The shot didn't misfire. The bullet hit the edge of the doorframe with precision, shattering it and sending splinters flying.
"You're shooting with your back turned and still hitting the mark? Do you have eyes on the back of your head or something?"
A puzzled voice came from above Yang Yi's head.
The previous shot missed because this creature seemed to predict the gun's direction and dodge preemptively.
Just before he pulled the trigger, it darted in, crawling swiftly along the wooden planks overhead.
"You started the fire outside too, didn't you? Impressive!"
The unknown entity above praised him, its tone audacious and unconcerned.
Yang Yi felt a shiver run down his spine, goosebumps rising all over his skin.
Because he saw a human head crawling.
Yes, just a head!
Judging by the features, it appeared to belong to a beautiful woman — well-defined features and a head of lustrous, curly hair.
Although her eyes were shut, she could still somehow see clearly in the dark — a mystery he couldn’t comprehend.
What’s more, her movements were unnervingly quick, as she was propelled by slender tendrils extending from beneath her neck, which supported her head as it moved rapidly.
At the ends of these tendrils were scythe-like blades.
Yang Yi had no doubts about their sharpness — five other players had already tested that for him, at the cost of their heads!
【Seeing an abnormal entity causes your sanity to drop by 10.】
A cold glint flashed, and one of the scythes slashed towards Yang Yi's neck at lightning speed.
An ordinary person wouldn’t stand a chance of dodging — human eyes couldn’t even track such speed, let alone react to it.
But was Yang Yi an ordinary person?
At the very last moment, he turned around, narrowly blocking the attack with the blade of Sea Serpent's Fang.
Clang!
The clash of metal rang out, sparks flying from the impact.
The force nearly knocked the weapon out of Yang Yi's hand, and the deflected scythe left a gash across his cheek, causing blood to pour down his face.
"Oh!"
The woman let out a surprised exclamation.
She hadn’t expected Yang Yi to block the attack. But soon, she discovered the reason.
Because Yang Yi possessed a special left eye, its composite pupil slowly rotating.
"What a beautiful eye!" she suddenly exclaimed excitedly. "What's the deal with your left eye? Let me borrow it for a look!"
With that, she lunged at Yang Yi, moving even faster than a grey werewolf!
Though Yang Yi could see her movements clearly, there was no way to evade them.
The space was far too cramped — barely seven metres from one end to the other!
And one of her tendrils alone was three metres long.
Half the room was within her attack range, not to mention her rapid mobility.
Faced with the crisis, Yang Yi dared not hold back and immediately switched to cannon mode.
Even if it meant risking the collapse of the entire ship, he couldn’t hesitate!
Bang!
The trigger was pulled, and the flintlock’s deafening roar filled the space.
The shot was aimed directly at the creature, piercing through the wooden ceiling and out of the hull.
The already-decayed ship couldn't withstand the impact, collapsing by a third on the spot and kicking up a massive cloud of dust.
He was propelled by the intense recoil, crashing through a wall and landing outside the ship.
Even Yang Yi himself hadn't anticipated escaping the shipwreck in such a manner.
It seemed the ship was even more fragile than he'd thought.
But...
"Give me your body!" The cursed woman's voice rang in Yang Yi's ears.
The previous shot, though powerful, missed its mark.
The close distance and her intelligence — recognising firearms and dodging based on their aim — allowed her to evade.
However, the shot's sheer power exceeded her expectations, destroying most of her tendrils.
The woman's head had crawled onto Yang Yi's left shoulder, with only six tendrils left, trying to wrap around him.
"Damn it!"
Yang Yi cursed aloud.
It was worse than a spider crawling on him!
【Abnormal entity contact causes your sanity to drop by 10.】
Yang Yi wrestled with the head perched on his shoulder.
He grabbed her hair with his left hand and thrust Sea Serpent's Fang with his right.
But she bit down on the blade with sharp teeth, halting his attack.
The fight reached a stalemate, neither able to gain the upper hand.
In truth, the creature's physical abilities far surpassed Yang Yi's.
With a single tendril anchoring herself, she clung tightly to his left shoulder.
The remaining five tendrils burrowed into Yang Yi's neck, crawling beneath his skin, causing immense pain — until, suddenly, he felt nothing at all.
【You are being invaded by a Brain Eater. Sanity drops by 20. 】
【You will lose control of your body...】
Yang Yi was shocked by the notification.
Finally, he learned the creature's name — Brain Eater!
The Brain Eater was attempting to invade and take control of his body.
He could feel the tendrils moving inside him, heading towards his spine, seemingly trying to infiltrate and replace his central nervous system to command his limbs.
It couldn’t be allowed!
"You damned parasite!" Yang Yi roared furiously.
He released the short sword, clenching his fist and swinging it towards the head on his shoulder.
But the punch never landed.
Somehow, his left arm had already lost control, twisting around to restrain his right wrist.
Another stalemate.
Without the head on his shoulder, Yang Yi looked like a lunatic, his arms wrestling with each other, neither gaining the advantage.
Taking the opportunity, the Brain Eater spat out Sea Serpent's Fang, a trickle of viscous purple blood oozing from her mouth.
Clearly, she wasn’t unscathed by his earlier strike.
However, she was confident of her victory, laughing wildly. Her expressive face twisted into a smirk, eyes brimming with mockery.
"Ha! Stop resisting — it’ll only bring you more pain!
Why not submit to me? I promise not to kill you and let you forever revel in blissful dreams!"
"Go to hell!"
Yang Yi refused to yield, fighting back with all his might.
If his hands couldn’t move, then he’d use his head!
Bang!
Caught off guard, the Brain Eater was headbutted, her vision spinning.
Although she was agile, being anchored to Yang Yi’s shoulder left her unable to dodge.
Yang Yi, sensing a brief lull inside his body, was overjoyed and rammed her again with even greater force.
Judging by his resolve, he’d bash his own head bloody if it meant taking her down!
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
"Are you out of your mind?!" the Brain Eater yelled in frustration.
It was her first time encountering such a troublesome opponent.
Unable to endure his headbutts any longer, she retracted a tendril, coiling it like a spring to brace against Yang Yi's forehead and stop his relentless attacks.
To her, this man was a lunatic, as if his head didn’t feel pain.
Ultimately, Yang Yi’s headbutting spree was halted, but not without results.
Though his head now sported several lumps, the Brain Eater’s nose was crooked, deep purple blood dripping from her nostrils. Tears glistened in the corners of her eyes, as if the pain had made her cry.
But Yang Yi had no pity — he was fighting for his life!
Seeing that headbutts no longer worked, he immediately sought another method.
Testing control over his limbs, he found his right leg fully responsive, with partial control regained over his right hand and left leg.
Struggling to his feet, he locked eyes on a nearby tree and pushed off with all his strength, slamming himself against it.
The target? The back of the Brain Eater’s head. With immense force, he aimed to crack her skull.
The Brain Eater was startled by Yang Yi’s reckless behavior.
She hurriedly manipulated his left hand to cushion the impact, but her head still took a hit, leaving a swollen lump.
Taking advantage of the moment, Yang Yi’s right hand broke free from his left hand’s restraint, regaining freedom.
"You're insane! This is your own body!
My tendrils are inside you now — if something goes wrong, you’ll end up crippled!" the Brain Eater warned.
But she was warning the wrong person.
Without hesitation, Yang Yi clenched his fist and punched her, giving her a black eye.
Then he retorted coldly:
"Better crippled than letting you take over!"
Fearless, he continued throwing punches!