Chapter 81

But now that things had come to this, regret was meaningless.

Once marked by an existence of that level, there was no way to simply avoid it.

He couldn’t really break through the limits of this instance and go fight that unknown “god,” could he?

Lin Yujing gathered his feelings and comforted himself.

It was also his own fault for being too careless, letting the instance’s designated rank affect his judgment.

But according to the intel, [Withered Sun] was already the apex of this Xima Continent. Where on earth had such a terrifying existence come from, one that could surpass It, break through the ritual’s restraints, and forcibly complete the trade?

Lin Yujing knew he couldn’t keep thinking about this.

He turned his head to look at Yin Luo, his face pitiful. “Pearl, I nearly sold myself off for your sake. Don’t you have the heart to compensate me a little?”

He was about to explain to the other what earth-shattering events had occurred in that darkness just now, how his heart had been sent into frantic palpitations, when he saw that blond youth had squatted down at some point.

As if he hadn’t heard Lin Yujing’s words at all, the youth reached out and slowly touched the object in the center of the secret technique’s array.

It was a corpse.

Not a shriveled lump of flesh, but a fresh, still-bleeding, pieced-together “Roland Sarn.”

The moment it had been torn apart by teeth, it had been transformed into a surreal pollutant. Even though it had been swallowed into a belly, even though it had lain silent in the Sea of Mist for a hundred years, it still maintained its original form.

Just like this endlessly repeating cycle that had not ceased for a hundred years on this ship.

This was precisely the bargaining chip for Lin Yujing’s trade with that “god”—Roland’s “corpse.”

But originally, his trade with [Withered Sun] had been for that pile of dried meat scraps that Yin Luo had collected with Corpse Silkworm Silk. That way, the price paid would also have been lower.

And now, what lay before him was clearly the most intact, original “sacrifice”—untouched by the Sinless Abyss’s weakening, unaffected by the Sea of Mist.

How come the quality of the obtained goods went up just by switching trading partners?

Lin Yujing even had the illusion that the second unknown existence hadn’t been trading with him at all, but with Yin Luo.

It was just that he was unlucky and had to pay the price.

What kind of logic was that? Lin Yujing couldn’t figure it out.

He wanted to stop Yin Luo. “Hey, maybe you should wait a bit. I’m afraid your consciousness can’t withstand—”

But it was too late.

The blond youth’s eyes were unfocused, his attention completely absorbed by the thing before him. Like a sleepwalker, he followed his instincts without conscious thought.

In all the world, nothing held as much allure as this object before him. It was as if this was the very meaning of his existence.

Yin Luo tilted his body and slowly yet resolutely pressed his hand onto the corpse.

Lin Yujing’s outstretched hand stopped mid-air and finally dropped. “…Forget it, this is fine too.”

Yin Luo couldn’t hear a single sound. The moment his hand touched the corpse, his consciousness instantly snapped back to clarity.

Then, indescribably intense emotions burst into his mind, battering his nerves.

Extreme agony, regret and fury that drowned reason, reckless madness.

These emotions nearly made it impossible for him to think. Roland’s blood-soaked memories surged into his soul until the two became one.

At this moment, Yin Luo had no idea whether he was Roland Sarn, who had died a tragic death in the Sea of Mist, or the player Yin Luo, who had descended to the Xima Continent.

Roland’s emotions were so intense, his experiences so rich. Inside and outside the dream, he couldn’t tell who he was.

“You are the eldest son of the Sarn Family, destined to inherit this glorious surname. This matter can only be done by you! Roland, promise me, don’t let me down.”

“Mr. Roland, trust our technology. A ship that can reach the Sea of Mist can’t be built with just a few planks of wood. This requires the support of secret techniques.”

“Mr. Roland, no need to mind our origins. You only need to know that our goals are aligned.”

“Little Roland, Mama doesn’t want you to go…”

“To risk your life for some illusory family honor? Roland, have you gone mad?!”

“The Sea of Mist, the Sea of Mist that devours everything!”

“Roland, our Sarn Family has endured for far too long. Even without this crisis, the royal family would find a chance to weaken our power. This is a hurdle we must cross…”

“Roland, Mama will wish you good luck.”

“Roland, don’t go! So what if we offend the royal family?”

“No, no… Roland, don’t come back! Leave Cass with the Mermaid Ship, don’t come back!”

“Roland, bearing the last blood and hope of the Sarn Family, never come back!!”

Yin Luo curled up, clutching his head in agony.

Roland, Roland… Roland! Everything was Roland!

That proud youth, that brilliant yet fleeting life, that doomed journey.

Boarding the ship, sailing, losing direction.

Hunger, diary, the ship undergoing aberration, until that bloody night.

He watched as every inch of his own skin was gnawed clean, watched as chunks of muscle left his body to reveal pale, blood-streaked white bones, watched as blood nearly dyed the floor crimson.

Were those sailors tearing at his body still familiar faces? Why were their faces covered in teeth and scales? Why were their eyes sprouting from their necks, their arms, the backs of their heads, and everywhere else? How did they have so many hands and feet? Why did the sounds they made sound so strange?

In the final moments before death, whether an illusion or a flash of life, Roland saw a light as brilliant as a rainbow burst from within his body, coating all things in a rainbow hue until it drowned the world before his eyes.

This was the longest-drawn instant in time. The sailors’ expressions seemed to be cut apart and played in slow motion in Roland’s vision.

He wanted to do something to save himself, but was devastated to find that his soul could not control his shell at all. He could do nothing. What remained of his body—just innards and a skull—had long since rushed towards death.

How could this be?

How could he die here?

No, no! He didn’t want to stay here! He still had to find the mermaids!

He had to bring back the Heart of the Mermaid to save his family. His family in their distant homeland was still waiting for his return.

As long as he returned, the Sarn Family would still exist. His father, his mother, his younger brother… no one would die!

Anyone… anything would do, save him…

He still had so much to do. He couldn’t sink into eternal slumber here.

But in the Sea of Mist, where even the sun was shut out, could anyone truly hear the dying voice of a despairing soul?

“Hello.” A gentle voice, soft as a spring breeze, sounded by his ear.

Roland felt his already non-existent heart skip a beat. “Who are you?”

No one answered.

But by now, Roland could no longer bother with such things. Like a drowning man clutching at the last straw, he cried out with all his might, “Are you a god? Can you help me?”

“Please, I beg you, I want to go back! I don’t want to die here!”

He called out ceaselessly, begged incessantly, enduring ultimate agony as he watched those horrifying sailors’ faces slowly draw near.

But that earlier voice drifted away like a dream.

As time passed, Roland’s consciousness wavered on the brink, step by step plunging into the abyss.

His beautiful, resplendent rainbow-colored soul was slowly tainted by the aura of the Mermaid Ship, gradually turning a bloody scarlet.

There was the sound of flowing water by his ear. Something seemed to be drawn by his soul, slowly swimming towards him.

Finally, at the last moment before losing all reason, he screamed out recklessly, “Help me take revenge! I just want you to help me take revenge!”

“These treacherous sailors! And the Cass Royal Family, everyone behind all this—I want them all to die!”

The blond youth’s face twisted with madness. “I am willing to offer you my flesh, my soul, my identity, my everything, in exchange for your descent into this world!”

Fate once again grew tender. That voice drifted into Roland’s ears, like a balmy spring breeze. “An unequal trade. A negligible bargaining chip.”

“But as it happens, I have some interest in this world.”

“Trade complete.”

Then, darkness fell.

Time halted. The dream looped.

The Mermaid Ship remained forever in this Sea of Mist. The traitorous souls sank into an eternal nightmare. Swollen desire perished along with the Cass Duchy.

Perhaps in another hundred years, this Flesh and Blood Cruise Ship would welcome new passengers.

It was a pity that in this world, there would be no more Roland.