Chapter 99: Hopeless Sea (23) Winner

In the evening, the dinner table was once again covered with fish meat reeking of fishiness. Eight players sat in the center of the hall, silently eating with their bowls and chopsticks.

Liu Yuhan quickly scooped seaweed into her bowl. This was the only dish she felt safe eating and was willing to swallow.

Perhaps because there were fewer competitors, the amount of seaweed she managed to grab this time filled almost half a bowl. She silently put the coarse, salty, and fishy seaweed into her mouth, catching a glimpse of Zhang Hongfeng eating beside her.

The man had been working all day and was clearly starving. At this moment, he continuously picked up piece after piece of fish meat with his chopsticks, stuffing them into his mouth and chewing voraciously, lost in the act.

He didn’t even have time to spit out the bones, chewing roughly a few times before swallowing the flesh and bone whole, then reaching for a new piece of fish as if afraid someone would snatch it away.

Liu Yuhan frowned slightly and reached out to tug the man’s sleeve. “Uncle Zhang, stop eating. We have enough feathers already. There’s no need to eat more fish.”

Zhang Hongfeng’s movements paused for a moment, but his right hand still tightly gripped the chopsticks. “I’m so hungry. Just let me eat a little…”

“Uncle Zhang, if you’re hungry, eat the seaweed,” Liu Yuhan pushed her bowl toward the man. “We can leave tomorrow. Just bear with it a little longer.”

Zhang Hongfeng’s cloudy eyes rolled halfway around in their sockets before landing on the small amount of seaweed in the bowl. He tentatively picked up a strand with his chopsticks, sucked on it in his mouth, then spat it out with a “pfft, pfft.” “It doesn’t taste good. The meat is better…”

This state is definitely not normal… Liu Yuhan frowned and looked at the other players, her gaze falling on the long-haired girl directly opposite her.

The girl with the delicate makeup was also stuffing fish meat into her mouth. Her small oral cavity was packed full, her cheeks puffed out, and her pretty face was stretched and twisted into a bizarre mess.

Sensing Liu Yuhan’s gaze, the girl’s throat moved, swallowing the fish meat in her mouth. She stared straight at Liu Yuhan. “Aren’t you eating? If you don’t, the Sea God will be angry.”

Liu Yuhan said word by word, “I eat seaweed.”

“Seaweed doesn’t taste good.” The girl scraped the fish meat that had spilled from the corner of her mouth with her finger, stuffing the yellowish-white crumbs back in strand by strand, her tongue licking the oily corners of her lips. “This fish meat is so fresh, aren’t you going to try it?”

Her words were full of temptation. Liu Yuhan felt the hunger she had managed to suppress surge up again, more intense than before.

But how could the fish meat taste good? It was clearly salty and fishy… The short man picked up a large piece of fish meat, put it in his mouth, smacked his lips twice, and his eyes narrowed in ecstasy. “Sister Liu, you should eat some too. It’s not fishy anymore, really, it’s not fishy this time.”

More and more players reached their chopsticks towards the fish meat on the table, eating with relish, occasionally looking at Liu Yuhan with strange eyes, seemingly wondering why she hadn’t touched the delicious fish meat.

Liu Yuhan felt as if she were surrounded by Ghosts, the only human in the dark night.

Everyone had been eating together, and she hadn’t missed a single meal to set an example. Why had something inexplicably happened to everyone else?

Could it be that in the later stages of the instance, more death points and crises surged up all at once, and the game started killing people randomly?

Liu Yuhan looked at Lu Li, intending to discuss their assessment of the situation.

Lu Li, however, also picked up a piece of fish meat with his chopsticks, slowly putting it into his mouth, and smiled with downcast eyes. “Yuhan, aren’t you curious about the taste of fish that used to be human? You can’t eat this outside.”

The calm words were filled with a bloodthirsty implication. Liu Yuhan frowned slightly, retrieving a life-saving item from her inventory and holding it in her hand.

【Name: Script Full of Erasure Marks】

【Type: Item (Consumable, Bound, Non-transferable)】

【Effect: Forcibly exit the instance, erase clearance record】

【Note: What to do when facing danger or reaching a dead end? It’s simple, just change the script.】

“The game will be over soon.” Lu Li put down his chopsticks, took a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe the corners of his lips, and looked up at Liu Yuhan. “You won’t be able to eat such delicious fish meat again.”

Liu Yuhan silently put the crumpled script back into her inventory.

Yes, the game was about to end. There was no need to panic like this.

Besides, if she left by herself, what would happen to Zhang Hongfeng?

…The entire fish feast was quickly devoured. Bai Yanduan burped, wiped his mouth with his hand, and, satisfied with his meal, staggered up the stairs.

Reason told him that the fish on the table was problematic and eating too much was bad; yet, the fish meat tasted so good that once he took a bite, he could never forget it… It’s fine, the boat is built anyway, and there are plenty of feathers. He would clear the instance tomorrow. What harm was there in indulging a little before leaving? Bai Yanduan comforted himself, vaguely hearing light footsteps coming from behind him.

He was startled and turned back abruptly, seeing the long-haired girl with delicate makeup smiling at him, her voice sweet and sticky. “Yanduan, how about we sleep together tonight? We’re about to part ways, and maybe we’ll never meet again…”

“Ruoxi?” Bai Yanduan called the girl’s name uncertainly.

He clearly remembered they had only known each other for a day, merely cooperating to explore the Clock Tower once. They were far from being intimate. Was this the Suspension Bridge Effect? Was love more easily sparked in dangerous environments?

“Yanduan, please?” Xu Ruoxi suddenly pressed herself against him, hugging Bai Yanduan’s arm.

Bai Yanduan had never been in a relationship in reality, nor had he ever spoken more than ten consecutive sentences to a member of the opposite sex. Being treated like this by a girl for the first time, his ears felt hot, and his heart pounded uncontrollably.

He recalled his interactions with Xu Ruoxi; their values aligned, their conversations were pleasant, and their work and family situations in reality were similar… It seemed like they might actually be a suitable match?

While he hesitated, Xu Ruoxi, acting overly familiar, pulled him into the room, shut the door behind her, and flipped around to press him against the wall.

“Gulp.” Bai Yanduan heard the sound of swallowing saliva, but it didn’t come from himself—it came from… Xu Ruoxi’s eyes were bloodshot, covered by a pale yellow shadow on top of the redness, like the eyes of a dead fish. She was sprawled on Bai Yanduan, sticking out her tongue to lick his face, as if tasting some delicious delicacy.

Bai Yanduan was not unfamiliar with this expression; at the dinner table, the girl had been equally engrossed while stuffing pieces of fish meat into her mouth and swallowing them.

She wants to eat me! A strong danger warning flashed frantically in his mind, and Bai Yanduan shoved the girl off him.

His palm touched the girl’s arm, feeling something wet and slippery. He saw that her skin had, at some point, become covered in white fish scales, while bizarrely, angel wings sprouted from her back. Her entire body glittered faintly in the dim light.

Bai Yanduan belatedly remembered that the statue of a girl placed at the entrance of the inn, displayed alongside statues of the dead, was a terrible hint; and since the girl returned from the Clock Tower last night, she hadn’t been very talkative… She was no longer human! She had become a Ghost!

“Shall we go to the seaside?” “Xu Ruoxi” tilted her head, staring at the man in front of her. “Yanduan, will you accompany me to the seaside?”

Bai Yanduan’s heart nearly leaped out of his throat. He turned the doorknob with the back of his hand and bolted out the door.

The floor in the corridor was slippery, covered in mucus of unknown composition mixed with fish scales coating the wooden floor. Bai Yanduan ran wildly, but slipped every few steps, unable to accelerate.

The footsteps behind him grew closer. His back was drenched in cold sweat, and the wax on his feathers was sticking together, making him feel heavier.

Just as he was about to despair, a strong hand yanked him aside, pulling him into a room, and then slammed the door shut with a loud bang.

Bai Yanduan wanted to scream, but the person who pulled him in seemed to have anticipated it, covering his mouth and then making a shushing gesture.

He barely managed to calm down, looking up to see Chang Xu’s expressionless face… Liu Yuhan was sitting alone in her room, tightly gripping a fountain pen, sketching and writing in a notebook.

The three deduction opportunities of the Strange Tale Notebook had been used up. Now it was no different from an ordinary notebook. She could only use paper and pen to jot down ideas and sort out her tangled thoughts.

She recalled last night, when Qi Si proposed signing a 【Soul Contract】 with her, stating that only then would he be willing to guide her and Zhang Hongfeng through the perilous night.

Although she possessed many life-saving items, due to her solitary nature, the effects of all her items only applied to herself.

Without Qi Si’s help, Zhang Hongfeng would surely die; yet, she couldn’t bear to watch a player who trusted her decisions die innocently.

Furthermore, the Strange Tale Notebook had deduced Qi Si’s form, and she had always trusted her skill. Having heard many rumors of impending storms, she was willing to gamble on the young man’s position in the Gods Gamble.

Thus, she copied the often-tricky terms provided by Qi Si onto a page of her notebook and signed her name.

At that time, the status bar on the system interface immediately gained a new identifier: 【Evil God Believer】.

【You have mortgaged your soul to the most evil Heretic God between heaven and earth. Henceforth, your past, present, and future shall be controlled by Him.】

This sounded terrifying, but Liu Yuhan didn’t see the big deal. She had always been easygoing and indifferent, with no specific plans or ambitions—just running instances and publishing guides.

Aside from the massacre-style lunatics in the Sera Guild, most players abided by the Peace Convention proposed by the Jiuzhou Guild. Moreover, Qi Si was friends with Chang Xu, who had official backing and frequently streamed live.

Liu Yuhan believed that given her reputation on the Forum, Qi Si would not do anything excessive to her.

She even felt she had gambled correctly; Qi Si was indeed extraordinary and might secure a spot on the Overall Rankings.

But now, Qi Si was clearly dead, so why hadn’t the identifier on the system interface disappeared? Didn’t player skills usually become invalid after the player died?

Could it be that this skill was high-tier, involving the level of rules and the Main God?

While Liu Yuhan was completely baffled, a “knock-knock” suddenly sounded at the door.

She walked over and heard Lu Li’s muffled voice through the door. “Let’s set off tonight. Some people won’t last until tomorrow. Yuna hasn’t brought the Calming Soup yet, so there probably won’t be any more.”

Liu Yuhan questioned, “The diary said we could only leave on the third day.”

Lu Li chuckled softly, “Counting the day we arrived on the island, isn’t today exactly the third day?”

…After receiving Lu Li’s notification, Chang Xu and Bai Yanduan left the room one after the other.

The short man walked ahead carrying Lu Li on his back, followed closely by the others, marching grandly toward the repaired wooden boat.

Milky white mist enveloped the entire small island, blurring the boundary between heaven and earth into a chaotic mass. The towering Clock Tower stood darkly, desolate like the legendary Slender Man.

The wooden boat rested among the coconut trees, long, narrow, and dilapidated. The players spontaneously lifted various parts of it and dragged it toward the sea.

The wings hadn’t been completed yet, but since there weren’t many people left, it was better to let the group whose condition was clearly wrong leave by boat first.

The soft sand didn’t create much resistance, and since the wooden boat was as light as paper, the players saw the azure coastline within fifteen minutes.

Under the dark yellow sky, emerald green seawater struck the white sand beach, casting up shallow waves.

Thinking that they would soon be able to leave the island and clear the instance, the players’ moods lifted.

Several big men worked together, pushing the wooden boat into the shallow sea in one go.

【The boat must carry four people, and only four people.】

A line of text refreshed on the players’ system interfaces.

The short man smirked. “There’s not much difference between four and five people. We can just squeeze in.”

Although he said that, he had already taken the lead, boarding the boat with Lu Li on his back.

As a veteran player, Lu Li was guaranteed a spot on this boat, even with his mobility issues.

How could they not be happy to be matched into the same instance as an expert of this caliber, especially if they could establish a good connection?

And the short man, being close to Lu Li, naturally wouldn’t be forced off the boat. He had looked after Lu Li the entire way, following Ye Linsheng, and deserved credit for his effort, if nothing else.

Lu Li gave a wry smile. “This is a Rule-based Strange Tale Instance. Since the carrying capacity is explicitly stated, don’t easily defy it, or no one knows what might happen.

“Let’s go by first come, first served. Once four people are seated, the boat will depart. Those who don’t get on shouldn’t blame those who did; just wait a little while and use the wings to leave.”

‘The total quota for survival is fixed. One person’s survival means another person’s death. Every survivor is a murderer, but due to the Diffusion of Responsibility, the guilt cannot be pinned on any single individual.’

Qi Si’s words still echoed in his ears, causing Chang Xu to narrow his eyes slightly.

While he hesitated, a sharp gust of wind suddenly struck behind his ear, and something flashed past.

Chang Xu instinctively dodged sideways, but the object still grazed his face, leaving a bloody scratch that stung painfully.

In that brief moment of distraction, Bai Yanduan and another man had already boarded the boat, occupying the remaining two spots.

After seating exactly four people, the wooden boat automatically drifted away from the shore. The passenger selection was finalized.

Although they knew they could clear the instance using the wings, after cutting off the fins of the dead fish, a panic arose in the players’ hearts: How could fins from the island’s fish not count as something from the island?

Moreover, Icarus in the myth ultimately fell into the sea and died. Who knew if the instance would maliciously re-enact that ending—flying seemed far less secure than traveling by boat.

Bai Yanduan seemed slightly remorseful. He took out paper money from his pocket and handed it toward Chang Xu, mumbling, “Brother Chang, you are capable. I’ll give you all my money. You can stay on the island for a while longer; there will be another chance to leave in three days…”

The others also seemed to wake up from a dream, successively pulling out their remaining paper money and throwing it toward Chang Xu.

The boat moved farther and farther away. The paper money that had left their hands scattered across the sea surface like snowflakes, resembling fish corpses that had died long ago. After soaking in the seawater, they transformed into pure white feathers and sank wetly to the bottom.

Chang Xu suddenly realized this was a conspiracy. The choice to exclude one person out of five had been silently completed, and the other four had unanimously made the same decision.

Since entering the instance, he had kept to himself, intentionally or unintentionally placing himself in an isolated position. After Qi Si’s accident, he became completely alone. Thus, now, he was the one being abandoned… In the silence, a mighty tolling of the bell suddenly rang out like a huge rock dropping into the sea, the echoes rippling outward and being carried by the sea breeze to every corner of the island.

Chang Xu bent down and picked up the object that had flashed past and fallen to the ground.

It was a shard of porcelain left after a plate shattered. It had been aimed at his neck; if he hadn’t reacted quickly, his carotid artery would likely have been pierced.