Survival. The Ocean (Playwright) Chapter 112: The Moving Island Part Two

The moving island’s speed was clearly not very fast, and its direction wasn’t taking them away from the raft. Was it luck, or had the playwright arranged things this way?

“By the way, it’s been a long time since we’ve encountered other players,” Wang Xiaodie said, opening a pile of drift bottles in frustration, not finding a single potion recipe. Such bad luck combined with her gambling habit—this was just how it was.

“Yeah, we’ve probably left most people behind,” Wu Hui replied. “At the start, everyone was probably around the same area, but even a slight deviation in direction, sustained over time, makes the distance between us grow. So the chance of meeting other players now is very low. But…”

He trailed off, then added that there was a significant chance—about one in five—of encountering other players on this moving island.

That was quite high. In the open sea, the odds of randomly bumping into another player were nearly zero.

Wu Hui gazed ahead while Wang Xiaodie washed dishes behind him. Her movements were practiced, not newly learned; she had experience washing plates in restaurants before. She also did laundry often, having frequently charged her dorm mates to wash their clothes during high school.

Being poor meant you had to find ways to get by. Wang Xiaodie had cheated at cards, stolen things—more than once or twice—but nothing truly terrible. Just petty theft.

Wu Hui, who had been raised comfortably by Wu Tong with real money, never really understood those struggles. He never lacked money and hadn’t used any special abilities to earn money in the game. Wang Xiaodie was different; since becoming a player, she had made quite a bit and was living comfortably outside.

That’s why she valued her life greatly. After scraping through, she wasn’t about to die easily.

As long as she didn’t die, everything else was secondary.

Not to mention, Wu Hui never forced her to do anything she didn’t want to. Even if he were an old, ugly middle-aged man trying to take advantage of her, she could only agree. But right now, it was a mutual attraction—or at least, it seemed so. Wu Hui didn’t reject her; he must have some feelings.

But he also had other women. Sigh, Wang Xiaodie had never been with anyone else. She cared about this because she genuinely had feelings for Wu Hui; otherwise, she wouldn’t bother.

And then she wondered, since they were often intimate at sea, could she get pregnant? If she did, could she use that to force him to marry her? But pregnancy…

Wu Hui assured her that there was no need to worry about pregnancy. He would use his ice powers to handle it.

As Wang Xiaodie washed dishes, lost in these thoughts, Wu Hui suddenly spoke, “We’re almost there. Get ready.”

Judging by the fluctuations on the dashboard, their target wasn’t far.

The moving island was just ahead. How many more islands would they have to pass before reaching land?

Wu Hui was already tired of the ocean. This time, he had endured much longer than before, primarily because he had someone with him—a girl.

If it had been Ren Yin instead of Wang Xiaodie, he could have endured even longer. No matter what, Wang Xiaodie was just outmatched—except for her figure, she couldn’t compare to Ren Yin. With Ren Yin, the game was always a fair match, doubling the fun.

The raft’s speed began to slow.

The target was now clearly visible before them.

At first glance, it wasn’t an island but a tree enclosed within a transparent, unknown protective shield, sprawling like alveoli across lung tissue.

They were still quite far away. The shield covered an area roughly the size of a city district, which was why they could see it from such a distance. The island’s main structures—buildings and other constructions—looked tiny beneath the massive tree.

Then Wu Hui saw a single eye.

Even from thirty kilometers away, he could sense the enormous size of that eye. He must have been like a mere fly before it, theoretically unnoticed.

Yet his scalp tingled with an overwhelming sense of horror.

“Holy shit,” Wang Xiaodie muttered repeatedly.

If she had faith, she might have said Amen, Amitabha, or some blessing—wondering if this thing was edible. But she didn’t, so all she could do was swear.

The island was carried by a gigantic whale. Wu Hui found its size incredible but thought no more of it, attributing it to supernatural powers. If there was a city ahead, they could explore it.

The world, in theory, had suffered some great disaster, but the drift bottles only contained fragments of information—no detailed descriptions.

This city on the island, inhabited or not, might provide clues. Maybe they could determine their location and the exact direction of the mainland.

Wu Hui felt invigorated, adjusting his glasses more frequently.

Though the moving island was visible, it was still three hours away at full speed. Under the midday sun, they circled cautiously closer, wary that the whale’s slightest movement might stir a massive wave and capsize the raft.

Even if it remained still, the water currents it generated would be too strong for their small raft.

Wu Hui was mentally prepared for this. Unless the moving island stopped, they would have to face such conditions. No wonder they had been given a sea mark—it was meant for this situation.

He used the mark, which lasted only one minute, and had to act quickly.

Waves surrounded the raft like hands lifting a noble hero into the sky. The transparent shield’s edge had a strip of land where Wu Hui had initially planned to pause and figure out how to enter, but unexpectedly, the raft and waves surged directly into the shield’s interior.

Inside, the streets resembled a modern town but were deserted. Wu Hui and Wang Xiaodie stepped off the raft.

“So empty,” Wang Xiaodie said. “Is there no one here?”

“Most likely no one,” Wu Hui replied. “There might be one or two NPCs, and the chance of encountering other players is higher. Let’s explore first—ideally find a library or something.”

They needed to at least confirm their location and, if possible, understand what had happened in this world.

Of course, scavenging basic supplies in this city was the bare minimum. Compared to their previous days surviving on garbage in the sea, this deserted city was paradise. Wang Xiaodie felt tempted to lie down here for a few days.

But she hadn’t lost her head—she knew the sooner they left, the better.

“Be careful,” Wu Hui warned. “Empty places might hold other dangers—like imprint beasts. The strongest we’ve encountered so far were only equivalent to level three players. But look at that whale beneath us…”

Even if a beast with power equal to a level ten or even eleven or twelve player appeared, it wouldn’t be surprising.