Survival: The Ocean (Playwright) Chapter 111: The Moving Island — Part 1

If Wu Hui had his full combat abilities, this tentacle wouldn’t have posed much of a challenge to him. But now, without his pawns or spellbook, and with his physical condition reduced to that of an ordinary person—roughly equivalent to a level two player—he was at a disadvantage. Slightly stronger than Liu Ming was back then.

Yet, times had changed. Back then, he was just a regular person, struggling to kill Liu Ming, a level two player, barely managing to survive. Now, he had become a top-tier level three player, even having defeated level five opponents.

Granted, that level five was on the brink of death and completely out of resources, but it was still enough for Wu Hui to take pride.

However, the tentacle before him was no weakling. It clearly exceeded the difficulty expected at this game level. Wu Hui’s mental strength was nearly depleted, yet he still couldn’t wear it down.

In the end, it was Wang Xiaodie who had to play her trump card and take action.

Hmm, if there are spoils, she deserves a share, Wu Hui thought, quite satisfied with Wang Xiaodie’s effort.

Clearly, he didn’t regard this girl merely as a slave. Though his moral boundaries were flexible, Wu Hui wasn’t truly a bad man. Wang Xiaodie had helped him a great deal and showed great potential; she would likely become a teammate, or even a long-term companion.

Teammates needed to maintain good relations, of course. And if a slave contract could be maintained long-term, even better.

Yes, not exactly a bad person, but certainly not a saint either.

He was the kind who would eliminate all potential threats, refuse help if he saw no value or if it might harm his own interests, but would lend a hand when it didn’t concern him directly.

Indeed, a very flexible moral compass.

Wang Xiaodie inflicted considerable damage on the tentacle, but she also suffered significant losses—several of her insects perished.

Those were all valuable marks, costly indeed.

Yet the wound frozen by ice gradually weakened the tentacle, sapping its strength until its attacks became feeble. Wang Xiaodie advanced once more with her blade and severed it.

“Done.” Wang Xiaodie wiped her sweat. “Hey, there’s only one mark to choose from here.”

Mark: Ocean.

Duration: one minute, controlling the surrounding seawater.

“Judging by the duration and monster difficulty, the control range should be quite extraordinary,” Wu Hui said. “At the very least, it would grant a person the ability to contend with a level five opponent on the sea for a short while.”

For a level three player, that was a valuable asset. But at higher levels, it’s usually more efficient to turn such things into spirit beasts, engravings, or potions.

After killing the tentacle, there wasn’t just one mark. There was also a golden treasure chest containing over thirty gold coins, a spirit beast summoning scroll, and a potion recipe.

Son of the Ocean: Ocean Mark + three Aquatic Marks + seawater from four different sea regions + the bioluminescent lure of a clawed lanternfish + blood of a ghost fish.

Spirit beast summoning scroll: Lord Tentacle. Ocean + Regeneration + Giant + Shapeshift.

“…Split the gold evenly. The mark is mine. We’ll share the summoning scroll and the recipe,” Wu Hui said to Wang Xiaodie.

Wang Xiaodie paused to think. “Emmm. Okay.”

Halfway through, she realized she didn’t really have the right to refuse. Wu Hui consulting her was already generous.

With the gold coins suddenly plentiful, Wang Xiaodie wanted to keep playing, but her master firmly forbade it and dragged her back to the ship. Well, Wu Hui was actually doing her a favor—if she kept going, she’d soon lose everything again.

The slot machine was bearable—it only allowed one coin per bet, so losses came slowly. Other games could make you lose your pants in minutes.

Or rather, Wang Xiaodie had already lost herself to Wu Hui a long time ago.

An orphan since childhood, she now had, well, a guardian? The description felt awkward. Without the slave contract, their relationship might be easier to describe.

This feeling of being controlled was something Wang Xiaodie hadn’t experienced in a long time.

She found her mindset strangely shifted; even if the slave contract were removed now, she would still choose to listen to Wu Hui. Being ordered around by him even stirred feelings of warmth and comfort.

Damn it, this can’t continue! Wang Xiaodie suppressed the urge to act spoiled with Wu Hui, coughed twice, and got back to work.

They stayed on the island for a day to gather some wild fruits and meat before continuing their journey.

At first, Wang Xiaodie had the leisure to admire the seascape, reminiscing about romantic scenes. Now, seeing the sea only made her want to vomit.

The endless ocean stretched beyond sight, with no end in sight.

Wu Hui held the instrument panel beside her, waiting for it to shift direction. But as he stared, his expression changed.

Not because it failed to turn, but because it kept turning continuously. Though the amplitude wasn’t large, they were moving in the direction the pointer indicated, so theoretically there should be no change—unless they were extremely close.

“…” Wu Hui immediately formulated two hypotheses and began checking around himself. Confirming that the boat hadn’t deviated nor was there any anomaly in the surrounding sea.

Either they had entered an illusion.

Or there was a moving landmass ahead.

He stared toward the horizon, deep in thought. In reality, there were indeed islands that moved, but these were normal geological phenomena recorded by some.

But the island that might appear here on the sea was unlikely to be simply drifting.

Yes, ancient legends of moving islands existed across many regions. The most famous was the overseas fairy islands from the ancient capital region: Penglai, Fangcun, and Yingzhou. Carried on the back of a giant turtle, moving across the sea, inhabited by immortals, impossible to track.

Wu Hui adjusted his glasses. “If that’s the case… we have to go check it out.”

There might be critical resources and clues there, potentially influencing the next stage of the game significantly. Since fate had brought them here, there was no reason to avoid it.

Moreover, the presence of such a moving island might explain why his instrument panel was malfunctioning. In such a situation, finding new land would be extremely difficult.

“What’s this?” Wang Xiaodie was fishing out drift bottles to play with when a sudden turn nearly made her fall overboard. Unlike Wu Hui, who had learned part of the world’s language through his glasses, she just picked up bottles hoping to find potion recipes.

She had only one potion left, which could dissolve her current slave contract.

After that, the slave contract would be a separate matter. Maybe after completing the current task, she could ask Wu Hui for a new one.

Lately, Wang Xiaodie had been collecting materials daily, catching any unfamiliar plants or animals. She was industrious. Yet sometimes, she wondered if the slave contract’s influence was so minor that it wasn’t worth such effort to break.

No, no. If Wu Hui died, she would die too, and she’d have to work for free. She had to get rid of it as soon as possible.

With firm resolve, Wang Xiaodie kept fishing for bottles. Wu Hui didn’t tell her about the moving island yet; after all, it wasn’t certain they could find it. If the island moved faster than their raft, that would be a real headache.

PS: This is the first update today. In terms of game time, surely the playwright tops the charts. Writing thirty to fifty chapters is no problem. Perhaps long-term stories might stretch to a hundred chapters or so.