Chapter 6: Entering Paradise Island

Paradise Island was teeming with Rust Tide swarms—a piece of intel Ye Mi had gleaned from Ian.

As the name suggested, the place was an island connected by a grand bridge. In its heyday, it was a famed entertainment hub of Prism City, heavily invested in by the OC Corporation, boasting a complex that combined an amusement park, an oceanarium, a waterpark, and a zoo. Once the largest and most vibrant leisure destination in the city, it was inevitable that Rust Tide swarms would be present on Paradise Island. The abundance of iron structures and the fact that nearly all the staff were androids made it a natural habitat for them.

Now, it had become Ye Mi’s destination. Traveling at full speed, she reached the vicinity of Paradise Island in less than twenty minutes.

In the moonlight, the ruinous grandeur of the island took shape. The iconic Ferris wheel, once a hundred meters tall, now leaned precariously, its rusted cabins swaying in the night wind. The roller coaster track loomed above the island like a giant serpent, its severed steel cables dangling and swaying with the breeze.

Ye Mi set foot on the bridge spanning the sea. The salty, briny wind assailed her face, and in the distance, the thunderous crash of waves against the bridge piers echoed. The world inside the Light Ruins had changed beyond recognition, yet the sea remained as ever—dark and terrifying as the abyss.

The bridge was only about seven kilometers long—just a short stretch for Ye Mi—but she moved with utmost caution. The reason was simple: the island ahead, with its amusement park, oceanarium, and zoo, was home to countless creatures, and Ye Mi knew without a doubt that many monsters would have mutated here.

In fact, Paradise Island had likely long since been overrun by monsters. The surviving humans had abandoned it early on; no one would linger in such a remote corner of the outskirts. Only monsters would remain, locked in their own savage battles.

And yet, as she carefully made her way halfway across, she discovered an unexpected obstacle—the middle section of the bridge was completely severed. Both sides had collapsed, leaving a gap of over twenty meters, the remnants slanting down to the sea. Only a few stray concrete piers occasionally jutted above the water’s surface.

“...A shoddy job,” Ye Mi sighed inwardly, recognizing the trouble.

She had no idea what the density of the Rust Tide King’s body would be after absorbing so many random metals. If she slipped and sank, it would be a disaster. Metal bodies wouldn’t die, true—but neither could they resurface.

If that happened, she’d have to wait until the end of time before the Rust Tide King could be of use again. She had no intention of losing such a powerful ally.

Fortunately, Ye Mi gauged the distance to the other side of the bridge. With her enhanced tendon system, her range of movement had vastly improved; leaping from one floating pier to the next should be feasible.

She slid down the sloping debris with a swift maneuver, landing nimbly on the first chunk of concrete without so much as a splash.

Thus, she darted across the water, leaping from one fragment of bridge to another. But as she landed on the third piece, disaster struck: the concrete beneath her feet gave way, and she almost plunged into the water. Quick reflexes allowed her to leap to the next pier, but the falling debris sent ripples radiating across the once-still surface.

The water below immediately seethed with agitation.

Ye Mi’s heart sank. She sprang for the far side of the bridge, seized a twisted steel bar, and swung herself up onto solid ground.

A second later, a mutated eel the size of a truck burst from the water, sending up a torrent of spray. Its body was armored in scales that should never have existed, and several tendrils sprouted from its belly, allowing it to crawl on land.

Those tendrils now whipped frantically toward Ye Mi.

Luckily, she reacted instantly, activating the Mask of Divinity to turn invisible. The mutated eel could only hunt by sound; had it been able to see her, its lightning-fast attack would almost certainly have dragged Ye Mi into the depths.

Back on solid ground, Ye Mi felt a measure of calm return. In a flash, she thrust her spear at the attacking tendrils.

The eel’s appendage was instantly pierced. Ye Mi moved to strike again, but the creature’s jaws yawned wide, releasing a spray of corrosive fluid that burned a hole through the bridge and twisted the steel like melting chocolate.

A worthy adversary, this one also spat venom.

“Tch. Annoying,” she muttered, dodging the other tendrils.

Against corrosive acid, she couldn’t afford the reckless offense she’d used against the Antlered Butcher. Though her metal body was impervious to blades and bullets, it was not immune to corrosion.

She remembered Ian’s experiments well—Rust Tide creatures were highly susceptible to caustic fluids.

Ye Mi retreated to a safer distance, preparing to attack again, when the sea’s surface began to boil, bubbling and churning. More marine monsters emerged—crabs with sharks’ heads, jellyfish bristling with eyes—scrambling to climb the bridge, their grotesque, amalgamated forms enough to shatter the mind.

So many? Had the entire stock of the oceanarium escaped to the sea?

Ye Mi paused, but did not hesitate. Like a metallic whirlwind, she raced away from the bridge, leaving the sea monsters far behind.

She had no interest in wasting her strength fighting them.

The scale of Paradise Island was immense. In the vast plaza beyond the main gate, dozens of derelict hovercars stood abandoned. Ye Mi glanced at them, puzzled.

All these vehicles, and the decaying amusement rides, were made of metal. Why hadn’t the Rust Tide swarms devoured them? Had they evolved beyond the need for ordinary metal?

Confused, she pressed on, heading straight for the island’s highest point—the Ferris wheel.

Even now, with its structure sagging, it would offer Ye Mi a commanding view of the entire island.

With her electronic eyes, a careful search should be enough to locate the Rust Tide swarms.

But to reach the amusement park where the Ferris wheel stood, she would first have to cross the wildlife zone.

At that moment, a sharp pain stabbed her temple, her vision darkened, and her mental strength ebbed away like water draining from a well.

In her mind, a phrase from the temple resurfaced: “The mask is powered by spirit; the tranquil face hides, the wrathful face strikes, but every use drains the mind. Long use ends in exhaustion and death.”

Ye Mi gritted her teeth, canceled the Mask of Divinity without hesitation.

She’d already depleted much of her energy the previous day and hadn’t fully recovered. Overexertion today brought her face-to-face with the mask’s side effects for the first time.

She’d been as frugal as possible. She hadn’t even used the mask fighting the Antlered Butcher; she’d only donned it to avoid provoking the sea monsters and to keep from battling atop the water. Yet even that brief use had nearly drained her spirit dry.

With a resigned shake of her head, Ye Mi could only melt into the darkness and proceed quietly through the night.