98: A giant coffin engraved with my name

Instead of being afraid, it was better to gather some supplies.

In the apocalypse, being poor was scarier than ghosts.

"Xia Lai, this job is perfect for you." Chen Du pointed to the sea below.

Xia Lai grinned.

She rolled her sleeves up to her shoulders, revealing tight lines; that wild energy was particularly captivating.

"My hands have been itching for a while!"

She leaped down to the lower deck, controlling "thug no. 1".

A flash of blue light, and the grappling hook whistled out!

"Get up here, you!"

Splash!

Another coffin was dragged onto the deck, seawater spilling everywhere.

"Don't just stand there! In pairs, tear them open!"

Chen Du, like an unscrupulous contractor exploiting child labor, stood on high ground with his arms crossed, watching. "If anyone opens an empty box, no breakfast for you."

Except for a few core members...

...the other girls went all out for the supplies, each grabbing a crowbar and surrounding the coffins.

Accompanied by a rhythmic, pleasant chant...

...the coffin lids flew off.

"Holy crap! It's a zombie!"

A green-furred fellow jumped out of that coffin, howling as it lunged at people.

"Light it up! Burn the damn thing!"

Xia Xin, who was well-prepared, rushed forward with a few brave girls.

Whoosh—!

Several homemade incendiary sticks were precisely thrust in.

No matter how agile the zombie was, it was nothing before the high heat; in just a few moments, it was burned into sizzling, oily charcoal.

"Is that it? It doesn't seem that hard."

Wang Jia wiped the cold sweat from her forehead, feeling confident again.

However, Li Yaozhi's brow remained tightly furrowed.

She didn't dare get close to those coffins at all, only pacing by the edge of the deck while clutching her crystal pendant.

"Something's wrong... the magnetic field is too chaotic."

"Besides these small fry, there's also... something that can contaminate the mind."

Just then, a girl who had just pried open a crack in a coffin froze.

"Eyes... heehee... so many eyes are looking at me... so beautiful..."

Then, she began to scratch at her own face and clothes.

Blood gushed from her nose, yet a silly laugh escaped her lips.

The girl next to her screamed in terror and peeked inside.

The coffin was stuffed with thousands of eyeballs, squashed together and rolling around!

The dense gaze seemed to carry radiation; a single look could make one's head spin!

The affected girl's eyes were bloodshot, her fingers curled into hooks as she tried to gouge out her own eyes!

"Don't look! Close your eyes, now!"

Chen Du let out a thunderous shout, his voice laced with the deterrent power of shadows, making the girls' eardrums ache.

"Ye Qiu! Fire! Burn these filthy things!"

With a leader to follow, the situation was quickly brought under control.

Although the process was terrifying, the gains were massive.

A small mountain gradually piled up on the deck.

Besides the corpse oil and leather dropped by monsters, Xia Lai identified that these coffin boards were genuine treasures.

"We're rich! This haul is insane! Captain! Only you could think of this!"

Xia Lai hugged a wooden board that was still oozing blood, her gaze full of affection.

"This is Gloomy Bloodwood! Fireproof and rot-proof! With these, the deck can be expanded by double!"

"Mine! That one is mine too!"

Seeing everyone getting good things, An Nuonuo's little face turned red with anxiety.

Strangely, a coffin floating from afar actually glowed with an inviting pink light.

It even had cute little flowers painted on it.

"Huh? Why is there a pink limited-edition one?"

The little girl rubbed her eyes, thinking she had seen wrong.

But in Ye Qiu's eyes, it was just a piece of rotten wood that was about to fall apart.

"Nuonuo, are you blind? That coffin is practically rotting into dust, and you still want it?"

"No, it's not! It's glowing! It must be a hidden rare!"

An Nuonuo wouldn't listen to reason at all.

Her perception interfered with, she rushed over with her Cannon Punch ready.

"Hehe, this is definitely something good! I'm going to get a jackpot to show the Captain!"

An Nuonuo blasted open the coffin lid with a punch.

In that instant, a cloud of pink hallucinogenic mist drifted into her nose.

The eerie Sea of Despair around her disappeared, replaced by brightly lit supermarket shelves, and the BGM changed to a cheerful children's song.

The inside of the coffin was no longer dark wood, but... "Wow! A snack gift pack!"

An Nuonuo's eyes lost focus, her pupils filled with longing.

"Potato chips! Chocolate! And so many beautiful Lolita dresses!"

A false sense of happiness overwhelmed her reason.

The little girl drooled, even forgetting that this was the man-eating Sea of Despair.

"My dresses~~ My chips~~"

She cheered and lunged at the coffin, reaching out to grab the bag of chips that looked very crunchy.

Fortunately, a large hand appeared out of nowhere and slapped her hard on the forehead.

"Ouch!"

The little girl saw stars from the hit and clutched her forehead aggrievedly, eyes welling with tears: "Captain, why did you hit me... I was getting chips..."

"Open your damn eyes and look clearly!"

Chen Du shouted sternly, a golden light flaring in his eyes.

An Nuonuo rubbed her eyes and looked again.

"AHHH!!!"

This time, the scream echoed across the deck.

Where were the snacks and dresses?

Inside was clearly a pile of rotting, blackened organs, with several poisonous black-banded sea snakes flicking their tongues!

If she had reached in just now, she would probably have been bitten into a honeycomb by now.

"Waaa... Scared the baby to death... I'm not playing anymore..."

An Nuonuo's legs went weak, and she directly hugged Chen Du's thigh.

Snot and tears were all wiped onto his pants.

"So mean... even tricking me..."

Chen Du shook his leg in disgust but couldn't shake her off.

"It's a hallucinatory trap. The more you desire something, the more dangerous it is."

He grabbed An Nuonuo by the back of her collar and lifted her aside.

"Use your brain in the future. Don't stop moving just because you see food; it's embarrassing."

After this round of cleansing, more than half of the coffins on the deck had been cleared.

The empty bow was piled with wooden boards, looking like a black market workshop.

Just as everyone was preparing to salvage the next batch...

...a sudden change occurred.

The coffins drifting on the sea suddenly received some kind of command.

They all came to a standstill in unison.

Then...

...they automatically parted to both sides, making way for a wide waterway.

The seawater surged.

A giant jet-black sarcophagus, three times the size of a normal coffin, drifted slowly against the current.

A rush of overwhelming pressure hit them, making everyone present feel suffocated.

Especially on that coffin lid...

...two bold, powerful words were written in gold lacquer—[Chen Du].

"Heh, the main attraction is here."

Chen Du narrowed his eyes and flicked away the cigarette butt in his hand.

The shadow beneath his feet seemed to sense the threat; without needing control, it boiled autonomously and turned into a black wall in front of him.

"Interesting..."

Pushing aside the shadow wall that blocked his view, Chen Du stared fearlessly at his own name.

"Everyone, get back!"

The aura of this thing was more than a level stronger than that Stitched Monster shark.

Something inside the coffin was staring intently at him.

No, more accurately, it was scrutinizing Chen Du.

Crack... snap... the iron chains wrapped around the coffin began to tighten inch by inch.

The next second...

One, two... the finger-thick dark iron chains began to snap one by one!

Amidst a sharp grinding sound, the lid of that giant coffin slowly slid to one side.

"Such a big show! Do ghosts care about this stuff too?"