[Description: Megaphone—can pin a notification to all Sea Survival players for three minutes. Ugly Apple—it may look unpleasant, but it’s sweet to the core. Clownfish—hailing from the abyssal depths, can be contracted, Level 0, has no attack power, loves foul language. Other abilities: ??? Unknown.]
Out of the chest popped a fist-sized, grotesquely cute clownfish with colorful scales and two human-like legs. It pouted and immediately unleashed a tirade at Ye Shu: “Wicked hag! Wicked hag! Ugly freak! Ugly freak! Misfortune clouds your brow! Bad luck’s upon you! Dead again and again, non-stop death, death, death…”
Ye Shu’s hand closed into a fist.
This was her first time encountering a fish so brazenly foul-mouthed. She was sorely tempted to stew it where it stood.
As soon as Clownfish spotted Pang Pangzi racing over in the distance, it flared its gills and bellowed, “Fatso! Fatso! Tubby! Child of Fortune! Luck is on your side! Luck is on your side! Escaped death!”
Pang Pangzi froze, cheeks flushing a deep red.
He had been trying hard to lose weight, but after so many days at sea surviving on salted fish, the pounds just wouldn’t come off…
“You—dead fish!”
Ye Shu couldn’t bear it; this fish had the gall to insult her guest, right on her turf.
She’d already taken five treasure chests from Pang Pangzi, so she couldn't just let the clownfish keep spewing insults. Just as she readied her blade to end it, Jiaoren Xiaobai intervened. “Master, I remember deep-sea clownfish like this have a special ability... they can sense luck!”
The cutting words 'dead again and again, non-stop death' made Ye Shu suspect the fish had seen through her respawn ability.
She sheathed her blade, choosing to observe while the clownfish ran its mouth.
When it saw Fu Jingchuan, the clownfish didn’t miss a beat: “Ugly man! Ugly freak! You mongrel! Bad luck surrounds you! You’ll drown at sea! A tragic, tragic death awaits.”
Fu Jingchuan realized this bizarre deep-sea clownfish could actually read a player’s fortune.
Then, as it spotted Fu Shiyi’s roasted sweet potato, the clownfish’s tone instantly softened: “Handsome lord! Misfortune all around, you’ll sink to the bottom!”
“Bad luck follows! Doomed by association!”
“Super handsome! To be buried at sea!”
“You’ll die so pitifully, so pitifully.”
Saliva drooled down as the clownfish stared hungrily at Fu Shiyi’s roasted sweet potato, repeating its melancholy refrain.
At the line ‘doomed by association’, Fu Jingchuan’s face hardened.
If the clownfish could really glimpse the players’ fate, then this game might see him perish at sea.
Out of the four aboard, three carried the mark of ill fortune!
Ye Shu scooped up the clownfish and grinned, brandishing half a roasted sweet potato. “Want a bite? Form a contract with me and the sweet potato’s yours.”
“No contract! Ugly freak, wretched woman! Misfortune looms, you will die, die… beneath the waves.”
The clownfish jabbed a fin angrily in Ye Shu’s face.
She stuffed the rest of the sweet potato into her mouth, drew her peachwood sword, and threatened, “Say that again, I dare you. I’ve never asked for your opinion.”
With the peachwood sword out, the SSS-ranked terror rolled off Ye Shu, rooting the clownfish in a shudder of fear.
It glanced at her with wide, terrified eyes, its brashness collapsing. It saluted with a trembling dorsal fin. “Okay, okay, I give—um, beautiful mistress! I want a whole sweet potato! A big one!”
“From now on, you’ll be called Ugly Freak!”
So, a deal was struck: one girl, one fish, joined in contract.
Clownfish contentedly hugged its sweet potato, nibbling as though it had priceless treasure in its fins.
Pang Pangzi: “…”
Apparently, Lady Ye had not only the talent for misfortune, but also for picking dreadful names.
Da Piaoliang was even more forlorn.
Now that its master had a new pet, would it be neglected like those sad concubines in a palace drama, left to starve, overlooked and forgotten?
No way! Ugly Freak and that clownfish were both weaklings—the strongest was still Da Piaoliang!
Ugly Freak hesitated, unsure whether to keep speaking: “Um—Master, bad luck surrounds…”
“You really can see luck, can’t you? Does it mean I’m in even more danger this game…?”
Ugly Freak nodded.
“Then how exactly does Pangzi escape death?”
Ye Shu realized she’d overlooked the hidden luck of someone right beside her. If even she and Fu Jingchuan, with all their skills, couldn’t survive this round, Pang Pangzi must have incredible fortune to skate by.
“I… I don’t know, Fairy Mistress.”
Getting no concrete answer, Ye Shu tossed a banana Swiss roll to Ugly Freak.
Ugly Freak chomped through the snack, packaging and all, making a sharp crackling sound with the plastic.
“Fairy Mistress… Every day I check. And every day, it changes!”
Now that it had its reward, Ugly Freak revealed a little more.
With confirmation that it could directly see a player’s luck, Fu Jingchuan’s nerves fizzled, remembering that the clownfish predicted his death. He’d earned enough points in previous rounds to buy a revival card—so even if he died in-game, there’d be one last chance.
But for Fu Shiyi, it was different.
He had no cards. A death in this game meant true death in reality.
Yet his foresight hadn’t shown disaster in the previous days… how would he end up drowned at sea?
Bartering, Fu Shiyi bared his teeth and offered a salted starfish. “Ugly Freak, here’s a starfish… Will you check again for me tomorrow?”
“No, disgusting, blech… I won’t look. Ugly man, tricking a fish, ugly man, tricking a fish.”
Ugly Freak pinched its nose with a fin, expressing pure disdain.
In the end, Fu Shiyi painfully swapped a fresh strawberry for Ugly Freak’s agreement.
Having learned that Pang Pangzi was blessed with extraordinary luck that day, Ye Shu’s mind began to scheme. She handed her last two treasure chests to Pang Tong. “Pang Pangzi, you open these for me. The ugly apples are your pay.”
“No way! It’s my honor!”
Pang Pangzi rubbed his hands together, silently praying for good loot.
[Silver Treasure Chest opened: Sniper Rifle x3, Grenades x5, Coal x100, Old Hen Chicken Soup x1.]
[Silver Treasure Chest opened: Medical Kit x1, Steel x50, Glass x19, Cloth x30, Beginner’s Water-Repelling Pearl x1.]
Ye Shu felt a strange mixture of emotions.
She handed Pang Pangzi another apple.
Pang Pangzi was delighted, his prayers answered. “Lady Ye, I really can’t—”
Despite his protests, he slipped the apple into his pocket.
“Pangzi, how about you try out these fishing rods too? See if you might reel in a treasure chest or two.”
Though these rods were considered fine equipment, every catch so far was some kind of twisted, deep-sea monster—almost as if they bore a curse.
“Wait… Lady Ye, why do you have two fishing rods?” Pang Tong asked, astonished. Nevertheless, he calmly took the rod and cast his line.
[You fished up a Bronze Treasure Chest!]
[You fished up: Bronze Treasure Chest x2.]
[Congratulations! You fished up: Gold Treasure Chest x2.]
[Silver Treasure Chest x2.]
Ye Shu twitched at the mouth.
There it was—the rods weren’t the problem. The problem was her.
“Fu Jingchuan, Fu Shiyi, you two give it a try!”
Yet, when Fu Shiyi tried, all he reeled up was a pile of junk metal.
Worse yet, in Fu Jingchuan’s hands, the rod attracted a whole school of sharks. If it weren’t for their steel-plated yacht and Ye Shu’s optimization skills, the ship would've been doomed.