Lin Jun was checking his fungal network.
Again and again—but he still couldn’t find the source of that voice.
If some strange sound had echoed from within the Mist, that would have been one thing. But for it to appear directly inside the fungal network… that was unsettling.
Like coming home and hearing a stranger’s voice in the next room.
“Keep going”?
Was it meant for him, or for Dylan? Probably for him—Dylan was unconscious, after all.
But who could have said it? A monster from the Mist?
If so, then that monster had an awfully pleasant voice—comparable to the sirens of storybooks.
Or perhaps it was some god, outer god, elder god, angel, demon?
Lin Jun couldn’t help pulling in all sorts of concepts from his past life.Maybe this world was just a play staged by some god, and he was a clown upon the stage?
He sincerely hoped it wasn’t that kind of story…
The night had been full of incomprehensible events. At least they had finally escaped the Mist, and dawn had arrived.
Six hours later—
After soaking up sunlight to replenish his mana, Dylan woke in the little boat. The first thing he saw was the wilted scout…
For Dylan, basking in sunlight with [Photosynthesis] was refreshing. But the scout had no such ability, nor any heat resistance. Under the blazing sun, it was pure torment.
Not to mention it had been soaked in seawater before. At this point, Dylan looked better off than the scout.
Dylan looked around. No Mist, no ghost ship, no Water Ghosts.
“Are we… alive?”
“Not exactly,” Lin Jun said flatly.
Even if the sun restored mana, Dylan’s body wasn’t made of light. Half of him was still flesh.
He needed water, needed food.
Food, maybe—he could try fishing. But water? That was impossible.
If they had glass bottles, they could try evaporation for fresh water. But their supplies had sunk with the Windfeather. No containers at all.
Without a miracle, in a few days Dylan and the scout would both be dried-out mushroom husks.
Day passed, and night fell again. With no sun, the scout regained some energy.
Scout Puji’s fungal tentacle reached into the sea, grabbing up a strange fish.
Lin Jun checked its panel—no poison. He tossed it to Dylan.
Raw, of course. There was no way to make fire on a little boat.
Halfway through their midnight snack, a beautiful voice drifted across the waves.
Singing—on the open sea, in the middle of the night.
Odd, yes. But after the horror of hearing an unknown voice directly inside the fungal network, this was almost comforting.
[ Echolocation LV6 ]
Lin Jun instantly locked onto two figures perched on distant rocks.
Girls’ torsos. Fishes’ tails.
Sirens?
He pulled up their panels.
[ Race: Mermaid ]
[ Level: 21 ]
[ Skill: Song of Enchantment LV4 ]
So—mermaids. Fair enough.
But “Song of Enchantment”… enchantment?
Lin Jun felt disappointed.
Wasn’t it supposed to be heavenly music?
To him, it sounded… ordinary. Very ordinary.
He couldn’t help but wonder—was the skill so strong that even Fat Tiger [a notoriously bad singer from Doraemon] could sing enchantingly if given this buff?
At least Dylan fell for it.
His status bar now bore “Charmed.”
Eyes glassy, he dipped his hands in the water, paddling to bring the boat closer to the reef.
Useless—the waves pushed harder than his arms.
Noticing prey hooked but not approaching, one mermaid slipped into the water and swam toward them.
Moments later, bare arms grasped the boat’s edge.
A girl with emerald-bright eyes hummed sweetly, leaning on the side, gazing tenderly at Dylan.
Then her gaze broke.
Because Dylan’s green, fungus-covered face was nothing short of grotesque—like spoiled meat gone moldy.
Her expression twisted. Shock. Disgust. Doubt. Had she ever seen such a thing before?
Her song faltered. What was meant to be alluring now sounded half-hearted—downright grating.
Lin Jun had enough.
The scout’s tentacle lashed out, seizing her throat.
Another tentacle snapped across Dylan, jolting him violently out of enchantment.
Weak. Compared to the Yellow Book enchantment—back then Dylan hadn’t broken free even while being beaten half to death.
“What—what happened?” Dylan gasped.
The charm didn’t erase memory. And a glance at the mermaid being hauled onto the boat told him enough.
His expression grew grave.
Not because he’d been charmed. But because—why were they bringing her aboard?
A bad guess struck him.
“Boss… you don’t mean… eat her, right?”
“If I said yes, would you eat?”
Dylan frowned, shook his head—then after a pause, reluctantly nodded.
Lin Jun chuckled. “You really have the potential to not be human.”
“Too bad. She’s not for eating.”
Dylan exhaled in relief.
“Then what?”
Why not just kill her? Why haul her on board?
Lin Jun explained: “She’s intelligent.”
Dylan nodded—of course, mermaids were intelligent. But he still didn’t understand.
“Idiot. She’s intelligent and can swim. Don’t you see?”
Dylan still didn’t.
Hopeless.
Lin Jun gave up explaining. “Dylan. Beat her.”
Dylan: “?”
He didn’t get it. But an order was an order.
He swung his fists.
No mercy. To him, she was only a monster in a girl’s skin that had just tried to kill him.
By sunrise, the little boat had a bruised, black-eyed mermaid lashed to its prow.
Tentacles coiled around her waist. When she slacked, the scout whipped her.
Intelligence made her trainable. A mere fish would thrash about, impossible to control.
Thanks to her unwilling efforts, the boat no longer drifted aimlessly.
They picked a random direction. Full speed ahead.
If luck turned bad, well—they still had a reserve of rations…
…
The mermaid wasn’t so unlucky. Before dying of exhaustion, she led them to a small island.
Kicking the half-dead girl back into the sea, Puji stomped ashore onto warm sand.
“Finally!” Dylan wept for joy.
Lin Jun, though, felt no relief—after all, only Puji was there.
Habitually, he pulled up nearby panels. Ordinary things. No monsters in sight.
[ Skill: Delicious ]
Huh?
That caught him. He backtracked, checking each panel he’d closed.
Finally, Puji stood beneath a tree on the beach.
A tree bearing red-shelled fruit…