The Ship

The island was filled with the sounds of screams and weeping.

Yue Shi had a particular talent for inventing ways to torment people.

In the warehouse, the butcher who had been slaughtering sheep found that Yue Shi had secretly swapped the animal for his own son.

After the butcher had dismantled his son as if he were a machine, he suddenly burst into tears for some reason and began to run amok in a frenzy.

“It’s just one dead brat. What’s there to cry about? Truly undignified~”

Yue Shi complained calmly as he cradled the snow leopard.

How could wicked people possess familial love?

If Yue Shi didn’t have it, then other villains shouldn't have it either.

To ascend to immortality and attain the Dao, one must sever all worldly ties.

To be a person of utter wickedness, one could not be shackled by tedious emotions.

Yue Shi decided to help the islanders evolve, turning them into true seeds of evil.

His gaze swept over the busy, hardworking figures before he raised his right hand and made a light horizontal motion.

Within the perception of the island residents, the world suddenly shifted.

One second they were working hard, and the next, they found their surroundings had completely changed.

The warehouse vanished, the cargo vanished, and even the torrential rain outside disappeared.

In their place was a maze constructed of countless mirrored walls.

The walls were so high the tops were invisible, stretching left and right to the very edge of their vision.

The light source was unknown—a uniform, cold, deathly white that illuminated everything clearly yet cast no shadows, stripping away any possibility of hiding.

Panic began to spread.

“What’s going on?”

“What the hell is this place?”

“Damn it, we’ve hit something supernatural. Hit the walls! See if we can smash them open!”

Some tried to destroy the walls, only to find they were unimaginably sturdy, leaving not even a scratch.

Others tried to run, searching for an exit, but no matter which direction they took, the scenery remained identical. The twisting corridors seemed endless, and they soon became hopelessly lost.

As time passed, an even worse situation descended upon them.

There was no food or water in the maze, and the air was extremely dry. They began to feel the gnawing of hunger and the parching of thirst.

No one had brought food with them, and their physiological needs were escalating at an unnaturally rapid pace.

Stomachs cramped, throats burned like smoke, and reason was being eroded by primal survival instincts.

At the same time, their sense of time became completely distorted, and the drain on their physical strength accelerated. Fatigue washed over them like a tide.

Yue Shi stood outside the maze, watching quietly.

Inside the maze, time flowed at an accelerated rate. The people within shifted from initial terror and cursing to frantic suspicion.

Thirst and hunger would devour both humanity and reason.

If those trapped in the maze had been a group of law-abiding good people, it might have taken a long time for order to collapse.

But those inside were a pack of cold-blooded villains. They were nothing more than two-legged sheep, and it wasn't as if they hadn't tasted such meat before.

When the first person threw a punch at a weaker companion, the chaos officially began.

Suspicion turned into brawling, and brawling escalated into death matches.

No weapons? They used fists, teeth, and even tore off strips of clothing to strangle one another.

Screams, curses, and pleas echoed and overlapped within the maze, finally coalescing into a horrifying scene of carnage.

A swarm of venomous insects trapped in a transparent jar, forced into a survival filter by a rapidly deteriorating environment.

Yue Shi watched silently, a look of satisfaction appearing on his face.

He simply loved admiring the sight of brains and intestines splashing everywhere.

Cradling the snow leopard, Yue Shi walked toward the port with composed steps.

His gaze swept over the boats at the harbor, finally settling on one of them. It was slightly larger than the others and relatively well-maintained. Its lines appeared smooth and sturdy amidst the wind and rain—the very ship the group had intended to use for transporting their cargo.

“This one will do.”

Yue Shi walked to the side of the ship, and the mooring ropes loosened automatically. With a light leap, he landed on the slippery deck with the snow leopard in his arms.

The scent of tobacco and cheap alcohol still lingered in the cabin, and crates of miscellaneous items were piled on the deck, having not yet been moved off.

Yue Shi frowned.

He raised his hand and snapped his fingers.

Inside the cabin and on the deck, everything that did not belong to the ship’s actual structure—including the crates, personal belongings, unopened food and water, and even hidden contraband and communication devices—was tossed out effortlessly. They traced various arcs through the air before falling into the sea with a series of splashes.

In just a few seconds, the entire ship became empty. Only the hull, engine, navigation equipment, and other essential facilities remained. It was as clean as if it had just left the factory.

Only then did Yue Shi feel inclined to wander slowly around the ship with the snow leopard.

Using the deck as a boundary, the ship could be divided into three levels.

The upper level consisted mainly of the wheelhouse and the connected captain's quarters, along with a small crow's nest.

The wheelhouse was fairly spacious. Although the dashboard and console were old, the key equipment seemed to have undergone professional modifications, making it more complex than a standard fishing boat.

Through the wide front windows, the rain-swept sea was clearly visible.

The captain's quarters were adjacent to the wheelhouse. Aside from a fixed bed and a small table, there was nothing else, and now it was completely bare.

The crow's nest was above the wheelhouse, accessible by a ladder, offering an excellent field of vision.

The middle level could be entered through a hatch on the deck or an internal staircase; this was the crew's living quarters.

Narrow crew cabins lined the sides, each with four simple bunks. In the center was a common area, including a tiny kitchen (now containing only a stove and empty cabinets), a utility room that doubled as a dining area, and a locked armory.

Yue Shi casually snapped the lock. Inside were several high-pressure harpoon guns, machetes, electric prods, and even two poorly maintained pistols with a bit of ammunition.

To him, these were all scrap metal.

Additionally, there was a separate bathroom and a small engine control compartment.

The lower level was the hold, serving entirely as a warehouse. It was the largest space but had a low ceiling, requiring one to stoop to enter.

It was partitioned into several sections, clearly intended for sorting cargo, but now it was naturally empty, leaving behind only a lingering, unpleasant odor.

In a corner was an independent chamber with better sealing—a dedicated cold storage room equipped with a refrigeration unit.

Upon opening it, a blast of cold air mixed with a thick scent of disinfectant rushed out.

It was empty, the stainless steel walls glinting with a cold light.

Overall, it was a mid-sized civilian vessel with obvious signs of modification, geared toward covert transport and a degree of self-defense, though it lacked heavy offensive weaponry like cannons.

Then again, did Yue Shi need such weapons?

He stroked the head of the snow leopard in his arms, and the cub squinted its eyes comfortably.

“Barely usable.”

Only after inspecting the ship did Yue Shi unhurriedly pull out an old phone.

“Ghost, you can come back now.”

Ten seconds later, the phone screen lit up.

Ghost observed the surroundings and asked in confusion, “Why are you at the seaside?”

Yue Shi gave a vague acknowledgment and walked into the wheelhouse, looking out at the dim horizon where the sea met the sky. “I plan to head out to sea.”

Ghost: “???”

“Are you planning to change careers and become the Pirate King?”

Yue Shi said indifferently, “Perhaps.”

Ghost had long since grown accustomed to Yue Shi’s sudden whims and occasional bouts of madness, so he didn't ask further.

“Speaking of which, such a massive commotion broke out that day. What exactly happened...”