Chapter 255: I Just Want to Recruit a Little Brother

General Pei listened to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ message before replying solemnly.

"We respect Shen Yu’s personal wishes. We will not interfere."

His eyes never left the screen.

Meanwhile, in Pretty Nation’s live stream, host Jeff laughed exaggeratedly.

"Oh, is this Dragon Nation’s contestant planning to collect the corpse of that poor Hans Cat Country contestant? What thoughtful service!"

On the screen, Klaus slumped against the hot wooden planks. He stared blankly at the approaching coffin and the blurry figure standing atop it. A smile appeared on his face—one more painful than crying.

"The Grim Reaper..."

Why does he look Aloof?

The oddly shaped bone-and-wood coffin stopped about ten meters from the burning raft.

"I can save you."

Klaus’s dazed pupils refocused. He looked at the Grim Reaper standing not far away.

"But there’s one condition. Once you survive, you must listen to me. Whatever I tell you to do, you do it."

However, the raging fire, thick smoke, monstrous creature, and overwhelming despair had left Klaus’s senses confused and numb. He heard only one sentence.

I can save you.

Save me?

Ever since Lena had developed Deep-Sea Silence Syndrome, the staunch materialist had knelt in a church for the first time in his life to pray to God.

He prayed every day and every night, but God never answered.

Then he was selected for the Ocean Era. Forced into a desperate situation, he had set his mast on fire in one final attempt to survive.

And now, he prayed one last time.

Could this be... God’s response?

Under the flickering flames, the gentle smile on the other man’s face seemed exceptionally eerie. It looked more like a devil offering mercy while luring someone into a deal.

But so what?

For Lena, he had to survive.

Even if this was a contract with the devil, he was willing to offer his soul.

To the viewers watching from beyond the screen, however, Klaus appeared to be sitting there motionless.

The comments from Hans Cat Country were about to explode.

Respond to him, Klaus!

Damn it! Don’t be an idiot at a time like this!

Oh my God, I want to jump into the screen and answer for him!

That Dragon Nation guy might not be reliable, but damn it, just agree first!

The commanders of Hans Cat Country were in a panic, almost wishing they could jump into the game and agree on Klaus’s behalf.

But Shen Yu was patient.

Most of his attention remained focused on observing the serpent.

Once the viewers from Hans Cat Country quieted down, the giant creature finally noticed Shen Yu’s presence.

Its movements beneath the water slowed. The eerie green lights all turned toward Shen Yu, seemingly making eye contact with him through the flames.

Shen Yu realized that those lights were the compound eyes on the giant serpent’s head.

At that moment, Klaus moved.

He knelt on one knee on the wooden raft.

"I, Klaus Schmidt, accept the contract!"

Shen Yu: "?"

Is this some kind of unique ceremony in this world?

He did not care about the formality. As long as Klaus agreed, that was enough.

After all, a verbal agreement held no real power in a place like this. Shen Yu was merely establishing dominance over what might become a future team. If Klaus disobeyed, he could simply kick him off the raft and dissolve the partnership. No one could say anything about it.

"Get up!"

As the two boats crossed paths, Shen Yu lightly jumped onto Klaus’s wooden raft.

The already unstable raft sank a little farther under the weight of another adult man, looking even more precarious.

But Shen Yu noticed something.

The moment he jumped onto the burning raft, the unsettling gaze from beneath the water disappeared. The eerie green lights that had been staring at him sank deeper into the sea, no longer spying on him.

Whether the creature feared heat or light remained uncertain. But this could only mean one thing: its eyes were very fragile.

"Take it apart. Quickly!"

Shen Yu pointed at the mast, which was almost entirely consumed by flames. Its top glowed red, and sparks and ashes fell from it.

"No!" Klaus instinctively objected. "I reinforced the mast with double tenons and fixed it to the central pillar of the raft. If we take it down, the raft will fall apart even faster!"

Shen Yu gave him a silent look.

Big brother, if it falls apart slower, isn’t it still falling apart?

Klaus quickly shut his mouth.

He understood the meaning behind Shen Yu’s eyes.

If you don’t want to wait for death, just do it.

"This is insane," Klaus muttered as he quickly pulled out a screwdriver and began dismantling the mast.

In less than two minutes, the mast collapsed, sending sparks flying everywhere.

"All right. Now we’ll die faster," Klaus complained.

Shen Yu ignored him. As long as the job was done, that was all that mattered.

"When its head comes out later..."

He raised the remaining section of the mast, now only about two meters long, and handed it to Klaus.

"Use this to poke its eyes."

Before Klaus could ask anything else, Shen Yu jumped back onto his bone ship and paddled into the darkness, gliding several meters away.

Almost at the same moment, Shen Yu’s boat left the range of the firelight.

The giant shadow beneath the sea began to stir.

The eerie green lights reappeared.

This time, they no longer seemed content with merely watching. They rapidly rose toward the surface.

Klaus finally realized that the Dragon Nation guy was using him as bait.

Splash!

The surface of the sea split open, and the giant serpent’s head rose high above the water.

At that moment, every viewer watching the live streams felt a chill.

Those in Shen Yu’s live room were especially affected. They were staring directly at the creature.

It didn’t look like a snake.

It looked more like a grotesque catfish’s head magnified a thousand times, its tightly packed scales glistening with an oily sheen.

The sparkling light they had seen earlier was a slimy, flowing substance covering its scales.

It had a flat, broad skull.

No nose. No mouth.

Only more than ten pairs of bulging, ghostly green compound eyes, arranged irregularly. There were no pupils—only chaotic, eerie light.

Yet Shen Yu could clearly feel that every one of those eyes was fixed on him.

Chapter Ten: Dragon Nation’s Contestant Is Called Shen Yu

For a moment, the live streams’ tens of millions of comments seemed to be cut off.

A brief silence fell.

My sanity is gone.

What the hell? What the hell did I just see?

This thing really exists?

Those eyes make me want to vomit!

I’m covered in goosebumps!

How are we supposed to fight this? Run! Run as fast as you can!

Forget that Hans Cat Country guy. There’s no escaping now!

The boss has already been targeted. Turning his back means death!

It was as though the viewers could feel Shen Yu’s fear through the screen.

They could almost smell the cold stench of blood.

Jeff from Pretty Nation could no longer laugh.

Michael also unconsciously clenched his fists.

In Bear Nation, Sunset Nation, Hans Cat Country, and Gull Chicken Country, the gloating comments had almost completely disappeared. In their place was a faint, helpless dread.

In an environment like this, facing an unknown beast, an unarmed human being—no matter how proud he was of his strength among his own kind—looked utterly ridiculous.

Today, the monster might devour the contestants from Dragon Nation and Hans Cat Country.

Tomorrow, it could be their own country’s turn.

The sorrow of the dead spread quietly.

"Mr. Liddell," host Bill asked solemnly, "do you think Dragon Nation’s contestant still has a chance to survive?"

Liddell remained silent for a while before answering in a complicated tone.

"I don’t know. I only know that, whatever the outcome, he has earned my respect."

Only Stick Nation’s live stream continued jumping around inappropriately.

Ah, yes! He’s about to be eaten! Truly satisfying!

Let that Dragon Nation guy be arrogant! This is what he gets!

Swallow him in one bite!

But soon, their comments were drowned out by angry responses from viewers in other countries.

Shut up, you heartless people!

This is a disaster for all humanity!

At the center of the storm, Shen Yu felt his heart pounding wildly in his chest. His blood rushed faster, and his limbs tingled.

This was fear—a response rooted in biological instinct.

Yet, in the midst of that extreme fear, a long-missed excitement surged from deep within his spine.

An adrenaline rush.

His mind grew calm, and time seemed to slow down.

In his other life, he had dealt with even scarier possibilities but he still knew he wouldn’t die or he would revive after dying but now he lacks that confidence if he dies he dies his cheat system didn’t come with him.

He calmly watched the monster attack.

The deformed skull parted the seawater.

Many viewers instinctively closed their eyes.

But just as the monster was about to strike, Shen Yu sharply swerved sideways.

The coffin boat moved nimbly, turning its thicker, skeleton-reinforced side toward the impact.

Bang!

The coffin boat was knocked a full meter away and shook violently.