Chapter 27 Aquaman 8

The terrifying voice came from right outside the girl's room next to Xia Qi's.

Xia Qi first gripped his True Love Magic Wand and then cautiously approached the door, which already had a hole in it. Squinting, he peered into the neighboring room.

Fortunately, there was a bit of moonlight during the night, and with its faint glow, Xia Qi saw a massive shadow at the girl's door.

The shadow had a round, bald head, and because of its exceptionally obese body, its head almost touched the ceiling. Below the round head were eight thick tentacles covered in slime; one of them was broken and dripping yellow pus onto the floor.

Xia Qi thought to himself, could the Broken Tentacle item he just obtained have come from this octopus?

As he pondered, the octopus excitedly waved its tentacles toward the girl's door.

The person in the neighboring room seemed completely unaffected. When Xia Qi fought the octopus earlier, there had been no movement in the other rooms.

All the players appeared to be sleeping deeply, not pretending to be asleep.

Quickly analyzing the situation, Xia Qi furrowed his brow, torn inside.

Should he intervene or not?

If he didn't, for some reason, he felt guilty...

Deciding to observe first, Xia Qi frowned and slowly opened his door as the octopus was trying to open the girl's door.

At that moment, the octopus's tentacle made a "click" sound as it gently pushed open the girl's door.

Surprised that the door would open so easily, Xia Qi thought, how could she be so bold as to leave her door unlocked while sleeping at night?

Meanwhile, the octopus's slippery tentacles had already extended inside, laughing eerily and saying, "Hehe, little beauty, let me touch you..."

Hearing that disgusting tone, Xia Qi's scalp tingled, and without hesitation, he stepped out, raised his True Love Magic Wand, and aimed it at the bald head:

"Pain is beautiful; even if I'm humble, I want to taste the flavor of shattering... My queen, I will dominate your beauty!"

This was one of the notes he had taken while learning the "Prince of Love Songs 999+" album in the Central Space Apartment. It was perfect for testing the power of his new items!

"Item Name: True Love Magic Wand (Bound)."

"Level: LV1 → Upgraded to LV2."

With increased usage, the True Love Magic Wand had actually upgraded.

"True Love Value: -1000."

"True Love Spell: Shattered Bones"

"Effect: Delivers ten consecutive air punches to the enemy, causing bone fractures."

"Duration: 00:00:10"

"Margaret's Congratulations: Oh my daughter-in-law! You admitted you want to dominate him. As your mother-in-law, I am very pleased!"

Xia Qi: "..."

Why did Margaret's congratulations appear in this instance?

Sometimes, Xia Qi couldn't help but suspect that the S-class lottery ticket the young master accidentally dropped was intentionally aimed at him.

Deep down, he had a feeling that even if the young master hadn't thrown the lottery ticket at him, he might have eventually entered the game and found the magic wand.

It was as if the magic wand was destined for him.

After all, the other items on the wheel were ordinary, but the magic wand was unique. He hadn't noticed it at the time, but later, when he recalled, he remembered the wand subtly moving towards him as the wheel spun.

However, now wasn't the time to ponder about the magic wand. Xia Qi gritted his teeth and shouted at the wand, still gathering light points, "Stop sending those ridiculous congratulations and attack!"

As soon as he spoke, the magic wand whipped out, instantly releasing numerous translucent fist shadows that flew towards the octopus's bald head.

After being hit by a punch, the octopus's entire head went blank. When it finally looked up, its grayish-white, bulging eye received another punch.

"Aaah!" The octopus screamed in agony.

"Smack, smack, smack!" These were the dull sounds of fists hitting the octopus's head.

After ten hits, the octopus's eye was swollen and bleeding, and its forehead bore nine bumps. All seven of its tentacles had retracted, and all eight tentacles covered its face, with yellow tears streaming through the gaps, making it look weak, helpless, and pitiful.

"Waaah."

Its yellow tears left a puddle on the floor, resembling urine.

After crying for a bit, the octopus suddenly turned around and glared at Xia Qi with its dead fish eyes.

Xia Qi sensed trouble and took two cautious steps back.

He weighed the magic wand in his hand, ready to try another spell if the octopus attacked. Unexpectedly, the octopus cried out again, cradling its head, and quickly crawled up the stairs, leaving behind a trail of disgusting mucus.

Once the octopus was gone, Xia Qi tiptoed around the mess on the floor and approached the girl's room.

He pushed the door open and found no one inside.

"Where is she?"

Puzzled, Xia Qi stepped into the room, only to hear the door suddenly "click" shut behind him.

Just as he was about to turn around, the hypnotic song of the man echoed in his mind once more.

In an instant, he lost consciousness and fainted.

Immediately after, Xia Qi fell backward, slowly landing in the arms of a shadow.

A shadow leaned close to his ear and chuckled softly, "What, can't bear to part with me?"

The morning sun arrived as expected.

Shuffling sounds echoed in the corridor as other players began heading to the washroom for their morning routines.

Suddenly, someone cursed at the door, "Who the hell peed in the hallway last night? Where's your public decency?"

After a while, excited footsteps sounded, and someone walked down the corridor shouting something, much like the pancake vendor who used to be downstairs from Xia Qi.

As they approached, Xia Qi could hear the person's excited voice clearly, "Oh my god, everyone, go check out the ship! There's a lot of food on the deck!"

Awakened by the commotion, Xia Qi rose from his wooden bed.

He looked around and realized this was the girl's room, not the one he had stayed in himself the previous night.

He remembered entering her room last night and being mysteriously knocked out by an inexplicable sound. For some reason, he felt a strange ache in his lower back.

Xia Qi turned his head and saw the girl sitting beside him, smiling faintly.

"Why am I in your room?" Xia Qi asked, raising his eyes.

The girl gestured, indicating that when he entered last night, he passed out, so she took it upon herself to settle him in her room.

Seeing Xia Qi's skeptical look, she waved her hands, hurriedly explaining that she did nothing; she was worried about the dangers in the hallway at night, so she left him there.

Xia Qi pursed his lips and climbed out of bed.

After they finished washing up in the cabin, they headed to the deck, which was bustling like a market.

A player carrying a tray rushed past them, shouting, "Seafood platter! Come get it!"

Xia Qi followed the player onto the deck's bow.

There, what was once empty now held countless shells, sea snails, shrimp, starfish, turtles, squids, octopuses, king crabs, and even edible seaweed, piled high like a small mountain of ocean delicacies.

"Grill them all!" A male player eagerly filled his plate, exclaiming, "Today, I'll lend my fire-making tool for free! This is what real seafood should taste like!"

Xia Qi walked over to the pile of ocean delicacies.

He carefully examined each type of seafood, noticing that octopuses were the most abundant, but there were no fish.

Octopuses getting revenge?

"What do you like to eat?" Xia Qi pointed to the pile and looked up at the girl.

She pointed to the bay scallops, indicating she preferred those.

"Alright, then have more of these." Xia Qi went below deck to fetch a plate, loaded enough for both of them, and used the male player's cooking gadget to make a seafood barbecue platter for the girl and himself.

As they enjoyed their feast, someone said, "Too bad there's only rum on board. I don't like rum; I wish we had coconut water."

The girl suddenly looked up and turned toward the speaker.

"Have you eaten coconuts? They grow on tall, straight trees with leaves like feathers or umbrellas, and the fruits are this big..." The player gestured to describe the coconut.

The girl responded, asking if the coconut looked like that.

"Yes, exactly that big, black or brown," the player confirmed.

After asking, the girl turned to Xia Qi, who glanced at her and said, "I've eaten coconuts before; they're pretty good."

At that moment, the female deputy walked into the cabin, looking very upset and said irritably, "You guys sure know how to enjoy yourselves! The captain hasn't had breakfast yet. Take some to him!"

The other players, enjoying their meal, didn't expect the deputy to appear.

Most were ordinary people in society, unwilling to spend money on expensive seafood. Here, the seafood was fresh, making them stuff their bellies and continue eating.

Seeing no one willing to move, Xia Qi stood up and said, "I'll take it."

"Alright, the captain likes small shrimp and crab. Don't bring anything else." The deputy instructed and went upstairs to arrange the departure.

Xia Qi nodded, picked up a tray, and started selecting shrimp and crab.

Small shrimp and crab meat?

Why specifically these two?

He planned to investigate further. As he selected the shrimp and crab, he casually asked nearby players, "How did you sleep last night?"

The male player, almost buried in the seafood, reluctantly lifted his head and replied, "Pretty well."

Then, he continued devouring the food.

Xia Qi silently placed the shrimp and crab on the tray and walked over to the female player who had lost her teammates, asking the same question.

"Did you sleep poorly?" the female player asked cautiously, feeling uneasy about Xia Qi's question.

"It was fine," Xia Qi replied, not wanting to reveal too much, knowing the octopus had seen him.

"But I feel a bit groggy today," the female player said, prying open an oyster, "It's odd to sleep so soundly in this game, isn't it?"

Xia Qi thought, does one need brute force to wake someone up?

So, should he be grateful his bed was shattered?

The girl seemed to sense Xia Qi looking at her and raised her head, gazing at him intently, seemingly asking if he could join her in her room if he was worried about danger at night.

Xia Qi: "..."

Surely enough, everyone had fallen into a deep sleep last night, and they were completely unaffected by the sounds of the fight in the corridor.

"Did any of you have dreams?"

Someone asked, and as these words fell, Xia Qi's right hand, which was in the middle of serving food, paused.

"I had a dream. In it, I went through several layers, just like Inception..." the female player replied, but she didn't reveal any more details to the others.

"Me too," another person answered.

Hearing this, Xia Qi frowned. If he hadn't woken up accidentally, would he also have had multiple-layered dreams?

Even now, he could vividly recall the feeling of being in the deep sea in his dream, especially those skeletons, which seemed so real, unlike a mere dream that never existed.

After filling his plate with a full serving of food, Xia Qi carried the tray upstairs.

Unlike the other sailors, the captain lived in a cabin on the top deck. Judging from the door, which could easily fit three people, the captain's room was much larger than theirs.

Xia Qi approached the door and, by accident, stepped on a sticky yellow liquid.

He looked down, then quickly moved his foot away.

Steadying himself, Xia Qi raised his hand to knock on the door.

Hearing someone knocking, an irritable voice came from inside the room: "Who is it? What do you want coming to my room? Don't you know I'm annoyed right now?"

Xia Qi wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but the captain's voice sounded hoarse, as if he were very weak.

"Captain, I've brought your breakfast," Xia Qi said, standing at the door.

The captain did not respond for a long time. After a while, he responded with a trembling voice, followed by slow footsteps from within.

The captain opened the door slightly, speaking in a very low and irritated tone to Xia Qi: "Hand it over."

His room was pitch black, as if the curtains were drawn.

"Okay." Xia Qi found this strange but passed the tray inside. The captain hid behind the door, and Xia Qi couldn't see his face.

As the captain reached out with his left hand to take the tray, Xia Qi pretended to shake his right hand, causing the tray to slide down slightly. The captain exclaimed "Ah!" and had to extend his right hand to catch it.

Xia Qi noticed that the captain's right hand, which was gloved, had a middle finger that bent abnormally, as if there was no finger inside.

Xia Qi's eye twitched. If he remembered correctly, the captain's hands were normal yesterday when he was steering the ship, with no missing fingers.

After taking the tray, the captain didn't even say thank you and slammed the door shut, clearly dismissing him.

Xia Qi didn't linger at the door but went back downstairs to the deck.

Just then, the female first mate walked past them, looking haggard with large dark circles under her eyes. She muttered to herself, "Everyone will die... Everyone must die..."

Xia Qi stopped abruptly and grabbed her hand, asking warily, "Who will die? What's going on?"

Earlier in the morning, the first mate seemed fine, but after breakfast, she suddenly seemed deranged.

Caught off guard, the first mate screamed as if she had seen something terrifying.

"Let go of me!" She slapped away Xia Qi's hand, her expression exaggerated, snarling at him, "None of you will live! Hahaha! You'll all die, die in the sea, eaten by fish, rotted... Hahaha!"

Author's note: Someone: My wife is so smart.

Xia Qi: Don't think flattering me once will make everything okay. I've noted down what happened last night, and we'll settle accounts later.

[1] Reference to the song "Queen," singer: Xiao Jingteng