Suspicion of the Sunken Ship and Data Anomalies

The clamor of Jianye City gradually faded behind him. Su Yan followed a gravel path eastward. The closer he got to the sea, the stronger the salty, fishy scent of the ocean wind became, mixed with a faint, almost imperceptible... scent of decay.

The vegetation along the road began to thin out, replaced by jagged rocks and gray-white beaches. Scattered player parties were battling groups of Great Turtles and Giant Frogs, their shouts and clashing weapons rising and falling in succession. Su Yan did not stop. His gaze passed over those low-level monsters and settled on the gloomy coastline farther ahead.

According to his memories of Fantasy Westward Journey, along with bits of information he had gathered from several seemingly experienced players, the easternmost edge of Jianye City was a coast known as East Sea Bay. In its shallow waters lay a massive ancient sunken ship. It was the main leveling area for players between levels 5 and 10, home to more aggressive Sea Hairy Caterpillars and Skeleton Monsters transformed from Sunken Ship Water Ghost Vengeful Spirits.

"Li Shanren..." Su Yan recalled the quest prompt. In the game, Li Shanren had merely been an ordinary NPC in Jianye City, handing out errand quests such as delivering letters. But in this real world, "abnormal data fluctuations" had appeared around him.

Before long, Su Yan spotted that familiar figure on a small rise near the shore. Li Shanren still wore his plain steward's robes, but the expression on his face was no longer the game's scripted kindness. Instead, he looked visibly anxious and afraid. He paced back and forth, staring worriedly in the direction of East Sea Bay.

As Su Yan approached, he immediately sensed something strange. It did not come from Li Shanren himself, but from the air around him within roughly one meter. There was no visible difference, yet Su Yan's enhanced perception—perhaps an extra effect brought by transmigration and his cheat—vaguely detected an extremely faint buzzing, like signal interference, along with a subtle distortion in space.

The [Probability Accumulation Panel] trembled slightly. The percentage behind [Special Event Trigger Probability] seemed to flicker by the tiniest amount, increasing by 0.01%.

This is the place. Su Yan was certain as he stepped forward.

"Young hero!" When Li Shanren saw Su Yan, he seemed to have found a lifeline and hurried over. His voice trembled with genuine fear. "You've finally come! This old man feels... feels that something is terribly wrong!"

"Steward Li, why are you so alarmed?" Su Yan asked cooperatively, though his eyes carefully scanned the surroundings.

"It is East Sea Bay—the sunken ship!" Li Shanren pointed toward the coast, his tone rushed. "Recently, the aura coming from there has become increasingly filthy and ominous. In the past, there were only foolish sea creatures, but now... Last night, this old man seemed to hear inhuman howls from deep within the ship. I even saw lights and shadows that should not exist! More frightening still, when this old man patrolled here this morning, he occasionally felt the space around him grow stagnant and distorted, as though... as though this very world were 'sick'!"

The "stagnation and distortion" he described matched the anomaly Su Yan had sensed.

[Hidden Quest (Prologue): Abnormal Data Fragments updated]

[Description]: Confirmed the presence of abnormal data fluctuations around Jianye City Patrol Soldier 'Li Shanren'. Their source points to the East Sea Bay sunken ship. Investigate the interior of the sunken ship and find the root of the data anomaly.

[Objective]: Enter the East Sea Bay sunken ship, eliminate 10 berserk 'Mutated Sea Hairy Caterpillars' affected by the data anomaly, and locate the 'Abnormal Data Core'.

[Reward]: 3,000 EXP, 5,000 Dream Coins, special item [Damaged Compass].

The quest had updated! The rewards were quite generous, and it directly pointed to "data anomalies." Su Yan was instantly invigorated.

"Rest assured, Steward Li. Leave this matter to me," Su Yan said solemnly as he accepted the quest.

He turned and headed toward East Sea Bay. The ground beneath his feet gradually became muddy, and the sound of waves crashing against the shore grew distinct. The scent of decay in the air became even heavier, mixed with a strange odor... like burnt circuitry.

In the shallow waters, the outline of the massive sunken ship was faintly visible. Like the skeleton of a beached giant beast, half of it lay submerged beneath the sea while the other half was exposed. Its hull was covered in thick seaweed and shells, most of its wooden structure had rotted away, and a dark, gaping entrance had been revealed.

Quite a few player parties were active around the sunken ship's perimeter. Their main targets were Sea Hairy Caterpillars, creatures larger than Great Turtles, with eerie fluorescent patterns covering their bodies and far swifter movements. Their writhing bodies ended in sharp mouthparts capable of spraying venom with a weak paralyzing effect.

Su Yan did not rashly join the melee. He observed carefully and soon noticed the difference. Most Sea Hairy Caterpillars were yellowish-brown with green stripes, but a few occasionally appeared with darker, nearly dark-red bodies, slightly larger frames, and abnormal red lights flickering in their eyes. These Mutated Sea Hairy Caterpillars attacked faster and carried noticeably stronger venom, placing much greater pressure on player parties.

Those are the ones. Su Yan locked onto his targets. First, he assigned some [Probability Accumulation] points to [Item Acquisition Chance (Fine)], hoping to obtain better loot from these special monsters.

He chose a relatively secluded corner. Several Mutated Sea Hairy Caterpillars spawned there, and there were few players nearby.

"Whew..." Su Yan adjusted his breathing and tightened his grip on the Iron Sword in his hand. He was now level 5—before taking this quest, he had completed several more repeatable quests and killed some monsters—and he had continued to prioritize Strength with his attribute points. His attack power was not to be underestimated.

He aimed at a lone Mutated Sea Hairy Caterpillar, strode forward, and thrust his Iron Sword straight ahead with a sharp whistle through the air!

"-48!"

A crimson number floated up! The Mutated Sea Hairy Caterpillar let out a piercing shriek, and its health bar visibly dropped by a small portion. It suddenly turned, opened its mouthparts, and shot out a stream of dark-green venom!

Su Yan had been prepared. He slid sideways, and the venom flew past his shoulder, splashing onto the beach with a sizzling corrosive sound. With a flick of his wrist, he swept his Iron Sword across!

"-52!"

After two strikes, the Mutated Sea Hairy Caterpillar's health had already fallen below half. Its attack pattern was relatively simple, mainly bites and venom spray. For Su Yan, who had game experience and quick reflexes, avoiding them was not difficult. After several exchanges, the Mutated Sea Hairy Caterpillar wailed and turned into white light.

[System: Mutated Sea Hairy Caterpillar killed. Gained 85 EXP.]

[System: Obtained item [Sea Hairy Caterpillar Poison Sac] x1, [Complete Insect Shell] x1, 120 copper coins.]

The drops were not bad! The [Sea Hairy Caterpillar Poison Sac] was a material, while the [Complete Insect Shell] seemed to be an extra reward beyond the quest items. Su Yan noticed that [Item Acquisition Chance (Fine)] fluctuated slightly.

His spirits soared as he continued clearing the Mutated Sea Hairy Caterpillars around him. His combat skills became increasingly refined, and his grasp of timing grew ever more precise. As one Mutated Sea Hairy Caterpillar after another fell, his experience bar steadily rose, and the number of [Complete Insect Shells] in his inventory increased.

Just as he killed the eighth Mutated Sea Hairy Caterpillar, a burst of white light even more brilliant than a level-up glow surged from his body!

[System: Congratulations, you have reached level 6! HP +12, MP +6, gained 5 potential points.]

After assigning the points to Strength again, Su Yan felt his power increase another notch. He looked toward the sunken ship's dark entrance, where the sense of abnormality was strongest.

He rested briefly, used a Four-Leaf Clover to recover some of the HP lost in battle, then took a deep breath and stepped into the sunken ship.

The light inside the hull immediately dimmed. Only a few rays filtering through gaps in the broken planks, along with patches of moss emitting a miserable green phosphorescence, provided illumination. The air was thick with mold, the salty fishiness of seawater, and a clearer... strange scent resembling ozone. The buzzing interference in his ears also seemed more distinct.

The ship's interior was spacious, but its layout was chaotic. Fallen masts, scattered wooden crates, and broken furniture blocked parts of the passageways. In addition to scattered Mutated Sea Hairy Caterpillars, another new enemy roamed here—Sunken Ship Skeletons wielding rusty swords, with Flames of the Soul dancing in their eyes. They were around levels 8 to 9.

Su Yan became even more cautious. He used obstacles to avoid the skeletons' line of sight and prioritized isolated Mutated Sea Hairy Caterpillars. In the dim environment, the battles became somewhat more difficult, but with calm judgment and steadily improving attributes, he safely killed two more Mutated Sea Hairy Caterpillars and completed the objective of "eliminate 10."

Now, only the final objective remained: [Find the 'Abnormal Data Core'].

He explored deeper along the ship's hold, and the abnormal fluctuations grew stronger and stronger. At last, he stopped before a sealed chamber on the lowest level of the sunken ship. Its door appeared to have been forcibly destroyed by some kind of power.

The source of the fluctuations was here!

He carefully stepped into the chamber. It was not large, but at its center was not the treasure chest or BOSS he had expected, but an extremely bizarre sight:

Suspended in midair was an irregular polyhedron about the size of a fist, constantly twisting and shifting. It was not a physical object, but something forcibly pieced together from countless jumping, fragmented, color-distorted pixels and Data Streams. It emitted buzzing noise several times stronger than outside, and the space around it was subtly warped by its presence. Light underwent bizarre refraction near it.

This was the "Abnormal Data Core"!

Below it lay several Sunken Ship Skeleton frames that had just respawned but had not yet activated, along with several Sea Hairy Caterpillar corpses. The data within those monster corpses appeared to be slowly absorbed and distorted by the core, causing their forms to undergo unstable mutations.

The [Probability Accumulation Panel] began trembling violently again. The percentage values in every available allocation category flashed frantically, as if the core itself were a vast, ownerless "source of probability"!

At that moment, as though it had sensed Su Yan's arrival, the "Abnormal Data Core" suddenly shuddered and released an invisible shockwave!

"Bzzzz!"

Su Yan felt a sharp pain in his head, as if countless chaotic lines of code were forcibly flooding into his mind. At the same time, the Sunken Ship Skeletons and Mutated Sea Hairy Caterpillar corpses beside him abruptly rose like puppets on strings! Their eyes no longer held simple Flames of the Soul or red light, but chaotic, flickering Data Streams similar to the core's! Their bodies swelled slightly, twisted patterns emerged across their bones and shells, and their auras became berserk and unstable!

[Affected by abnormal data interference! Entered 'Logical Chaos' state. All attributes temporarily reduced by 5%!]

[Warning! High Concentration Abnormal Data Aggregate detected! Its existence severely violates the world's fundamental rules!]

The system prompts sounded in rapid succession.

"Roar!"

Three Data Aberration Skeletons and two Data Aberration Sea Hairy Caterpillars let out inhuman roars and attacked Su Yan at the same time! Their speed and power far surpassed those of their counterparts outside!

Danger had arrived!

Su Yan's pupils contracted. Without the slightest hesitation, he immediately assigned most of the points available on the [Probability Accumulation Panel] to [Crafting/Synthesis Success Chance]—he had a bold guess! At the same time, he retained a small portion in [Item Acquisition Chance].

He sidestepped a rusty blade swung by one skeleton, then used his Iron Sword to knock aside the pounce of another Sea Hairy Caterpillar, sparks flying everywhere. These monsters coordinated far better than the scattered creatures outside, as though they were controlled by the same consciousness.

"I can't fight them head-on!" Su Yan fought while retreating, using the scattered obstacles in the chamber to maneuver around them. His Iron Sword only dealt around "-30" damage when it struck a Data Aberration Skeleton's bones, far less than outside. Clearly, these monsters' defenses had also been strengthened.

The battle was exceptionally grueling, and his HP continued dropping. Fortunately, the Four-Leaf Clovers he had prepared barely kept him going. He concentrated his attacks, prioritizing the Data Aberration Sea Hairy Caterpillars with lower health.

At the cost of more than half his HP and every Four-Leaf Clover he had, he finally cut down the two Data Aberration Sea Hairy Caterpillars and one Data Aberration Skeleton. The remaining two skeletons attacked even more frantically.

Just as one skeleton's rusty blade was about to strike his shoulder, inspiration suddenly flashed through Su Yan. Instead of blocking or dodging, he poured the tiny amount of accumulation points he had just recovered into [Skill Comprehension/Breakthrough Chance], while silently thinking, See through it! Find the weakness!

In an instant, his vision seemed to become clearer. At the joint of that Data Aberration Skeleton's cervical vertebrae, he saw an extremely tiny red point of light that flickered without cease!

That's it!

Su Yan used every ounce of strength in his body. His Iron Sword shot out like a venomous snake, accurately stabbing toward that red point!

"-105! (Critical Hit)"

A massive golden critical damage number floated up! The Data Aberration Skeleton's movements instantly froze. The Data Stream light in its eyes flickered wildly a few times before going completely dark. With a clatter, it collapsed into a heap of bones.

The last skeleton was left alone and unable to hold out. Su Yan quickly finished it off as well.

The battle was over. Su Yan panted heavily, with only a sliver of HP remaining. He immediately looked toward the suspended "Abnormal Data Core."

After the aberrant monsters guarding it had been cleared, the core itself seemed to twist even more violently. Its Data Streams became increasingly chaotic and unstable, as though it might collapse at any moment.

Su Yan stepped forward and attempted to touch it with his mind.

['Abnormal Data Core' discovered (extremely unstable). Attempt absorption/analysis? Warning: Unknown risk!]

Absorb it? Analyze it?

Su Yan looked at the points on the [Probability Accumulation Panel], which had begun slowly increasing automatically due to his proximity to the core, then looked at the quest list. He vaguely felt that this core might not merely be a quest objective. It could also be a key fragment for understanding the nature of this world.

He chose "Analyze."

The next moment, a massive, chaotic Information Stream rushed into his mind through his consciousness! Countless fragmented images, twisted symbols, and incomprehensible code fragments battered his awareness madly!

He saw... not the sunken ship, but intermittent images that seemed to come from another dimension: endless void, enormous Energy Conduits pulsing like blood vessels, and a cold, vast, emotionless... "gaze" that seemed to exist beyond the world!

At the same time, he caught fragments of information:

[...Protocol 7...execute...assimilation...]

[...error...boundaries blurred...'Origin Point' lost...]

[...unauthorized access detected...cleanup procedure...]

The violent headache nearly made him pass out, but he held on with all his strength.

At that moment, the [Probability Accumulation Panel] shone brilliantly like a filter, frantically absorbing and calming the chaotic Data Streams, transforming them into pure probability energy. The percentage values in every category on the panel soared at an unprecedented rate!

After an unknown amount of time, the "Abnormal Data Core" let out a faint sound like shattering glass and completely vanished into nothingness. The Information Stream flooding Su Yan's mind abruptly ceased as well.

Calm returned to the chamber, leaving only Su Yan's heavy breathing.

[System: 'Abnormal Data Core' successfully cleared. Hidden Quest 'Abnormal Data Fragments (Prologue)' completed!]

[System: Obtained 3,000 EXP, 5,000 Dream Coins, special item [Damaged Compass].]

[System: Congratulations, you have reached level 7!]

[Probability Accumulation Panel: Absorbed high-concentration abnormal Data Stream. Base accumulation efficiency for all available allocation categories permanently increased by 10%. Obtained 100 one-time Probability Points!]

The rewards far exceeded his expectations! Especially the enhancement to his cheat!

Suppressing his mental exhaustion, Su Yan looked at the newly appeared item in his inventory.

[Damaged Compass] (Special Quest Item)

Description: An ancient compass with a broken needle and mysterious runes carved into its face. It seems to produce a faint resonance when near an abnormal data source. It may guide you toward more scattered 'Data Fragments'.

The fragmented images and information in his mind shook him even more deeply.

Protocol? Assimilation? Origin Point? Unauthorized access? Cleanup procedure?

Those terms were nothing like anything that should exist in a wuxia-mythology world such as Fantasy Westward Journey! They sounded more like... system logs? Or perhaps error reports generated during the operation of some massive program?

This "Real Fantasy" world was far more complicated and dangerous than he had imagined. It seemed not to be a complete, stable world, but a... "project" that was still running and had suffered some severe "malfunction"?

Holding the cold [Damaged Compass], Su Yan walked out of the sunken ship and stood beneath the sunlight once more. The sea breeze remained unchanged, but the way he viewed this world had been completely transformed.

The sunken ship and the Sea Hairy Caterpillars were only the beginning. Beneath the surface of Jianye City, which appeared to be nothing more than a beginner village, lay undercurrents powerful enough to overturn everything. The compass in his hand, along with his strengthened cheat, would guide him deeper into unfathomable mists.