A Core Ship From The Start
Chapter 1450 - 982 Hmm?

Chapter 1450: Chapter 982 Hmm?

Here’s the line-by-line English translation of the text you provided:

Hidari Island is located in the Kitan Strait, belonging to Wakayama County and Wakayama City.

With a population of 700, its specialties include puff pastries and salted squid.

It’s a small island sustained by tourism and fishing industries.

"Phew... Finally, I can relax a bit. Blue skies, white clouds, clear sea, and sandy beaches. A little relaxation wouldn’t hurt."

Stepping off the yacht, Duanmu Huai stretched and glanced around.

"To be honest, I don’t have any grand expectations for this place, but it’s nice to get away for a bit. Honestly, I’m so exhausted I’m practically dead."

"Mr. Duanmu, you really are out here completely focused on unwinding."

Walking next to Duanmu Huai, Mary gazed at the man beside her with a helpless look—Duanmu Huai, at the moment, was wearing large beach shorts, a Hawaiian-style short-sleeved shirt, and oversized sunglasses. If he had a thick gold chain around his neck and a few gold rings on his fingers, he’d practically look like a Yakuza boss.

"It’s necessary to change up the mood every once in a while."

As he spoke, Duanmu Huai twisted his neck slightly and then glanced at Mary.

"As for you, aren’t you hot dressed like that?"

Unlike Duanmu Huai’s tropical getup, Mary wore her usual long dress and held a parasol in her hand. Yet, her attire didn’t seem suited for a summer day.

"It’s fine... This outfit is actually quite breathable."

"Wouldn’t it be better to wear something cooler? Look around—who here is dressed like you?"

Duanmu Huai smirked and looked at the nearby pier, where quite a few tourists were disembarking...

"Forget it. These little things aren’t worth bothering about. So, what should we do next? If that cryptic message turns out to be true, it means this island will face total destruction—or something is going to kill everyone here? Isn’t it supposed to be about the festival?"

While speaking, Duanmu Huai pulled a crumpled travel flyer out of his pocket.

"It’s this festival, right? Something about the Leech God or whatever... What, is the god supposed to be resurrecting? If that’s the case, don’t blame me for being ruthless."

With that, Duanmu Huai let out a grim laugh. What he looked forward to most was slaying gods and demons... Especially the ones with religious followings—he couldn’t let them off the hook given his reputation as the Sixth Heavenly Demon King.

"The festival is supposed to happen over the next couple of days, right? For now, let’s find a place to stay and gather some intel... By the way, was the person who left you the message male or female? It was impossible to tell."

"Exactly..."

Though there had been a message, the voice left behind was extremely distorted—like it had been interfered with—making it impossible to discern the original speaker’s gender. Moreover, only a few keywords had been preserved, leaving no clear hints from syntax or tone.

"Never mind that. When the festival starts, we’ll see what happens. Simple."

Duanmu Huai waved his hand dismissively.

"If anything weird decides to crawl out looking for trouble at that point, don’t blame me for not holding back!"

With Duanmu Huai being so nonchalant, Mary didn’t press any further. The two spent their time sightseeing on the island, but honestly...

"To tell the truth, this place is ridiculously remote and pathetically poor."

Walking along the street, Duanmu Huai continued complaining to Mary.

"There’s absolutely nothing here. Even the only supermarket on the island is shut. I asked around, and they told me it’s the only one—what kind of joke is that? A closed supermarket? How are we supposed to buy anything?"

The more Duanmu Huai talked, the more frustrated he got.

"And the so-called local specialties here—I get that tourist traps often oversell their goods, but that fermented sushi is downright disgusting. Then there’s the salted squid—so fishy and salty it’s barely edible! Who even eats this stuff? I’d rather have fish and chips! This godforsaken place should just be wiped off the map—it’s honestly a waste of existence... We came all the way here from the other side of the world, not to suffer!"

"Ah, Mr. Duanmu, there’s a Western-style restaurant here. How about we eat there?"

Mary smiled awkwardly and quickly changed the subject. Although Duanmu Huai was venting, Mary had to admit the local food was incredibly hard to stomach.

"Fine, I’m not picky. Just give me a burger or something simple."

Duanmu Huai sighed and glanced skyward—by now, the sun was setting, and the festival was about to begin.

But before that, they needed to eat first.

The Western-style restaurant was run by a single plump elderly man, who, though clearly advanced in years, demonstrated excellent culinary skills. At least, Duanmu Huai and Mary managed to have a proper dinner.

"Ah... That hit the spot. Hm? Looks like the festival’s started."

After their meal, Duanmu Huai and Mary walked out of the restaurant to find the night had fallen. From their vantage point, the mountainside path leading to the shrine was brightly lit, and lively music carried over on the sea breeze.

"Seems peaceful enough..."

Looking around, Duanmu Huai found the crowd calm—tourists were leisurely buying food at the night market stalls, giving no indication of distress. Mary, however, fixed her gaze on the shrine halfway up the mountain and furrowed her brow slightly.

"Mr. Duanmu, let’s head to the festival site. After all, there’s that cryptic message... I’m feeling uneasy."

"Alright, whatever it is, I hope it gives me a good post-dinner workout."

Duanmu Huai stretched and followed Mary toward the festival’s location.

"Hmm?"

As they passed through the night market and arrived below the shrine, Duanmu Huai noticed something amiss. Though the mountain path was well-lit, it was utterly devoid of people—no one ascending, no one descending.

In contrast, Duanmu Huai could sense something stirring inside the shrine above...

"———!"

Suddenly, a red light shot skyward, piercing the clouds, as Duanmu Huai and Mary looked up. A brilliant red light hung suspended like a star. Meanwhile, from within the shrine, pitch-black shadows surged out like a tidal wave, pouring down the mountain path!

"Mr. Duanmu!"

"I see it! Leave it to me!"

Confronting the sight before them, Duanmu Huai sneered and slammed his foot down.

"Get lost!"

"Boom—!"

As Duanmu Huai stomped the ground, the shadowy tide charging down the mountain path collided as if against a dam, recoiling before shattering under the force of divine power. Duanmu Huai and Mary sped up the path and reached the shrine’s entrance in moments.

Yet...

"What the hell is that?"

Standing at the empty shrine, Duanmu Huai frowned—there was no trace of people, alive or dead. Only the ground showed scorched humanoid outlines, while, amidst them, a pitch-black monster with four arms stood.

Upon seeing Duanmu Huai and Mary, the creature paused in surprise.

"I can’t believe someone could break past Mother’s power and come here..."

"You’re the mastermind behind all this, aren’t you?"

Duanmu Huai’s eyes narrowed, locking onto the dark shadowy monster with four arms.

"Just another bottom-feeding fish. In that case... Die!"

With those words, Duanmu Huai’s figure blurred as he charged at the creature!

"Hmph, reckless."

Seeing Duanmu Huai’s aggressive approach, the shadow monster sneered. Its body shifted and, in the next instant, expanded, separating into another figure holding a gun, which aimed at Duanmu Huai and fired!

"Bang!"

The gunshot rang out, but...

"This doesn’t hurt at all!"

Duanmu Huai didn’t even dodge—the bullets deflected off him forcefully!

"What—what are you?!"

Realizing his attack had failed, the shadow monster was stunned. Facing its question, Duanmu Huai simply grinned darkly, then lunged forward, throwing a powerful punch.

"Die, alien hybrid!"

"No——!"

Watching Duanmu Huai’s fist descend, the shadow monster raised all four arms desperately in defense, only for them to snap like twigs as Duanmu Huai’s punch hammered onward, smashing into the concrete ground with force...

"Huh?"

Confused, Duanmu Huai raised his head to look around.

Blue skies. White clouds. Nearby, the pier bustled with tourists.

"What... What’s going on?"

Standing beside Duanmu Huai, Mary was similarly baffled. Moments ago, they were in the shrine facing an unknown creature, but now, in the blink of an eye... Mary turned to look behind her, spotting their yacht bobbing by the dock.

"What... What just happened?"

Standing up and scanning his surroundings, Duanmu Huai frowned deeply. Mary hesitated before speaking.

"Mr. Duanmu... I think—we’re back!"

"Back?"

Duanmu Huai scratched his head, glancing back at Mary. Her serious expression, paired with her vigorous nod, seemed to confirm his suspicion.

"That’s right... We’re back to the moment we first arrived on the island!"

"Huh?"

Hearing Mary’s explanation, Duanmu Huai stood there dumbfounded. He scanned himself, Mary, and the island again.

"What the hell is this?!"