CH 107

(Jörmungandr)

The waves were constantly ebbing and flowing against the sandy shore. 

The players stared blankly at the deserted beach.

“How, how did it vanish?” Miss Long Skirt was struck.

The yacht was definitely stranded on this beach, and half of its body had already landed on the shore, making restarting the yacht impossible without assistance.

But now the players could clearly see that the yacht had vanished. 

“Unless…” Mr. Jacket’s voice was a touch dry, “There are other people on this island.”

Sister Glasses immediately thought of the primitive people depicted on the mural. Aside from their group of players, the indigenous people of this island were perhaps the most suspect.

There was only one issue. The yacht could not be pushed by one or two individuals given its size. If the yacht had been moved manually, there would have been traces on the beach, but now there was not even a single footprint.

The suspicion could then only be directed against the presence of non-human entities.

Sister Glasses and Mr. Jacket exchanged glances and simultaneously stated, “Daoxin Lake.”

When the players went for a walk around Daoxin Lake, only the tattooed man was killed, and he had been trapped by a black mysterious thing.

“But, what would a monster want the yacht for?” Miss Long Skirt questioned.

“In order to keep us from leaving,” Mr. Jacket remarked. 

Sister Glasses hesitantly noted: “If the situation is as we have speculated, the indigenous peoples’ homes are not far from this island and we can get there with a raft. So why remove the yacht?”

Mr. Jacket scratched his hair, a little irritated: “I don’t know, you ask the monster—”

While the players were preoccupied with the yacht’s disappearance, Shen Dongqing found another coconut tree on the beach. With his vigorous skills, he scaled the coconut tree in two or three movements with his strength, stood on top and shook the tree for a spell, and the ripe coconuts dropped to the ground one after the other.

Zhou Wenyan was waiting beneath to catch the guy above, but Shen Dongqing appeared to have noticed something since he was slow to come down. 

Shen Dongqing leaned against the coconut tree branches, gazed at the beach not far away, and muttered, “The island seems to be shrinking.”

Zhou Wenyan was perplexed as to what prompted him to say this, so he inquired, “Why?”

Shen Dongqing stood on it and gestured to the beach, saying, “I have climbed a tree before, and the footprints on the sand look to have shortened.”

When the players disembarked, they inevitably left a trail of footprints on the sand. Shen Dongqing had climbed the tree at the time to collect coconuts. As a result, he formed an impression, and when he examined it again, he realized that something was wrong. 

“You come down first,” Zhou Wenyan muttered, his attention returning to the beach.

Shen Dongqing mumbled “mn” and leapt from the coconut tree, landing in Zhou Wenyan’s clutches.

The two men approached, carrying fresh coconuts in their arms.

The players over there were already planning how to construct a raft. 

Zhou Wenyan told them about Shen Dongqing’s discovery.

Mr. Jacket obviously didn’t take it to heart, saying carelessly, “Maybe the footprints were washed away by the waves.”

This conclusion sounded more realistic in comparison to the island shrinking.

After all, how could such a large become inexplicably smaller? 

“Let’s go back to the rainforest and gather some wood to build a raft,” Mr. Jacket said.

It was easy to say, yet it stumped the group of players.

They weren’t professionals at wilderness survival, and they just had a small knife in their hands. Even if the smooth blade became notched and shattered, they wouldn’t be able to cut down a single piece of wood. Regarding the dead branches and rotten wood that fell on the ground, the raft would fall apart as soon as it was launched into the sea, not to mention the possibility of unknown creatures on the seafloor.

The plan was quickly abandoned. 

Mr. Jacket grabbed a dead branch, crumpled it into many pieces, and tossed it aside, as if venting his rage.

They squandered a day without even making a decent raft, and what worried the players even more was that the game didn’t give a time limit. In other words, if they couldn’t discover a way off the island, they might be stranded there for the rest of their lives.

Sister Glasses noticed Mr. Jacket’s bad mood and observed, “It’s only the second day, so relax. We haven’t checked the other side of the island yet; we’ll do so tomorrow.”

The island was medium-sized, and the players had only just reached the center after a day of walking. The majority of the island had yet to be examined and could hold important clues. 

Mr. Jacket took a deep breath and accepted Sister Glasses’ suggestion.

The players built a bonfire on the beach.

Shen Dongqing sat on the edge of the bonfire, his whole person sullen: “I don’t want to eat grilled fish again.”

Shen Dongqing was listless all day today because the grilled fish he had last night was so terrible. He’d probably want to die first if there was another supper like it. 

Shen Dongqing felt weak, but he had cursed this stupid game in his heart numerous times.

Zhou Wenyan thought of a solution as he caressed Shen Dongqing’s lowered head. He collected some crab shells washed up on the shore, placed them in a split open coconut, and boiled them in coconut water.

Soon after, a lovely aroma floated out.

Shen Dongqing was immediately drawn to the fragrance and looked at it with interest. 

Zhou Wenyan couldn’t help laughing when he saw his appearance. He picked up a shell using two twigs as chopsticks.

“Be careful of scalding…”

Shen Dongqing seized the shell and began to blow it “hu ss hu ss” before Zhou Wenyan finished speaking. He took off the shell and bit the flesh within when it was almost blown.

The seafood was fresh and sweet because it had been cooked in coconut water, quickly replenishing Shen Dongqing’s health bar. 

“Cmaejiis, la’r gjatfg oec tfgf,” rjlv Vtfc Gbcudlcu njuefis, ylalcu atf rtfii.

Ktf nlfk bo atf rfj kjr ubgufber, jcv atf rfjobbv kjr vfilmlber.

Vtfc Gbcudlcu’r lwqgfrrlbc bo atf lrijcv lwwfvljafis lwqgbnfv.

Vtfc Gbcudlcu yfujc ab offi vgbkrs joafg fjalcu jcv vglcxlcu tlr olii. Vdelcalcu lcab atf vlrajcmf, tf ifjcfv bc Itbe Qfcsjc’r rtbeivfg. 

He had to admit that the island’s night vista was spectacular. The sky was as clear as another sea, speckled with beautiful starry skies that seemed to be within grasp.

Shen Dongqing cocked his head and stared at it for a few moments before closing his eyes and falling asleep.

The waves awakened Shen Dongqing the next morning.

In a stupor, he opened his eyes to find that the waves had covered his ankles, his pants were wet, and the campfire was being engulfed by the water. 

The players began to stir one by one.

They had to believe that the island was truly shrinking based on the scene in front of them.

For their own safety, the players lit a bonfire in the midst of the beach and the jungle last night, so that no matter what happened, they could flee in time.

However, the campfire in the middle of the beach had now become the meeting point of the beach and the ocean, and was nearly submerged by the sea. 

Miss Long Skirt sprang up and moved away from the pounding waves, asking, “What’s going on?”

“The island is sinking!” exclaimed Mr. Jacket.

Sister Glasses’ face had become ugly: “It’s no wonder there’s no time limit! We will lose the game the day this island sinks.”

And at this rate, it wouldn’t be long before the entire island disappeared into the sea. 

“Let’s quickly go and explore the other side of the island,” Mr. Jacket said as he kicked the bonfire away.

The players realized time was running out, so they hastened their actions and rushed to the other side of the island.

The players had already hiked through the rainforest to the lake the day before, so their speed was faster, and they arrived at the island lake in less than two hours. Because of the presence of unknown monsters in the lake, the players were scared and refused to approach the lake on the island. They kept their distance and circled the island to the other side.

The players eventually found signs of human existence on the other side of the island. 

There were wet footprints on the moist and soft earth, as if they had just been fished out of the water.

Mr. Jacket quickly changed course, determined to find the indigenous people.

Shen Dongqing took a sniff and snorted.

Zhou Wenyan observed his small movement and inquired, “What’s wrong?” 

“It stinks,” Shen Dongqing said in disgust.

The scent of rotting leaves was already pervasive in the woods, but Shen Dongqing detected a fishy odor as well. It smelled like drowned ghosts.

It was natural to see drowned ghosts in the sea, but the fishy odor of the water was so intense that it appeared as if a hundred drowned ghosts were moving in a neat formation.

“This way, you can’t smell it,” Zhou Wenyan pinched Shen Dongqing’s nose wickedly. 

Shen Dongqing: “Uh-huh-”

I can’t smell it anymore, but I can’t breathe either!

Shen Dongqing slapped Zhou Wenyan’s hand away angrily, glaring at him with his misty black and white eyes.

Zhou Wenyan laughed and raised his palms, signaling that he wouldn’t do it again. 

The two of them had lingered here so long that the other players had discovered aboriginal traces.

Mr. Jacket discovered a person standing behind a tree, displaying a gleaming arm with the appearance of chubbiness. He simply sighed inwardly, thinking that the aborigines’ cuisine was excellent, and approached the figure.

“We’re visitors that ended up here by accident, you…” Mr. Jacket stated as he extended his hand to the aborigine.

Before Mr. Jacket touched the aborigine’s body, he noticed the man’s head turn around and a swollen face stare straight at him. 

Mr. Jacket yelled obscenities and kicked the aborigine away.

The aborigine appeared to be fat, but he didn’t weigh much, so he flew out straight with one kick and burst open with a bang like an inflated balloon.

Internal organs, flesh, and mucus splashed everywhere, and the entire mess collapsed, accidentally drenching Mr. Jacket’s face.

Miss Long Skirt, who was one step behind him: “Blaargh—” 

Before Mr. Jacket could feel sick, he heard rustling sounds all around him. He turned his head and was met by a face hanging upside down. He barely avoided making in-depth contact.

Mr. Jacket was terrified and stood frozen in place, not promptly kicking the thing away.

The thing dangling from the tree was a corpse. It had been submerged in water for an extended period of time and had swelled to the size of a giant. The corpse was far too bloated to discern its original features, but something seemed to have kept it from decomposing, allowing it to appear human and scare others.

Mr. Jacket began stammering in several dialects and finally managed to utter, “Run—” 

Regrettably, it was too late.

The things from the surrounding woods came right on time to encircle the three trapped prey.

“What, what shall we do?” trembled Miss Long Skirt.

Mr. Jacket wiped the mucus from his face and yelled, “Shut up!” 

“We can only rush out,” Sister Glasses remarked, picking up a large and robust branch to defend herself.

“But, but…” Miss Long Skirt was about to cry, “There are so many…”

Nobody knows how many people drowned here. The glistening pale corpses formed an impassable wall around them, and two bodies were even hanging from the trees.

“Then just wait here to die!” 

Mr. Jacket and Sister Glasses raced out after speaking, taking care of each other. Miss Long Skirt had no choice but to follow, despite her terror.

There were simply too many drowned ghosts. The damp spots that ran down their bodies created little puddles, and the ground became quite muddy. They would sink if they were not careful. Even walking was tough, let alone fleeing.

After a brief delay, the players were surrounded by drowned ghosts once more.

Mr. Jacket couldn’t hold on any longer as the drowning ghosts kept coming. 

“What are you guys doing?” asked a voice not far away at this point.

Mr. Jacket was ecstatic for a moment – the other players were here to help! — but then he realized that there were only two newcomers besides them.

It was good enough that the two newcomers were not scared silly by this scene.

Mr. Jacket could only yell at them: “Run!” 

Anyway, even if they came over, they would sacrifice their lives in vain, so it was better to flee quickly.

This brief interruption was enough for a drowning ghost to seize the opportunity, and Mr. Jacket was too late to defend himself. He could only watch helplessly as the bloated face approached…

Right then, a stone soared over and directly struck the drowned ghost on the forehead. The drowned ghost recoiled repeatedly under the impact of the force, eventually losing balance and falling to the ground.

“Are you sure?” Shen Dongqing questioned as he clutched another stone, head cocked. 

If Mr. Jacket let them go, it appeared like they would turn around and depart.

Mr. Jacket yelled without hesitation, “Save me—” and knelt, abandoning all integrity.

There were far too many drowned ghosts, and after being drenched in water, they had turned white and fat, crammed together like glutinous rice balls.

Shen Dongqing: “I think…” 

Zhou Wenyan, who had grown accustomed to his outlandish notions, abruptly stopped him: “No, you don’t want to.”

“OK,” shrugged Shen Dongqing.

After the gathering of drowned ghosts froze for a moment, they noticed two more living persons and hurried over with joy.

Shen Dongqing kicked one in the air. These drowned ghosts didn’t seem to have a high IQ. It struggled to get back up after being kicked. 

Shen Dongqing was so annoyed that he found the leader of the drowned ghosts in the crowd, and quickly grabbed and pressed it to the ground.

The drowned man struggled desperately to get to his feet.

“It’s so ugly,” Shen Dongqing shook his head and said as he trod on the drowned ghost. “That’s why I hate drowned ghosts the most.”

Drowned Ghost: …Huh? 

Is this racism?

“Look at you guys,” Shen Dongqing muttered, disgusted. “You’re so ugly, clumsy, and dumb. Did you lose your mind when you died?”

The other players: ….

“They drowned, so they must have had water get in (their brains), right?” Miss Long Skirt whispered. 

The drowned ghost wept.

Say whatever you like, but no personal attacks!

Shen Dongqing kicked the leader of the drowned ghosts and asked, “How did you all die?” after noticing the drowned ghost’s dull appearance.

The drowned ghost’s IQ was, indeed, low. It could only make “Ah ah” noises and couldn’t communicate in any way. 

Shen Dongqing grasped some of it. The drowned ghost shouted things like “sink,” “drown,” and “turn over.”

Seeing that he couldn’t ask anything, Shen Dongqing moved his foot away: “Fine. For the sake of your mental deficiency, I’ll let you go. Get up and scram! I don’t bully disabled ghosts.”

The drowned ghost who was bullied by language: …

The ghosts may have taken a critical hit and were no longer in the mood to find a substitute, receding like a tide. 

Miss Long Skirt’s legs went slack and she sank to the ground after getting out of danger, and Sister Glasses and Mr. Jacket were too choked to get up after sitting on the ground.

Sister Glasses gasped, “Why are there so many drowned ghosts.”

“Aborigines,” Zhou Wenyan said, wrapping his arms around his shoulders and leaning against a tree beside him.

The indigenous people painted on the mural. 

A painting depicted the aborigines leaving a group of clansmen to guard the snake god on the island after offering sacrifice to the gods, and the group of drowned ghosts should be those clansmen.

After their recent encounter, the players were entirely sure of these two guys and had no questions about Zhou Wenyan’s guess.

“It’s just…” Sister Glasses wondered, “Why did they all drown?”

“We’ll know if we go up and have a look,” Zhou Wenyan said, looking to the opposite side. 

He noticed that the mountaintop was the island’s highest point.

The players hiked to the summit before nightfall, just in time for a commanding view of the entire island.

The island was circular in shape, with the lake in the heart. The lake was also circular and centered, like a large ring containing a small ring.

However, the aboriginal residences painted on the murals were nowhere to be seen. The island was encircled by a wide ocean of only blue. 

Mr. Jacket: “Impossible! The murals clearly show it’s nearby…”

“The murals may be exaggerated,” observed Sister Glasses.

Mr. Jacket: “But where did those aborigines come from?”

The players found no evidence of human life along the route, implying that the aborigines must have come from other islands. 

Zhou Wenyan contemplated the island below. His back sank suddenly, and he turned to see Shen Dongqing resting on his shoulders.

“Did you uncover any clues?” yawned Shen Dongqing, wrapping his arms around Zhou Wenyan’s neck.

Zhou Wenyan: “I thought of yesterday’s snake.”

The snake they encountered on the road yesterday, as well as the murals painted on the cave walls, all depicted snakes biting their tails and joining together to form a ring. He was wondering what they were implying. 

While they were contemplating, Miss Long Skirt suddenly exclaimed: “I remember!”

After drawing the attention of others, she bowed her head slightly in embarrassment, lowered her voice, and said, “Yueermangangde.”

The tattooed man had mentioned the name of the island was “Yue something something de,” which happened to match this name.

None of the players present had heard of this name, and even if they wanted to take out their mobile phone and Baidu it, there was no signal on this island, so they could only be caught unprepared. 

Miss Long Skirt recalled something again and said, “This name is a monster in Norse mythology; the World Serpent. It is connected from end to end to form a world.”

The players were reminded of the totem portrayed on the mural, which was likewise a snake connected end to end.

Mr. Jacket: “Even if we know the name of this island, for us now…” Halfway through the sentence, he abruptly came to a halt, his eyes widening, “This island—”

Zhou Wenyan calmly explained the facts: “We are on the back of a python.” 

So it wasn’t the yacht that vanished, but the whole island was disappearing.

This was a rootless island. It was constantly moving and floating up and down at the same time, causing the island’s size to diminish inadvertently.

Concerning the aborigines, they probably discovered the island and came ashore during Jörmungandr’s movement. They thought they had witnessed a miracle, so they returned and brought offerings to the snake god.

But because Jörmungandr was not set in place and did not always float on the water, it was impossible for wildlife, let alone humans, to dwell on the island. 

And what the drowned ghost just said was most likely that this snake turned over and all the people drowned.

“Then what should we do now?” Sister Glasses asked, her voice lowering for fear of rousing the behemoth.

Mr. Jacket commented, “The island is constantly moving. Even if there is a shipping or air route nearby, we have no way of requesting help from others, let alone leaving this place.”

Zhou Wenyan: “Who said no?” He paused before adding, “Do you remember the game’s instance clearance requirements?” 

Shen Dongqing eagerly raised his hand, striving to be a good student: “I remember—find a way to leave this island.”

“Then swim out; doesn’t that count as leaving?” Zhou Wenyan asked lazily.

The other players hesitated.

After all, there may be a colossus on the seafloor, and it might be a snake the size of an island. Humans are always afraid of the unknown. 

Mr. Jacket: “We obviously can’t swim under the water…”

Needless to say, the creatures who had previously seized the tattooed man were far more difficult to deal with than the drowned ghosts. They would almost certainly encounter those creatures if they swam out directly.

Shen Dongqing proposed a particularly reasonable suggestion: “Kill them all.”

He couldn’t swim, but killing them was no problem. 

Isn’t it very simple?

The other players: Hehe, it’s oh so simple…

Zhou Wenyan put forth a more reliable suggestion: “The aborigines must have boats.”

Those aboriginals must have never thought that the rugged island would suddenly sink, rendering their boats useless, and they drowned as a result. They might be able to find a boat if they went looking for it. 

The players were fully energized by the prospect of leaving the island, and after spending the night on the mountain, they headed out to find a boat as soon as it was light. They actually found a wooden boat while looking around in the woods where the drowned ghosts roamed.

The wooden boat had been exposed to the elements and did not appear to be very sturdy, but this was not a major issue. They would complete the objective as long as they left the island.

Sister Glasses and Mr. Jacket were the ones in charge of dragging the wooden boat to the beach.

The island’s area had shrunk overnight, and there were no remnants of the beach at all. Even the coconut trees had vanished. 

The waves came one after the other, and the island sank at a perceptible rate.

When the players noticed this, they quickly pushed the wooden boat out and climbed on one by one.

The wooden boat swayed and floated away, as each player desperately paddled with a wooden plank.

Shen Dongqing sat in the stern, his chin cupped and his gaze fixed on the sea. 

The seawater was clear, and a white shadow could be seen flashing by before faces floated up and surrounded the wooden boats one by one.

Mr. Jacket smashed down a plank, separating the drowned ghosts on one side.

It’s just that there were too many drowned ghosts. Many more replaced them and rushed up after some of them retreated. They surrounded the wooden boat, and from below, there was the sound of wood being gnawed.

“Paddle faster!” 

These monsters may have detected that the players were about to leave the island and rushed out to stop them. One drowned ghost helped the other, and then a pair of pale hands grabbed the edge of the wooden boat and crawled up with force.

The drowned ghost sprang up with a puffy smile, looking at the man sitting in the stern and wishing to drag him into the sea as a substitute.

Shen Dongqing greeted him with a polite smile.

The drowned man cracked in an instant. 

Why is it you yet again???