Chapter 369: An Unexpected Encounter

’What in the world? I was chasing them, and now I’ve lost them. But here’s another small valley, and its layout is almost identical to the last one. If it weren’t for the subtle environmental differences, I’d think I’d just run in a circle.’

’This island is so strange.’

’He really is worthy of being chosen as the male lead. The guy definitely has fate on his side.’

’I seem to be one step ahead of him, but it’s not like he’s falling behind either.’

This time, Faye Yardley was perched on a tree branch, looking down below.

There were casualties here as well, but they were handled in much the same way, and the crowd’s reaction was similar.

’It makes sense, when you think about it. Now that they’re on the island and disconnected from the system, wanting to leave is easier said than done.’

’Even if they were given a small wooden boat, without the system’s protection, forget the wind and waves—even a slightly larger sea creature could send them to a watery grave.’

’Their lives are in the Island Master’s hands now. If the Island Master doesn’t kill them but simply kicks them off the island, what chance do they have of surviving on the vast ocean with nothing?’

’Huh...’

’Thinking about it that way, it seems the system really did offer them a lot of protection.’

Faye Yardley didn’t dwell on it. She left the area and continued her search.

She ended up discovering three more valleys, each one populated by a similar group of people.

’How many valleys can one island have?’

’And where on earth is this "new residential area" they keep talking about?’

’I’ve been running for so long, yet I still haven’t seen any sign of a new residential zone.’

She glanced at the watch on her wrist. ’Crap, almost six hours have passed without me even realizing it.’

’I’ve really just been running around aimlessly. If I really wanted to come here,’ she thought, ’I could have just gone back, contacted Logan Langdon, and asked if he’d be willing to invite me to his island as a guest.’

’It’s getting late. I should head back. Besides all these valleys, I haven’t found anything particularly special about this island yet anyway.’

Of course, along the way, whenever she encountered trees bearing delicious fruit, Faye Yardley made sure to pick all the ones on the highest branches that were hard for others to reach.

She even dug up two small fruit saplings. There was no special reason—the fruit was just that delicious, and she figured it wouldn’t be a problem for Eamon to get them to grow back on her island.

’Since I came all this way, I have to take *something* back with me, right?’

After a glance in the direction of the system’s initial landing point, Faye Yardley turned and ran toward the reef area.

She hadn’t expected to run into Leah Chandler again, having taken a different path back. But there she was, dismounted from her horse and resting on a large stone by the side of the road.

There was much less cover on this path. Faye Yardley had been sprinting, only slowing her steps when she saw her.

Sensing her gaze, Leah Chandler turned her head. The moment their eyes met, the surprise in her expression was unmistakable.

She waved at Faye Yardley, then pointed to a large tree in the distance, gesturing for her to go there.

She got up and looked around, making sure no one else was nearby. After whispering something in her horse’s ear, she walked straight over to Faye Yardley.

"Yardley, how did you get on the island? You didn’t... oh, right. You’re an Island Master yourself." Leah Chandler didn’t even wait for a reply before continuing, "You need to leave, quickly. It’s best if Mr. Langdon doesn’t find you. Here, take this."

The object she handed over was clearly one of the mined stones. "Take it and go. Quickly. And tell Kyle not to agree if Mr. Langdon offers to let him come to the island to be with me. I don’t need him here. I’ll feel much more at ease knowing he’s out there, even if he’s on your island, Yardley."

Faye Yardley nodded, taking the item. "You take care, Ms. Chandler. I’ll pass your message on to Kyle. I’m off. Maybe we’ll see each other again."

"Hurry and go."

Though she didn’t know what Leah Chandler was so nervous about, Faye Yardley knew her own time on the island was limited. With a quick word, she took off again, running swiftly in the direction she’d been heading.

Leah Chandler watched her vanish in an instant, her heart pounding in her chest.

’Being short one stone isn’t a huge deal,’ she thought. ’The problem is that I’m the one who let Faye Yardley take it.’

This island held many secrets, most of which she didn’t understand, but she knew Logan Langdon was planning something big.

She didn’t know if she’d made the right choice, but she was certain it was the best one for her son.

Faye Yardley wasn’t thinking about any of that. All she wanted was to get back to her raft smoothly, without any more complications.

Just as she was about to reach her destination, Faye Yardley suddenly ducked behind a nearby tree. She carefully peeked out, looking at the figures standing by the edge of the reef.

Chloe Hughes wrinkled her nose and said to the man in front of her, "Logan, I think I smell something familiar."

"Whose?"

Just then, a Mermaid’s call came from the water’s surface below the reef. "Mr. Logan! Miss Chloe! Come down! I’ve found it!"

Logan Langdon glanced back at Chloe Hughes, seemingly waiting for her to respond to his earlier question.

Chloe Hughes glanced behind her, then turned back to Logan Langdon with a radiant smile. "I was probably just being too sensitive. There’s no one else here. Let’s go. We shouldn’t keep Nina waiting."

"Alright, let’s go down." Logan Langdon had a great deal of trust in Chloe Hughes. She was, after all, the first woman to join him, and she had always provided him with all sorts of assistance. She had never once done him harm; on the contrary, she had been a tremendous help.

The two of them leaped directly from the reef into the sea and vanished.

Leaning against the tree, Faye Yardley let out a huge sigh of relief.

’Oh my god,’ she thought. ’I never imagined that using an Island Entry Order to visit an island could make me feel like a common thief.’

’How bizarre.’

’This is all the system’s fault. Why are the rules for the Island Entry Order so lax?’

’Could someone use this to sneak onto my island?’

’I’ll have to grill the system about this when I get back. For now, I just need to get out of here.’

The raft was under an Invisibility effect, but she could still sense its location.

So, she didn’t plan on waiting for Willow to bring the raft to her. She would cross the surface of the sea herself.

’But they just went into the water. If I go now, will I run right into them?’

After waiting a little longer, no one emerged from the sea. Faye Yardley decided not to wait any longer. In a few nimble leaps, she descended the reef and looked out at the ocean’s surface.

’Alright.’ Faye Yardley took a deep breath, charged directly toward the water, and began running across its surface.

Running, running, running, she moved so fast she was almost a blur.

"Did something just flash across the surface of the water?"

"Who knows? Probably a seabird or something."

"Mr. Logan, Miss Chloe, hurry, hurry! We’re almost there!"

As Faye Yardley raced toward her raft, Willow was already steering it toward the island.

They met halfway. Faye quickly boarded the raft and they made their escape.

Once the fog rolled in and they had passed through it back to the open sea, Faye Yardley let out a sigh of relief for reasons she couldn’t quite explain.

"System! System, get out here! What the hell are you playing at? Why did I land on the island of someone from my own district? There’s random, and then there’s just being careless!"