Chapter 559

[Welcome to the Global Ocean Survival World.]

[In this world, sea levels have risen, and the entire world has been submerged.]

[Starting today, you will struggle to survive in this completely flooded world.]

[Forget everything you once had. Your only goal now is to survive—to live on, no matter what.]

[Remember: the raft is your only home. Never stray too far from it, or else... you will sleep forever beneath the sea.]

[Warning: terrifying beasts lurk in the deep ocean. From time to time, they will attack your raft, and as time passes, they will only grow stronger.]

[You must use every means at your disposal to expand and reinforce your raft, withstand the attacks of the ocean beasts, and ultimately...]

[Drift toward the end of the world.]

[At the end of the world, you will find the way home.]

[Do your best, survivor. Go and seek the end of the world, even if it takes...]

[...the rest of your life.]

...

Fang Qi had no idea where he was lying.

His mind was still foggy, and his temples throbbed painfully.

Just now, it seemed like... he had heard someone speaking?

A mechanical female voice had sounded directly in his head, rattling off a whole string of bizarre words...

...What the hell?

Some kind of survival world...?

He forced his eyelids open, but the blinding white light made him squint again.

The noonday sun was shining straight into his face.

Beneath him...

It seemed to be hard wooden planks? They pressed painfully against his back.

The planks beneath him were moving, swaying gently.

Up and down. Up and down.

Slowly, softly, rising and falling.

There was another sound by his ears.

“Splash... splash...”

Was that... the sound of waves?

Fang Qi: “...?!”

He abruptly opened his eyes and sat bolt upright!

Bracing himself against the wooden boards, he stared wide-eyed at the sight before him.

The ocean.

An endless ocean.

As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but brilliant blue seawater, sunlight glittering across its surface.

The sea wasn’t particularly rough. The waves rose and fell steadily, gently rocking the raft beneath him.

And beneath him...

He slowly lowered his head.

It really was a raft.

It was tiny, only a few square meters at most. The edges of its wooden logs were faintly charred, and they were bound together with strand after strand of vine.

He looked up again, toward the distance.

Far out on the water, he could vaguely make out bits of floating debris, bobbing with the waves.

...?

Fang Qi stared blankly at everything around him.

Wait a second. Was he...

...transported to another world?

He rubbed his temples, trying to force his muddled brain into working.

What had he been doing before this...?

Right...

He’d been drinking with a few of his buddies, playing Truth or Dare.

Those bastards had all been mocking him for being afraid of his girlfriend. Naturally, he refused to take that lying down!

He’d argued with all of them, insisting that at home, it was his girlfriend who waited on him!

Everyone burst out laughing, and for a moment, the whole place was filled with cheerful laughter.

He’d gotten so mad that he lost his cool on the spot!

Then he drew a dare: “Call your girlfriend, jokingly tell her you’re breaking up with her, then hang up immediately!”

His friends laughed at him, saying they knew he wouldn’t dare do it. Better to choose Truth and admit that he was scared of his girlfriend!

But Fang Qi, worked up as he was, actually did it!

He called her, said only, “Let’s break up,” and then hung up!

Of course, the moment he hung up, he immediately sent his girlfriend a message!

“He was just joking! It was truth or dare!” he quickly added, even taking a few pictures of the scene inside the restaurant to send to his girlfriend.

His awful friends burst out laughing.

He thought that would be the end of it.

But then…

His girlfriend didn’t even read the message.

She found her way to the restaurant in just ten minutes. With a smile, she walked up to him…

Then she pulled a knife from behind her back and stabbed him!

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

Four…

He couldn’t remember exactly how many times she stabbed him.

He only remembered her face: the smile slowly fading into blankness, then twisting into utter despair.

He didn’t even have time to explain before he collapsed to the floor, blood pouring from the several holes in his body…

Everyone around them screamed. They were scared witless and fled in all directions!!

His vision was already growing blurry, but he still used the last of his strength to make that crazy woman…

“Read… the… message…!”

She did.

And she cried.

Then she threw herself at him.

She said something, but he couldn’t hear her clearly. It sounded like…

“Aqi, I’m sorry… I’ll come and be with you right now…!!!”

Then she raised the fruit knife and plunged it into her own chest!

And then…

He lost consciousness.

He thought he had died.

But then…

He stared blankly at the endless ocean before him.

Oh.

…Yeah.

He’d transmigrated.

The sea breeze brushed against his face, carrying a salty, damp tang.

Fang Qi remained silent for a long while.

Good grief.

When other people transmigrated, they either got hit by a car while saving someone or worked themselves to death after staying up all night. At least they died with some dignity!

What about him?

He’d been stabbed to death by his own yandere girlfriend.

All because of a joke about, “Let’s break up.”

Fang Qi: “…”

He gave himself the middle finger in his mind.

He had been stabbed into a human pincushion by his yandere girlfriend during a game of truth or dare, which had resulted in his transmigration…

That had to be a first in the history of the universe, right?

And on top of that, he had transmigrated into some kind of…

He looked down at the raft beneath him.

…Raft survival world?

What was this supposed to be…?

“Mm…”

A soft murmur suddenly came from behind him. It was so quiet that it was almost drowned out by the sound of the waves.

Fang Qi: “?”

His expression froze instantly!

…Huh?

A layer of goosebumps rose across his back in an instant!

No way…

That voice?!

Wait…?!

He whipped around!

At the other end of the raft, near the edge…

Someone was lying there.

A girl.

The moment he saw her, Fang Qi turned to stone!

Huh…?

The girl before him lay curled up on her side. Her long black hair was spread across the raft, damp from the seawater, with several strands clinging to her fair cheek.

She wore a light-blue casual shirt with the collar slightly open, and a white skirt. Her pale legs were curled up beneath her…

“Aqi…”

Her brows were slightly furrowed, and her eyelashes trembled faintly.

“Aqi, I’m sorry…”

Her lips quivered as she murmured brokenly.

“I’ll… I’ll come and be with you…!”

Fang Qi’s pupils shook violently!

It was her…

It really was her!

She was the one who had worn these clothes, taken a fruit knife, and stabbed him in the chest and abdomen…

More than ten times!

She had turned him from a lively troublemaker into a cold corpse!

But now…

There was no blood on the clothes. They were clean and dry—well, mostly dry, anyway, dampened by seawater.

Clinging to the girl’s body, they outlined her slender yet graceful figure.

Liguang.

His girlfriend.

No, he supposed he should say… ex-girlfriend?

Fang Qi tilted his head.

After all, he had already “broken up” with her before he died…

Even if it had only been a joke.

But the point was…!

He stared blankly at that pretty face.

Those familiar brows and eyes, the bridge of her nose, her lips—and the tear still clinging to the corner of her eye.

She looked so fragile, so helpless, so… harmless.

But what was she doing here too?!

The corners of Fang Qi’s mouth twitched!

He could feel phantom pain erupting wildly in his chest and abdomen!

Holy crap!

He abruptly leaned back!

Bracing himself against the planks with both hands, he scooted backward several times!

“...!”

The raft wasn’t very big to begin with. He nearly flipped straight into the sea, only managing to steady himself by grabbing the edge of the raft at the last second!

But…

He continued staring fixedly at the girl lying on the planks!

Oh, God!

Th-this crazy woman had crossed over too?!

And how was she on the same raft as him?!

Fang Qi felt his heart racing! The last time it had beaten this fast was when…!

…when she had stabbed him.

The corner of Fang Qi’s mouth twitched.

And that hadn’t even been that long ago…

But this was wrong!

He glared at that pretty, tear-streaked face.

Why couldn’t he escape this yandere even after crossing into another world?!

And of all places, they were stranded in the middle of the ocean!

Before crossing over, at least he had been in human society, with laws, police, and neighbors…

But now?

An endless ocean, a battered raft, and two people!

There wasn’t even anywhere to hide!

If she went crazy again, where could he run?

Jump into the sea and feed the sharks?

No…

The sharks might actually be safer than Liguang!

Clutching his phantom-pained chest, Fang Qi sank into a deep contemplation of whether he should just jump into the sea…

【Establishing connection with host...】

That mechanical female voice suddenly rang out in his mind again.

Fang Qi blinked.

…What was that?

【Connection in progress...】

【Checking host’s vital signs... Normal.】

【Checking host’s mental state... Panic, accompanied by a mild post-traumatic stress response.】

…No kidding. If you’d been stabbed more than a dozen times, you’d be traumatized too!

【Checking host’s current environment... Global ocean survival world, Initial Zone 01. Raft number: 1000082.】

【Beginning system core matching... Matching... Matching...】

…Huh?

Fang Qi blinked.

Wait a second?

That mechanical female voice, those notification sounds, and the sensation of it speaking directly inside his head…

His eyes slowly widened!

Oh…!

He had read countless novels and watched innumerable short dramas. He knew all the usual transmigration tropes by heart. This was obviously…!

He suddenly rose to his feet, causing the raft to sway beneath him!

He stared dazedly at the ocean before him!

It was obviously the cheat ability every transmigrator got!

A system!

He instantly grew excited!

A system! He had a system!

He, Fang Qi, was the Chosen One!

Now this was more like it! A transmigrator was supposed to have a system! Without a system, could you even call it transmigration?

Finally!

Finally, he was the protagonist of a wish-fulfillment story!

…Huh?

He blinked…

Why had he said “finally”?

But then he shook his head again.

Anyway, heaven still loved him!

It had given him a golden finger!

Then...

He slowly lowered his head and looked at Liguang, who was still lying on the raft with her black hair scattered around her.

The black-haired girl’s eyes were tightly shut, her brows knitted together, tears still clinging to the corners of her eyes.

Fang Qi looked at her, and his smile gradually turned deranged.

“Heh heh heh...”

The corners of his mouth curled wildly upward!

You crazy woman—from now on... the tables have turned!

I’m the noble transmigrator now! The owner of a system! The protagonist chosen by fate!

And you?

You’re just... dead weight hitching a ride on my raft!

The kind of clingy, yandere dead weight that could explode at any moment!

If you want to survive, then... you’d better do everything you can to please me!

If you want a bite to eat in this vast ocean, you’ll have to pay for everything you did wrong!

The more Fang Qi thought about it, the more excited he became!

His mind was already rehearsing exactly how he was going to put his disobedient girlfriend in her place!

First, he’d make her kneel and apologize. Then he’d give her a good spanking!

Just like every time she’d messed up before!

This time, he’d use twice the force!

No—triple it! Ten times!

Once she was crying her eyes out and clutching his leg, begging for mercy, he would magnanimously forgive her!

Perfect!

Fang Qi felt like the corners of his mouth were about to split all the way to his ears!

【Connection successful.】

Suddenly, the mechanical female voice sounded in his mind once more.

Fang Qi’s spirits rose!

It was here!

His golden finger had arrived!

【Galgame Affection Strategy System loaded successfully.】

Fang Qi: “?”

His smile froze for a moment.

...What kind of system was that? Why did it sound like something was seriously off?

【Bound target confirmed: the host’s girlfriend, “Liguang.”】

Fang Qi’s smile froze again.

Hey... what exactly do you mean by that? You want me to...?!

【Master, I am your devoted little assistant, Xiaoguang. I will now introduce the system’s functions.】

Fang Qi: “...?”

Xiaoguang? That name... was a pretty strange coincidence.

It was actually the same as the pet name of that crazy woman of his...?

【Master, this system grants rewards based on the bound target’s Affection Level.】

【The higher the bound target’s Affection Level, the more generous the rewards obtained.】

【Once Affection Level reaches 90% or above, the bound target will not betray the host.】

【Once Affection Level reaches 100%, Affection Level will never decrease, and the bound target will never betray the host.】

【While raising Affection Level, if the bound target’s mood remains at the “happy” level, the host may claim one additional daily check-in lottery draw.】

【Warning: The system’s bound target is permanently unique and cannot be changed. If the bound target dies, the host will suffer a backlash and die immediately as well.】

【Retrieving bound target’s Affection Level...】

Fang Qi: “...”

Fang Qi’s expression shifted from shock to blank bewilderment, then to utter disbelief, before finally...

Freezing into the constipated look of someone thinking, Are you kidding me?

What the hell was this simp system?!

This wasn’t right!!

Just moments ago, he had been fantasizing about being a noble transmigrator with a system—someone who could order Liguang around like a maid...!

And now the core function of this trash system was making him grovel to the girlfriend who had stabbed him more than a dozen times?!

He had to keep her affection high. He had to keep her happy. He had to protect her safety...

And if she died, he would die with her?!

What the hell kind of system was this? Was it his system, or hers?!

This was clearly a human-shaped, self-propelled bodyguard assigned to that crazy woman! An emotional support specialist! A twenty-four-seven simp!

Fang Qi felt like he was about to split apart.

Stiffly, he lowered his head and looked at Liguang, who was still unconscious and muttering at his feet.

The black-haired girl was still lying on her side on the raft, her brows drawn together. The tear at the corner of her eye had already slid down to the bridge of her nose.

Mm...

She looked so cute when she was asleep...

Fang Qi: “...”

He wanted to slap himself.

...Fine, fine. He admitted it!

Even though she had stabbed him more than a dozen times, even though he had just been gritting his teeth and wanting to spank her, even though this damned system had turned him into a simp...

Deep down, he knew he couldn’t let go of this little yandere.

And it wasn’t just because the system had said, “If she dies, you die too.”

He had seen it.

When she stabbed him, there had been collapse, despair, and self-destruction in those beautiful eyes of hers...

And then she had immediately tried to die for love, too.

Without hesitation, she had plunged a knife into her own chest and collapsed on top of him.

This crazy woman didn’t not love him. She simply loved him too much—to the point that...

Something inside her had broken.

Sigh...

Fang Qi shook his head helplessly.

She was definitely a little extreme, but...

Wasn’t this exactly what he’d chosen for himself?!

Wasn’t this the kind of Liguang he liked?

But...

Fang Qi gritted his teeth!

That didn’t mean he should have to grovel before her!

He had originally planned to teach her a harsh lesson and order her around!

Make her work her ass off for him during the day, and at night, work her ass off for him...

Ahem, ahem!

Fang Qi: “...”

He felt like his mentality was about to explode.

He...!

【Anomaly detected.】

【Detecting anomaly... Detecting anomaly...!】

Fang Qi: “?”

Now what?!

Why was this stupid system making such a fuss all the time?!

【Detected that the affinity level of bound target “Liguang” toward the host is—】

The female system voice suddenly froze.

The formerly steady mechanical tone became choppy, even mixed with faint static:

【Af-affinity level is—】

【52%—】

【82%—】

【100%—】

【373%—】

【749%—】

【31,415,926,535 percent...】

【Percent—percent—】

【Data overflow. Data overflow. Data overflow.】

【Affinity value exceeds the system’s maximum measurable range. Unable to display.】

【Warning: The bound target’s affinity has exceeded the system’s capacity limit.】

Fang Qi: “...”