The First Island

The wind and waves on the sea were fiercer than during the day, and Ling Chu stood up to search for the source of the sound.

Under the pale moonlight, a shadow as massive as a giant warship slowly passed beneath the raft, the waves it kicked up causing the raft to rock noticeably twice.

An intangible pressure made Ling Chu's legs go weak, and she nearly lost her footing.

The deep, low-frequency call sounded like some kind of large whale.

But Ling Chu was certain it wasn't a whale—the sound waves whales emit are inaudible to humans.

The four-square-meter raft drifting over that shadow was like a fallen leaf floating into a pond—pitiful, weak, and utterly fragile.

Perhaps it deemed the food too small to bother with, or maybe it was due to the restrictions of the Novice Protection Period.

The massive shadow lingered beneath the surface for a while, then leisurely departed.

Ling Chu finally understood why so many people were begging for items that could produce light—in the darkness, this kind of unknown fear was magnified tenfold.

Ling Chu slept the night on the folding chair.

The next morning, the sun rose above the horizon, and its glaring rays woke Ling Chu.

Opening her eyes, she saw a morning sun hanging over the boundless sea. The surface was calm and windless, shimmering with rippling light, as if the scene from last night had been just an illusion.

But Ling Chu was sure she hadn't misseen anything. The seawater here looked clear but was a dark, deep blue, indicating that this sea area was absolutely not shallow.

Ling Chu took out a piece of Wheat Bread, spread some butter on it, paired it with a few blueberries, and added the leftover raw fish slices from yesterday as breakfast.

She unexpectedly discovered that the space inside the Ring of Bones was static—the food was still as fresh as when she'd first put it in, while the space in the raft's storage would decay over time.

Luckily, she had only stored two leftover fish slices in the raft's storage grid yesterday, keeping all other valuable supplies on her person.

Ling Chu pulled out the fishing rod from the ring, planning to fish a bit more while the weather was still early.

If she got lucky, she might even catch a Pearl Clam that could upgrade the raft. Her rod had a buff that prevented empty catches—other players didn't have that, and their chances of hooking something were pitifully low. Even if she didn't get a Pearl Clam, any other fish she caught could be traded with other players for supplies.

The giant shadow she'd seen last night made her desire to upgrade the raft even more urgent. Once the Novice Protection Period was over, if she ran into that thing again, with her raft's Durability Value practically at zero, she might as well just jump into the sea.

While waiting for a fish to bite, Ling Chu opened the Public Chat Channel and scanned through it.

Unexpectedly, even this early in the morning, the Public Chat Channel was already in an uproar.

"Wanted server-wide: player named Sanfuye. He stole my sister's boat and killed her! Whoever kills him, I'll give enough food and Freshwater for five days plus an iron ore!"

"You kidding? Didn't the system say players can't attack each other during the Novice Protection Period? How could anyone rob someone?"

"Exactly. I just ran into another player, and when I got close, there was a Transparent Barrier protecting them—I couldn't even board their raft."

"His class is Pirate, not restricted by system rules or penalties. Damn it, how can there be such a disgusting class as Pirate! Friendly reminder to everyone—if you ever meet a Pirate, don't show mercy. It's either you kill them or they kill you!"

Ling Chu's heart sank. Another player had triggered the Pirate class?

Then she reconsidered—she was a Ghost Pirate, probably different from those ordinary Pirates. She didn't believe that legendary ring could be so common.

"Getting dragged into this survival game is bad enough, but now there are scumbags like Pirates who prey on their own? Killing people for a little bit of resources—is it worth it?"

Can't find the book by title? Try searching by author—maybe it just changed names!

"These Pirates were thugs in real life too. Daring to kill so directly, they've probably been in jail before. Killing them wouldn't be unjust at all!"

"Bro, don't worry. If I see that guy, I'll avenge your sister for sure! Even if I can't beat him, I'll send you the coordinates!"

"Thanks, everyone..."

The Public Chat Channel gradually turned into a denunciation and angry rant against Pirates.

Ling Chu silently observed. For now, the Pirate class seemed to be a public enemy. Before she grew strong enough, she'd better not let anyone know she was a Ghost Pirate.

Just then, the fishing rod sank, pulling Ling Chu's attention back.

She stood up and reeled the bait out of the water. Another Fluorescent Starfish—unfortunately, it was fluorescent green, not the pink that Stay Away From Gambling, Drugs, and Vice wanted.

Ling Chu put the starfish back into the ring and suddenly noticed a small black dot on the distant sea surface, quite conspicuous against the flowing water.

She took out her Monocular Telescope and peered into the distance.

It was actually an island!

A flash of surprise lit up Ling Chu's eyes. This was the first time she'd seen an island.

Her raft had no sail, drifting wherever the waves took it, and she hadn't heard of anyone in the Public Chat Channel landing on an island. Suppressing her excitement, Ling Chu folded up the chair and sunshade to get a wider field of view.

She locked onto the island with the telescope—it was right on the raft's drifting path.

Ten minutes later, the raft had drifted to within less than twenty meters of the island's shore. Ling Chu tied the hook rope, used for grabbing supplies, around her waist, and hooked the other end firmly to the raft's storage box.

That wooden box was nailed to the raft, very sturdy.

Ling Chu plunged into the sea with a splash. She was a decent swimmer, knowing a bit of dog paddle and freestyle. She dragged the raft as she swam hard toward the island.

The four-square-meter raft, buoyed by the seawater, had almost no weight, so Ling Chu didn't find swimming difficult.

The raft had no anchor, and she worried it might be swept away by the waves, so she simply dragged it all the way onto the island's sandy beach.

[You have discovered an unclaimed island. Explore the island and find the Island Core to claim it as your territory.]

[This island has a 48-hour landing limit. If you stay beyond that time, you will be forcibly removed from the island.]

The second system prompt shattered the little scheme Ling Chu had been brewing.

She had originally thought that if this small island had no dangers, she could stay on it for a while—at least it would be safer than drifting on the sea on a raft. However, there was a time limit for landing, which made sense, after all, this was a Sea Survival Game. If everyone just found a small island and hid, who would bother going out to sea?

But what exactly was an Island Core? The fact that obtaining it could turn the island into her own territory made her somewhat tempted.

Ling Chu took the rope from her waist and tied it to a coconut tree on the beach to prevent the rising tide from sweeping the raft away. Then, as she walked deeper into the island, she surveyed her surroundings.

The island wasn't large—roughly three to four square kilometers by sight. Many coconut trees grew along the beach, heavy with fruit. Further into the woods, she came across many shrubs, their branches laden with small, orange-yellow fruits that looked like clusters of little lanterns.

Ling Chu found them familiar. She picked one, brought it to her nose, and recognized it as Sea Buckthorn Fruit. She had once worked part-time at a bubble tea shop and had tried this fruit's juice—sweet and sour, good for quenching thirst, stimulating appetite, and strengthening the spleen.

She didn't rush to pick the fruit. The first priority was to determine whether this island was safe.

Suddenly, a faint rustling sound came from beside her, accompanied by a dark shadow darting past her feet. As Ling Chu looked down, she swiftly caught the thing and lifted it up.