Time is the cheapest thing on the sea.
A few days passed in the blink of an eye. For Elias Rockland, these days had been both long and fulfilling.
At this moment, he was sitting on that weathered, broken little boat, clutching a fishing rod that had come with his supplies, staring deeply at the sea's surface.
He hadn't been idle these past few days.
Although the encounter with that siren had left him with quite a bit of psychological trauma—causing him to cower near the docks for several days, casting his line like a retired old man—he still had his pride.
As a fisherman, some things simply couldn't be sacrificed.
Specifically, the shame of being 'skunked.'
For three consecutive days, aside from a few clumps of seaweed caught on the hook and an unfortunate starfish passing by, he hadn't seen a single scale.
It was an insult!
Thus, on a clear and sunny morning, Elias finally overcame his fear and rowed out to sea once again.
Of course, he had learned his lesson this time.
His appearance had undergone a drastic transformation.
His once clean face was now covered in stubble, paired with slightly disheveled hair.
Even more eye-catching was his equipment.
Both his left and right arms were bound with shields made from carapace husk, lined with a layer of cotton cloth stripped from his old clothes.
His shoulders were covered by two pieces of shoulder armor.
He looked quite similar to the Captain America in his memories.
These were all the spoils he had hammered off the dead carapace husk.
Even if he looked a bit ridiculous, his defensive capabilities had truly improved.
As for the Molotov cocktails, given that the margin for error was too low in an environment full of water, he simply didn't bring them this time.
As for the rest, he brought everything he could.
"Old Ed, do you know about a fishing sport called lure fishing?"
Elias shook the fishing rod in his hand, trying to make the piece of carapace husk carrion swim a bit more provocatively in the water.
"You're starting again with that trash the dream demon gave you!"
Edmond Russell's exasperated voice echoed in his mind.
Elias was too lazy to argue.
To relieve the boredom of the sea, he had switched to stand-up comedy mode over the last few days.
He talked about everything from Western cowboy quick-draw techniques to Marxist surplus value, from the Apollo moon landing to cyberpunk cybernetic enhancements.
It left the old-timer Edmond stunned, wondering if the kid's madness had worsened again.
"Isn't it just because these damn fish are so hard to catch?"
Elias sighed, looking at the motionless bobber.
"You didn't say the drop rate for these ghost things was so low at the start!"
He got angry just thinking about it.
But on the bright side, whether it was repairing the buoy that day or sea fishing today, he had never again experienced the terrifying hallucinations from the original owner's memories.
The reason was unknown, but it was a good thing regardless.
"That's because your luck is terrible!"
Edmond added a ruthless jab.
"Oh? And your luck is good?"
Elias was moved to angry laughter.
"If your luck was so good, how did you let a bunch of dream demon suck you dry?"
"..."
Silence.
A precise strike to the ego.
"Anyway, when I was alive, catching a blind salmon was very easy!"
After a long while, Edmond managed a rebuttal.
Elias felt that Old Ed had changed; he had become meaner.
"Anyway, as a regular person, I haven't been sucked dry by a dream demon yet."
He wasn't willing to let an old man who had been dead for fifty years easily master his brand of sarcasm. In this regard, he had to maintain absolute dominance.
"Hmph, that siren that escaped might be waiting in some dark corner underwater right now, looking to kill you."
"I smashed its rotten teeth to pieces. If it comes back, it's just delivering itself as a side dish."
Elias spoke tough, but his hand subconsciously touched the grip of the revolver at his waist.
What Old Ed said was indeed the key reason he had armed himself to the teeth.
It wasn't the thief you feared, but the thief who kept watch.
Fortunately, so far, the siren that escaped had not returned for revenge.
Hopefully, it found a good dentist and wouldn't come back for him.
"If you don't speak, I won't take you for a mute!"
"But if it dares to come..."
"White Horse! I'll make sure it never returns!"
"What white horse?"
Edmond once again couldn't keep up with his jumping thoughts.
"Why make a white horse never return?"
"What do sirens have to do with horses?"
"Don't worry about it."
Elias shook his head mysteriously.
Just then.
The crude fishing rod suddenly jerked down violently, and the previously calm bobber instantly vanished beneath the surface.
"Hey, hey, hey! Your bobber moved!"
Edmond shouted.
Elias's spirit jolted, all his laziness vanishing in an instant.
He jerked the rod up, and a massive pulling force traveled through the line into his arm.
A bite!
"This strength! It's definitely a big one!"
Elias's face flushed with excitement.
He skillfully reeled in and played the fish; the creature struggled frantically underwater, sending spray flying in all directions.
"If only this rod weren't so crappy, I could be more efficient!"
He complained about the crude equipment while carefully controlling the tension, fearing the fragile line would snap.
"Stop complaining! Hurry up and pull it up to see what kind of fish it is!"
Edmond was more anxious than he was.
After all, this concerned the kid's survival rate.
After a fierce tug-of-war, the fish was finally exhausted and was jerked onto the boat by Elias.
Flap, flap!
A completely black, laterally compressed fish flopped around in the cabin.
"Tch!"
The light in Elias's eyes instantly died the moment he saw the fish.
"It's just a black sea bream."
He curled his lip in disappointment.
"What? Brother, are you blind?"
Edmond's voice was filled with shock.
"Isn't that a blind salmon?"
"Impossible!"
Elias pointed at the fish, his tone certain.
"I'm all too familiar with this thing! This is a black sea bream! How could I not recognize it?"
"Pitch black with a serrated dorsal fin; if you freeze it, it could work like a frozen tilapia!"
"Look closer!"
"This is clearly a re... oh!"
Edmond suddenly let out a sinister sneer.
"Heh, it seems someone's dream demon curse is acting up again."
"How is that possible?!"
Elias was righteous.
However, he quickly thought about it.
'It actually seems quite possible...'
Elias felt a bit guilty.
He suddenly realized an extremely serious logical flaw.
The black sea bream was a fish primarily distributed along the coasts of the Western Pacific and Indian Oceans.
Where was Moon Bay?
This was a place that didn't even use the English alphabet!
There was no way this sea could produce such a fish!
Elias clutched his forehead in pain.
He really was having hallucinations again.
Soon, the sea responded to his judgment.
The once azure water began to undergo a bizarre transformation in his eyes.
The color gradually deepened and brightened, finally turning into a vivid orange-yellow.
Not only that, but the salty sea breeze also changed its scent.
A rich, sweet smell with the sensation of carbon dioxide bubbles drifted into his nostrils.
Orange soda!
Fanta?!
"The timing for this is not great!"
Elias couldn't help but complain.
In this situation, he wouldn't be able to see anything coming from underwater.
Time to bail!
He hurriedly stuffed the unlucky blind salmon into a cloth bag.
Then he grabbed the oars and rowed toward the shore as if fleeing a crime scene.
"This place, Moon Bay, is still too dangerous!"
"If I fall into the sea in a moment, I'll need an insulin shot when I climb out!"
The small boat bobbed among the orange waves and finally docked at the pier without further incident.
Elias jumped ashore, and the feeling of solid ground made him breathe a long sigh of relief.
"Isn't that the truth?"
"Yo! It's rare for our views to align."
Elias brushed the salt off his hands and spoke with a smile.
Over the past few days, he had grown accustomed to bickering with Old Ed; it was rare for the old man to agree with him.
However.
There was dead silence in his mind.
After two seconds, Edmond's confused voice slowly rang out:
"What 'views aligning'?"
"I didn't say anything!"
Elias's hands froze as he was tying the boat rope.
"What?"
He suddenly straightened up and looked around.
The empty pier was devoid of even a ghost, save for the sound of the tide.
"Is this a hallucination too?"
Elias rolled his eyes speechlessly.
But thinking back to when he first crossed over and heard his mother's voice from his previous life, hearing a voice or two didn't seem that strange.
'Probably.'
Old Ed analyzed in his mind.
"This shouldn't be a hallucination."
That voice rang out again.
It sounded like a young man's voice.
"By the way, what's with that look?"
"Cosplaying as a carapace husk?"
This time, it was crystal clear.
"Cosplay my... ass!"
"Look at that, this hallucination can even hold a conversation."
Elias originally wanted to curse, but thinking it was a hallucination, he spoke with a bit of playfulness.
However, the expression on his face soon changed.
"I didn't expect that none of the lighthouse keepers in Moon Bay were normal!"
He suddenly drew the revolver from his waist, spun around, and shouted sternly.
"Who is it?! Get out here!"
No matter how thick Elias's nerves were, he realized something was wrong.
This was definitely not a hallucination!
Things in a hallucination wouldn't keep mocking him so logically!
"Stop playing tricks! The bullets in this gun don't have eyes!"
The surroundings remained empty.
Only that voice responded, seemingly showing off:
"Eh?"
"How did you know that the reason I can live as a spiritual body is because I managed to steal a containment object being transported under the heavy protection of the Seventh Agency?"
Elias's hand holding the gun froze in mid-air.
The air was silent for a moment.
"No, wait, who asked you?"
Rate on N.U.
