“Burp!”
The old man let out a satisfied burp and patted his belly contentedly. “It’s been three months, and this is the first time I’ve eaten my fill. The young ones are truly fearsome!”
The youngster, feeling queasy from all the raw fish, was searching for water everywhere to drink. He heard the sound of ice cubes clinking against glass at the party and couldn’t help but salivate.
The old man patted the young man’s shoulder and said, “The sun is setting! Follow me.”
Silently, the group disappeared into the shadows along the ship’s side. Only the young woman kept looking back, hoping to see if her boyfriend who was ‘also on the ship’s side’ was coming.
However, apart from the lively crowd on deck, there was no sign of the man she was looking for.
She opened her communication interface.
Young woman: Where are you? I’m leaving, come out.
x: [thumbs up.jpg]
As the sunset painted the sea red, a huge tentacle rose quietly and reached towards the ship’s side—
The old man coughed, “What a coincidence, meeting you three here, my little nest can’t fit another person.”
Young woman: Wait, don’t come yet, there’s no place to hide.
x: [thumbs up.jpg]
The tentacle changed direction and slowly descended into the water.
Instead of leading them through the ornate passage, the old man took them through a dark and narrow door behind the cabin. It was pitch black inside, giving off an eerie vibe that made it seem off-limits.
The old man descended down the rusty staircase with the three following closely behind him.
As their eyes adjusted to the darkness, the young woman noticed they were in a place resembling an engine room, with various large machines she didn’t recognize working in an orderly fashion, creating a stifling atmosphere.
“Here.” The old man half-crawled into an inconspicuous small passage, beckoning them to follow.
The narrow passage was only one and a half meters high and one person wide. They walked hunched over in a row, slowly progressing. After about two minutes of walking and turning into a curved alley, the path suddenly opened up. Steel pipes crisscrossed the narrow space near the hull, providing a cramped area for only about three to four people to stand. Inside, assorted bottles, jars, and fabric lay scattered around.
The old man opened the window, allowing the cool sea breeze to enter, dispelling the stuffy air. He pulled up a makeshift distillation device made from plastic wrap and a basin, already filled with water, from the sea surface through the window.
“The weather is good, and the sun is strong, we have enough water to drink.” The old man carefully brought the basin inside through the window, and they took turns drinking from it.
The young woman wiped her mouth with her sleeve, puzzled as she looked at her creased shirt. “This is the same shirt I wore into the game yesterday, but I changed out of it in my room already.”
The old man chuckled, “Very good, very good. By detaching yourselves from the ship’s provided food and mental control for some time, the ship’s illusions no longer affect you.”
“You have seen the truth.”
The young woman looked at her familiar sportswear, “So, if we go outside now, we will see ‘reality’?”
The old man mysteriously winked, “If it gets dark, yes. As long as you are in sunlight, what we see will still be the ship’s wanted scenery for players.”
He gestured around the dark environment, “Here, there is no sunlight. In addition, you have freed yourselves from mental manipulation, allowing you to see the real clothes.”
His bony hand pulled the young woman’s arm, placing it under the window. In the sunlight, the sleeve bizarrely displayed the shirt she changed into that morning, seamlessly blending with the sportswear.
The young woman tried for herself, realizing it appeared as if there was a layer covering her clothes, visible only under sunlight.
The old man yawned, hung the leftover fish outside the ship to dry, and absentmindedly pulled back a piece of cloth hanging on the wall, asking:
“Where was your room last night and where did you go?”
The young woman squatted down, noticing a crudely drawn, complex diagram of a cruise ship engraved on metal, illustrating decks, engine rooms, and some cabins, with the rest left blank.
He reached out his hand to Luo Huayue, “Little girl, could you lend me that pen?”
Luo Huayue immediately understood what the old man wanted to do and took out the pen, squatting down, “Let me draw, grandpa. I am a professional!”
The old man was taken aback and smiled, “Sure. Do you know what this is for?”
“To draw a map of this ship,” Luo Huayue said.
“Perhaps,” Rong Yi added, “Are you also looking for the cockpit?”
Just now, the vague memories from yesterday flooded back into his mind – before entering the cabin, they were discussing finding the cockpit, she even had the strongest fighters, Ice and Raymond, team up and go ahead, thinking everything was foolproof.
Only to be fooled by the instance, forgetting even who their mothers were.
“Oh!” Luo Huayue also remembered, “Aren’t we supposed to find a way to make the ship turn back?”
“I remember Zhang Haiyang getting seasick and vomiting constantly,” she teased, “I never thought hallucinations on a ship would have some benefits, at least it made you feel rejuvenated!”
Zhang Haiyang staggered and leaned on a nearby steel pipe, his face turning pale, “Damn… I remember now… and I feel like throwing up again…”
Rong Yi quickly helped him to the porthole to avoid dirtying their already cramped living space.
Thinking positively, the confusion caused by the instance was gradually wearing off.
While they were uncomfortable, unhappy, hiding and feeling anxious – at least they were rational and clear-headed.
Based on her memory, Luo Huayue roughly sketched out the interior structure of the cabin next to the old man’s version, which was quite similar.
“My guess was right!” The old man exclaimed excitedly, “After you arrived, the illusions on the ship were slightly different from mine, but I guess the general structure of the ship remains the same.”
“Once we figure out the inner structure, we’ll know where the cockpit is! Then, we can turn back!”
Each person followed a different path in their morning exploration and pieced together a part of the interior structure of the cabin.
“Thud! Thud! Thud!” The old man tapped on the blank section of the structural map, “The cockpit must be here!”
Luo Huayue frowned, “But we still need to find a way in… would it be safer at night with no hallucinations without the sun?”
The old man’s excited expression calmed down, returning to his initial tone, “I advice against it.”
Zhang Haiyang turned back from the porthole, alert, “What’s there at night?”
The old man pointed to a pile of torn cloth in the corner, his voice hoarse, “I’m not sure what exactly… but in my group, a few players would disappear every morning.”
“There were many players, unclear in their minds, not knowing each other, and with plenty of NPCs present, it wasn’t noticeable in the beginning.”
“But after I woke up, I paid attention to a few players and found out that they all mysteriously disappeared on one morning.”
“So, I guess the instance confuses our minds during the day and then carries out a slaughter at night.”
Rong Yi took the iron rod used for fishing from the old man, tipping it, feeling its weight. She whispered something to Luo Huayue, who nodded in agreement.
Rong Yi placed Luo Huayue’s fishing rod in front of the old man, “Elder, we entrust this fishing rod to you. Can we borrow this iron rod?”
In the dim moonlight, Rong Yi and Luo Huayue squeezed out of the cramped room.
Ice and Raymond were still in the cabin, according to the old man, they would be in danger tonight!
They needed to go save them.
Zhang Haiyang regained his composure from seasickness and rationality, now lying in the darkness beside the old man. The old man also feared the unknown of the night and was reluctant to take risks.
Rong Yi gripped the steel pipe in her hand.
She had one weapon that nobody would believe if she said out loud:
Her boyfriend was probably an NPC. And he was an NPC who could easily sneak onto the cruise ship.
So, did this mean there were our people among the enemies?
The sky had completely darkened. Rong Yi and Luo Huayue glanced at the deck, where only a few half-drunk players remained by the pool; the others must have returned to the cabins to rest.
In the squad, Luo Huayue kept spamming to call Ice and Raymond, but both of them still did not respond.
“These two, are they really ‘lost in their own world’!” Luo Huayue angrily turned off the floating screen. “Rong Yi, let’s just go in directly. The guest rooms should all be in that corridor. We can knock on each door one by one, surely we will find them!”
With over a hundred players, that meant knocking on over a hundred doors… What a huge task.
Moreover, Rong Yi remembered the exceptionally deep and sweet sleep she had last night. With that quality of sleep, even if someone knocked on her door, she probably wouldn’t wake up.
On this cruise ship that promised a “perfect experience,” there surely wouldn’t be anyone suffering from insomnia.
“Ah! Someone’s coming!” Luo Huayue tugged on Rong Yi’s sleeve, pulling her backwards.
Rong Yi carefully peeked out to see a tall man in sailor uniform on the deck urging the players to return to the cabins in a friendly manner.
Rong Yi quickly opened the communication interface:
Rong Yi: It seems like an NPC is herding people on the deck. Quick, hide.
X: It’s okay, I’m not on the deck hehe.
Not on the deck?
Rong Yi looked around and indeed, aside from the players on the deck, there were no other figures.
Her little boyfriend was quite skilled at hiding, he really knew how to avoid detection.
All the players on the deck had returned to the cabins, leaving only the man in the sailor uniform patrolling around.
He carefully inspected every corner and shadow, making sure there was no one there.
“Is that an NPC?” Luo Huayue asked softly.
“Should be.”
This was the only independent NPC Rong Yi had seen since boarding the ship, not generated based on player needs.
She suddenly remembered the calm and reliable male voice from the broadcast when they boarded, the one who called himself the captain. A man named “Lin Yue”.
As the man finished checking the deck and started walking towards the cabins, he drew closer and closer to Rong Yi and Luo Huayue—
Rong Yi and Luo Huayue used the massive cabin body as cover, playing hide and seek with the man, stealthily making their way to the entrance of the cabins.
Meanwhile, the man turned towards the rear of the cabins, where Lao Ren and Zhang Haiyang were hiding in the engine room.
“Thump, thump, thump…”
The sound of footsteps descended down the iron ladder, gradually fading away beneath the deck of the cruise ship.
Luo Huayue was extremely nervous, “Rong Yi, what do we do? If he goes down, won’t he find Zhang Haiyang and the others?”
Rong Yi frowned, “Lao Ren has been hiding there for three months, so it should be safe. Don’t worry, let’s do what we can.”
Unlike the glorious and extravagant decoration during the day, the cabins at night stripped away the glamour, leaving behind rusty frames, simple corridors, and dilapidated compartments without doors.
This was the truth of the luxury cabins.
Without doors, it was much easier to find people. Rong Yi and Luo Huayue, one on each side, checked the single iron beds without sheets to see if the two missing teammates were there.
“Ice is here!” Luo Huayue quickly called Rong Yi over. Ice was still wearing the boxing shorts he had on when he entered the game, shirtless and sound asleep on the bed.
Rong Yi stepped forward and gently patted his face. Ice was indeed in a deep slumber, his face flushing red from slapping but still not waking up.
“Why is he sleeping so deeply!” Luo Huayue spun around anxiously, seeing a simple water basin nearby, she twisted the faucet open, filled a handful of murky and cold water, and splashed it on Ice’s face!
“Ugh—” Ice groaned uncomfortably, furrowing his brows, and slowly opened his eyes. He smiled dazedly, with a rainbow-colored light still in his eyes, “Huh? Are you here to watch me box? I won so many matches today!”
Rong Yi tried to lift him up, but Ice slipped limp to the floor.
“Now that there’s no sun, why is he still lost in illusions?” Luo Huayue anxiously gave him a few slaps, “Wake up!”
“I’ll do it.” Rong Yi propped Ice up, clenched her fist, raised it high, and fiercely punched him in the stomach!
“Bang!”
“Gag–”
This punch made Ice’s stomach churn, and undigested food immediately spewed out of his mouth!
Rong Yi shook her hand: “Master, how is my practice?”
The color drained from Ice’s eyes as he bent over, holding his stomach: “…I’m going to die…”
“The food you eat causes hallucinations. Isn’t it more comfortable to throw it up?”
Ice’s steps were still staggered as he followed the two of them, continuing to search for Raymond in the dilapidated corridor:
“Oh my god! Here, this–” he looked at the corridor revealing the truth in disbelief.
They quickly found Raymond sprawled on the floor. Not only was he deeply asleep, but he also seemed to be having pleasant dreams.
“Hey, hehe… This place is wonderful… I want to stay here forever,” he murmured happily in his dream.
Just as he finished speaking, the moonlight outside the porthole suddenly dimmed!
There was a face!
Luo Huayue covered her mouth, pulling the others with their backs to the porthole down to crouch, avoiding the gaze of the face outside the window.
Who is that? She asked the others in fear with her mouth forming the words.
They only saw a male NPC on the deck, yet the face outside the window was clearly that of a gorgeous woman!
The woman outside spotted Raymond lying on the bed, extended her snake-like slender, forked tongue to lick her scarlet lips.
After a sticky dragging sound like trailing on the ground, the woman’s face disappeared.
“Quick!” Rong Yi dragged Raymond off the bed. “She might be coming!”
Luo Huayue splashed water on him using the same process to wake him. Ice, watching a familiar scene, stopped Rong Yi. “I got this!”
“Bang–”
He threw a punch, not only making Raymond vomit everything in his stomach but also some yellow water, achieving a similar effect to gastric lavage.
Raymond squatted down in pain, unable to speak a word, and could only weakly raise his middle finger at Ice.
Luo Huayue complained, “You hit him too hard! How can he walk with us like this?”
Ice smirked apologetically, helping Rong Yi lift Raymond. The four of them quickly moved towards the door!
Along with their frantic footsteps, a sticky dragging sound outside the cabin grew closer and closer!
It was coming!
“Turn back!” Rong Yi made a quick decision, and the four turned and ran deeper into the cabin.
At the end of the long cabin was a buffet restaurant displaying rows of food – of course, this was during the day.
The restaurant at night, much like the cabin, revealed its true appearance of cobwebs on the walls and dilapidated tables and chairs.
In Raymond’s unbelieving gaze, they hurried past the long tables that should have been filled with food.
The tables were still covered with food, but all the food was a dull gray fish meat.
“… Rainbow fish?”
Rong Yi’s attention shifted quickly. With the sticky sound behind them growing closer, they hastened their steps through the restaurant, passing through several functionally ambiguous halls due to their extreme dilapidation, taking left and right turns, and hiding in a corner of a dark room.
Rong Yi breathed lightly, asking softly, “Do you remember how to get back the way we came?”
Luo Huayue answered, “I do.”
“Good. When I say run, we’ll run back the way we came.”
The sticky sound reached the doorway of the room, lingered for a moment, then wandered into the room.
Rong Yi patted Raymond, “Are you awake?”
Raymond responded with a grunt.
“Can your vines trap her?”
Raymond shrugged, “I’m not sure about an A-level dungeon boss.”
“Then distract her.” Rong Yi pointed from the wall to the door, “Use your vines to create some commotion outside.”
Raymond’s thin vines snaked along the ground, went out through the doorway along the wall, and made some noise outside.
The sticky sound stopped, and the entity turned to chase after the commotion out the door. Rong Yi listened as the sound grew fainter:
“Run!”
Luo Huayue leads the way ahead, with a few people following behind, weaving through the winding corridors of the ship’s cabins.
The sticky voice behind seemed to have caught on, changing direction and getting closer to them!
They could already see the dark night outside the cabin; the group hastened their pace and rushed out of the doorway!
On the deck, a sailor in uniform walked briskly towards them, his gaze sharp. “Passengers, it’s late. Why are you not back in your rooms resting?”
He stood in front of them, urging them back into the cabin step by step. “Please go back!”
Raymond flicked his vine—
The man grabbed the vine, his handsome face adorned with a programmed smile. “Passenger, please do not disrupt the order of the cruise ship.”
He glanced behind them. “Oh, someone is looking for you.”
“Mr. Ray?”
Rong Yi turned to see Raymond in his pajamas, rubbing his eyes, looking at them innocently and perplexed. “What are you all doing so late?”
Raymond’s eyes began to shimmer with colorful lights, and the vine softly collapsed to the ground.
Ice sensed danger, delivered a right hook straight at Raymond, knocking him out cold and swiftly shouldering him!
Rong Yi wielded a steel pipe to clear the way ahead. With their numbers, they soon passed the captain and headed towards the open area on the deck!
The captain seemed to notice that these passengers were not like the others, unaffected by illusions. His programmed smile faded, his face stern, the shifting colorful lights in his eyes especially striking in the darkness.
“Please, passengers, return to your cabins!”
“Please, passengers, return to your cabins!”
“Please, passengers, return to your cabins!”
He repeated this as he sprinted with lightning speed from the waist down but eerily still from the waist up, following closely behind them!
Meanwhile, the sticky voice from the cabin finally reached the door, appearing in front of everyone.
Ice glanced back and gasped, “…a mermaid?”
Rong Yi swung the steel pipe at the captain’s calf. The captain’s leg only slightly bent, unaffected.
As she turned back, she saw the creature—emerald green hair like seaweed, a striking yet eerie face, a mature female upper body, and a fish tail covered in colorful scales.
A real mermaid!
The mermaid’s tail swayed on the deck, leaving a glistening trail like a snail’s movement.
Her speed was impressive, even coordinating with the captain to corner the fleeing group on the deck!
Rong Yi assessed the situation, gestured with her eyes, and split up with Luo Huayue in different directions along the ship’s side, while Ice carried Raymond into the engine room.
As she ran, she activated the holographic screen, messaging Zhang Haiyang to come and assist Ice and herself.
The captain continued to repeat “Please, passengers, return to your cabins,” relentlessly pursuing them. While running, she swiftly switched to communicate with X.
Rong Yi: Do you know any hiding spots near the ship’s side?
X: [Image of Ultraman raising hand]
X: There are lifeboats on the ship’s side, jump down!
Rong Yi immediately switched to the team communication, instructing Luo Huayue to jump outside the ship’s side, then turned back to the captain, throwing an iron rod towards him. Seizing the moment he blocked, she leaped out holding onto the ship’s side—
The ship’s side was empty!
She was shocked but it was too late!
X sent a message afterward:
X: Oh, forgot to mention! There’s only lifeboats on one side!
Rong Yi: …You’re in trouble, X.
Suddenly, a massive and terrifying tentacle emerged from the sea, stopping just a meter away from the ship’s side, accurately catching her!
The tentacle was soft, and Rong Yi felt as comfortable as landing on a memory foam mattress, even bouncing slightly.
X: Sorry, hahaha!
X: Don’t be mad, I’ve got you!
Author’s Note: The tentacle has to come~
So he’s the kraken in this instance?