. But nobody knows that but Xia Lei, not even his father, so how would Tsukino Kyoko know?
This was spiralling into peculiarity!
Xia Lei shifted his gaze towards the zipped up backpack. Its contents were obscured from general sight, but with Xia Lei’s vision, the crystal skull was vividly within his sight. “Kyoko is clearly in this state because of it! The way it manipulated Kyoko’s mind is exactly how Zhu Xuanyue used to play around with Ning Jing’s head. I guess my assumptions were indeed true. This skull was from Zhu Xuanyue’s tribesmen!”
Pitter-patter…
Beads of rain came pelting down from the overcast sky into the vast ocean. As the rain quickly began heavier, tens of thousands of holes were bored as miniature pits on the sand.
And one particularly vigorous soul was doing just the opposite.
Unknown to them, however, a mild glow seeped through the backpack, hidden even from the eagle-eyed Xia Lei.