Three days had passed since the live-stream showdown with Su Niannian, and the online buzz showed no signs of fading—if anything, it had only intensified.
Yet all of it seemed to pass Jiang Yu by, as if separated by an invisible veil.
What truly unsettled her was the increasingly distinct silver-white glow outside her window every night.
Tonight, however, was different.
Night had fallen deep, and the sea breeze carried the unique salty, faintly fishy scent of low tide, sweeping low across the ground into the small courtyard.
The light from the deep sea was no longer a blurry halo. Its outline now vaguely traced the silhouette of a tall, upright figure, as if silently beckoning to her through the darkness.
A powerful, almost tangible pull rose from the very depths of her heart.
During dinner, Aunt Lin had made a special trip to warn her: “Girl, tonight Deer Antler Island is having its once-in-a-decade extreme low tide. The water recedes dramatically. The elders say such times are unlucky—easy to run into something sinister. Don’t you dare go out!”
Jiang Yu had nodded and agreed, but now she stood on the threshold of the stone house.
The white light was there, at the far end of the beach, like a star fallen to earth, stubbornly flickering, tugging at every nerve in her body.
Not going wasn’t an option.
She went back inside, grabbed her old phone and a high-powered flashlight, and—almost as if possessed—swiped her finger across the screen, opening the TideTV streaming app.
She casually changed the stream title to: [Midnight Beachcombing, Extreme Low Tide Special].
At exactly midnight, the stream went live.
At first, only a few dozen night owls tuned in, but soon the viewer count began climbing.
[Am I seeing things? Sister Jiang is streaming at midnight?]
[Just came from the trending topic about Su Niannian apologizing and quitting—now we get a bonus show?]
[Beachcombing at this hour? Pitch black out there—stay safe, sis!]
[Big energy incoming! I love this kind of thrill!]
Jiang Yu ignored the comments. She secured her phone to a chest mount, gripped the flashlight in one hand and an oyster knife in the other, and stepped onto the slick rocks, walking step by step toward the beach swallowed by darkness.
This was true no-man’s-land—normally submerged beneath the sea, now exposed with vast stretches of black rock mixed with sticky mud, and pools of water whose depths were impossible to gauge.
To an ordinary person, this was a perilous place where you couldn’t see your own hand in front of your face.
But in Jiang Yu’s vision, the beach was scattered with countless tiny golden specks flickering in the crevices and puddles—the Light of Fortune radiating from premium seafood.
She didn’t give them a single glance.
All her focus was locked onto the massive, pure white pillar of light directly ahead.
The glow was so brilliant it outshone any antique treasure she’d ever seen—almost blinding to look at.
She quickened her pace, the flashlight beam swinging erratically through the dark.
The viewers could only watch through the lens as she pressed deeper and deeper into the unknown blackness.
[Sis, don’t go any further—this is giving me chills!]
[If the tide suddenly comes in, you won’t have time to run!]
[What is the streamer even looking for? There’s nothing ahead but rocks and water!]
The sea wind howled, whipping her long hair around. After walking for what felt like an eternity, the space before her suddenly opened up—revealing a massive, perfectly flat rock platform carved smooth by the waves.
At the center of the platform was a huge natural pool, water waist-deep, and the source of the white light was inside it.
She stopped, shining her flashlight directly at it.
There, in the middle of the pool, stood a giant coral over six feet tall, covered in spiral patterns. Under the flashlight’s beam, it had an eerie, semi-translucent quality.
And through that translucent surface, a clearly defined human figure was sealed within the coral.
Limbs, torso, head—every contour distinct.
For a moment, Jiang Yu’s breath caught.
The viewers saw the horrifying sight through the lens too, and the comments exploded instantly. The viewer count shot past three thousand.
[What the hell is that?! Naturally formed?]
[Wait… I think I see a person inside?!]
[Don’t scare me like that! It’s the middle of the night—is this some new kind of performance art?]
[Scripted! Definitely scripted! But that prop is way too realistic!]
Jiang Yu paid no attention to the frantic comments. She aimed her phone camera at the coral, then stepped onto the slick rocks, slowly wading into the bone-cold seawater.
The water rose past her knees, then quickly reached her waist.
[The streamer went in the water! She’s insane!]
[Get back up! You can’t see what’s under there!]
She walked step by step until she stood before the giant coral, close enough to touch.
The familiarity of the white light suppressed all her hesitation. She reached out and pressed her palm flat against the coral’s rough surface without a moment’s doubt.
The instant her hand made contact—hum!
The entire coral shuddered violently. The pool water around it erupted into a boil, waves crashing over her head and shoulders.
The viewer count surged past five thousand, the comment feed freezing into a wall of white.
[It moved! Holy shit! It moved!]
[This thing is alive?! Run, streamer!]
“I’ve already called the police! Whether it’s scripted or not, this is terrifying!”
A scorching warmth surged from Jiang Yu’s palm, rushing up her arm and spreading through her limbs.
On the surface of the coral, centered around her palm, spiderweb-like cracks began to appear.
It was the energy spilling out as the Seal shattered—and her constitution was instinctively, frantically absorbing all of it!
“Crack… crack…”
The fissures spread rapidly, chunks of debris peeling off and splashing into the water.
The viewer count spiked from eight thousand to ten thousand. Screenshots and short clips were going viral across every social platform, and countless night owls, roused by the commotion, flooded into the livestream.
“Splash—!”
As the last piece of coral blocking the view crumbled and sank to the bottom, all the noise came to an abrupt halt.
Moonlight poured down like liquid silver, illuminating the scene in the pool.
Standing there was a living, breathing person.
Silver-white hair cascaded like flowing moonlight, trailing down to the water’s surface. His skin was startlingly pale in the night, unlike any mortal’s.
He was bare-chested, eyes closed, with ripples gently encircling him as if paying homage to their king.
The next second, he slowly opened his eyes.
They were… inhuman golden slit pupils!
Ancient, dazed, carrying an air of detachment from all things.
His gaze landed precisely on Jiang Yu’s face, so close before him.
In that moment, the livestream went dead silent.
Over thirty thousand viewers, as if collectively frozen by a pause button.
Two seconds later, the screen was drowned in a tsunami of comments.
[What… did I just… see…]
[A living person… walked out of the coral??]
[Is this level of beauty even real? This has to be CG! Definitely!]
[Mom, I’m in love! Give me your contact info, handsome!]
[Tide TV is insane! This movie-grade VFX and actor—I’m on my knees!]
The water settled, and the man lowered his head slightly, his golden pupils reflecting only Jiang Yu. He spoke, his voice like an ancient relic sealed for a thousand years, carrying a strange magnetism.
“…You are… my… contracted one?”
The livestream went absolutely berserk.
But Jiang Yu, standing in the cold seawater, felt a thousand waves crashing through her mind—until it all condensed into one brutally practical thought.
…Is my phone waterproof?