Chapter 121: The Sea of Wandering 14
Inside the Rule Zone.
White mist shrouded the entire castle, and the banquet hall was slick with dampness. The mermaid clan had attacked again at midnight last night. Although they were once again hindered in their steps to kill the princess by the poetry anthology and the excerpt notebook, and had fled back to the sea in defeat just like the night before, they had clearly lasted longer in this battle. There were a few moments where their sharp claws had nearly pierced Qing Gang’s eyes.
“Princess—”
Qing Gang turned sideways to dodge a massive fish tail, his combat boots sliding with a harsh, grating sound across the floor covered in mucus and grit, bringing him next to Fu Dong and Song Qiaowei. Although he didn’t know why this group of mermaids was so hell-bent on attacking the princess, according to the game rules, the Queen’s mission was to save her child. So, Qing Gang suggested with a relatively sincere attitude: “How about you give it a try?”
Song Qiaowei spread her empty hands and stared at him with a face full of indifference. She certainly wasn’t some naive, innocent flower; she had experience entering Rule Zones and witnessing the slaughter shows on the high seas, possessing a certain ability to protect herself. But the problem was, this Rule Zone hadn’t given her any weapons. The so-called saving of the princess required the Queen to “resolve to use her body to block,” and such a noble act born purely of maternal love… without the bond of actual blood ties, and relying only on the forced role-play of the Rule Zone, few people could likely pull it off. This was even more true for the Fu couple, who had always been merchants prioritizing profit.
Qing Gang was well aware of this himself. As a burly man weighing over two hundred pounds, it was truly difficult for him to inspire maternal love in a strange woman. So, after being rejected, he politely retreated to the other side without forcing the issue. As for why he was still using a standard service-window smile at a time like this, it was because he had been complained about by the masses more than once during operations for looking too fierce. The fifty-fifty deduction from his bonus was really unbearable, so he had now gotten into the habit of baring his teeth in a smile whether there was a reason or not.
“Princess—”
A mermaid slid rapidly toward him but was hit in the back by a chair mid-route. Losing both balance and direction, it swayed and changed course, lunging toward Song Qiaowei!
“Watch out!” Qing Gang shouted a warning and rushed over. However, instead of blocking in front of Song Qiaowei, he “accidentally veered off course” and happened to slide right behind her. The mermaid’s sharp claws arrived instantly, looking as if they intended to pierce right through the Queen’s cheek and sink into the Princess’s chest. But it didn’t succeed. Just as the foul-smelling fingernails were about to touch Song Qiaowei’s skin, Qing Gang had already shoved her to the side a step ahead of time. Immediately after, he single-handedly clamped down on the withered arm reaching in front of him and snapped it backward violently!
Crack! Pale bone tore through scales and armor, revealing itself. In the next instant, the spinning golden poetry anthology flew in and knocked the mermaid’s head off.
Song Qiaowei leaned into her husband’s embrace, still in shock. There were two thin trails of blood on her face—not serious, looking as if she had just been lightly scratched by a needle tip. Qing Gang had essentially chosen the most perfect split-second timing to save her. Having escaped death, Song Qiaowei felt no relief. Instead, she cast angry glares at Qing Gang and at Zhong Mu, who had thrown the chair from not far away. She was almost 100% certain that these two were deliberately testing the prophecy on the card, testing whether her body could actually block the mermaid’s attack for the Princess!
“Enough,” Fu Dong warned his wife in a low voice. “There’s no need to offend them.”
“Why didn’t you shoot just now?” Song Qiaowei turned her head, looking at him with dissatisfaction.
Fu Dong frowned and asked, “Did you want me to shoot at the mermaid when he was practically overlapping with you?”
Song Qiaowei glared at him huffily, then turned back to look at the center of the banquet hall.
Bang, bang, bang, bang. The golden poetry anthology launched attacks on the mermaid swarm methodically. It looked like a heavy yet elegant hammer, knocking them one by one tirelessly. When yet another head filled with mud and sand rolled to the ground, the school of fish finally chose to retreat, plunging back one by one—splash, splash—into the sea that was roaring in the pitch-black night.
They won, but the attack speed of the poetry anthology had slowed down.
Du Bai rubbed his face vigorously, realizing for the first time in his life the meaning of “regretting not reading enough when books are needed.” He hadn’t even craved knowledge this sincerely during his college entrance exams! To increase the AOE damage of the poetry anthology, he had even changed his phone screensaver to a photo of Yi Ke during the day. It was said that this tall, rich, and handsome number one of the Jincheng Order Maintenance Department had evolved a super brain comparable to a scanner, with an astonishing memory capacity.
“Stop worshipping Xiao Yi’s photo. If you have time, you might as well worship this signal transmission device.” Qing Gang draped his arm around his shoulder. “We’ve already submitted an application to Ministry Head Huo to see if we can get Xiao Yi in here.”
“Will your Captain Zhuang come with him?” Alice asked, hugging the silver excerpt notebook. Just now, after the poetry anthology’s attack speed decreased, the notebook was also affected; the connection between the two was tight. Since the role card stated that the Listener was a fervent admirer of the Poet, it was only natural for her to ask.
“Not sure. Captain Zhuang is still on sick leave,” Zhong Mu answered hesitantly. “Ministry Head Huo probably won’t agree to let him come.”
That was indeed the logic, but the other colleagues of the Jincheng Action Team thought: But then again…
Sunlight shone into the bedroom.
Zhuang Ningyu opened his eyes, maintaining his semi-prone sleeping posture without moving, staring blankly at the large halo of light coming through the window sheers. Yi Ke had already finished brushing his teeth and was currently pressing onto him with a refreshing scent of mint—not too heavy, not too light. His warm, broad palm fit closely against Zhuang Ningyu’s lower abdomen, his thumb gently rubbing the thin patch of skin beneath it, and the kiss landing by his ear was wet.
The scale of this good morning kiss was obviously a bit too much; it couldn’t be broadcast on TV. Zhuang Ningyu curled up hugging his knees, trying to buck the person on his back off. Yi Ke, however, was amused by this slightly childish action; his arms tightened even more, and his hands naturally moved lower. The pajama pants were pushed aside loosely. Zhuang Ningyu glanced up at the time—it was still early—so he let him be, burying his face lazily in the pillow.
Wake-up time was extended by about half an hour. A thin layer of sweat emerged on Zhuang Ningyu’s back, and his bangs were wet. He weakly gripped the pillowcase, habitually waiting for the other’s next move. But Yi Ke just pulled out a tissue to wipe his hands, then placed another kiss on his face, very gentle. Although it was romantic, it was clearly different from their usual morning routine. Zhuang Ningyu was slightly confused, turning over to mouth a question: “What’s wrong?”
The corner of Yi Ke’s mouth turned down. He reached out to pull the man into his arms, confessing with a bit of gloom: “Ministry Head Huo just told me to get ready. He said I might have to go to the Wandering Sea Rule Zone.”
Zhuang Ningyu sat up with a whoosh. Why?
Yi Ke handed him the phone, then rested his chin on his lover’s shoulder to look at it with him, continuing to ramble: “Head Huo said it’s just a preliminary notice. They’re also looking for suitable candidates in the capital; it doesn’t necessarily have to be me.”
Zhuang Ningyu patted his face with one hand while continuing to scroll through the phone with the other. The message sent out by the signal transmission device this time was much more detailed than the previous ones. Based on the keywords, one could roughly deduce why Yi Ke was needed in the game.
Bard, Listener, Mermaid… combined with the previous King and Queen, this game looked more and more like a bizarre ancient fairytale. Of course, Yi Ke wasn’t the only one in the Order Maintenance Department who could take on the role of “Bard.” After all, even if Jincheng didn’t have one, and the capital didn’t have one, casting a net across the whole country would surely catch a compatible person. Zhuang Ningyu pursed his lips. Under normal circumstances, he definitely wouldn’t hesitate over something like this, but right now, he truly couldn’t bring himself to let Yi Ke go into the Rule Zone alone.
Even just thinking about the possibility caused obvious physiological anxiety in his body. Yi Ke skillfully handed the spray to him, then hugged him to soothe him: “It’s okay, it’s okay, I won’t go.”
Zhuang Ningyu waved his hand, signaling he was fine. He pointed seriously at Yi Ke, then at himself: If you go, I’ll go with you.
“You can’t even speak,” Yi Ke said, laughing and crying at the same time, feeling a bit helpless as he pinched his cheek. “And you’re still on sick leave.”
Although this leave was somewhat optional in itself, Zhuang Ningyu’s status as a patient was absolutely genuine. Perhaps because he had inhaled a large amount of medicine on an empty stomach, Zhuang Ningyu had a poor appetite this morning and felt dizzy. When seeing him off to work, Yi Ke bought a small basket of spicy beef vermicelli buns from “Good Sister Chicken Giblet Bistro”—even though the hygiene rating posted on the wall was still a C. But when in a bad mood, it was acceptable to occasionally eat some unhealthy, high-calorie, strong-flavored food.
Zhuang Ningyu entered the office building gnawing on a bun. Before he could even press the elevator button, Assistant He Mo’s head poked out from the second-floor railing, speaking excitedly: “Captain Zhuang, Captain Zhuang, come to the lab quickly! And Xiao Yi, come too! Head Huo and Team Leader He are both here! Quick, the… the ‘Door’ is open!”
Zhuang Ningyu had not only cracked and reorganized the sequence but also accurately estimated the time required for the entire process. When he said “the morning after tomorrow,” he really meant the morning after tomorrow. Staring at the screen full of green code, He Mo turned to look at the person beside him: “I failed to recognize a master. I thought you only knew how to crack the Academic Affairs Office system password.”
Well, not exactly. Zhuang Ningyu swallowed the bun in his mouth, propping one hand on the desk while continuing to type on the keyboard with the other.
Now the “Door” had a “Door.”
This meant that anyone could enter the Rule Zone from the Bluebird Pavilion, going straight to the Wandering Sea!
Thud! The mermaid swarm broke into the castle for the third time.
Although every morning the butler and maids would dutifully install two brand-new doors that they found from who-knows-where, they could only last through the daylight hours. Once midnight arrived, they would still be dismantled. On this night, the only players with attack permissions were still Du Bai and Alice. Even though the two were already very familiar with the whole process, the mermaids had also gained experience. Aside from their numbers being greater than the previous two days, their ability to withstand damage had also improved. When the poetry anthology plunged deeply into a head, sometimes it took two seconds for the body to turn into dead seawater.
The other action team members had to step up. Even if they couldn’t kill the monsters, they could at least stall for time. Qing Gang had tried leaving the castle midway, reasoning that since the enemy kept chanting “Princess,” she must be the ultimate target. However, this move failed to lure away all the mermaids; a portion of the monsters still remained in the banquet hall.
“Come back!” Ye Jiaoyue ordered loudly. “You have no weapon. Everyone must stay close to the Poet and the Listener.”
Qing Gang pressed his earpiece, acknowledging the order while rolling back indoors through a broken window. In just over ten minutes, many scratch marks had appeared on his body. This deserted island was too empty; facing hundreds of manic mermaids outdoors, he couldn’t find any cover advantageous to him.
Beep beep beep— The signal transmission device up high was still working itself to death, trying to send out the new content Ye Jiaoyue had just input.
The golden poetry anthology flew out of hand, chopping into a mermaid’s head like a cleaver, and then became wedged there tightly! This anthology couldn’t attack two opponents simultaneously, and the mermaids had clearly realized this. So, before the anthology could fly out again, another mermaid seized the opportunity to open its mouth full of sharp teeth and—CRUNCH—bit down hard on it!
A page was actually torn off by him!
Du Bai launched a flying kick, snatching the poetry anthology back into his hand before the mermaid could take a second bite. But the attacks couldn’t stop. He could only grit his teeth and throw the anthology again. As expected, he met the same situation as before: hit, embed, then get bitten.
The poetry anthology was becoming thinner and thinner.
Correspondingly, the excerpt notebook in Alice’s hand was becoming lighter and lighter, and its offensive power was also weakening. Once, it merely cut a bloody scratch on a giant tail without causing any effective damage to the mermaid. Du Bai was immediately hit by that giant tail, his whole body slamming into a pillar, his spine making a painful cracking sound.
Qing Gang grabbed him, snatching back the poetry anthology, which had only a few pages left, from the mermaid’s mouth.
The Bard was about to lose his poetry anthology.
The Listener was also about to lose the object to transcribe from.
The text on these two role cards was fading, but the text on everyone else’s cards hadn’t changed. This meant no player had gained new attack power due to the exit of the Bard and the Listener.
Fu Dong had to pull out his gun. Black bullets left the chamber, piercing through the heads of a row of crazed mermaids.
This was obviously a very wrong decision. Currently, in this Rule Zone, the combat power ranking was: Poetry Anthology > Excerpt Notebook > Evolved Human Physical Attacks > Room Items (stools, tables, plates, bowls) > Bullets. So, even though the gun in his hand came from the Invisible Giant, it only served the function of poking holes and provoking anger.
The mermaid swarm discovered him and uttered a second syllable besides “Princess.”
“King—”
“Liar—”
They reared their upper bodies high and lunged toward the King!
Smash! The golden poetry anthology accurately hit a mermaid charging at the front, buying a little time for Fu Dong and Song Qiaowei to retreat behind cover. By now, the excerpt notebook was basically useless. Alice and Qing Gang each grabbed a coffee table, using brute force to smash down a swath of newly charging mermaids!
Du Bai ignored the frenzied school of fish beside him, desperately pulling the remaining poetry anthology from the rows of sharp teeth. Blood streamed down his face, his chest heaved violently, and his fists clenched tight. His gaze swept ferociously over the surrounding monsters waiting to strike, and then he raised his arm high—
His intention was to use this single remaining page of the anthology to deal a final blow to the fish swarm. But once the anthology was raised, Du Bai realized the golden paper had completely lost its weight. It was as if he were gripping a ball of insubstantial, weightless air.
Similarly, the excerpt notebook in Alice’s hand was gradually becoming transparent.
The Bard and the Listener, unable to complete their role tasks, were finally pronounced out of the game.
Terrifying smiles surfaced on the mermaids’ faces. They stopped attacking, the corners of their large mouths splitting wide open. Slowly, silently, and in unison, they “swam” toward everyone.
For a moment, the banquet hall was filled only with the slimy sound of dragging bodies and the heavy breathing of the action team members.
Song Qiaowei’s manicured nails had long since dug deep into her palms. She couldn’t believe she was going to die inexplicably in this hellhole today. She wanted to ask her husband for help, but at the same time, she knew clearly that asking was useless.
“Heh… heh…”
Sounds of tongues churning against palates came from the mermaids’ mouths. They licked their teeth, greedy mucus dripping from the corners of their lips.
“Princess—”
The distance was getting closer.
Closer.
Close.
Under extreme tension and tautness, the salty, fishy stench was so thick it seemed tangible. Just as the two sides were about to collide, a robust mermaid used its giant tail for support to stand tall. It opened its large mouth and spread its arms, preparing to issue the final slaughter command with a sense of ceremony.
But unexpectedly, in the next instant, a beam of white light suddenly flew in from the direction of the door. With a faint swish, wrapped in the wind, it swept past the sharp teeth and finally lodged precisely in his wide-open throat.
“Urgh—” The mermaid’s eyes bulged. He lowered his head and clawed wildly with both hands, ignoring that his tongue and mouth were already gouged bloody. With great difficulty, he dragged out a breakfast food bag emitting the smell of spicy beef vermicelli from his windpipe. It even bore the custom logo of “Good Sister Sour & Spicy Chicken Giblet.”
Zhuang Ningyu and Yi Ke walked into the castle, side by side, from the night.
“Captain Zhuang!” Qing Gang almost wept with joy. Without time to explain, he raised his hand and threw the single page of the poetry anthology left in Du Bai’s hand. “Xiao Yi, catch!”
Alice also threw her excerpt notebook toward Zhuang Ningyu.
—“When the death knell rings at the celebration, please recite a poem. Use it to shackle the ankles of the Reaper; perhaps that will delay the damned misfortune a little longer.”
—“You are the poet’s fervent admirer, his only companion in this world. When the wildly growing poison brambles entangle the dense forest, you will dismantle flesh and bone to pave a new road for him.”
The text on the role cards reappeared. Upon touching the two men, the poetry anthology and the excerpt notebook instantly returned to their original states.
The mermaid swarm let out angry roars. Changing their attack target, they dragged their ugly bodies one after another, lunging toward the door!
Bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang!
The poetry anthology swept directly through the banquet hall like a giant golden blade of light! Before anyone, or any fish, could react, nothing remained on the ground but grit deep enough to bury one’s waist and murky seawater.
This time, not a single mermaid escaped.
Yi Ke spread his fingers, steadily catching the golden poetry anthology that flew back to him after completing its task.
“What’s the situation?” He looked at his disheveled colleagues and asked with some confusion.
Dead silence filled the scene.
Du Bai’s chest heaved violently as he thought in shock: Is that… how this thing is supposed to be used?
