Survival: Ocean (Playwright) Chapter Ninety-Three: The Spray and the People Beneath the Water

Wu Hui managed to light the fire with some difficulty. A flintlock was certainly not as convenient as a lighter. But there was no helping it; if he had chosen the path of combat, plunder, or cooperation, this was simply what had to be done.

Before he encountered other players, his days might not be easy. Of course, with so many supplies in reserve and the dashboard at his disposal, in theory he could finish the game without ever meeting anyone at all.

He often had a streak of daring, choosing high-risk, high-reward ventures. Yet he always prepared a fallback plan.

On the ship, he closed his eyes, then suddenly opened them again.

Wu Hui was thinking about the mechanics of the game. With so little to go on, he could only rely on imagination. His strengths were memory and logic, though his imagination, after his stat points had been invested, was not bad either.

Why was the first little island so barren? Statistically, barren islands were the most likely to appear. But a playwright would want the story to be exciting, so he would not let them die so casually.

Therefore, the first island at the start should be a chance for players who had not prepared well in the previous round to make up for what they lacked. At the very least, it should let them repair their rafts and gather a little supplies, so they would not sink immediately or starve to death.

This guess seemed reasonable enough, though there was no proof yet. Still, since he himself had come prepared, he ought to gain something as well. Otherwise, would that not be rather unfair?

No, the playwright was not necessarily fair. He only wanted more thrilling content.

But there was no harm in looking.

Wu Hui summoned his dire wolf and had it begin searching the island.

Since there was nothing else to do, it might as well find something to occupy itself with.

In the end, the beast wolf that Wu Hui had not even bothered to name successfully dug a hole beneath a coconut tree and unearthed something for him.

Inside the hole was a shabby treasure chest.

“Lucky... though not entirely luck. The dire wolf has the ability to track marks,” Wu Hui muttered as he dragged the chest out of the hole. The wolf licked its paws off to the side; it seemed that digging had cost it something too.

Summoned beasts did not need to eat, but they still needed rest. If they died, they reverted to a card and would need Wu Hui to spend mental energy to summon them again.

But right now, his mental energy had been suppressed to the level of an ordinary person. Bringing it back to life would certainly leave him drained, and he would probably have to lie down somewhere for a while.

Wu Hui opened the chest first and inspected its contents.

The chest gave him the feeling that only when he opened it did it decide what was inside. It was rather like drawing cards in a game.

Two gold coins, and a water affinity mark...

As for the coins, could they be exchanged for points, or were there trading mechanics within the game? Wu Hui frowned. Without his glasses, he had to rely on his own guesses for many things now.

Either was possible, but since the theme of the game was survival, it probably would not let you live comfortably by trading with a bunch of NPCs.

He took the water affinity mark. With this, there would be no need to make fish-lung potion this time. He could use it when there was a chance. On the ocean, the ability to dive was still very important.

Since even the treasure chest had been dug up, there was probably really nothing left on this island.

He memorized the island’s shape. Looking at the already darkening sky, he decided to stop traveling for the night, anchor not far from the island, and sleep.

Places near land felt safer.

That was not an illusion. They really were safer, because large ferocious fish disliked approaching shallow waters and were prone to running aground. Of course, his ship might run aground too, but if a fish ran aground it would be baked to death by the sun. If this rotten raft ran aground, at worst it would just have to wait until high tide came in and then receded again. The risk was not that great.

Wu Hui lay down on the bed made of straw and cloth, his eyes closed.

He was thinking about what he lacked. First, something for rain protection. Although there were a few awnings on the ship, they were clearly not enough. They covered the supplies and the place where he slept, but not the area where the fire was lit. Nor did they cover the makeshift distillation device.

Out at sea, no monster could compare with wind, rain, and waves, those disasters of nature. But the dire wolf did have a small measure of control over the wind. Perhaps it could be of some help.

The vessel drifted gently on the water, making it easy to fall asleep.

The next day, Wu Hui set sail again.

He moved with the wind and waves, and only after the dashboard stopped pointing behind him did he confirm the direction. Roughly north by northeast.

The spray leaped in clusters, as if urging the traveler onward.

Wu Hui was not a traveler. He did not enjoy mere journeys or experiences. He simply knew he had to keep going. This broken ship, liable to sink at any moment, was certainly no pleasant experience.

Even though it was already the best raft in the entire game, Wu Hui still seemed dissatisfied. The last round had been too rushed; otherwise, who knew what sort of thing he would have built before choosing to clear it.

Clearly the playwright would not do that, or the second round would have no appeal at all.

Out on the sea, far ahead, there was a stretch of especially violent spray and noise, as though something had sunk.

Wu Hui considered it for a moment, then decided to take a look. Something sinking at sea, making such a commotion... it was very likely a player’s ship. If that person had drowned, he could loot the corpse. If they were still alive, he could decide whether to cooperate with them or kill them and loot the corpse.

He did not want the useless, nor the unruly. Nor those who loved courting death. It seemed Wu Hui’s standards for choosing people were rather strict: they had to be useful, and they had to be trustworthy.

Of course, he did truly need someone to help. If he had no one, he could only use the dire wolf as a substitute, but a summoned beast’s intelligence could not compare with a human’s.

With another player helping, they could take turns keeping watch and divide the work between them. Increased efficiency was secondary. The key was that it would be easier. Traveling alone on the sea was exhausting.

Wu Hui rowed closer and heard a rather androgynous voice cry out, “Save me!”

He looked over and confirmed that the person clinging to a piece of wood and barely keeping afloat was a girl, but he remained unmoved. In a situation like this, a collaborator of the opposite sex could indeed avoid many conflicts, but it would also bring extra trouble. So in terms of gender, there was no real advantage or disadvantage.

“Everything I have on me, I’ll give you!” the girl shouted again.

Wu Hui thought for a moment. “If you die, it all becomes mine anyway.”

“I—I can spend the night with you, and a few more nights too!” The girl was quick-witted enough to immediately find a benefit that only she could provide while still alive.

“Not needed.” Wu Hui was calm.

He took out his gun and shot a fish he had seen a few days earlier. Was it this thing that had smashed and sunk the girl’s raft?

The woman in the water gritted her teeth. Since she was still able to cling to the wood and float for a while longer, she could still think about how to persuade Wu Hui.

“After we get out, I can give you all the points from this game too.”

Wu Hui said nothing. While directing the squid to fish up the valuable items scattered across the sea, he watched her, intending to observe her character and intelligence a little longer.

Only when a person stood in the most dangerous of situations could their true nature be seen. Ruthless, weak and powerless, or furious yet useless? Only after he saw clearly would Wu Hui make his choice. He would not take too much from her either.

“I...” Her promises of all kinds of benefits failed to move Wu Hui, and her heart grew a little cold. But she guessed that Wu Hui was observing whether she could be trusted. So she clenched her teeth and brought out her bottom line.

“I can sign a slave contract with you.”