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

Chapter 203 Player's Experience

Black Shark Island is a remote, sparsely populated island. On the island stands a dormant volcano with an elevation of approximately 300 meters.

Thanks to the reminder from the ten dancing flowers, Hyakusuke realized that the ship was almost at Black Shark Island. Looking from the deck towards the horizon, the destination of this trip, the island, stood on the sea bathed in the afterglow of the setting sun.

From a distance, the eastern part of the area where the extinct volcano is located looks like a raised section, which contrasts sharply with the long, winding shape to the south on the west side.

"Okay... I now understand why this place is called Black Shark Island."

Looking at the other side from the deck, Hyakusuke finally understood why this place was called Black Shark Island. From east to west, the island looked like a big fish, with half of its head submerged in the seawater and the other half above the surface. The body of the fish was curved, forming a bay that extended from the west and curved southward.

The sky above was vast and clear, seemingly stretching to the horizon. The island was surrounded by the ocean on all sides; this was its entirety.

"...What a huge island?"

Hiiragi Hiruko was utterly shocked.

It was her first time going out to sea, and also her first time seeing such a large island.

Black Shark Island is lush and verdant, with dense forests. It is surrounded by reefs, none large enough to qualify as a small island. No other islands are visible in sight; it is truly an isolated island.

"It really is an isolated island. Although I had heard that the island was very large, seeing it with my own eyes still gave me a bit of a shock..."

Tanuki Bean climbed to a high place and looked towards the direction of the island.

"There are more than two hundred pirates on the island. Even in the Seto region, they would be a rare and powerful pirate crew."

The ten dancing flowers murmured to themselves.

She lives in Suo Province, which is near the Seto Inland Sea, a narrow strip of sea that stretches from the Kanmon Strait to Osaka.

This sea area is interspersed with the three regions of Kyushu, Shikoku and Honshu, making this inland sea route very suitable as a maritime gateway and trade route.

In particular, the famous "Daluntianbo" was once a natural harbor for maritime trade with the Song Dynasty.

Similarly, because the Seto Inland Sea has unobstructed waterways, extending all the way to the west coast of Kyushu, this area has been a frequent haunt of pirates.

As the eldest daughter of the Jujoji clan, Maika Jujoji naturally had no shortage of dealings with pirates. In fact, for the Jujoji clan, fighting pirates was a family business.

Hiiragi Hiruko's gaze shifted to the island. Under the pale sunset, the island's emerald green was tinged with a layer of scattered gold. The western side seemed to be entirely covered by forest, a dark green expanse stretching endlessly, with no sign of human habitation in sight.

"Speaking of which... since the pirates may have captured Yoru, Ayaka, and other members of the Yuejialu clan."

The witch asked with a puzzled look, "Our goal is to reach the island and rescue people. Shouldn't we first find the pirates' ships and then find an opportunity to sabotage them, so that we can catch them like turtles in a jar?"

She offered her own ideas.

"Without ships, the pirates can't move around freely, which is more advantageous for us who have come to the island."

Hiiragi Hiruko proposed an idea: to first destroy the pirates' ship, and then go to the island to deal with the pirates.

"There's nothing wrong with this method."

Ten Earth Dance Flowers were the first to answer.

"Finding the port where the pirates are docking and attacking those ships directly would indeed be a flawless strategy, but it won't work here."

"Why do you say that?"

Hiiragi Hiruko was stunned.

"Because pirates also take this issue into consideration."

Bai Jie quickly offered an explanation.

“If the ships at sea are attacked, the pirates will also be trapped on such isolated islands, leaving only their own side to defend while the enemy can launch an attack at any time. In particular, if the enemy is numerous and powerful, such as a large fleet of the Yamato Imperial Court, they can carry out siege tactics. Staying on the island is equivalent to being trapped in a dangerous situation.”

"Pirates usually use small boats and fast boats."

Hiiragi Hiruko then began to explain.

"Their ships are much smaller than ours, faster, and can hide in the wind-eroded caves on the island for concealment... I think there might be many such caves on this island that can be used to hide ships."

"Conversely, large ships like ours cannot do that."

Bai Jie pointed to the nearby reefs.

"There aren't many places to dock near this island; it's full of reefs, especially for large ships like this. This bay is the only place we can get close to, where there's a beach. That's the only way we can land."

"However, the enemy may have been prepared, so this landing on the island is still very dangerous."

Jujou Maika was very familiar with naval warfare and amphibious assaults.

"Oh, right, Ms. Jujo."

Hyakusuke recalled something and asked Jujouji Maika about it.

"Speaking of the western coast of Kyushu, there are quite a few active pirate groups, right?"

He asked the question in a deep voice.

"Speaking of which, there is a famous pirate crew over there. Even I have heard the rumors about the great pirate Kukkata Tenki, who is known as the 'Aura King'."

You mean that guy!?

Upon hearing this, Wu Hua frowned in surprise.

"That's a troublesome old monster... If possible, I'd like to avoid talking about it."

"is it?"

Bai Jie was somewhat disappointed.

"Evil King" Nine-Horned Heavenly Being is a boss you will encounter in the future of the game's storyline, and he is also a rather dangerous enemy.

Maika Jujo was someone who had once come into contact with this formidable enemy, so she should have some information related to him.

Hyakusuke had also considered the battles he would encounter in the future and how to deal with the situation, which was why he chose to raise this question. However, it was not too unexpected that Jujou Maika would refuse to discuss this with him.

Considering the ferocity of this so-called "Ara-o" great pirate Kukka Tenki, and his grudges with the Jujo clan, it's not surprising that she didn't want to answer.

"No, no, no, as I've said before, it has nothing to do with Mr. Hyakusuke, it's just that—" Maika raised her eyebrows in displeasure, as if she had thought of something unpleasant.

"I really dislike this villain."

"Sorry, I made a mistake."

Hyakusuke could only apologize quietly.

"However, please don't misunderstand, I really wasn't targeting Mr. Hyakusuke."

She couldn't help but sigh as she said this.

"No, considering my previous rudeness, perhaps I should take the initiative to apologize to Mr. Hyakusuke. However, I feel disgusted by pirates like Kujaku Tenji from the bottom of my heart, so I don't want to talk about such people anymore."

"To put it bluntly, pirates are just a group of unruly people from the wilderness who roam around. Of course, this situation is mostly caused by the oppression of the local leaders, which makes it impossible for fishermen to live in peace, so they take risks and break the law."

Jujou Maika paused for a moment and said, "However, their actions are truly despicable. These people commit all sorts of atrocities at sea, burning, killing, and looting. Their violence is unbearable to witness. Anyone who knows even a little about what pirates have done would never want to associate with them."

"I understand."

Bai Jie decided to stop discussing this issue.

Just as he was about to remain silent, Tokio Maika suddenly spoke up again.

"Um," she lowered her voice and asked very quietly, "actually, I also hope to have a good talk with Mr. Hyakusuke. I recently heard from other people that Mr. Hyakusuke and Yomei have a very good relationship, is that right?"

"Ah... um... that's right."

Bai Jie was stunned for a moment, his mouth opening and closing, cold sweat dripping down his face.

Finally, he could only nod reluctantly.

—How should I put this?

The relationship is indeed very good, but it's not the kind of "good" in the usual sense.

'However, Maika Tojo also inquired about Yoake from the others, but it seemed that no one had clearly explained her true situation.'

Hyakusuke was conflicted; he didn't know how to explain the changes in Yomei to Jujou Maika.

Fortunately, Totsuji Maika did not notice the change in his expression.

"So, is he doing well?"

The blonde girl became a little shy, her cheeks flushing slightly. She played with the tips of her hair, which hadn't yet reached her shoulders, with her fingers. "She's doing well."

Bai Jie sighed inwardly.

He calmly explained, "Lady Yeming has always had a good ability to adapt. Even within the Black Princess Mountain clan, she has fared quite well."

He coughed lightly again.

"Because I am also a member of the Black Princess Mountain clan, although it may sound like I am biased, the Black Princess Mountain family is relatively polite to Ye Ming and others."

"Yeah."

Ten Earth Dance Flowers let out a soft breath.

“That’s wonderful. I heard he’s been living under someone else’s roof and being coerced by the Black Princess Mountain Clan. I was worried he was having a hard time.”

She seemed to have let go of her worries, and her complexion improved slightly.

"Thank you so much, Mr. Hyakusuke. By the way... the ship is almost at the island, it seems we can get on the island soon."

Wu Hua's voice became more cheerful.

Hyakusuke, however, could not feel happy. Looking at the deserted and lifeless island, a chill inexplicably welled up in his heart.

I just hope everything goes well!

……

The three ships anchored in a bay area with fewer reefs, where there was a long, white, ribbon-like sandy beach, which was also the flatter area for landing on the island.

The island is surrounded by jagged reefs, and many places are mountains, forests, and cliffs, making it difficult to approach. The group, who knew nothing about the island, could only choose this place as their entry point.

Bai Jie stepped into the shallow water and waded forward with the others until they reached the soft, white sand.

Only at this moment did the people who had landed on the island breathe a sigh of relief; they had been on guard the whole time.

If we were ambushed by pirates upon landing, the situation would be no joke.

The group didn't have much protective gear, especially Western alchemical weapons. Those foreign guns and Ming Dynasty's demon-slaying arrows and repeating crossbows were not very effective against monsters, but they were very effective against exorcists.

"No problem, I didn't sense any danger, or that someone had set up any formations or anything..."

On the other side, Hiiragi Hiruko slowly opened her eyes. She had been maintaining a state of amplifying her spiritual energy wavelength to perceive her surroundings.

As the head priestess of the Divine Cherry Blossom Society, her total spiritual power is no less than that of super-level exorcists like Kuzuka and Kohagi.

As long as she can make good use of her powerful spiritual energy, Hiiragi Hiruko is very suitable for tasks such as scouting enemies.

"Can you sense the pirates on the island?"

Old man Matsudaira asked another question.

"I'm sorry, I only sensed traces of small animals, and I didn't detect any human activity."

Hiiragi Hiruko shook her head.

"Miss Zhouzi, could you extend your spiritual energy wavelength deep beneath the earth's surface to explore the ground?"

Ten steps of the dance flower offered their suggestions.

She believes that the pirates might be hiding underground or in caves at sea.

"I'll give it a try."

Hiiragi Hiruko hesitated, a hint of difficulty appearing on her face.

"However, it's difficult for spiritual energy wavelengths to penetrate too deep into the ground, or into thicker rocks or denser strata..."

"It seems best to send some shikigami to fly to higher ground to investigate."

Bai Jie quickly offered his suggestions.

The sorcerers from the Kurohime Mountain clan, including Saizo, quickly took out paper shikigami and threw them into the air. These shikigami, like kites, quickly floated and drifted into the high sky.

The shikigami work like drones, circling the island to scout out its conditions, but ultimately finding nothing.

At the same time, Renjō Senjūrō also took out the locator talisman. He examined it repeatedly, his brows furrowing slightly.

"The positions of the five of them have hardly changed. Judging from the feedback signals, Yoru, Ayaka and the three members of the Shell Snake Trio are not on the ground, but trapped underground."

well.

When Hyakusuke heard this, he knew it was time for him to reveal some of the information.

"There might be an underground cave on the island where Yeming and the others might be trapped. Also, I think there is a fairly large underground space with interconnected passageways. Pirates might use this underground cave as their base."

He also offered an explanation.

"If the cave itself is a relatively enclosed underground cave, then the effectiveness of the locator will be limited."

"Correct."

Renjō Senjō suddenly realized.

“In certain highly enclosed areas, it is indeed difficult for spiritual energy wavelengths to be transmitted, which will cause the locator to fail. It seems that there is likely a large cave underground. All we need to do now is find the entrance.”

"So to say."

Cai Zang seemed to recall something, muttering as he stroked the beard on his square jaw with his fingers.

"...While using the shikigami for reconnaissance, I noticed a dark outline of a 'ring' in the forest on the right. Now it seems it might be something like a cave entrance."

"In which direction?"

Shitori no Wataru quickly pressed for an answer.

"There, to the right."

Cai Zang pointed his finger over.

"Okay, let's go take a look in that direction first."

The group began to move, but after walking for a while...

A sense of unease arose.

"Hmm, something seems... off?"

Hiiragi Hiruko immediately sensed something and slowed her pace.

—At some point, the surrounding scenery began to change.

It's fog.

In an instant, thick fog, out of season, began to spread from all directions.