The Gourmet
The Nightmare Star gradually approached, pulling a large sailboat and stopping about 300 meters from the Fortune.
At this distance, a regular bow and arrow would never reach.
Lucas Hall jumped down from the mast, his brows furrowing.
"How strange, there's not a sound. Did this person get on the island?"
"Or... is he hiding, trying to outsmart me?"
Lucas scanned the Fortune.
It was a sailboat less than twenty meters long. At first glance, it seemed ordinary, but on closer inspection, it was even more plain.
"Seraphina, take the helm, I'll try launching a few shots at it!" Lucas said.
He retrieved some stone units from the cabin. Each stone unit was about the size of a cubic decimeter and weighed about five or six pounds, just right for a trebuchet.
He was going to fire a few shots to see if anyone was aboard.
After aiming, Lucas fired immediately.
He had been using the trebuchet for a few days, so his experience was considerable. The first shot landed precisely on the Fortune's deck, creating a loud noise but not piercing the deck.
"It's pretty sturdy."
He fired six or seven more shots, and one of them created a hole in the deck, but there was still no movement.
"Seraphina, get closer. Let's make a hole in the hull and see if there's anyone hiding inside!" Lucas instructed.
He had pulled this trick on others before, so he was extra cautious, making sure not to mess it up this time.
But... he had overestimated things.
The Fortune's hull was quickly sliced off by a sharp barb from the Bobbitt Worm, revealing the interior of the boat.
But there was nothing inside!
Lucas stood dumbfounded, a slight awkwardness crossing his face.
After all the effort, it turned out he was just battling with thin air.
He didn't hesitate anymore and directed Seraphina to dock, set up a bridge, and, holding a flintlock gun, prepared to board the Fortune.
And then... he boarded without any resistance.
Ten minutes later, Lucas received a log notification that the Fortune was dismantled.
This meant the boat's owner was completely gone.
"But how did he do it? How did he die so quickly?" Lucas complained to Seraphina.
"I arrived at dawn, and it hasn't even been an hour! Even if I sent a pig to the island, it wouldn't have died this fast! I've already killed most of the spiders on the island!"
"I don't know, should we throw more poison?" Seraphina asked.
"No, I don't think it's the spiders. We'll just be extra careful!" Lucas replied.
Ultimately, Lucas dismantled the Fortune and decided to go to the island to get revenge!
The loot obtained was as follows: black bread2, freshwater2L, wood23, cloth15, and a fishing rod.
[Dismantled the Fortune, you gained wood143, cloth95]
The ship was destroyed, and of course, the dismantling yield was reduced.
A few hours earlier, before dawn, the Fortune had just docked.
Captain Li Rong tossed his fishing rod aside and waded ashore.
Lucas never expected Li Rong to be so bold, daring to land on the island at night.
"Heh heh, coming ashore in the dark, an unexpected move! There's no way there's an ambush!" Li Rong thought to himself proudly, his eyes bloodshot.
If he had glanced at his stats, he would have realized...
Li Rong
Energy: 67/100
Sanity: 42/100 (Mad — Arrogant)
Vitality: 100/100
After landing, Li Rong pulled out his mountain-cutting knife and swaggered toward the island.
He planned to search for fireweed in the dark. And maybe, just maybe, he'd find a treasure chest.
If he got the recipe for fireweed clothing, he would strike it rich!
But Li Rong only walked a few steps before stopping.
He smelled something incredibly delicious.
"This smells amazing!"
[You smell a sweet fragrance. Sanity -10]
Li Rong followed the scent and found a pile of "chocolate" stuck to the ground.
There were maggots crawling all over it, but Li Rong ignored them.
Perhaps it was the poor visibility in the dark, or some other reason.
Li Rong scooped up the chocolate with his hands, inhaling deeply.
"It smells so good!"
[The fragrance overwhelms you. Sanity -10]
[Sanity drops below 30. You experience an unusual craving.]
Li Rong devoured the chocolate in one bite, a look of satisfaction spreading across his face.
"Delicious!"
In his hunger, he ate all the chocolate on the ground, even scraping off a layer of dirt, his belly swelling, and his fingers and nails turning outwards.
As for his mountain-cutting knife? He had thrown it away a long time ago.
"Thank you, nature!" Li Rong's face twisted with pleasure.
His nose twitched...
"There's more?"
Li Rong quickly ran to the next pile, scooping up another mess of rotten leaves and eating it with a blissful look on his face.
[You've eaten something unprecedentedly delicious, your body and mind are satisfied. Sanity -20]
[Sanity below 10...]
Before heading to the island, Lucas checked his own status.
Status: Healthy
Strength: 4 (97/100)
Spirit: 7+1 (2388/8000) [Talent Bonus]
Agility: 5+1 (23/200) [Pirate Gear Bonus]
Constitution: 4 (99/100)
Perception: 5 (172/200)
Sanity: 100/100
Energy: 72/100
Vitality: 100/100
Talent: Iron Will, Rejects Death
Special Status: Spider's Kiss
During this period, his agility had grown a little, bringing it to the human average of 5, making him faster and more nimble than before. His strength and constitution were also almost leveled up, with perception not far behind.
But his spirit growth was especially hard to come by.
Higher attributes grew much slower than lower ones.
After preparing, Lucas and Seraphina exchanged a glance, nodding in agreement.
They disembarked directly and headed into the forest.
Lucas was looking for the footprints of the Fortune's captain.
It wasn't hard to spot.
Since those who disembarked had waded through the water, their footprints were clear on the muddy ground.
"This person got on the island and died quickly, stay alert!" Lucas warned Seraphina, leading the way.
He still didn't know that the other party had gone mad and decided to land at night.
Lucas followed the trail and quickly found a mountain-cutting knife discarded nearby.
[Name: Ordinary Mountain-Cutting Knife]
[Type: Treasure]
[Quality: Ordinary]
[Description: An ordinary mountain-cutting knife.]
This knife was of low quality.
To be brave enough to land on the island with such a weapon only proved this person's courage, or perhaps, their skill!
Soon, they noticed a special trace nearby.
A layer of dirt had been scraped away, but not deeply, and nothing was buried.
Lucas was momentarily puzzled.
Seraphina, standing behind him, with her more sensitive nose, sniffed and looked up.
"This is..."
She noticed a torn piece of cloth hanging from a tree branch above and immediately understood.
"Lucas, it seems this person ate the rotten meat you tossed in?"
"Huh? No way! That meat had maggots in it. Even if it smelled good, there's no way anyone would eat it!" Lucas replied, looking in the direction Seraphina was pointing, seeing the piece of cloth.
"He really ate it?" Lucas felt a shiver of horror.
"He didn't even check what it was, just ate it right away. This can't be blamed on me!"