I Became the Alchemy Master by Picking Up Trash-Chapter 272 - 270: Ring Reef Island

The Ring Reef Island is one of the thousands of satellite islands near Haiwei Castle. Due to its surrounding sea area being covered with a vast coral reef, it forms a circular barrier that blocks all large sea beasts.

With its beautiful clear waters and warm, pleasant climate, Ring Reef Island has become one of the most popular vacation destinations on the entire Qianyuan Continent, attracting billions of tourists each year for diving.

Thanks to its booming tourism, the high per capita GDP allows the government the capability and willingness to invest heavily in municipal development. So, don’t be fooled by Ring Reef Island being just an auxiliary island of the Upper City—though its area is less than one-third of a Lower City, the facilities are complete, and it has advanced Teleportation Ports directly accessible from each Upper City.

Stepping out of the Teleportation Port, Cui Tian smiled as he took a deep breath of the salty air, feeling greatly satisfied in body and mind.

"Ahhh—! No matter how many times I come, the sea breeze of Ring Reef Island always relaxes me!"

Ye Qingting tugged at his collar: "It’s so hot. Let’s go to the hotel first and change clothes."

The streets were full of T-shirts, shorts, and bikinis, and yet the four of them were in long-sleeved shirts and pants, completely out of place with the island’s vacation style.

Cui Tian smiled: "Yes, yes, yes! Change clothes, then eat and drink to our fill, then go diving!"

Qi Ming shouted excitedly: "Yay—! I’ve never been diving before, Sister Xing, do you know how? If you do, teach me!"

Before Li Xing could respond, Cui Tian smiled and objected: "Xiao Ming, what’s the matter with you? Do you really need Xing Er to teach you, just follow me!"

"No way, you can’t hold your breath as long as Sister Xing, I don’t trust you to teach me."

"Are you dumb? Diving uses a respirator, holding your breath is irrelevant!"

"..."

The four of them bickered as they headed toward Ocean View Hotel, the most luxurious hotel on Ring Reef Island, owned by Cui Tian’s uncle Chen Hourong. Hearing they were coming to have fun, Chen Hourong had specially reserved four luxury rooms for them, with free accommodation and meals.

In an abandoned alleyway on Ring Reef Island, a man in sunglasses and a hood desperately ran forward, slapping the doors of the alleys’ houses as he passed. Unfortunately, all the shops in the area were closed and the doors were locked, leaving him no place to hide.

Exhausted, the hooded man finally collapsed onto a pile of construction debris, panting heavily.

"Tap—tap—"

Footsteps echoed slowly through the alley, each step seeming to pound on the hooded man’s heart, filling him with dread.

Soon, a young man with brown hair and blue eyes emerged from the shadows of the alley, appearing before the hooded man.

The brown-haired man chuckled upon seeing the hooded man’s sorry state.

"Long time no see, City Lord Xue. Your face looks more haggard than before. What’s wrong, not sleeping well lately?"

Though his appearance had changed beyond recognition, the cold, sinister voice immediately alerted Xue Han to the brown-haired man’s identity.

"Lin Yin! How is it you?"

Lin Yin shrugged nonchalantly, saying, "Why is it strange that I’m here? You were once a City Lord; your mind and abilities are beyond ordinary people’s. Sending someone else to take your life might have failed, so the Sect Hierarch sent me!"

"I don’t even know where I slipped up, that made Yang Zhou suspicious, tracking me 24-7. If it weren’t for the disguise mask given by the Sect Hierarch, I wouldn’t have gotten out."

Lin Yin, seeing Xue Han’s pale face, revealed a cruel smirk: "Look, even with a tail on you, I still found a way to track you down. Given I value you so much, why not let me kill you quickly so I can report back, and you suffer less—it’s a win-win!"

Xue Han had earlier purchased an unmarked island on maps as his escape route. The island was not far from Ring Reef Island, accessible by boat in ten days. But just as he thought he’d escaped to freedom, Lin Yin caught up to him.

Being so close to freedom, only to see it vanish, was undoubtedly the greatest regret.

After devoting his life to the Zhuxian Sect, even when exposed, he hadn’t thought of revealing the sect’s secrets. Yet Mingzhen didn’t even leave him a way out, even sending someone to kill him!

Xue Han knew how formidable Lin Yin was, and in his present state, he stood no chance against Lin Yin in a fight.

Being faced with the destruction of hope before his eyes, Xue Han’s resentment towards Mingzhen and the Zhuxian Sect reached its peak.

"You can kill me, but I want to die knowing. How did you find me?"

Xue Han had disposed of his Light Brain and all electronic devices, avoided contact with people, and exchanged Energy Stones for even purchases. He couldn’t fathom where he had given away his position.

Lin Yin flashed a sinister smile: "City Lord Xue, I’ll admit you’re ruthless. You blinded yourself immediately after being exposed, escaping the Sect Hierarch’s spying techniques."

"But your mistake was extorting Energy Stones from Chu Yu, who is just a petty hypocrite. You demanded so much money, and with his vindictive nature, you think he’d let you go?"

"In the stuff Chu Yu gave you, there was a locator disguised as an Energy Stone." Lin Yin laughed, opening his Light Brain screen to reveal a map of the alley, with a flashing red dot at the garbage pile, exactly where Xue Han was.

"With this locator, you’re like a lice on a bald head. How could I not find you? Hahaha!"

Hearing Lin Yin’s explanation, the veins on Xue Han’s forehead bulged high. He, who hunted others daily, was actually betrayed by the same prey—a lesson! If possible, he would have loved to rush to Tianyi City and tear Chu Yu apart.

Lin Yin took two steps forward, his sinister voice ringing again: "City Lord Xue, any last questions? If not, I’ll be starting."

Xue Han clenched his fists, his blind eyes staring hard at Lin Yin. After a moment, he seemed to lose all strength and lowered his head in defeat.

"Go ahead, give me a clean exit."

"Don’t worry, I’m known for my swiftness in killing."

Now like a fish on a chopping block, Xue Han resigned himself to Lin Yin, who quickly stepped forward, placing his hand on Xue Han’s chest.

Just as Lin Yin was about to unleash the Dark Elemental Spirit to siphon Xue Han’s life force, Xue Han suddenly waved his hand, throwing a large cloud of red powder into Lin Yin’s face.

The powder was highly corrosive, instantly melting the mask on Lin Yin’s face, revealing his true skin underneath. The bare skin on his neck and hands, burned by the powder, erupted into large pus-filled blisters, causing unbearable pain.

"Ahhhhh—! Damn it, I’ll kill you!" Lin Yin let out a horrific scream, stumbling backward while clutching his neck.

The two were extremely close just now, and Xue Han inadvertently inhaled some of the powder too, feeling a burning pain in his windpipe. But he had no time to waste and quickly slipped through another alley behind the garbage heap to escape.

Lin Yin, enduring the excruciating pain, grabbed a bottle of advanced antidote and drank it. The medicine quickly took effect, slightly alleviating the pain, and the blisters on his neck and hands stopped growing.

"Huff—huff—!"

Lin Yin panted heavily, violently tearing off his now-molten mask, and chased down the alley.

Curse you, Xue Han! Dare to use tricks against me, I’ll make sure you endure the utmost torment before you die!