Survival: Ocean (Playwright) Chapter 116: Volcano

The sea was calm. Wu Hui lent his glasses to Wang Xiaodie so she could read, while he began to fish.

After much effort, Wang Xiaodie had finally managed to piece together a third potion for him, temporarily lifting the slave contract within this game. However, once they left, she would still owe Wu Hui four months.

Well, the reason it was four months was that she had lost another bet to Wu over the last two days.

If she continued to rack up debt like this, she would reach half a year in no time. The games played here were mostly intellectual, and she couldn't cheat. Maybe she could win more if she played cards or mahjong once they got out?

Wang Xiaodie fell into deep thought.

She didn't know yet that Wu Hui was also an expert at cheating. Usually, when they played in the Chess and Card Club, there were two modes: one where cheating was permitted (but counted as a loss if caught) and one where it was strictly forbidden. It mostly relied on one's own integrity.

And Wu Hui was practically invincible in both modes. The only things he couldn't beat were the psychological warfare games favored by Du Ziming.

She figured she would probably end up losing several more months by then.

"The temperature is rising," Wu Hui said suddenly in the evening. "This isn't normal."

By now, Wang Xiaodie was almost pressed against him. "Yeah, I noticed that too. What do we do?"

Wu Hui closed his eyes and pondered. "Hmm."

He wasn't afraid of the heat; he was like a walking air conditioner, but rising temperatures would lower his combat effectiveness. Since he wasn't afraid of the cold either, he had a distinct advantage when it came to survival.

However, if this temperature spike wasn't resolved, it could have far-reaching consequences.

"Perhaps there is a powerful Seal-Beast nearby," Wu Hui said. "This is likely the final level the game has arranged for us."

Generally speaking, the final level was rarely designed to be easy.

Otherwise, it would be quite boring, wouldn't it?

"I suspect the intensity will be higher than that tentacle creature from before, approaching the state we were in before we were sealed," Wu Hui analyzed.

Wang Xiaodie sighed, "Ugh, I hate this stupid game. The Card Player is much better."

Indeed, the Card Player was the most rule-abiding. Its games almost always had fixed rules and completion routes from the start, which never changed. You wouldn't be punished for using your wits to lower the difficulty or exploit a bug. Provided, of course, that it was truly a bug and not a trap.

The Playwright, on the other hand, would add extra things if it saw you playing too easily. It had absolutely no sense of contract.

Then again, why would a creator care about contract-keeping with the characters in their own writing? It only cared about whether the plot was exciting, right?

What a despicable fellow.

"We shouldn't be too far from land now," Wu Hui said to the clingy Wang Xiaodie. "Get ready. There is a high probability that there is something troublesome on the island."

Wang Xiaodie complained, "I feel like this temperature is already quite troublesome. Why is it still so hot even though the sun has gone down?"

It was at least thirty-five degrees Celsius.

"If you really can't stand it, you can soak in the water," Wu Hui suggested thoughtfully.

To this, she decided to pass for now; holding onto Wu Hui was enough to cool down, so why go through the trouble? She was wearing a swimsuit she had scavenged from the mobile island, so getting in the water wasn't an issue, but catching up to the engine-powered raft afterward would be.

Besides, soaking in seawater for too long wasn't good for the body. Holding Wu Hui was a perfect way to gain favor while cooling off. How wonderful.

Wu Hui urged, "Sit still. If you keep messing around, we won't have time to separate when the boss appears."

"Fine," Wang Xiaodie replied, her reaction speed quickening when it came to life-or-death situations. "But it's so hot, I have no fighting strength either."

"You can soak in the water. I'll have the squid hold onto you." Wu Hui was a fountain of ideas.

Wang Xiaodie grumbled about tentacles being the natural enemy of beautiful girls before slipping into the water. Meanwhile, Wu Hui looked into the distance and caught sight of black smoke.

A volcanic eruption? No wonder the temperature was rising. He had expected some kind of boss, but was the final level just a natural disaster?

That made sense; survival, by definition, was about facing natural disasters.

As a geological hazard, a volcanic eruption was much more visually impactful than an earthquake. Unless an earthquake occurred in a populated area, it usually just looked like a few fallen trees or some cracked ground.

But a volcanic eruption—that was black smoke spewing out alongside magma. Even if it didn't kill a single person, the visual effect was staggering.

A large-scale volcanic eruption could affect the entire atmosphere and even change the climate for years to come. History had seen instances where supervolcanoes erupted, spewing dust that blocked out the sun. The following year would be freezing, and countless people would die of famine.

"We have to run... but we might not make it," Wu Hui said. "A volcanic eruption can swallow the scale of a small country... If it's truly that kind of massive catastrophe, there is absolutely nothing we can do."

"Wait a second," Wang Xiaodie said, poking her head out of the water. "There’s something on the seabed. It looks like... an altar?"

"Stay on the raft, I'm going down to check," Wu Hui said, shutting off the engine and diving into the water. The power of the Fish Lung Potion took effect, allowing him to breathe freely underwater.

After the squid delivered Wang Xiaodie back to the raft, it followed Wu Hui as he swam downward.

The man and the beast quickly reached the seabed. It wasn't very deep, only about a dozen meters. The water pressure was barely acceptable, and Wu Hui successfully maintained the balance between internal and external pressure by letting water fill his nasal cavity.

He had the squid scout the path, and after confirming there was no danger, he approached.

It was indeed an altar.

Four stone statues were placed around the altar.

One was clad in armor, with numerous weapons carved in relief behind it.

One wore a top hat and formal attire, with a chessboard and a deck of cards by its side.

One held paper and a pen, appearing to be writing and drawing.

One wore a smile, holding broken humanoid toys in its hands.

And in the center of the altar was a statue of a ferocious-looking demon.

"Please choose your sacrifice. Sacrificing the corresponding statues will reduce the probability of the volcanic eruption. The remaining statues will become your rewards after you clear the level."

The long-absent system prompt rang out. Wu Hui saw that choosing the central statue reduced the probability by sixty percent. Choosing any of the others reduced it by ten percent. Multiple selections were allowed.

These five statues clearly represented the five Demon Gods.

What was the Playwright's purpose in letting him see this?

Wu Hui narrowed his eyes, lost in thought.

He recalled the moment he crushed the Demon God's bottle.

If taking them out meant getting a reward, then first and foremost, the Black Death definitely had to be sacrificed.

Next, sacrifice the Overlord. The rewards from that thing were often indistinguishable from punishments.

Then, the Card Player. He didn't need its items for the time being.

The Gladiator. Probably not a good fit for him.

And finally, the Playwright.

The master of this game, the guy who arranged all of this. If he sacrificed this statue too, would something unusual happen?

After a brief moment of contemplation, Wu Hui selected the Playwright as well.

Ninety percent and ten percent were effectively the same. For the Playwright, it only cared about whether it wanted to or not. Therefore, he had to push it to one hundred percent.

The choice was made. The five statues turned into light and vanished.

Wu Hui seemed to see the Playwright's statue smile at him.