Help! I changed the gender of the male protagonist in the yandere game.

Chapter 201 Black Shark Island

"I heard footsteps. Could it be that Ye Ming and the others have returned?"

The tone of Jujou Maika sounded excited; she must have been thinking about meeting her beloved fiancé soon, and her face lit up.

She barely paid any attention to the two of them, and ran out of the cabin with a "clack-clack" sound in her wooden clogs.

"...Young Miss!"

Tanuki Bean also quickly followed.

"What kind of behavior is this...?"

As a servant, the tanuki frowned. Jujou Maika was occasionally a bit too willful and didn't care much about other people's opinions. She often acted very brazenly.

However, Hyakusuke and Hiiragi Hiruko did not look too good; they had already anticipated what was to come.

"I really don't know what will happen next? Ms. Jujo is a bit impulsive. Will she throw a tantrum or just go berserk?"

Hiiragi Hiruko felt a little uneasy.

"—I'm thinking of skipping the plot."

Bai Jie wanted to reject reality from the bottom of his heart.

"I'm sorry... I've run into a bit of trouble."

A group of people appeared on the deck, led by Renjo Senjuro.

"...What happened, President Ren-zhang?"

Jujou Maika also knew Renjou Senjuro. She squinted and carefully observed the crowd. Finally, she loosened the collar of her kimono, took out a pair of thick Western-style glasses, and put them on her nose.

“Strange… these people shouldn’t be…”

After putting on her glasses, she opened her eyes wide, but couldn't find Ye Ming in the crowd.

—By the way, in the game's setting, Maika Tojo is severely nearsighted.

This is probably to create a cute contrast in the character's personality, or perhaps to add some quirky humor to the character design.

Anyway, Maika Tojo was given the problem of severe nearsightedness, making her the only "bad eyesight" character in the entire game, as well as a glasses girl.

In short, she has made many jokes because of her poor eyesight—just now, Tojouji Maika barged into the room and mistook her for someone else, also for this reason.

'But I just can't laugh.'

Bai Jie felt helpless deep down.

Tojouji Maika is also an exorcist, and her natural spiritual power is stronger than that of ordinary people, so it doesn't make sense to say that she has severe nearsightedness.

However, the game's setting has its own logical consistency.

In theory, powerful exorcists and spiritual power holders have resistance to diseases and toxins. However, nearsightedness is not a disease or a physiological defect. Its scientific name is "refractive error," which is essentially a physiological compensatory reaction.

To give a simple example, manual laborers develop larger, stronger muscles in their limbs to adapt to the demands of labor, resulting in increased contractile force.

Furthermore, as a descendant of a powerful exorcist, such as Tojou Maika, she would hardly have any major physical defects. Although she was naturally stronger than ordinary people, her constitution could not help her cure her nearsightedness.

In fact, none of the healing procedures will have a significant impact on her poor eyesight.

'However, nearsightedness or poor eyesight isn't a major problem for an exorcist, because with spiritual power, she can perfectly compensate through her inner eye or spiritual detection. Severe nearsightedness will only make it difficult for her to recognize people's faces; other issues aren't too significant.'

In a battle, Jujou Maika wouldn't be affected even with her eyes closed.

"Yes, Yeming is not here."

Renjo Senjuro stopped in his tracks and sighed, "We, along with Yomei, Ayaka, and Elder Tsuruan, have been separated from us... Currently, their whereabouts are unknown."

At that moment, he dropped a bombshell that surprised everyone.

"She and the others may have been captured by pirates."

The ten dancing flowers froze in place.

……

According to Renjo Senjuro, the pirates may have bribed an insider on land to get advance notice and then attacked their ship en route, using cannons to strike.

The pirates' ships also had cannons. Regardless of their power, if their own ship was hit, it could sink at sea.

Midway, Lian Zhang and his group were prepared. They retaliated with cannons, set up a barrier for defense, and after repelling the pirates, they pursued them again, eventually arriving at Black Shark Island.

Unexpectedly, the enemy was well-prepared, and the group that landed on the island was lured into a trap by the Black Pirates, who took advantage of their familiarity with the environment.

According to everyone's description, the group had just landed on the island when they encountered a strange fog, and Renjo and the others became separated from Yoru and Ayaka's group.

"The island itself is also very strange."

Matsudaira, an old retainer, sighed.

He recalled that the fog had come on very strangely.

"I... have never seen fog like that before."

Only then did he recall the past.

At that moment, the world turned white.

It was a milky white color, like air mixed with milk, a color that almost completely filled the field of vision.

Once on the island, we were enveloped in thick fog, and even the coastline was no longer visible.

They were all gathered together, but Lian Zhang felt the situation was not good, so he decided to leave first.

In this fog, the group was unable to move and was at risk of being ambushed by pirates familiar with the terrain.

"In this kind of dense fog, you don't need any preparation. Just aim from the shadows and shoot with a musket or bow and arrow, and you'll get hurt."

Highly skilled exorcists can indeed defend against such attacks using spiritual power and barriers. However, pirates also have dealings with foreign merchants and those on the mainland.

Previously, Lian Zhang had learned that among these pirates were Westerners' firearms used to hunt demons and monsters, as well as the Ming Dynasty's demon-slaying arrows.

The former can destroy the regenerative abilities of demons and monsters (yokai), while the latter can destroy weaker barrier spells and can also damage exorcists.

Both Europe and mainland China have been tested by war for a long time, and have continuously fought against otherworldly demons, monsters, and evil gods.

In Europe and the Ming Dynasty, where alchemy, magical artifacts, and various military industries were highly developed, the large armies of mortals armed with specialized weapons were not to be underestimated. Apart from a few powerful individuals who had reached the super-level, the strength of an individual was usually quite limited.

Europe, having completed its industrial revolution and engaged in fierce battles with the creatures of hell, and the Ming Dynasty, mired in internal strife, both possessed massive armies capable of overwhelming the enemy. Only a handful of continental or national-level powerhouses could single-handedly reverse this numerical advantage.

"The Yamato court's isolationist policy was aimed at powerful exorcist families across the country, preventing these families and lords who held real power in their regions from receiving armed support from the outside world. The industrialization brought about by alchemy technology made it even cheaper for these local lords to participate in rebellion."

This policy of isolation has two aspects. One is to prohibit the famous exorcist families from contacting foreign forces and to prevent them from importing new alchemical equipment and new weapons.

Secondly, the Yamato court was willing to cooperate with some foreign powers. The court did not resist these new foreign technologies, but instead actively introduced them to arm its own forces.

The prohibition against the Yamato clans from arming their own territories was merely a precautionary measure; this was clearly a two-pronged political strategy.

Prior to this, the Yamato court possessed the Twelve Guardians of the Holy Land and controlled the core Kyoto region, holding political, military, and financial advantages, which allowed it to maintain its power and status. If alchemy and related industries were to be facilitated, these advantages might be lost.

Everything was done to prevent a repeat of the past situation where the samurai class ruled and superseded the public.

Hyakusuke pondered these questions while listening to Renjo Senjuro's explanation.

This strange fog was clearly abnormal, and even the exorcist's spiritual energy detection was interfered with in this dense fog.

In this environment, the invisibility charm cannot be relied upon.

"Legend has it that the Qimen Dunjia, a magical art in mainland China, can generate fog that can nullify invisibility spells, and anyone who enters the fog will be nowhere to hide."

Lian Zhang remembered the young man named "Shinno," who was a soul-returning sorcerer from the Eight Blessings Society and was skilled in the art of creating mist through escape techniques.

Ultimately, for safety reasons, and because the ship had run out of supplies after two days at sea, they returned to the ship. However, they discovered that Yoru, Ayaka, and the three members of the Hebikage group—all five of them—had vanished without a trace.

"What... what's going on?"

Anger flashed in Tokyo Maika's azure eyes, her voice deepened, and her tone clearly revealed her displeasure.

"President Lian Zhang, I originally thought that someone like you wouldn't make such a mistake."

"I'm sorry, I miscalculated."

Renjo Senjuro couldn't help but sigh, his expression revealing a hint of weariness and helplessness.

"...This is not something that can be easily dismissed as a miscalculation."

A dark aura gradually emanated from behind her, along with intense anxiety.

"Miss Jujo, the situation at the time was rather special."

The retainer Matsudaira Inomaro immediately offered his assistance.

“That island is indeed very strange. It can only be said that President Lian Zhang misjudged the situation, and I myself neglected the Lord’s affairs… But to be honest, the disappearance of the five people, including the young master, cannot be blamed on anyone.”

Ten peanuts frowned hard.

"Lord Matsudaira, are you trying to shirk your responsibility by saying such things? As a 'retainer' of the Tsukigara clan, how can you say such things as negligence!?"

Her tone was sharp and sarcastic, and she exuded a palpable anger that made the old man Matsudaira take a step back.

--not good.

Hyakusuke immediately had a bad feeling; he sensed that Tojou Maika was about to go berserk.

"enough."

Hiiragi Hiruko also spoke, her voice accompanied by a powerful incantation.

"Gentlemen, now is not the time for such talk and infighting—"

Her voice was powerful.

"Also, Miss Jujo, calm down. Don't forget, Matsudaira, as a retainer, is more concerned about the safety of his lord than anyone else."

It seemed that Hiiragi Hiruko's words had an effect, and the impulse that had been pressing on the blonde girl quickly disappeared.

"Young Miss, please watch your words."

Dou Zhijin also jumped over to dissuade her, tugging at her clothes with his paw.

"That's true... I was too impulsive, I'm sorry."

Jujou Maika realized her mistake and quickly apologized in a low voice.

She felt regret, anger, and remorse for her careless words, which made the blonde girl's heart clench.

—I lost my temper again and took my mistakes out on others.

In fact, because of this personality trait, she has caused trouble for those around her in the past.

Just like in the game, when it comes to Yeming, she immediately becomes impulsive, and her behavior changes completely.

As long as it doesn't involve her "fiancé," she is an elegant young lady from a prestigious family. However, if it comes to Ye Ming, she becomes sharp-tongued, rude, and impulsive.

"I do have some fault in this regard."

Renjo Senjuro apologized again.

"Fortunately, one thing is certain: Lord Yeming and the others should be safe and sound."

He took out several amulets from his sleeve. These were locating amulets, their runes emitting a red glow.

“In the previous maze, we almost got separated because of the lack of location tracking… To prevent the same thing from happening again, I had the Chamber of Commerce replenish the location tracking talismans.”

In addition to two-way positioning, this talisman also has the effect of confirming whether the holder is alive. When the talisman is attached to the body, it becomes invisible and becomes part of the skin, so there is no need to worry about being discovered by outsiders.

"If it's torn off or discovered, the locator will stop emitting red light... This means the five of them are safe now."

As Renjo Senjuro finished speaking, his gaze shifted to Jujou Jimaika.

"Miss Jujo, can you rest easy now?"

"Good, good."

She nodded vigorously, as if relieved, and fell silent.

"That's good."

Bai Jie quickly seized the opportunity to interject.

"Now that we can confirm that those people are alright, all we need to do next is bring them back."

"The fog on the island is also a problem; we need to think of a solution..."

Saizo nodded, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"I wonder if it can be dispersed by the wind. If the wind itself is created by magic, then the difficulty will be much higher."

The group began to discuss and plan to go back to the island to rescue the people.

……

Saving lives is like putting out a fire; there's no time to waste.

After a short rest, Renjo Senjuro and the others decided to set off again.

They resupplyed, and taking this opportunity, Hyakusuke was finally able to get involved. He suggested to Renjo that they add some extra items to the supplies.

"Naphtha, sulfur, and explosives for alchemy—why are these supplies added?"

Lian Zhang was puzzled by this.

"Is necessary."

Bai Jie answered in a deep voice, his tone firm.

"Ok."

Renjo Senjuro nodded.

"We also need some herbs, preferably realgar, and ideally, herbs that can be ground into powder."

Bai Jie claims that the island has many poisonous insects and mosquitoes, and that these medicines can repel snakes, insects, rodents, and ants.

He then added some details about the supplies.

Although Hyakusuke insisted that it was preparation for entering the island, Renjo Senjuro couldn't imagine how these things could be of any use.

"We might not have enough stock; we only have a small warehouse here."

"Check which type of supply is missing and replace it with a substitute."

Hyakusuke made this suggestion.

Afterwards, he and Renjo Senjuro carefully inspected the supplies, and only after completing the preparations did he breathe a sigh of relief.

"Very well, this time we're well-prepared... Black Shark Island, huh? To solve this problem, we'll need some extra measures—"

Hyakusuke fell into deep thought once again.

(End of this chapter)