Chapter 73: Sunken Ship Ruins

Chapter 73: Chapter 73: Sunken Ship Ruins

The current grew stronger, and Jiang Yuxing pulled out an iron chain, binding the three of them firmly together.

Shi Zhile wanted to move independently, but Jiang Yuxing held her back.

"The deep sea isn’t like dry land. There are too many unknown monsters on the ocean floor. If we get separated, we’ll be easily surrounded."

Shi Zhile nodded obediently and turned to Wang Peng. "What’s the point of this game?"

Wang Peng scratched his head and glanced at Jiang Yuxing. "To survive, I guess! Don’t you Earth people have that saying about living and dying together? And you guys are pretty ruthless..."

For a rare change, Jiang Yuxing’s expression soured instantly. He cut in sharply, "Shut up! Talk less, or you’ll end up with a mouthful of seawater."

Shi Zhile looked away, silently processing the information.

’Earth people? You guys?’

’What an interesting choice of words!’

’Doesn’t he know that in the eyes of Huaxia people, there are only two kinds of beings on Earth: Huaxia people and dogs?’

’He said ’you guys,’ not ’us.’ What does that imply?’

’That he, Wang Peng, and Jiang Yuxing aren’t Earth people?’

’Jiang Yuxing radiates some kind of unknown energy, and Wang Peng is close with him. Maybe they really aren’t from Earth.’

’Could they be transmigrators on a mission, like in novels?’

’If that’s really the case, then in their eyes, aren’t Earth people just like fictional characters?’

’She finally understood Jiang Yuxing’s reason for trying to seduce her. He’s trying to ’conquer’ her. He needs favorability points!’

’In that case, she didn’t have to feel guilty about getting supplies and information from him.’

Her head buzzed as a powerful suction pulled the three of them into the waterspout.

The vortex churned, spinning and spinning and spinning. Shi Zhile felt the world turn upside down, as if she had been tossed into a washing machine and was being churned around.

The choking sensation she expected from inhaling seawater never came. She took a cautious breath; no water entered her nose.

Wang Peng shouted in excitement, "WOOHOO! Go ahead and breathe! You can’t inhale water in here!"

"Shut up!"

After what felt like an eternity, long enough for Shi Zhile to feel like her brains had been blended into a smoothie, they finally stopped moving.

Before she could even get her balance, Shi Zhile couldn’t stop herself from dry-heaving.

’So dizzy! My head is spinning and my heart is pounding!’

The dizziness that spread from her head throughout her body, and the nausea that rushed from her chest to her brain—neither would go away.

Jiang Yuxing patted her on the back with one hand while holding out a bottle of water with the other.

Wang Peng swiftly unfastened the chain and surveyed their surroundings. "Looks like we’re on the ocean floor. Sister Zhile, I know you feel like puking, but hold it in for a second. Look at that sunken ship up ahead. It’s huge!"

Shi Zhile took a moment to recover, but the dizziness didn’t fade. Seeing the two men looking completely unfazed, she felt a flicker of admiration.

’They aren’t even dizzy?’

’A transmigrator’s plot armor really is something else.’

She looked in the direction Wang Peng was pointing and could only vaguely make out a dark silhouette.

Everything was dim. Thick seaweed carpeted the ground, and a small flatfish swam past her face.

She reached out to grab it, but the dizziness made her dry-heave a couple more times.

As she moved, she felt the familiar resistance of water.

"Let’s go take a look."

There was no need to walk; a gentle push with her legs was enough to make her float.

As they neared the sunken ship, they finally saw what a behemoth it was.

The trio entered through a crack in the uppermost part of the ship. Wang Peng led the way through a pitch-black corridor and into the main cabins.

The cabins were pitch-black, the kind of dark where you can’t see your own hand in front of your face. Jiang Yuxing took out three flashlights, switched them on, and handed one to each of the others.

"Everyone search the vicinity for supplies. Don’t leave the cabins. When you’re done, we’ll meet back here. If you run into trouble, flash your light at the ceiling twice."

With the instructions given, the three split up. Shi Zhile headed in the opposite direction of Jiang Yuxing.

Her flashlight beam cut through the murky water. Shi Zhile explored cautiously, stowing every box-like object she found into her backpack.

Her infinite inventory slots proved immensely useful here. Because the boxes were unopened, the system registered them as a single type of item, allowing them to stack.

The ship’s walls were made of iron. After soaking underwater for years, they were clearly rusted. In the beam of her flashlight, she noticed scratch marks of various lengths, some of them overlapping, covering the walls.

She ran her fingers over them gently. The more she felt the marks, the more familiar they seemed.

Scattered boxes on the floor blocked her path. She bent down to pick one up and saw the same deep marks etched into it.

After stowing the box in her backpack, she continued slowly along the wall. The closer she got to the corner, the more small, miscellaneous objects she found scattered about.

There were small, exquisitely patterned ceramic bowls and fruit platters, shattered glass teacups and wine bottles, and even perfectly preserved oranges and apples scattered all over the floor.

The extremely low temperatures and high salinity of the deep sea had likely preserved these items.

The wall at the corner had even more overlapping marks. Observing them closely, she finally recognized what they were.

’These are... slash marks. This ship must have been attacked, robbed, and its people slaughtered before it sank. But if it was robbed, why are there still so many supplies left?’

Having searched all the nearby boxes, Shi Zhile headed back the way she came.

When she arrived, Jiang Yuxing and Wang Peng were already back at the meeting spot.

Shi Zhile brought out the blueprint of the ruins, and only then did they realize they were in the ballroom.

The ship had three upper decks and one lower deck. The top deck was one large, open-plan ballroom. The second deck was divided into many small rooms, likely guest rooms.

The third deck and the one below the cabins weren’t labeled, but going by the typical layout of a large vessel, those two levels were probably the galley and food storage.

Shi Zhile pointed to the map and voiced her theory.

"If this ship really was attacked by pirates, I suspect most of the supplies were already taken. The bottom two decks are probably full of corpses."

Jiang Yuxing replied, "That’s possible. In a cold, low-oxygen environment, the bodies in the cabins would be incredibly well-preserved."

"I found a few oranges in a corner earlier. I checked them, and not only was the peel intact, but the fruit inside was perfectly fine, too."

Hearing this, Wang Peng’s mind instantly conjured up images of corpses opening their eyes. He became reluctant to proceed, sticking close to Jiang Yuxing as if trying to offload half of his fear onto him.

Jiang Yuxing shook off Wang Peng’s clinging hand, shot him a look of disgust, and took the lead, heading for the second deck.

The visibility on the second deck was even worse. Shi Zhile opened a door and stepped inside first.

The room was small, containing only a large bed and a shattered nightstand.

Just as she was about to leave, she saw Wang Peng pull something from the nightstand and furtively shove it into Jiang Yuxing’s hands.

Jiang Yuxing frowned and tried to push it back, but Wang Peng just gave him a suggestive look. "Keep it. Trust me."

Shi Zhile stepped forward curiously. "What treasure is worth all this secrecy?"

Wang Peng coughed lightly. "Nothing much. Just... something for us to use."

"Medicine? It’s probably inedible after soaking in water for so long."

Wang Peng said, "...It’s not..."

"Oh, I get it. Contraceptives."

Wang Peng fell silent, a little curious as to how she knew.

Shi Zhile pointed to the large bed. "It wasn’t hard to figure out. Why do you think this room has a bed but no wardrobe?"

Wang Peng shook his head.

Shi Zhile continued, "Because this was a ’flower boat’—a floating brothel. Guests came to ’sleep,’ not to spend the night."

Jiang Yuxing suddenly felt as if the object in his hand was scalding hot. He slapped it back into Wang Peng’s arms and walked away without a second glance.