Chapter 43: Dungeon Cleared

Starting from the core explosion point, massive cracks rapidly spread across the hull of the colossal central ghost ship. Decayed timber and viscous substances disintegrated into nothingness in absolute silence.

The lead-gray sky reappeared. The sea breeze remained wild and the torrential rain poured on, but the lethal decay and oppressive dread emanating from the depths of the undead were rapidly dissipating!

[Warning: The core "Corrupt Blood Heart" has been destroyed!]

[Objective: Survive for 72 hours achieved!]

[Monthly Mandatory Instance – "Sailing Through Storms Together" is settling...]

[Settlement successful. The instance will close in thirty seconds, and players will be teleported back to their respective bound zones.]

The cold system prompt rang clearly in the minds of all surviving players once more, carrying the solemn announcement of conclusion.

"S-Succeeded?!"

Luoluo was the first to collapse softly onto the deck. It was impossible to tell whether the moisture on her face was rain or the tears of surviving a catastrophe, but her hands still tightly shielded the weakly rising and falling body of little Yue against her chest.

"Damn it all! We actually... survived!"

Chen Wu took huge, ragged breaths. The phantom of the mysterious turtle around him had long since dissipated. Leaning against the gunwale to barely steady himself, he wore a rugged, exhausted yet utterly relieved smile.

Aya slumped directly onto the ground, her tool pouch scattered nearby. Her very first action was to check on Zhizhi, whose fur was scorched, lying in the palm of her hand. The little creature let out a weak squeak, prompting Aya to release a long, trembling sigh of relief.

Moyu still stood silently at the bow. The black raven quietly landed back on his shoulder, his black robe unmoving amidst the abating storm, his profound gaze fixed upon the collapsing and scattering fleet of ghost ships before sweeping across the surviving companions on board.

"Ugh..."

The moment the system prompt sounded, Su Su, who had been stubbornly forcing herself to stand, let out a suppressed moan from deep within her throat.

Her complexion instantly turned as pale as paper. Her body backed down and slumped backward without warning, as if all her bones had been extracted in an instant.

Over-exhausting the [Hourglass of the Chen Hour] had nearly depleted all of her mental energy.

The massive backlash struck her sea of consciousness like an invisible, heavy hammer.

A wave of intense dizziness and a splitting, tearing headache instantly overwhelmed her.

"Su Su!"

Chen Wu was the closest and reacted the fastest. With a forward dash, he caught her in a single bound just before she crashed onto the wet deck.

Her body felt icy cold to the touch, trembling uncontrollably in slight convulsions, her gaze scattered and devoid of focus.

"Mental energy exhaustion... severe!"

Moyu had reached them by an unknown method, making a low-voiced judgment with just a single glance.

His hand quickly pressed onto Su Su's wrist, channeling an extremely faint warmth imbued with a peculiar vital force in an attempt to stabilize her rapidly plunging vital signs.

Luoluo and Aya also struggled to crowd around, their faces filled with worry.

At this moment, Su Su was no longer the calm, rational navigator who could always find a way out, but merely a frail, unconscious girl.

[Countdown: 10, 9, 8...]

The system countdown continued, cold and merciless.

Moyu spoke swiftly: "Her life is not in danger. She will need quiet recuperation in a safe zone after the teleportation."

He carefully lifted Su Su, resting her against his supporting arm to prevent her from lying directly on the cold deck.

Understanding immediately, Chen Wu removed a piece of thick canvas from his own person that was still relatively dry and wrapped it around Su Su.

Luoluo temporarily placed little Yue in a safe corner and joined Aya to clear away the splashed filth near Su Su.

[...3, 2, 1. Teleportation begins.]

Dazzling white light enveloped the tilted, floating, and battle-scarred symbiotic boat on the sea along with its five surviving passengers without warning.

"Su Su, be careful of everything when you wake up!" At the very last moment before the light completely swallowed their vision, Luoluo, Aya, and Chen Wu spoke almost simultaneously, their voices laden with care and injunctions.

The light flared and vanished in an instant.

When the glare receded, the boundless, storm-tossed, and crisis-laden sea surface had vanished completely.

Su Su collapsed onto the familiar grassland that belonged to her, wrapped in Chen Wu's canvas.

Little Tuanzi anxiously brought its big sister Su Su back into the pocket dimension to await its master's awakening.

Holding little Yue, whose breath was even fainter yet temporarily stabilized, Luoluo appeared beside a small stream. Tears welled up in her eyes once more, though this time they were tears of reassurance and lingering fear.

After resting for a moment, Luoluo gazed deeply at little Yue, as if having made a certain resolute decision, and produced a tube of lipstick emitting a faint red glow.

"Little Yue, I will definitely save you and bring you back."

Aya returned to the glacier with Zhizhi, who had soothing medicine applied to the scorched spot on her palm. The exhaustion of surviving the ordeal caused her to drop heavily onto the cold ground.

"Phew~ It's so good to be alive."

Aya lay flat on the ground, subconsciously checking her backpack. Her basic tools and a small amount of emergency materials were still inside.

Only... she would have to start searching for more cold-weather supplies once again.

Chen Wu's stalwart figure appeared within the rainforest. He took a deep breath of the humid air, shook his head, casually pinched a small, venomous, spotted snake attempting to launch a surprise attack, and tossed it over to feed the Mysterious Armored Turtle.

After finishing the meal, the turtle's shell grew glossier, and its size expanded just a fraction.

"Old buddy, this instance really owes its success to you. Eat up, build up your strength," Chen Wu murmured, stroking his Mysterious Armored Turtle with a sigh.

Meanwhile, Moyu reappeared soundlessly within the shadowed corner of an abandoned metropolis. The black raven perched upon his raised finger, silently watching the gradually whitening sky in the distance. No one knew what thoughts occupied his mind.

A shadow flashed by. Moyu casually projected a beam of black light; the shadow shattered, only to slowly coalesce once more.

A cheap, teasing voice sounded: "Tsk tsk tsk, how does it feel to carry newbies? This is a perk the game gives to veteran players like you. You must have reaped quite a harvest, right?"

"For a deity, you are truly noisy." Moyu looked helplessly at the shadow beside him.

"Do you even understand? This is called contrast! Contrast!"

"Let's talk business. In this instance, I encountered a female player who seemed to carry an aura similar to yours."

"Similar? Which deity... has awakened... this time..."

A flash of white light cut through, and Luke tumbled ungracefully onto a mountain path.

"Ugh, argh—!"

He curled up in the mud in agony, his fingernails digging deep into the cold soil.

[Warning: Player "Luke" suffered fatal damage within the instance and has been forcibly returned to the bound zone.]

[Executing penalty: Ten types of supplies deducted from the backpack.]

The cold mechanical voice exploded within his mind.

Ten items of carefully hoarded supplies vanished into dust instantly, a consequence far more suffocating than the penalty for failing an instance.

Luke vomited a mouthful of fluid tainted with the acidic taste of bile, struggling as he tried to summon the "Analyzer" to assess his own condition.

However—

[Spirit beast "Analyzer" status: Severe damage]

The phantom of the proud mechanical spider on his shoulder merely flickered and dimmed, a tiny yet fatal crack splitting across its compound eyes as it transmitted a stream of cold data.

His trump card, his "brain," was temporarily scrapped!

"Ha... ha... Su... Su Su..."

Why was it him... bearing the fury of the monsters and the heavy punishment of the system?!

"Just you wait... Su Su..."

Staring fixedly at the mud-stained gravel before him, his gaze dripped with poison, resembling an evil spirit crawling out from hell.

"My losses... my humiliation... I will take them back... bit by bit... from you..."