Black Lake

With Mr. Stork leading the way, the group traversed the Forest Park without incident.

They eventually succeeded in reaching the shores of the Black Lake.

"Mr. Snowy Owl, the intelligence you shared regarding the 'Commander's Saber' was truly critical." Mr. Stork tucked away the antique Commander's Saber he held, looked up, and smiled at Gilan. "Thank you very much!"

The other members of the Record Society gathered around, nodding in agreement at Mr. Stork's words. Miss Seagull cast a subtle glance at the blond young man and spoke up:

"In the future, if we need to enter the Black Lake, we only need to visit the Tourism Bureau first and seize this saber to reach the lake with ease... The difficulty of the entire process will be lowered significantly."

"You're welcome." Gilan shook his head. "It was just good luck that I found the key clue."

Mr. Stork and the others couldn't help but smile.

Just then.

The protagonist, Fima, seemed to suffer another hallucination, seeing the figures of her "parents." She called out their names in delight and ran straight toward the Black Lake.

Miss Sparrow turned to look at the lake surface, found it empty, and hurriedly stepped forward, intending to stop her. Mr. Stork, however, sighed:

"Forget it... Fima is destined to die. Even if you save her now, when the movie story begins again, she will still rush here without hesitation. Even if she isn't killed by the Cultists or demons along the way, she will throw herself into the lake and drown."

"But I won't just stand by and watch her die!" Miss Sparrow insisted firmly.

With that, she lifted her skirt and ran over, grabbing Fima by the hand. Yet, Fima continued to struggle forward, both legs already stepping into the shallow water at the edge of the lake.

"Let go of me!" Fima cried out, reaching her hand toward the empty, deathly silent lake as if to grasp some invisible person. "Dad! Mom! Don't leave!"

Seeing that Miss Sparrow couldn't hold her back and was about to fall into the lake with her, Miss Seagull frowned slightly. She stepped forward quickly and delivered a precise hand-chop to the back of Fima's neck, the force perfectly measured.

With a dull thud.

Fima's cries ceased abruptly, and she fainted into the arms of the two women.

"Thank you, Miss Seagull." The two of them supported Fima as they walked back, and Miss Sparrow smoothed her hair, offering the short-haired woman a sweet smile.

Unexpectedly, Miss Seagull said coldly, "Your heart is too soft. Be careful, or you'll suffer a great loss one day!"

"It doesn't matter." Miss Sparrow's smile didn't fade. "With the shrewd and capable Miss Seagull, the cheerful and forthright Mr. Oystercatcher, the mature and wise Mr. Stork, and the powerful and handsome Mr. Snowy Owl by my side, how could I ever suffer?"

"You certainly have a way with words." Miss Seagull couldn't keep a straight face, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

A moment later.

The group followed the gravel beach until they reached the wooden pier. Mr. Stork asked the others to wait by the bridge while he carefully stepped onto it, heading toward the cabin in the middle of the lake.

Before long, he returned with an excited expression, holding Rembrandt's diary in his hand.

"It's the diary left behind by that alchemist!"

The members of the society all wore expressions of astonishment after reading the contents of the diary.

Mr. Stork looked at the group with burning eyes and said, "This Rembrandt Eddie definitely possessed power that transcended the mundane!"

He sighed again.

"It's just a pity that, apart from this diary, he left behind no mystical knowledge or relevant data... And what's more shocking is that this town called 'Fayelan' is situated beneath a dormant volcano, and the Black Lake once held traces of an Evil God. Even that alchemist died silently at the bottom of the lake."

"If the intelligence Mr. Snowy Owl discovered is correct, then as long as we drink the lake water, we can increase our Gnosis. That counts as a decent harvest."

Miss Seagull comforted him.

Mr. Stork nodded. He looked at the group and suggested in a deep voice:

"But the bottom of the lake must be extremely dangerous. To be safe, we must wait until the movie is nearly over before we can scoop up some water from the shore to drink."

"Agreed." The group accepted Mr. Stork's proposal.

Time passed quietly.

As the sky grew dim and evening approached, the members of the Record Society sitting by the lake suddenly heard an air-raid siren that pierced the heavens!

Woo--

Woo--

Woo--

The strange, rising and falling siren tone caused Gilan's heart to jolt in shock.

An air-raid siren?! How is there one here too...

He covered his ears, enduring the piercing sound, and turned to look at Mr. Stork and the others.

He saw that they were all covering their ears and frowning in pain, yet they seemed to have been prepared.

"The alarm is sounding! The movie is ending! Quick! Drink the lake water!"

Mr. Stork shouted at the group.

Although the siren was too loud, drowning out his voice, the group was close enough to understand his meaning through his lip movements.

Led by Mr. Oystercatcher, the group rushed to the lake, bent down to cup the water in their hands, and brought it to their mouths.

But at this moment, Miss Seagull, who had been keeping an eye on Gilan, suddenly saw the blond young man press down on his fedora, rush onto the wooden pier, and run forward at high speed.

"Mr. Snowy Owl!" Miss Seagull shouted loudly.

Clatter, clatter, clatter!

Gilan turned a deaf ear, his leather shoes clicking crisply against the wooden pier as he charged straight ahead.

The air-raid siren continued to wail in his ears, causing static and dark spots to flicker across his vision.

Finally, Gilan leaped from the end of the pier—

With a splash, he plunged into the lake.

The members of the Record Society looked up, swallowing mouthfuls of lake water as they stared in stunned silence. They could not fathom why Mr. Snowy Owl would jump into the lake.

Falling into the Black Lake, Gilan felt a bone-chilling cold, as if he were submerged in ice water.

His reason for jumping into the Black Lake was not merely to see what lay at the bottom, but also to search for Rembrandt's corpse... If he could decompose that powerful alchemist, he would surely obtain a massive amount of Mystery Points!

Perhaps it would even allow him to elevate the White Cross Body-Forging Technique to its final, fourth stage in one go!

Gilan certainly knew this endeavor was exceptionally dangerous, but with "Iridescence" at his disposal, he could leave at any moment, so he intended to take the risk.

The cold, dark lake floor.

Gilan opened his eyes wide, trying to make out the things below.

However, everything was deathly silent and pitch black.

It seems I won't find it...

Gilan sighed inwardly, feeling deeply disappointed.

But just then, he suddenly noticed a blinding green light flare in his peripheral vision.

The lake water obscured his sight, making everything appear blurry, yet to Gilan's surprise, the scene within that green light was crystal clear to his eyes—

It was a tombstone that looked entirely ordinary.

Gray-black stone, square-shaped, standing upright in the silt at the bottom of the lake, its surface covered in thick algae, looking altogether quite ancient.

And right in the center of the tombstone, a line of scarlet, cursive script was etched:

"Rembrandt Eddie, 1820-1884."

Gilan's eyes widened, a strong sense of absurdity and eeriness surging in his heart.

Too strange!

This is truly too strange!

Why would there be a tombstone for that alchemist at the bottom of the lake?!

"Glug!!" At this moment, he could no longer hold his breath, so he simply opened his mouth and gulped down a mouthful of the lake water from the bottom. "Glug..."