Survival: Ocean (Playwright) Chapter 105: Treasure Awaiting Excavation, Part One

"I'll take a look." Wu Hui reached out to Wang Xiaodie.

His last failed scan had been with Wu Tong, and even that had revealed her appeal attributes, height, weight, and such. But this book couldn't even be scanned for dimensions, which meant it might be even higher-grade than a Level 9 player.

Wang Xiaodie hesitated, but handed it over anyway. "You're not going to keep my stuff, are you?"

Wu Hui took it, flipping through the pages as he reminded her, "You're a slave now. You don't own anything."

"Ahhh—" Wang Xiaodie was furious, but realized she couldn't be tough with Wu Hui, only soft. "Master, Boss Wu, Granddaddy Wu, give it back!"

"Let me study it first," Wu Hui said. "This is very likely a legendary or even mythical-grade item."

Wang Xiaodie had no other options, so she just squatted beside Wu Hui, hoping her master would return her things.

But if it really was a mythical or legendary item, he definitely wouldn't give it back, would he?

To that, Wu Hui said, it depends. Because for a low-level player to get their hands on a top-tier item might not be a good thing. If the item didn't work its full effect in her hands and drew the attention of some powerful enemy, that would be a huge loss.

A man may be innocent, but jade in his bosom is a crime.

"Inside it's... the summoning methods for Contract Beasts. Recipes for summoning various insect-type Contract Beasts. Place a seal inside and you can summon one. Not sure yet if it has any other functions." Wu Hui closed the book and fell into thought.

Beside him, Wang Xiaodie put on a pitiful look, staring at him.

Wu Hui considered for a moment. "Let's talk terms."

"What terms? You want me to keep you company..." Wang Xiaodie tried her best to look pitiable, but Wu Hui was utterly unmoved.

"Extend your slave term by one month, and when I need it in the future, you'll lend me this book," Wu Hui said.

Wang Xiaodie sank into thought. She felt like she was being played somehow. But the terms honestly felt completely acceptable. Damn it, she really had been trained into a slave by Wu Hui.

Just as she was about to agree, Wu Hui suddenly spoke again: "There's no such thing as a free lunch in this world. This thing just got fished up at random. Don't you think there's some scheme behind it?"

Suddenly, Wang Xiaodie fell into thought. There weren't many people in the world who'd be nice to you unconditionally; in the game, everything was allegedly arranged by the Demon Gods, so something like this—happening to pick up a free item—had to have something behind it...

She was a little scared, but she still put the book away. "I feel like this thing was always meant to be mine."

Wu Hui shrugged. "Suit yourself."

Anyway, the most he'd do was borrow it; the risk was on Wang Xiaodie's head.

Then Wu Hui lay back down and went back to sleep. Wang Xiaodie began to worry again about the slave contract. With days being tacked on like this, she might end up spending her entire life in servitude.

Was there any way to change the terms of the arrangement? Instead of being a slave, being a girlfriend would be way better. After all, Wu Hui was kind of handsome.

Alright, not "kind of." He was very handsome.

Wang Xiaodie started evaluating Wu Hui's various strengths and weaknesses. Only when she finished did she remember that he wasn't her boyfriend or some suitor—he was her goddamn master. None of his good qualities had anything to do with her.

Ugh!

The raft kept drifting forward. During the daytime that followed, Wu Hui and Wang Xiaodie fished out two more message bottles.

"The Contract Beasts on the road are getting more numerous. No telling when things will improve. Hope Maria and the others come back soon."

"I want a carriage inscribed with armor seals as a birthday present."

Wang Xiaodie: "Hmm... seems like this world suffered some kind of great disaster. But the message bottles are all from different time periods."

Wu Hui nodded. "Ignoring ocean currents and other details, the closer we get to land, the later the bottles we fish up were thrown. We can use that to gauge whether our direction is correct."

"Uh... judging from the descriptions, the mainland might not be safe either, right?" Wang Xiaodie scratched her head.

"Safe or not, since the Playwright's task demands it, we have to follow its arrangement and find land. That's all there is to it," Wu Hui said. "Has the instrument panel turned yet? Still pointing at the island behind us?"

Wang Xiaodie, who was in charge of watching the instrument panel, shook her head.

For the next three days straight, the two of them spent all their time on the boat. They fished up quite a few message bottles, and Wang Xiaodie even managed to brew a second bottle of Current Potion for Wu Hui through fishing and opening bottles.

But she was honestly bored out of her mind. Just chatting was no longer enough for her.

So Wang Xiaodie tried to start a romantic relationship with Wu Hui. If Wu Hui fell in love with her, breaking the slave contract would be a piece of cake, wouldn't it?

"..." Wu Hui glanced at Wang Xiaodie, who was off doing who knew what crazy thing again, and said nothing.

Still, a man and a woman alone on the vast, boundless sea. They were in close contact on this tiny raft, and both of them were pretty good-looking. It would've been stranger if nothing happened at all.

Wu Hui wasn't exactly a model of monogamy anyway. With Wang Xiaodie teasing him left and right, the only reason he held back was his awareness of the dangers lurking around them.

But right now, nothing was happening on the sea except the clouds slowly thickening in the sky. Boredom alone was enough to drive a person mad. If Ren Yin were here, at least they could play chess. With Wang Xiaodie, apparently the only option was something far more primal.

Today, Wang Xiaodie again sidled up to Wu Hui under the pretense of enjoying the cool air.

"..." Wu Hui turned his head to look at her face.

Wang Xiaodie met her master's gaze and suddenly felt a twinge of panic. "Um, the laundry's not done yet. Maybe I should—"

"You're always going on and on about how you'd warm my bed in exchange for not doing those chores. Now that it's finally happening, you're chickening out?" Wu Hui reached out and pinched Wang Xiaodie's cheek.

His eyes behind the glasses stared straight into hers, only making her more flustered. "Th-that was just talk!"

Still, Wu Hui let her go. Wang Xiaodie scurried off to wash the clothes. Even though she'd long stopped being shy about bathing or changing clothes in front of Wu Hui, having their faces that close just now still made her heart race.

But when night fell and it was completely dark, Wang Xiaodie still sidled up beside Wu Hui. "If I... you know... with you, is there any benefit for me? Like washing fewer days of laundry, or getting out of the slave contract a little sooner?"

"...No." Wu Hui was perfectly calm, not the least bit affected. He adjusted his glasses. "If I really made a move, would you even have a chance to resist?"

She couldn't argue with that, damn it!

"Can't you at least, you know, let me win once—even just in words?" Wang Xiaodie said, a little aggrieved, as she hugged Wu Hui's arm.

Wu Hui held the instrument panel in his other hand. The thing had finally turned to point forward. But it would still take at least three days to arrive...

Looked like they still had a long time alone together.

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