Chapter 874: The Simple Town of Cassetti
Following the direction Old Zheng had pointed out earlier, Lin Yu quickly found "Cassetti."
It was a town situated in the center of the Sixth Island, and the architectural style bore some resemblance to the Thirty-Seventh Island asylum Lin Yu had seen before.
The gray houses cast from cement were square and boxy, like a collection of crates pieced together. Most of the exterior walls were somewhat dilapidated, with cracks patched over using some kind of white powder - probably the bone meal Old Zheng had mentioned earlier that the Sixth Island was known for producing.
A new, low brick wall had been built around the town - the bricks used for the wall were all different sizes and irregular in appearance, as if they had been stripped directly from some collapsed houses.
Lin Yu walked around the brick wall and found the entrance to "Cassetti."
There was no grand gate; the brick wall simply ended at a certain point, forming a gap that served as the doorway.
Lin Yu walked through the gap, and then he saw the residents of "Cassetti" - though they were basically recognizable as humanoid, they still had certain differences from humans.
Several tall, thin residents covered entirely in scales were walking between the buildings.
They noticed Lin Yu strolling in boldly, but they only gave him a glance and didn't make any further moves.
Although Lin Yu's form was completely different from theirs, they seemed accustomed to visits from strange creatures like him.
After all...
On the Misty Islands, every species looked wildly different from the others, so as long as someone wasn't from your own clan, they appeared bizarre and misshapen.
Especially on a major island like the Sixth, visitors from other islands were common, so naturally, the locals had grown used to seeing people who "weren't from their own clan."
However, even though these scaled individuals ignored Lin Yu, Lin Yu took the initiative to approach them.
"Excuse me, excuse me."
Lin Yu walked up to a scaled person who looked relatively friendly and struck up a conversation.
The scaled person turned to Lin Yu, a puzzled expression on its face.
"What's the matter?"
"I'm looking for the island lord of this island."
Lin Yu stated his purpose directly.
The scaled person's face showed surprise: "Island lord? What island lord?"
"I've lived here for over sixty years, and I've never heard of any island lord!"
Lin Yu considered the other's words for a moment, then spoke again: "Then who's the one in charge here?"
The scaled person burst out laughing: "Which island are you from? You must be from one of the smaller numbered islands! You're so inexperienced!"
"Our Sixth Island is nothing like yours. We've never had anyone in charge. Everyone here makes their own decisions."
As it spoke, the scaled person looked at Lin Yu and sized him up again: "Don't go asking others these kinds of questions anymore. It'll make you look... not very smart."
Hearing the scaled person's words - which seemed free of malice but were all the more irritating for it - Lin Yu smiled.
"Thanks for the advice, but..."
The next moment, Lin Yu suddenly lunged, grabbing the scaled person by its scale-covered neck and slamming it against the wall.
Then, he pulled out the [Three-Minute Lie Detector] and the [Guaranteed-Hit Revolver].
The lie detector was flashing red, proving that everything the scaled person had said since the beginning was a lie.
The revolver pressed against its eye socket, ensuring the other party wouldn't dare tell another lie.
"You think you can screw with me? Do you know who I am?"
Lin Yu said fiercely, cocking the hammer of the revolver.
"Do you recognize this thing, you pleb?"
The scaled person nodded frantically.
"Playing your little tricks on other people is whatever, since that's just the nature of you worthless creatures," Lin Yu let out a breath, "but I'm asking you about serious business, trying to find your boss - can you afford to delay your boss's affairs?"
As Lin Yu spoke, the scaled person shook its head frantically again.
Seeing the scaled person's terrified demeanor, Lin Yu nodded with satisfaction.
"Good. Looks like you've got the picture now."
"Next, answer my questions truthfully - if you lie to me again, I'll blow your head open, chop it off, and find someone else to ask. After all, you've got plenty of companions here, and with your head as a warning, their chances of lying should drop considerably."
The scaled person nodded vigorously.
Lin Yu was even more satisfied: "Good. Then I'll start asking, and you start answering..."
As he spoke, the scaled person began shaking its head again.
"The hell are you shaking your head for? You think I'm giving you prep time?"
"Tell me, where exactly does your boss live!"
As Lin Yu spoke, the scaled person kept shaking its head vigorously.
"You're pretty stubborn, huh? Think staying silent means you're not lying? If you refuse to answer my questions, I'll blow your head off just the same!"
"What, you got some real loyalty to the one in charge here or something?"
As Lin Yu spoke, the scaled person shook its head frantically again, and pushed at Lin Yu's hand gripping its neck.
Lin Yu paused for a moment, then released his grip.
The scaled person gasped for air: "Bro, bro... you're squeezing my vocal cords, how am I supposed to talk?!"
Lin Yu was exasperated: "How was I supposed to know your anatomy? I'm not the same species as you."
As he said this, the scaled person in front of him flashed a cunning smile.
"Oh, is that so? Then..."
"Whoosh!"
The scales on its body suddenly gleamed with a strange light, then shifted in color to almost perfectly match the gray of the wall behind it. Its entire figure seemed to nearly vanish from sight.
Then, Lin Yu felt the other's body suddenly twist and slither like a snake, slipping right out of his grasp.
Just as he was about to grab it, a blinding white light flashed before his eyes, cutting off his vision.
"Sayonara, sucker!"
The scaled person's voice echoed from all directions, sounding quite pleased with itself.
But with his vision dazzled and his ears unable to pinpoint the direction of the sound, Lin Yu calmly drew his dagger and stabbed hard toward his right front.
The white light faded, and Lin Yu watched as the scaled person, now with one hand pinned to the ground by his blade, reappeared in view, wailing in agony.
"Ahh - ahh -!"
Lin Yu crouched down, planting one foot on the dagger and pressing down slightly, driving the blade a little deeper.
Then, he spoke calmly.
"You thought I was joking with you? Looks to me like you've really got a death wish."
The scaled person's eyes were filled with boundless terror.
"Y-y-y-y-you... how did you find me?"
"I'm on the Misty Islands. You think I can only track people with my eyes and ears?" Lin Yu sighed. "Your active little mind is about as obvious to me as the glow of a phone hidden under a desk in a late-night study hall during a blackout."
"Anyway, I'll give you one last chance: where exactly is the one in charge around here?"