His words silenced the scene for a moment.
A member of the Chi family sneered first, “Chi You, stop boasting. They don’t know, but I do. I’m your third uncle. All these Chi family members are related to you. You can’t hurt us.”
The speaker was Chi family’s “Third Old Man,” nicknamed Chi Old Three, a senior elder of the family, the same generation as the temporary head Chi Zhongye. Above him were two older brothers; the three held a low status in the Chi family. Any dirty business was assigned to them—they were all extremely ruthless and cunning.
Their relation to the main branch was distant at best; at most, they could only claim to share the same ancestor, with a small amount of common bloodline. When Chi You was alive, Chi Old Three didn’t dare to call himself “Third Uncle” to him.
Relying on the fact that Chi You bore a curse, he arrogantly assumed the main branch wouldn’t harm collateral branches, and boldly threatened, “Chi You, don’t think you can escape today!”
Even transformed into a malicious ghost, the Chi family’s new leader, dressed in suit and tie, sighed softly, “Yes, I can’t harm you.”
The Chi family members revealed triumphant expressions. Just as Chi Old Three was about to order people to surround him, suddenly a black mist choked his neck and dragged him over to Chi You.
He struggled desperately, eyes wide and face flushed red. “Cough, cough cough, let go—cough!”
“Third Uncle?” The ghost’s body was surrounded by sinister ghostly aura. He asked with interest, “I don’t recall having a Third Uncle.”
Earlier, the Chi family’s eldest and second eldest had their faces change dramatically. “Old Three!”
The ghost’s patience was running thin. He said coldly, “Who gave the drug?”
Chi Old Three found it increasingly hard to breathe. At this moment, he was sure: Chi You would kill him—even burdened with the curse, he would kill him!
He gasped painfully, “I—I was the one who gave the drug!”
The ghost’s gaze settled back on him, realization dawning. “So it was you.”
“Then I have to thank you properly,” the ghost’s lips curved, mood cheerful, “Thanks to you, I was able to have such a pleasant experience.”
Tears and snot ran down Chi Old Three’s face, but he smiled as if he had survived. Just as relief flickered on his face, in the next moment, a pale skeletal hand stabbed into his chest.
This pale ghostly hand squeezed his heart. In his final seconds, Chi Old Three looked at Chi You in disbelief, trembling as he said, “Y-you promised—”
The ghost crushed his heart.
“I said I wouldn’t let you die first?” The ghost sighed, “How could you believe my words?”
Chi Old Three fell from the black mist to the ground.
At the instant of his death, blood trickled from Chi You’s mouth. He chuckled, his laughter rising from low to high, increasingly mad. “So the backlash of killing you all is nothing more than this.”
Laughing loudly, he raised a hand to wipe the blood from his lips and looked toward the group by the door.
The warm dusk light streamed through the window onto him, but the ghost’s eyes were dark and deep, giving even the warm light a cold, desolate murderous aura.
Someone instinctively stepped back, their heart pounding.
This was the power of the top figure in the metaphysical world—though he was now a ghost, he was a profound and unfathomable malicious ghost, able to easily kill even Chi Old Three, who was considered quite capable among them!
Those near the door hurriedly forced it open and dashed outside without looking back.
Chi Lao Da shouted angrily, “Cowards! What are you afraid of? Everyone charge together! So many people still can’t take down a single ghost?!”
He turned his head, but no one dared to lead. Chi Lao Da cursed a few times, holding back his fear as he was about to move forward—when suddenly those who fled came rushing back. “Outside—outside, there are bloodthirsty fish!”
***
After the signal flare was sent, the fish on the ship knew they were exposed. Furious, they tore off their human skins and began slaughtering on board.
Screams echoed everywhere, the corridors were slick with slime left by the blood eel fish.
Jiang Luo dodged a corpse bitten in half and ran swiftly toward the lower deck.
Blood eel fish mate at night, and before night falls completely, only the lower deck was safe.
When he reached the first floor, Jiang Luo suddenly remembered the captain’s daughter, Lisa. He changed direction and ran toward her.
Running was inconvenient for Jiang Luo now—his body was uncomfortable, but worse than that was he hadn’t washed yet.
D*mn.
He hadn’t had time to clean the marks the ghost left on him. Jiang Luo was itching with anger—his ample pre-battle preparation time had all been ruined by Chi You.
After dodging another blood eel fish halfway, Jiang Luo realized he needed a coat tied around his waist or he’d be embarrassed. He stormed into an open rich person’s room, grabbed a coat to wear and another to tie around his waist, then continued to look for Lisa.
Lisa hadn’t gone anywhere. After finding her, Jiang Luo took her and started running out.
Passing the crew’s quarters, he saw Cheng Li hurriedly come out with a backpack, looking anxious.
Jiang Luo called out, “Cheng Li?”
Cheng Li’s eyes brightened as if seeing a lifeline, rushing up to present the backpack to Jiang Luo and nervously said, “Brother, I found the stuff you wanted. When—when can you let me see my wife and daughter?”
Before Jiang Luo could answer, suddenly the wooden door of another room was smashed to the ground. A slobbering blood eel fish crawled out, licking its lips as it looked at them, voice thick with slime: “Humans…”
Jiang Luo didn’t hesitate—he scooped up Lisa and ran, “Run first, talk later!”
Cheng Li quickly followed.
The three narrowly reached the lower deck. Jiang Luo tapped the door with a signal. The door opened, and Ge Zhu said softly, “Get in quickly.”
The floor inside the lower deck was covered in a thin layer of slime.
Jiang Luo set Lisa down and surveyed the interior.
The bodies that had been hanging were now released by Ge Zhu and the others.
People sat along both walls, men and women, old and young, covering their mouths, not daring to speak.
Their hair was messy, clothes slimed, many eyes bloodshot and crying pitifully.
Dozens of flashlights laid on the ground, used as lights.
In the very center of the lower deck laid a dead male fish, sprawled out on the ground.
Jiang Luo looked at Ge Zhu and gave a questioning glance. “What happened?”
Under the dim light, Ge Zhu didn’t notice the marks on Jiang Luo’s body. He explained, “When some people escaped just now, they also brought the male fish in. A few of us took the opportunity to kill it. Now everyone’s too afraid to make a sound, worried it will attract the attention of the other male fish outside.”
“What about Ye Xun and the others?”
Ge Zhu led him deeper into the lower deck. The further they went, the stronger the fishy smell became. Soon, they reached the end.
“They’re all inside, left me alone to wait for you,” Ge Zhu said, feeling along the wall until he found and opened a hidden door. “Come in.”
Jiang Luo and he entered the small room. The light was on inside. Several people from Lu Youyi’s group stood there. Jiang Luo walked over and saw they were all looking at a photo wall.
A quick glance showed there were several hundred photos. The photos were all crew members from the ship. From the captain to Daniel, every face was very familiar.
“This is…” Jiang Luo guessed, “a list of crew members turned male fish?”
Ye Xun nodded, “Probably.”
Kuang Zheng counted the photos once. “Three hundred and twenty.”
When this number was spoken, everyone fell silent.
One male fish is manageable, four or five could be handled, but three hundred and twenty… this was hell-level difficulty.
Zhuo Zhongqiu rubbed his forehead, troubled, and said frankly, “Even if my dad came, he wouldn’t be able to handle this.”
Wenren Lian was speechless. He stared at the photos on the wall for a long while, then sighed, “Remember these faces. Some blood eel fish have already torn off their human skins, but I’m afraid some still keep their original form hiding among people. Take the photos and check if any of these people are in the lower deck.”
“Oh right…” Wenren Lian turned his head.
Jiang Luo quietly pulled his jacket zipper all the way up, hiding half his face inside the collar, covering the marks on his body.
He really didn’t want to explain anything about Chi You right now.
Before going to bed, he dared joke around. But after going to bed, Jiang Luo wished he could find his former self and give him a beating.
Especially now, with that b*stard’s marks still on him… Jiang Luo was truly embarrassed.
Fortunately, Wenren Lian didn’t notice. Instead, he counted the people and asked, “Jiang Luo, did you bring Lisa?”
Jiang Luo nodded, “She’s outside.”
Lu Youyi hesitated, looking back at Jiang Luo. “What’s wrong with your voice?”
It was hoarse, with a strange but enticing smell. Lu Youyi muttered, “My ears are burning just listening.”
Jiang Luo rolled his eyes. “I have a fever and a cold. Didn’t Ge Zhu tell you?”
Lu Youyi suddenly remembered and smiled sheepishly. “No wonder your face is a bit red. How are you feeling now?”
Jiang Luo coughed twice weakly. “Not bad, just a bit weak.”
Ye Xun touched his forehead and nodded with relief after a minute. “The fever’s gone.”
Since it wasn’t too serious, they resumed discussing. Jiang Luo focused as everyone quietly debated how to bring more people out after killing the female blood eel fish. Suddenly, Jiang Luo said, “Why don’t we just kill all the blood eel fish?”
Everyone was stunned, staring at him in disbelief.
Jiang Luo shrugged, a smirk on his lips. “If we do it, do it big. For example, blow up this entire ship.”
