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Tian Mingzhi said, "I think I heard someone cry out."

The other two felt their scalps prickle at his words. "This is the open sea. Where would a person's cry come from?"

Tian Mingzhi stretched out an arm and warily scanned the surroundings. "I really heard it. Look, I've got goosebumps all over my arm."

The three looked at one another, all feeling that something was off.

"The sound came from over there?" Chen Shengrong swallowed and said, "Should we go take a look?"

"Let's look." Tian Mingzhi said, "Maybe I heard wrong, or maybe someone's digging for sea snails around here."

The three of them went out every day in their boat, searching for tidal pools to pump dry and catch fish. They had visited countless islands, large and small.

Although this island lay in the open sea, it was not particularly remote.

If there were people on the island, it would not be too strange.

The three exchanged glances, comforting themselves aloud while their hearts continued to prickle with fear.

If someone really was here and had heard them talking, they should have come out to look. Yet the island was now utterly silent, without even a shadow in sight.

There were no fewer strange happenings at sea than on land, and many mysteries remained unsolved. As fishermen, they had heard countless legends.

The mutation was still continuing. Lu Ao felt his body growing increasingly painful. He clenched his teeth tightly; even when the pain nearly made him pass out, he did not dare relax in the slightest.

He heard Tian Mingzhi and the others talking. Not daring to let them see what he looked like, he gritted his teeth and rolled into the seawater.

"Splash—"

The faint sound of something falling into the water reached them. Tian Mingzhi and the other two heard it clearly, and now they could no longer reassure themselves that there was nothing there.

The three slowly edged closer, forcing themselves onward.

At that critical moment, Lu Ao's consciousness finally cleared somewhat. He instinctively moved his limbs, wanting to dive beneath the surface. But as soon as he moved, he discovered that his tiny, stubby claws had somehow turned back into smooth, slender arms. Even the mole on his hand was in its original place.

Lu Ao was stunned, unable to figure out what was going on.

When he looked up, however, he met the gazes of Tian Mingzhi and the other two.

Tian Mingzhi and the others' eyes widened at once. "?!!"

There was a pair of human eyes in the water!!!

Lu Ao instinctively poked his head out of the water.

"Ahhhhh—" Tian Mingzhi and the others instantly snapped out of their stunned state, turned around, and fled in utter panic.

"Wait—" Lu Ao's voice was somewhat hoarse, and his long-unused throat felt extremely awkward.

He wanted to stop them, but Tian Mingzhi and the others became even more terrified, scrambling toward the boat on all fours.

Hu Xingjin tripped in his panic and rolled across the ground, thoroughly dazed by the fall.

Before he could get back up, he heard a splash behind him, as though something had burst from the water. He was so frightened that his mind went blank. Not caring about anything else, he grabbed a stone from beside him and hurled it into the water, crying out in a trembling voice, "Y-you, don't come over here! I-I-I'll beat you to death!"

Lu Ao swam a few meters out into the sea and looked at him. "I'm human."

Hu Xingjin still sounded close to tears. "H-human, so what if you're human?!"

It really was something remarkable.

Their reaction had scattered all of Lu Ao's original tension. He rose halfway out of the water and looked at him expressionlessly.

Ahead, Tian Mingzhi and Chen Shengrong finally came to their senses. Hearing his voice, they cautiously turned back and asked from afar, "Are you really human?"

Lu Ao frowned slightly. "If I'm not human, what else could I be?"

The three stared at him for a long while and decided that he really did seem to be human.

It was just that someone this good-looking was far too rare in real life.

Hu Xingjin shakily held out a hand. "Let me touch you."

Lu Ao extended his arm to him.

Hu Xingjin touched it lightly, then immediately recoiled as though shocked by electricity. He turned back, mouth agape, to look at Tian Mingzhi and Chen Shengrong. After recalling for a while, he hesitantly said, "Warm?"

Tian Mingzhi let out a huge sigh of relief and collapsed onto the ground. He asked Lu Ao, "How did you get here?"

"I was accidentally swept here by the water." Lu Ao asked, "Do you have any clothes? Mine were washed away."

Ever since waking up, Lu Ao had been a lizard. He had not seen any clothes, nor had he seen his own human body.

Seeing that the conversation was becoming more and more normal, Tian Mingzhi relaxed further. "Yeah, but they're all on the boat. I'll get you some."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. Wait here."

Before long, Tian Mingzhi went to the boat and brought back a clean set of his own clothes.

Lu Ao put them on without underwear.

Tian Mingzhi secretly sized the guy up. It was the same set of clothes, yet they looked awful on him and unbelievably handsome on this guy.

Especially with his height, long legs, and icy temperament, he looked just like a model.

Even as another man, Tian Mingzhi could not stop his gaze from drifting toward him.

After Lu Ao got dressed, the strange feeling in his heart finally faded quite a bit, and he became easier to talk to.

Tian Mingzhi and the others peppered him with questions, and Lu Ao patiently answered them all.

Only then did Tian Mingzhi and the others learn that Lu Ao was the unlucky man from their city who had been chased by thugs the night before last.

After piecing together the whole story, Tian Mingzhi could not help clicking his tongue. "Man, you're really damn lucky."

"Luck."

"You really did get incredibly lucky. Your case made the news, and the police are looking for you. Want us to give you a ride back?"

"Mm, thank you."

"You're welcome. Hey, do you want to call your family first and let them know you're safe?"

Lu Ao's family had only ever had one son in each generation. His grandparents had passed away when he was young, and his parents had died in a car accident when he was in high school. He rarely kept in touch with relatives, so there was no family he could call to tell them he was safe.

Taking the phone from Tian Mingzhi, his first thought was to call his childhood friend, Ge Ranzhou.

He had always had an excellent memory, so he directly entered Ge Ranzhou's number.

The phone rang twice before the other side quickly answered.

Lu Ao said, "Ranzhou, it's me, Lu Ao."