NOVEL NEXT chapter 47
The Nyxstar dragged its large sailboat closer and stopped about 300 meters from the Lucky Star.
At this distance, ordinary bows couldn’t even reach.
Yang Yi jumped down from the mast, frowning.
“Strange… why is there no movement at all? Did this person even get on the island?”
“Or… maybe he’s hiding, trying to play a sneaky trick on me?”
Yang Yi examined the Lucky Star.
It was a sailboat less than twenty meters long—at first glance, very ordinary; upon closer inspection, even more so.
“Suna, take the helm. I’ll fire a few shots and see!”
Yang Yi retrieved several units of stone from the cabin.
Each unit was about one cubic decimeter in volume and weighed five or six jin—perfect for a catapult.
(TL note: five or six jin = 2.5kg or 3kg)
He planned to fire a few shots at the sailboat to see if anyone was on board.
After aiming, Yang Yi launched the first stone.
He had been practicing with the catapult for days, and his experience showed: the first shot hit precisely on the Lucky Star’s deck, causing a huge commotion, but didn’t break through.
“Pretty sturdy.”
He fired six or seven more stones, one of which tore a hole in the deck—but still, no response from the other side.
“Suna, move closer. Make a hole in the hull so I can see if anyone is hiding inside the cabin!” Yang Yi instructed.
He had done this kind of sneaky attack before, so he was extremely cautious—there was no way he would fail here.
But… he had overthought it.
The bobbit worm had four sharp jaw blades, slicing off part of the Lucky Star’s stern in one bite, revealing the cabin inside.
But there was… nothing!
Yang Yi froze, a trace of awkwardness crossing his face.
All this effort… and it was just a battle of wits with empty air.
He no longer hesitated. He instructed Suna to move closer, set up a plank bridge, took his flintlock, and prepared to board the Lucky Star.
Then he… climbed aboard without any resistance.
Ten minutes later, Yang Yi received a log notification that the Lucky Star could be dismantled.
This meant the owner was completely dead.
“But how exactly did he manage it? How could he die so fast?
I arrived at dawn, and it’s been less than an hour!
Even if I had left a pig on the island, it wouldn’t die this quickly!
I’ve almost poisoned all the spiders on the island myself!” Yang Yi complained to Suna.
“How should I know? Want me to throw in some more poison?”
“No, I don’t think it’s the spiders’ fault. Just be careful next time!”
Finally, Yang Yi dismantled the Lucky Star and decided to go ashore to avenge him.
The supplies found: black bread x2, freshwater x2L, timber x23, cloth x15, a fishing rod.
As expected, destroying the ship reduced the dismantling yield.
***
Time rewinds a few hours. Before dawn, the Lucky Star had just docked.
Captain Li Rong dropped his fishing rod and waded ashore.
Yang Yi never expected Li Rong to be so daring, braving the night to go ashore.
“Hehe, sneaking onto the island in the dark, totally unexpected! There won’t be any ambush!” Li Rong said proudly, his eyes red.
If he looked at his own condition, he would see…
Li Rong
Energy: 67/100
Sanity: 42/100 (Madness—Arrogant)
HP: 100/100
Once ashore, Li Rong pulled out his machete and swaggered toward the island.
He intended to search for fire velvet grass in the dark.
And perhaps find any treasure chests.
If he found a recipe for the fire velvet coat, he’d strike it rich!
But Li Rong had barely walked two steps when he stopped.
He smelled an irresistible, sweet aroma.
“This smells amazing!”
[You smell a sweet fragrance, Sanity -10]
Li Rong followed the scent and found a patch of “chocolate” stuck to the ground.
It was crawling with maggots, but Li Rong ignored them.
Perhaps because it was dark, or for some other reason.
Li Rong scooped up the chocolate, brought it to his nose, and inhaled deeply.
“Delicious!”
[Aroma spreads, Sanity -10]
[Sanity below 30, you fall into abnormal hunger]
He swallowed the chocolate in one bite, his face showing unprecedented satisfaction.
“So tasty!”
He ate all the chocolate off the ground, even digging off a layer of soil. His belly bulged, fingers bent unnaturally.
The machete? Already discarded.
“Thanks to nature’s gift!”
Li Rong’s face twisted with delight.
His nose twitched…
“There’s more?”
He quickly ran to the next spot, picked up a pile of rotten leaves, and ate them, his face full of bliss.
[Eating an unprecedented delicacy, body and mind satisfied, Sanity -20]
[Sanity below 10…]
***
Before going ashore, Yang Yi checked his own status:
Status: Healthy [a green humanoid icon]
Strength: 4 (97/100)
Spirit: 7+1 (2388/8000) [talent bonus]
Agility: 5+1 (23/200) [pirate outfit bonus]
Constitution: 4 (99/100)
Perception: 5 (172/200)
Sanity: 100/100
Energy: 72/100
HP: 100/100
Talent: Iron Will, Refuse Death
Special Status: Spider’s Kiss
During this time, his agility had grown slightly, reaching the human average of 5. He ran faster and moved more flexibly.
Strength and constitution were close to leveling up; perception wasn’t far behind.
Only spirit was very difficult to improve.
Raising high attributes is far more difficult than improving low ones.
Once ready, Yang Yi and Suna exchanged a glance and nodded, signaling they were prepared.
They went straight ashore, heading ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) into the forest.
Yang Yi carefully looked for the Lucky Star captain’s tracks.
It wasn’t hard to find.
Anyone wading ashore would leave clear footprints in the muddy ground.
“This person got on the island and died quickly. Stay alert!”
Yang Yi warned Suna as he led the way.
He still didn’t know the truth—that the other man had lost his mind and chose to go ashore at night.
Yang Yi skillfully tracked, soon noticing a dropped machete.
[Name: Ordinary Machete]
[Type: Treasure]
[Quality: Ordinary]
[Description: A simple, ordinary machete.]
Its quality was low.
To go ashore with such a weapon, one had to either be incredibly brave—or really skilled.
They quickly noticed a peculiar mark nearby.
A patch of soil had been dug up, shallow, with nothing buried.
Yang Yi was puzzled.
Suna, standing behind him, had a keener sense of smell. She sniffed and looked up.
“This is…”
She saw a tattered cloth hanging from a branch above the mark and immediately understood.
“Yang Yi, I think this person actually ate the rotten meat you threw?”
“Huh? No way! That meat was crawling with maggots! Even if it smelled good, he wouldn’t actually eat it, would he?”
Yang Yi followed Suna’s pointing finger and saw the tattered cloth.
“Did he really eat it?” Yang Yi felt a shiver of horror.
“He didn’t check what it was before eating it. You can’t blame me for that!”