Chapter 1

Early summer, somewhere in the Yellow Sea.

A somewhat old crew cabin.

The sound of thunder mixed with the waves hitting the ship's body never ceased.

The hanging lamp swung violently, the dim yellow light occasionally illuminating the two stacks of books and a photo frame on the bedside table to the right.

Inside the frame was a photo of a brother and sister standing in a zoo.

The young man, with regular features and a determined face, carried a pink backpack that was clearly out of proportion to his physique, holding a bag of snacks and drinks in his hand. Next to him was a girl with a ponytail, holding a cotton candy in her hand.

A bed was placed against the wall.

A muscular, bare-chested young man lay on his side, as if trapped in a nightmare, his brows furrowed and his forehead drenched in cold sweat.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Someone outside was urgently pounding on the cabin door, shouting hoarsely,

"Yan Jing, something's wrong outside, Uncle San is calling you!"

Almost the moment the words were spoken, the young man on the bed suddenly opened his eyes and sat up abruptly.

"I know, I'll be right there."

He rubbed his cheeks vigorously to shake off the drowsiness, grabbed the drink from the bedside table that was in the ice water, took a big gulp, and muttered to himself,

"Fifth time, damn, where is that sound coming from?"

Rumble~

Another thunderclap echoed.

Yan Jing no longer hesitated, grabbed the shirt and plastic raincoat hanging by the door, and walked out of the crew cabin.

He quickly climbed up the iron ladder to the control room on the deck, where he saw a middle-aged man in a floral shirt holding the ship's wheel.

The front glass of the cabin was drenched by the rain, and he could only barely see the crew securing the cargo on the deck with the help of a high-powered searchlight.

The fishing boat was surrounded by boundless, surging waves, and waves often crashed against the ship's body, with seawater splashing down like a curtain.

"Old Du, what's the situation outside?"

Yan Jing, wearing a raincoat, asked in a deep voice.

"It seems we've caught something unclean... Everyone is at the stern by the crane, go take a look quickly."

The middle-aged man, fully focused on controlling the ship in the storm, shouted without turning his head.

Something unclean?

Yan Jing looked at the man with some confusion, but seeing that he had no intention of explaining, he turned and opened the cabin door.

The wind and rain, along with the waves surging over the ship's side, instantly pulled him into another world.

He pressed down his raincoat hood, his face showing no sign of panic.

Having been at sea since he was eighteen for six years, he had seen too many storms.

He ran along the ship's side to the location of the crane, looking at the crowd at the stern under the light.

"Brother Yan is here!"

Someone noticed Yan Jing's arrival and immediately shouted.

The crowd immediately parted to make way for him.

Although only twenty-four years old, Yan Jing, with his solid maritime skills, was already the first mate of this fishing boat.

"Jing, come take a look."

In the crowd stood an elderly man with gray temples but a robust build, calling out loudly.

Zheng San, the owner of the ship.

Because he was the third in his family, his peers called him Brother San, and the younger generation called him Uncle San.

Taking a few quick steps forward, Yan Jing looked at the net that had just been dragged up at the stern, where various seafood was piled together...

His gaze suddenly froze as it swept over a certain spot.

Among the fish and shrimp was a corpse, covered in a tattered, seaweed-entangled armor. The helmet's visor was already lifted, revealing not a skeleton but a mostly intact, rotting corpse!

Judging by the facial features, it was likely a Japanese person, easily recognizable by the topknot hairstyle.

Perhaps due to prolonged immersion in the water, the corpse was swollen and covered in livor mortis, looking particularly disgusting.

"We caught this just now when we were pulling in the net. It's really damn eerie."

Zheng San's expression was grave. They, who made a living at sea, were somewhat superstitious, with rituals like worship before setting sail and burning incense for good luck being old traditions.

Suddenly catching a corpse like this would make anyone uneasy.

After all, no matter what kind of corpse, after being buried in the sea for so long, it should have been completely eaten by various creatures, leaving only a skeleton, if that. How could it possibly look like this?

For a moment, everyone was unsure whether to throw it back directly or do something else first.

Yan Jing knew why Uncle San had specifically called him out.

He needed to find a way to calm the crew, as they still had to continue fishing the next day.

"This area is not far from Japan. It might have been a ship that sank a few decades ago, and this corpse... probably buried at the bottom of the sea, was brought up by today's storm..."

He was trying to find a reason to explain, but seeing the uneasy expressions of the people around him, Yan Jing looked at the captain and suddenly raised his voice,

"Damn, it's just a Jap. Are we afraid? Not to mention a corpse, even if a live one came up, I could kill him. My grandfather fought in wars and always told me, you can be scared of anything, but not of Japs. Whoever is scared is a coward!"

After speaking, Yan Jing grabbed a pair of gloves from nearby, turned, and threw the armor and the corpse over the stern of the ship.

【Detected nearby presence of 'Japanese Drowned Corpse'】

【Torch has been lit, Ashen Apostle's strength rating... 'Weak'】

【Current event 'Ghost-faced Fish' activated】

【This is a beginner event, no penalty for failure】

【Objective: Survive until dawn】

【Rewards will be distributed based on final evaluation】

The sudden voice in his mind made Yan Jing pause, but fortunately, the dim light prevented the others from noticing.

"Damn, Brother Yan is right. We are a bunch of brave men. Being scared by a Jap corpse, what kind of image is that?"

Seeing Yan Jing set an example, one of the crew members immediately echoed, and with the corpse already thrown away, the previously heavy atmosphere improved.

"Everyone, return to your posts. We'll head back tomorrow afternoon. I'll treat you all to a feast at Fenglai Hotel, eat to your heart's content!"

Zheng San knew the time was right and stepped forward to boost morale.

Amidst a chorus of cheers, the order on the ship returned to normal.

"Jing, get rid of that thing, it's not auspicious."

After the crowd dispersed, Zheng San approached, looking at Yan Jing's gloves and said,

"Sure."

Yan Jing took off the gloves and threw them into the sea, but his expression did not relax as he said in a low voice,

"Uncle San, I think something is wrong. When I threw the corpse... just be careful, I suggest we send two people to patrol the ship, and I'll finish up here."

"That makes sense, I'll go tell them."

Tonight's incident was indeed eerie, and Zheng San headed to the deck at the bow of the ship.

Alone at the stern, Yan Jing, seeing everyone leave, gritted his teeth and growled,

"Who are you, why can you speak in my ear, come out!"

The stormy wind and rain raged around him, but no one responded to his question.

Since the start of this voyage,

Yan Jing had heard the eerie whispers in his ear every day.

Whether awake or asleep, the voice could reach his mind, but he could never clearly hear it.

However, after touching the corpse just now, the previously indistinct voices suddenly became clear.

Yan Jing wanted to believe these voices were just hallucinations from being at sea for too long.

But as he began to clean up the scattered seafood on the stern deck, he couldn't help but recall the almost instructional words.

He played online games on shore and understood what an event meant.

Japanese Drowned Corpse.

From the literal meaning, it seemed to refer to the corpse they had just caught.

But what did the "torch," "ghost-faced fish," and other terms mean?

Using a tool to sweep the fish and shrimp into the fish hold, Yan Jing's actions were quick, but his mind was racing.

Before long, he had finished gathering the nets on the ship.

Wiping the rain from his face and stretching to relieve the soreness in his back,

Thump~ Thump~

Just as Yan Jing was about to return to the cabin, two dull thuds came from the stern.

Having been on the ship for seven or eight years, Yan Jing was very familiar with this sound.

The propeller had stopped!

Sure enough, the fishing boat, which had been steadily moving through the storm, gradually came to a halt. Zheng San, who had just left, sensed the problem and returned to the stern, learning that the propeller was malfunctioning, and covered his forehead with his hand in despair.

Under normal circumstances, a propeller malfunction was not a big issue. It was usually entangled by a fishing net or some other debris in the sea, and two people with knives could quickly resolve it.

But at this moment, the waves were so large that they could capsize the ship, and any mistake could lead to a major problem.

"Forget it, if it's broken, let it be. We'll think of a way after the storm passes... Damn, what a mess."

Zheng San shook his head in frustration, trying to console himself, but the words turned into curses as they left his mouth.

No one knew when the storm would end.

If the rain continued, the seafood in the fish hold would certainly be affected, not to mention the planned fishing operation for the next day.

The losses would be significant!

"Uncle San, let's check the situation first. If it's just entangled, it can be resolved. I can go down if necessary..."

Yan Jing stepped forward and said in a deep voice.

Being a first mate at his age, he naturally had the skills to back it up.

"You're right... Lao Qi, bring the lantern over!"

Zheng San turned and shouted. Soon, a tall, thin man with a high-powered searchlight in his hand ran over.

Yan Jing wasted no time, jumping onto the stern and climbing down a few steps on the external steel ladder. He then hung from the ladder with one arm, leaning out like a monkey, and shone the searchlight at the propeller at the stern of the ship.

The bright beam of light fell, and amidst the surging waves, Yan Jing quickly saw a dark green object floating on the sea surface, which looked like a fishing net or seaweed, and he breathed a sigh of relief, turning to shout,

"Uncle San, it's entangled, it can be resolved!"

After speaking, Yan Jing did not intend to stay outside any longer and was about to climb up, but as he moved, his gaze, following the searchlight, inadvertently swept over the nearby sea surface.

His gaze suddenly froze.

Amidst the surging waves, a grotesque human face, covered in warts, was staring at him, with fist-sized, eerie gray eyes emitting a dark green glow, particularly noticeable in the stormy weather.

Not to mention the massive black shadow lurking beneath the surface... Ghost-faced Fish!

A chill ran down his spine.

Yan Jing turned and quickly climbed up.

Just as he returned to the stern to warn Uncle San, he heard several cries of alarm from the deck at the bow!