‘So either my vision or my spiritual perception is faulty…’

Lin Ye sat at the edge of the platform, casting his fishing rod downward, which led him to discover something rather peculiar.

That was, when he focused on observing below with his eyes, there was nothing but an expanse of pitch-black space that couldn’t be touched. But when he closed his eyes and chose to probe downward with his spiritual perception, the space below was a finite, cylindrical chamber. He could even touch the handle of a metal door with his fishhook.

‘So what does this have to do with fishing? Where’s my sea?’

Lin Ye didn’t use his fishhook to pull open that metal door. This was a sealed space, and he had no idea what might come crawling out of it.

“Hey, why aren’t you making a move on us?”

The young man standing across from Lin Ye asked with some irritation.

“Of course, because none of you have made a move either. I won’t be the first to attack.”

Besides, the fact that none of these people had acted yet meant attacking here was likely very dangerous.

“Tch, lucky you.”

The young man also sat down on the platform. He looked up at the ceiling above, swinging his legs a little out of boredom.

“Can I open the door down below?”

Lin Ye suspected that opening that door would cause water to surge in. But before opening it, he needed to consult the others.

“Huh? What door?”

The young man looked at Lin Ye with a confused expression.

“…None of you can sense the door down there?”

Lin Ye had thought they were simply too afraid to open the door and had been standing around because of that.

“We can only sense a pitch-black space. You can sense a door? What kind of door is it? Is there anything else?”

The old man standing on the left immediately asked.

“It’s just a metal door, embedded in the bottom of that space down there. I can touch the handle with my fishhook.”

Lin Ye wasn’t sure why these people couldn’t sense that space.

If they couldn’t even touch the door, then even if fish came in, they probably wouldn’t be able to catch any.

“That’s a problem. If there really is that door, opening it might cause liquid to surge in and drown us without us even realizing it… Friend, could you help me catch a fish and put it in my basket? I’ll pay you appropriately.”

The old man didn’t doubt Lin Ye’s words. He had been trapped here for some time already. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

“What can you give me? And what if only one fish comes in?”

Lin Ye didn’t think the other party could afford to hire him. He was a fishing master.

“I can give you a map with spiritual and spatial coordinates attached. You should find it useful. This body isn’t your true body, is it?”

The old man said with a gentle smile.

“What kind of place map can you give me?”

This was the first time Lin Ye had received this kind of payment.

“Well, that depends on where you want to go. I’ve collected maps of many places. You can tell me a place you want to go, or you can just pick one at random.”

The old man took out a brown spatial pouch, stuffed full of various maps.

“I want to find a plane where it doesn’t matter if it gets destroyed. Do you have one?”

Thinking about the Lord of Emerald Capital’s invitation, Lin Ye asked.

“Of course, but these kinds of planes usually have some kind of dangerous element in them. Are you sure you want to go to such a place? I have plenty of treasure maps in my collection.”

The old man looked at Lin Ye with a strange expression.

“I’m sure.”

Lin Ye didn’t want to be constantly on that deity’s mind.

“Then draw one from here. These are all maps of planes on the verge of destruction.”

The old man opened a compartment in his spatial pouch, which contained many maps made of different materials.

Lin Ye cast his fishhook and casually hooked one back.

The information on the map wasn’t complex, and Lin Ye quickly used his spiritual parasite to record a copy of its contents.

“If it’s not too much trouble, please get one for me too. I’ll give you a recipe specifically for cooking deep-sea creatures.”

Seeing the two finish their conversation, the woman standing on the right also spoke up.

Without any further ado, she threw the recipe directly to Lin Ye.

Because once the catch entered the basket, the teleportation would trigger, there was no need for lengthy negotiation. All they could decide was whether or not to trust Lin Ye.

“Big brother, I was wrong. Please help me out. Don’t leave me alone here.”

The young man across from them very straightforwardly admitted defeat.

“If you don’t give me payment, I can’t help you. It wouldn’t be fair to the others who did pay me.”

Lin Ye closed his eyes and flicked his fishing rod. The hook snagged the handle of the metal door.

“Then I guess I’m out of luck. What can I do? I’m broke.”

The young man lay back on the platform as if he had given up, staring down at the pitch-black space.

Lin Ye pulled open the metal door. A torrent of black liquid surged out from within, and along with that liquid came human faces, each bearing a different expression.

Those faces flowed with the liquid, appearing harmless at first glance. But Lin Ye noticed that the eye sockets of all those faces were turned toward the direction where the four of them stood, as if silently observing them.

The black liquid rose rapidly. Lin Ye flicked his rod, hooking one of the faces and swinging it toward the old man’s basket. But the moment the face left the black liquid, it suddenly came to life, struggling madly on the hook, trying to break free and attack any nearby target.

Too bad. Lin Ye was a fishing master. Things he hooked rarely escaped the line.

The face successfully entered the basket, and the old man smoothly teleported out of this space via the portal.

Seeing the old man disappear, the woman on the right clearly grew tense. This proved that everything Lin Ye had said earlier was true.

Which meant something she couldn’t see had come out of that door.

The surface of the black liquid gradually approached the platform. Lin Ye wasn’t in a hurry. He flicked his rod again, hooked another face, and swung it toward the woman’s basket.

“Thanks a lot!”

Just as the hook neared the basket, the young man suddenly swung his own basket out, blocking the woman’s.

“Don’t mention it.”

Lin Ye had long suspected he might try something like that. With just a subtle flick, the face bypassed the young man’s basket and landed squarely inside the woman’s.

The woman also successfully left the space. Now only Lin Ye and the young man remained.

“Bro, I was wrong. I’ll give you payment. I have lots of valuable items…”

Cold sweat beaded on the young man’s forehead as he moved closer to Lin Ye, his basket still in hand.

“Sorry, but it’s too late now.”

Just before the black liquid washed over the platform, Lin Ye hooked a face into his own basket.

“No!”

The teleportation triggered. Lin Ye was transported to a different area, leaving the young man standing alone in the dim, sealed space. One by one, faces crawled onto his own. The black liquid rose above his head.

After that, there was no one left.

“What kind of damn place is this now? Isn’t this supposed to be a fishing competition?”

Standing on a flat, dry surface, Lin Ye felt like he had been the one caught.