Chapter 4

Ship Captain?!

Zhong Nian widened his eyes as he looked at the middle-aged uncle, then turned his head to gaze at the young man who had stood up.

On the impeccably straight uniform’s epaulet were three bars.

He had been tricked…

Sure enough, the middle-aged man called Captain Hall laughed heartily. “That’s right. Our Charles the First Mate has never liked sweets. He says they make his teeth ache.”

So it was the First Mate.

Zhong Nian shot the man a resentful glare and firmly committed his name to memory.

Well played, Charles.

Although he had more or less achieved his goal, the feeling of being toyed with was far from pleasant.

Rabbits held grudges!!

…

On the way back to the lower decks, Zhong Nian stomped heavily, making the wooden floorboards echo loudly as a way to vent his frustration. His cheeks puffed out roundly.

“Little Nian, who made you mad?” Jie Wen stared at his soft, pudgy face, resisting the urge to pinch it.

Zhong Nian pouted. “A bad guy.”

“Don’t be mad…” Jie Wen, the straight-laced guy who wasn’t great at comforting people, offered, “How about I handle the final cleanup for you? You can head back early and rest.”

“No need, I can do it myself. Thanks, Jie Wen. You’ve already helped me a lot today.”

It was late, and any tasks could wait until tomorrow. Zhong Nian didn’t want to keep bothering this kind-hearted, honest man, so he shooed him away.

The remaining cleanup wasn’t difficult. The tasks assigned to him by the supervisor were just organizing tools—much lighter than the others’.

“So tiring.” On the way back, Zhong Nian complained to the System again about this lousy task and lousy identity.

“When I first entered, it sweet-talked me, saying I had the highest level of God’s Favor and wouldn’t suffer any grievances. And this is what I get…”

The System replied, “But all the NPCs have been friendly to you so far, haven’t they?”

Zhong Nian wrinkled his nose and huffed. “That’s because I’m naturally likable.”

Then he recalled certain malicious or lecherous gazes and frowned. “Besides, some people are really detestable. I don’t need their liking. What’s the point of that Favor buff? And who is this god anyway? Casually giving me the highest level when I don’t even know him.”

“…”

The System fell silent, quietly absorbing all of Zhong Nian’s venting.

“Exhausted after a whole day, and the task progress is still basically zero…” Midway through his grumbling, Zhong Nian suddenly stopped in his tracks and looked around.

The ship was astonishingly huge. The lower decks, with their multitude of rooms, had an even more complex layout. Zhong Nian glanced at the nearly identical corridors ahead and behind, turned another corner, and saw a similar scene. He couldn’t recognize the direction at all and had forgotten his way back.

He was lost… QAQ

Zhong Nian’s previously vigorous steps instantly quieted. He carefully tried to get his bearings again and sought help from the System.

The System: “Sorry, we do not provide any assistance within the Instance.”

“Stupid System!!” Zhong Nian anxiously spun in circles while mentally screaming in meltdown.

On this massive ship where employee electronic devices had no network signal, Zhong Nian could only rely on himself.

He knocked on and opened several doors, but unfortunately, he seemed to have wandered into an unoccupied area. The rooms were either empty or storage closets.

This was normal enough—on a ship with capacity for over a thousand passengers, there were only about three hundred people now, so plenty of empty rooms.

Thus, Zhong Nian decided to first find stairs leading up.

The lower decks at midnight were eerily quiet. The giant ship rocked with the waves, and the building materials emitted beast-like groans that echoed through the empty corridors.

At the end of one corridor, a lamp—whether due to a circuit fault or poor contact—flickered on and off, emitting the sizzle of electric current.

Zhong Nian suddenly disliked the loud clack of his hard-soled shoes.

Unlike the upper decks carpeted in expensive, luxurious wool, the lower decks’ echoes made it sound like someone was following him.

If he were in his Original Form right now, his fur would definitely have bristled.

He vaguely felt the echoes growing louder, overlapping faster than his own pace.

It wasn’t an illusion…

Zhong Nian abruptly halted, hearing another set of footsteps in the distance that didn’t stop. His expression changed.

It probably wasn’t a ghost—more likely a real person, heading his way.

But his first reaction wasn’t joyful relief at finding a savior. Instead, he chose to head in the opposite direction.

Anyone who could make it down here wasn’t likely another lost fool.

Following him like this? It might be someone with bad intentions.

Even if the odds were low, Zhong Nian wasn’t willing to bet on it.

He didn’t have the capital to gamble anyway—he couldn’t win a fight, so running or hiding was his only option.

Not charging head-on was the survival secret for weak prey animals like rabbits.

By sheer luck, Zhong Nian’s frantic dash led him to a staircase going up.

He perked up with joy and immediately ascended.

Upon reaching the second deck, his feet sank into soft carpet, muffling his footsteps perfectly.

A rabbit’s ears could swivel flexibly, and their hearing was acute.

He wanted to listen carefully to see if those footsteps had followed, but he heard no footsteps—only faint voices speaking.

“Has Second Brother arrived yet?”

“Soon.”

“Tomorrow’s plan…”

With animal instinct, Zhong Nian was certain these conspirators were key to the game task.

He instantly perked up, quietly following the sound closer until he pinpointed a certain room’s door.

The door’s soundproofing was decent, but his hearing was superior, catching key phrases leaking through.

Someone seemed to be reporting to a higher-ranking figure: “Everything has been deployed… Bombs placed in a total of twenty-seven locations. Here’s the controller—it has double safeguards and fingerprint authentication… All other personnel are in position, no one exposed yet… Just waiting for…”

Zhong Nian’s heart raced, his pupils trembling.

Had he heard right? Bombs?

How could there be bombs on this ship…

Never mind whether he could escape—if he wasn’t in the blast radius, how was a non-swimmer like him supposed to survive a sinking ship?

Zhong Nian’s face turned ashen, struck like thunder on a clear day.

After the shock, countless countermeasures flashed through his mind.

Unclear on the enemies’ details, charging in rashly was out of the question. He could only hold position for now.

Zhong Nian pressed close to the door, wishing he could pop out his rabbit ears to listen for more intel.

There were at least two men inside, the higher-ranking one speaking little, occasionally grunting in response and making decisions.

Click.

After a crisp sound, Zhong Nian’s sensitive nose caught a whiff of cheap cigarette smoke.

Without warning, the voices inside stopped, plunging into silence. Zhong Nian inexplicably tensed.

He blinked, about to press even closer to listen, when suddenly a large hand clamped over his mouth and nose from behind, dragging him backward!

Before he could react, another arm locked around his waist and arms. The opponent was incredibly strong and swift; Zhong Nian didn’t even struggle before being hauled into another room.

In the darkness, he was pinned against a cargo rack, dust billowing up and nearly making him sneeze.

But the man clamped his mouth and nose shut tight, preventing any sound.

Zhong Nian heard his own heart pounding like a drum, felt the temperature and rapid heartbeat of the body pressed against him.

Thump-thump-thump—

Almost as fast as his own.

At that moment, Zhong Nian didn’t miss the sound of the neighboring door opening for a check.

Had they almost been discovered just now?

At the same time, the man pinning him whispered threateningly into his ear, “If you don’t want to be found, then behave.”