Chapter 111: Chance Encounter with Chu Yi

Chapter 111: Chapter 111: Chance Encounter with Chu Yi

There were still more than ten people fighting. To get to the island, she had to go around them.

But because some on the periphery had backed off, someone had already spotted Shi Zhile.

Compared to the large raft, they were more interested in stealing the covered boat. So, the players who had been gathered around Chuyi split into two groups. One continued their attack, while the other started paddling their rafts by hand toward Shi Zhile.

The bow and arrow set she took out only had ten Arrow Fletchings. With the players all clustered together, it would be difficult to retrieve any she shot. This meant she had to hit a vital spot with every shot to minimize wasting them.

Shi Zhile stepped out of the cabin, nocked an arrow, and fired, piercing a player who was just getting close.

The player hadn’t expected her to strike so suddenly. Caught off guard, he was shot in the throat. He didn’t even have time to let out a muffled grunt before his body slammed heavily into the sea.

Shi Zhile lowered her gaze, putting away the bow. Her eyes swept over the restless players on the water as her fingertips touched a second Arrow Fletching.

"This boat isn’t for just anyone to board. My only goal is to reach the island. If you push your luck, you can all go in the water and feed the sharks."

The players who had been waiting for an opportunity froze at the sight. They stared warily at the figure on the boat, mentally debating whether their lives or the potential supplies were more important.

Shi Zhile aimed an Arrow Fletching at the man in the lead. "Do you want to die?"

The man shook his head and collapsed onto his raft.

Shi Zhile then looked at another person, who instantly averted his gaze.

And just like that, under the watchful eyes of the crowd of players, Shi Zhile rowed her boat away.

The instant her boat neared the raft, Chuyi cut down the player in front of him with a single slash, then used the momentum to leap aboard the covered boat.

Shi Zhile watched him with cold eyes, raising a hand to press an Arrow Fletching to his throat.

Before she could speak, Chuyi raised his hands and said,

"Shi Zhile, you don’t really have to kill me, do you? We teamed up before, after all. For Brother Nan’s sake, help me out of this, and I’ll give you supplies after we clear this instance."

Shi Zhile replied, "And what if you die in the instance? I’d be at a loss. No need to wait. Three bottles of water, right now, in exchange for passage on this boat for today."

So far, the system hadn’t warned that dehydration would deduct Life Value, but in these extremely hot conditions, the body’s need for water was immense.

Only by controlling the day’s water supply could she maximize her chances of not being killed by Chuyi.

Chuyi said, "We only get three chances to claim supplies a day. Three bottles of water is all three of my chances. If I give all my water to you, I might as well be dead in your eyes."

Shi Zhile pressed the Arrow Fletching closer. "If you’re not willing, you can leave right now!"

Without the oars propelling it, the covered boat came to a stop.

With no players left on it, the large raft had disintegrated back into pieces of drifting wood.

He had no way to retreat. If he left the boat, he would have to go back to fighting the other players, which would only waste his strength.

The commotion was too loud. In the distance, the faint figures of more approaching players could be seen.

The remaining seven or eight players were scrambling for the scattered pieces of wood, but one or two ambitious ones still had their eyes on Shi Zhile’s boat.

More accurately, they were staring at Shi Zhile and Chuyi.

In their eyes, the two of them—one with a number 2 over their head, the other a number 7—were extremely wealthy players.

If they could just kill one, not only could they clear the instance safely, but they would also get a massive amount of supplies.

It was a low-risk, high-reward situation, well worth the gamble.

They were even hoping the two would start fighting. That way, no matter who was injured, it would be a perfect opportunity for them to swoop in and profit from the conflict.

Once the wood was salvaged, the other players’ attention shifted entirely back to the pair.

Finally, Chuyi relented. "I’ll trade you two bottles of water a day."

Surrounded by nearly ten other players, if the two of them started fighting, they would just be asking to die.

"Deal!"

Chuyi continued, "You don’t have to worry about me killing you for the boat. As long as Brother Nan is alive, I won’t make a move on you."

Shi Zhile had just lowered the Arrow Fletching, but she immediately pressed it against his neck again.

"Jiang Yuxing’s life is tied to mine. If that’s your condition, then you can just go and die!"

She applied pressure with her hand, and fresh blood began to stream from Chuyi’s neck as the force increased.

Chuyi fell backward, one hand desperately gripping the arrowhead.

"If we fight, they’ll all swarm us in an instant. If you really want to kill me, fine, we can settle this on the island. But we can’t just hand over all these rich supplies and the chance to clear the instance to them."

Shi Zhile withdrew the Arrow Fletching and tossed the oar to him.

"I saved you the first time we were in an instance, and I just saved you again. So, you’re on rowing duty."

Chuyi took the oar, casually pulled out a sun parasol to rest on his shoulder, then handed two bottles of water to Shi Zhile and began to row.

After taking the water, Shi Zhile went back into the cabin. As the boat got moving, the eager players started to give chase again.

Paddling a raft by hand was slow, and while they couldn’t catch the covered boat, they continued to follow, never too close and never too far.

Two of the players had oars. They tried to hide behind the others, but since everyone else was crouching to paddle by hand, the two of them stood out as soon as they stood up to row.

Shi Zhile nocked an arrow and took aim, focusing all her unvented killing intent from before on them.

The arrow flew from the string, plunging straight into the chest of one of the standing players.

The Arrow Fletching was off-center and didn’t kill him instantly, but because he was injured, the other players swarmed his raft to snatch his oar.

Seizing the opportunity, she fired two more arrows, successfully throwing the pursuers into chaos.

The closer they got to the island, the more players they encountered.

Whenever players considered trying to steal the boat, the sight of two people aboard—one of them being Shi Zhile with her bow and arrow—was enough to intimidate them.

The sun set, and the day passed quietly.

They were roughly 600 meters from the island.

As the last sliver of light vanished from the sky, the sea plunged into complete darkness, leaving only the sound of the tide echoing in their ears.

As if by some unspoken agreement, none of the players were fighting or killing where they had stopped for the night.

A stove in the cabin emitted a faint glow. Shi Zhile placed some sun-dried wood into it and lit a fire, then placed a piece of fish on top to roast slowly.

Chuyi placed the oar in the cabin, then ducked inside himself and sat down across from Shi Zhile.

Staring at the stove, Shi Zhile couldn’t help but think of a dream she once had.

"A piece of fish for a piece of information. How about it?"

Leaning back against the cabin wall, Chuyi opened his eyes. "Tell me what you want to ask first."

"About Jiang Yuxing."

Without hesitation, Chuyi took the half-cooked fish she offered.

Shi Zhile picked up a fully cooked piece for herself. After swallowing a bite, she asked, "You three are from the interstellar. What did you come here for?"

"For a mission."