"Now... what do we do?"
"Wait." Big Wave bit his cigarette, resting his hands on the railing and looking at the dead sea.
The surroundings were silent and dark, and the cigarette butt in her mouth became the only light source in sight.
Human beings all yearn for the light. At this time, the remaining few people are all around the bow, standing or leaning, and they do not speak in tacit agreement.
It's like waiting for the last death to come...
It was Da Wave who broke the silence first, and she handed the cigarette case in her hand to Ye Chang who was on the side: "Would you like one?"
"No, I'm still underage, thank you." Ye Chang obediently refused, like a good student who doesn't drink alcohol or tobacco.
Although the way he beat up the seasick captain is more ruthless than the street gangster...
Da Wave paused for a moment while holding the cigarette case. She took it back after a while. She smiled: "There is neither the dean nor the parents here. Death is imminent. What's the point of worrying about whether or not there is?"
The next moment waiting for them is likely to be death, and there is nothing else they can't touch.
Ye Chang only smiled gently: "I don't want to leave a bad impression on my roommate."
He also looked at the sea where nothing could be seen from a distance like a big wave.
Da Wave paused while biting the cigarette, and looked at Chi Nan with a deep expression: "Yeah."
Chi Nan, who was outside the situation, didn't react, and it took a moment for him to say seriously, "I don't mind."
"Just kidding." Ye Chang laughed, and the big wave next to him also laughed.
Time for a cigarette.
The big wave just threw the cigarette butts into the calm sea, when the hull suddenly swayed without warning.
Everyone's expressions changed slightly, and Da Wave's hand gripping the fence unconsciously tightened: "Come on."
She looked up and saw the place where the setting sun was hanging on the horizon, and could vaguely see the circling lightning. The water wall formed by the huge waves penetrated the sky and the earth, and was swept towards the Dusk at a very fast speed!
The fear of the old captain has been materialized, and the great storm that engulfed the Dusk in the past is close at hand.
The eyes of everyone looking towards the front are as if they have seen hell.
"Come on, let's go back to the cabin to hide..."
"A storm of this magnitude will be swept away by the waves wherever we hide, it's useless!"
After all, everyone rushed to the cabin subconsciously, and tried to lock the door to prevent the seawater from filling the cabin at once.
But it turned out that no matter what they did at this moment, it was useless. At the moment when the strong wind swept the water wall, the broken guardrail and the mast smashed into the floor-to-ceiling windows of the banquet hall, corridor and dining room, and the sea water followed. The madness poured into the cabin, filling a layer in an instant.
A group of people who knew that they would die in this shipwreck ran to the top of the ship like crazy, stimulated by the desire to survive.
At that time, the hull of the ship was already tilted seriously, and the dilapidated Dusk was like a leaf in the wind, spinning and tossing in the huge waves, and the people on the ship almost fell.
"Chi Nan, you follow me..." Dark Tea turned to look for Chi Nan, who was left behind, and found that Ye Chang had picked him up from the water and carried him on his back, and swallowed half of the words in his stomach.
Although it is a bit out of place to think about these at the critical moment of life and death, at that moment, dark tea suddenly felt a sense of solace that the children in the family found a reliable partner.
But this irrelevant emotion didn't last long, and he continued to run upstairs under the urging of survival.
Chi Nan, who had choked on a large mouthful of water, leaned on Ye Chang's back, and quietly rubbed his tears on the other party's wet collar: "Thank you."
Ye Chang smiled: "You're welcome."
He was the only one who could laugh at such a terrifying moment.
"Actually, you don't need to stop and help me." Although Chi Nan is not very knowledgeable, he can still empathize with the human instinct to fear death. Now, when their lives are on the line, they meet each other by chance and form a team into nightmares. He doesn't think he is worth it. The opponent risked his life to save.
Who knows that Ye Chang's tone is relaxed and ordinary: "Are you serious? Isn't it just a form of escape when we run away? We're all going to die anyway."
That being said, normal humans shouldn't accept it so easily and tell the truth so easily, right
Chi Nan was a little confused, but he still responded with no ups and downs: "That's true."
"It's quite exciting." Ye Chang, like a child who just got the new game, was a little bit looking forward to it and a little bit happy.
"You two are still chatting?! Let's go! This place will be submerged soon!" The big wave turned back and yelled at the two of them. At this moment, she was like a dean...
Ye Changgang shrugged, and suddenly a huge wave rolled over, and the hull tilted 180 degrees and fell into the sea!
The impact was too fast and too big, leaving no room for anyone to react. Almost in the blink of an eye, the sea water broke through the deck and quickly poured into the cabin. The dizzy crowd fell into the water, staggering and crawling. When I got up, I found that the water had submerged my chest, and it was still rising at a speed visible to the naked eye!
In a few minutes, the cabins will be completely filled with the influx of seawater, and they will all suffocate in the water.
Almost everyone instinctively fluttered in the water to find an exit, but as the water level continued to rise, their heads almost touched the floor of the overturned cabin.
In fact, everyone also understands in their hearts that even if they find an exit and swim out, they cannot be rescued. The only way is to die in this desperate shipwreck...
The only way out of the dream...
When the water submerged his Adam's apple, Ye Chang suddenly smiled without warning, but at this moment no one was in the mood to pay attention to his unusual reaction, only Chi Nan, who was almost equally calm, looked over.
"Are you afraid?" Ye Chang asked him.
Chi Nan blinked his wet eyes and said honestly, "I try to be afraid."
Only Ye Chang could laugh, he said curiously, "Then what?"
Chi Nan shook his head.
Ye Chang murmured something again, but the surrounding water, human voices and engine noises were so noisy that Chi Nan couldn't hear them clearly, only to hear Ye Chang asking him at the end, "It's so boring to be so dead. Would you like to play a game together?"
Chi Nan nodded: "Okay."
Almost as soon as he nodded, Ye Chang took his hand and dived into the water, as if he had guessed Chi Nan's answer long ago...
The sea water overflowed Chi Nan's lips, nose, eyes, top of his head... The oxygen in his lungs was exhausted little by little, and his consciousness became blurred in the rumbling sound of water, but the arrival of death did not seem to be as terrible as imagined. At least at this moment, he is waiting with a calm mood...
Chi Nan opened his eyes underwater as if inspired by a cold touch when he felt a hand brush his eyelids.
The dark blue bubbles continued to rise upward, and through the tiny bubbles, a strange and magnificent scene happened—
The Dusk, which was originally shattered by the big waves, seemed to be alive and repaired by itself, and returned to its former glory and prosperity. The old captain was still a gentleman with a radiant face. , from time to time bursts of laughter and applause came from the audience.
"Dear guests, you are so radiant tonight. As the captain, I sincerely hope that the Dusk can accompany you to spend the most wonderful holiday at sea..."
The band played the first dance of the night, and countless men and women poured onto the dance floor.
Chi Nan subconsciously looked for Ye Chang's figure in the crowd. The two of them had clearly dived into the water together just now, but after the illusion came out, why did he disappear...
He looked up against the crowd, and suddenly he didn't pay attention, and bumped into a well-dressed male guest.
Almost in an instant, something slightly glowing fell out of the pocket of the male guest he hit and fell to the ground.
Chi Nan glanced subconsciously, but before he could see clearly, the other party had already picked up the dropped object and held it in his hand.
Seems like a… pocket watch.
But it was just a blink of an eye, Chi Nan wasn't sure, just felt like...a little familiar.
Just when Chi Nan was in a daze, a soft touch ran across his neck. He just raised his head when the male guest had moved in front of him.
The man had a mask on his face that was out of place for the Twilight Ball.
Almost as soon as their eyes met, Chi Nan recognized that the other party was the dream maker of "You Yu's Dream".
"Sir, can I invite you to a dance?" He bowed slightly and stretched out his hand towards Chi Nan.
Chi Nan had never been invited by anyone before, so he was a little stunned: "I'm looking for someone."
"The man must not be at the dance."
"But I can't dance."
"It's okay, you just give me your hand."
"… "
"You won't make a fool of yourself."
"… "
"It won't make you cry either." Under the mask, his eyes hid a smile, "I'm wearing gloves."
Chi Nan: "...Thank you."
He was a little curious about what the other party wanted, so he handed over his hand.
The moment the Dream Maker held his hand, Chi Nan trembled subconsciously.
Wrapped in soft silk gloves, it does not seem to belong to a pair of living hands.
It's cold to the bone, like sticking your hand into a snowdrift in the twelfth lunar day... It's not as warm as humans should be.
But these hands are so gentle and dexterous, pulling Chi Nan into the bustling dance floor, stepping on the dance steps gracefully with the melody, under his guidance, Chi Nan moves the steps jerky, with no sense of melody at all. The lively dance floor is a little out of place.
The other party laughed softly, Chi Nan looked over reluctantly, and the dream maker pursed his lips towards him: "It's cute."
He said these three words.
Chi Nan didn't intend to ignore him, and continued to learn dance steps with difficulty.
One two three, one two three...
"I'm sorry, I knocked your thing off just now," Chi Nan looked into his pocket, "Can you tell me what it is?"
The other party tutted: "Not yet."
Chi Nan: "…"
Soon, the song is over.
As the music stopped, the men and women who were dancing happily suddenly disappeared, and the brilliance of the banquet hall remained, but only Chi Nan and the dream maker who was pulling him were left.
Chi Nan looked around suspiciously, and the Dream Maker raised his finger to his lips mysteriously, making a 'shush' gesture.
Chi Nan followed his line of sight and saw that the curtain on the ceiling was pulled open, and the afterglow of the setting sun filled every corner of the banquet hall.
He narrowed his eyes slightly, and the guests who had disappeared suddenly turned into translucent bubbles, floating towards the bright ceiling in the blood-red light, like a school of fish chasing the light on the seabed, and like a soul walking on the road to death .
They became lighter and lighter, gradually engulfed by the rays of the setting sun...
The old captain floated at the end of the crowd. Before disappearing completely, he turned his head and bowed to Chi Nan and the last gentleman of the dream maker.
"They are free," said the Dreamer.
"Chi Nan? Chi Nan? You finally woke up!"
The moment Chi Nan opened his eyes, he saw that the black tea was biting an apple boredly, and the sound of 'click' was very crisp.
Chi Nan rubbed his sleepy head, looked around and found many green chairs around him: "This is..."
"The waiting room at Dawn Base," said the dark tea, chewing on a juicy apple, "you have slept on the train for almost two days and two nights, and it's even heavier than last time."
"Oh..." Chi Nan sat up straight, his eyes swept across the crowd, the big wave, the short-haired iron T, and the red-haired man sat beside the black tea in turn, but...
He poked his head and looked around again, but there was no one else in the waiting room.
Chi Nan's heart suddenly seemed to miss a beat: "Where's Ye Chang?"
The moment he asked, everyone's faces sank invariably.
"Where's Ye Chang?" Chi Nan asked again.
The action of black tea biting the apple stopped, and his eyes were erratic without looking at his face: "That boy, he..."
He wanted to speak, but stopped, and the black tea lowered his head and sighed.
Chi Nan's hand gripping the edge of the chair unconsciously tightened: "What's the matter?"
His last memory about the "Dusk Cruise" was that Ye Chang took his hand and dived into the water, and then I don't know if it was an illusion or the end of a dream. He saw the bizarre scene just now on the Dusk cruise that sank to the bottom...
But Ye Chang was not present at the dance.
Hei Cha's lips were tensed, and finally he couldn't hold back, showing his flaws: "Hahahaha I can't act anymore..."
Chi Nan: "...?"
Big wave bit his cigarette: "Don't be angry, we're teasing you."
Chi Nan: "Oh..."
"So what about Ye Chang?" Chi Nan continued to ask.
Although he didn't say anything, it was undeniable that the frequency of his heartbeat had indeed changed a bit just now, and a thin layer of sweat appeared on the palms of his hands.
Black Tea: "The flight attendant informed me just now that Ye Chang will sit down and come over, and when everyone is together, let's check the favorability together."
Chi Nan frowned subtly: "Why doesn't he come with us?"
"He was the last to emerge from the sea, we really thought he was gone..." Hei Cha said with a sigh of relief, "Not long ago, we received a notification from the platform that we should be the same batch of teammates, and we will join us. The next time it was the same, we were sure he should be fine."
Chi Nan's eyelashes trembled: "It's fine."
Hei Cha gave him a deep look: "Chi Nan, you won't..."
Chi Nan raised his eyes to look at him: "Nothing?"
Hei Cha looked at the unobstructed green pupils, smiled and shook his head: "It's okay."
He took another bite of the apple.
"No what?"
A familiar voice sounded behind him, Chi Nan turned back suddenly, Ye Changxiao looked at him slightly, his eyes curled beautifully behind the lenses.
He was still wearing his school uniform, and the schoolbag behind him was heavy, as if he was holding an exercise book that could never be finished.
"Cough, cough cough..." The black tea was caught off guard and choked on the apple.
Ye Chang naturally walked to Chi Nan's side: "I made everyone wait for a long time, I'm so sorry."
Da Wave threw the cigarette butt into the trash can and patted his clothes: "It's just fine, let's go."
Like last time, the group was led by the staff into the room where the scores were calculated.
On the way, Chi Nan asked Ye Chang: "When you are in the water, what do you mean by playing a game together?"
The corners of Ye Chang's lips raised slightly: "Pretending to mean sacrifice."
Chi Nan's footsteps stopped, and the black tea, who had been standing beside him, was choked again, coughing and coughing non-stop.
The smile on Ye Chang's face widened: "Just kidding."
Chi Nan: "…"
Ye Chang put away his smile and pushed his glasses: "I just feel that instead of waiting to die, it's better to jump into the water and take the initiative to choose to end my life."
"Well, that's it," Chi Nan turned his face to look at him, "did you see anything in the water?"
Ye Chang shook his head: "What's in the water? No, I fainted later... What's the matter?"
Chi Nan was silent for a moment: "It's okay."
Everyone came to the room where the scores were calculated, and after a sumptuous dinner like last time, the system's unruffled voice sounded on the radio—
[First of all, congratulations to all sleepwalkers for successfully clearing the "Dusk Cruise", and the following will be the favorability calculation. ]
[On the first night of the cruise, everyone shared wonderful horror stories according to the captain's request, each person's favorability +5]
[On the second night of the cruise, each sleepwalker who shares the story as required will have a favorable opinion of +5; however, because some sleepwalkers ignore the rules, the story will break up unhappily, and the system will give the sleepwalkers who do not follow the rules a negative favor Warning, favorability per person -50]
Hearing this, the black tea jumped up from the chair: "Did you make a mistake, adding 5 points for telling a story and not deducting 50 points for telling a story is ten times more?"
The system ignored his protest and continued to read out the rules of favor distribution—
[The story sharer who successfully made the horror story affect the dungeon world and prompted the sleepwalker to make a decision to stay in the Dusk permanently, favorability +20]
At this moment, the rest of the sleepwalkers looked at Black Tea again. He was the only sleepwalker whose story had actually happened, and he was still alive and well.
[Work together to find the captain's 'forgotten painting', collective favorability +10]
[Make the right choice after finding the clues, let the Dusk sink into the sea, release the undead trapped on the ship, collective favorability +20]
['Twilight Cruise' special reward: The sleepwalker who sleeps the longest during the dungeon will get 5 points of favorability encouragement]
Hei Cha's eyes wandered on the faces of Chi Nan and Ye Chang. Only these two guys can sleep soundly here... I just don't know which of them can sleep better.
Ye Chang seemed to see his doubts and said with a smile, "I'm rushing homework all night, and I don't have a good night's sleep than Brother Nan."
Black Tea: "..." It's too much to rush homework all night in the Nightmare dungeon.
[This dungeon black tea earns 60 favorability points]
[Jiang Yu (Big Wave) earns 40 favorability points]
[Peng Hao (red hair) earns 40 favorability points]
[Guo Ran (short-haired iron T) earns 40 favorability points]
[Chi Nan earns favor - 10 points]
[Ye Chang earns favor - 15 points]
[The favorability of those who have disappeared from the dream copy is cleared and will not be counted. ]
Everyone looked at Chi Nan and Ye Chang with question marks and sympathy.
After finishing the dungeon, I owe a lot of favorability, which is too miserable...
[Initial favorability of Chi Nan, the sleepwalker -5, total -15 points]
[Because there are two sleepwalkers in the dangerous state of -15 in this nightmare, the system will punish them severely. ]
It was the first time that a few old sleepwalkers heard that the system was going to impose punishment.
[Punishment content: In the next nightmare instance, the death rate of sleepwalkers who have fallen to the Dangerous Favorability Point will increase to 90%]
When they heard the death probability value of 90%, everyone froze, and the black tea even scolded.
It's really a goddamn near death, and it's not much different from a direct sentence of death.
[But because of this, the dream maker appreciated the performance of the two very much, and made an exception to provide the two with the last chance. ]
Seeing hope from the bottom of despair, everyone unconsciously held their breaths and waited for the system to say the last chance—
[The system will select a lucky one from the two sleepwalkers with a favorable opinion of -15, provide the right of death amnesty, and only punish the other sleepwalker]
Silence and suspicion spread in the banquet hall, and everyone looked at Chi Nan and Ye Chang with mixed expressions. Only these two parties were present.
Ye Chang even smiled like a joke: "Can't you buy one get one free, and forgive us both?"
[Sorry, can't. ] The system answered him.
Chi Nan: "How does the recipient of the death pardon decide?"
[To be fair and equitable, two sleepwalkers will roll the dice. ]
Chi Nan: "..." It's a bit of a joke.