Chapter 131: 130 Sirens? Mermaids!

Lin Jun was inspecting his mycelial network.

Over and over, he still couldn't find the source of that voice.

If some sound suddenly came from the mist, that would be fine; but having it appear directly inside the mycelial network was somewhat terrifying.

It was like hearing a stranger's voice in the next room when you got home.

Keep going?

Was it speaking to himself or to Dylan?

It must have been speaking to himself, after all, Dylan had fainted.

But who could it have been?

A monster in the mist?

Then that monster's voice was good enough to rival the sirens in the books.

Or perhaps some god, Outer God, Old God, angel, or demon?

Lin Jun couldn't help but run through all the settings from his past life.

Maybe this world was a play arranged by some deity, and he was just a clown on the stage?

He truly hoped it wouldn't turn out that way...

The whole night was full of incomprehensible things, but fortunately, they had finally emerged from the mist, and it was morning.

Six hours later.

Dylan, who had replenished his mana with enough sunlight, woke up on the small boat; the first thing he saw was the withered scout...

For Dylan, pretending to photosynthesize and bask in the sun was enjoyment; the scout not only couldn't photosynthesize but hadn't even brought high-temperature resistance, making the scorching sun pure torture.

Not to mention he had soaked in seawater earlier; now Dylan's condition was actually much better than the scout's.

Dylan looked around; there was no mist, no giant ship, and certainly no water ghosts.

"So... we survived?"

"Not quite yet," Lin Jun said, pouring cold water on the idea.

Even if the sun could replenish mana, Dylan couldn't survive just by basking in the sun; half of him was still flesh and blood.

He needed water. He needed food.

Food might be manageable by trying to catch some fish, but water was impossible.

If there were glass bottles or something similar, they could consider using evaporation to get some fresh water, but the luggage had sunk into the sea along with the Wind Feather long ago, leaving absolutely no containers.

If there was no change within a few days, Dylan and the scout would probably turn into one large and one small dried mushroom.

The day passed and night fell again; without the sun, the scout finally regained a bit of vitality.

The scout, Puji, used mycelial tentacles to pull a strange fish up from the sea.

Seeing no poison on the status panel, Lin Jun tossed it to Dylan to eat.

Eating raw was the only option, as there were no conditions to start a fire on the small boat.

Halfway through the midnight snack, a beautiful voice drifted over from far away.

Late at night, on the open sea, singing?

Actually, it was fine; as long as it wasn't another strange voice appearing directly inside the mycelial network, Lin Jun could accept it.

【Sound Wave Detection Lv. 6】

Lin Jun immediately locked onto two figures on a distant reef.

The upper body of a human girl, and the lower body of a fish.

Sirens?

He opened the panel.

【Race: Mermaid】

【Level: 21】

【Skill: Enchanting Voice Lv. 4】

Alright, calling them mermaids in this world isn't wrong.

However, Enchanting Voice... enchanting?

How to put it... just... so disappointing...

Shouldn't it be that kind of heavenly sound?

But the feeling Lin Jun got from this singing was... ordinary, very ordinary.

Lin Jun couldn't help but wonder, with the skill's buff, could even Fat Tiger sing with an enchanting effect?

At the very least, this song, which sounded merely average to Lin Jun, worked on the uncle nearby.

The status bar even showed "Enchanted."

Dylan's eyes were hazy as he reached out to row the boat, wanting to approach that reef.

This was, of course, futile; rowing by hand didn't even go as far as the waves pushing the boat.

Seeming to notice prey had taken the bait but not coming over for a long time, one mermaid dove directly into the water and swam over. In a moment, a pair of bare arms rested on the edge of the small boat.

A girl with eyes as bright as emeralds hummed a tune, leaning against the boat and gazing affectionately at Dylan.

Then, at first glance, she broke character.

Uncle Dylan's face was green and covered in a mass of mycelium, looking like some kind of meat left too long and grown moldy.

The affection in the mermaid's eyes instantly turned into huge shock—she had never seen such a thing in all her life!

Her facial expression kept changing, as if hesitating whether to eat something that might cause diarrhea; for a moment, even the tune she hummed became perfunctory.

It was really perfunctory; if the previous singing could be considered ordinary, this one now counted as noise disturbing the peace.

Anyway, Lin Jun couldn't stand it anymore.

The scout's fungal tentacles lashed out, wrapping around the mermaid's neck the instant she sensed something was wrong.

At the same time, one tentacle whipped out, violently rousing Dilan from his shallow enchantment.

This enchantment was nothing compared to the Huang Pishu's—back then, even beating Dilan half-dead didn't break it.

"W-what's going on?"

Enchantment doesn't erase memory; before Lin Jun could answer, Dilan quickly figured it out himself after waking up.

He stared at the mermaid, her neck bound by Pujī, being hauled onto the boat, his expression solemn.

His solemnity wasn't because he'd just been enchanted—it was because he didn't understand why they were bringing this thing aboard.

He had a bad suspicion.

"Boss… you're not thinking of eating this thing, are you?"

"If I say yes, will you eat it?"

Dilan frowned, shook his head, then after a pause, nodded reluctantly.

Damn, he's got real potential for inhumanity.

"Too bad, this isn't for eating."

Hearing it wasn't food, Dilan sighed in relief.

Then he asked, puzzled: "Then what is it for?"

Dilan didn't understand—if it was just an enemy, killing it would be enough. Why bring it aboard?

Lin Jun explained: "This thing is intelligent."

Dilan nodded. He knew mermaids were intelligent, but he still didn't get why.

"Idiot, it's intelligent AND it can swim! Can't you think of anything?"

Dilan still didn't get it.

Sigh. Unteachable brat.

Lin Jun simply ordered: "Dilan, hit her."

Dilan:?

Though he didn't understand, it was the boss's order…

He swung his fist at the mermaid, not holding back.

This thing before him was just a monster in a girl's form that had just tried to kill him.

When the sun rose, a bruised and swollen mermaid was already pulling the boat.

The fungal tentacles coiled around her waist—if she slacked off swimming, Pujī would whip her.

Intelligence makes her easy to train; if it were just a big fish, it'd swim wildly everywhere, impossible to control.

Thanks to the mermaid's effort, the boat broke free from drifting aimlessly.

They picked a direction at random and sped forward, hoping for luck.

If luck truly ran out, they still had reserve rations to last a few more days…

…

The mermaid was lucky—before collapsing from exhaustion, she led the boat to a small island!

They kicked the half-dead mermaid back into the sea, and Pujī stepped onto the island's sandy shore.

"Finally!" Dilan wept with joy over there.

Lin Jun felt no sense of deliverance—after all, this was just Pujī.

He idly pulled up the nearest available panel—everything was ordinary, no monsters visible yet.

【Skill: Delicious】

Huh?

The fleeting "Delicious" made Lin Jun stop, then turned back to check each panel he'd just closed.

Finally, Pujī stood beneath a tree on the beach shore—its branches bore several fruits with red shells…

(End of Chapter)