Survival on the Internet: A Bizarre Start at Sea

The first sensation upon regaining consciousness was cold.

The biting, damp chill felt like countless steel needles piercing through the clothes and into the skin.

Next came the smell. A foul stench, a mixture of rust, rotting seaweed, and some indescribable sweet and fishy smell, forcefully entered Su Zhisu's nasal cavity, making her stomach churn violently.

"Cough...cough cough..."

He coughed violently, forcing his heavy eyelids open.

What came into view was not the grassy area of ​​the park, but a dark red, viscous, oily sea.

The sky was leaden gray, with thick clouds hanging low, seemingly within reach. The icy rain pelted his face relentlessly, and as far as the eye could see, a milky white fog blanketed the sea.

He was lying on the deck of a dilapidated wooden boat.

The ship was about ten meters long, its wooden structure severely decayed, and its hull covered with bluish-black moss and slippery seaweed. Along the edge of the hull, several broken skeletal arms lay scattered, pointing helplessly to the sky.

"Is this... the Strange Voyage?"

Su Zhisu endured his discomfort and dizziness, and stood up while holding onto the slippery cabin wall. His movements were steady, without the slightest panic of someone newly arrived in another world. Instead, he resembled an experienced sailor adapting to the rhythm of the waves.

He looked down at himself. His clothes had been replaced with a rough linen sailor suit, and a rusty harpoon was tucked at his waist—his only weapon.

[Current Area: Sea of ​​Mysteries]

[Time: 10:00 AM]

[Environmental conditions: Cloudy and rainy, low visibility.]

[World's Strangest Value: 32]

[New Player Mission: Survive 24 Hours (In Progress)]

(Note: The World Oddity Value fluctuates constantly; it only has a real impact when it is extremely high or extremely low (>90 and <10); the World Oddity Value will not equal 100 or 0.)

[Area Oddity Rating: 18↑]

(Note: The area's Oddity Value will gradually shift towards the world's Oddity Value. Each time an Oddity Event is encountered, the Oddity Value will decrease. When the area's Oddity Value is less than 30, there is a low probability of encountering an Oddity Event; when it is greater than 50, the probability of encountering an Oddity Event increases; when it is greater than 80, the probability of encountering an Oddity Event increases significantly; when it is equal to 100, please leave the area as soon as possible.)

Su Zhixu glanced at the semi-transparent panel in his mind, his gaze finally settling on the "Strange Value".

"18 PM..." he muttered to himself, "Looks like it's still relatively safe."

He walked to the ship's side and looked at the dark red seawater. The seawater was so viscous that it didn't seem like water at all, but rather like congealed blood plasma. The waves pounded against the hull, making muffled "plop" sounds, and each impact seemed to convey some kind of low, rhythmic drumbeat.

"This color...this smell..." Su Zhisu frowned. "There seems to be something in this water."

He remembered his talent for seeing hidden information.

He stretched out his right hand, palm facing the dark red seawater, and silently said, "Inspect."

In an instant, the view of the sea changed.

Beneath the original dark red color, countless tiny, dust-like black particles floated and wriggled in the water. They seemed to be alive, trying to squeeze into the gaps in the wooden boat.

[Item: Seawater from the Mysterious Sea]

[Hidden Information: This sea area is polluted by "Whispers of the Deep Sea." The black particles in the water are spores of "Blood of Madness." Long-term contact or inhalation can cause skin scaling, auditory distortion (hearing non-existent songs), and ultimately lead to mental breakdown.]

Su Zhisu's pupils contracted sharply, and he quickly withdrew his hand.

"Blood of Madness... Mental Collapse..." He took a deep breath, feeling not fear but a trembling excitement.

This is that world! Full of the unknown, danger, and... freedom!

"It seems we can't touch or drink this water. We need to think of something." Su Zhisu quickly made a judgment.

He turned and began inspecting the wrecked ship. Since survival was the priority, supplies were crucial.

The cabin door was ajar, and the interior was dark, reeking of an even stronger musty smell. Su Zhisu didn't rush in; instead, she picked up a piece of broken wood from the deck and threw it into the cabin.

With a "thud," the wooden board hit the ground, and there was no other reaction.

He then cautiously leaned inside.

The cabin was sparsely furnished, containing only a broken wooden table, a few overturned chairs, and several tattered burlap sacks piled in the corner. He walked over and lifted one of the sacks.

Inside were some moldy, hardened black breads that smelled sour and were clearly inedible.

He then looked at another sack.

This time, the sack contained a few worn-out clothes and a sealed earthenware jar.

Su Zhisu's heart stirred. He picked up the pottery jar, gently patted off the dust, and silently said, "Inspect."

[Item: Sealed ceramic jar]

[Hidden Information: This is an old sailor's last treasure. The jar contains pure fresh water, enough to sustain a person for three days.]

"Found it!"

A hint of joy flashed in Su Zhisu's eyes. In this environment, water was more precious than gold.

He carefully held the pottery jar in his arms, preparing to leave the cabin, when suddenly a strange sound came from the bottom of the boat.

"Thump...thump...thump..."

The sound was rhythmic, like someone gently tapping the wooden planks at the bottom of a boat with their knuckles.

Su Zhisu's movements froze instantly.

He held his breath and listened intently.

"Thump...thump thump...thump..."

The sound didn't stop; instead, it became more rapid and its location shifted, seemingly moving along the bottom of the ship towards his cabin.

Su Zhisu did not move.

He gripped the rusty harpoon at his waist tightly, his knuckles turning white from the force. His heart was pounding, but his mind was racing.

"Is it the sound of waves crashing? No, the sound of waves is a 'plop,' a solid pounding sound."

"Rats? With the ship in such a dilapidated state, it's normal to have rats. But would rats be banging on the wood at the bottom of the ship? And why would the sound come from underwater?"

His gaze fell on a tattered cloth in the corner of the cabin.

He walked over, used the harpoon to lift the rag, and silently said, "Inspect."

[Item: A rag]

[Hidden Information: This is a handkerchief stained with the slime of an unknown organism. It emits a strange, rancid smell, and prolonged contact may lead to infection.]

Su Zhisu's eyes turned cold. Without hesitation, he used a harpoon to pick up the tattered cloth and threw it out of the cabin into the sea.

If he had touched the cloth directly with his hand, he would probably be in trouble now.

"Knock knock knock knock!"

The pounding on the bottom of the boat suddenly became rapid and violent, as if the pounder was angry because of the disappearance of the tattered cloth.

Immediately afterwards, a strange sound, like wet leather rubbing together, came from outside the cabin.

Su Zhisu slowly turned around, leaned against the wall, and stared intently at the cabin door.

In the thick fog, a blurry figure was crawling slowly toward the cabin door, lying on the deck.

That was... a person?

It had a humanoid torso, but its skin was grayish-white and covered with a thick layer of mucus. Its limbs were disproportionately long, with hands resembling vestigial fins covered in black webbing. Most terrifying of all was its head, a distorted human face with a mouth split to its ears, filled with fine, sharp teeth, and two pitch-black, empty eyes devoid of any white.

Where it crawled, it left a wet, slimy trail that reeked of foul odor.

[WARNING: Strange creature detected approaching!]

[Area Oddity Value Fluctuation: 32]

[Experiencing mental pollution: fear (mild), nausea (moderate)]

Su Zhisu's vision began to turn red at the edges, and a strong feeling of nausea and the urge to escape surged into her heart.

The talent "Yearning for True Freedom" is resisting...

[Judging... 1d100 + 30 = 85 > 35]

[Resistance successful!]

[Gain 60 seconds of mental resistance against this creature, and +1 free attribute point]

That nauseating negative emotion was instantly suppressed. Su Zhisu's eyes became clearer, even carrying a hint of cold scrutiny.

"Is this... a monster?"

He didn't scream or back down. Instead, he began to analyze his opponent's weaknesses.

"It crawls on all fours, suggesting limited land mobility. But this is a ship, a confined space. Its skin is slimy, likely slippery, making it difficult for a harpoon to penetrate. Is its weak point its eyes? Or its head?"

The monster seemed surprised that its "prey" wasn't running away, but instead staring at it. It let out a hoarse roar, like a seagull's cry, and suddenly accelerated, opening its blood-red maw as it pounced on Su Zhixu!

A foul stench filled the air!

Su Zhisu made a move.

The moment the monster pounced, he didn't choose to fight head-on. As a survivor who had just landed, he knew very well the weight of the rusty harpoon in his hand.

He swiftly dodged to the side, his movements clean and efficient.

The monster missed its target and crashed headfirst into the cabin door frame with a dull thud. The rotten wood shattered, sending splinters flying.

Taking advantage of this moment, Su Zhisu got a clear look at the monster's back.

On that grayish-white skin, there was a distinct, gill-like wound, from which black pus was oozing.

"You're injured! And the wound is oozing pus!"

A glint flashed in Su Zhisu's eyes.

Instead of attacking the monster's head, he aimed at the festering wound and, with all his might, plunged the rusty harpoon in his hand down!

"laugh--"

The harpoon wasn't sharp, and it made a teeth-grinding scraping sound when it pierced the skin.

"roar!!!"

The monster let out a piercing scream and writhed wildly. Its body erupted with a slick, slimy substance that nearly made Su Zhixu lose his grip on the harpoon.

Su Zhixu gripped the harpoon tightly, and using the momentum of the monster's twisting motion, he twisted his wrist and yanked it hard!

Black pus spurted out, splashing onto Su Zhisu's arm, causing a burning pain.

[WARNING: Contact with the bodily fluids of the "Deep Diver (Larva)" will cause minor corrosive damage and trigger mental contamination (mad whispers).]

[Triggering talent resistance...]

[60s mental resistance has been resisted]

Su Zhisu groaned, enduring the excruciating pain in his arm, and abruptly pulled out the harpoon, taking three steps back.

The monster was severely injured and couldn't get up for a while. It lay on the ground, its dark eyes fixed on Su Zhisu, filled with resentment and...fear.

Yes, fear.

It seemed it hadn't expected this seemingly frail human to be so decisive and ruthless.

The two, one human and one strange, faced off in the cramped cabin.

Thick fog poured in through the cabin door, creating a suffocatingly oppressive atmosphere.

Su Zhisu was panting heavily, the wound on his arm burning with pain, but his hand holding the harpoon was as steady as a rock.

He looked at the monster and suddenly spoke, his voice hoarse but calm:

"This ship is mine."

After saying that, he gripped the harpoon tightly and assumed a posture to attack again.

The monster seemed to weigh its options for a moment, then let out a low growl of resentment. It turned around and scrambled out of the cabin, leaping into the dark red seawater and disappearing instantly.

Su Zhisu stood there for a full minute, and only after confirming that there was no other movement did she slowly relax her tense body.

He slid down against the corner of the wall, looking at the red and swollen wounds on his arm that had been corroded, and then at the harpoon stained with black blood.

[New player mission: Survive for 24 hours (in progress)]

[World's Strangest Value: 35]

[Area Oddity Rating: 12↑]

Free attribute points: 2

"2 o'clock..." Su Zhixu gasped for breath, but a smile slowly crept onto his lips. "It seems this is just the beginning."

He took out the earthenware jar containing fresh water from his pocket, unscrewed the lid, but did not drink it.

He simply stared silently at the mouth of the jar, at his reflection inside—a pair of pale, weary eyes, yet burning with a scorching flame.

The rain was still falling, pattering on the deck with a monotonous sound.

On this endless dark sea, a wrecked ship and a lonely soul.

Su Zhisu lifted the earthenware jar, took a small sip of water, and moistened her chapped lips.

"Freedom..." he whispered, "I'm here."