The beef jerky that Hashimoto Kazuo was about to put in his mouth slipped directly from his hand and fell to the ground.

He stared at the small black dog before him with extreme shock.

If he remembered correctly, dogs could eat beef jerky without getting poisoned.

So this little dog's current condition must definitely be due to poisoning.

"Is the beef jerky poisoned?" (Japanese)

Hashimoto Kazuo crouched down, carefully examining the small dog's corpse.

He noticed the dog had quite a bit of vomit and a large area of drool, and beyond that, its eyes were extremely bright red.

Based on the dog's reaction after eating the beef jerky.

Hashimoto Kazuo suspected the beef jerky had been laced with cyanide poison.

Thinking this, he immediately turned around, his eyes scanning like radar for the little girl who had just sold him the beef jerky.

But.

The white little girl had long disappeared without a trace.

"Did she poison it? Or was it someone else?" (Japanese)

Hashimoto Kazuo resealed the beef jerky in his hand, then threw both the jerky and that pack of cigarettes directly into the sea by the pier.

Then he returned to the small dog's corpse, called over several staff members to handle the body, and warned them to be careful as the dog might have been poisoned by cyanide.

He even paid out of his own pocket, giving each of the three staff members five hundred US dollars to bury the dog's body on the island.

After all, this little dog had accidentally saved his life.

If not for this dog eating the cyanide-laced beef jerky, the person lying dead on the ground right now would be him.

So burying this little dog was something he felt he should do.

After instructing the three staff members, seeing that the line of people boarding the ship was getting shorter, Hashimoto Kazuo quickly pulled his suitcase and boarded.

After boarding and as the ship started moving, Hashimoto Kazuo was still watching the situation at the pier.

He saw the three staff members, following his instructions, using a small cart to pull the dog away to find some soil to bury it.

Hashimoto Kazuo thought to himself that if he hadn't paid them, these three would have definitely just thrown the dog's body into the sea.

Just as he turned to leave the stern of the ship.

Suddenly he saw that white little girl appear again on the pier.

But this white little girl who had reappeared, on her delicate, pretty face.

That cute smile was gone.

Replaced by an extremely sinister smile.

She was waving goodbye to Hashimoto Kazuo.

Hashimoto Kazuo didn't find it endearing at all, only realizing that his clothes were sticking to his back.

They had been soaked through with sweat.

"I'm never coming back to this island again. It was supposed to be over, yet I almost capsized in a ditch."

Hashimoto Kazuo decided that after returning to Cherry Blossom Country this time, he would end his money-making journey at Alice Apartment.

Being killed by someone with weapons like knives or something.

He didn't find that particularly concerning.

After all, those could be guarded against.

But this kind of poisoning was his first encounter.

He was scared.

Afraid of dying in such an unclear manner.

"Better to find an Asian girl to marry and have a yellow-skinned little girl."

"Oh, I remember, last time my relative introduced me to a Chinese girl who came from Hua Country to work in Cherry Blossom Country..."

The ship gradually sailed farther away.

Under a shelter somewhere on Macedonia Island.

From here, one could just see the departing ship, though rather blurrily.

Under the shelter, one person and one dog.

The dog was a Cherry Blossom Country Wolf Blue.

Its fur had plenty of blood.

Some its own, some human.

And beside it stood a person.

None other than Manager Xiao Zhang.

That massive fire.

Mark had been burned alive.

Although he didn't die, his entire body had been severely burned.

Especially during the following days with high fever and bacterial infection, it nearly killed him.

However, heaven didn't abandon him.

He survived.

He touched his face, currently three-quarters burned away.

His mouth emitted a demon's whisper:

"Little Jiang Ran, we'll meet again soon. You must not forget me!"

...

Currently, on the ship.

The main people were as follows:

Jiang Ran, Fang Xiao, Hashimoto Kazuo, Wannara, Natasha, Roman.

Zhou Yan, Zhou Yan's boyfriend Li Miguo, Li Miguo's classmate and friend Jimmy.

Su Yang, and his one male and four female classmates and friends who were international students.

Xiao Hua's ex-boyfriend.

Of course, there were many other people on the ship.

But four of the ten lab rats, along with the three from Xiao Q's group, Xiao Hua and others, had their lives permanently frozen on that island.

The ship sailed for six or seven hours, arriving in the afternoon at Wilson Island which had an airport.

After staying on Wilson Island for three days.

Jiang Ran and the others each boarded their respective flights, beginning their journey home.

The plane tickets, ship tickets, hotel fees for Jiang Ran and these lab rats returning were naturally reimbursed by someone, just like when they came, all free.

The plane flew for a long time, until the next day around 10 AM.

Jiang Ran finally got off the plane and exited the airport.

Breathing the air of Nancheng City.

The air here was somewhat unpleasant.

Too heavy with dust, industrial smells, and such.

He often heard people say that the moon abroad was rounder than at home.

Jiang Ran didn't believe it.

But after this trip out, he wasn't sure about rounder, but the air quality was definitely better abroad than at home.

After all, the domestic population was too large, with millions of people in a single city.

While abroad, in cities like those in Maple Country, there were only a hundred thousand people or so.

It would be strange if the air quality wasn't better.

After leaving the airport, he prepared to use his phone to call a rideshare home.

But just as he pulled out his phone, a message happened to arrive.

Originally Jiang Ran wanted to swipe it away, but what he glimpsed in that instant made him have to tap into it.

It was a bank card text message.

Not a deduction, nor an advertisement.

But money deposited.

The sender was You Sha Qi Comics.

The amount transferred - he counted three times, and if he wasn't mistaken, it should be exactly 450,000 yuan transferred to him.

A full 450,000 yuan!

Receiving such a huge sum naturally made Jiang Ran happy.

But after the happiness, he felt somewhat uneasy.

Because regarding this payment and last month's 350,000 yuan royalty payment.

He felt the two had similarities.

He opened the You Sha Qi Comics app on his phone.

Found the original host's work "Love Abyss."

He saw that Spring Has Come, Summer Has Come Too had been tipping this work almost every day.

Jiang Ran looked, then opened the browser, clicked the desktop version website.

Using his phone, he logged into the You Sha Qi Comics author backend.

In the income section, he saw the specific source of the 450,000 yuan royalty.

Sure enough, it was all from work tips.

If correct, it was all tipped by that reader Spring Has Come, Summer Has Come Too.

Seeing this, Jiang Ran stood frozen in place for a long time.

Then, he went back into You Sha Qi Comics.

Currently his logged-in account was the original host's author account.

He directly went under that original host's debut work, the completely failed work "Love Abyss."

Mentioned that female reader Spring Has Come, Summer Has Come Too.

Left this passage of text:

[Thank you so much for your support and love, but please really stop tipping! You've already tipped more than enough!

I'm truly very grateful to you!

Please spend the money on yourself!

If you really like this work, just give me free "powered by love" support!

Thank you so much!!!]

Jiang Ran left this passage of text.

He indeed needed money and liked money.

But this kind of massive tipping, he really felt uneasy holding it.

Especially since he knew that nowadays, earning money wasn't easy.

He truly didn't want this reader to spend so extravagantly like this anymore.