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Editor’s note: Yang Yi, run.
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How should a low-level sea monster be folded to occupy the least space in a one-cubic-metre area? Suna didn't bother to think about this problem and chose a more straightforward method: chop it into more pieces!
One piece for the tail, another for the torso, and the arms and head could also be detached. Once neatly arranged, it wouldn't take up much space!
That's exactly what she was doing right then.
Yang Yi walked over and asked, “Do you have any rope on you?”
“I have 15 units,” Suna replied.[^1]
“Great!” Yang Yi exclaimed with delight. “Give me all the rope, and I'll make a raft so we can cross this sea area. It's too far and dangerous to swim across!”
Hearing this, Suna paused and looked at the sea surface.
Her ship, the Astrologer, was anchored next to the Nightmare, about a kilometre from the shore. Indeed, it wouldn't be an easy swim.
“Okay!”
After a brief consideration, Suna agreed to Yang Yi's proposal and handed him all the rope. At that point, cooperation was the best option. Moreover, the recent battle had established a basic level of trust between them.
Yang Yi took the rope, first ran back to the cave, and turned the clothes on the male corpse into cloth. He also rummaged through the pile of bones, gathering a total of five units of cloth, which he used to make five units of simple rope.
He now had 20 units of rope.
What he needed next was some wood.
Yang Yi had a flintlock gun in hand, powerful enough to break a small tree with a single shot.
After spending some time and firing a few shots, they had enough logs.
Using the witch’s dagger, he carefully trimmed the logs and then bound them tightly with rope.
A small raft, one metre wide, was completed!
It cost 13 units of rope and 8 logs.
The extra rope could be tied around Suna and Yang Yi's waists. If one of them accidentally fell into the water, the other could rescue them in time.
With preparations complete, it all depended on their execution. After all, they hadn't known each other for long, and various uncertainties remained.
“Okay, get on. The raft is ready!” Yang Yi said to Suna.
He checked the raft and found the buoyancy to be sufficient; it could carry two people without any problem.
Suna had just finished dismembering the sea monster. She walked over and climbed onto the raft.
Each of them held a makeshift paddle and worked their way towards the ship.
Due to the presence of trees and the island, the stretch of water was much calmer than the open sea. The process went smoothly, and they quickly approached the ship.
Yang Yi even started thinking about the coconut trees.
Although they were submerged, they still bore coconuts that could be pulled down with a claw hook.
Amidst his fantasising, a great force struck the bottom of the raft, nearly throwing them into the sea.
“There’s something in the water, and it’s big!”
Yang Yi immediately became alert, pointing his flintlock at the water’s surface.
Suna, who had almost fallen, was now lying on the raft. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a dark shadow swimming by.
“There’s a giant snake in the water, right here!” She pointed to a spot, warning him.
Yang Yi was about to look when they were lifted again, snapping one of the ropes and loosening the structure of the raft.
If this continued, the raft would definitely fall apart!
Then, they would fall into the water and be directly attacked by the giant sea serpent.
The consequences would be unimaginable!
They were still two hundred metres from the ship, too far of a distance to swim.
Realising this, Yang Yi's eyes gleamed with fierce light.
He was in a state of madness — brave, fearless, and eager for battle.
If the sea serpent wanted to eat him, then it should have no complaints about being eaten!
He grinned and tested firing the flintlock underwater.
Boom!
Water splashed everywhere.
As expected, the flintlock was waterproof and could still fire even when wet or submerged!
Suna heard the commotion, turned her head, and asked, “What are you doing?”
“Testing the gun.”
Suna frowned, not understanding, and suggested her own idea.
“We could try luring it away with the sea monster’s blood and flesh. I could throw it far...”
“No need, that won’t work!” Yang Yi shook his head, staring at the shadow in the water. “I can feel it — it’s challenging me to a duel!”
“A feeling? Are you losing your mind? How much sanity do you have left?”
Yang Yi didn't answer her. Like a madman, he jumped into the water, leaving only one sentence behind in the air.
“When things get chaotic down there, just pull me up!'”
“You're... You’re planning to fight it in the water? That’s suicide!”
But in reality, Yang Yi had a good chance of winning — a very high one!
He was extremely calm, counting the seconds.
After 15 seconds, he could fire again.
With the power of the flintlock, he only needed one hit to take out the serpent.
And it would take the serpent at least a few minutes to kill him.
Because the serpent didn’t have tearing teeth, it typically killed its prey by constriction and suffocation.
During that time, Yang Yi could fire at least three or four shots.
As long as one shot hit, the serpent would be cut open in half on the spot!
The sea serpent eagerly swam over as its prey offered itself.
The serpent was as thick as an adult’s thigh, agile as a fish, and extremely good in water.
Were they to fight on land, Yang Yi would stand a chance.
However, in the water, without a suitable weapon, Yang Yi’s odds were almost zero.
The serpent tightly coiled around him, and he could only barely free his right hand, giving himself a chance to shoot.
The rest of his body didn’t matter.
Quickly, Yang Yi pulled the trigger.
Click!
The gun misfired.
But it wasn’t an issue; he still had another chance!
The serpent tightened its grip, and Yang Yi felt his ribs grinding against each other, unable to fight back.
He counted the time and fired the second shot.
Click!
Another misfire.
The air in Yang Yi’s lungs was squeezed out, and his ribs were at risk of breaking. His body went numb.
Yet he remained calm, waiting for his next chance to shoot.
The sea serpent sensed something was wrong.
Yang Yi was different from any prey it had ever encountered!
And so, it prepared for the final strike, biting hard into Yang Yi’s left shoulder.
“Daring to bite me?... Then don’t be sorry if I bite back!”
Yang Yi bit down on the serpent’s body with all his might, piercing its scales.
At that moment, his third shot came, aimed at the serpent’s head on his left shoulder.
Boom!
Thunder exploded underwater.
The shot blew off half of the sea serpent’s head.
But it didn’t die instantly, letting out a horrific screech and quickly releasing the troublesome prey.
Why did it bother struggling? Its death was certain; it was doomed.
“I won!”
Yang Yi felt relieved and relaxed after his final victory.
Although it had been tough, he had won!
His body began to sink slowly...
“Damn, I have to swim up!”
Yang Yi tried to control his body, but to his surprise, he found that he couldn't muster any strength.
On the surface of the water, there was a loud explosion, and water splashed up into the air.
Immediately after, a large amount of black blood floated up.
Suna had been closely watching the underwater commotion, and as soon as she heard the gunshot, she quickly pulled the rope tied around her waist.
But the other end of the rope was severed.
At some point during the struggle between Yang Yi and the sea serpent, the rope had snapped.
Suna looked at the water, hesitated for a few seconds, and finally, jumped in.
A few minutes later, Yang Yi spat out a mouthful of water, along with a piece of snake skin that had been bitten off.
After regaining his breath, his vitality quickly returned, and his consciousness cleared.
Suna had saved him and performed CPR on him.
"Thank you, I owe you my life," Yang Yi said, expressing his gratitude.
Before he lost consciousness, he had noticed the broken rope and thought he was done for. But to his surprise, this woman had actually jumped in to save him.
At that moment, he also noticed that the conditions for unlocking his mysterious skill had changed to 2/3.
By now, Yang Yi had roughly guessed what the condition was — surviving three near-death experiences.
On the other side, Suna was feeling quite conflicted. She looked at Yang Yi with a strange expression...almost as if she were observing some rare creature.
"To risk one's life in battle without hesitation goes against the very instincts of survival! How peculiar! I'll have to record this in my observation diary later..."
After thinking it over, she noticed the wound on Yang Yi's shoulder.
"You've been bitten. That serpent might be venomous!"
Suna leaned in, trying to suck out the venom from Yang Yi's wound. She continued until the blood she spit out turned bright red, then she stopped.
Yang Yi looked at her, feeling a bit moved.
After all, what she did was risky.
Though snake venom is mostly protein and would be digested by stomach acid, if there were any cuts or sores in her mouth or digestive tract, it could be dangerous and lead to poisoning.
Once the treatment was done, Yang Yi caught his breath.
The two of them steadily approached the ship and climbed aboard their respective vessels.
...
Yang Yi's Observation Diary:
His madness is so captivating!
He never backs down, has clear awareness, and formulates battle plans.
He might not even realise just how strong his desire to fight is, how much he craves to kill his opponent.
But what if the opponent is too strong...
What choice would he make then?
This warrants further observation.
—Witch Suna
Notes
[^1]: One unit equals one metre ⤶