Survival on the Internet: A Bizarre Start at Sea

Standing on the ship's railing, Su Zhisu unconsciously stroked his chin with his fingertips.

"With the [Blessing of the Ocean] upon me, exploring this wondrous sea is not impossible. But..."

The reason he hesitated to enter the water was because the hidden information in "Blessing of the Ocean" was like a thorn stuck in his heart.

He could never forget the scene when he first scooped up the dark red seawater, and countless black particles seemed to be alive, rising and falling, wriggling—those were spores of the blood of madness.

Thinking about this, a sense of relief welled up inside me. Luckily, I had the hint of talent and stopped in time.

A muffled thud interrupted his thoughts.

The eerie skeletal creatures completed their task, tossing a pale sunfish onto the deck before diving back into the sea.

Su Zhisu's gaze remained fixed on the trajectory of the eerie bone arms as they flew into the sea. They ventured deep into the strange sea, yet remained unharmed.

It is the burning flame of a vigilant heart.

His gaze shifted to the cabin door, to the quietly burning lamp of his vigil.

[A Guardian's Lamp]

【Special Effect 1】: The Night Watcher's Flame burning inside the lamp uses eeriness and madness as fuel, and rationality is the product of its burning. It can purify the eeriness and madness of items. As long as there is a source of fuel, the Night Watcher's Flame will not go out.

Su Zhisu's gaze fell on the Night Watch Lamp, the flame dancing in his pupils.

Since the Night Watcher's Heart Flame is fueled by the bizarre and the insane, then the bizarre pollution that fills the sea is its most abundant food.

The dark red seawater was viscous like blood, carrying a nauseating and eerie smell.

Without further hesitation, Su Zhisu leaped into the viscous, dark red seawater.

As it descended, countless black particles seemed to sense the presence of living things and surged towards it like moths to a flame.

However, just as they were about to touch Su Zhixu's body, the Night Watch Heart Lamp in his hand suddenly burst out with a dazzling light, and the dark blue Night Watch Heart Flame enveloped him, forming a large dark blue fireball.

As the Night Watch's Heart Flame burned wildly, the black particles melted away like ice and snow, becoming fuel for the Heart Flame and transforming into reason.

The frantic notifications about the talent assessment that had been ringing in his ears disappeared, his sanity stopped decreasing, and slowly returned to 100 points. The successful talent assessment added a considerable amount of basic materials to his inventory.

As the depth increased, the light completely disappeared, plunging the surroundings into a deathly darkness. Only the glow of the Night Watcher's Heart Flame illuminated an area of ​​a few meters around them.

Surrounded only by endless dark red and frantic black particles, this sense of deathly silence is enough to drive any determined adult insane.

Occasionally, a black shadow would appear in the distance, but it would disappear immediately before Su Zhisu could get close.

As we descended to 150 meters, the current became rapid, as if some enormous suction force was pulling everything away.

Su Zhisu stopped, the sight before him making him hold his breath.

In the deep, dark ocean, a huge, irregularly shaped piece of "black glass" floats.

It doesn't resemble rock or metal; it's more like a wound left after being torn apart by some great force.

Its edges are sharp and jagged, constantly changing, and its surface shimmers with a deep luster, as if it could devour light.

The "black glass" hung silently in the strange sea, its surroundings completely shrouded in darkness. Su Zhisu slowly approached, reaching out his hand, his fingertips touching the cold surface.

Contrary to expectations, it wasn't firm at all; my fingertips felt as if they were sinking into mud, and a dizzying, weightless sensation washed over me instantly.

Countless fragmented images flashed through my mind: the wreckage of the sunken ship, desperate cries, and the twisted crew members... These were the echoes of memories left behind by the "Cape of Good Hope" that it had swallowed.

Just as my consciousness was about to be overwhelmed, a notification from the comprehensive network sounded in my mind.

[Network alert: Echo crack detected]

[Instance generated: The Undead of the Cape of Good Hope]

[Dungeon Difficulty: One Star (Adjustable)]

[Recommended number of participants: limited to one person (varies depending on difficulty)]

[Completion Rewards: Resources, Experience, Special Items]

[Hint to clear the level: Resolve the resentment of the dead]

"So this is the instance?"

Su Zhisu suppressed her dizziness and looked around at her surroundings.

In the past two days, while browsing online forums, he came across many posts describing the situations the posters encountered in dungeons.

Later, some people even summarized the patterns.

[Survival Guide for Online Games (Beginner Level)]:

"After extensive research, it has been determined that this guide applies to all Cataclysmic Worlds. Different Cataclysmic Worlds, depending on the form of the Cataclysm, will generate Core Manifestations in various ways, such as phenomena, items, or others. When a player encounters such a Core Manifestation, a dungeon will be generated. Only when a player clears the dungeon for the first time will the dungeon be included in the overall network."

"Note: The core manifestation of the world's calamities will not disappear just because the instance is cleared; we still need to find other methods."

"Core materialization? Then why didn't I receive any notification from the network after entering the white mist?"

Put the unanswered questions aside for now.

He was now in a deep, dark cave, and under the glow of the eerie blue fire of the Night Watch Heart Flame, the specific environment inside the cave came into view.

"It's so narrow all around, it seems I'm in a passageway?"

Gripping the gleaming harpoon tightly in his hand, Su Zhisu cautiously proceeded along the narrow passage.

There were no forks in the path, and water droplets constantly seeped from the rock walls overhead, dripping into the puddles on the ground.

The pattering sound was particularly jarring in the dark environment.

The eerie blue light of the Night Watcher's Flame barely illuminated a patch of deep green light not far ahead.

He quickened his pace and walked out of the passage; the sight before him made his pupils shrink slightly.

A huge sailing ship stands quietly in the center of the cave, which must be the "Cape of Good Hope".

It had long lost its former grandeur. The hull looked as if it had been torn apart by some enormous force, with the wooden planks twisted and broken, revealing the internal structure of the cabin.

The mast that once held the sails was broken, and the wet wreckage dripped dark red seawater, leaning against the deck, entwined with unknown dark green seaweed that emitted an eerie dark green phosphorescence.

The deck was covered with dried, blackened bloodstains and messy scratch marks, as if silently telling the story of the tragedy.

Taking a deep breath and gripping the gleaming harpoon tightly, Su Zhisu carefully stepped onto the deck.

The decaying deck creaked under his feet, unable to bear the weight any longer.

[Network notification: Cape of Good Hope spotted, instance progress: 20%]

As soon as the notification sound from the network ended, a bone-chilling cold instantly shot up from my spine to the top of my head.

Almost instinctively, Su Zhisu rolled sharply to the side!

"laugh--!"

The sharp sound of wind cutting through the air almost grazed his back.

Where he had been standing, a rusty, curved scimitar was deeply embedded in the deck, sending splinters flying.

Su Zhisu quickly turned over and stood up, holding a cold-looking harpoon in front of him, and stared intently.

A blurry, dark green, transparent humanoid silhouette was slowly "seeping" out from the deck; it was a ghost.

Its body was translucent, with a sickly gray-green color. Its skin was covered with wrinkles and festering wounds, and Su Zhisu could even see the bare bones exposed from the tattered clothes.

One eye was empty and devoid of light, while the other burned with a ghostly green flame, staring intently at Su Zhisu, and letting out a roar like a broken bellows from its throat.

"Kill me!!!!"