Chapter 40
The cold, fishy-smelling water woke Li Ren up.
He opened his eyes with a start and saw a group of big men with beards and hair as messy as seaweed surrounding him, talking in a loud voice.
"Hey, we used to catch fish, but today we're always catching people."
"Brother, this man is not as valuable as the fish. He is even worse than the fish."
"How dare you talk like that, little brat."
"Hey, I'm just saying what you're really thinking, big brother... Hey, hey, I was wrong, I was wrong."
Li Ren climbed up and shrank back, looking at them warily.
My brain was a little confused and I couldn't remember how I ended up here.
...Where is this?
My body was shaking as if I was tossed on the waves, and I couldn't even sit still.
Plus the fishy smell of these people...
A ship?
Why was he on the boat?
If I remember correctly, I was sleeping.
Then I heard a cat meowing, and I thought it was my little one...
He doesn't remember what happened after that.
Those people—let's call them fishermen—saw that he was slowly regaining consciousness and spread their hands. "We're not bad people, so there's no need to be so wary. If you're alright, rest now."
"I..." Li Ren opened his mouth and found that his voice was very hoarse.
He had no idea how long he had been unconscious or what had happened during that time.
It looks like a kidnapping.
It's ridiculous. A few weeks ago, he was planning with Shen Jiangxing to kidnap Shen Yan's son. A few weeks later, Shen Jiangxing disappeared and he was kidnapped too.
Don't do too many bad things, otherwise they will come back to bite you one day.
Rather than introspection or repentance, the more important thing now was to try his best to save himself. Li Ren calmed down and cleared his throat: "What do you want? How much do you want? You can ask my wife to transfer it..."
The leader, who was gathered in the middle, looked at him in surprise. Just as he was about to speak, someone else came up and said, "The eldest sister-in-law said it's time to close the net. Let's go up first!"
He nodded: "Okay, I'll come."
He turned around and shrugged at Li Ren, who was looking wary. "We are not kidnappers, don't get me wrong. But we'll talk about it later."
A group of people left in a noisy manner, with complaints such as "Do we really look so much like bad guys?", "You do look alike anyway", "Hey, believe it or not, I'll beat you up", and "I shouldn't have been so kind to save him."
The crew members went up the stairs to the deck, and the footsteps gradually faded away.
Li Ren breathed a sigh of relief, guessing that he was probably locked up in the cabin on the bottom floor.
His clothes were still wet, cold and stiff, but fortunately the weather was not too cold.
Could it be that I really misunderstood, and these burly men were not kidnappers, but kind-hearted people who saved my life?
He tried to get up and look around, but suddenly there was another voice.
"Are you finally awake?"
Li Ren was startled and realized that there were some people in the dark.
They were as wet as I was, curled up to keep warm.
He vaguely remembered that at the beginning there was indeed a fisherman who said, "Why do you always catch people?"
It seems that I am not the only one tied up here today.
He squinted his eyes and saw seven or eight people.
The person who was talking to me was a young girl sitting in the front row who looked like a student.
Li Ren wondered if the united efforts of the people could lead to the killing of the kidnappers: "Who are you?"
The girl looked calm. "Don't worry, we're players just like you. This is a puzzle game, with no limit on the number of players who can complete it, and we can cooperate. So there's no need for cannibalism."
He didn't understand the rest of the sentence, but Li Ren caught the most important keyword: "...player?"
"Yeah." The girl asked doubtfully, "Why—oh, you're not new here, are you?"
Li Ren didn't say anything. The girl said, "You're so calm and managed to sleep through the whole game. I thought you were a veteran."
The girl is fair and pretty, and she looks good.
Li Ren looked at her and had other thoughts.
He himself comes from an ordinary family, and being able to marry into a prestigious family like the Shen family is definitely marrying into a high-class family.
However, this did not affect his dishonesty and he often spent his wife's money on wine and women.
Li Ren is both extremely eager for young women and dismissive of them, believing that girls of this age are nothing but vain and that money can buy them everything.
He said to the girl, "I'll give you money, will you follow me? I'm very rich. Anyway, my wife is not around right now..."
Yuan Yingying didn't show the outrage and disdain most girls would when hearing this for the first time, nor did she reveal the wavering desire for quick money. She just looked at him with a hint of helplessness: "Come on, uncle, it's already this late, and you still want that?"
Her tone had a sophistication that didn't suit her age.
It's not so much that she sees through the nature of men, but more like she can't understand how someone could be so out of touch.
The scoundrel-looking man with studded eyebrows beside her raised the corner of his mouth and smiled: "I advise you not to set your sights on Xiao Yuan. Her fighting power is almost maxed out."
Yuan Yingying waved her hand: "Brother Lu, don't be so exaggerated, there's still a long way to go."
Li Ren was confused.
What is force value, what is full?
However, the two of them talked so easily, so it was definitely not a kidnapping case.
He couldn't play games, and he didn't understand the buzzwords young people used: "Hey, are you guys filming some kind of variety show? Oh, just mind your own business. I know, I'm just one of those people who gets pulled over to see the reactions, commonly known as an NPC."
My wife likes to watch variety shows, so he knows a little bit about them.
As for what I said just now, well, since they dared to invite him here, they must know who he is, and they will cut it out when it is broadcast.
"NPC?" Yuan Yingying gave him an incredulous look this time. "I see, uncle, you really don't understand anything."
Li Ren was a little unhappy: "Little girl, how can you talk like that? I've eaten more salt than you've eaten rice. When you reach my age..."
Yuan Yingying skillfully let the information go in one ear and out the other, then sighed to Lu Ying, "Why do I keep running into new people who know nothing lately?"
Lu Ying pondered, "The 'Great Chaos' has caused more than one anomaly. The central nervous system needs more fresh blood to stabilize its operations."
"Brother Lu, if we keep bringing in new players, won't some of the veteran players get pushed out, considering the balance?" Yuan Yingying asked expectantly, "Will there come a day when we..."
Lu Ying smiled bitterly: "It's better not to have too high expectations."
Li Ren didn't understand a word they were saying, but it didn't matter. "I don't know what you're talking about, but it has nothing to do with me. Little girl, give me a promise, are you willing? After the show..."
Yuan Yingying's eyes had turned into pity as she looked at Li Ren, still talking to Lu Ying: "He'll probably be the first to fail."
Lu Ying sneered: "Don't be too kind. Under the rules of this game, you can't save others. Maybe once or twice, but not every time."
Yuan Yingying curled her braids and said, "I know, but it's just a reminder..."
"It's hard to persuade a damned ghost with good words."
Lu Ying didn't care about Li Ren's angry look and cursing. After all, this fat-headed guy couldn't beat him.
The two no longer cared about Li Ren's reaction and discussed the current situation.
"Brother Lu, do you think things have been a little too peaceful so far?"
This "calm" has a double meaning.
Not only has nothing thrilling, dangerous or dangerous happened so far - which is the most common thing in escape travel - but even the ship at sea is too peaceful.
First of all, in terms of natural weather, it has been sunny and windy so far, with no strong winds or waves.
In fact, it is the character environment.
These fishermen, who look a bit rough, are actually kind-hearted, otherwise they would not have saved so many capsized people.
Not only is he kind, he's also quite gentle, and not as fierce as he appears.
In other words, they are just ordinary NPCs in the plot.
If the boss is not a member of the crew of this ship, then new characters will be introduced next.
Not only are there new characters appearing, but they may also be hidden among the crew members you have already seen, or even the more conspicuous captain.
They have to be wary of everyone.
There were excited footsteps approaching, and the two of them immediately shut up.
"Hey, hey, hey, do you want to come and see?" It was a young man. "You are all from the city, so you must have never seen this before - we caught a strange fish!"
Yuan Yingying and Lu Ying looked at each other: Here comes the clue.
Not only them, but other players also reacted immediately and stood up.
Li Ren was the only 100% newbie in this dungeon. He stared blankly at everyone following the young fisherman upstairs as if they were very interested in the fish.
For safety reasons, being left alone in the bilge was not an option.
Li Ren also followed.
The wind is not strong today, but after all, we are at sea, and the fishing boats are still more swaying than on land.
Li Ren held onto the railing, feeling inexplicably drunk.
He was the last one to arrive; the others had already gathered around the large barrels containing different types of fish.
There are all kinds of sea fish swimming in the barrel, which are very common for fishermen, but a little unfamiliar to players who don’t eat seafood much or have no chance to eat seafood at all.
Li Ren, who had always been disliked, finally got his chance to shine. He likes seafood and sea fishing, and he talked about it enthusiastically: "Hey, is this a sea bass? This one is big, maybe more than ten pounds? Is this a mullet? It's a bit small; or the yellowfin mackerel over 1.5 meters long is more fun to catch..."
The captain, whom the fishermen called "Big Brother," glanced at him in surprise and said, "You know a lot."
Li Ren smiled slightly: "I have a cruise ship, and I usually go out for a stroll."
He did not hide his financial resources and looked at Yuan Yingying while speaking, implying "Brother is so rich and charming, you might as well follow me."
Yuan Yingying rolled her eyes: "I really can't stand it."
Lu Ying comforted her: "You still lack the experience of being beaten up in a dungeon."
"—But, sir, you certainly won't recognize this one." The first mate proudly pointed to the innermost barrel, which was much smaller than the others. "This is the strange fish I asked you to come and see."
The NPCs you meet in the dungeon and who actively talk to you almost never say anything nonsense.
This fish must be closely related to the next clue, so all the players came over to take a look.
It’s really hard to describe this little thing as a “fish”; it looks more like a jellyfish.
Its umbrella body is round and as big as an adult's hands put together.
Delicate, petal-like tentacles hang from the edges like beads;
Only one pair of tentacles is much larger than the others and is curved, looking like a pair of bows at first glance.
The little guy's body is crystal clear, as if it will melt in the water at any time, but it reflects a dazzling brilliance like glass under the light.
The delicate and small jellyfish floats in a circle, like a butterfly in the water with its wings spread out, light and quiet.
It's pretty, but it looks familiar.
Li Ren raised his chin: "Isn't it just a jellyfish?"
The captain stroked his beard and said, "It's a jellyfish, but I've been in this business for decades and have seen all kinds of them, but I've never seen anything like this."
You know, the tentacles of jellyfish have many functions, such as hunting, swimming, sensing, and defense, so they must be extremely delicate and free.
This little guy has a pair of knotted tentacles, which don't look like they were formed after birth but rather by nature. What are their uses?
When the little jellyfish saw so many two-legged animals looking at it, it was not afraid. Instead, it swam slowly to the edge of the bucket and blew a bubble at them.
Yuan Yingying squatted down: "Wow, so cute!"
The captain quickly said, "Don't touch it. Many jellyfish are highly poisonous. It's hard to tell what it is."
Yuan Yingying is an old player who has experienced countless life and death situations. Naturally, she knows that nothing in the unfamiliar sub-world should be touched casually.
But she still pretended to be well-behaved: "Okay, I understand, thank you uncle."
The captain looked at her with a smile, as if he were his daughter.
There's no harm in building good relationships with important NPCs; this is another rule Yuan Yingying keeps in mind.
The little jellyfish touched the edge of the bucket with its other two slightly longer tentacles on the opposite side of the "butterfly wings", like little hands clinging there, and spit out a bubble again.
"It seems like it's talking to me," Yuan Yingying said. "It's really cute."
Lu Ying put his hands in his pockets and looked down, and at the same time as Yuan Yingying, he thought of another cute little creature.
"Hey, Brother Lu, do you remember when we met a little kitten in the Golden Tyrant dungeon?" Yuan Yingying sighed. "I wonder how it's doing now."
It seems difficult for a fragile little life with no ability to protect itself to survive.
Fortunately, this little jellyfish is part of the NPC, not a player captured by the central nervous system.
Otherwise, it would be too strange for a jellyfish to participate in the escape game.
"It actually looks a bit like a moon jellyfish, but much larger." Li Ren walked over to them. "Let me test you. Do you know why the moon jellyfish is called a moon jellyfish?"
Lu Ying mouthed to Yuan Yingying: "Here we go again."
Yuan Yingying didn't want to cooperate, but this kind of person was tactless and incessant. "Let me tell you, one, the shape of the tentacles of the umbrella resembles peach blossoms, and the other is that it often appears when the peach blossoms are in full bloom, which is late spring, hence the name. I have a friend..."
The others ignored him completely.
"But it doesn't look like peach blossoms. It looks more like..." Yuan Yingying tilted her head, observing the pattern on the jellyfish's umbrella from a different angle, "pear blossoms."
"Then let's name it the Pear Blossom Jellyfish." Li Ren sighed. "Maybe it's a brand new species. I'll go back and contact my contacts..."
This time, Yuan Yingying was too lazy to even roll her eyes.
The captain rejoined their conversation: "Yes, I think that's a good name. We've had a good trip this time. We can return home early tomorrow morning, and you can go home too."
He put his arm around Li Ren and Lu Ying's shoulders, "It seems you are my honored guests. Come on, I'll treat you to a seafood dinner tonight!"
The other players who were not "poisoned" by the fishy smell on him cheered.
If there is a free meal, of course you have to eat it.
You don't have enough points to spend in the player lobby between dungeons. Who knows when you'll die after entering the dungeon? It's better to be happy while you can!
The captain released the two people who were coughing and asked the crew, "Where's Xiaoxi? Ask him to come over."
Xiaoxi?
A new character that will be unlocked soon.
Will it be an NPC or a boss?
After the crew brought Xiaoxi over, the players all crossed out the latter option in their minds.
It's impossible to have such a young boss.
The captain and his wife are in their fifties and have no children.
Half a year ago, he adopted a six-year-old boy who was orphaned in a shipwreck tragedy.
Xiaoxi is sensible and intelligent, and has a special skill: he is very good at raising rare and exotic fish.
You should know that many sea fish are very delicate. Once they are caught ashore, they will die within two hours if they are not preserved properly. But as long as they are left with Xiaoxi, they will be able to return to land safely no matter how much trouble they suffer.
Moreover, since raising Xiaoxi, the fishing boat has always had smooth seas and returned with a full load every time it goes out to sea in the past six months.
Xiaoxi is their blessing and lucky star, and is deeply loved by all the crew members.
The captain decided to give this... no, this rare "pear blossom jellyfish" to Xiaoxi to take care of.
The little boy was handsome and neatly dressed, completely different from the unkempt crew members.
This group of fishermen with little education and only brute strength are raising a child in the best way they can.
The boy had black hair and brown eyes and didn't look like anything special.
There is only a tuft of silver on the forehead that is unique and very eye-catching.
When the captain and his wife adopted him, they thought his hair was dyed, but the child said it was his natural color.
"Come on." The captain waved at the boy, "I'll give this to you as well."
When Xiaoxi passed by Yuan Yingying and Lu Ying, she bowed slightly to them, with a flash of gratitude in her eyes, but said nothing.
I thought it was just the child's politeness, but he didn't do the same gesture when passing other players.
The two were quite puzzled.
Do they know him...?
Li Ren was in another state of confusion.
This child looks so much like Ling Xi, the one the old man took in. Even their names are similar.
He had little interaction with Ling Xi, who was raised in the Shen family. He could only see him occasionally when he went to the old man's place. He was a silent and obedient child.
Chen Jiangxing said that after Chen Yan's son was found, Ling Xi liked to take him out to play, and the little guy also liked to stick to Ling Xi.
Children have a natural tendency to be close to their peers, but Li Ren didn't mind.
In general, his impression of Ling Xi was very vague, and it was difficult for him to tell whether Xiao Xi in front of him and the child were the same person.
The child looked young but very strong. He brought a heavy and beautifully decorated fish tank, found a scoop, and carefully transferred the small jellyfish from the bucket to the tank.
If the little jellyfish was just generally curious about the players and crew members before, then after seeing Xiaoxi, the enthusiasm turned into eagerness.
It kept slapping the glass of the fish tank with its little tentacles, almost sticking itself into a little fish cake. Strings of bubbles gurgled up, as if it wanted to say something to the boy, or ask for a hug.
Unfortunately, jellyfish are not kittens and cannot hug humans.
Xiaoxi stretched out her index finger and touched the jellyfish's small tentacles through the glass, as if to comfort it: "Shh, shh..."
He was still a child himself, so he used a coaxing tone.
Surprisingly, this comfort was really effective. The little jellyfish calmed down, turned around in the fish tank, and hid in the small house in the corner.
This little house should be customized for the size of clownfish, and it is a bit narrow for small jellyfish.
Its soft body was able to fit in, but its largest pair of bow-knot tentacles were stuck outside.
The little jellyfish tried several times but still couldn't squeeze itself into the small house and had to retreat.
Players all saw a deep sense of loneliness and grievance in its twitching little body.
The little jellyfish came to the edge of the fish tank again and blew out a bubble.
The boy touched the place where the tentacles extended through the glass and whispered, "I'm sorry, I'll go back and build you a big house. Do you want a garden? I can also build a garden and a swing. And more..."
The players, who are always nervous, can rarely smile knowingly when listening to the children's childish words.
Perhaps only at this age will people still live in innocent fairy tales and believe that they have the ability to communicate with small animals.
*
The ship was quite old, the electrical circuit was unstable, and there was very little lighting at night, so the rooms were equipped with extra candles.
There were several empty rooms on the ship, and players who knew each other moved in. Li Ren was both lucky and unfortunate to be left alone.
He couldn't sleep, so he stared at the candlelight with his coat on, wondering how he could steal the pear jellyfish.
Jellyfish are basically transparent or translucent, and light can pass directly through their bodies.
But this one can actually reflect different kinds of light, and its translucent little body looks like colored glass, which is obviously a rare treasure.
Li Ren is not short of money, he is the son-in-law of the Shen family.
But who would refuse a little more money?
More importantly, he has always been an ordinary person, and discovering new creatures - this is the nobility and glory of science and biology that is still out of reach even for the upper class!
He has always wanted to achieve something to prove himself and make Mr. Shen and other people in the Shen family look up to him.
This jellyfish may be the best turning point.
The captain's son lived very close to him, and it was not difficult to coerce or bribe a child; the difficulty lay in the fact that the pear blossom jellyfish was quite large and might be very fragile, and he could not think of any container or method to take the jellyfish away without attracting attention.
If this jellyfish doesn't survive and becomes a specimen, can it still be sold at a good price? Is it still worth studying?
I can’t care less, I’ll just go and take a look.
He came to Xiaoxi's room and was about to knock on the door when he heard the child talking behind the thin door.
"See, I didn't lie to you." Xiaoxi said, "Juejue, we meet again."
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