Chapter 44
"How could this happen..."
"Have you ever encountered this before?"
"No, we are very disciplined and never go beyond the patrol area of the Coast Guard."
"Then why didn't you call the police?"
"I called, but couldn't get through. All signals are blocked."
"Oh my god, the other party was well prepared.
"It's coming with such force..."
With the addition of a group of players, there were no more suitable cabins on the ship to accommodate everyone, so everyone had to gather in the connected restaurant and kitchen.
After briefly informing everyone of the current situation, everyone started talking about it.
The ones who are worried are basically the crew members. In their setting, the world is peaceful and the sea is calm, and pirates are a group of people who only appear in movies and rumors.
The players were secretly excited - they had been troubled by the inability to advance the plot, and now a new clue was here, right?
The two groups are clearly divided, each with its own agenda.
As usual, Li Jue stayed obediently in Ling Xi's arms, sitting in the corner with the boy, listening to the whispers of the two-legged beasts.
He was originally woken up in the middle of his sleep by the adults' voices. The adults' voices were sometimes high and sometimes low, rising and falling like waves, and the little guy became even more sleepy after listening to them.
When the small jellyfish is asleep, its body will twitch evenly, and the water film will regularly grow and shrink.
Ling Xi patted his bubble and whispered, "It's okay, Juejue, go to sleep. We're safe."
It sounds too boastful, but it is the truth.
Whatever happens in the copy has nothing to do with the small system, he is always safe; the same goes for his guardian.
But Li Jue was still a little disappointed, thinking that he would be able to see Brother Yaoyao soon.
Unexpectedly, before the Siren arrived, another wave of people came to share the food.
Ling Xi comforted him: "Even a small boss may drop fragments."
They now call accumulating boss favorability and collecting "cores" "picking up fragments."
"Think of it this way. Every time you advance the plot, every time you meet someone, you're one step closer to your father."
The little jellyfish agreed with this statement, waved its tentacles, and calmed down.
The situation was settled here, but problems arose on the other side.
Ling Xi asked in confusion: "Uncle, what's wrong with you?"
Li Ren was sitting next to him, his teeth chattering: "I, I, I, I, I... I'm fine..."
What Li Ren feared most now was seeing the pair of little ogres, and he wanted to stay as far away from them as possible; but in order to count everyone present, the captain required them to sit in the order of their rooms.
By chance, Li Ren saw the two little ones again.
Warm brown.
Light blue.
…the color of nightmares and demons.
He kept sending signals for help with his eyes towards Yuan Yingying who was not far away, but the little girl actually refused to look at him!
Li Ren gritted his teeth and cursed her a thousand times in his heart.
But there was nothing he could do except this. He still had to face the little demons up close.
Since they were going to die anyway, Li Ren simply observed the two little ones carefully.
The boy's hair on his forehead had grown a little longer, especially the silver-white part, which was almost long enough to cover his eyes.
He fiddled with it several times but it kept hanging down, so he just gave up.
Her little face is fair and clean, and she has a maturity that does not match her age.
As for the little jellyfish in his arms, it seemed to be asleep, talking in its sleep, and spitting bubbles rhythmically with each breath.
Because it was a very quiet dream talk, the bubbles were particularly small, like a crystal necklace with a broken string.
Ling Xi occasionally touched the layer of water film that appeared light blue under the light, as if she was flapping the water to coax a small jellyfish to sleep.
In the noisy and bustling room, only these two little ones are living a peaceful life.
With its deceptive tranquility and innocence, it seems like the only pure land in the black torrent.
Good child.
The middle-aged man thought with great sorrow, was it really because he let the cat out of the bag that he became evil?
——If this is true, then wouldn’t I be the culprit that caused the copy to go haywire?
Can it still be said that Xiaoxi killed himself?
What exactly killed me?
Is there a possibility that he actually killed himself?
...What is this, suicide?
Li Ren fell into an inescapable philosophical vortex.
The captain cleared his throat. "Please don't let your guard down. This is our first time facing a pirate crisis. No matter what difficulties we encounter, we must remain calm and unite as one. Our ship is actually equipped with defensive equipment. We will contact the coast guard again later. Most importantly, don't be greedy, don't get into conflict with them, and save your lives..."
The crew listened with shining eyes. The fear in their hearts subsided a lot after hearing the captain's clear and calm speech.
Working in such a helpless environment at sea requires extremely high trust and obedience to the leader.
But there were also different voices, naturally from the players: "Captain, we came here directly after being woken up, and we haven't seen the real face of the ship yet - how do you know that the other party is pirates and not some other ship?"
Other players agreed.
The crew members were unhappy when they heard this:
"Don't you trust Big Brother?"
"Will I lie to you again?"
"We saved your lives!"
One player murmured quietly, "How do we know you're not colluding to harm us?"
An impulsive crew member suddenly stood up and slammed the table: "You have no conscience when you say such things! If you don't trust us so much, just jump off the boat and swim back!"
For players, not trusting anyone after entering a dungeon, including seemingly close teammates, is a practice that makes perfect and is the way to save lives.
But for NPCs, it would be too hurtful if the person they rescued questioned them.
Seeing that the two forces were about to quarrel, the captain's wife turned on a video - it was not until then that the players discovered that this quaint little fishing boat actually had such advanced equipment as a projector, and it was installed in the restaurant.
After the lights were turned off, only the screen slowly lit up. People fell silent.
This video is from a voyage recorder installed in the bridge, which is in operation 24/7.
At first, the picture only showed the blurry waves in the quiet night. It looked like an ordinary night, and you could even hear the sound of the crew on duty playing poker.
Their laughter stopped abruptly.
After a while, a hesitant voice sounded: "...What is that?"
"A ship...right? We're in temperate waters, it can't be an iceberg."
The attempt at a joke did not work because, in the absence of an iceberg, a ship suddenly appearing in front of them, blocking their way, would be more terrifying than a cramped iceberg.
"If it's a ship," someone asked, "did any of you see it just now?"
There is no need for radar to lock on. At such a close distance, the movement trajectory can be seen with the naked eye.
All the people on duty fell silent.
——No one saw how the ship appeared.
It is like a ghost, blinding everyone's senses, approaching silently, and showing its terrifying presence unexpectedly.
Ghost ship.
Is this a real thing?
Even though the crew members' faces did not appear in the video, the panic spread from the corners and almost infected all the audience present.
"...Want to go out and take a look?"
"Let's tell Big Brother first..."
"How about we rewind the surveillance footage and take a look?"
The last proposal was approved by everyone.
Even if our five senses can be deceived, precision electronic components will never make mistakes.
However, this action was undoubtedly regrettable - because it further helped them confirm that the ship had no trace or image of its origin.
It completely flashed before my eyes.
Such an uncommon thing actually happened. At one point, some crew members suspected that several people on duty tonight had eaten some food and were collectively poisoned and had hallucinations. However, when they hurried to ask the captain, the latter's silence shattered their last hope.
Just when everyone was so frightened that they got goosebumps, the ship, which had only been visible in outline and whose details could not be seen even when the rangefinder was zoomed in, suddenly appeared in the camera, as if a layer of film had been peeled off, and the ship's hull, which was so clear that every detail was visible, suddenly appeared.
The clear night sky, which was originally full of stars, suddenly became gloomy, and dark clouds gathered overhead, as if lightning would strike at any time.
The ship was ten times larger than their small fishing boat, or perhaps more; its hull was a deep black, and its tall mast was tied with its iconic flag - a skull with bared fangs and claws.
Skull and crossbones flag.
This is probably one of the most bound and fixed images in the world. What it means is self-evident.
The skeleton clearly had no eyes, and there were only two empty holes where the eye sockets should be, but the people on the fishing boat always felt like they had become its prey and were terrified.
The skull flag fluttered in the wind, and the huge ship swayed on the waves, making the low roar of the waves again and again.
There was no one to be seen on the deck, but the strange laughter floated clearly into the ears of everyone on the bridge.
"……pirate……"
Someone murmured.
This word immediately awakened all those who were still immersed in shock and terrified.
Fortunately, the captain remained calm. He spit out the cigarette butt he had used to wake himself up and made a prompt decision: "Jeff, try the frequency band to see if you can communicate with the other party. David, call the coast guard. James and Chris, go and count the weapons on the ship. Everyone else, go wake up anyone who is still asleep - remember, be gentle!"
The crew members murmured their orders and the footsteps quickly dissipated.
The recorder moved forward again, zooming in on the skull flag.
Compared to the first time I saw it, there was suddenly a banner fluttering in the wind under the flag.
It was a string of capital, weird characters.
Coupled with the constantly dripping, bright red paint (is it really paint? Or...), it looks extremely creepy in the night.
Many sub-worlds have their own unique cultural systems, including completely independent languages.
The players were equipped with built-in translation tools and understood the meaning of the words:
"We're here!"
His tone was as excited as a child attending a friend's party.
When children go to a party, they eat cupcakes, candies, and marshmallows.
So, what about pirates?
The video was still buzzing.
Bang--
A loud bang woke up everyone present.
They looked at each other, and saw the fear that had reached its peak in each other's eyes.
The pirate ship, having waited for a long time and exhausted its patience, crashed into them.
Compared with the magnificent pirate ship, the fishing boat can be described as "petite", like a light toy that can be overturned with just one finger.
Those pirates are coming.
They are coming.
The captain didn't care about being quiet anymore and shouted to the commotion: "Everyone, listen to my command. The crew members will disperse according to the formation they have practiced before and do what they should do. Other guests, please stay here and don't go anywhere—"
He is the backbone of the ship. If even he can't calm down, others will only become more panicked.
Even though the captain had never dealt with such a difficult situation before, he tried to make his voice sound as calm as possible.
Until I saw Ayaki suddenly stand up in the corner.
The boy held the little jellyfish and neither stayed where he was like the other players, nor followed the crew members to run into the cabin.
The direction he was going was onto the deck.
——Where the pirates came from.
The captain's voice also changed to a sharp and trembling tone: "Hey, Xiaoxi, where are you going!"
Ling Xi didn't say anything, but just stopped and bowed slightly to him, then dodged the crew members who wanted to catch him as nimbly as a small fish escaping from a fishing net, and disappeared from everyone's sight in an instant.
Li Ren, who witnessed this action, immediately looked at Yuan Yingying, who also looked at him, as did Lu Ying, who had already learned of the situation.
The three of them had the same sigh in their eyes.
This kid, the boss is going to see the boss!
*
"Xixi."
"Um?"
"Where are we going?"
"Go and see the people who are coming."
"Who is it?"
"I think we should call them pirates."
"Why?"
"There's a chance they could harm the crew... I don't want to see that."
In fact, it is clear that the crew's kindness to you is just a program setting, and the crew being harmed by pirates is also part of the game background.
The players are real, but the NPCs are not. After a dungeon ends, they will all refresh and "resurrect" to become a brand new group of people.
They are still a loving family and still help strangers who fall into the water.
However, by that time, the captain and his wife would no longer adopt a child named Xiaoxi, the crew would no longer remember to show him any rare fish they caught, and even the chef would no longer remember how to cook his favorite dish.
In order to wait for Li Jue's arrival, Ling Xi needs to enter each sub-world in advance, become a bug that does not have much influence there, and implant the concept that they have known each other for a long time in the minds of the NPCs.
When he and Li Jue leave together, these memories, like all the traces left by the players, will all be erased, and the sub-world and NPCs will be completely renewed.
Just like the starship members in the Dragon World now, I'm afraid no one remembers him except high-level bosses like Finks and Lin Wang.
Ling Xi already understood all this.
But he still cherishes every moment he has in the ocean world and on this fishing boat.
The child who had been alone since birth now had a family and a home for the first time.
So even if everything is false data and everything is fleeting, he still wants to protect them.
Li Jue noticed that the little brother was in a low mood and touched him with his tentacles through the water film: "If Xixi wants, then, Zizi will help you!"
His voice was childish but resounding, as if he was making a great oath.
Because I don’t want to see Xixi so sad.
Because Xixi looks good when he smiles, and I want to see him smile.
Because I like Xixi the most.
Ling Xi opened her eyes slightly, and a warm current surged in her chest.
The boy hugged the little jellyfish tightly: "Yeah, okay."
The wooden stairs leading to the deck had been in disrepair for many years and made a creaking sound when stepped on, which was particularly harsh in the quiet night.
Ling Xi and Li Jue hid together under the stairs, covering their small bodies with several large barrels half the height of an adult that were filled with the smell of fish, and listened to the footsteps that did not belong to the crew getting closer.
"Where are the people? Where have they gone?"
It was the pirates speaking.
The two little ones held their breath (although the cubs didn't need to, the little jellyfish still did it to fit in with the atmosphere) and waited silently.
"Ha, where else can I hide?"
Another voice.
"As long as they didn't dig a hole in the bottom of the boat and escape, the outcome would still be the same."
"Hey, do you remember that last time a group of people actually dug a hole in the bottom of the boat and crawled in, and almost tricked us."
"It has to be Mr. Wan."
"Mr. Wan is indeed amazing. It's right for Brother Lu to give up his position."
"Mr. Wan can lead us to new glory!"
"Long live Mr. Wan!!"
It sounded like there were about four or five people walking in this direction, and as these guys chatted, they actually became excited.
It is obvious that this so-called "Mr. Wan" is their leader, commonly known as the pirate chief.
"Xixi."
Ling Xi instinctively thought "Hmm", but then she remembered that she was not in a good environment to speak, so she quickly covered her mouth and switched to the mental link conversation channel: "Hmm?"
"Are they bad guys?"
"...Is that so?" Ayaka hesitated a bit. "Although they haven't done anything particularly bad yet, they are set up as villains in this sub-world."
"Villain, is he really bad?"
"Well, it's true that only bad people are called villains."
"So, Brother Mi, Brother Lin Wang, Sister Lida, Brother Will, Brother Shitou... and Brother Yaoyao, are they villains?"
Li Jue simply counted all the people he knew.
He is a small system that serves as a communication point with the boss. After entering the sub-world, the people he needs to get to know are naturally boss-like characters.
They may be cruel to NPCs and cold to players, but their love for their babies is genuine.
In addition to the baby cubs, the Golden Dragon family is also very good to human male servants.
What exactly is the definition of a “bad guy”?
Is the definition of “bad guys” a fixed range?
Can “bad guys” only be “bad guys”?
The three-year-old cub couldn't figure it out.
This was also a complex philosophical proposition for a five-year-old boy.
Ling Xi touched the water ball, as if she were touching a baby's head: "If someone wants to hurt the one you love, then they are a bad person."
The little jellyfish flipped up its bow-tie tentacles and thought hard.
Zaizai loves the Golden Dragon family and brother Yaoyao.
They didn't hurt each other and were all good people.
Zizi loves Xixi, and Xixi loves the crew.
If the pirates want to harm the crew, they are harming the people Xixi loves.
Xixi is sad, which means she has been hurt.
So……
Pirates are bad guys.
Well, I totally understand!
There was a corner in the stairs where the children were hiding.
When the pirates were halfway through their journey and turned around, a voice rang out above their heads:
"There's no light down there, turn on your flashlights."
"I know, I know. Not everyone is as old and blind as you."
"Hey kid, you're just a dog biting Lu Dongbin!"
"Who is Lü Dongbin?"
"That's not right."
Ling Xi listened quietly, and clenched her other hand, which was not holding Li Jue, into a fist.
Under normal circumstances, as a silent bug, he cannot affect the progress of the plot in the sub-world; that is, he can only be a bystander and cannot intervene in any events.
However, this is a puzzle type, so killing people or not shouldn't have much impact.
These pirates should be primary bosses, and players can get clues about meeting the big boss from them.
In other words, no matter how majestic and superior he looks at the moment, in fact, in this sub-world, he is not even qualified to meet the small system.
The little ones in his family have a very high status.
Ayaka was thinking about how to reverse the situation where the pirates might hurt someone, when the little jellyfish suddenly moved, as if trying to break free from Ayaka's arms, with a very purposeful look.
The boy was a little confused, but he believed that the baby had his reasons for doing this; plus, as a system, Li Jue would not be hurt by the little boss, so he let go.
Ling Xi was surprised to find that even though the little jellyfish was out of his support, it did not fall to the ground (he thought it would bounce around like a small ball), but was still some distance away from the ground, almost floating in the air.
The little guy was flapping in the water ball, the parachute opening and closing, completely using the posture of swimming in the water, but he could also control the bubble to move forward and turn.
Even if he jumped hard, the bubble would float higher.
...a small flying jellyfish.
As expected of a baby, Ling Xi was amazed that he could even do such a magical thing.
In places with light, the jellyfish's wonderful transparent umbrella can reflect light, making it look as if it is shining.
It is light blue under the light, light gold under natural light, and light orange under the sunset.
In this dim corner, the little guy's figure was completely hidden in the darkness.
If it weren't for Ling Xi's unique perception of him, she would probably have lost track of where Li Jue had gone.
The first pirate walked down the stairs.
Unlike what one might imagine, these people are not all big and strong and ferocious. Instead, they look gentle, well-dressed, and have decent taste. If one did not understand the plot, one would have thought they were office workers from somewhere at first glance.
I don’t know if it was the aesthetic taste of “Mr. Wan” that changed them.
In contrast, the crew members have been drifting on the sea for many years, with unkempt hair and burly bodies, and they actually look more like the evil robbers.
The first person will be coming down soon.
The little jellyfish quietly floated at the height of a human's calf. In this form, it did not have a real heart, but a cluster of wavy light radiated from the center of its umbrella, as if at the position of its heart, and its colors kept changing.
The light was very faint, far less than the moonlight pouring down from the deck along the stairs. It could not be seen at all without careful observation.
Li Jue's body is only as big as two palms put together. Apart from the butterfly wings on its back, the other tentacles around the umbrella are also small.
However, at this moment, his "heart" flickered, and then, the two tentacles on the side opposite to the bow tie, which were slightly longer, suddenly stretched to several meters.
Ling Xi widened her eyes in surprise, and then she saw clearly that what was growing longer was not a solid object, but a band of light extending along the tentacles.
The light spread all the way to the bottom of the steps, which swayed and sparkled, as if covered with countless tiny diamonds.
More like water than light.
As Ling Xi was thinking this, the first pirate who came down didn't notice the light belt and stepped on it——
Then, he slipped and fell to the ground with a huge bang.
The accomplices following closely behind had no time to brake and fell down one after another like dominoes.
The people below were so pressed down that they kept crying out:
"I, I can't do it anymore!"
"Whose elbow is poking me?"
"Ouch, my ribs, my ribs are going to break--"
"Which blind idiot was walking in front of everyone just now?"
"How can there be water here?"
"Get away from me, damn it!"
A great victory!
The culprit little jellyfish jumped joyfully in the air, touched its two longer tentacles against each other, clapped its hands as if in celebration, then turned and floated back to Ayaka to ask for praise.
Zaizai is the embodiment of cuteness and justice~!
However, just as the little jellyfish was about to go around the barrel and dive into the corner to look for his little brother, he was picked up by a pair of hands.
"Oh my, little one, that's not good."
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