The Midnight Owl

The ship sailed out for a long time, and no one on the deck spoke. The gray mist enveloped the vast sea and covered people's hearts.

Everything in the world is multidimensional.

They see this side, others see that side.

They think that they have worked very hard, but it turns out that they should be lucky. Fortunately, they are still free and young, and they can let go when they say let go, and start when they say they are going.

"What's the matter, everyone's heads are drooping?" Wu Sheng, who had already stabilized the rudder in the correct direction, came out of the cockpit, and saw the three partners in a gloomy mood, "What did Mao Qiping say? Are there eggs?"

Immediately guessed that it was related to Mao Qiping, it was Wu Junshi's extraordinary wisdom. As for the final point of departure completely deviated, it was normal for Wu Junshi, whose thinking mode has always been unconventional.

Xu Wang stared at the classmate who didn't understand the atmosphere on the deck without a word.

Wu Sheng also looked at him, frowning blankly and tilting his head, suddenly showing a hint of cuteness.

The gray mist in Xu Wang's heart suddenly dissipated most of it.

For the first time, he discovered that Wu Sheng, who is always on his channel like this, is very good. He is rational and pragmatic, discusses the matter as it stands, and does not think about what is there or what is not. , full of energy.

"Is the course okay?" Xu Wang skipped Mao Qiping's topic and directly asked a new question.

This question reached Wu Sheng's heart, he immediately smiled slightly, his eyes filled with the words "The world is under my control": "Of course, leave it to me to take the helm, just..."

"Little Kuang—" Xu Wang suddenly turned his head and called Kuang Jinxin, "I'll leave the telescope to you, and report any situation at any time."

Kuang Jinxin stood at attention: "Got it!"

Watching Kuang Jinxin running to the stern, Wu Sheng was in a complicated mood: "It's polite to listen to people finish their words."

Xu Wang looked at him again: "Yes, please remove the self-promotional part."

Wu Sheng: "..."

After being silent for two seconds, Junshi Wu, deprived of his only pleasure, turned around and returned to the cockpit pitifully.

Qian Ai, who was watching the whole process, finally found a chance to express his emotion: "This is really ten years in Hexi and ten years in Hexi. He beat you to death when you were in high school, but now it's reversed."

Xu Wang suspected that they hadn't lived the same three years: "At that time, I was a little stronger than him, not to mention that I beat them both, at least I was evenly matched."

Qian Ai shook his head in disapproval: "You can't just count force, you have to add intelligence."

Xu Wang: "..."

Qian Ai, who did not harm the leader's self-consciousness, suddenly looked around and asked doubtfully, "Is it dark?"

Xu Wang froze for a moment, looked up at the sky, sure enough.

The vast fog, the visibility and the light are not good, but when I met Mao Qiping before, the overall vision was still a "not very bright day", but now, the dark clouds were dense, and the moment they raised their heads, the dark clouds turned into black clouds , there was hardly a ray of light through, and even the surrounding fog was drawn into this darkness, and looking at the sea, there was only a vast expanse of darkness.

"Little Kuang, can you still see the lighthouse—" Wu Sheng asked from the cockpit.

"Yes," Kuang Jinxin leaned against the binoculars, seeing clearly, "The lighthouse is bright, but it is even more obvious now."

"Okay, keep an eye on—"

"No problem, I can't run away!"

One at the helm and one at the watch, the two became a tacit team.

Xu Wang and Qian Ai looked at each other, separated consciously without saying a word, and guarded one side of the deck railing.

With the clear division of labor between the four partners, the sea became more and more silent, and the sound of the sailboat breaking through the water became the only background sound.

A mass of light suddenly rose on the deck, warm and eye-catching under the increasingly dark sky.

Xu Wang, Wu Sheng, and Kuang Jinxin, who were looking at the sea, turned back from their respective positions at the same time, and saw Qian Ai holding up one arm like the Statue of Liberty, but he didn't hold a torch, because when he clenched his fist, it was a small fireball.

"Can you still control the range of the flame?" Xu Wang thought that the Invincible Hot Wheels could only be on fire.

"Not only the range, but also the size!" Qian Ai actually just discovered this, so he showed it to his teammates with great interest, "Look, the fire is getting bigger, hey, the fire is getting smaller, you guys like the atmosphere of the bonfire party, Still like the atmosphere of the candlelit dinner, despite the request—”

Xu Wang: "..."

Wu Sheng: "..."

Kuang Jinxin: "..."

Seeing the flames fluctuating from big to small, and the teammates having a great time, the three students of Shengwang Jin could neither feel the enthusiasm of the bonfire nor the romance of candlelight. The only thing they could think of was the gas stove, or the The kind that is extremely unstable.

On the surface of the night-like sea, a singing voice suddenly floated, whispering and melodious.

Like a woman singing in a foreign language, humming slowly, the notes pass through the thick dark fog, come to the ship, and come to the ears of the sailors, with the moisture of the sea and the mist.

Qian Ai quickly extinguished the fire.

The sailboat then melts into a dark protective color.

The four partners who stick to their respective positions restrain their minds and become vigilant.

[Go to the north first, and then sail straight to the lighthouse after seeing the first water monster. 】

This is the guide given by Mao Qiping, and now, they have been driving due north for a long time, and it is time to meet this first water monster.

The boat moved forward slowly, and in the gentle waves, the soft singing became clearer and more charming.

The string in the hearts of the four of them was stretched to the extreme.

Being attacked suddenly is not scary, what is scary is knowing that there will be a ghost, but not knowing when it will appear, that kind of anxious waiting.

Qian Ai couldn't bear it any longer, he was holding onto the railing with one hand and the spear he inherited from Wu Sheng with the other, his palms were soaked with sweat.

Whenever he was afraid, he wanted to talk, as if he was walking alone in a dark corridor, always wanting to play some Divine Comedy on his mobile phone to strengthen his courage: "Have you ever seen Pirates of the Caribbean? There is a mermaid in it, which uses this kind of singing to trap and kill Sailor's."

The suffocating silence was broken, and Xu Wang, who had his back turned to him, breathed a sigh of relief, and slightly relaxed his already numb hand holding the axe: "You mean this sea monster is a mermaid?"

"It may also be a water monster," Qian Ai thought very comprehensively, "It's the kind of female siren with a particularly beautiful appearance, gentle, mysterious, and dangerous, who kisses you slowly while killing you in the process of touching and lingering. you……"

Xu Wang: "..."

It's obviously a cruel thing, why does it sound like a fun activity after being described by teammates like this =_=

"There is light ahead!" Kuang Jinxin, who was in charge of the lookout, was staring at the lighthouse most of the time, but he would scan the whole situation from time to time. With this scan, he could see the glimmer of light in the mist.

Xu Wang and Qian Ai ran to the bow together and looked up.

Just in the direction of the boat, at a distance of about tens of meters, a faint yellow light with warmth reflected a palm-sized ball of light.

"The female siren with a lantern." Qian Ai looked ahead, very confident, "There are always such monsters in Japanese ghost stories, snowy nights, beauties in kimonos, carrying lanterns, knocking on the door of people in the mountains to stay overnight."

"..." Teammates covered too many topics, and Captain Xu couldn't pick up the topic.

"If it's really a beauty, do you think I should burn it or not?" Qian Ai was completely troubled by true feelings.

In the darkness, Xu Wang rolled his eyes to the sky: "If you don't burn her, she will kill you."

Qian Ai also knew this truth, but: "I can't do it—"

While speaking, the distance between the boat and the light got closer and closer, so close that the glowing object could be seen slightly.

It is really a delicate little lantern.

A long, thin and curved line extends from the top of the lantern, as if someone is holding the lantern with this stiff wire, while the other end of the long line, together with the person carrying it, are hidden in the darkness.

The distance between the boat and the lantern was less than ten meters.

"Qian Ai," Xu Wang said suddenly, "turn on the light."

Hulala flames jumped up.

The "Statue of Liberty" reappears in the world.

The flames, which were many times stronger than the faint light, illuminated the entire boat and also illuminated a radius of ten meters.

The other end of the lantern finally showed its true form under the eyes of the four of them.

A five-meter-long strange fish, with half of its body above water and half of its body underwater, has a huge head, protruding eyes, and a thread growing out of its forehead, holding the lantern.The exquisiteness of the lantern and the roughness of the main body form a sharp contrast.

"Old money," Xu Wang swallowed, he still did not forget to comfort his teammates in the face of the enemy, "it is indeed carrying a lantern, and it is basically the same as what you imagined."

Qian Ai wanted to cry but had no tears: "Who the hell is in charge of the lanterns! My focus is on beauties, beauties!!!"

Amidst the crackling sound of romantic illusions being shattered, the strange lantern fish suddenly accelerated and came straight towards the bow of the ship!

Its mouth opened rapidly during the accelerated swimming, like a snake, the opening was wider than the entire head, revealing a mouth full of jagged fangs!

Qian Ai ignited a raging flame with one arm, and clenched the spear tightly with the other arm, while Xu Wang swung his axe, just waiting for the lantern fish monster to approach, and they fought hand to hand!

"Ding--"

The beep sounded inopportunely.

Xu Wang heard the toothache, whether to watch or not to watch, this is a fucking question!

"Don't worry about the water monsters, grab them all—" Wu Sheng suddenly shouted from the cockpit.

Xu Wang and Qian Ai, who were preparing for the battle, didn't know why, and Kuang Jinxin, who was guarding the telescope, didn't understand what it meant. Just as he was in a daze, the boat in progress suddenly made a sharp turn at full speed!

Xu Wang and Qian Ai were almost thrown into the sea, but fortunately they grabbed onto the railing at the last moment!

Kuang Jinxin clings tightly to the tripod of the telescope fixed on the ship's plank, as stable as Mount Tai.

This turn of the rudder by Wu Sheng made the boat make a gorgeous 135° turn when it was less than five meters away from the lantern fish monster, avoiding the result of the encounter and completely changing the course!

The lantern fish monster took a big bite, and then swam vigorously, but it turned from coming towards it to chasing after it!

"Where is this going--" Xu Wang couldn't see the way ahead, so he could only ask the driver.

Wu Sheng worked hard to calibrate the direction: "Lighthouse!"

Just as Xu Wang was about to ask again, Qian Ai, who was holding the fire unicorn's arm in a daze, spoke first: "Sea monsters are gone?"

"The condition for turning is 'meet the first sea monster', not 'defeat the first sea monster'—" Wu Sheng's sonorous answer came from the cockpit immediately.As a programmer, the execution of conditions must be clear and unambiguous.

Qian Ai was speechless.

Damn, it makes sense TAT

Xu Wang rubbed his face, fortunately his mouth was slow.

"Ding--"

"Ding--"

Two four-in-one new information prompts sounded next to each other.In addition to the previous sound, it only took a short time to turn the boat around, and three new messages have come.

Xu Wang and Qian Ai, who were going to the stern, kept walking, but they both raised their arms to check.

<Cheat Sheet>: East Treasure Beach (1/3), the first time to open the Treasure Vault.

<Cheat Sheet>: West Treasure Beach (1/3), the first time to open the Treasure Vault.

<cheat sheet>: North Flying Island (2/3), the second ship sails into the clouds.

Although they were already mentally prepared, it would be good if they could fight for the last place to climb the tower if they set off late, but when Xu Wang saw the second message, his heart still skipped a beat.

Humans always think "what if", what if all the boats going to Xibaozangtan encounter the most difficult sea monsters, what if all the competing teammates are about the same level as Chi Yingxue's crew before Woolen cloth?

But there are so many "what ifs" specially formulated for you in this world.

West Treasure Beach, there are two places left.

"It's a good deal to choose Nanfei Island," Qian Ai envied, "No one goes there at all."

"According to the probability, it is more likely that those who chose that route died halfway under the sea—" In the cockpit at the bow of the ship almost an entire deck away, Junshi Wu enthusiastically corrected the misunderstanding of his teammates.

Qian Ai was speechless: "Are you Shunfenger!!!"

The sea wind became slightly stronger, the sails were strengthened, and the speed of the ship was unknowingly faster.

While talking, Xu Wang and Qian Ai had already arrived at the stern of the boat. Before they could see it, Kuang Jinxin, who was in charge of the far and near observation, had already reported first: "It seems to have lost its energy..."

What Kuang Jinxin said was true.

In the swaying flames, the lantern fish monster and the stern of the ship have already opened a considerable distance. Although the sea wind has become stronger and accelerated the boat's progress, according to the previous speed of the fish monster, it is far more than falling so much. Swimming is indeed slower than before.

but……

Xu Wang leaned close to the stern railing, frowned and observed the fish monster more seriously, and found that it was not swimming at a constant speed, but swam two times faster, then paused, followed the boat twice, and paused again. Its speed slowed down, or rather its swimming became incoherent, as if it had concerns or fear, it did not dare to chase after it recklessly.

The problem is that Qian Ai's fire hasn't burned it at all, what is it afraid of?

"Captain..." Usually Qian Ai's heart trembled when he called his old classmate like this, "Do you feel that the boat is not as stable as before?"

After being reminded by Qian Ai, Xu Wang realized that the shaking was indeed a bit severe.

This is not Wu Sheng's problem, because after the previous sharp turn, he stabilized the boat again.The reason why it swayed so badly was because of the waves.

At the bottom of the boat, the waves became faster.

When Xu Wanggang thought about it, a huge impact force came up from the water, and with a "boom--" the whole ship was pushed up!

After flying two or three meters into the air, the sailboat fell heavily back to the surface of the water. The three people at the stern were holding on to everything they could, and Wu Sheng in the cockpit was holding on to the rudder tightly, so that he was not thrown into the sea!

In the suddenly turbulent sea waves, there were successive "boom" and "boom" impacts from the bottom of the ship. Although it was not as intense as the first time, it also shocked the people on board.

Something is hitting their boat underwater!

Wu Sheng, who realized this, turned sharply again!

The hull rowed beautifully in the water, changing from vertical to horizontal!

In the next second, it was too late to change direction and hit an empty "something". Under the huge inertia, it broke through the water and jumped into the air!

In the firelight, it was several times the size of a whale, almost covering the sky and the sun, and its armor-like scales were hardened, shining with a cold green light.

The three people in the stern stared wide-eyed in horror!

They have seen this monster that looks like a fish and a crocodile before, it is the one that attacked the flying carpet before!

Xu Wang suddenly understood that the erratic pursuit of the lantern fish monster was not afraid of them, but of it!

The monster that rushed to the highest point fell at a high speed and hit the water heavily, splashing huge waves!

The sea water rushed over their heads and faces, and the three people in the stern held their breath and endured the impact without choking on the water, but they were soaked from head to toe.

Under Wu Sheng's operation, the hull returned to the right position and continued to ride the wind and waves.

But the sea monster that smashed into the water at the stern remained silent for a long time.

one second.

two seconds.

ten seconds.

20 seconds.

The boat had sailed a certain distance, and suddenly something floated up where the sea monster fell into the water.

Qian Ai took the initiative to consciously make the raging fire more intense and bright.

The floating white was finally clear - the lantern fish monster, with a belly glowing, was motionless.

"No way," Qian Ai swallowed with difficulty, "Kill my own people too..."

Before the words were finished, the corpse of the lantern fish monster was suddenly pushed away by a row of dorsal fins emerging from the water.

It was the dorsal fin of a monster that looked like a fish and a crocodile, and they all recognized it when it turned into ashes.

Without giving them any time to buffer, the dorsal fin moved straight towards the stern of their boat, swimming fiercely at a speed sufficient to instantly kill the lantern fish monster!

"Wu Sheng!" Xu Wang shouted, "Speed ​​up—"

"It's useless to call me, you have to call the wind—" Wu Sheng has been paying attention to the battle situation all the time, and knows that it is time to speed up and run, but the only control space left for the driver of this ship is the direction, okay?Such a high-end matter as calling the wind and calling the rain can only be left to God.

It's a pity that God didn't care.

The wind was still the same, but the sea monster was getting closer.

"Whoa-"

The sea monster broke out of the water again, with a mouth that could almost swallow half of their ship, and came straight at them. Its fine and sharp teeth made people feel terrified!

Qian Ai had already burned himself into a fireball, Xu Wang swung the ax and put the spear into Kuang Jinxin's hand.

Three husbands guard the gate, let fate.

Just as he was determined to fight to the death, Wu Sheng suddenly took another turn!

The sea monster that jumped down was caught off guard, barely reached the edge of the stern, bit off a few railings, and fell back into the water again!

"Don't go head-to-head with it, the risk factor is too high," Wu Sheng shouted, "Our goal is the lighthouse, trying to delay time is the best solution—"

Xu Wang was in a complicated mood.

He also wanted to play around and procrastinate, but the problem was that the sea monster just wanted to do it! ! !

Huh?

Xu Wang suddenly felt his body tilted, and he staggered and fell to the left!

Not only him, Qian Ai and Kuang Jinxin also lost their balance!

The three of them bumped into the railing on the left side together, and after finally holding on to it, they finally saw clearly that it wasn't that they suddenly lost their sense of balance, but that the boat was tilted and tilted severely to the left!

"Grilled squid—" Kuang Jinxin suddenly exclaimed.

Xu Wang and Qian Ai looked in the direction he pointed, and saw a row of charred tentacles on the left railing of the deck at some point, struggling to steer the boat to the left!

This is really a leak in the house, but it rained all night and the boat was late and the headwind was hit. One didn't solve it, but the second one came! ! !

Thanks to the octopus monster, the boat was completely caught by it, and its speed was halved.

The next moment, it came out of the water, revealing its huge and smooth octopus head for the first time!

The size of this head kills the lantern fish monster, not much inferior to the one that looks like a fish and a crocodile.

But Xu Wang and Qian Ai didn't have time to appreciate it, so they rushed to the railing on the left side of the deck in a few strides, one chopped it down mercilessly with an axe, and the other set it ablaze with fire!

But this time, the octopus monster seemed to have made up its mind, and it didn't flinch in the slightest. Whether it was cut or burned, although it would still hide, it just didn't retreat. Instead, it moved along the railing and circled with you. Run, you retreat and I advance, after a few rounds, there is not a single tentacle missing, but more and more of its bodies surfaced.

Did this guy read the Art of War and come back for revenge? ! !

"Xu Wang—" Wu Sheng suddenly shouted.

Xu Wang thought that he thought the boat was slow, and he was already anxious, but now he was even more anxious: "I was fighting with Laoqian, but this time it changed its routine, instead of dragging us down, it wanted to get on the boat—— "

Wu Sheng originally wanted to give tactics A to his teammates, but when Xu Wang said that the octopus monster wanted to get on the boat, he immediately adjusted and changed to tactics B: "Use the barbarians to control the barbarians—"

Qian Ai, who was "barbecuing on a big fire", was stunned by such foreign words: "What the hell?"

"Old Qian." Xu Wang stopped the ax in his hand and made a quick decision, "Don't burn it."

Qian Ai looked at the captain in disbelief: "Do you understand?!"

"Yes, don't burn it, hide here!" Xu Wang didn't have time to explain, so he directly dragged Qian Ai to the railing on the other side of the deck where there were no tentacles, and grabbed hold of it.

"Little Kuang, hold on tight—" Xu Wang shouted at Kuang Jinxin again.

Qian Ai was finally sure that the captain and the military adviser had indeed had a clear and effective communication.

This is fucking high technology! ! !

"Captain," Kuang Jinxin's voice came from the stern, but instead of responding, he was anxious, "That monster rushed over again—"

He was talking about a fish-like crocodile.

"Don't worry about it," Xu Wang said loudly, "Just hold on—"

As soon as the word "steady" was pronounced, the boat suddenly turned!

Because a monster octopus was attached, the rotational speed was greatly reduced, but the hull still cut through the water and moved horizontally slowly.

The fish-like crocodile has already flown up, and half of the octopus-like monster has emerged from the water. However, after Wu Sheng's shift, the left railing has turned to the original position of the stern. Bite on the head of the octopus monster!

The two sea monsters merged into the water in an instant, and under the huge momentum, the tentacles with suction cups pulled their entire left railing off!

Fortunately, the hull was unharmed, and it floated strong in the rough waves!

Qian Ai finally understood the meaning of "use the barbarians to control the barbarians", and the knowledge points such as "teaching the barbarians to learn skills to control the barbarians" learned in history class were also brought back.

But... can't you just say that you provoke sea monsters to fight sea monsters! ! !

In the huge waves covering the sky, the two sea monsters fighting in a ball were ups and downs, but anyone with a discerning eye could see that it was only a matter of time before the octopus monster went to the lantern fish monster for tea.

There was not much time left for them, so Xu Wang could only urge Wu Sheng: "Can you hurry up!"

Wu Sheng didn't even have the strength to yell, so he turned his head and said earnestly: "I said I want the wind, I want the wind..."

wind.

In Wu Sheng's repetition over and over again, Xu Wang was blessed to his heart.

"Old Qian," Captain Xu suddenly raised his head, his eyes sparkling, "Isn't your name 'Invincible Hot Wheels'? I saw the fire, but where is the wind?"

"This..." Qian Ai looked at the captain who was in a hurry to go to the doctor, and couldn't explain it in a daze, "I called Fenghuolun just to show the momentum of this weapon..."

"No," Captain Xu shook his head firmly, "After observing for so long, I can say responsibly that every word in the stationery will never be given for nothing."

"But……"

"Come on, try swinging your arms."

Qian Ai had no choice but to bite the bullet and swing his burning right arm twice.

Captain Xu didn't feel any wind except that his hair was almost burnt.

Qian Ai sighed: "I told you..."

"Swing both arms together?"

"..."

What should I do if there is a persistent captain?

Spin it.

Qian Ai closed his eyes and concentrated, and the other arm was instantly enveloped in flames.

Taking two deep breaths, he swung his arms together!

The hot wind came blowing, lifted the hair on Captain Xu's forehead, and blew Kuang Jinxin's collar farther away.

Qian Ai stopped his arms, his face full of astonishment.

Xu Wang patted him on the shoulder in relief: "Old Qian, get on the mast, let's swing your arms."