The bonfires resembled stars, illuminating half the night sky.
Countless passengers lay on the ground, counting the stars in the night sky.
Some chatted and laughed with companions who came together, some absentmindedly stirred the bonfire, some looked around, unsure what they hoped to see in the fading lights.
Nervousness, or anticipation.
No one knew what tomorrow or the day after would be like.
Staying here for a while, would they be able to welcome a brand new future?
From this moment on, were they about to embrace a new life?
Hesitation, confusion, anticipation, excitement…
All sorts of emotions floated back and forth above the countless bonfires.
Pop.
Some sparks burst from the bonfire.
Law raised a stick, poking the remaining firewood.
"It's like a group camping trip," He said.
"Not at all like it."
Ging glanced around… only bonfires everywhere and people lying or sitting on the ground.
Call it camping, but this vast area had no tents in sight, only large clusters of tents visible in the far distance.
The bonfires and the tents seemed to delineate boundaries of poverty, status, and position.
Law smiled and didn't speak further, the firelight reflected in his eyes.
He wondered what Machi, in the same place, was doing now, and what she was thinking.
Was she, like him, watching the nearby bonfire, thinking of each other?
Thinking deeper this way, Law felt a pang of guilt. He couldn't help but glance at Ging, wondering how this guy could so calmly go out and wander around back then.
Sensing Law's gaze, Ging immediately showed dead fish eyes. Experienced, he silently turned his back to Law.
Seeing this, Law shook his head slightly, silently waiting for time to pass.
'By the way… why hasn't Kuro returned yet?'
'He only went to notify Biscuit, the round trip shouldn't take long.'
'Probably, that guy definitely wouldn't return until he was well-fed and content.'
Night deepened. People here used the ground as beds, the sky as blankets, gradually falling asleep.
The previously somewhat noisy night quickly became much quieter.
Law and Ging's bonfire still burned stubbornly. Neither of them felt sleepy, whispering some meaningless conversations.
Not long after, they both looked in a certain direction.
There, a trail of black smoke followed the ground, vaguely resembling a small black snake.
"This guy finally returns," Law stared at the winding black smoke… it was Kuro.
Kuro approached, returning to its original form but only the size of a fist, then lightly burped.
Indeed, it had eaten and drunk its fill before coming, because it wasn't stupid… it knew what the food situation would be like with Law.
Looking at the empty cans on the ground, it felt its decision was quite brilliant.
Law slapped Kuro on the head. Before Kuro could react, he directly said, "There's something for you to do."
"Don't you let people rest?!" Kuro's eyes widened.
"Less nonsense. You have one night to find Sheila's location."
"Fine, fine. But it's been so long since I last saw her, I'm not sure if I can recognize her."
"Ging."
Hearing this, Law looked at Ging.
Ging understood, raised his hand, and controlled his Aura to draw Sheila's portrait, demonstrating impressive control.
Kuro looked at the portrait Ging drew with Aura in mid-air, memorized it, then turned into black smoke again, heading in a certain direction.
After ordering Kuro to find Sheila, Law lay down and quickly entered light sleep. Ging did the same.
In this environment, they couldn't sleep deeply.
Elsewhere, the smoke-formed Kuro wandered around.
Although most people here were already asleep, finding Sheila among over a hundred thousand people still wasn't easy.
Fortunately, everyone was sitting or lying on the ground. If each person had a tent, Kuro would be searching until it puked blood.
One hour, two hours, three hours…
Kuro scanned part of the area, finding nothing.
'Let's check over there.'
Kuro, with its little brain, remembered the searched areas to avoid wasted effort.
Its smoke body hugged the ground, winding its way.
'Huh?'
Suddenly, Kuro abruptly stopped. Its snake-like smoke form instantly contracted into a ball, pressing close to the ground, looking towards a certain spot.
There, a bonfire with only a few remaining embers, around it lay seven or eight people, snoring in deep sleep.
"What is that thing?"
Kuro saw the shadows beside the bonfire trembling slightly.
Silver pupils manifested within the black smoke.
As the pupils contracted, they saw the shadow's true form… three small black snakes emerged from the bonfire's shadows, then headed towards the sleeping people nearby.
The small snakes burrowed into the sleeping people's clothes, emerged a moment later, then crawled towards another sleeping person.
Not long after, the three small snakes returned to the bonfire's side, burrowed into the shadows cast by the firelight, and instantly vanished.
Kuro cautiously observed the bonfire, patiently waited for a while. Finding nothing unusual, it checked the sleeping people nearby.
'Dead…'
Kuro investigated each in turn. All nine people lying around the bonfire were dead, their faces peaceful, having died silently in their sleep.
'It was those three snakes from earlier.'
Kuro looked at the bonfire again, but there was no trace of the black snakes, only the shadows cast by the faint firelight.
'Should I return to Law, or continue looking for Sheila?'
Kuro thought seriously for a moment. It didn't believe those black snakes emerging from shadows would pose a threat to Law and Ging. Plus, even if everyone here died, it was none of its concern. So it decided to continue heartlessly searching for Sheila.
A night passed. The morning sun rose.
Soon, commotion spread around the crowd.
Some had died, and not just a few.
Beside an extinguished bonfire, nine corpses lay quietly. Crowded around, people stared at the bodies, discussing among themselves.
"Move aside, all of you move aside!"
A rough voice came from outside the crowd. A troop of about twenty soldiers pushed through the crowd and entered.
The leader was a slightly overweight officer with a developing potbelly. After pushing through the crowd, he immediately roared at those around, "Think you're sardines in a can? All of you, scatter a bit!"
The surrounding people complied, stepping back a distance, no longer crowding together.
Only then did the slightly overweight officer crouch to examine the bodies. He quickly found obvious snakebite marks on the corpses' necks. However, not only was there no blood at the wound sites, but there were also no signs of poisoning.
'A clotting toxin?'
The slightly overweight officer frowned slightly, checked other corpses, and found the cause of death was the same for each.
Simultaneously, other troops arrived at other discovered corpses, determining the cause of death. All had obvious snakebite marks on their necks.
Information was quickly consolidated. The time of death was five hours ago, around 2 a.m. The total number of deceased was ninety-nine. The farthest distance between them was about two kilometers.
Connecting all locations where bodies were found, no pattern emerged… just scattered and chaotic. Moreover, no one on-site had seen any snake-like animals.
At a certain location, Law and Ging watched the distant sound of discussions.
"What do you think?" Law asked.
"Probably the perpetrators' doing," Ging replied.
"Then why ninety-nine, not nine hundred ninety-nine, or even more?" Law had some guesses.
"Very likely due to limitations."
"Yeah, I think so too. But the perpetrators are really daring," Law pinched his chin. Actually, as long as they didn't provoke them, it didn't matter much, as it had nothing to do with them.