I created the myth of the Great Old Ones.

As for Qin Tiantian, as a virtual streamer, she doesn't need to show her face or attend any events, so there's absolutely no need for her to do so in a city like Jiangcheng where housing prices are extremely high.

"Me? I used to work in Jiangcheng, but I lost my job and didn't want to go back to my hometown for the time being. So I made some friends and became a virtual streamer. I can make money, so I'm too lazy to move. The internet speed here is fast!"

Qin Tiantian answered casually.

"You've worked before? Shouldn't child labor be prohibited now?"

Lu Ban couldn't help but complain.

"Get lost! I used to be a proper idol, a beautiful girl, okay?!"

Qin Tiantian slapped the table.

"You? My idol?"

Lu Ban found it unbelievable.

The aesthetic sense of young people these days seems a bit...criminal.

"Tsk, let's not talk about the past. Anyway, I'm pretty free now."

Qin Tiantian didn't intend to go into detail about her past experiences, as being an idol might have left her with painful trauma.

Lu Ban has high emotional intelligence and didn't ask any more questions.

After finishing their meal and sorting the trash, one of them continued working while the other continued playing games and watching videos.

Late at night, Lu Ban stretched and heard the TV still playing outside, but Qin Tiantian's voice was no longer playing.

Stepping out of the room, he saw that the guy was already asleep on the sofa, hugging a shark-shaped pillow.

Lu Ban took out a blanket from the closet, covered her with it, and then reminded the air friend and the Lu Ban in the mirror to keep an eye on her. After washing up, he went back to his room, closed the door, and prepared to go to sleep.

Before going to bed, Lu Ban took out his phone and casually browsed Weibo.

Soon, he saw the news about the cruise ship mentioned in the news he watched during dinner that evening.

It appears to be a cruise ship passenger who posted the video they filmed at sea during the storm.

As you can see, in the vast ocean, an island appears and disappears.

Lu Ban observed carefully, his brows furrowing.

Are there any buildings on this island?

Chapter 160 The Sunken City

After watching the video repeatedly, Lu Ban was quite certain that there were indeed some buildings on that island.

However, these buildings have a very unique shape, unlike normal buildings, and are more like some kind of obelisk or a twisted tower.

Under normal circumstances, architects would not build houses like this, let alone on the open sea where storms rage. Such houses would withstand greater wind resistance and might sway or even collapse when a typhoon hits.

However, the island remained unmoved amidst the wind and rain, enduring the raging wind and waves, only appearing and disappearing due to the torrential rain.

At the end of the video, accompanied by surging waves, the ship left the vicinity of the island and disappeared below the sea surface; no one knows what it was.

Lu Ban glanced at the comments.

Are there houses on this island? Do people live on it?

[That's impossible. If people really lived there, there should be a port or something, and the captain should know what kind of island this is.]

This is normal; there are many islands in the ocean that aren't marked on maps, and this is probably one of them.

I've heard it said that some islands are normally submerged, only rising to the surface during certain special periods due to tidal changes.

Could this island have once been inhabited, but sank to the bottom of the sea due to geological changes, and only recently resurfaced?

[Experts say this was caused by underwater volcanic activity; volcanic eruptions spewed lava to the surface, forming islands!]

Could there be some fish-men up here? Is this the place called Atlantis?

Atlantis is in the Atlantic Ocean, but this is the Pacific Ocean!

He was clearly not the only one who noticed the island's anomaly; opinions varied widely, with some even involving mystical things like Mayan civilization and crystal skulls. The discussion quickly veered off-topic.

Lu Ban wasn't particularly interested in islands in the sea. The reason he paid attention was mainly because the "buildings" on these islands gave him a strange and unsettling feeling, much like the tower made of flesh and blood he had seen in the Dry Water Town of the Night Kingdom. It seemed like a projection of some evil yet great will on this planet, filled with an indifferent, grand, and cold texture.

"If you have the chance, you can go to the Pacific Ocean to look for this island. Maybe you can get some inspiration from it."

Lu Ban knew very well that even if strange things might be attracted to each other, and he might encounter all sorts of strange things while staying in Jiangcheng, the world was vast. To learn more about the secrets of this world, he had to leave his home and go out into the wider world. He couldn't learn anything by just staying at home.

After looking at his phone for a while, Lu Ban put it down, closed his eyes, and soon fell asleep to the melodious tunes of the Spring Festival Gala playlist.

……

South Pacific Ocean, Pohnpei Island, "Stars" cruise ship, captain's cabin.

Captain Johnson Gustave had a nautical chart in front of him, and his eyes showed deep worry.

"Although we have received supplies, the storm along the route is still raging. It's unrealistic to try and get through the storm, and waiting for it to end will add several more days to our journey..."

The South Pacific is prone to storms in autumn. When there is no land, these low-pressure cyclones will draw in large amounts of seawater, lowering their own temperature and forming one super storm after another that is rare on land.

This year's storm is exceptionally strong. According to the weather forecast Johnson received, the lowest temperature in the clouds at the center of the typhoon was even close to minus sixty degrees Celsius, which means that this storm will be unprecedentedly powerful.

Currently, Pohnpei Island is outside the storm zone. As far as the eye can see, one can see the dark clouds in the distance and the deep purple lightning hidden within them. Any ship that enters that storm zone at this time is courting death.

Not to mention, Captain Johnson also saw that.

"I never expected to encounter that island. It seems Li was right this time; it's not a good time to travel."

He recalled the calendar his Eastern wife had flipped through before their trip, which read "Not suitable for travel." He had scoffed at the time, but little did he expect it to come true.

If the "Stars" were just a cargo ship, Captain Johnson would only worry about whether some unruly pirates would come knocking. But this was a cruise ship carrying four thousand passengers, and the people on board needed to consume resources for eating, drinking, and using the toilet.

Now, the voyage is only halfway through. If it continues to be this exhausting, Captain Johnson will probably have to turn back early.

Moreover, he encountered that "ominous island" in the storm.

This is a legend passed down among sailors who travel in the Pacific Ocean. Somewhere in the Pacific, there is an island left behind by a prehistoric civilization. The island is usually submerged by the waves and lies below the sea level. However, at certain times, during a huge storm, the island will emerge from the sea. Without exception, any ship that sees that island will encounter trouble or even sink.

Captain Johnson didn't believe these claims. He preferred to think that the island, which was actually underwater, was much larger than it appeared, and that there were similar reefs on the seabed in that area, which caused ships that saw the island to run aground and malfunction, thus giving rise to such a legend.

"only……"

Perhaps due to the mental stress caused by the long voyage, several people on board, including sailors, have become mentally unstable, emotionally unstable, and have experienced hallucinations. Captain Johnson decisively isolated these people and ordered the ship's doctor to administer sedatives to them.

Rumors began circulating among the crew that these men had met their doom because they had seen the island, and a sense of unease spread.

Captain Johnson's current thought is that the storm will subside as soon as possible so they can reach their destination.

"Hopefully, nothing else goes wrong."

He watched the storm escalate and sighed.

……

In the morning, Lu Ban opened his eyes, checked the time, and it was exactly eight o'clock.

The melody of "Let Us Row Our Boats" still echoed in his ears. Surprisingly, Lu Ban did not feel any chest tightness or shortness of breath. He looked down at himself and found that the mist had disappeared.

Getting up and drawing back the curtains, Lu Ban saw the golden sunlight shining on the earth, leaving behind a dazzling display. He went to the living room and quickly understood why the morning felt so refreshing.

The two wisps of mist were pressing down on Qin Tiantian, like two sleeping cats. Qin Tiantian, who was lying on the sofa, had already kicked off the blanket that Lu Ban had kindly covered her with. The hem of her shark-themed loungewear was lifted up, revealing her flat stomach and navel.

She looked pained; she was probably having a nightmare!

Lu Ban called her name.

"So heavy..."

Qin Tiantian uttered something in her sleep.

The two plumes of mist remained motionless, still anchored on Qin Tiantian's flight deck.

Chapter 161 We are professional photographers

The community's sewer system was repaired quickly.

Qin Tiantian no longer had a reason to ask for a place to stay.

To be honest, although she slept quite comfortably at Lu Ban's house, the lack of live streaming equipment meant she could only broadcast live on her phone, which was incredibly frustrating for Qin Tiantian, a virtual streamer.

She felt that as such a dedicated streamer, how could he touch her like that?

So, the day after the sewer was repaired, Qin Tiantian returned home.

They didn't even leave behind a change of clothes.

Lu Ban continued working and completed the second half of the film production.

This time, he only asked Hammer to make the end credits song; Lu Ban didn't prepare any other background music.

After checking it several times and revising the details until I was satisfied, it was already early November, and the final deadline for submitting the master tape was approaching.

Lu Ban sent the copied film to the judging panel of the Yannan University Student Film Festival.

Then came the waiting.

On the other hand, the organizing committee of the Yannan University Student Film Festival, whose member in charge of reviewing the films is also an industry insider, Professor Jia Wenbin of Yannan Media University.

He was a professor of photography and had previously served as the cinematographer for several famous films. He had unique insights into the use of light and shadow. However, his attempt to become a director was unsuccessful. After making two films that were only visually decent but not well-received, he retired behind the scenes and devoted himself to teaching at the university.

Of course, he also served as a jury member at this film festival.

I received Lu Ban's video master tape in the evening.

"This is the last one, right, Lu Ban, 'The Cry'?"

After quickly confirming the movie title, Jia Wenbin made a copy, intending to take it home to watch.

After saying goodbye to his colleagues and students, he drove home, had dinner with his wife and children, and then went to his study alone.

He transformed his study into a small home theater with excellent sound insulation, as well as lighting and sound reception improvements, making the viewing experience comparable to a regular small movie theater.

After instructing his wife not to disturb him, Jia Wenbin put the disc into the player and started playing Lu Ban's movie on the high-resolution projection screen.

"This director seems to specialize in horror films. His previous online movies were quite well received, and this one looks like it will also be a horror film."

Muttering to himself, Jia Wenbin then saw the beginning of the film.

"Wow, a mockumentary, that's quite an idea."