The players on the paper boat exchanged uneasy glances, hesitantly saying, “Under normal circumstances, something should have happened to them by now, right?”
Someone chimed in, “Well, you did say ‘under normal circumstances.'”
C-level players weren’t strong enough to survive without oxygen. If the seawater flooded the room and those players inside failed to escape in time, the chances of survival were slim to none.
Thus, the three players inside were most likely doomed.
The long night dragged on, with stormy winds and torrential rain.
The paper boat swayed in the massive waves, rocking back and forth. Thankfully, it remained relatively stable, or the players aboard would’ve been seasick in no time.
“Ah Ji, your paper boat is amazing. Its stability rivals that of a cruise ship in the real world,” Ruan Yuan gave Lu Ji a big thumbs-up, earnestly praising her.
The other players nodded in agreement.
Lu Ji remained unfazed, pulling out some snacks like nuts from his inventory. He handed them to Gu Jiu. “Ah Jiu, these are all milky-flavored. Want to try some?”
A qualified “lover” had to take good care of his girl.
Although… she wasn’t his “girlfriend” just yet, she would be eventually! Lu Ji secretly looked forward to that day.
Gu Jiu gave her a warm smile and took the pine nuts she had already shelled for her, savoring them as if they were the most luxurious treat.
The others watched this interaction and couldn’t shake the feeling that it resembled a servant dutifully catering to a spoiled young lady. Yet, neither of the two seemed to notice—one was serving with genuine effort, while the other enjoyed it as if it were only natural.
The players huddled in the paper boat, keeping an eye on the situation outside while sharing clues they had gathered.
Tonight’s sudden island flooding had brought them all together, creating a rare opportunity for collaboration. Even the players who had been more guarded earlier couldn’t bring themselves to hold back after using someone else’s paper boat to save their lives.
Given the circumstances, teamwork seemed far more effective than going it alone.
Chen Younian said, “Based on the clues we have so far, the Fish-Face Monster’s power is growing. If we can stop it from collecting more body parts, we should be able to kill it while it’s still weak.”
The truth of this game world wasn’t hard to uncover. Anyone with half a brain could connect the butler’s mentions of the “Sea God” with the Fish-Face Monster from their dreams. It wasn’t hard to figure out that the Fish-Face Monster was luring players into its trials to help it gather its missing body parts.
“But we need it to show itself first,” Ge Guang added.
Everyone nodded. If the Fish-Face Monster kept hiding, there wasn’t much they could do.
After learning that Gu Jiu and her team had attacked the Fish-Face Monster in their dream but couldn’t kill it, the group understood that the key to defeating it lay in the real world.
Someone asked in confusion, “Where do you think it’s hiding?”
“We could ask the butler,” Qi Yuheng suddenly suggested.
The players in the paper boat turned to him, skeptical. “Ask him? The butler’s practically a fanatical devotee of the Fish-Face Monster. There’s no way an NPC like him would spill anything useful.”
Qi Yuheng smiled faintly. “I’ll have a way when the time comes.”
He didn’t elaborate, leaving the players puzzled. But since they weren’t close enough to pry, they could only speculate in silence. Did he have some sort of item that could force NPCs to reveal the truth? Such items were incredibly rare and definitely not something a C-level player could afford. Was Qi Yuheng relying on family connections too?
After finalizing their plan, the players waited patiently for dawn.
During the latter half of the night, the storm intensified. Torrential rain poured down, and the sea roared, tossing the paper boat like a lone leaf in the wind and rain, always on the verge of being shredded by the relentless forces of nature.
The players inside the boat were increasingly worried about whether the fragile vessel could withstand such a terrifying natural disaster.
They nervously pressed their hands against the boat’s walls, feeling the thin, delicate paper. Their concern wasn’t unfounded.
Even Ruan Yuan and her team felt uneasy but forced themselves to appear confident in Lu Ji’s craftsmanship.
Fortunately, the paper boat held strong. It weathered the storm and violent waves without breaking, safely carrying the group through the dangerous night.
As dawn approached, the storm gradually abated, and the seawater began to recede. By the time the first light of morning broke over the horizon, the floodwaters had dropped below the villa, revealing its outline.
Thanks to Ge Guang’s clever use of a special nylon rope tied to the villa’s rooftop structure, the paper boat hadn’t drifted far with the tide. It remained near the villa, swaying gently. The nylon rope, tied securely to the boat, stretched and contracted with the waves, its flexibility proving invaluable.
The seawater retreated astonishingly quickly, taking less than half an hour to drain away entirely. The villa, once submerged, now stood intact, and the black coastal rocks emerged once again from the depths of the ocean.
The storm had completely subsided.
Apart from a light drizzle still falling on their faces, there was no trace of the tempest from the previous night.
The paper boat gently landed near a forest close to the villa.
Everyone agreed that the situation wasn’t too bad. At least they were still near the villa and didn’t have to hike back from a distant location.
They stepped off the boat, which immediately began to shrink. It collapsed into a soft, soggy heap in the water, clearly unusable anymore. Nevertheless, the players marveled at its magic, wishing they had a paper boat of their own.
Under the morning light, the players, who had gone sleepless through the night, still looked fairly energetic.
Gu Jiu stretched, loosening her joints, and said, “Let’s head back to the villa first and take a look.”
No one objected. With a rough plan in place, their next step was to check if the butler was still in the villa. Ideally, they could capture him and force him to reveal the Sea God’s location.
—
Twenty minutes later, they arrived at the villa.
The villa’s front door was wide open. Despite being submerged in seawater all night, the interior was spotless, with no trace of water damage. It was as if the villa had been surrounded by a vacuum barrier, impervious to the sea’s intrusion.
But that, of course, was impossible.
Gu Jiu distinctly remembered seeing seawater flooding in through the windows the previous night. If they had stayed inside, the room would undoubtedly have been submerged, forcing them to escape.
The only plausible explanation was that the villa had some kind of self-repair function, capable of restoring itself no matter how severe the damage.
As they stepped inside, they heard footsteps from upstairs, followed by bursts of laughter.
A moment later, two burly men descended the stairs, clinging to each other affectionately. Their intimacy was palpable, with arms draped around each other, whispering and laughing as they came down.
The sight of these two men left the players stunned. For a moment, they couldn’t determine whether the men were alive or dead—or if they had somehow been protected from harm after consuming the Sea God’s sashimi the night before.
Just then, strange noises came from upstairs again.
A sweet, coquettish voice rang out.
“Sister Shu, be careful on the stairs. Let me help you down.”
“Oh, Brother Wang, you’re so wonderful. I really love you~~”
“I love you too~~”
“…”
The group collectively froze, their faces filled with astonishment, and turned abruptly toward the staircase.
If they weren’t mistaken, they had just overheard a conversation—two voices, to be exact. The male voice was unmistakably that of the Brother Wang, but the other voice? It was nothing like the former “Sister Shu,” the female player. Yet, Wang seemed utterly oblivious.
Under the players’ watchful gazes, the two figures finally emerged from the staircase.
Wang was holding a “girl’s” hand as they descended. Judging by the figure, it seemed to be a woman, but when they saw her face—what the hell, that was the Fish-Face Monster!
The Fish-Face Monster had appeared in the real world!
The players immediately sprang into action.
“What are you trying to do to Sister Shu? Let her go, or I’ll kill you!” Wang roared, his expression fierce. Without hesitation, he drew a steel needle tool and charged at the players who had restrained the Fish-Face Monster.
The players, however, had the advantage in numbers and weren’t intimidated. Three of them quickly stepped forward and subdued Wang. Ge Guang swiftly tied him up using the special nylon rope.
The Fish-Face Monster was also bound with the same rope.
Watching how neither Wang nor the Fish-Face Monster could break free no matter how hard they struggled, Gu Jiu grew curious about the rope and asked Ge Guang where he got it.
Ge Guang chuckled and replied, “I bought it from a props shop in Boundless City! Little trinkets like this aren’t expensive. You can get one for just 100 points. It’s perfect for tying up people or objects. Much better than anything from the real world—it’s almost impossible to escape from.”
He grinned and patted the bound Wang-player on the shoulder with satisfaction.
Wang, however, unleashed a torrent of curses. “You bunch of %￥##! What are you planning to do to Sister Shu? You’ll have to step over my dead body before I let you harm her!”
The Fish-Face Monster cowered behind him, silent as ever.
The players ignored Wang’s outbursts, their attention focused on the Fish-Face Monster.
“Is this the Sea God?”
“It looks so weak. Probably not, right?”
“If it isn’t, then what is it?”
“Some kind of avatar of the Sea God?”
Gu Jiu cast a sharp glance at the Fish-Face Monster and quickly noticed something unusual about the two silent burly men. She immediately spoke up, “Stop them!”
“Don’t let them leave!”
Qi Yuheng’s voice followed hers. The two exchanged a brief glance and instantly understood each other’s intentions.
Ge Guang, Ruan Yuan, and Lu Haidi reacted swiftly. They moved toward the two burly men while Ruan Yuan closed the door just in time. Ge Guang and Lu Haidi engaged the pair in combat.
Though the two men had become “love-struck fools” thanks to the Sea God’s sashimi, their strength remained formidable. Ge Guang and Lu Haidi found themselves outmatched. In the end, it took the combined efforts of the other players to subdue them.
The two were also securely tied up with the nylon rope.
Ge Guang and Lu Haidi were visibly shaken. They hadn’t expected the two men to be so strong. If they hadn’t been rendered “love-addled” by the sashimi, these two might have been the players’ most powerful assets.
Unfortunately, they now stood against the players, serving as accomplices to the Sea God.
While there was a general rule against players attacking one another, exceptions existed for those under the control of a game-world boss. These individuals, having lost their sanity, paid no heed to the rules and posed a significant threat to the players.
At this point, aside from the still-unconscious Skinny Monkey, the other three players who had eaten the sashimi were all tied up, along with the mysterious Fish-Face Monster.
Qi Yuheng stepped forward, standing before the four bound figures, his brows furrowed as he stared at them.
The group watched him in silence, unsure of what he intended to do, refraining from interrupting.
Gu Jiu observed Qi Yuheng thoughtfully, a guess forming in her mind about his innate abilities.
After a long pause, Qi Yuheng spoke: “They’re planning to go to the beach today to search for the Sea God’s bones… This Fish-Face Monster isn’t the Sea God, but it’s related to the Sea God.”
“What kind of relationship?” someone asked.
“Something like a follower,” Qi Yuheng replied.
“Like the butler?” Ge Guang inquired.
Qi Yuheng nodded slowly, his brows still tightly knit.
The group was taken aback. Watching Qi Yuheng uncover so much information about the four captives without any apparent effort or the use of props, a chill ran through them. Almost instinctively, they took a step back, worried that he might also read something from them.
This man clearly hadn’t used any items, which meant his abilities stemmed from a rare awakened talent. He had likely awakened a Spirit Seed ability, a talent highly coveted and exceedingly rare among players. While it inspired envy, it also made others wary—no one wanted their secrets exposed.
Qi Yuheng ignored their reactions, his exhaustion evident as he sat on the sofa. Ge Guang immediately moved to serve him tea and water with the eagerness of a loyal attendant.
Ruan Yuan, glancing at the visibly uneasy players, broke the silence. “What’s our next move?”
“Of course, we’re going to look for the Sea God’s bones,” Gu Jiu replied with a faint smile.
All eyes turned to her.
Gu Jiu elaborated, “Leave a few people here to keep watch over them. Make sure they don’t escape. The rest of us will head to the beach to look for bones—any bones. Bring them all back.”
The players exchanged glances and ultimately decided to follow her lead.
Though Qi Yuheng’s abilities made them uneasy, they had to admit they were beneficial to their mission. Once they pushed past their discomfort, they could appreciate how valuable his skills were in the game world.
Finally, seven players set off to search for bones, while five stayed behind at the villa to guard the four captives and the Fish-Face Monster.
—
Currently, there were sixteen surviving players in total. Four had eaten the sashimi and lost their rationality, leaving twelve fully conscious players. For now, only these twelve could contribute to the mission.
Gu Jiu, accompanied by Lu Ji, Ruan Yuan, Lu Haidi, and three other players, left the villa to search for the bones.
As they departed, the butler was still nowhere to be seen.
“Normally, at this time, the villa’s butler would have appeared to issue the day’s trial. Why hasn’t he shown up today? Do you think he’s not coming at all?” Ruan Yuan speculated.
“Definitely not,” Lu Haidi chimed in, agreeing with his girlfriend. “We’ve already uncovered the Sea God’s true identity. There’s no point in him issuing more trials, so he’s probably just skipping it altogether.”
To be fair, this was only their fourth day in the game. The time spent here wasn’t particularly long, but the players had been unusually quick to react and had immediately restrained the Fish-Face Monster when it first appeared. This had likely disrupted the Sea God’s plans.
If the game world had a plotline, it was now so broken it would be unrecognizable to its own creator.
Gu Jiu remarked, “That’s thanks to Qi Yuheng. Once he revealed what those players were planning to do today, it didn’t matter whether the butler showed up or not.”
Indeed, with the players already ahead of the game, the butler NPC might as well skip his appearance altogether.
Everyone nodded, agreeing that Qi Yuheng had contributed significantly.