Chapter 259: Prophecy

Seeing the words in Sakurako's notebook, Onitsuka Ayaka and I both froze. I was caught off guard, while she looked as if a terrible memory had just been dragged to the surface.

She quickly pulled me into the room and shut the lounge door, her face draining of color.

"Boss, it's just a child's dream. Let's not make a fuss over nothing." I brushed it off, but Onitsuka Ayaka's next words commanded my full attention.

"Three days before my husband died, Sakurako had a similar dream. She dreamed he would be caught in a shipwreck and drown at sea."

"And?"

"The time, the location, the cause of death—every single detail came true."

Onitsuka Ayaka wasn't the type to joke about something like this. Hearing her words, a wave of dread washed over me.

"Sakurako was very young back then. She woke up one morning and suddenly wanted to draw. The scene she sketched was exactly how her father died. I will never forget that day. If I had stopped him, maybe all that tragedy could have been avoided." Onitsuka Ayaka lit a slender cigarette, parting her painted lips to exhale a plume of smoke. "You need to be careful. Sakurako rarely has prophetic dreams like this. It would be best if you stayed away from the reservoir for the next few days—or just stay away from water entirely."

Actually, when Sakurako mentioned a reservoir, one specific location came to mind: Lanjiang Dam. Barring any surprises, that would be the site of the eighth live broadcast. Which meant I was guaranteed to be right next to that water in three days.

"Could it just be a coincidence?" I called Sakurako over and gently probed for details. "Kiddo, what exactly did you dream about last night? Can you be a little more specific?"

Sakurako picked up a pen and began to carefully sketch in her notebook. She drew very slowly, trying her best to recreate everything from her dream.

There were three pictures in total. In the first, a dragon and a phoenix battled in the sky. In the second, I was falling off the dam alongside someone whose face was blurred. In the third, I was sinking alone to the bottom of the water.

Holding these three drawings, I stared at them for a long time.

Sakurako's sketches were simple, yet they gave me a deep chill. They felt too real, almost as if they were events that had already happened and she had merely copied them down.

"I wanted to tell you this morning, but you weren't at the shop." Her hands clasped tightly together. Sakurako's voice was as flat as usual, devoid of any obvious emotion, but I could feel her genuine, heartfelt worry.

The father who loved her most had passed away just like this. When a dream turned into reality, even if you saw it coming, you were still powerless to change it. That was the most ruthless part of fate.

"You skipped class just to warn Gao Jian?" Onitsuka Ayaka set down her cigarette, feeling a bitter sting. She reached out to pull Sakurako into her arms, but the little girl smoothly evaded her touch. The invisible barrier between them remained firmly in place.

"Thank you, Sakurako. I'll be careful." I had originally come seeking help and ended up with something else entirely. Even though it was bad news, knowing in advance at least allowed me to take precautions.

Sakurako took the notebook, tore out the three drawings, and handed them to me. "Keep these, and absolutely do not go to the reservoir!"

Coming from such a small body, her words were earnest and powerful, making it impossible to refuse her and unbearable to lie to her.

I smiled and agreed, putting away the three drawings, though my heart was already churning like a stormy sea.

If the Underworld Live Show's broadcast task required me to head to Lanjiang Dam late at night, failing to show up would result in a mission failure. Was I going to have to use points to skip a broadcast?

I had plenty of points saved up, so skipping once wouldn't hurt. 'Looks like I need to keep some in reserve when exchanging for items this time. I have to take Sakurako's dream seriously.'

Pondering it over and over, something still felt wrong, as if I had overlooked a crucial detail.

"Forget it, I'll take it one step at a time. All I can do is prepare and stop Lu Xing's plot!" I looked at the mother and daughter in front of me, pursed my lips, and revealed my original purpose. "Actually, I came today to ask for your help. In three days, all hell is going to break loose in Jiangcheng. The number of enemies is unknown, so I want to team up with you."

Neither the mother nor daughter were simple. Leaving aside Sakurako's own uniqueness, I had never been able to see through Onitsuka Ayaka. She had crossed the ocean, bringing Sakurako to Huaxia, and opened a bar in the most bustling area of Jiangcheng. Who knew how many people coveted this prime location every day, yet I had never heard of anyone daring to cause trouble for Onitsuka Ayaka.

As a Japanese woman who had just arrived with no backing and no connections, she wouldn't have been able to gain a foothold here without some real skills of her own.

There was also one other peculiar detail that deepened my suspicions: Onitsuka Ayaka had a lifelike blue-tailed fox tattoo on her body.

Every time I saw that tattoo, I was reminded of the Blood Fox on my own body. Aside from the color, their expressions and appearances were identical. Sometimes, I even suspected that Onitsuka Ayaka herself was a transformed fox immortal.

Her bewitching charm and allure, that innate magnetism toward the opposite sex, were woven into her every movement, every smile, and every frown. The first time I saw her, I had been completely stunned. Her beauty was highly aggressive. She was a very dangerous woman.

Pinching a slender cigarette between her fingertips, Onitsuka Ayaka didn't agree right away. I had no idea what she was weighing in her mind.

After a long time, having finished her cigarette, she finally looked at me. "I'm sorry, I can't help you. I won't put Sakurako in danger."

I understood her refusal. "It's fine. Just consider this a warning, then. Things are going to be very chaotic outside over the next few days. Don't go out after dark."

After saying that, I didn't linger. I left the bar and returned to Ting Tang Road.

My errands were mostly settled, but I didn't feel the slightest peace of mind. Instead, Sakurako's prophecy had thrown my thoughts into turmoil.

Entering the shop, the familiar figure of Bai Qi was nowhere to be seen. It felt like something was missing; the room was terribly empty.

"Where could you have run off to?"

After being on the move for a day and a night, I was utterly exhausted. I forced myself to circulate the Profound Truth Mental Method, but I couldn't calm my mind, making the cultivation extremely ineffective.

After a cold shower, I changed into dry clothes and began investigating the surrounding shops.

There were security cameras installed around my shop, but the back alley was a blind spot. If the other party could sneak inside without making a sound, they probably wouldn't be careless enough to reveal themselves on camera.

Going through camera footage was incredibly time-consuming. I had to fast-forward bit by bit, maintaining absolute focus to ensure I didn't miss a single detail while comparing the entire night's recordings.

Over an hour passed. I checked the footage from several stores around the Adult Shop, but I found absolutely nothing.

Left with no choice, I expanded my search radius. I walked down the street, checking every intersection along Ting Tang Road, before finally plunging into the labyrinthine back alleys. It wasn't until evening that I finally made a discovery.

The back alleys behind the street were mostly lined with single-story houses slated for demolition. The path was muddy, flanked by piles of stinking garbage.

Every time I reached a corner, I saw grains of white rice scattered on the ground. At first, I didn't pay it any mind, but over time, I realized something was wrong. It was as if this white rice had been left deliberately to guide something.

Following the trail of white rice, it didn't take long before I emerged from the alley.

"They must have entered from here." I checked the surrounding cameras; they were either broken or deliberately covered up. These anomalies drew my attention even more.

I combed through the back alley once more and finally found an item in a pile of garbage that absolutely shouldn't have been there.

"Etorphine Intramuscular Injection." Etorphine was a potent anesthetic, its effects hundreds of times stronger than ordinary morphine. Large doses of etorphine were typically used to tranquilize elephants.

"Why would this be in an alleyway?" Full of doubt, I ran through the entire back alley and finally spotted a functioning security camera more than two hundred meters from the alley entrance.

I entered the store and explained my purpose to the owner. The other party was very cooperative, voluntarily turning on his computer to let me watch the footage.

I fast-forwarded slowly, not letting a single detail slip by. Finally, I found a clue left by the thief: just past 2:00 AM, a van flashed across the screen.

It was moving fast. I paused the footage and peered closely at the screen.

The person driving the van looked somewhat familiar. He had a shaved head, and through his open collar, I could clearly see a vivid scorpion tattoo on his chest.