Infinite: Dawn Game

Chapter 666 I Must Live

Sun Qin patted her chest in pain, and mumbled incoherently:

"Then what will we do then—cough, burp!?"

"We can only pray that they are still conscious enough to know that there is a cause for every grievance and a debtor for every crime."

He Lingling said dismissively, "Don't have too many illusions. I think that given Wu Huimin's current symbolic madness and resentment, the possibility is very low."

"...Hiccup, that's too much—cough hiccup!"

"Drink of water."

Shi Yuan handed her the water he hadn't finished drinking, then looked up at He Lingling by the window:

When do you think it will start?

"...Just wait patiently."

He Lingling rubbed her temples, feeling a slight headache, and sighed.

"These next few days will probably just be NPCs repeatedly bailing water, and players will experience various goat-headed men or 'goatskin' threats late at night... As long as you don't wander off, you shouldn't die... It all comes down to how strong your mental fortitude is."

“Wait,” He Lingling said. “The ceremony will begin when the rain gets heavier and heavier, until even the ‘distinguished’ guests on the second deck start to fear they’ll drown.”

"...Who do you think suggested it?"

Shi Yuan lowered his eyes and said, "It's impossible that no one brought this up."

"Does anyone need to bring this up?"

He Lingling shook her head with a wry smile: "Shi Yuan, I don't believe you don't know what they're thinking."

"..." Shi Yuan was silent for a moment, avoiding He Lingling's gaze, "A long time ago, there were indeed cases of sailors being sacrificed to pray for the sea god's protection."

“I was wrong about most of my initial guesses,” He Lingling said. “I thought it was a game copy set in a medieval era, but now it seems that it is only somewhat related to it, but completely different.”

"If that were true, we wouldn't have boarded the ship."

Shi Yuan sighed: "In the past, most crew members wouldn't let women on board, saying it was unlucky."

"That's all bullshit."

He Lingling couldn't help but curse, then cleared her throat and said:

"Of course, we don't need to pay attention to that. Our main task now is to protect ourselves and then wait for the sacrificial ceremony to begin."

"So, hiccup, who will be the first sacrifice chosen?"

Sun Qin asked while hiccuping, her pale face turning quite red from the hiccups and coughing.

"...Wu Huimin".

He Lingling and Shi Yuan spoke at the same time, then closed their eyes briefly.

“…Wu Huimin…” Sun Qin repeated hesitantly, her eyes lowering with a complicated expression.

Over the past three days... Wu Huimin may have frightened them several times, but she never actually harmed them... Was she really the first one to "die"...?

Sun Qin felt a little uncomfortable, but there was nothing she could say.

Even Sun Qin herself felt it was a bit absurd to say that she was trying to sympathize with NPCs when she was struggling to take care of herself.

"All right."

This "chat" was coming to an end. He Lingling stopped looking at the crew members scooping water on the deck and said seriously:

"Let's leave it at that for now. Just try to protect yourself and don't show your fear if you get scared at night. Just wait for the sacrificial ritual to begin—"

"Wait a moment."

Sun Qin suddenly remembered something, stopped hiccuping, and hesitated before saying:

"Um, I was just saying, there can't possibly be only one sacrificial ceremony, right..."

Sun Qin felt a chill run down her spine under the gazes of He and Shi, but she forced herself to continue:

"Is it really possible to pass the level simply by going through a sacrificial ritual?"

"..."

A few seconds later, He Lingling exhaled a breath of stale air and gently clapped her hands.

"good question."

He Lingling said, "If you ask me, I'd tell you it's impossible."

"maybe."

Shi Yuandao, who was standing next to him, said, "On such a large ship, there must be lifeboats for escape."

"lifeboat?"

Sun Qin was stunned for a moment, then exclaimed with delight, "Does that mean we can leave this ship in the lifeboats and successfully pass through the checkpoint?"

"That's also a possibility."

He Lingling picked up the conversation and continued, "I had considered this possibility earlier."

She shook her head hesitantly: "But I think it's unlikely to succeed."

"uncertain."

Shi Yuan held the opposite opinion: "If we can find where the lifeboats are, we can completely escape this ship."

"But where are the lifeboats? Can they hold all of us? And if we think of the wrong way to escape, all that's left for us is endless torrential rain and tsunamis that could capsize the lifeboats at any moment."

He Lingling stared into Shi Yuan's eyes: "Have you thought about these things?"

"..." Shi Yuan turned her face away, seemingly unwilling to meet He Lingling's gaze: "...Yes."

"You want to abandon the other players who are still alive."

He Lingling made no attempt to cover for her and spoke directly.

Sun Qin looked up blankly at Shi Yuan, who had turned his head away.

“…Um,” Sun Qin guessed something and whispered, “giving up…the other players, is that what I mean?”

Shi Yuan did not refute.

She stared at the faint marks on the wall where fingernails had scratched, and closed her eyes.

"Lifeboats can't necessarily save everyone."

Shi Yuan's voice was very soft, "But we few can definitely do it."

"Who are these people? The three of us, and Shi Jiu and Xu Han too?"

He Lingling looked at her and said, "You're quite heartless."

“Heartless…” Shi Yuan repeated the two words softly to himself, then suddenly laughed.

"If you're not ruthless, you'll die."

After saying this, Shi Yuan suddenly laughed even more "happily," his short, uneven hair trembled, and even his beautiful eyebrows and eyes curved into crescent moons with laughter.

He Lingling's brow twitched, and she pinched her palm in annoyance.

Should she not have said these things...? Actually, the lifeboats could have put everyone on board—

"I don't want to die," Shi Yuan said, wiping his face hard after laughing. His cheeks were red and looked like bruises. "He Lingling, I don't care if you're genuinely kind or just pretending to be compassionate, but I, Shi Yuan, absolutely cannot die."

Shi Yuan: "I can't die, I absolutely cannot die. Let me make this clear from the start: if the lifeboats can't save that many people in the end, I will kick all the extra people into the sea."

Sun Qin stood to the side, head tucked in, not daring to utter a single word.

She felt that their conversation was strange... Weren't they supposed to be discussing how to beat the game? Why did He Lingling and Shi Yuan suddenly start arguing?

Saying it was "arguing" isn't quite right, since the two of them didn't seem to be blushing or speaking loudly... it was just that the atmosphere made her afraid to look up.

Especially... what Shi Yuan said at the end.

He Lingling stared intently at Shi Yuan's serious and indifferent face, but shook her head and smiled.

"You misunderstood me."

He Lingling: "What I mean is, if the lifeboats were really useful, wouldn't those 'guests' have used them?"

Shi Yuan's expression froze on his face.