Chapter 37: Boarding the Ship

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Two days later, late at night.

The sea off the port of Magic City was shrouded in thick fog. The moon was nowhere to be seen, and dark, heavy clouds hung low—a prelude to an approaching storm.

A colossal cruise ship slowly emerged from the layers of mist, resembling a moving island.

The *New Las Vegas*, the largest modern vessel in existence, measured 505.9 meters in length and 80.4 meters in height. Its hull width spanned 26 rows of shipping containers, exceeding the operational limits of standard cranes. It was environmentally advanced, highly automated, and monitored by a comprehensive computer system, which reduced the necessary crew count to just thirteen.

However, according to public reports, this ship had been confirmed to have sunk to the bottom of the sea a year ago, with none of the over seven thousand passengers on board surviving—a tragedy that had shocked the world.

At the port, it wasn't just one person waiting for the cruise ship to dock. Hundreds of invitees gathered there. The young waiter who had been standing guard at the entrance of the Xuanbin Hotel spotted an acquaintance and walked over to greet him.

"This ship might be treacherous. We should stick together. By the way, my name is Gong Chen."

Jiang He nodded and said, "Since it's already called the 'Death Cruise,' I suggest you drop the 'might.' But it seems you have a reason for needing to get on board."

Gong Chen shrugged and replied, "Of course, it's because the invitation letter promised to make dreams come true. This ship should have sunk, yet here it is, perfectly fine. Even if I only intended to see what it was about, I can't help but believe a little more now. Besides, I heard they provide free food and lodging, and I just happened to lose my last job."

"I'm not interested in setting you up."

"Not at all. The shooting incident had a terrible impact, and the hotel had to lay off staff."

The Death Cruise docked, the waves it kicked up crashing against the breakwater. The ship’s anchor, the size of a house, dropped into the sea with a thunderous roar, and the vessel came to a sudden halt. The invitees on the shore exchanged bewildered glances; this was by no means a standard docking procedure.

"Supernatural phenomenon," remarked a middle-aged man who had once been a sailor.

Amidst the loud murmurs, a large door suddenly opened on the starboard hull. A grey folding stone ramp extended, and twenty security guards in suits and sunglasses filed out, each carrying an amphibious assault rifle.

Immediately following them, a charming woman emerged from the cabin. She wore a long black dress with hollowed-out sides that trailed on the floor, revealing snow-white skin and a lush, mature figure. She clapped her hands, her sleek black gloves drawing the attention of everyone present.

"Respected guests, I am one of the administrators of the Death Cruise. You may call me Ms. A. The ship will only be docked for thirty minutes, so please board in an orderly fashion as soon as possible. The invitation letter in your hands is your ticket and pass. If there are special circumstances preventing you from participating, those who withdraw can return their invitation letters in exchange for thirty thousand US dollars. However, once you board, it will be considered voluntary."

Several hostesses stood in a row, each holding a cash box, striking in both appearance and poise.

The middle-aged sailor was the first to rush into the cabin, firmly believing that the Death Cruise possessed magical power.

The shore became restless. More people began to board, though over a dozen chose to quit while they were ahead, leaving reluctantly with their thirty thousand dollars. The organizers made no attempt to stop them.

In less than half an hour, after security checks, the vast majority of the invitees entered the cabin. Before them lay an open space the size of a basketball court, with dark, murky corridors extending in all four directions.

Along the walls of the open area were thirty-six transparent elevators, marked in numerical order.

Ms. A stepped onto a platform and said with elegant tone, "Welcome to the Death Cruise. You are currently in Zone A of the ship, and the rule here is that there are no rules."

"But laws of nature do exist. As the person in charge of Zone A, I will give you a kind hint: monsters will emerge at night. They will not enter standard rooms, but the number of rooms is limited. There are thirty-six elevators in the surrounding area, which only open during the day. You can use the elevators to go participate in games."

"If you succeed in a game, you may stay on the level above. If you fail and are lucky enough not to die, you will be sent directly to [Hell], on the lower levels of the ship."

A burly man interrupted, "Forget about the monsters for a second—how do we get off this ship? I only took two days off from my company. If something happens, you organizers have to be held responsible. Thirty thousand dollars is just pocket change; it wouldn't be excessive for you to compensate me more."

"Yeah, you didn't tell us what the games were beforehand!"

"What are we supposed to eat and drink during this time? We can't play your games on empty stomachs!"

The scene immediately descended into chaos. Ms. A seemed accustomed to this. She turned and walked toward a wall. The seamless wall opened to the sides, revealing a white corridor with a high-tech aesthetic. The security guards and hostesses followed behind, and a moment later, the door closed again.

"Give us an explanation!"

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"You damn bitch, what’s with the attitude!"

"Everyone, be careful—something's wrong."

Gong Chen shouted loudly, but unfortunately, no one paid him any mind.

Jiang He looked up at the air above the basketball court, where a notice board was hanging.

Standard Time—5:35
Zone A Population—525

Suddenly, the population count changed to 521.

Many of the invitees noticed this, and everyone’s eyes began scanning their surroundings. A woman let out a piercing scream.

"Ah!!"

From each of the four dark corridors, a giant mosquito, as tall as a human, flew out. Each joint of its limbs resembled a cold, sharp spear. As their size increased, their features became so terrifyingly hideous that they made one’s scalp crawl, especially their eyes, which appeared strange and indifferent.

The giant mosquitoes pounced on the invitees, their mouthparts piercing into the abdominal cavities. After a sound like a gurgling water pump, the prey's blood and internal organs were sucked dry.

"Buzz!"

The giant mosquitoes fed with extreme speed, and in the blink of an eye, they were already vibrating their wings again.

The woman's scream was abruptly cut short.

"Holy shit, they've mutated!"

"Run! Everyone run!"

"Get to the rooms, quick!"

The crowd scattered in panic. Jiang He hid his presence within the flowing crowd at a moderate pace. As he passed the entrance to the eastern corridor, he casually crushed a cinnabar pellet. The faint red mist was dispersed by the rushing figures, making it entirely inconspicuous.

The four giant mosquitoes were extremely fast, but they would pause for a few seconds while feeding, which gave the invitees time to escape. One only needed to be faster than the others to temporarily save their own life.

The corridors were deep and dark, with only red lanterns dimly lighting the way. Rooms lined both sides.

The fastest invitees opened the first room, and a group of people ducked inside, locking the door tightly.

Jiang He did not stop, continuing to run forward.

"If there were no limit to the number of people per room, then the hint that ‘the number of rooms is limited’ would undoubtedly be unnecessary. That woman calling herself Ms. A having her speech interrupted was a genuine loss for the invitees."

There were quite a few invitees who shared similar thoughts to Jiang He. Gong Chen shouted as hard as he could:

"Don't all huddle together! The mosquitoes won't enter standard rooms, but gathering too many people in one place is definitely not normal. Everyone, spread out!"

There was only one giant mosquito in the eastern corridor, but this clearly abnormal monster brought immense panic. It stopped in front of the first room, then raised its mouthparts and pierced a large hole in the door.

"Ahhh!"

"Please, don't kill me!"

The five people holding the door shut were skewered like a row of candied hawthorns. The wailing lasted only a few seconds before the giant mosquito crashed into the room, shattering the door panels. The space inside was relatively narrow, and the invitees had nowhere to hide. The giant mosquito stopped vibrating its wings and advanced like a tiger or leopard.

Roars and desperate, blood-curdling screams echoed one after another.

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Jiang He heard the sounds and stopped in his tracks. Not far ahead was the wall at the end of the corridor. He reached out, dropped a cinnabar pellet, and walked into the room next to him. It contained only a single bed.

"Once the door is destroyed, the room falls outside the normal category; it should be considered damaged. There are a total of one hundred rooms in this corridor, but there are over a hundred people who were funneled here. In that case, the greatest danger isn't the giant mosquito, but the other invitees."

Meanwhile, shouts came from outside the door.

"Let me in! What right do you have to hog a room all to yourself!"

"I have elderly parents and young children! I beg you, show some mercy!"

Jiang He took out his cinnabar mirror. In the display, dozens of people had reached the end of the corridor and were hovering in front of the last room, some pleading, some cursing.

The burly man leading them pounded on the door.

"You bunch of lunatics, if too many people crowd in, we'll all die!" a roar came from inside the last room.

The crowd, who had yet to find a room, became incensed and began to wildly kick and bash against the surrounding doors.

Jiang He was also affected, but his Constitution and Strength, both at 8 points, allowed him to easily hold the door shut.

"If the giant mosquitoes don't have special supernatural abilities, their life tier is estimated to be above common beasts but below exotic species like Mountain Ghosts or Wood Guests. However, life tier doesn't entirely equate to combat power."

At the same time, the giant mosquito had already slaughtered the invitees in the first room. Its abdomen was bulging, and it vibrated its wings, flying toward the end of the corridor.

Seeing this, the crowd went mad. Led by the burly man, they began to frantically ram the last room.

"Crack."

With a sharp sound, the door began to sway. Once the lock was broken, the invitees inside cursed at them.

"What's the point of doing this? Look at the first room, you bunch of blind idiots!"

The burly man sneered, "I can't stand you looking on from behind a door while we’re out here. The room is narrow; if you want to live, fight with us. Even if it's a tiger, it definitely can't beat this many people."

"That's right, let's all pile on!"

"Hurry and find some improvised weapons!"

Driven to the point of extreme fear, the crowd instead found a desperate courage.

The giant mosquito arrived at the end of the corridor. Unlike what was expected, it was surrounded by a dense swarm of larval mosquitoes, resembling a black mist.

The black mist swept over the room. The invitees' skin was bitten with countless fist-sized swellings, causing unbearable pain.

The resistance was easily crushed. The invitees, unable to endure the agony, tried to rush out, but the giant mosquito killed them one by one. After sucking their blood and internal organs dry, it used the flesh as a nursery to lay eggs. Within a few minutes, a new "black mist" was born.

Jiang He, who had watched the entire process, looked slightly surprised. There were four giant mosquitoes in just one area. Across the entire Death Cruise, the total number of giant mosquitoes and their larvae was likely an extreme, terrifying figure.

"If this is indeed the worst-case scenario, I can only barely manage to save my own life."

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