The Waterlogged Treasure Chest
After fishing for over an hour, the sky began to darken. The first night was about to fall.
Lucas Hall was now ravenous, and the scattered long-legged sardines beside him looked appetizing. However, eating these fish... would likely cause a loss of sanity. Unless absolutely necessary, he didn't want to eat them. Plus, there was no stove on the boat, so he'd have to eat them raw...
The bobber twitched, and Lucas instantly became alert. He yanked the line hard, and a black fish was pulled up. This fish didn't have long legs, but it was covered in sharp spines, its skin slimy and swollen like a membrane. As soon as it hit the deck, its membrane broke, spilling out black, foul-smelling pus.
[This fish is disgusting. Your sanity decreases by 2.]
Before Lucas could stab it with his spear, the fish died on its own.
[Name: Cyst-Spine Pufferfish]
[Type: Food]
[Description: A deep-sea fish. Its bodily fluids are toxic, and no normal person would eat it unless... they want to die.]
"Poisonous?" Lucas muttered. He didn't dare touch it, using the spear to pierce it and throw it into the cabin. He made sure to stab it a few more times, until the spearhead turned black, transforming into a poisonous wooden spear.
The sky was nearly dark, less than an hour left before nightfall.
The system had warned him that night would be dangerous, so Lucas decided against fishing or hunting after dark. Just as he was about to pack up and return to the captain's cabin, a strange object drifted by on the sea. It was a chest—more precisely, a treasure chest, about the size of a briefcase, drifting past the side of the Nightmare.
Lucas' heart skipped a beat. He immediately rushed to the helm, turned the boat around, and chased after the treasure chest.
This opportunity was one he couldn't afford to miss!
He manipulated the boat's claw hook, attempting to grab the chest. But the chest seemed almost alive, slipping away from his grasp. After a lot of effort, he finally managed to hook it, bringing it aboard and rushing into the cabin to inspect it.
[Name: Waterlogged Rotten Wood Chest]
[Type: Treasure Chest]
[Description: This may not be the kind of treasure chest you were hoping for.]
Lucas remained cautious, holding his flintlock pistol aimed at the chest. He used the spear to pry it open.
Inside was... a severed human head. It had no hair, its skin pale gray, and it seemed to be covered in some kind of slime. The moment the chest was opened, the head reacted, its murky eyes snapping open, and it began speaking.
"Sir, may I have a few minutes of your time to introduce you to the omniscient and all-powerful master?"
[You cannot understand its words. Your sanity decreases by 5.]
Lucas' scalp tingled, his body trembling. "Sir, may I..."
In the next instant, the head jumped out. Lucas saw its true form: it was an octopus with a human head, its lower half composed of twisted tentacles. It leapt toward him, stretching out its limbs, showing its sharp beak-like teeth, seemingly trying to bite Lucas. But it didn't get the chance...
"Boom!"
The gunshot rang out, echoing like a beast's roar.
The octopus exploded, its remains splattering into a mass of gooey flesh.
[Hearing the strange gunshot, your sanity decreases by 3.]
Lucas felt a surge of nausea rising from his stomach. He quickly checked his status.
Sanity: 88/100
Energy: 62/100
Vitality: 100/100
It seemed that losing sanity interfered with mental clarity. Fortunately, Lucas' mental attributes were high, and his willpower was strong as steel. He quickly regained his composure and started inspecting the creature's corpse.
[Name: Human-Headed Octopus]
[Type: Food/Material]
[Description: A deep-sea creature. Don't try to understand its speech, as that's merely a distraction to catch you off guard. However, if you do manage to understand it... well, let's just say, good luck.
Edible and can be used as material. Slightly toxic. Eating it will temporarily increase Strength +1, Constitution +1, but will decrease Sanity by 1 and reduce maximum Sanity by 20.]
[Tip: The maximum attributes of common objects are capped at 10.]
This thing still had some value.
Lucas gathered the pieces of meat and continued searching inside the chest. He found some rusty coins, one of which had a seashell design, with a cartoon octopus head on the back.
[You have acquired 100 Sea Conch Coins.]
Aside from that, the chest was empty.
Where was the fresh water?
And Sea Conch Coins were useless!
It was nearly dark now.
Lucas tossed the captain's skeleton into the cabin and returned to the captain's room. He had no intention of fishing or hunting during the night. The system had warned him about the dangers of nighttime, and he wasn't eager to take risks right from the start.
As for fresh water, he could try again tomorrow.
For food, he could always eat the long-legged sardines!
To survive, he wasn't above eating strange things, as long as they provided protein and energy.
He never gave up easily.
It was true in the past, and it would be true now!
He lay down on the old, damp bed, tossing and turning.
The bed had a musty smell, making it uncomfortable. But he had no choice.
The night fell completely.
Only the faint moonlight illuminated the surroundings, and the only sounds were the crashing waves and the howling wind. No other noise.
Lucas had no intention of sleeping, so he opened the world chat to take a look.
"Claw hooks can grab treasure chests," he posted.
This message didn't carry much weight because anyone who saw the treasure chest would naturally go after it.
But by sending it out, he could earn some goodwill and more information from others.
"It's true! I also grabbed a wooden resource chest and got 1 unit of steel, 20 units of wood, and 20 units of cloth."
"You'll be upgrading your boat soon, lucky!"
"Hehe... I got a bronze equipment chest and found a treasure!"
[A Blood-Stained Pearl Necklace]
[Type: Relic]
[Quality: Good]
[Description: It was once part of a bride's dowry... the owner is still looking for it.
Wearing it grants +1 Agility, -1 Spirit, and reduces Sanity max by 5.]
"Uh... that doesn't sound like much of a treasure..."
"You're just jealous of me!"
"So unlucky! My boat doesn't even have lights. Guess I'll need to upgrade first."
"I don't even have a blanket! I'm freezing to death!"
"I can't sleep!"
"Have you guys noticed the waves getting bigger?"
"The bigger the waves, the more expensive the fish. Let's go fishing!"
"Night fishing +1."
"+2."
"+10086."
"Did you hear that singing? It's so beautiful."
"No, don't scare me! What singing? There's no singing out here on the sea!"
"I saw her! A beautiful woman singing, she's waving at me!"
"Bro, watch out! That's a siren, hell no!"
"She's so beautiful, she's swimming toward me!"
"Bro, get inside the captain's room, lock the door!"
"Damn, he's been enchanted."
"..."
"Is he still around? Don't scare me like that at night!"
"Hello?"
No more messages came from that person.
Lucas frowned.
The system's warning was definitely not groundless.
He listened carefully, but didn't hear any singing. He stood up, opened the door to the captain's room, and carefully looked outside.
The door to the ghost ship was ancient and decaying, the lock long broken—it was merely decorative.
He slowly pushed it open and, using the moonlight, observed the surroundings for several minutes. Satisfied that there was no movement, he quickly rushed out, heading for the bow of the ship. He then adjusted the helm, reducing the boat's speed to 10 knots.
Slowing the boat down would reduce the chance of encountering monsters.
Stopping entirely wasn't a good choice either.
Lucas figured 10 knots was the perfect speed, keeping a safe distance from the black fog behind him.
After finishing everything, he returned to the captain's room, placed the flintlock gun by his bedside, and leaned the spear against the wall.
He continued to watch the chat channel for a while.
By late night, he finally fell asleep. The faint whispers in the air echoed in his ears as he drifted off, a furrow on his brow and cold sweat on his forehead, as if he were trapped in a nightmare.