The system naturally ignored Lin Yuan's complaints and fell silent after finishing what it had to say.
By then, the sun had finally sunk below the sea, and the entire sky had darkened. Only scattered starlight shone down, barely allowing him to make out his surroundings.
"Things you shouldn't see... supernatural creatures?"
"Could creatures from deeper down rise to the surface after nightfall?"
Lin Yuan checked the regional chat channel. Nobody had any ideas, and the channel was in a panic.
Research Institute 3154 did offer a comment: "Don't worry too much. Stay inside your cabins and don't go out. You can sleep, but don't sleep too deeply. If something wakes you, don't leave your cabin. Just take precautions similar to those against a home invasion."
But when the others asked further questions, Research Institute 3154 fell silent again.
Still, those words did help calm everyone down considerably.
Lin Yuan said nothing. He had no cabin, and his situation was different from everyone else's. There was nothing much for him to say right now.
After leaving the channel, he thought for a moment, then simply plunged his head underwater.
He had no sanity stat anyway, so he wasn't afraid of losing SAN.
Even if he saw some supernatural creature, he would only get a fright at most, and he could prepare precautions in advance.
It was pitch-dark underwater, with extremely low visibility.
There wasn't a single fish anywhere he could see, nothing like the bustling scene during the day.
But he didn't see any sign of supernatural creatures either.
As for the world more than ten meters below, with the system having explicitly warned that nighttime was extremely dangerous, he wasn't about to go courting death.
Now, all that remained was to see exactly what danger the night held.
If it was only on the level of that human-faced fish from earlier, Lin Yuan wouldn't mind. He could simply overpower it.
What he feared was that enormous underwater shadow from the beginning.
He still had no idea what that thing was, but his intuition told him it was probably terrifyingly powerful.
Fortunately, he now had an entire warehouse full of shell treasure chests. If he really encountered that shadow, he would open them all. Even if he didn't get any powerful items, he would at least get plenty of wood, which could still be of some use.
He had no cabin to hide in anyway. If it came to it, he would fight!
Having prepared for the worst, Lin Yuan felt considerably calmer and lay back on the surface in a backstroke position.
Though nothing floated in this seawater, as a "ship," Lin Yuan could of course float comfortably on his back.
Thinking about it that way, the ships the system had assigned to every player probably weren't ordinary vessels either, since they could float on this mysterious seawater.
No wonder the notice had said players' ships "can only be repaired, not rebuilt."
Seen that way, his own situation really was rather bizarre. He didn't know whether it was a blessing or a curse...
As his thoughts gradually wandered, Lin Yuan fell asleep without realizing it.
Of course, he didn't sleep deeply. Nobody would sleep like a log under these circumstances.
Knock.
Knock, knock.
Knock, knock, knock.
A strange knocking sound woke Lin Yuan.
Where could the sound of someone knocking on wood come from out on this endless sea?
Instantly alert, Lin Yuan opened his eyes and rolled over, putting himself on guard.
It was still nighttime, and he had no idea what time it was, but there were considerably more stars in the sky.
Together with the three moons hanging high overhead, they made visibility better than it had been at nightfall.
Looking toward the sound, he saw a rectangular dark shape floating on the surface.
Every so often, a "knock, knock" came from that dark shape.
The sound drifted back and forth across the sea, seeming especially eerie.
After a moment's thought, Lin Yuan swam in the opposite direction.
Everything about that dark shape was strange. Avoiding it would be best, if possible.
On this mysterious sea, caution was always better than mindless recklessness.
Unfortunately, some things couldn't be avoided.
Lin Yuan swam for a while, only to hear the knocking drawing closer and closer.
Turning to look, he saw that not only had he failed to leave the dark shape behind, it had closed the distance without his noticing.
It was now less than a hundred meters away from him.
That was close enough for Lin Yuan to make out its appearance.
It was a pitch-black wooden coffin!
Knock, knock, knock.
Knocking came from the coffin.
It was as though something inside was politely asking whether anyone was outside.
No, not "as though." Something really was asking!
"...Is anyone there?"
"Is anybody there?"
A muffled voice came from the coffin between the knocks, impossible to identify as male or female.
In an instant, a thought popped into Lin Yuan's mind-
Could a player really have been assigned a coffin-like ship and be calling for help now?
No!
He shook his head, rejecting that guess himself.
Who would call for help like this?
They would be better off spending that time sending a message in the regional chat channel.
To be cautious, Lin Yuan even took a moment to check the chat channel. It was completely silent.
Whatever was inside this coffin, it absolutely couldn't be a player!
Lin Yuan swam backward again, but this time he used something like a backstroke, keeping his eyes locked on that strange black coffin.
The coffin made no movements either, seemingly just drifting with the waves, yet eerily, it kept drawing closer to Lin Yuan!
"Has it set its sights on me?"
A cold gleam flickered in Lin Yuan's eyes.
Though caution made him reluctant to have anything to do with this strange coffin.
If it came looking for trouble, however, he wasn't someone to be trifled with either.
If he couldn't avoid it, he would fight!
Lin Yuan stopped trying to put distance between them and remained where he was, staring intently at the approaching coffin.
Let's see just what this thing is up to!
The black coffin drifted closer and closer, soon coming within ten meters of Lin Yuan.
Just then, whatever was inside the black coffin seemed to sense Lin Yuan's presence as well.
"Found you!"
The black coffin abruptly accelerated, arriving right in front of Lin Yuan in an instant.
Its lid shook violently, as though the thing inside was about to break out.
"Want to get out? Not that easy!"
Lin Yuan snorted coldly. Instead of retreating, he advanced, kicking his legs to propel himself straight to the coffin, grabbing the lid, and vaulting onto it.
This coffin was considerably larger than a normal one, giving him enough room to stand firmly.
Thump! Lin Yuan stamped down, forcing the violently shaking lid firmly back into place.
"Ow! That hurts!"
The thing inside seemed to have been struck by the lid as it was forced down and cried out.
At this distance, he could clearly hear that it was a rather melodious female voice.
Under different circumstances, Lin Yuan would certainly have been interested in meeting the owner of that voice.
But right here and now, he only hoped he would never have to see her face.
The lid continued to struggle violently, but Lin Yuan had the advantage of his position. Standing on top, he kept stamping down, repeatedly thwarting the thing inside as it tried to throw open the lid and rise.
Throughout this, the female voice inside the coffin never stopped either.
"It hurts! Who's out there? Stop stomping!"
"Let me out! Ow, my head!"
"You out there, you're dead!"
"Let me ouuuuuuut!!!"
Thump!
After one vicious stomp, the coffin lid finally stopped struggling.
Dead? Tired? Or gathering strength?
Thoughts raced through Lin Yuan's mind as he stared fixedly at the space beneath his feet, not daring to miss the slightest clue.
He had seriously offended whatever was inside just now. He absolutely couldn't let the damned thing out.
The danger this thing posed was nothing that human-faced fish from earlier could compare to.
Suddenly, a crisp click sounded.
The side of the coffin opened like a door.
A figure rolled out from inside.
It was a stunningly beautiful girl in an ornate black Gothic gown, with long silvery-white hair and scarlet eyes.
But a closer look revealed that the girl's movements and expressions were rather stiff, and the sheen of her skin was closer to waxed wood.
This was a moving girl doll!
The girl doll turned nimbly and stood firmly on the sea as though on solid ground. Turning toward Lin Yuan, her red eyes glinted dangerously:
"You bastard, I told you that you're dead!"
At that moment, ten thousand curses raced through Lin Yuan's mind, and he couldn't stop his complaint from bursting out:
"Your fucking coffin has a side door?! Then what the hell were you doing fighting me over the lid all that time?!"
"Ah." The doll girl froze, her eyes shifting guiltily to one side:
"I... forgot there was a side door."
Before you continue