Chapter 31 Aquaman 12

"Shall we open the box...?" someone muttered, unable to resist the urge to know what was inside.

Everyone agreed unanimously and handed the box back to Xia Qi, indicating that he should be the one to open it.

Xia Qi looked at their varied expressions, feeling slightly surprised.

He hadn't expected everyone to agree so quickly to let him open the box without much persuasion.

Senior players were indeed easier to deal with, unlike newcomers who often caused trouble and needed guidance.

However, after a moment of thought, Xia Qi understood their reasoning.

Even if there were demons or monsters in the box, it would still be better than sitting around waiting to die. Senior players knew from experience that passivity led to certain doom.

No one knew whose turn it would be tonight, and even if it wasn't them, it didn't mean they would be safe tomorrow. The longer they waited, the higher their chances of being targeted. If they didn't take action now, they might not survive.

"Alright, I'll open it." Xia Qi grabbed the box and began to pry off the lid.

To his surprise, the box opened more easily than he had anticipated. With just a slight effort, he heard a soft "pop," and a crack appeared.

Xia Qi placed one hand on top of the box and the other underneath, setting it on the table.

One by one, everyone leaned forward, eyes wide and breaths held, watching as he slowly lifted the lid.

When they saw the beautiful object inside, they all drew in a collective gasp.

"Too beautiful," a female player couldn't help but exclaim.

Inside the box lay a beautifully curved fish fin, translucent and a deep blue, as if crafted from crystal. Yet, it seemed almost alive, trembling slightly when a breeze passed through.

Xia Qi picked up the fin, and as he moved it, the tip of the fin sprinkled light points like starlight.

"What is this thing?"

Everyone crowded closer, staring intently at the fin in Xia Qi's hand, yet none dared to touch it. Their eyes were wide, trying to see every intricate detail.

Xia Qi also examined the fin closely. Such a long fin—what could it possibly be?

He felt like he had seen something similar before.

After a while, Xia Qi wondered, could this fin be a part of a mermaid?

"This... what kind of creature does this belong to?"

After observing the fin, everyone engaged in heated discussion.

It wasn't until someone mentioned how similar it was to the fishtail skirts they had worn that they realized it might be from a mermaid.

However, they couldn't determine which specific part of a mermaid it came from since no one had ever seen one.

"What should we do with this fin?" someone asked.

Wang Ke, upon seeing the lifelike fin, was terrified, fearing it might bring him harm at night. He quickly waved his hands and said, "I don't want it; whoever wants it can have it."

"I'll keep it for now," Xia Qi said.

Seeing no objections, Xia Qi placed the fin back into the box.

After checking Wang Ke's teammate's box, it was the turn of the male player whose female teammate had died.

The male player had already brought up his teammate's box. When Xia Qi opened it, he found that the contents were not a fin but a shimmering scale.

Looking at the scale, he felt an uneasy premonition.

It bore a striking resemblance to the scales he had found earlier that morning.

Deciding to keep the box, Xia Qi asked the male player, "Do you want to keep this box?"

"I don't want it either; you can have it," the male player replied, not wanting to keep the ominous box.

Xia Qi carefully stored the box away.

After examining the contents of both boxes, the players' expressions varied, but no one voiced their conclusions. Several suggested returning to their rooms, likely to check their own boxes.

As the group dispersed from the kitchen, Xia Qi personally cooked a bowl of small shells and took it to his room.

To his surprise, the girl was still sound asleep on the wooden bed. Xia Qi shook her shoulder, and she slowly opened her eyes.

"It's time to eat," Xia Qi said.

The girl's eyelids barely lifted, and despite Xia Qi calling out to her several times, she did not open her eyes.

Xia Qi had to peel the shells and feed her, but she refused to open her mouth.

"What's wrong? Why are you so sleepy today?"

The girl remained lying down, refusing to get up. Xia Qi had no choice but to set the shells aside and said, "Go back to sleep; I'll call you later."

After settling the girl, Xia Qi went to work on the deck.

Just like yesterday, the weather was still pleasant, with sunlight piercing through the thin gray mist, warming the deck. Although there was no threat from the skeleton ship today, the looming possibility of decapitation at night left everyone with grim expressions.

The male player who lost his female teammate and the one with the cooking tool were even worse off. Their faces were pale as ghosts, their expressions grave, and they kept bumping into the ship's mast, suggesting that whatever they found in their boxes had frightened them.

The male player who lost his female teammate lived in the second room, while the one with the cooking tool and Tony lived in the fourth room.

Their rooms were not too far forward, but their poor mental state indicated that the contents of the boxes had deeply unsettled them.

"What's wrong with you two?" After they knocked over another barrel, Xia Qi approached them and asked.

The male player with the cooking artifact couldn't hold it together anymore, his eyes filled with intense fear as he trembled and said to Xia Qi, "I, I opened the box."

"What was inside? Can you tell me?" Xia Qi asked intently.

"Inside... there was also a fish fin." The male player with the cooking artifact was on the verge of tears; the female player who died that morning had a fish fin in her box too.

The male player from the second room shuddered immediately and spoke in a hoarse voice, "It's the same for me, I also got a fish fin... Could it be that two of us will die tonight?"

With three fish fins appearing consecutively in the boxes, Xia Qi felt something was amiss.

So he asked carefully, "Are your fish fins exactly the same as the one this morning?"

The male player with the cooking artifact thought for a moment and said, "Not quite, mine is a bit larger than that one."

The male player from the second room responded, "Mine is a bit smaller than that one."

Since these fish fins were private possessions, Xia Qi didn't ask to see them but only requested a brief description.

"Thank you. Don't worry too much, it's not certain that anything will happen to you tonight," Xia Qi comforted them after asking his questions.

However, his words seemed to have no effect. As time passed, the two players became increasingly anxious. They even botched the tasks assigned by the captain and the female first mate, especially the male player with the cooking artifact, who burned a pot in the kitchen.

Watching others face the fear of death, Xia Qi felt a chill in his heart. After all, they were all human, and seeing someone about to die was not easy on him either.

"Hmph, you useless sailors! One day, I'll feed all of you to the sea monsters!" The captain, revealing his true colors, mocked the two miserable male players.

Upon hearing this, the two male players became even more desperate. They clung tightly to the ship's railing, struggling to keep their weak legs from giving out.

Watching the smug captain berating them, Xia Qi pursed his lips, thinking that this octopus truly did evil deeds and would eventually face retribution.

As the sun began to set, Xia Qi quickly finished his dinner and returned to his room.

To his surprise, the girl was still fast asleep.

Although she usually acted strange, Xia Qi didn't believe she suddenly turned into a sleep fiend.

"Wake up, it's time to eat." Xia Qi shook the girl's shoulder again, and this time, she slowly woke up.

The girl lay drowsily on the wooden bed, one hand gripping Xia Qi's shoulder as she struggled to sit up.

Once Xia Qi helped her up, she tried hard to open her eyes and frowned at him, as if she couldn't get enough of looking at him.

Seeing her sleepy state, Xia Qi felt a twinge of sympathy.

"Hungry? I brought you some small shells, cooked by me." Xia Qi lifted the bowl and said to the girl, "Smell it, does it smell good?"

Xia Qi knew she might not need to eat, but he still hoped she would eat a little, just in case it could cure her sleepiness.

Xia Qi's "tender care" clearly worked. After a few seconds of being dazed, the girl excitedly nodded vigorously.

Seeing her perk up, Xia Qi shook his head helplessly and started peeling the shells, feeding her piece by piece.

The girl, with a shell in her mouth, closed her eyes slightly, as if savoring a divine elixir.

She sure is easily satisfied.

Xia Qi sighed and put another piece of shell meat in her mouth.

After eating about five pieces, the girl slowly closed her eyes again, sliding back onto the wooden bed. Xia Qi caught her and gently laid her down.

After eating, she fell asleep again?

Faced with the sleeping girl, Xia Qi felt somewhat helpless.

After covering her with a blanket, Xia Qi set her aside and began arranging things in the room.

He hung a large empty wine barrel from the ceiling beam, then tied a rope to it. After setting up the barrel, he held the rope and climbed back onto the wooden bed, lying down and holding the rope tightly in his hand.

Night fell once again, and as the room grew darker, Xia Qi closed his eyes, holding the rope tightly and counting the time.

3, 2, 1...

The man's dreamy voice echoed in his ear, and in an instant, Xia Qi was once again immersed in his lonely, bitter, and sorrowful song...

Xia Qi's mind went blank, and his body relaxed as he drifted off to sleep.

In his dream, Xia Qi found himself once again in the deep sea, in the same seaweed forest as last night.

"Are you still here?" Xia Qi stepped on the soft mud and called out into the distance.

This time, the seaweed forest stirred, and the hiding mermaid didn't cower but instead rushed out of the seaweed forest in delight.

Not only that, but she threw herself into his arms!

This time, it wasn't a young mermaid but an adult male mermaid, and he looked remarkably similar to the one who had given him air underwater before.

"You came?" Xia Qi quickly pulled him away from his embrace; he had limited time and needed to examine him closely.

Seeing Xia Qi staring at him with great interest, the merman naturally cooperated, displaying his appearance.

The merman had a head of silver-white hair, each strand shimmering beautifully like glowing, soft crystal threads. His long, smooth hair spread out beneath him like a woven tapestry of galaxies.

His skin was extremely pale, giving off a moonlit glow underwater. Below his collarbone, a layer of thin, translucent scales covered him, making him sparkle all over.

But the most beautiful part of his body was his fish tail. In the dark environment, his tail gleamed with a dreamlike luster, like the world's most exquisite work of art, breathtakingly beautiful.

Studying the merman's appearance, Xia Qi fell into a brief silence.

After a while, his right hand trembled as he reached into his pocket and felt the two boxes he had received that morning.

For some reason, the box also appeared in his dreams.

"Can you show me your tail?" Xia Qi asked.

Hearing this, a faint blush appeared on the merman's face, as if he was a bit embarrassed.

What does his Qi want to do, wanting to see his...

Still, he willingly lifted his tail, displaying his most proud part to him. However, he slightly twisted his waist, using a few scales to cover his orifice.

After his Qi finished admiring his tail, he would show him more...

No, he wanted even more.

The merman stared intently at Xia Qi, his eyes particularly deep and intense.

Xia Qi didn't know what was wrong with him but saw the merman obediently lift his fish tail. He first took out the fin from the first box and compared it to the merman's body from top to bottom. When he placed the fin at the end of the merman's tail, it unexpectedly overlapped perfectly with the two fins on his tail, with an extremely high similarity.

"So this is a fish tail." Xia Qi put away the fin, feeling somewhat uneasy.

Next, he took out the fin from that morning and compared it to the merman's body.

This time, he compared it more slowly. After a long while, Xia Qi realized it was a caudal fin.

"Both items are from the tail?" Xia Qi couldn't help but fall into deep thought. Then, he took out his box, preparing to open it again and compare it with the parts on the merman's body...

At this moment, a sensation of falling from a great height came, causing Xia Qi to instantly wake up from his dream.

"Bang!"

Due to the rope in his hand gradually loosening, the bucket tied to its end fell from the beam, landing precisely on his stomach before rolling onto the wooden bed. Following that, there was another loud "boom," and the wooden bed he was sleeping on collapsed!

Xia Qi was abruptly thrown to the ground and woke up from his dream.

He thanked the day his wooden bed collapsed, as it taught him how to wake himself up at night.

After regaining consciousness, Xia Qi quickly crawled out from the pile of wood debris.

He had woken up.

Xia Qi then felt his pockets and found that all four boxes were still there.

After carefully checking everything on his person, Xia Qi slowly sat down. What he needed to do now was wait quietly for the octopus to arrive.

Fortunately, the octopus didn't make him wait too long. The familiar sound of a snake-like creature slithering across the floor echoed in the corridor once again.

Scurrying slowly, the octopus finally stopped at the door of the room next to his.

In the room next to Xia Qi lived the young master and the strong man.

"Let me see which little treasure has it?"

Since he hadn't been beaten for two days, the octopus's voice today was no longer hoarse but rather abnormally excited.

After a while, a loud creaking sound of a door latch echoed, and the door of the neighboring room was directly broken through. The octopus extended its tentacles inside.

"I've found my little treasure again; it's you!" the octopus lecherously chuckled.

Xia Qi raised an eyebrow; this time, the octopus had finally arrived.