Sinking Island

Unknown Land, Floating Temple.

A short, bald man in a long blue robe that trailed to the floor suddenly rose from his chair, surprise written across his face as he cried in disbelief, "How could this thing be here?" A virtual screen stood before him, frozen on the moment Alex took the Blue Diamond from Emma’s hand.

"No, I have to get it back!" The bald man stared at the virtual screen with a grave expression. "If he obtains the power within it, things will become troublesome."

As he spoke, the bald man walked to a holographic control console nearby. It vividly recreated everything in the Unknown Land—the forests, mountains, rivers, and every type of terrain could be controlled from there.

The bald man quickly found the island that surfaced at night and sank by day. He turned to glance at the virtual screen again and murmured, "I’m sorry."

Then he decisively forced the island that had risen from the sea back down. Not only that, he maximized the attraction beneath the island and deactivated its seawater isolation system.

The island’s day-and-night cycle relied on the attraction beneath the seabed. During the day, the force appeared and pulled the island down to the ocean floor; at night, it vanished and the island shot back above the surface. If the force became too great, the island would slam violently into the continental shelf, possibly destroying it.

The seawater isolation system was another crucial function of the island. It kept the island separated from the seawater while it sank, ensuring that its vegetation, soil, and rocks would not be damaged.

The bald man intended to destroy the island and kill Alex and Emma in the process.

The instant the bald man acted, Alex, aboard the warship on the island, suddenly shuddered for no apparent reason. That dangerous intuition surged through him again. Before he could react, the ground began to shake violently as though an earthquake had struck.

"What’s happening?" Emma clutched Alex tightly, fearfully scanning her surroundings. Qiqi flew over from the side and plunged into the animal hide on Alex’s chest, timidly poking out its little head, its tiny eyes full of terror.

Alex had no time to explain. He scooped Emma up around the waist and sprinted toward the outside of the warship. Within moments, they rushed out of the cabin and onto the deck.

But when they saw what was happening before them, both froze.

The seawater surged toward the island like a tornado. The entire island seemed to be swallowed by the sea as it rapidly sank toward the ocean floor. In just that short time, the raging water had already risen over the warship’s sides and was about to sweep across the deck.

"How could this happen?" Emma stared at the scene in disbelief. The full moon was still hanging in the sky—how could the island be sinking?

Alex’s expression changed as well. He swiftly hoisted Emma onto his back, leaped into the rushing seawater, and desperately paddled toward the shore.

The surging water battered Alex back time and again, while the descending vortex dragged him toward the depths of the sea. The tremendous impact of the water nearly knocked him unconscious.

Alex choked on several mouthfuls of water in succession. The bitter seawater left him no room to pause as he struggled desperately to swim out of the vortex. But at that moment, a massive attractive force came from beneath his feet. Before Alex could even struggle, it rapidly dragged him down into the depths of the ocean.

Alien high-tech creations were indeed sturdy and durable. The island crashed into the continental shelf at maximum speed with an earth-shaking boom. The island itself remained intact, though its vegetation, soil, and rocks were jolted out of place. The warship, however, had been compressed by the immense force into a huge, thick iron pancake before impact. After the violent collision, it shattered into enormous iron sheets dozens of meters thick.

More than ten minutes later, the seabed was the first to grow calm. The island lay silently dormant like a monstrous beast of the deep, without the slightest sound. Another half hour passed, and the turbulent sea surface also settled. The agitated Bat People gradually calmed down as well. A few braver ones slowly flapped over, seemingly trying to figure out how the island had suddenly vanished.

Once the dust settled and everything returned to silence, the bald man in the Floating Temple wore a relieved smile beneath his solemn expression. "Although this violates the rules, I believe it benefits Earth. His appearance has seriously interfered with Earth’s future and timeline. He must be eliminated."

As he spoke, the bald man continued making notes. "Target deceased. Let the Life Stone Tree Fragment remain here."

After saying that, the bald man vanished from the Floating Temple without even going to inspect the island.

Three days passed without any sign of the island reappearing. The Bat People panicked, believing it to be divine punishment. They gathered around the spot where the island had vanished and prayed loudly for the gods’ forgiveness.

At that moment, two entirely blue figures emerged from the seabed at the very spot where the island had disappeared.

The Bat People immediately erupted into commotion, then became exceptionally excited moments later. They descended around the two blue figures, chattering incomprehensibly.

The two blue figures, one male and one female, were none other than Alex and Emma, who had escaped from the seabed. Qiqi, the little dragon in Alex’s arms, had turned blue as well.

"Want to fight? Come on, who’s afraid of who!" Alex was deeply dissatisfied with his current appearance and already in a foul mood. He glared angrily at the Bat People around him, ready to make a move, but Emma stopped him.

Emma grabbed Alex’s hand and explained, "They don’t want to fight. They think we’re gods."

"Gods? Don’t tell me their gods are Smurfs?" Alex irritably rubbed his arm, feeling utterly uncomfortable.

"It wouldn’t be bad to stay with them for a while. We really need to rest." Seeing Alex’s restless expression, Emma chuckled and softly comforted him. "Don’t mind it. Qiqi and I are here with you, aren’t we?"

Alex muttered and nodded reluctantly. "Fine, whatever you say!"

And so, Alex and Emma, transformed into Smurfs, were treated as new gods. The Bat People escorted them into their most honored cave with the grandest ceremony, serving them fine food and drink.

Several days passed in eating and drinking, and Alex’s strength finally fully recovered. At the same time, the blue color on his body gradually faded, restoring his original yellow skin. Alex, who had been uneasy about it all along, finally breathed a sigh of relief. He had no desire to spend the rest of his life as a Smurf.

With everything back to normal, Alex decided to leave.

"Why leave? Isn’t it good here?" Emma was very satisfied with her current life. There was no running around, no conflict, and the Bat People brought her all kinds of delicious food without her having to do anything. Whenever she felt like it, she could teach the ignorant Bat People and fulfill her dream of becoming a teacher. Life was simply perfect.

Alex had watched Emma’s changes over the past few days. He knew that she truly liked it here. But his brothers were still outside, and he could not abandon them.

"I’m sorry."

Emma gazed at Alex for a long while, then let out a long sigh, her face full of resentment. "Fine. We’ll leave together!"