Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Chen Nuo glanced at Tang Ying, then around the restaurant at everyone else. She seemed to be the only person besides him who sensed that something was not right.

“What’s wrong with it?” her friend asked.

“We only paid around four thousand yuan for the tour,” Tang Ying said. “But look at what this buffet is serving: Australian lobster, king crab, sea urchin sashimi, bluefin tuna, French foie gras, black caviar, matsutake mushrooms, Kobe beef… These are all premium ingredients. And I just tried the caviar. It’s incredibly fresh and delicious.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?” the chubby young woman asked, baffled.

“Ruirui, I’m a food blogger. I’ve eaten at restaurants in countries all over the world. This is a top-tier buffet by any standard. Back home, a single meal like this would cost well over a thousand yuan, and some of these dishes would still be served in limited quantities.

“Tina just said we’re spending the whole day eating, drinking, and having fun in the hotel, which means at least three meals. If every meal is this good, the food alone would be worth more than three thousand yuan. Add that luxurious ocean-view room, which would cost over a thousand a night even at a group rate, and how could the travel agency possibly make any money?”

Chen Nuo had been standing nearby, listening in. Now his brow furrowed. This young woman had exactly the same doubts he did.

“Oh, come on, Tang Ying. Now the quality is too high? Would you only be happy if they put us in some run-down motel and gave us rice porridge and steamed buns for breakfast?”

“It isn’t about whether I’m happy. It just… doesn’t make sense. Ruirui, travel agencies aren’t charities. They have to make a profit. But this day alone is already worth more than the four thousand yuan we paid, and we still have six more days to go. I can’t imagine how they could possibly make money.”

“Stop worrying so much! Xiangji Island is famous for seafood. Maybe seafood is especially cheap here.”

Tang Ying wanted to say more, but her friend dragged her away. The young woman had spotted freshly grilled oysters and scallops on the other side of the buffet. Lured by their aroma, she had no interest in listening to any more of Tang Ying’s analysis.

Chen Nuo had wanted to speak with Tang Ying, but she probably did not understand what was happening any better than he did. Besides, with Ruirui there, she would likely prevent them from discussing it.

Chen Nuo had never eaten foie gras. If he had not overheard Tang Ying, he would not even have known what the delicately presented dish was. He used the tongs to take two pieces, then added a few slices of bread and a glass of guava juice. He chose an empty table and sat down to eat.

At his first small bite of foie gras, the rich flavor amazed him. He had never eaten anything so delicious in his life. Yet even as he marveled at it, his doubts deepened.

As he ate, Chen Nuo watched the other people in the restaurant. The family of three, the twin sisters, the three college students, the middle-aged couple… every one of them was enjoying the meal. Tang Ying and he seemed to be the only ones who thought anything was amiss.

Wait. There was one other person.

At another table sat a woman in her thirties. Her hair was curly, her cheeks narrow and gaunt, and her bulging eyes gave her a slightly unbalanced look. Although she was seated at a dining table, she had not taken any food. Instead, she had laid out a deck of cards and appeared to be calculating something.

Chen Nuo stopped eating and watched the unusual woman.

A moment later, her already prominent eyes opened even wider. She stared at the cards spread across the table, her mouth falling open in terror as though she had seen a ghost.
Unable to suppress his curiosity, Chen Nuo rose and walked toward the woman. Or perhaps it was simply the alarm and terror on her face that drew him in.

The woman was staring at the cards and did not notice him approaching. When Chen Nuo came closer, he saw that they were tarot cards. He cleared his throat softly.

“Excuse me. Are you using tarot cards to tell fortunes?”

The woman jerked her head up. Her frightened eyes fixed on Chen Nuo, her expression still strangely agitated. She studied him in silence for a moment, then gathered the cards from the table.

Chen Nuo tried again. “Did the cards tell you something bad?”

The woman’s cheek twitched. After a moment’s hesitation, she shook her head.

“You don’t want to tell me what you saw?” Chen Nuo asked.

“Why should I tell you?”

“Because we’re members of the same tour group. If you saw something bad, it must concern me too. We’re in the same situation.”

“What makes you think I saw something bad?” the woman asked.

“I saw your expression just now. And I’ve already had the feeling that something isn’t right. I thought maybe you felt it too, and that’s why you decided to consult the tarot cards.”

“You don’t ‘consult’ tarot cards. You perform a reading.”

“Sorry. I don’t know much about this kind of thing. I used the wrong term.”

The woman stared at Chen Nuo. “All right. I’ll tell you. I performed a tarot reading on our present circumstances. The cards said that we are in a situation of extreme danger.”

A chill ran down Chen Nuo’s back. He did not really believe in divination or fortune-telling. But what the woman had said matched his own feelings.

“What kind of extreme danger?” he asked.

“I don’t know.” The woman shook her head.

“The cards couldn’t tell you?”

“Usually, tarot cards offer relatively clear guidance. They might show what the danger is related to: water, fire, an earthquake, a typhoon, a car accident, or something like that. But this situation is very strange. The cards reveal only that we’re in extreme danger. They won’t show me what the danger actually is.”

“Why would that happen? Has this ever happened to you before?”

“Never. This is the first time. I can think of only two possible explanations.”

“What are they?”

“The first is that this is an unusual kind of danger that cannot be identified. The second is that we’re facing more than one danger.”

As she spoke, the woman’s face turned deathly pale. Her own conclusion had clearly frightened her.

Chen Nuo did not know what to say. Whether she was right or not, a shadow of fear had already fallen over him.

The woman stood. She had lost all appetite. To her, the mouthwatering food looked like stones transformed by some demon’s magic. She was about to leave the restaurant when she turned back to Chen Nuo.

“Believe me or don’t, but I have psychic abilities. My readings have never been wrong. Things are going to end badly for this group. Very few of us will make it out unharmed.”