24: Aftermath of a nightmare

Early morning.

"Brother Mo, time to wake up! Time to eat!"

A sweet, soft voice, tinged with a gentle nasal sound, rang in his ears, like a feather lightly tickling his eardrum.

Lin Mo suddenly opened his eyes and sat up from the bed.

His head hurt so much.

It felt as if two steel needles were drilling into his temples, and every heartbeat brought a fierce, tearing pain.

He raised a hand to his forehead, breathing heavily.

He had slept terribly last night.

At two o'clock, after he and Gu Zhixia switched shifts, he fell into an endless nightmare.

He dreamt that in the dark, bottomless deep sea, countless spherical objects covered in eyeballs writhed, rolled, and crawled up from the seabed.

They densely covered the deck, and giant, bloodshot eyeballs stared straight at him, fixated on him.

"Brother Mo? Are you okay?"

Seeing his pale face and cold sweat on his forehead, Gu Nianqiu worriedly leaned closer and reached out her small hand to feel his forehead.

"So hot!"

Lin Mo shook his head, forcefully dispelling the twisted, terrifying images from his mind.

"I'm fine, just had a nightmare."

It seemed the impact of his SAN value drop yesterday was even more severe than he had imagined.

He had only glanced at it, quickly escaped its gaze, and even eaten food that boosted mental power for dinner, yet his SAN value still dropped to 70%.

That kind of mental pollution from a higher-level existence couldn't be completely exempted by mere numerical values.

He threw off the covers and got out of bed, then, after a quick wash, followed Gu Nianqiu to the dining room.

At the table on the terrace, Gu Zhixia was already seated.

She had changed into a black jk uniform, with gold-rimmed glasses on her nose, sitting upright with her hands neatly placed on her knees.

When she saw Lin Mo approach, her sharp phoenix eyes immediately swept over him, and her brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.

"You look terrible."

Her voice was cool and clear.

"Still not feeling well?"

Lin Mo pulled out a chair and sat down, rubbing his aching temples, his voice a little hoarse.

"It's nothing, just an old problem."

"Hmph, being stubborn."

Gu Zhixia pouted and didn't ask further, but her gaze occasionally flickered towards him.

"Ta-da!"

Gu Nianqiu, like presenting a treasure, brought out an exquisite cheesecake from the kitchen.

The cake's surface was adorned with a few blueberries, emitting a rich milky fragrance.

"Brother Mo, quickly try this!"

She cut a large slice of cake and placed it on the plate in front of Lin Mo, her small face full of pride.

"This is my specially developed 'Calming Cheesecake'! After eating it, you won't have nightmares anymore!"

Lin Mo looked at the Little Girl's expectant expression, and much of the irritation in his heart dissipated.

He picked up a fork and put a piece into his mouth.

The cake melted in his mouth, the rich cheese aroma mixed with the sweet and sour blueberries exploded, and a cool sensation slid down his throat, rushing straight to his brain.

The sharp, piercing pain in his head was instantly soothed.

The cold system prompt sounded immediately.

System Prompt: You have consumed 'Calming Cheesecake' (a-rank cuisine), temporary mental power +10, mental resistance +50%, lasting 3 hours.

Lin Mo let out a long sigh of relief.

The whole world felt refreshed.

He didn't stint on his praise, giving Gu Nianqiu a thumbs-up.

"Nianqiu, you're a genius."

"Hehe."

Gu Nianqiu's face turned red from the praise, and she happily swung her little feet.

"Of course! I'm an A-Rank Culinary Master!"

Gu Zhixia, sitting opposite, saw Lin Mo's complexion visibly improve, and her tense body quietly relaxed.

She picked up her milk and took a sip to hide the slight upturn of her lips, but her words were still as unyielding as ever.

"It's good that you're fine, saves us the trouble of taking care of you."

Full and satisfied.

Gu Zhixia didn't want to waste a single moment; she picked up the Six-Harmony Long Spear placed nearby and walked directly to the deck.

"I'm going to practice."

The feeling of powerlessness from yesterday's battle made her urgently want to become stronger.

Gu Nianqiu, on the other hand, had fully entered her "holiday mode."

The Little Girl excitedly wandered around the ship, running to the bow to feel the sea breeze for a while, then leaning on the railing to watch the fish in the sea, humming an off-key tune, as cheerful as a little bird.

Lin Mo, alone, returned to the cockpit.

He needed to figure out one thing.

Was the Skull Forbidden Zone they encountered yesterday an isolated incident, or a common horror in this world?

He sat in the spacious captain's chair and opened the long-unused regional chat channel.

The channel was still bustling with activity.

A massive amount of information refreshed like a waterfall.

"Wu Yanzu of the East Sea: Buying wood! Buying metal! Prices negotiable! Bosses with supplies, private message me!"

"Day 1 of Survival: Does anyone know how to make a fire? My lighter ran out, I'm freezing to death!"

"Professional Team Buying Supplies: Large-scale purchase of clean fresh water and food, can be exchanged for basic blueprints and weapons, scammers stay away!"

"Mariana Fisherman: Brothers, absolutely do not go into the water at night! I personally saw a giant fish over ten meters long swallow a raft in one gulp! Not a trace of the people or the boat was left!"

"Sea Drifter: Is anyone teaming up? I'm going crazy alone! Looking for a strong player to rely on!"

Lin Mo quickly scrolled through.

Most players were still struggling at the most basic subsistence level.

Food, fresh water, and basic materials were still the hardest currency in this world.

A small number of players who had upgraded their ships to level 3 or above had begun to form their own small groups for more efficient material exchange and information sharing.

Lin Mo's fingertip slid across the screen, and one piece of information caught his attention.

"Lighthouse Keeper: Summarizing a rule, brothers, remember this. As long as you stay on the ship at night, and there's a light source on the ship, you won't be actively attacked. Those monsters seem to be very afraid of light."

Below this message, hundreds of replies immediately followed.

"Really?"

"Damn! It seems to be true! I lit a bonfire on the bow last night, and it was peaceful all night!"

"No wonder! I saw a ship in the distance yesterday with its lights on, and all the sea beasts around it steered clear!"

Lin Mo's eyes deepened.

He leaned back in his chair, his mind racing.

In the chat channel, no one mentioned the anomaly in the sky.

Everyone's attention was focused on the sea surface and the seabed.

No one could fly above the clouds like him.

Therefore, everything they encountered yesterday was not the norm for this world.

Instead, it was because he, or rather, the Natural Selection, had touched upon a domain that should not have been accessible to players at this stage.

"High altitude..."

Lin Mo murmured to himself.

It seemed that before thoroughly understanding the true nature of that "Skull Forbidden Zone," they couldn't easily fly tens of thousands of meters high again.

There, an absolute terror lurked, capable of instantly obliterating them.