12: A cozy farm? All you see here is cured meat hanging from trees.

That night, perhaps because they had something to look forward to, the girls slept exceptionally soundly.

Even though they were barely clothed and shivering from the cold, their dreams seemed filled with freshly baked bread and steaming bathtubs.

Who knows how much time passed.

At the edge of the black sea, a pale rift was finally torn open.

Dawn arrived.

"Land! Look! It's really land!"

Accompanied by a high-pitched scream, Chen Du snapped his eyes open.

The girls were like a flock of excited little sparrows... dozens of pairs of fair, slender legs overlapped as they crowded toward the observation window.

"Make way, you're blocking the view."

Chen Du gently pushed aside the soft bodies in his way and squeezed into the center position.

Outside the window, the sea mist was dissipating.

The girls' smiles lasted only three seconds.

As the mist receded, the so-called land of hope finally revealed its true face.

There was indeed an island ahead.

In the most prominent spot stood a massive, crooked, and rusted iron sign.

Although most of the paint had peeled off, those large, bright red characters were striking—[Cozy Farm].

"Co... Cozy?" An Nuonuo muttered tremulously.

Did this place have even a cent's worth of connection to "cozy"?

Shipwrecks, rotting sea beast skeletons, and reinforced concrete ruins were forced together.

Unidentified black plants crawled over the ruins like blood vessels.

Hanging from them were not fruits, but "teru teru bozu" dolls dried by the sea breeze.

Under the sign, several large crabs with human faces were tearing at something, bubbles gurgling from their mouths.

Where the hell was this a farm? This was clearly a hellish place run by King Yanluo!

Chen Du looked at the sign, his lips twitching. "Cozy? More like 'Gory'. This name really shows a talent for fraud."

Accompanied by a piercing sound of metal scraping.

ferry no. 0819 docked at a pier made from a pile of car wreckage.

"Blergh—!"

A few girls with fragile psyches had just poked their heads out when they immediately covered their mouths and began to retch.

The smell was overwhelming.

Formalin mixed with rotting seafood, plus a touch of vintage sewer fermented for three months.

It was practically a biochemical weapon-level olfactory assault.

Chen Du stood at the very front of the deck, holding a red fire axe he had found in a fire cabinet.

Under the sign, several dead, strange trees were twisted and knotted.

Looking closely.

The branches hanging from the trees were actually slightly wriggling intestines!

Mummified corpses, their necks strangled by the intestines, swayed in the wind.

As the wind blew.

Thump, thump, thump... the mummies collided with each other.

"Are... are those people?" An Nuonuo hid behind Chen Du, her small hands tightly clutching his beach shorts.

"They used to be."

Chen Du replied indifferently.

His gaze shifted downward, locking onto the black-red mudflats.

Several washbasin-sized crabs were scuttling about arrogantly.

SAN value warning!

What those crabs carried on their backs weren't shells at all, but pale, bloated human faces!

The eyes on the faces were tightly shut, their expressions pained and distorted.

As the crabs crawled, their mouths opened and closed, emitting incoherent murmurs:

"Wel... come... guest..."

"Meat... so fresh... tender meat..."

Even Chen Du couldn't help but roast the scene in his mind: "Simply breathtaking!"

"I'm not going down! Not even if you kill me!" Zhou Qian shrank to the back of the crowd, shaking her head frantically.

"This is no place for humans! There are ghosts! There are monsters!"

"Chen Du, let's go back... I beg you, drive the ship away! I'd rather starve to death than be eaten by these things!"

Fear is contagious.

In an instant, all the girls began to retreat.

Who would want to walk into a monster's nest filled with hanging corpses while wearing sexy underwear?

It's basically like delivering takeout!

Even Xia Lai, who had always appeared calm, was now pale, her hand on the railing trembling slightly.

"This... this is indeed a bit beyond us. We can't deal with these supernatural things!"

Tang Ran swallowed hard, her muscles tensed. "Captain, how about... we wait and see on the ship? Or look for another landing spot?"

The situation fell into a stalemate.

All eyes were focused on Chen Du.

Those eyes were filled with supplication, hoping this man could make everyone hide in the cabin like ostriches, just as he had conjured supplies before.

Chen Du didn't speak.

He pulled the last cigarette from his pocket and lit it.

He took a deep drag.

Letting the nicotine circulate through his lungs, suppressing that foul stench.

He turned around and scrutinized this group of stunning beauties through the smoke.

"Go back?"

"The fuel tank is empty, and the clothes have all been Sacrificed. Go back to do what? Drift at sea and wait to die? Or wait to drink my urine?"

"We can wait for rescue... the country won't abandon us..." Zhou Qian retorted with a sob, still clinging to her unrealistic dreams.

"Rescue?" Chen Du's eyes were mocking as he suddenly raised his hand.

Clang!

The fire axe slammed into the metal railing beside Zhou Qian, sparks flying!

"Ah!!!"

Zhou Qian was scared out of her wits, her entire body collapsing to the floor.

If it weren't for her severe dehydration, she probably would have peed herself on the spot.

The entire place fell into a dead silence.

"I know this place is terrifying."

Chen Du held the axe in one hand, its blade pointing at the group of face-crabs still blowing bubbles. "But fear won't solve anything. There's not a single drop of water left on the ship."

"I Sacrificed all the clothes just to get this landing opportunity. If we don't restock supplies, we will 100% die, and our end will be no different from those pieces of cured meat on the trees."

He took a step forward, his overwhelming ferocity causing the girls in the front row to instinctively step back.

"Think of it another way; we're still in the novice protection period. What we're facing now is already the gentlest trial this world has to offer."

"If we can't even get through the starter village, then what's the point of playing?"

Chen Du's gaze swept over the crowd, his tone leaving no room for doubt. "So, this isn't a choice. Dry your tears; everyone, get down there!"

Ultimately, the desire to survive overcame fear.

Li Yaozhi took a deep breath, tightly gripping the hot crystal necklace on her chest—

It was a warning of danger, but also a guide to opportunity.

"Let's go."

She was the first to step over the railing, her high-top leather boots landing on the rotting pier, her gaze firm. "Chen Du is right; staying here is just waiting for death."

With someone taking the lead, the others could only brace themselves and follow.

The group of over thirty people, like sacrificial offerings being sent to an altar, walked down the gangway of the ferry tremulously.

The sensation of stepping on the ground was terrible.

It was soft, mushy, and sticky, like stepping into a pig's head that had been rotting for half a month.

"Everyone, watch your step, don't touch those crabs." Chen Du led the way.

"An Nuonuo, don't close your eyes. Use your airflow to sense the surroundings."

"Ugh... okay..."

At this moment, An Nuonuo was clinging to Chen Du's back like an accessory.

She was covered in a large piece of black cloth—something Chen Du had found while cleaning the captain's cabin.

For this baby-faced loli who had the least courage but the most "illegal" figure, Chen Du still maintained some gentlemanly grace.

The large black cloth covered her Rabbit Officer outfit, leaving only a pair of smooth calves visible.

"Wel... come... guest..."

Suddenly, the black mud ahead churned.

A washbasin-sized human-faced crab suddenly lunged out!

That pale, bloated human face was aimed right at the passing Zhou Qian, its mouth splitting into an exaggerated grin!

Two massive crab claws, carrying a fishy stench, went straight for Zhou Qian's ankles!