Thanks to GreenKiTea for the Kofis. Enjoy the bonus chapters!
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Five minutes later. 

Jian Xingyi and Shanhai, along with the group of players, sat idly by the pier. Jian Xingyi was bored, so he started scrolling through his messages. 

The more he read, the more alarmed he became. 

【Snow Mountain players are out of their minds. It’s just a blizzard… gathering resources in a blizzard… Pour some ginger tea down his throat—we’re better off without this lowlife. 

……】 

【Don’t even get me started. Before, mung beans were only needed when gathering near lava, in the Earth’s core, or on mountaintops for extended periods. But now, as soon as you step out of the guild to venture into the lava volcano region, your skin turns red even after eating mung beans, and you get burned just by touching the lava—the temperature is way too high, right?! That’s insane!!】 

【Um… the rainforest players here are already getting flooded…】 【??】 

Jian Xingyi was stunned when he saw this and immediately asked Yu Shen what was going on.

Xinghe: 【Is your area flooded?】 

Yu Shen: 【Yes… most of the resource areas are flooded. We have to be even more careful when traveling now, and on top of that, the rain is coming down even harder.】 

Jian Xingyi furrowed his brows. 

According to the system settings, the rainforest is the area most likely to be affected by disasters, so it makes sense that the situation here is worse than elsewhere… Natural disasters. 

Is this the system’s final test for everyone? 

But under this test, everyone’s need for Jian Xingyi’s food has only grown. 

Just then, one of the players—who had been standing nearby observing through a special pair of binoculars—returned, sat down, and said, “We should be able to set sail in three hours.” 

“Yay!” 

That player appeared to be the group’s leader—he wore glasses and had a gentle, scholarly demeanor, similar to Wan Yu, but his face was much more approachable, making him look more like a helpful upperclassman at school.

His voice was gentle as he politely asked Shanhai and Jian Xingyi, “Big shots, my name is 【Jing Luo】. I’m one of the officers of 【Beyond the Sea】. We’re all members of 【Beyond the Sea】, and we’re planning to return to the guild. Where are you two headed? If it’s on your way, would you like to hop on our ship? The system’s ships are generally slower, and no one steers them as skillfully or nimbly as we do. They might not be able to avoid the storm, so there’s a certain level of danger involved.” 

Before coming here, Shanhai had told Jian Xingyi that this map is particularly challenging due to its unique terrain. Therefore, just like the Snow Mountain Guild, 【Beyond the Sea】 is eager to help new players. The Snow Mountain Guild lends vehicles and guides the way, while the Beyond the Sea Guild lends boats or lets players hitch a ride on theirs to go out to sea. 

As a newcomer, hitching a ride on their boats was better than aimlessly wandering the seas on your own. After all, outsiders certainly couldn’t predict storms as well as they could, nor did they know where the resource spots were—it was easy to get killed by the map’s treacherous features if you weren’t careful. 

As one of the top five guilds in the server, 【Beyond the Sea】 also has the ability to help others. 

Their guild has three members at full combat power: the Guild President, the vice-guild master, and the person standing before him, Jing Luo. 

Jian Xingyi had previously asked curiously, “Since this place is so similar to Snow Mountain—few people, few guilds, close-knit players who help outsiders—is there any gossip? Snow Mountain is Mount Nantong, right? So this place… could it be 【glossary_tooltip content=”Nantong is a slang for Nántóngzhì (男同志) meaning gay men while Lutong “】 Mount Lutong is slang for Nǚtóngzhì (女同志) meaning lesbians 【/glossary_tooltip】? I remember the Guild President and vice-guild master of 【Beyond the Sea】 are both girls.” 

“No.” Shanhai wore the same subtle expression as last time. “But there is some gossip.”

“Huh? What kind of gossip?”

“…You’ll find out when you get there.” 

“Oh.” 

Jian Xingyi had no idea what the gossip was yet. He looked around; everyone from 【Beyond the Sea】 seemed perfectly normal. Jian Xingyi answered Jing Luo’s question, “Ah, we’re planning to cross Wave Mountain to go to Peaceful Mountain.” 

“That is indeed on our way. You should board our ship. But…” Jing Luo asked curiously, “What are you doing going to Peaceful Mountain at this hour? Peaceful Mountain doesn’t have many resources, and even if it does, they’re probably similar to what you have on Peace Mountain, right? Why go all the way out here? If you’re looking to gather resources, I suggest gathering them at Wave Mountain—the seabed resources there are very abundant.” 

Since Jing Luo, the Guild President, and the Vice President in 【Beyond the Sea】 were all members of the Human Liberation Plan—though not high-ranking officials and thus not privy to much—Jian Xingyi simply gave a brief explanation: “We’re on a mission.” 

“Ah… oh.” Jing Luo nodded, not pressing for details about the mission, but simply asked, “Then do you need me to escort you all the way to Peaceful Mountain? I’d like to do my part, however small.” 

Jian Xingyi and Shanhai exchanged glances. 

They were in a strange land; having someone to help… was naturally a good thing! Jian Xingyi smiled. “Then we’d appreciate your help.” 

Three hours later, they were finally ready to set sail. 

They boarded the full-rigged ship moored nearby. Jian Xingyi examined the vessel with curiosity; this massive beast reminded him of a pirate ship from the movies, with its ancient design. 

Jian Xingyi hadn’t expected that in this high-tech holographic game, not only was the ship’s design retro, but it was also operated using the most primitive, manual methods! 

A tall man stood at the helm. First, the anchor was hauled up, then he turned the wheel, guiding the ship slowly away from shore, while the rest of the crew worked together to lower and unfurl the water-stained sails from the mast. 

The process flowed seamlessly. 

Seeing Jian Xingyi staring in wide-eyed amazement, Jing Luo chuckled, “If you don’t want to operate it manually, you can tap the system’s autopilot. But as I said before, no one’s predictions are as inaccurate as the system’s.” 

“Really…?” Jian Xingyi was somewhat surprised. “I thought the system would be better at predicting when a storm was coming?”

Jing Luo explained, “It’s not about that. By the time the system alerts you to a storm, it’s already too late to turn back. And even if we could turn back, rerouting would be extremely inefficient.” 

“I see…” 

Vroom— 

Accompanied by the deep rumble of the engine, the ship began to sail out into the open sea. Jian Xingyi stood at the bow, feeling a bit excited. 

It was his first time sailing on a ship like this…! Shanhai was also quite excited; this was his first visit to Wave Mountain as well. 

The two looked down at the churning sea below. The water shimmered with light, and the crimson sky cast a golden glow over the waves, creating a breathtaking scene. Jing Luo said, “It looks beautiful at dusk, but once night falls, everything will change.” 

Although the sky had remained blood-red all day, with no distinction between night and day, the system was still active. 

“Hm?” 

Jian Xingyi quickly understood what Jing Luo meant. Splash— 

Jian Xingyi peered over the side of the boat, following the sound, and nearly lost all his sanity. 

—Beside the ship was a dark green creature with its mouth wide open, baring a mouthful of fangs. It was impossible to tell what it was; all he could make out was a slimy, spherical shape. The creature was relentlessly gnawing at the hull with its sharp fangs. If he didn’t stop it, it would surely bite a hole right through the ship. 

“It’s a sea monster.” 

Jing Luo raised his gun and shot the sea monster dead. “The later it gets, the more of these creatures there are. Just kill them if you see them.” Jian Xingyi asked curiously, “Then why don’t we wait until daylight to set sail?” 

Jing Luo: “There are even more dangerous creatures during the day.” 

“……” 

“Really?”

Jing Luo explained, “Sharks during the day, sea monsters and mermaids at night. Sharks usually appear in packs, making them hard to handle; as for sea monsters, it depends on your luck —their appearance varies, but at least they’re solitary creatures. As for mermaids… just plug your ears and ignore what they say.” 

Jing Luo handed Jian Xingyi and Shanhai a pair of earplugs. 

“Mermaids?” Jian Xingyi blinked, finding the Ocean Waves Mountain territory so fascinating—it even had mermaids. “Are they pretty?” 

“Hmm… see for yourself?” Jing Luo gave a strange smile and pointed toward the distance.

“One just happened to show up. Remember to plug your ears.” 

“…!” Huh?! 

Jian Xingyi immediately turned his head in curiosity, and his sanity dropped by another point.

…No one told him these mermaids were the zombie version!!! 

Crawling on the nearby rocks were several half-naked figures. Their lower halves were fish tails with tattered scales, covered in moss and crawling with maggots. Their bodies were covered in rotting flesh and open wounds, their eyes bloodshot, and their mouths full of fangs.

They were singing in hoarse, strange tones with their mouths wide open. At first, Jian Xingyi was a bit curious and quietly took out his earplugs, but then he felt dizzy and nauseous, almost to the point of vomiting, so he quickly put them back in. 

…So your zombie fish aren’t singing to bewitch people—it’s a mental attack. But… Jian Xingyi cast a skill at the mermaid. Okay, no effect. 

Glancing at the sea monster he’d just instinctively attacked, he noticed that his backpack now contained a few loaches and exactly 9 essence points. All the creatures in the sea can be harvested! 

Yay!

Numerous creatures swam by on the seabed; Jian Xingyi could clearly see the flickering lights, and he could harvest them even through the water’s surface. 

Realizing this, Jian Xingyi leaned against the railing and started tapping at the glowing dots in the water, over and over, like a soulless machine. Shanhai: “Aren’t you going to sleep?” 

Jian Xingyi: “I’m fishing.”

In a way, this was indeed a form of fishing. 

Shanhai played along, “What did you catch?” 

“I caught… Oh my god!” 

Jian Xingyi suddenly jumped to his feet. 

—A pufferfish covered in barbs suddenly surfaced from the sea. 

Pufferfish aren’t scary, but the problem was that this one was a full fifth the size of the boat, and its spines stretched several meters long! 

Those spines were practically brushing against Jian Xingyi’s face! Faced with such a sharp object, Jian Xingyi instinctively took several steps back. 

“Jing Luo…! Is this… is this creature really okay?” Jian Xingyi and Shanhai fired their guns while trembling with fear. “This thing looks like it could pierce our boat with ease!” 

When Jing Luo and the others saw the pufferfish, they also gasped in shock. 

“How did it end up here…” 

“What’s going on…!” 

“Quick, shoot it down!” 

Everyone was on high alert; everyone except the helmsman rushed over to open fire, their expressions tense. But the pufferfish’s skin was hard, and it was protected by barbs, making it seem virtually invulnerable. 

Jian Xingyi was also on edge. What’s going on? 

Had they stumbled upon some real monster?! Rumble——— 

At that moment, several claps of thunder rang out in the distance, and the sea breeze grew bitterly cold. It looked as if a storm was brewing. Seeing the pufferfish getting closer and closer to the ship, Jing Luo had no choice but to grab the rope on the mast and jump down.

Shanhai seemed to have figured out what was going on. He patted Jian Xingyi on the shoulder, signaling him to take care of himself, then followed suit and jumped down to help. 

Jian Xingyi：“……！” 

The rest of the crew helped lower the small wooden boat so the two would have a place to land, and a tense atmosphere hung in the air.