Bone Pit

After upgrading the Eyepatch, she could read more detailed skill information.

[Acidic Spit: Expels a large area of corrosive acidic venom through the cheek pouches.]

[Sweep: The Sulfur Giant Lizard uses its thick tail to sweep away nearby enemies.]

[Pounce: Lunges at an enemy at extreme speed, using claws and fangs to strike a fatal blow.]

Looking at the ugly giant lizard, at least five meters in body length, Ling Chu had only one thought in her mind—she couldn't beat it.

She instinctively gripped her Oak Longbow, doubting whether her wooden arrows could even pierce its thick, sturdy scales.

The Sulfur Giant Lizard was sleeping too soundly, turning over carelessly in its sleep, revealing the treasure it held in its embrace—a glowing orb.

Ling Chu recognized it at a glance; that glowing orb was the Island Core.

Based on past experience, the guardian of the Island Core was usually the strongest creature on the island. From the lizard's arrogant sleeping posture, it was clear it had no natural enemies on this island.

The giant lizard seemed to have just finished eating and was sleeping deeply. Ling Chu had no intention of disturbing it and silently turned to leave.

Even under normal circumstances, she couldn't beat it, let alone now with her unlucky debuff.

Ling Chu decided to first bypass this giant lizard and thoroughly explore the entire island.

This island had a three-day landing period, so she had plenty of time. Once the bad luck effect wore off tomorrow, plus the new dagger she'd ordered from National Server Little Luban and the paralysis potion she'd commissioned from Lingering Wind and Fading Moon, she should have a fighting chance against the giant lizard.

Ling Chu made a wide detour and continued deeper into the island when she suddenly received a system notification.

[Player Brave the World has accepted your bounty. They have obtained your specific coordinates.]

At this moment, over a hundred kilometers away from Ling Chu, out at sea.

A fully grown Golden Lion was curled up on the deck, its stomach growling with intense hunger, preventing it from sleeping peacefully.

The man was at the helm. At the small sailboat's maximum speed, he could reach Ling Chu's location in six or seven hours.

The man thought about the three additional bounties hanging over Ling Chu, the system's three hundred Sea Shell bounty, and the resources Ling Chu possessed that placed her at the top of the Wealth Ranking. If he successfully killed Ling Chu, he'd be set for life.

Take a gamble, turn a bike into a motorcycle.

The lion's low growl annoyed the man. He pulled out the whip from his waist and lashed it mercilessly at the lion.

"What are you growling for? So damn noisy."

"If you want to eat your fill, you have to work first."

"You hear me?"

The majestic Golden Lion cowered before this man like a frightened chicken, not even daring to dodge, taking the lash without resistance.

Cursing under his breath, the man took a piece of not-so-fresh fish from the ship's storage and tossed it on the ground.

This lion ate way too much every day, demanding meat at every meal. If it weren't for its high combat power, he wouldn't keep such a wasteful creature.

The Golden Lion's eyes lit up at the sight of food. It pounced, snatched the fish in its mouth, swallowed it whole, and licked its lips with lingering satisfaction.

Ling Chu hadn't expected anyone to actually dare accept her bounty.

She opened the Justice Points Ranking and searched, finding the player named Brave the World at tenth place.

He was a Dual Profession of Beast Tamer and Pirate Hunter.

She switched to the Bounty Ranking but couldn't find an option to accept bounties. So, was accepting bounties and obtaining the target's coordinates a Pirate Hunter's exclusive class skill?

No matter how this person managed it, they were coming for her.

She didn't know how strong the opponent was, but with her current bad luck, fighting wasn't ideal. She was genuinely afraid of some absurd situation like tripping over her own feet mid-battle.

Her boat was still docked at the shore. If the enemy arrived and lurked in the shadows near her ship, her situation would become even more passive. Ling Chu decided to head back to the boat first.

Just as she was pondering this, Ling Chu's foot slipped, and she suddenly stepped into empty air.

A brief moment of weightlessness and falling. Luckily, her reflexes were quick. As she landed, she rolled to cushion the impact. Aside from a scraped elbow, she wasn't injured.

Damn it, who was so malicious as to dig such a big pit?

Getting stung by a scorpion, stepping in dog shit—she could accept that. But falling into a pit? Wasn't that too targeted?

Ling Chu brushed the dirt off her clothes and stood up, about to curse, when she felt something hard under her foot. Looking down, she was standing on a human skull.

Wait, a skull?

"Captain, are you okay?"

A Skull Head poked out from the edge of the deep pit.

"I'm fine."

The moment Ling Chu finished speaking, Titch jumped straight down from above.

This pit was over two meters deep!

Oh, she forgot—skeletons weren't afraid of breaking bones.

"Oh my god, how are there so many skeletons here! How terrifying!"

After jumping down, Titch was also startled by the horrifying scene at the bottom of the pit.

Ling Chu was left speechless.

Dude, you might wanna look in a mirror—you're literally a skeleton too, what's there to be scared of?

Half of that skull was buried in the gray dirt. Ling Chu pulled out her Iron Shovel and dug deeper. More white bones surfaced, with some rotten hemp ropes still clinging to the hand and foot bones.

These skeletons looked like they'd been tied up while alive, thrown into a pit, and buried alive.

"Ah..."

Ling Chu suddenly heard Captain Teach yelp in surprise.

He was holding a rusty iron prosthetic hook, the Ghost Fire in his eye sockets trembling with agitation.

"This, this prosthetic iron hook is Bob's!"

Ling Chu was baffled. "Bob is?"

"This rusty curved blade is Gale's—he was missing a segment on his left index finger, so this hand bone is definitely his! ...And this Big Gold Tooth is Joseph's! I'd never mistake them—they're all my crew!"

Teach's voice was agitated as he knelt half on the gray earth, his finger bones brushing over the companions who had turned into skeletons just like him. His tone gradually grew sorrowful and wistful. "They really are all dead..."

"Help me dig."

Ling Chu had no time to mourn with him. She pulled another shovel from her Ring and tossed it to Teach.

Teach obeyed Ling Chu's orders unconditionally, and besides, he didn't want his crew lying abandoned on this desolate ground.

The two of them worked hard, huffing and puffing, and soon unearthed the first relatively intact skeleton.

Ling Chu activated the skill: Bone Revival!

A faint blue glow drifted from her fingertips toward the dirt-caked skeleton, like a butterfly landing on a withered flower. As the butterfly fluttered its wings, the petals revived with life.

The skeleton's eye sockets burst with eerie green Ghost Fire as it wobbled to its feet.

The moment Bob opened his eyes, he saw his own left-hand prosthetic iron hook in Teach's grasp.

"Captain!" it exclaimed, staring at Teach in shock. "How did you end up looking like this?"

Ling Chu was puzzled. In a state where both were nothing but bones, how did Bob instantly recognize this as his Captain Teach?