You Passed the Exam

Milluki slept deeply, his head tilted against Bai Zhu's shoulder, his snores coming one after another.

Bai Zhu raised a hand to shove him away, but stopped midway.

This little fatty usually had a venomous mouth and terrible manners, but he was well-behaved when asleep. Even that punchable air about him had faded considerably, making him actually look like an eight-year-old kid.

But the next second, the snoring drilled into Bai Zhu's ears again.

Bai Zhu closed his eyes and forcefully nudged Milluki's head aside with his shoulder.

"Young master, are you using my shoulder as a pillow?"

Milluki grunted without waking up.

Lying beside the deck, Bai Zhu stared at the pale dawn on the horizon and began tallying up the losses one by one.

He had gone to sea twice and nearly lost his life both times.

He had caught no fish, seen nothing useful, and earned only fifty achievement points. Pushi's final words had also put immense pressure on him, but he had no energy left to think about any of that. Once they returned to port, Milluki would still have options, but he had none. No matter how dangerous the sea was, he at least still had hope there. But if he abandoned the mission and ran, the system's punishment by erasure was no joke.

And the most infuriating part was that he hadn't even salvaged a single thing worth money from this trip.

"What a loss."

He muttered a curse under his breath.

"A total loss."

A cough came from beside him.

Bai Zhu turned his head and saw that Milluki had woken halfway. His eyelids still drooped, but his hand was already reaching for his battered backpack.

"What are you making noise for?"

"I'm doing the math."

"Calculating my ass."

"I really am." Bai