Yang Yi pulled Su Na into the Nightmare's captain's cabin.
"What exactly happened?" he asked gravely. "Where did these worms come from?"
"About fifteen minutes ago, the sky suddenly went dark.
I was still steering at the time. I noticed a lot of black dots had appeared in the crystal ball's image, so I stopped the ship and went to the very front of the bow to get a better look."
"You know everything that happened after that," Su Na recalled.
After hearing her out, Yang Yi immediately took the crystal ball and examined it closely.
Beside him, Su Na began explaining her theories about these giant worms.
"These giant worms probably don't have eyes or any visual organs. Otherwise, they would have noticed the Nightmare long ago.
They're probably creatures that live in darkness for extended periods, hunting prey through hearing, smell, or other senses.
The storm's interference has drastically reduced their detection range, so they can't see the Nightmare right in front of them."
Su Na gave her assessment.
Meanwhile, Yang Yi studied the Sea Chart, his brow deeply furrowed.
He also opened the World Channel to see how the other players were doing.
The moment he entered, he found it buzzing with heated chatter.
"Why is it so dark? I'm completely lost! Can someone tell me where the exit is?"
"A bunch of giant worms have appeared in the sea! The closest one is less than two hundred meters from me! Oh my god!"
"GOD, have you abandoned me?"
A new danger had appeared in the Storm Sea, and the players who had escaped gloated over it, mocking those still trapped inside.
"More monsters spawned? Awesome! That's what you get for running so slowly!"
"Ever played a battle royale? You were too slow, and now the poison zone's closing in. Who else can you blame?"
"Baka! Just wait in there and die!"
"You guys absolutely can't die!
If you die, who am I supposed to sell these freshly caught fish to? Hahahaha!"
"Buying secondhand equipment and items at high prices!"
"Fuck!"
"I'd rather feed myself to the worms than leave you a single penny!"
"Fortunes change! Don't celebrate too soon!"
Yang Yi closed the chat channel, his expression grim.
Most people had already escaped the Storm Sea.
Perhaps because so many people had escaped, the Storm Sea had begun driving out and eliminating the players still inside.
Having set out two days late, Yang Yi and Su Na were trapped inside as well.
He paced back and forth, then suddenly remembered a crucial piece of information-two hundred meters!
Yang Yi opened the chat channel again, scrolled back to that guy's message, and sent him a private message.
"Still alive? Are you sure the giant worm is two hundred meters away from you?"
The other player was on edge and replied quickly.
"Yes! It scared me half to death! This worm looks dozens of meters long and three meters thick!"
"Calm down. Take another careful look. Are you sure it's two hundred meters?"
"No need to look. I work in surveying. I can judge a distance like that at a glance!"
Yang Yi's brow relaxed, and an idea immediately came to him.
He studied the Sea Chart and used its zoom function to set the scale to 1 cm to 200 m, so that one centimeter on the map represented a distance of two hundred meters.
Then he made a couple of measurements on the Sea Chart.
"Got it!"
His fighting spirit restored, Yang Yi perked up and said to Su Na,
"You were right. These worms have no vision, and the storm has severely limited their senses.
We can try slipping through the gaps between them. The route will be winding, but there's quite a bit of space between these giant worms. It's doable!"
Su Na's eyes lit up at his words.
She had been so deeply fascinated by these strange creatures that she had never considered escaping.
But Yang Yi was different. He wanted to live, no matter how great the price.
"But do you know what the safe distance is? And there might be differences between individuals."
"A guy gave me a clue."
Yang Yi answered, setting the minimum distance at two hundred meters with no upper limit-the farther, the better. He prepared to continue toward the exit using that standard.
"I'll take over steering now. Just in case, don't stay in your room either. It'd be best to stand on deck.
That way, if the worms attack, you'll notice immediately.
If you jump into the sea, you might still have a chance..."
Yang Yi was decisive. Once he had thought things through, he put them into action.
Holding the crystal ball map in one hand and steering with the other, he adjusted the ship's speed as needed, slowing down when passing between two giant worms that were relatively close together.
Only after drawing closer, with the help of the lightning that flashed across the sky from time to time, did he truly realize how enormous these worms were.
They ranged from two to five meters in diameter, with dozens or even over a hundred meters of their bodies exposed above the sea.
If one bit the ship, the Nightmare would probably break apart on the spot.
Yang Yi steered carefully and changed into the Sharkskin Swimsuit.
If the ship was unfortunately destroyed and he fell into the water, this swimsuit would prove immensely useful!
After two hours of slow sailing, Yang Yi felt somewhat reassured.
He had finally found a way out. Steering was nerve-racking, but it was better than certain death!
Yang Yi shared his discovery in the World Channel.
Doing so would cost him nothing tangible. On the contrary, it would earn him considerable goodwill, and perhaps even some unexpected rewards.
So he posted this message.
"I've discovered that these worms have a very limited detection range. As long as you stay more than two hundred meters away, they won't notice or attack you!
We can pass through the gaps between them."
"Really?"
"You've got guts, man! You even managed to figure that out!"
"But how do we judge the distance? It's too dark!"
"Wait for lightning! You can see briefly when it flashes!"
Indeed, they had no Sea Chart, making it harder to pull off.
But staying put meant certain death. Faced with the hope of survival, humans never lacked courage!
"Thanks, man! I made it through! This method works!"
"You've practically given me a second life!"
Yang Yi instantly received a flood of friend requests. Some people even sent him things outright, though not much, mostly supplies they had no immediate use for.
He selectively accepted some of the requests.
The supplies he received were: wood ×3, cloth ×227, stone ×12, steel ×7, crystal ×13, and sulfur ×4.
Someone even sent him a treasure-grade item. It came from He Qi, captain of the Fisherman, and Yang Yi accepted his friend request.
His ship was slow, and these giant worms had blocked his way. He had hesitated, not daring to move forward, when in fact he was already close to the exit.
"Thank you. If it weren't for you, I probably wouldn't have had the courage to sail through.
This item is my gift to you in return.
I can fish up more treasures, but I only have one life. Good luck."
When the octopus head spat the item out of its mouth, Yang Yi's eyes nearly popped out.
As expected of the Fisherman and a veteran angler-the things he caught really were on another level!
[Name: Low-Tier Abyss Soulstone] [Type: Consumable] [Quality: Treasure] [Description: A stone that can improve a relic's quality. It can raise the quality of fine-grade relics and below by one grade. Hold this stone to your ear, and you will hear sounds from the depths of the sea...]
It was a wondrous stone encased in translucent black crystal, with fluorescent liquid flowing inside.
"To think my first treasure-grade item would be a gift from someone else..."
Yang Yi smiled.
He immediately used the soulstone to enhance the Rusty Flintlock.
The soulstone shattered, and the fluorescent liquid surged into the Flintlock, changing its attributes.
[Name: Faintly Glowing Rusty Flintlock] [Type: Relic] [Quality: Treasure] [Description: Once a masterwork, this weapon is gradually regaining its edge! Dual modes unlocked Cannon Mode: Fires an astonishingly powerful shot that deals massive damage, with extreme recoil. Aim as carefully as possible. Afterward, it enters a 12-hour cooldown, during which shots have a 100% chance of misfiring. Standard Mode: No reloading required. Firing rate increased to one shot every 10 seconds, dealing a small amount of damage. But beware... due to corrosion from seawater, it has a 50% chance of failing to fire.]
Yang Yi looked at the reborn Flintlock, his heart surging.
One shot every ten seconds. Though its power was lower, it was still a clear improvement.
And there was Cannon Mode too.
His gaze burned as he looked toward the swaying worms...
"Perhaps..."
Yang Yi stared at the giant worms. His sanity had fallen to 48, sending him into a frenzy, and he was itching to try.
But he still retained his reason and suppressed the urge to test the gun.
"No... I can't do that unless I have absolutely no choice!"
Before you continue