Inside the cabin.
Su Qingyue knelt on the deck, her hands trembling slightly from overexerting her talent.
Before her, five crystal-clear Ice Arrows were neatly arranged.
This was the result of her pushing her physical limits.
"Huff... huff..."
Su Qingyue gasped for breath, cold sweat trickling down her cheeks from her forehead.
A wave of intense dizziness washed over her, and her body involuntarily tilted to one side.
Just as she thought she would collapse onto the cold deck.
A warm, strong hand firmly supported her shoulder.
"That’s enough, it’ll do."
Lin Ji’s voice sounded above her.
Though still flat, it gave Su Qingyue an inexplicable sense of reassurance.
Lin Ji helped her sit on the edge of the bed.
Then, as if performing a magic trick, he produced an unopened bottle of mineral water and a chocolate bar with its wrapper peeled off.
"Eat this, replenish your strength."
Succinct and to the point.
Su Qingyue was stunned.
She stared blankly at the chocolate offered to her, the sweet aroma lingering at the tip of her nose.
This was chocolate!
At a time like this, its value even surpassed gold.
He... actually gave this to her?
"What are you staring at? Afraid I poisoned it?"
Seeing her dazed, Lin Ji directly shoved the chocolate into her mouth.
"Hurry up and replenish some sugar."
"If you pass out, who’s going to keep watch for the second half of the night?"
The sweetness melted on her tongue, flowing down her throat into her stomach.
That warm sensation instantly dispelled the chill in her body.
Biting into the chocolate, Su Qingyue suddenly felt her eyes grow moist.
Though Lin Ji’s words were still harsh, treating her purely as a tool.
But this tangible care could not be faked.
"Thank you..."
She lowered her head, her voice soft but sincere.
Lin Ji ignored her emotional response.
He pointed to the wooden bed behind him.
"You sleep first."
"If something happens in the second half of the night, we’ll still need you for Field Control."
"So, no need for sentimentality. Rest while you can."
Su Qingyue glanced at the not-so-spacious wooden bed.
Though crude, in these conditions, it was a luxury.
And...
This was Lin Ji’s bed.
"What about you?" she asked instinctively.
"Yihan and I will take the first watch."
Lin Ji turned and pulled Gu Yihan, who was still dazed beside him.
"Let’s go, we’re heading outside."
Watching their departing figures, a warm feeling surged in Su Qingyue’s heart.
She stopped hesitating, took off her shoes, and curled up on the bed.
The blanket still carried Lin Ji’s scent.
It wasn’t unpleasant; instead, it had a faint masculine smell that felt reassuring.
...
Outside the rain shelter.
Lin Ji wasn’t actually standing.
He pulled Gu Yihan and crouched in the corner by the cabin entrance.
It was pitch black all around, not a hand visible before them.
Only the sound of waves hitting the ship’s hull was particularly clear in the silent night.
Along with the occasional, spine-chilling low growls.
"Lin Ji..."
Gu Yihan’s voice trembled noticeably.
She pressed tightly against Lin Ji, wishing she could melt into his body.
That soft sensation stirred Lin Ji’s heart.
This woman really had an exceptional figure.
He didn’t hold back, reaching out to wrap his arm around her waist, his hand wandering over those astonishing curves.
"Stop it..."
Gu Yihan coquettishly protested, her body going limp as a puddle of water.
Yet she made no move to pull away.
In this terrifying atmosphere, Lin Ji’s actions instead became her only comfort.
At least it proved she was still alive, with a man to rely on beside her.
"Shh."
Lin Ji suddenly made a silencing gesture.
He activated the Eye of Insight, his gaze piercing through the darkness toward the sea surface not far away.
"Gu Yihan, use your talent to listen—where is the boat with those three women?"
Gu Yihan was momentarily stunned, then closed her eyes.
[Wind Listening] activated.
Subtle sounds carried on the wind.
There were breathing sounds, and... retching sounds?
"Right behind us, about fifty meters away."
Gu Yihan opened her eyes, pointing in a direction.
"They seem to have been following us all along."
"Hah, clever indeed."
Lin Ji sneered coldly.
He pulled the [Powerful Flashlight] from his backpack.
Aiming it in the direction Gu Yihan had pointed.
Click.
The switch was pressed.
A blinding beam of light instantly sliced through the night sky like a sharp sword, stabbing deep into the darkness.
At the end of the light beam.
A sailboat rising and falling with the waves was revealed.
Inside the cabin, three women were huddled together, trembling.
The sudden intense light startled them.
Especially Shen Manyun, who had suddenly been hit by seasickness again and was leaning over the side of the boat dry heaving—she was so frightened she nearly fell back onto the deck.
"Who’s there?"
Tang Ling jerked her head up, shielding her eyes from the glaring light.
Once she saw the light source came from Lin Ji’s boat, she shouted furiously:
"Lin Ji! Are you insane!"
"What are you shining that light for in the middle of the night! Trying to scare someone to death?"
Lin Ji waved the flashlight, a mocking look on his face.
"Nothing much, just checking in."
"Making sure you lovely ladies are still alive."
"After all, if you were dead, I could... take over your inheritance while it’s still warm."
"You!"
Tang Ling was so angry her chest heaved violently, the view beneath her overalls quite spectacular.
"Even if I die, I won’t leave any supplies to a bastard like you!"
Just as the two were bickering.
Splash!
A tremendous sound of water suddenly erupted from the sea between the two boats.
The sound was extremely close, extremely loud.
As if something massive had violently rolled over underwater.
Immediately after.
Both sailboats rocked violently at the same time!
"Ah!"
The women on board screamed in unison.
Lin Ji’s expression changed.
Snap!
He instantly switched off the flashlight.
The surroundings plunged back into deathly darkness.
"Quiet!"
He hissed sharply, pulling Gu Yihan tightly against him, pressing her firmly into his embrace.
"Don’t make a sound."
Gu Yihan was so terrified she stiffened, not even daring to breathe heavily.
She could feel Lin Ji’s heartbeat accelerating too.
That thing...
It’s right below!
The flashlight’s light just now seemed to have attracted something formidable.
In the darkness.
Only the heavy breathing sounds and the noise of waves slapping against the hulls remained.
Every second felt as long as a century.
...
On the other side.
On Shen Manyun’s boat.
The sense of fear was even stronger than on Lin Ji’s side.
Shen Manyun was leaning over the gunwale; the violent rocking just now had worsened her already churning stomach.
"Ugh..."
She retched painfully, but nothing came up except some stomach acid.
Tears mixed with cold sweat, dampening her gold-rimmed glasses.
Tang Ling wasn’t faring much better.
She clung to the railing with a death grip, her knuckles white and her lips trembling.
"It’s all Lin Ji’s fault!"
She cursed in a low voice, choked with tears.
"He just had to turn on that flashlight!"
"Now look what happened—he drew the monster right to us!"
"Are we... are we going to die?"
Desperation spread among the three of them.
Just then.
Bai Taotao, the loli who had been huddled beside Shen Manyun like a porcelain doll, suddenly lifted her head.
Her large, usually innocent eyes now glimmered with a faint, eerie light.
She stared in the direction of Lin Ji’s sailboat, her delicate nostrils twitching slightly.
"That’s not it..."
Bai Taotao’s voice was soft, yet unnervingly clear.
In the silent night, it sounded almost ghostly.
"What’s not it?"
Tang Ling was taken aback, instinctively asking.
Bai Taotao extended a finger, pointing into the darkness.
"That big thing... it’s lost interest in us."
"It’s now... circling under that jerk’s boat."
"It seems... very hungry."