Chapter 22: Rank Nine Female Player Douziyü

The sudden voice did nothing to slow Chen Sui's steps.

The player had already been in a foul mood, and this only made things worse. He shook off the people trying to hold him back, strode forward in a few quick steps, and grabbed Chen Sui by the shoulder.

"Hey — you deaf or something?"

Chen Sui turned around. "Something you need?"

"Don't play dumb. Why do you get to rent a boat?"

"Is that how you talk to people?"

Chen Sui scratched his head and shot the question back.

"Just answer me — quit stalling!" The player's temper finally exploded, as if he were taking out all the frustration the old boat-rental man had given him on Chen Sui instead. As he spoke, one hand shot out and grabbed Chen Sui by the collar.

The next second, a flash of blade-light cut through the air.

The hand that had seized Chen Sui's collar was cleanly severed from its owner, the stump obscured by a cloud of white smoke — the game's censorship effect.

Behind Chen Sui, a towering One-Armed Fishfolk had appeared at some point, gripping a long spear.

"Aaagh——"

The player clutched his severed wrist and staggered back several steps, screaming.

Immediately after, the Fishfolk behind Chen Sui swung its spear again, cleaving the player in two. The man dissolved into motes of light and vanished.

For a moment, every player in the area went dead silent.

No one dared make a sound. They just stared at the towering Fishfolk, terrified of being casually cut down next.

After all, the pain was very real — and dying meant a full day's respawn timer.

Chen Sui dusted himself off and straightened the collar the other player had crumpled.

Wasting words on someone like that was pointless. Cutting them down was simply the more efficient solution.

That was the true essence of playing this game.

With everyone watching, Chen Sui paid no mind to what the others thought. Without much of a pause, he continued walking toward the Fishing Boat Anchorage.

"Wait!"

But just then, another voice rang out from the silent crowd.

Chen Sui turned to look.

A female player stepped forward and stood in front of him. "I'll pay you. Take me on your boat."

Now that was the right way to have a conversation.

Chen Sui looked her over. She wore clothing that was considered quite refined for this fishing village — chestnut curls, a pretty and clean face, and beside her floated a red mutant Swordkiss Tricolor Fish.

She was clearly a veteran player, and clearly loaded.

Her username was Douziyü.

"That username… I feel like I've heard it before."

"How could you not? Isn't she the big miss who's Rank Nine?"

"Right, right, that's her — wait, isn't the big miss supposed to be on a different fishing island? What's she doing here?"

"No idea… maybe she got some kind of item?"

"……"

Chen Sui ignored the chatter around him and didn't rush to respond to Douziyü. Instead, he glanced over at the old boat man with a questioning look. The old man's expression remained blank; he turned and went back to his own business.

Chen Sui had his answer — the boat could carry passengers.

Satisfied, he looked back at her. "How much are you offering?"

"300 Fish Coins. I'm booking you for the whole day."

"I don't care what happens to you. I won't compete for whatever sea beast you're after, and you can't interfere with my original route. Agree to those terms and you can come aboard."

"Deal."

Douziyü flashed an OK sign.

The two struck their agreement quickly and boarded the boat without delay.

They sat at opposite ends. Chen Sui held out a paddle to her. "Here."

"I have to row too?"

Douziyü pointed at herself in disbelief.

"Why else do you think I let you on?"

Chen Sui nodded. Rowing was no easy task — his arms had cramped up from all the back-and-forth. He hadn't agreed to take a passenger for the sake of a few Fish Coins.

"You're my employer," Douziyü said. "What kind of employer rows their own boat?"

"Row or don't row — your choice. Don't row and I'll kick you overboard. Row, and once we're out at sea I'll share some tips with you."

Chen Sui held up the paddle.

"You…"

Douziyü was stunned. She had never met anyone like this — not an ounce of professional courtesy!

"3… 2… 1…"

"Fine, fine! I'll row!"

Chen Sui's countdown sent a jolt of urgency through her, and she quickly caved.

"That's more like it."

Chen Sui watched with satisfaction as she took the paddle. "You have to work for things. You have to have the right mindset. You can't just expect everything to be handed to you because you want comfort."

Douziyü rolled her eyes at him. "I've decided — you're incredibly annoying."

"Thanks for the compliment. Just don't slack off later."

Chen Sui gave a nod.

The two of them paddled in tandem, one at the front and one at the back, rowing out to sea.

They hadn't gone far before Douziyü's arms began to ache. But she glanced at Chen Sui, tightened her grip on the paddle, and kept rowing.

About an hour later, Douziyü's arms had gone nearly numb and she was ready to collapse — and then she finally heard Chen Sui say:

"Alright, we're here."

Douziyü let out a breath of relief and released the paddle, glancing around at their surroundings. "Where is this?"

"No idea."

Chen Sui shrugged. He had pushed as deep into the waters as possible, hoping for a better haul.

"No idea?"

Douziyü made a weary face, but she was starting to get a sense of Chen Sui's personality. She knew that pressing him further would get her nowhere.

By then, Chen Sui had already started chumming — scattering chum bait across the water's surface in every direction.

Douziyü watched with curiosity.

"What's that?"

"Chum bait. For chumming. You can buy it at the fishing village shop."

Chen Sui answered without looking up.

"Chumming?"

Douziyü half-understood. "Do we need fishing rods too?"

"You think this is real-life fishing?"

Chen Sui let out a short laugh.

"What do you mean?"

Douziyü asked.

Before she could finish, a massive swarm of fish shadows converged on the water's surface all around them.

Enormous dorsal fins sliced up through the waves.

"Wh— sharks?!"

Douziyü trembled all over and instinctively pressed closer to Chen Sui.

Chen Sui glanced around, his voice relaxed:

"This does look a lot like one of those pirate movie scenes — you know, stranded at sea with nothing but a piece of driftwood, sharks circling from all sides. Though there is one difference."

"What difference?"

Douziyü steadied herself a little at the calm in his voice.

"Sharks don't necessarily eat people," Chen Sui said.

"Huh?"

Douziyü's face froze.

And then a school of fish burst out of the water on all sides.

They lunged at the two of them all at once — seen from above, it would have looked like fireworks exploding in reverse, all converging inward.

"Aaaaaaaaah——"

A string of screams tore from Douziyü's throat.

"Fendou, save me!"

She cried out, and the mutant red Swordkiss Tricolor Fish appeared at her side — only to charge straight into the leaping school of fish and be shredded into slivers.

"My Fendou!"

Seeing that, Douziyü's cry turned even more heartbroken.

But in the blink of an eye, the oncoming fish were already right in their faces.

"Duck."

Chen Sui shouted.

The shout came fast and sharp, and with the situation as dire as it was, Douziyü instinctively ducked her head.

Whoosh—

A dark shadow spread over the two of them.

From outside came a rapid clang clang clang — the sound of fish slamming against the shelter above — followed by a series of splash splash splashes as they fell back into the water.

It was a good while before the noise finally began to die down.

Douziyü opened her eyes with lingering fear, raised her head, and found herself looking up at a massive black crab with a ferocious face looming over the two of them. Her face went a little pale.

"Wh… what is that?"

Other players couldn't see a pet's detailed information — all they could see was the name: "Shallows Terror Crab."

"It's my sea beast."

Chen Sui gripped the side of the boat and steadied himself, then looked up at the pale-faced Douziyü.

Douziyü didn't know what to say. She looked around, and suddenly remembered her Swordkiss Tricolor Fish that had just died. "My Fendou!"