The wind force in the stormy seas had dropped by one level.
The number of survivors had sharply decreased.
It was just like the shrinking safe zone in a battle royale game, where players trapped in the toxic zone would eventually be killed as time passed.
Unlike the danger zones, the buffer area here was different. There were no giant worms, the sea was calm, and there was a deserted island with a diametre of several hundred metres.
A man wearing a sharkskin swimsuit struggled to make it ashore.
It was Yang Yi. He had managed to swim there using a piece of broken driftwood for nearly two nautical miles!
A woman clung to the driftwood.
"Suna... You're heavier than I thought!" Yang Yi gasped, jokingly complaining.
Yang Yi underestimated the two-nautical-mile distance. Halfway through the swim, his energy was completely drained. If it weren't for the frenzied state, which allowed him to substitute blood energy for stamina, he might have drowned like many others.
He was utterly exhausted, and collapsed on the beach, lying spread-eagle like a dead fish.
Next to him, another "dead fish" lay unconscious – Suna, who had passed out from exhaustion. Although she was a good swimmer, her stamina was limited, and Yang Yi had to drag her for the latter half of the journey.
Thanks to that, Yang Yi's blood energy was nearly depleted, with only 17 points left.
He checked his status:
Sanity: 42/100
Stamina: 0/100
Energy: 17/100
He was truly hanging by a thread!
Although the Nightmare had sunk, Yang Yi wasn't entirely hopeless.
Back when the Astrologer sank, Suna had shared information about shipwrecks with him.
A ship could be rebuilt after it was destroyed.
Yang Yi opened the ship interface, and the top message displayed:
【Materials required for ship reconstruction: Wood 500, Fabric 250. Materials from the ship's hold can be used. Each reconstruction requires a one-month interval, during which items on the ship will be frozen.】
He checked his resources. He had almost enough fabric, thanks to the large quantity gifted to him earlier.
However, there was still a significant shortage of wood, and he'd need to chop down more trees...
Thinking about it, he drifted off to sleep, this time without nightmares. It was the most restful sleep he'd had in a long time.
Who knew how long he slept, but Yang Yi was eventually awakened by the system notification.
"Only 3 players remain in the stormy seas. Please leave the area quickly, or you will be consumed by the black mist..."
Yang Yi opened his eyes and found himself lying not at the shore.
Suna was beside him, staring at him with a pair of blood-red eyes.
The scene seemed familiar, but Yang Yi, still groggy from sleep, didn't immediately realise what was happening.
"Do you know how long you slept?" Suna asked.
"No idea."
"Over 12 hours. I woke up, dragged you here, and it's already been 12 hours!" Suna said.
"I see, no wonder I'm a bit hungry."
Yang Yi didn't think much of it, rubbing his empty stomach.
The much-needed sleep had left him feeling refreshed, with his status restored by 70%, though he was famished.
"When you were asleep, you were dead weight. I could barely drag you!" Suna complained.
"The feeling's mutual! You were as heavy as a dead pig when you passed out," Yang Yi quickly retorted.
"Really?" Suna wasn't angry; a mysterious smile appeared on her face.
"But I'm glad you're awake. Now you can answer my questions!"
Suddenly, her gaze turned cold as she raised a flintlock gun and pointed it at Yang Yi's forehead.
Yang Yi recognised this gun well. It was his prized possession.
But how did it end up in Suna's hands?
Before Yang Yi could think it through, Suna began her questioning, her words eerily familiar.
"Man, three sentences. Give me a reason not to kill you!"
Her blood-red eyes looked dangerously intense, and her half-smile sent a chill down his spine.
At that moment, Yang Yi remembered a past nightmare.
In that dream, a red-eyed woman pointed a gun at his head – just like this.
He instantly became alert and serious.
"Suna, this joke has gone too far!"
"Do I look like I'm joking?" Suna retorted, keeping the gun firmly aimed at Yang Yi.
"By the way, that was your first sentence. You have two left, so choose your words wisely!"[^1]
Yang Yi fell silent.
The dark gun barrel weighed heavily on him.
He glanced around and noticed the sea level had risen again. The island's diametre had shrunk to just over fifty metres.
The surrounding trees had all been chopped down, apparently blasted by the flintlock, and turned into wood, piled together.
Judging by the amount, it was around 300, far from enough to build two ships.
So, Suna planned to hoard the wood and only rebuild the Astrologer?
Yang Yi pieced together the situation, narrowing his eyes.
In times of crisis, it was natural for people to act in their own self-interest.
Yang Yi's voice grew cold as he said, "I can give you all my equipment, and the wood on the island will be yours. Just let me go!"
"NO, NO, NO, that's not enough!" Suna shook her head, "Have you considered that if I shoot you, all of this will be mine anyway?!"
"You..." Yang Yi immediately held his tongue, careful not to use up his third sentence.
He hadn't expected Suna to be so ruthless!
After trusting her so much, Yang Yi felt a surge of anger, but he couldn't think of any leverage he had left.
In the end, he could only say angrily, "Then go ahead and shoot!"
Yang Yi stood up, ready to counterattack.
His talent, "Refusal to Die," would prevent him from being killed instantly. It was his last card to play.
"Hahaha... See? Even you get nervous when a gun's pointed at you!" Suna suddenly burst out laughing, shaking with mirth, tears streaming down her face.
"You..."
Yang Yi's expression grew stern, showing his displeasure.
Then Suna added, "How about this: I'll take half of everything you own, and in return, I'll spare your life!"
"What?" Yang Yi frowned.
"Don't you get it? I mean, I want to merge with you!"
"What? Merge?!" Yang Yi looked surprised.
"Yes, that's right, merge!" Suna confirmed.
Yang Yi was speechless. But he also breathed a sigh of relief.
Suna didn't actually want to kill him. She was just getting back at him... After all, he had done something similar not too long ago!
He sat back down, torn between laughing and crying, and said, "What if I refuse?"
"The gun's in my hand; you don't have a choice!" Suna waved the gun triumphantly, then began rummaging through her bag.
Yang Yi finally relaxed, thinking, "This woman must be crazy!
Out here in the wilderness, suddenly asking to merge with me. I'm not some kind of transforming mech that can combine to form a head.
How are we supposed to merge?
And judging by how seriously she's digging through her bag, could it be...she's looking for a balloon?"
As Yang Yi's thoughts wandered, he glanced at Suna.
When he saw what she pulled out, all hopes were dashed.
The items were the tongue, eyeballs, brain, glands, vocal cords, and heart of a sea monster, all stored in jars.
【A bunch of bizarre internal organs. Your sanity decreases by 5】
"Sorry, there's too much stuff; it's hard to find things..."
Finally, Suna found what she was looking for. It wasn't a balloon, but a golden card.
Yang Yi took it and looked at it, feeling faint.
【Name: Ship Fusion Card】
【Type: Consumable】
【Quality: Special】
【Description: With mutual consent, two ships can be fused together. The fused ship will be larger, have more rooms, and inherit the skills of both ships. A ship can only have the skills of two ships. After that, the materials required for upgrading will increase accordingly.】
"So, this is the fusion you were talking about..." Yang Yi turned and asked awkwardly.
"Of course. What did you think I meant?" Suna laughed so hard she nearly fell over.
"Uh..." Yang Yi was at a loss for words.
The girl must have said it that way on purpose!
And this tool was probably the legendary golden item she had drawn earlier…
Notes
[^1]:
Reminds you of something? Ig she’s that petty -Simply