Survival on the Internet: A Bizarre Start at Sea

The title of a post caught his attention.

[Post on Zongwang Forum]: Is there a world without people, also a sea of ​​strange phenomena? The stormy sea is eerily calm, and the area's strangeness value keeps increasing. Can any experts explain what's going on?

[Posted by]: Old Sailor lv.9.

The post was published three hours ago, and there are already more than a dozen replies.

"Stormy Seas? What kind of world is that? You've probably encountered a special area."

"A rise in the regional disaster threshold + abnormal environment = something terrible is about to happen. I suggest the poster run away quickly."

"Run? Where to run? Once you're in a special area, you generally can't escape. That's common sense, upstairs."

"Just wait. If we can get through this, we might have some unexpected gains. If we can't, we'll start over."

"You make it sound so easy. Special areas are never simple. Going to the first level is just suicide."

Su Zhisu's heart sank as she read the replies.

"What's going on? A stormy sea area?!"

"Could he also be in this strange world of seafaring?!"

"Is it difficult to leave special areas?"

"Should we wait until the storm has completely passed?"

He clicked on the poster's profile picture and sent a private message.

【夙lv.9】: Big brother, are you also in the world of Strange Voyages? I am also in this world, and in the Stormy Seas, why haven't I met you?

A few minutes later, the other party replied.

【Old Sailor lv.9】: Brother, you're also in the world of Strange Seas? Are you also in the Stormy Seas? What's the current situation in your seas?

【夙lv.9】: The oddity value of my area has exceeded the world's oddity value, and it is still rising.

【夙lv.9】: Bro, what did you mean by "your world"? Does that mean we're not in the same world?

【Old Sailor lv.9】: That's right, bro. I bet you haven't noticed the latest version of the 【Survival Guide for the Internet】 on the forum yet.

【Old Sailor lv.9】: The latest version of the 【Comprehensive Survival Guide】 explains that each disaster world is like a huge 'dungeon'. Although there are many different 'dungeons', it is not surprising to encounter the same one. Players in the same world can actually exchange information with each other, which is more helpful for survival.

【夙lv.9】: Oh, I see! These guys are here! Let's add each other as friends and help each other out in the future.

【Old Sailor lv.9】: Absolutely, brother! We're practically an alliance of mutual support and cooperation!

【Old Sailor lv.9】: Next, if anything happens in the Stormy Seas, brothers, let's exchange information immediately.

【夙lv.9】: Absolutely, bro! The weirdness level in my area has already risen to 43.

Su Zhisu closed the private message window and looked at the calm sea.

"It's hard to leave special areas? No wonder my white mist didn't work."

He thought for a moment, then opened the comment section of the post by 【Old Sailor lv.9】 and uploaded a photo he had just taken—a leaden-gray sky, a calm sea, the lonely Redemption, and a gradually increasing wind.

The caption read: "Current situation in the storm area. The calm before the storm."

After posting the message, he put away his fishing rod.

I fished for almost an hour, but I didn't catch a single fish, not even a single weed.

There seemed to be no living creatures in this area of ​​the sea.

He returned to his cabin and used the sunfish meat he had previously stored to make a fairly substantial breakfast.

During the meal, [Aloof Mage lv.9] replied.

【Aloof Mage lv.9】: Research findings on emotions? Unfortunately, I've been busy with other research lately. Let's exchange ideas when we have time.

【夙lv.9】: Sure, let's exchange ideas when we have time.

After finishing their conversation, Su Zhisu cleaned up the leftovers and returned to the deck.

It's almost noon now.

The leaden gray of the sky seemed to have deepened, but there was still no wind.

The sea remained calm.

Just then, he noticed something was wrong.

About several dozen nautical miles away, twisted black shadows covered in dark scales broke through the water's surface and then quickly sank back down.

Judging from their aura, they are roughly first-tier corrupted beings.

Su Zhisu immediately went on alert, placing her hand on the hilt of her knife.

But the polluters did not seem to be heading towards the Redemption.

After surfacing, they merely glanced in this direction with their scarlet eyes before twisting their bodies and swimming rapidly southeast, quickly disappearing from sight.

"Ignoring me?"

A few minutes later, on the other side of the sea, another group of polluted creatures, their waves resembling rotting dolphins, leaped out of the water side by side. They also only glanced in the direction of the Redemption before speeding off in another direction.

Then came the third wave, the fourth wave...

Within half an hour, Su Zhisu saw no fewer than five groups, totaling over several hundred people, appear from different directions and then leave in different directions.

They didn't even fight each other; they just kept their heads down and kept going, as if something in the distance was attracting them, or something behind them was driving them away.

"They are all leaving the storm area..."

"Could it be that they sensed something?"

Su Zhisu's brows furrowed more and more tightly.

Even the irrational, contaminated individuals instinctively fled...

Without further hesitation, he turned and rushed into the cabin.

We must get out of here, immediately!

The Redemption turned its bow around, choosing the southeast direction it had initially chosen, then offered the materials and moved forward at full speed.

The calm sea was cleaved in two by the bow of the Redemption, leaving dark red ripples.

【夙lv.9】: Bro, I've seen waves of corrupted people leaving the stormy sea area. I'm going to try leaving too. I suggest you try leaving as well.

【Old Sailor lv.9】: Thanks for the reminder, brother. I'm also trying to leave now. I'll let you know immediately if anything happens.

After sailing for about ten minutes, Su Zhisu estimated that they had traveled sixteen nautical miles.

But the surrounding scenery remained unchanged, with the same leaden sky and calm sea.

He noticed that the surrounding scenery seemed unchanged.

"Am I going in circles?"

He stopped the boat, stood on the sea, made a mark, and then sailed in a straight line in one direction again.

Ten minutes later, the result remained the same.

"As expected, they're going in circles..."

"Let's try the Redemption's White Mist Blessing to see if it works."

He stood at the bow, focused his mind, and fully activated the Redemption's talent, [Blessed by the White Mist].

The white skeletal ram at the bow of the ship lit up, with a wisp of white mist swirling around it.

But that's all.

The expected large-scale white mist did not appear.

Only a few wisps of thin mist seeped from the tip of the ram, and as soon as they left the hull, they quickly dissipated into the air, as if forcibly "erased" by some invisible force.

Su Zhisu tried again, and the result was the same.

"Completely disrupted..."

"The rules of this sea area seem to prohibit all forms of 'departure' during the storm's brewing period."

He withdrew his power and silently gazed at the sea.

"If you can't get out, you can only face the storm head-on."