# 862
Chapter 863: The Eerie Coastline
The woman thought for a moment, picked up a flyer beside her, and circled a certain spot on it with a pen.
"Here."
"Sunset Coastline?" Lin Qiye's gaze swept over the introduction to this scenic spot, his expression thoughtful.
"Yes, we went there the second afternoon. After they got off to play, they never came back. After the scheduled time, the driver and I waited on the bus for another hour. I thought the location was too remote—if they didn't take the bus, it would be hard for them to get back to the city."
She paused, her eyes filling with fear. "They... they didn't run into any trouble, did they? Are you police?"
"No, they made it back safely. Since we're all friends, I just asked around casually to see what they were up to." Lin Qiye lied smoothly.
"I have a few questions."
Just then, An Qingyu, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up. "You should be a tour guide from this travel agency, right? According to your description, when they got off at the Sunset Coastline, you stayed on the bus. Why didn't you, as their tour guide, go with them?"
"They asked me not to. They said they didn't need me following them..."
"Was it every scenic spot you weren't allowed to follow them to, or just this one?" An Qingyu's eyes narrowed slightly as she asked the most crucial question.
"Most scenic spots, I did go with them. There were just a few exceptions..."
The woman thought for a moment, then circled several more spots on the map in the flyer. An Qingyu's brow raised slightly, and she nodded with a faint smile.
"I understand. Thank you."
"We're not going to any other scenic spots. We'll go straight to the Sunset Coastline." Lin Qiye said to the woman, then returned with An Qingyu and the others to the back seats of the tour bus.
"What did you find?"
As soon as they sat down, Lin Qiye asked curiously.
"The scenic spots where [Mask Squad] didn't let the tour guide follow them are all near the coastline." An Qingyu answered.
Lin Qiye contemplated for a moment. "You're saying that [Mask Squad] themselves didn't know the exact mission location either—they only knew it was roughly near the coastline?"
"Right." An Qingyu nodded. "Based on the information we have now, we can basically reconstruct the content of that phone call... That call was simply to inform [Mask Squad] that something seemed to have happened near the coastline of Ningchang County. It wasn't urgent, and it would be just a small favor for [Mask Squad] to check it out while they were on vacation.
By using this casual, 'looking out for you' tone, they could lead [Mask Squad] to a certain location without arousing their suspicion, while also bypassing Night Watch's cumbersome formal mission assignment procedures, drawing no attention whatsoever."
At the same time, An Qingyu reached out and pointed to the sunshade curtains on both sides of the tour bus.
"[Mask Squad] was sitting on this type of bus, so the surveillance cameras along the route couldn't capture their whereabouts. The infrastructure in Ningchang County is somewhat lagging, and most of the scenic spots are natural attractions like mountains and seas with no internal surveillance. As long as they used technical means to block their phone signals, [Mask Squad] could effectively 'disappear from the face of the earth.'
So even if Night Watch dispatched a search team, it would be impossible for them to find [Mask Squad] in a short time."
"Thankfully, we have a lead now." Lin Qiye said. "As long as we can pinpoint the last location where [Mask Squad] appeared, finding them will just be a matter of time."
The two were completely absorbed in their own world, oblivious to the way the rest of the squad was looking at them—as if they were looking at monsters.
"How are these two people's brains even wired?" Baili Pangpang grimaced. "Sitting with them, I feel like an idiot myself..."
"I agree." Cao Yuan silently raised his hand in agreement.
"Do you also think you're not smart enough?"
"No, I agree that you're an idiot."
"..."
...
By the time Lin Qiye and the others got off the tour bus, it was already dusk.
The dim sunset light scattered across the rolling waves, spray glittering like broken gold along the brown coastline. A gentle breeze brushed against Lin Qiye's face. He gazed for a moment at the tourists playing and laughing along the shore, then fixed his eyes on the distant horizon.
"This scenic spot still has quite a lot of people." After getting off the bus, Shen Qingzhu lit a cigarette for himself. The smoke dissipated quickly in the sea breeze, leaving no trace. "Where do we go next?"
"[Mask Squad]'s mission location shouldn't be in this particular scenic area, but somewhere nearby." An Qingyu thought as she spoke. "There are too many people here. If [Mask Squad] really had appeared here and done something, they would have left some traces."
"They indeed didn't linger here for long." Lin Qiye turned to look into the distance, at the coastline that was gradually being swallowed by the shadow of the setting sun and fading into darkness. "After taking a look around here, they went straight that way."
"Let's go. Let's take a look too."
The group followed the route [Mask Squad] had taken that day, gradually moving away from the bustling crowd. Everything around them grew quieter and quieter. On the brown coastline where light and shadow were sharply divided, the only sound remaining was the gentle rustle of the waves.
They walked for about an hour. The sky had completely fallen into darkness, and a faint glimmer of light appeared at the edge of their vision.
Lin Qiye suddenly stopped in his tracks.
"What's wrong?" Jialan asked, puzzled.
"That's strange..." Lin Qiye lifted the brim of his hat. The crimson eye between his brows flickered, and his brow furrowed tightly. "[Eyes of the Secret]... it's not working? How is that possible?"
The others behind him froze.
"Black Pupil, what's going on?" Lin Qiye asked in his mind.
"I don't know either, Director." Black Pupil's voice transmitted from that crimson eye into Lin Qiye's mind. "Since arriving here, I haven't been able to see the past of this area... It's as if the history here has been erased. I've never seen anything like this."
"What about the future?"
"Same—the future is also Chaos." Black Pupil paused for a moment, then warned, "Director, I think this place is off..."
"...I understand."
Lin Qiye sighed.
"What happened?" An Qingyu asked, confused.
"There's something strange about the area ahead. Both the past and future are Chaos—I can't find any trace of [Mask Squad]." Lin Qiye raised his head, squinting at those distant lights as he slowly spoke,
"It seems... we've really found the right place."