28: Chapter 28 The Demon Sea Compass

"Coordinates: 87.3° East longitude, 12.7° North latitude, over two thousand nautical miles away from President Shen Qing's point. Who can tell me how to get there? Swim there? Die there?"

"The Fuxing Hong Base's assembly order can only transport one hundred thousand people, one hundred thousand!! Out of 1.4 billion living Yanxia people, only one hundred thousand spots? How is this any different from having nothing?"

"Heh, naturally they prioritize saving their own people. Did you really think it would be our turn, we lone wolves? Don't be naive."

"My crappy boat, Rotten Wood Rank, doesn't even have a decent sail. When the sea beast tide comes, I'll be the first to fall apart. What am I supposed to use to hold out? My life?"

"You're all counting on others, let me ask just one thing—why should they help you? What value do you have? How many people can a Minor Life Technique save? How many can an assembly order transport? Do you really think you're the savior?"

"The person above is right, stop counting on it, let's just accept our fate."

"Accept our fate? Damn it, I don't even have the qualifications to accept my fate! My talent is just [Elementary Cooking], I can boil fish so it doesn't give you diarrhea! Is this thing useful when sea beasts arrive? Can I cook it a meal and beg it not to eat me?"

"Hahaha, dying of laughter, brother, at least you can cook. My talent is [Simple Sewing], can I sew a patch on a sea beast's stomach?"

"Stop talking, stop talking, the more we talk, the more hopeless it feels..."

"I just posted my coordinates in the regional echo, asking for people nearby to form a team, but no one responded. No one responded."

"Same here, posted it three times, like a stone sinking into the ocean."

"Who has the heart to care about others now? Everyone is busy trying to save themselves."

"Save ourselves? How? Show me a path."

"I'm five hundred nautical miles from the nearest rescue point, boat speed is three nautical miles per hour. Can someone help me calculate how long it will take? Once I finish calculating, I'll just jump into the sea."

"Don't jump, save us from polluting the seawater."

"...What time is it and you're still trying to be a smartass?"

"If I don't try to be a smartass, what else can I do? Cry? Is crying useful?"

"Honestly, I kind of regret coming in. I thought it was an opportunity at first, but what happened? It's only been a few days and I'm about to die."

"Opportunities are for the strong; cannon fodder like us are just here to make up the numbers."

"Sister President Shen Qing has good intentions, I know she has good intentions, but it'll be great if she can protect a ten-nautical-mile radius. I'm eight hundred nautical miles away, I can only wish her good luck."

"The Fuxing Hong Base's assembly order, they said it's three hundred thousand spots, three hundred thousand!! Do you know how many people are in Yanxia? 1.4 billion!! 1.4 billion!! Three hundred thousand isn't even a rounding error!"

"And if they are going to save anyone, they'll save those with combat power, those who can help. For trash talents like us, with Rotten Wood boats, why would they waste spots on us?"

"Don't say that... maybe they will treat everyone equally..."

"Treat everyone equally? Brother, did you just enter society?"

"Sigh, I've suddenly come to terms with it. Since I won't survive the night anyway, I might as well lie flat and enjoy the last few hours. I'm opening my stored wine, drink it and call it a day."

"+1, I've given up too, whatever happens, happens."

"Giving up is your business, but damn it, I'm not resigned! I'm only twenty-two! I don't want to die!!"

"Who wants to die? But is it useful?"

"Someone just posted on the Fate Platform saying they saw golden light in the distance, suspecting some big shot is opening a treasure chest. Big shots open treasure chests, we wait for death, how ironic."

"Stop looking, the more you look, the worse you feel."

"I've dug out a photo of my mom, one last look before I go."

"Can you stop being sentimental? It's already hard enough..."

"Actually, what I fear most isn't death, but that way of dying. Being torn apart by sea beasts, chewed up bite by bite, just thinking about it makes me shiver."

"Stop talking!! I beg you, stop talking!!"

"To be honest, I kind of hate the people at the top of the leaderboard now. They eat meat, we don't even get to drink the soup. We're all survivors, why?"

"They have good luck, starting at a resource point, what can you do about it?"

"Luck? The one at the top of the list with 550 million merit points, you're telling me that's luck? That's because they have real ability."

"Just because they have ability, they can ignore whether others live or die?"

"Why should they care about you? Did you pay them taxes?"

"Stop arguing, stop arguing, infighting at a time like this..."

"Someone is already calculating the percentage of people who can survive tonight. I took a look, but didn't dare calculate it."

"Let me calculate it. By the most optimistic estimate, adding up everyone capable of saving others, the number of people they can protect won't exceed one million. One million can live, the remaining 1.399 billion, God help them."

"1.399 billion... this number hitting me, I don't even feel anything anymore."

"Numb, truly numb."

"I just told my mom in a private chat to stop worrying about me and just protect herself. She said she's fine and told me not to run around. I said I'm not running around, I'm just waiting for death on the boat."

"What did your mom reply?"

"She said, then I'll come over to accompany you."

"..."

"Did you cry?"

"Didn't cry. But my eyes are red."

"Stop talking, brother, mine are red too, damn it."

"I suddenly thought of a question—if the sea beast tide really comes, can those who have the ability to save people hold out themselves? What if they die too?"

"Then we have even less hope."

"Actually, there's a darker thought, I don't dare say it."

"Say it."

"Do you think, could there be people who take this opportunity... bad people who know they have no hope of surviving, ignoring the survival rules and killing people to vent? Since they're going to die anyway, would they still fear those punishments from the Magic Sea?"

"..."

"Stop talking."

"I thought of it long ago, but never dared to say it out loud."

"If that's really the case, then what's more terrifying than sea beasts is people."

"So tonight, not only do we need to guard against sea beasts, but also against people?"

"Heh, the survival game has turned into a battle royale, right?"

"Stop talking, stop talking, let me have a moment of peace."

"I have three minutes left on my countdown, what about you guys?"

"Same, all waiting."

"Waiting for death or waiting for a miracle?"

"Do you think there will be a miracle?"

"..."

"Don't know."

"Probably... not."

"If there were a miracle, it should have appeared long ago."

"Yeah, it should have appeared long ago."

Countdown [ 00:01:47 ]

A Fate Platform update rippled outward, simultaneously reaching 1.4 billion consciousness nodes.

[Cause and Effect Fate Platform added new feature "magic sea compass"! Four major modules launched simultaneously—]

[Material Map: Real-time marking of resource distribution in surrounding waters, helping you scavenge accurately.]

[Sea Scan: Detect sea beast tracks and danger levels, avoid fatal threats in advance, and plan hunts.]

[Weather Warning: Millisecond-level climate and temperature dynamic monitoring, predicting changes in storms, fog, ocean currents, etc., within one day, and predicting the best escape route for you.]

[Personal Information Panel: Review your own status, talents, and item list; know yourself to win every battle. Reviewing others' information requires their authorization.]

[Daily consumption of 1 karma points can unlock the Elementary usage rights for three major functions of the magic sea compass for the day, excluding the Personal Information Panel.

The regular function of the Weather Warning is hourly dynamic monitoring and alerts; you can consume one karmic point to unlock the advanced millisecond-level dynamic monitoring and alert function, with a usage duration of one day.

For other details, please check the newly added "compass" detailed interface on the Fate Platform.]