Chapter 145: Monsters Will Land on the Island

Chapter 145: Chapter 145: Monsters Will Land on the Island

Seeing this, Shi Zhile took out two deck chairs and joined Mr. Wen in fishing.

The corner of Jiang Yuxing’s mouth twitched. "How rare for such a busy person to remember us!" he said, his voice laced with sarcasm.

Shi Zhile cast her line into the sea, then turned and settled into her deck chair.

"The shelter’s upgrading. I had nowhere to go, so I thought of you."

Jiang Yuxing fell silent. Wang Peng tried to stifle a laugh, but ended up letting out a cackle that sounded like a quacking duck.

"Sister Zhile, what Level is your shelter?"

"Level Four."

"Are you sure it’s Level Four, and not Level Five?" Jiang Yuxing asked.

Shi Zhile glanced at him. "Of course it’s Level Four."

’It’s still upgrading, so it doesn’t count as Level Five yet.’

’But Jiang Yuxing’s question also revealed that he’s been keeping tabs on her.’

’Otherwise, how would he know her shelter was becoming Level Five when they hadn’t seen each other in half a month?’

While they were chatting, Mr. Wen’s bobber twitched. He pulled up his line to reveal a glittering golden treasure chest.

Immediately after, Jiang Yuxing pulled up a second one.

At the same time, Wang Peng reeled one in as well.

All three of them turned to look at her. Shi Zhile glanced from one to the other, then fixed her gaze on her own fishing rod.

Of course, it was a different story for her.

Her bobber didn’t so much as twitch, floating motionlessly as if it had died a peaceful death.

Over the next half hour, the other three continued to catch all sorts of sea fish, while Shi Zhile’s fishing rod only grew more "peaceful."

She placed her fishing rod in its holder, then turned and took out a stove and an iron pot.

"Have you guys eaten yet?"

Wang Peng immediately reeled in his line and went over to get the fire started.

"Not yet! Sister Zhile, I’ll clean the fish. We can have fish for dinner tonight."

He’d been eating nothing but sandwiches with Jiang Yuxing for half a month. At this point, he couldn’t even stand the sight or sound of the word. He just wanted a proper, hot meal fit for a human being.

Shi Zhile, who was in the middle of washing the pot, paused. "Let’s just have porridge. It’s easier to digest at night."

’Most importantly, it’s easier!’

’Shi Zhiyi, Mr. Wen, and Jiang Yuxing were all great cooks. They had been taking turns feeding her for some time now, and she really didn’t want to eat the fishy meal she would end up making herself.’

Wang Peng thought for a moment. "I... guess that works."

The words had barely left his mouth when Jiang Yuxing also reeled in his line, scooped a sea fish out of a bucket, and began to prepare it.

He sliced the fresh fish into thin pieces, tossed them with a bit of salt and pepper to marinate, and once everything was ready, he took the ladle from Shi Zhile’s hand.

Shi Zhile knew her cooking skills had been rejected, so she perceptively stepped aside and gave him the space.

Jiang Yuxing glanced back. "Scallions!"

Shi Zhile grabbed a handful of wild scallions from her inventory, peeled and washed them, then handed them over.

The wild scallions were chopped and the ginger was julienned. Once the rice boiled to the point of breaking apart, Jiang Yuxing gave the order to turn down the heat and let it simmer.

As night officially fell, Mr. Wen also put away his fishing rod and helped set up a lamp stand.

Shi Zhile ignited four torches with her Internal Energy and placed them around the four sides of the boat.

As the fish slices went into the pot, the fragrance of the rice instantly transformed into a rich, savory aroma.

All the meat from a sea fish weighing more than ten pounds—with the bones removed—was now in the pot. Combined with a generous amount of rice, it simmered into a huge pot full of porridge.

The four of them sat on the deck with their bowls, sipping porridge as they gazed out at the surface of the sea.

The ocean at night was pitch-black and not much to look at. But when they looked up, the first thing they saw was a sky full of stars.

Sipping her porridge, Shi Zhile remarked with a sigh, "I haven’t seen the stars in such a long time. People are strange, aren’t they? When things were safe and stable, we were always busy—working for a car, a house, for money. We never had a moment of peace."

"Now that danger lurks everywhere, our free moments are ironically less frantic."

Mr. Wen smiled. "Society was progressing so quickly that to stop meant falling behind. Everyone was constantly running, and in the process, they lost the ability to admire the scenery."

"Before this ’game’ began, I was reviewing my students’ theses. Watching them revise and rewrite them again and again, I was torn between exasperation and amusement."

For once, Shi Zhile was interested in a story. She asked enthusiastically, "And now? When you think back on their theses, are you more amused or more exasperated?"

Mr. Wen scratched his head repeatedly, his expression troubled. "Just pure, mental exhaustion."

"There’s a phrase from the internet that describes university students so perfectly: ’Eyes shining with a crystal-clear stupidity.’"

"If I had known we were going to be thrown into this blasted game, I would have made every single one of them rewrite their thesis from top to bottom."

"During my lectures, I’d say..."

Mr. Wen launched into a nonstop lecture full of jargon. It was as if his teaching addiction had flared up, and he transitioned from amusing classroom anecdotes to specific academic concepts.

Afraid the other three wouldn’t be able to follow, he even pulled out a notebook, explaining and elaborating as he went.

At first, Shi Zhile could understand a little. But as he went on, piling one dense concept on top of another, she felt the agonizing sensation of being drowned in a sea of knowledge.

Her eyes glazed over. When Elder Wen looked at her, she just blinked in confusion.

Mr. Wen then looked at the other two. Wang Peng was nodding off, and Jiang Yuxing’s expression was placid, making it impossible to tell whether he was following along.

The moon climbed higher in the sky. Shi Zhile yawned and lay back in her deck chair. "Aren’t we going back to sleep?"

Jiang Yuxing glanced at her. "If you’re tired, go ahead and sleep. Monsters are going to land on the island tonight. The open sea is relatively safer."

Shi Zhile was instantly wide awake.

"On the island, at least there’s room to run. If we get surrounded on the open sea, there’ll be truly no escape."

Jiang Yuxing raised an eyebrow with a grin. "Wouldn’t it be better to be unable to escape? It’s the perfect opportunity to quit the game for good."

Mr. Wen shook his head in disapproval. "Quitting the game is one thing, but being eaten by a monster and digested into feces... that’s a bit undignified."

Shi Zhile nodded in agreement. "The old saying is right: All people must die. A death may be weightier than Mount Tai or lighter than a goose feather."

"To die a warrior’s death is weightier than Mount Tai. To end one’s own life in silence is lighter than a goose feather."

"I’ve ended my own life before, but being turned into feces seems a bit *too* light, even for me."

The corner of Jiang Yuxing’s mouth twitched, his expression complex.

’How did they all manage to connect death with feces?’ he thought. ’Do we really have to discuss this right after dinner?’

He took a deep breath and repeated slowly and seriously, "Monsters will land on the island! LAND! ON THE! ISLAND!"

Shi Zhile shot bolt upright. "So, the monsters are landing on the island tonight, not boarding boats?"

Jiang Yuxing fell silent for a moment. "You can think of it this way: after the monsters land on the island, their combat effectiveness skyrockets. In the water, by contrast, they’re weaker."

Shi Zhile nodded thoughtfully, but inwardly, she didn’t believe a single word of it.

’The monsters come from the sea,’ she thought. ’It makes no sense for them to be stronger on land and weaker in the water.’

’Of the Level One to Five monsters, she had only seen Seals and mermaids. Both were small, but their main advantage was their agility. If they were allowed to zip around freely in the water, it would only be a matter of time before the boat capsized.’

Remembering the massive monster she had first encountered on the sea, her scalp tingled and goosebumps broke out all over her skin.

’Perhaps Jiang Yuxing wasn’t talking about their combat effectiveness at all, but was pointing out the monsters’ primary target.’

’In other words, by saying the monsters would land on the island, he meant their target tonight was the players on the islands.’

’And which islands had the most players?’

’Huaxia Base and Jiuzhou Base, of course!’

Shi Zhile sent a message to Jiang Jing, telling them to get the base’s defenses ready.