Chapter 3

It sounded like a mix between a tiger and a lion. It was a sound Zuo Qingcang had never heard before.

However, from the intensity of the sound, he felt that the animal capable of producing such a roar must be extremely dangerous. Zuo Qingcang came to the deck and looked around at the sea, only to find that the surrounding waters had been completely enveloped by endless fog. He could no longer see the other ships of the Da Qi fleet.

In this sudden fog, the roar suddenly disappeared. The fog was filled only with the sound of rolling waves, and everything else was silent. All he could see were the black silhouettes of the ships, making the entire sea seem like a ghostly realm.

In this silence, Zuo Qingcang's eyebrows suddenly twitched, and his heart rate quickened. When he looked down at the deck, he saw a dark figure appear at his feet.

From the position of the shadow, the figure was standing less than a meter behind him.

'Who could be here?'

'I've checked the entire ship; there shouldn't be any living people left.'

'Could it be those pirates?'

Zuo Qingcang suddenly turned around and saw a pale face up close. The eyes were wide open, with wounds at the corners, and the mouth was slightly curled, as if in a mocking smile. Most striking was his pale skin, which was completely devoid of color, a ghastly white.

On a ship full of corpses, the sudden appearance of such a strange 'person' behind Zuo Qingcang even made him, who was usually calm, feel his heart race. However, years of training and experience had ingrained calmness and rationality into Zuo Qingcang's instincts.

Faced with this sudden and strange person, Zuo Qingcang's instinctive reaction was not to retreat but to attack. He gripped his axe and swung it at the figure's neck with a thud. However, it felt as if he had struck a tree rather than a human body.

When he tried to pull the axe out, Zuo Qingcang found it stuck. He immediately withdrew his hand and drew a dagger from his waist, holding it in front of him.

Looking at the strange figure with an axe embedded in its neck, Zuo Qingcang's surprise grew.

From the figure's attire, it was clearly a Da Qi soldier. But now, this Da Qi soldier had a ghastly pale face, enormous eyes, and an axe stuck in his neck, yet he still looked at Zuo Qingcang with a mocking smile. The entire scene was inexplicably eerie, and there was a fatal wound on his neck from when he had fallen.

What was even more shocking was that, at some point, all the corpses of the crew and soldiers on the deck had stood up, with the same pale faces, wide-open eyes, and eerie smiles, all directed at Zuo Qingcang.

Taking a deep breath, Zuo Qingcang slowly moved toward the edge of the deck, his eyes fixed on these 'crew members,' as if guarding against a sudden attack.

He had examined every corpse on the ship, and they were all definitely dead. But now, these corpses had risen and were all grinning at him, making even the brave Zuo Qingcang feel a chill.

Neither Zuo Qingcang's own memories nor Liu Zhicheng's had ever experienced anything like this. Zombies and the undead were things only heard of in legends. Now, they were right in front of Zuo Qingcang.

As Zuo Qingcang slowly retreated, all the pale corpses turned their heads, their eyes fixed on him, following his movements. When he stopped, they stopped too, continuing to stare at him.

For the first time encountering such a situation, Zuo Qingcang was unsure how to react when the loud roar sounded again. A massive shadow, as large as a mountain, emerged from the fog, while the pale corpses remained motionless.

'Monster!'

Without seeing the full form, Zuo Qingcang only saw countless black scales the size of tables. The next moment, the entire ship shook violently, emitting a terrifying tearing sound. The ship began to capsize and tear apart, and after a dizzying spin, Zuo Qingcang found himself falling into the sea along with the pale corpses.

Zuo Qingcang knew that in such a situation, the sinking ship could create a whirlpool that would drag him down. He struggled to swim, trying to escape the current, but the monster's strength was immense. A casual movement of its body created waves that rendered Zuo Qingcang's efforts futile.

His strength was severely drained, and after a few minutes, Zuo Qingcang was already exhausted.

At that moment, a piece of wood struck the back of his head, and Zuo Qingcang's vision went black as he lost consciousness.

...

Waves, sunlight, Zuo Qingcang slowly opened his eyes and spat out the sand in his mouth.

As he stood up, the seabirds around him were startled and flew into the sky.

Looking at the beach, Zuo Qingcang slowly recalled what had happened.

Liu Zhicheng, Da Qi, the resurrected dead, the pale corpses, and the black, massive monster.

"Truly a chaotic world."

Without getting up immediately, Zuo Qingcang lay on the ground, checking his body to avoid any accidental injuries. Even at this moment, his ingrained calmness was still at work.

After a thorough check, Zuo Qingcang found, either by luck or because Liu Zhicheng's body was strong, that he had not only been washed ashore but was also unharmed.

Confirming that his body was not injured, Zuo Qingcang slowly stood up. His clothes were tattered, so he took off his shirt, revealing a lean and muscular upper body.

Looking around, he noticed that not only was he on the beach, but there were also many shipwreck debris.

'Did I drift here with the current?'

Although Zuo Qingcang did not know where he was, based on Liu Zhicheng's memories, they had only completed three-quarters of their journey to the new continent. Judging by his hunger, Zuo Qingcang estimated that he had been washed ashore on a tropical island in the Western Sea.

The Western Sea was the ocean between the old continent where Da Qi was located and the new continent Liu Zhicheng had been heading to.

'In the worst case, this could be an uninhabited island. I need to prepare for a long-term stay. First, I need to find food and water.'

'On a tropical island, I can try to find...'

Zuo Qingcang walked about 200 meters on the beach and found what he was looking for: coconut trees. Coconuts, which are common in tropical regions, are rich in water, potassium, vitamin C, and carbohydrates.

In some places, they are called the "fruit of life," and there are records of people surviving for a month by eating only coconuts. Seeing the coconut trees, Zuo Qingcang temporarily relaxed, knowing he wouldn't have to endure the fatigue and weakness to search for food and water in more dangerous places, such as the nearby shallow sea or the forest behind him.

However, coconut trees are tall, and the one Zuo Qingcang chose was over 20 meters high, equivalent to a nine-story building.

Taking a deep breath, Zuo Qingcang used his shirt, which he had taken off, to tie a bundle of cloth. He passed the cloth under his armpits and tied it to the coconut tree to help him climb, a method used by many cultures to climb coconut trees.

Next, he saw his feet wedged into the cracks of the coconut tree, the cloth tying him to the trunk, and he slowly climbed up.

However, the negative effects of the shipwreck were more severe than Zuo Qingcang had imagined. He felt extremely fatigued and weak halfway up.

But coconuts were the food he needed to replenish his nutrients. He had to persist and finally reached the coconuts. He leaned against the tied cloth, used one hand to grab a coconut, and slowly twisted it until it fell to the ground.

As Zuo Qingcang began to twist the third coconut, his gaze suddenly focused. About 300 meters out to sea, he saw what seemed to be a person lying on a floating piece of wood.

After picking another coconut, Zuo Qingcang slowly climbed down the tree. Once on the ground, he did not rush to check the person in the sea, as his condition was not good, and swimming 300 meters would be too dangerous. Although he wanted to bring the person ashore to get useful information.

So he picked up a stone, cracked open the coconuts, and began to eat the coconut water and flesh. After eating one coconut, Zuo Qingcang sat on the ground to rest and recover the energy he had spent climbing the tree.

While resting, he kept his eyes on the shadow about 300 meters away. From the beach, it was not as clear as from the treetop, and if not observed carefully, one might not notice that the shadow was a person lying on a piece of wood.

Zuo Qingcang squinted and saw that the person seemed to be from the same fleet, wearing the uniform of a Da Qi soldier.

As he thought this, the person's head seemed to lift, revealing a ghastly pale face with a bloody wound splitting it in two. The dead face looked in Zuo Qingcang's direction and gave a cold, mocking smile.

Zuo Qingcang was startled, but when he looked again, he realized the person had not lifted his head, or rather, at this distance, he could not clearly see such details.

Rubbing his temples, Zuo Qingcang suspected he was hallucinating from fatigue. However, remembering the strange corpses on the ship, he still picked up a stone and slowly walked toward the sea.