I've got a gun

Yang Yi had a nightmare.

In his dream, he saw three breathtakingly beautiful women standing in a circle, silently watching him.

Suddenly, the scene changed. One of the women took out something and began gnawing on it, chewing slowly, blood dripping from the corners of her mouth.

Yang Yi was confused at first. Only after looking closely did he realize that it looked like his right arm!

He also got a clear look at the women. Though their upper bodies were human, fish scales grew below their waists, and farther down, their bodies became fish tails.

His own arm had been severed, and a burst of agony shot straight through his skull.

"Fuck!"

The intense pain jolted Yang Yi awake. He found himself naked, lying on a slick floor.

The light was dim. He seemed to be in some sort of cave, with fluorescent liquid covering the walls and floor, like slime left behind by mollusks crawling over them.

An especially thick layer coated his body. One whiff was enough to clear his head and put him off food for three days!

He immediately looked to his right.

Thankfully, his right arm was intact.

The source of the pain was a woman. Her pearly teeth were sunk deep into Yang Yi's arm, making him grimace in agony.

"Let go! Are you a dog? Why are you biting me?" Yang Yi snapped.

Hearing his voice, the woman finally released him, leaving two deep rows of teeth marks on his shoulder.

"You're awake?

I thought you were still out!"

The woman sounded displeased, her scarlet eyes strikingly alluring.

"I'm already sitting up. What do you think?"

Yang Yi replied irritably, rubbing his right arm nonstop as though the bite hurt.

He sized her up.

She had a typically Asian face and was quite pretty, with a slender, seemingly malnourished figure and alluring wheat-colored skin.

A clump of unidentified seaweed bound her. The trail she had left crawling across the floor suggested it had taken considerable effort to reach him.

"Who are you?" Yang Yi asked, his head splitting.

"You were charmed by the Sirens. I saved your life!"

The woman reminded him.

At her words, Yang Yi immediately checked his activity log.

It contained a string of charm notifications.

His sanity was also hovering at a precarious number.

Sanity: 51/100

"These Sirens actually held off on eating you for three whole days, and even kept you plump and well-fed. What a miracle!" the woman continued, looking at Yang Yi.

Yang Yi understood as well.

"The Sirens captured me, and three days have already passed?"

"That's right!"

"There's more than one Siren?"

"Yes, three in total. They seem to be social creatures, adept at charming men with their singing to use as mating partners... and food!"

Yang Yi looked down at his completely naked body and suddenly felt a chill of revulsion!

His pirate outfit and rusty flintlock pistol lay scattered on the ground nearby.

"They're mythical fantasy creatures, but they really exist in this world. Their habits are similar to the legends, too..."

The woman kept talking, apparently very interested in Sirens as a species.

Yang Yi, however, felt only a wave of lingering fear. He immediately put on his pirate outfit and grabbed the flintlock pistol from the floor.

[Upon putting on the bloodstained pirate outfit, you inexplicably felt a chill. Sanity decreased by 1]

His sanity was now exactly 50. Any lower, and he would enter a state of madness.

"This slime is disgusting. Why do Sirens even secrete slime?"

"In the sea, many soft-bodied creatures or creatures without scales secrete mucus to protect themselves, so it's perfectly normal for Sirens to have it!

Besides, this mucus fluoresces in the dark, providing light and attracting prey, much like an anglerfish's lure. It helps them show off their enticing figures, assisting in the entire hunting process..."

Seeing Yang Yi's confusion, the woman began explaining the reasoning behind it, mixing in her own views on Sirens.

"You're a player, right? Why are you here?" Yang Yi suddenly asked.

This woman's origins were unknown, and everything about her was strange. Her vivid red eyes in particular sent chills down his spine. They were identical to the eyes he had seen in his nightmare.

That put Yang Yi on high alert.

Even though she seemed to harbor no ill intent and appeared to be trying to save him.

"My name is Su Na. I'm a player who was passing through. Unfortunately, the Sirens caught me and turned me into emergency rations."

"Didn't you say Sirens target men? Why would they catch you?" Yang Yi asked.

Su Na already had an explanation ready for that.

She did not intend to tell the truth. Instead, she turned her head toward a corner.

"I wasn't alone. The Sirens have already eaten my companion. But for some reason, they haven't eaten you," Su Na explained.

Yang Yi followed her gaze.

A partially eaten male corpse lay there, already rotting. Its abdomen had been opened, its organs hollowed out, its face contorted, and its limbs incomplete. He had probably suffered inhuman abuse before his death...

Scattered near the corpse were numerous human bones picked clean, evidence of the Sirens' savagery.

But did Su Na really know that man?

Not at all!

She had merely used the corpse to concoct a lie that made her capture seem more plausible.

In truth... Su Na had come alone, trailing Yang Yi and the Siren.

She had become engrossed in observing the Siren, only to be surrounded by two more that suddenly appeared behind her...

She had originally thought there was only one Siren...

As for the corpse, that man had already been there before Yang Yi arrived.

After Yang Yi came, however, the man seemed to have lost his value and was eaten by the Sirens... so Su Na had no idea who the poor man was or where he had come from.

After hearing Su Na's explanation, Yang Yi believed her somewhat, but remained wary.

"You said three days have passed, but why don't I feel hungry at all?" Yang Yi asked.

He checked his status and found that, aside from his low sanity, almost all his other stats were full.

Su Na gestured toward another corner.

A large sailfish lay there, a fierce ocean fish with a pointed upper jaw as sharp as a spearhead.

However, the large sailfish was already dead, and its body bore bite marks.

It seemed Yang Yi had survived by eating that large sailfish during this time.

But what about water?

"Don't I need to drink water?"

Yang Yi had no memories of those three days. Everything was hazy and felt unreal.

Meanwhile, Su Na was growing anxious.

"Could you untie me first?

Those Sirens will be back in half an hour!

I don't want to miss this chance!" Su Na reminded him.

She was still bound, only able to wriggle like a caterpillar.

Only after observing the Sirens for three days and learning their habits had she risked crawling over to try to wake Yang Yi.

Yet Yang Yi's gaze was complicated as he looked at her.

This woman was smart and seemed to mean no harm.

But the more that was true, the warier Yang Yi became. He felt there was more to her than met the eye!

She was too composed!

Who else could speak so fluently while tied up with their life hanging by a thread?

And she had appeared in his nightmare!

The nightmare foretold that this woman would aim a gun at his head and try to kill him!

Yang Yi was therefore deeply conflicted, unsure whether he should save her.

But he could not bring himself to kill a woman who bore him no ill will and had even shown him some kindness...

After thinking it over, Yang Yi finally made his decision.

He felt certain this woman was hiding something from him and decided to put some pressure on her first. Whether anything came of it or not, he would give it a shot!

Yang Yi's gaze turned cold. He aimed the dark muzzle at Su Na and threatened her.

"Woman, you have three sentences to give me a reason not to kill you!"

Su Na's pupils contracted sharply, as though she could not comprehend how Yang Yi's mind worked.

"What are you talking about? Did the Sirens eat your brain?"

"I've got a gun, you know!"

Yang Yi replied with a smile, waving the gun in his hand like a bandit who did whatever he pleased!

He raised one finger in reminder.

"That's your first sentence. You have two left, so make them count!"

The black muzzle remained silent, and the atmosphere instantly grew oppressive.

A dozen or so seconds later, a trace of panic appeared on Su Na's face, mingled with what seemed like frustration and regret.

She spoke quickly. "I can give you all my resources and equipment, including the food on my ship!"

Yang Yi shook his head. "Not enough. If I kill you, all of that will be mine anyway."

Su Na's breathing quickened, her gaze darting about.

A dozen or so seconds later, she revealed her secret.

"I... I can provide you with nautical charts. They'll make sailing much safer for you!"

"Nautical charts?"

"My ship is called the Astrologer. It can display charts of the surrounding waters."

"So that's how it is..."

Yang Yi's smile was chilling.

"You lured me here, didn't you?"

Unhurriedly, he felt around in the inner pocket of his pirate outfit and took out a blueprint.

"You probably haven't seen one of these before, have you?

It's a ship blueprint. You can get one by killing a ship's owner and dismantling their special-grade ship.

Tell me, why shouldn't I kill you and take your ship's skill for myself?"

Su Na went deathly pale.

This was the first she had heard of ship blueprints.

And she knew Yang Yi was not lying. The Pirate... had been taken out by him!

Finally, she gave him a furious, defiant look. All trace of composure vanished from her face as she spat viciously at Yang Yi.

"You insatiably greedy, despicable, shameless bastard! I spit on you!

Go ahead and shoot. I'll curse you from the deepest reaches of hell!"

With that, she closed her eyes and waited for Yang Yi to shoot.

"You've got some backbone, at least. Then I'll grant your wish," Yang Yi said coldly.

Su Na trembled slightly.

But even after a long wait, neither pain nor a gunshot came.

She opened her eyes to see Yang Yi find a sharp broken bone in the pile of remains and walk over.

"Hand over half the supplies on your ship and provide me with nautical charts for a month. Then I'll save you," Yang Yi said seriously.

Surprise first appeared on Su Na's face, then anger.

She understood. Yang Yi had deliberately been bluffing her!

Humiliated and furious, she snapped, "What if I refuse?"

"I've got a gun. You don't have a choice!"

Yang Yi waved the gun again, adopting the pose of a victor.

There was nothing Su Na could do about it.