Sir! Don't close the net!

"If you mask users are like this, how much better can I, the real person, be? It's truly laughable... You are the ones who are greedy for cheap deals and deceive others, but I am the one who bears the consequences."

"Ha...their hidden true colors have finally been discovered."

It was only then that Bert noticed the newspaper in McCarthy's hand.

The newspaper wasn't from the latest issue, but from over a decade ago, and the headline read: "Top real estate agent McCarthy's house has major flaws."

Newspapers from over a decade ago were far less impactful than newspapers today, but they were good at presenting the content completely.

McCarthy sat here day after day, year after year, reading newspapers reporting on his major mistakes while selling his masks and potions.

Bert felt a chill run down his spine.

"This is……"

"I did this. Does Instar have any other real estate agents besides me?"

“But how could your face become like this!” Bert slammed his hand heavily on the table, cold sweat pouring down his forehead, his pupils slightly contracted. “We were the ones who used the mask and the potion, so why would it affect your face?”

“This is… the contract,” McCarthy said, looking at Bert with a somber expression. “Thirty years ago, to prevent Instas from being destroyed during the economic depression, a contract was signed with them. All those with Instas blood have an obligation to—”

Before McCarthy finished speaking, several people came to the counter.

"Boss—do you have Sieg Slow's face and mask?!"

"There must be some—"

"If they don't have it, I'll make a reservation! That just proves they'll definitely have it tomorrow, right?"

"Speaking of which, Zieg is really a good person. I remember he said he would price his face and the potion a little cheaper—"

Bert's vision went black, but his body moved first, turning and rushing out.

"Something's not right... Something must be wrong—"

In the dimly lit corner, Zig curled up, his hands gripping the black cloth covering the mirror tightly, thick liquid seeping out and flowing down the cloth.

Zieg stared blankly at the mirror opposite him, which shimmered in the sunlight. His clean reflection failed to capture his face.

"Okay, this is so strange... why am I so resistant to it..."

Zig loosened his grip little by little, scratching his face, which was oozing a sticky liquid. There was no blood, no skin, just more sticky liquid seeping out.

“After becoming famous… isn’t it normal for everyone to have my face? Just like Bert has been using McCarthy and his ilk’s faces…”

"As long as you have my face... you can go to the surface of the Sea of ​​Dead just like me..."

A vast, shimmering ocean covered by sparkling wishing bottles appeared before Zig's eyes, but as faces that spoke of being him came into view, the vast, shimmering ocean gradually narrowed and darkened. The transparent wishing bottles that made the vast ocean shine turned into bloated, hideous lumps of flesh, from which ugly faces squeezed out.

And all those faces were his faces.

Because among those who could reach the surface of the Sea of ​​the Dead, only Sieg Slow was able to reach the surface of the Sea of ​​the Dead.

"Ha...haha—speaking of which, why did I go to the surface of the sea in the first place..."

Zig gripped the black cloth and vigorously wiped his hands. Trembling, he pulled out the note from the wishing bottle Bert had given him and carefully unfolded it.

【Bon Voyage】

Also playing were the words Li Yili spoke when they crossed the Sea of ​​Dead and arrived at its surface.

One must clearly understand which part of oneself has become part of the abyss; only in this way can one avoid losing one's place in the abyss.

Only by eliminating that part can we break through the abyss.

"Ah...right...it must be like this..." Zieg clutched the note that read "Smooth Sailing" tightly in his hand and stood up unsteadily.

“I haven’t…I haven’t even reached the sea yet. I’ve been tricked…I still have…I’m completely cleared out. Mr. Li Yili is really amazing…That’s why he didn’t let me go to the center of the island.”

"The rest, only I can do it—"

In that instant, Zieg felt an unparalleled clarity within himself.

"I...I must go to the sea!"

"I'm off!"

"boom--"

The door was slammed open, and Bert, panting, struggled to lift his head while holding onto the door frame.

"Qi, Qige, I've already sold the house. We're going to live somewhere else..."

Bert's slowly widening eyes reflected the corpse hanging in the center of the house. Thick liquid dripped continuously, condensing into a surface of water on the corpse. A note with the words "Have a safe journey" written on it was gradually swallowed up by the ripples.

Chapter 158 Anomaly

"Only...can meet people? What does that mean?"

Valkyrie blinked, pondered for a moment, and then gave up. Anyway, this wasn't the first time Li Yili had uttered such a riddle. The reason she asked Li Yili what it meant was simply to prove that she hadn't completely given up thinking.

Valkyrie raised an eyebrow, wondering if it was just her imagination, but Li Yili seemed to be stating facts without saying anything riddles.

Despite her doubts, Valkyrie didn't press further. She was a sensible woman; she could tell that Li Yili wasn't keen on continuing the discussion about the Dead Man's Sea. Pressing further might not get her the truth, and getting no accurate information would only create resentment in Li Yili—a deal she couldn't afford to lose any more.

Anyway, the surface of the Sea of ​​the Dead is there and it's not going anywhere. Since Li Yili and Zig, two ordinary people, can reach the surface of the Sea of ​​the Dead, then the Galar Horn can naturally reach it easily as well.

The reason they couldn't reach the surface of the Sea of ​​the Dead before was simply because they thought there was no such thing as a sea in the world.

They'll find out what's on the surface of the Sea of ​​Dead sooner or later; since it's only a matter of time, there's no need to rush.

"That doesn't matter—"

Having figured things out, Valkyrie spread her hands and sat down next to Li Yili. Just as she was about to put her hand on Li Yili's shoulder and whisper some sweet nothings in her ear that would make any man's bones go weak, Li Yili stood up as if she had springs in her buttocks.

Valkyrie stood frozen in place.

Although Li Yili didn't say a word, this subconscious action shattered her delicate heart.

Valkyrie blinked in surprise, pointed at Valkyrie and laughed twice, reaching out to take Li Yili's arm, but Li Yili perfectly dodged it with a sidestep.

Valkyrie froze on the spot as if struck by lightning.

"Sorry, I'm a little tired right now and want to be alone for a while. By the way, the house we bought before should be renovated by now. It's the big house you wanted, and you can move in now."

After saying that, Li Yili waved her hand and walked up the stairs.

"A big house... oh~ you don't mean a house in the wealthy district, do you?" Since she wasn't an exception, Valkyrie was much better off, waving her hand at Valkyrie, who looked like she was questioning the meaning of life, "This is really great—"

“Goo—judging from your tone, it seems you don’t plan to move in,” Valkyrie looked at Valkyrie with a forced smile. “That’s a luxurious house on the second floor that can be used to hold a ball.”

“You don’t need to test me anymore. Although I am your sister, there is a sequence to mistresses. I will not ruin your relationship with Li Yili. Go ahead, the new house is yours. I’m fine living in this small house that is not in the city center at all,” Valqiu Yuan waved her hand magnanimously.

"Don't be ridiculous—you think I'd fall for that?"

Valkyrie suddenly lunged at Valkyrie, and Valkyrie, not to be outdone, began to wrestle with Valkyrie.

"Damn it—don't pull my clothes!"

"My hair! My hair is going to be pulled out!"

"You bastard, where are you pinching me—"

Because they are as close as sisters and as close as brothers, the Valha sisters never treat each other as outsiders when they fight, and they can be as ruthless as they can be. However, both Valha Rei and Iris were staring at the stairwell while they were fighting each other.

Because Li Yili always looked like someone who would watch women fight, but now... there wasn't even a trace of Li Yili at the stairwell.

"This is unbelievable!"

Alma, who was standing in the middle of the deck of the Mercury Queen surrounded by ugly pirates, was also muttering curses.

Just as Li Yili said, the Mercury Queen returned quickly. Strangely, nothing unusual happened. It was as if time had just slipped away and returned exactly as it had gone.

You should know that there is a "god" named Dagon guarding the way to the surface of the Sea of ​​the Dead. A group like the Mercury Queen, which is evil from the inside out, will not have a better fate than those wishing bottles that were thrown back.

Of course, given her status and knowledge, she wouldn't believe Ips's theory. But that's precisely why she was even more puzzled as to why the Mercury Queen had returned unscathed. From the current situation, no matter how you look at it, the Mercury Queen, who had been identified as a cursed being by the residents of Instasus and was tacitly rejected by everyone, was the best sacrifice to increase the authenticity of the Dagon.

However, Alma knew very well that now was not the time to think about that issue; there was an even more important problem before her.

“Wow—Li Yili actually sent you to talk to me.”

Heidi, holding the ship's helm, stared down at Alma with a blank expression. The pirates surrounding Alma, on the other hand, all wore menacing expressions, though they didn't need to make it so obvious to look menacing.

But it did put more pressure on Alma. From Heidi's perspective, the current situation is that Li Yili feels that she has a lot of cards to play, and Heidi's side is the weaker party. So she was not happy to wait and just walked away, leaving Li Yili as the messenger to talk, implying that the two sides are no longer equal.

The problem is, Li Yili didn't come to protest, but rather... to give Heidi a heads-up.

But I always felt that instead of giving her the injection, it would have been better to just tell Heidi Li Yili that she had been sent to demonstrate.

"This one……"

After hesitating for a while, Alma finally managed to come up with her words, but Jones suddenly spoke up.

“Boss, I think this Secretary Alma was sent by Mr. Li Yili to remind you about the bet.”

Alma's lips twitched violently; all the words she had painstakingly come up with were flushed down the drain.

The surrounding pirates were stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized what was going on and looked at Heidi with incredibly ambiguous eyes.

Alma was also cautiously stealing glances at Heidi.

She truly lived up to her title as the Pirate Queen; even in this situation, she remained unmoved, showing no sign of distress, as if the matter had nothing to do with her and she was merely an emotionless listener.

“Secretary Alma, I can tell you’re a very upright person. Were you forced into this by Mr. Li Yili?” Jones said.

He consciously wanted to raise his hand to pat Alma's shoulder, but after looking at his dark green right hand with its webbed fingers, he hesitated for a moment and then put both hands behind his head and whistled.

"But Secretary Alma, you seem like the kind of person who is strong and unyielding. I'm very curious, how did Mr. Li Yili manage to get you to come here?"

Chapter 159 The Extinct Lighthouse

It's nothing, just a choice between me wearing an apron and your boss having to wear an apron.

You definitely shouldn't say things like that.

However, Alma herself knew that even if she escaped today, tomorrow Li Yili would change her mind and make her work in just an apron, and she still wouldn't be able to escape. She should show her fearlessness, but...

We'll just have to wait as long as we can!

Anyway, Heidi Serra, the pirate queen, has the ability to simply leave.

“Because Minister Li Yili is my superior,” Alma said with an awkward smile.

"Hey...why don't you just resign?" Jones raised an eyebrow and continued to press on.

Damn it—I can't quit my job because I have a reason not to!

Alma's smile was somewhat stiff.