Chapter 8

Editor and proofreader: Oceanblue

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Ye Qingyun couldn’t sleep in until noon. He was suddenly jolted awake from a deep sleep, realizing that the entire bed was shaking unnaturally.

…No, it wasn’t the bed shaking; it was the room, the ship, rocking erratically.

Ye Qingyun quickly got out of bed and walked to the sealed window, pulling back the curtain to look outside—

Not far away, a massive pirate ship was flying, and the external display screen of that ship was scrolling with big characters: “Surrender voluntarily, hand over your treasures and beauties, and we won’t kill you!”

This pirate ship was about to rob them.

Perhaps seeing that they hadn’t reacted quickly, the pirate ship launched a shaking bomb at them, but this time, it was intercepted.

Then, Ye Qingyun saw their ship project a light screen into the air, forming a gesture of raising the middle finger, along with two big characters: “Trash”.

At the same time, a voice from the ship’s loudspeaker shouted, “Brothers, charge! After this score, we’ll be rich!”

It was evident that the opposing side had the same thought, as both hatches opened simultaneously, and several people dressed in protective gear rushed toward the other side.

Weak and helpless, Ye Qingyun: “…… What, is the battle starting now?”

As Ye Qingyun watched the sudden enemy, he couldn’t help but recall the bounty post he had seen on the forum earlier, suspecting that they had come for his life.

Ye Qingyun frantically hit the system, and it quickly came online, reassuring him again that it wouldn’t allow him to suffer fatal injuries and even provided a golden finger that would reduce pain from minor injuries by fifty percent.

Ye Qingyun felt slightly relieved, pulled the curtains tight, and walked to the door of his room, opening it a crack to check the situation outside.

There was no one outside, but he could still hear the chaos outside. The air was filled with the scent of superpowers clashing, and the sounds of fighting were relentless.

Ye Qingyun recalled the plot of the original book.

Though the timing was different, the original story also included a conflict between Pu Tian and other pirate groups, but that was purely because the leader of another pirate group had taken a fancy to Gu Shenyuan’s looks, sparking a battle.

The subsequent plot involves the two captains competing for affection and getting into a physical fight while Gu Shenyuan watches coldly as if he were observing monkeys performing.

A sudden scream pierced the air, snapping Ye Qingyun back to reality as he heard two sets of footsteps approaching him.

“I swear, the best-looking person on this entire ship is right here. You can do whatever you want, just let me go, please!” one person exclaimed.

“Is that so? Then you’re of no use to me.”

With a particularly shrill scream, a heavy object fell to the ground, leaving only one set of footsteps heading toward Ye Qingyun.

Ye Qingyun took a deep breath; he wasn’t a fool and understood the intruder’s intentions.

This was bad.

Ye Qingyun quietly closed the door and scanned the room. It wasn’t large, and there were almost no hiding places. Gritting his teeth, he squeezed himself into the wardrobe.

Ye Qingyun: “System, do you have any solutions?”

The system fell silent for a moment before replying, “Sorry, this is a cliché plot. The person’s intentions toward you fall within the normal parameters of this world; we cannot intervene unless your life is in danger.”

Implied meaning: “There was no way to help.”

Ye Qingyun tried to cover himself with clothes and prayed that the person wouldn’t see him and would leave to search elsewhere.

“Creak—”

The door opened, and the intruder walked in.

Ye Qingyun held his breath, hearing the footsteps circle the room. The person seemed dissatisfied, throwing back the covers of his bed, before returning to the doorway.

The footsteps gradually faded, and the room returned to silence. Ye Qingyun finally felt his heartbeat again.

“Has he left?”

“Creak—”

The wardrobe door suddenly burst open, revealing a face full of excess flesh.

“Found you here.” The man scanned Ye Qingyun with a lewd gaze and flashed an extremely uncomfortable smile. “Heh, I’ve hit the jackpot this time.”

He grabbed Ye Qingyun by the collar and effortlessly pulled him out of the wardrobe, pressing him onto the bed.

In the well-lit area, the man could see Ye Qingyun’s face.

He had skin so pale it was nearly translucent, black, smooth hair, and eyes that sparkled like gems when he glared back at him, as well as a rare, gloomy, and noble scholarly air.

There was no doubt that this person would fetch a good price if sold. No… he even hesitated to sell him; wouldn’t it be better to keep him for himself?

What an interesting experience it would be if he could make this person tear up, flush with embarrassment, wanting to escape but unable to, obediently enduring everything.

Ye Qingyun watched as the man fell into a daze, and immediately drove his knee into the man’s vital area. The man let out a yelp and curled up, giving Ye Qingyun the chance to dash for the door.

Ye Qingyun heard the man angrily chase after him, and below, intense fighting broke out. Clenching his teeth, Ye Qingyun ran upward.

Where should he run? It seemed there was no safe place anywhere.

Ye Qingyun thought quickly, and suddenly a name flashed through his mind—Gu Shenyuan.

Gu Shenyuan was strong and good-looking; he might be able to draw the man’s attention away from him.

The floor he was on was just where Gu Shenyuan’s room was; it seemed like the perfect solution.

But he didn’t know the strength of the man behind him. “What if Gu Shenyuan couldn’t handle it? What if that man took a liking to Gu Shenyuan, and Gu Shenyuan couldn’t fight back? Wouldn’t he be putting someone else in danger?”

Just as he approached Gu Shenyuan’s room, Ye Qingyun gritted his teeth, his steps unwavering, and ran straight past Gu Shenyuan’s door.

He was already out of breath, and not long after passing by Gu Shenyuan’s door, he was caught and shoved against the wall.

“Little bitch, running away, huh?” The man gripped Ye Qingyun’s neck, leaning in with gritted teeth, staring into Ye Qingyun’s eyes, and threatening fiercely, “I’ll throw you to everyone on this ship and let them take turns having fun with you!”

“Hmph.” Now that he was truly caught, Ye Qingyun became calm instead. He smiled slightly, his eyes filled with disdain and contempt, that disdain practically overflowing from his gaze.

The man, finally pushed to the edge, forced Ye Qingyun down to the ground and reached to undo his belt.

With the crisis looming, Ye Qingyun began to consider the most extreme solution.

—He had mental powers, and they were 3S level. The system usually wouldn’t let him use them, claiming it would violate his character. But at a time like this, who cared about character? He could self-destruct and take this person down with him.

The man had managed to arrange his clothes and reached out his hand toward Ye Qingyun.

Ye Qingyun fixed his gaze on that hand, deciding to self-destruct just before it touched him.

However, those hands suddenly stopped.

Ye Qingyun looked up in surprise, seeing a line of blood emerge from the man’s throat. Following that, the blood exploded, and the man’s head rolled to the ground with a thud, his body slowly collapsing and gushing out blood that stained the floor.

And behind him, the figure that had been obscured appeared before Ye Qingyun.

Gu Shenyuan’s expression was calm, as if he had just killed not a person, but a cabbage.

Ye Qingyun and Gu Shenyuan locked eyes, and Ye Qingyun felt that Gu Shenyuan’s gaze was as deep as an ancient well, calm and undisturbed, yet like an underground river surging with dark currents, ready to unleash waves at any moment.

Ye Qingyun, having survived the ordeal, should have been very grateful, but seeing Gu Shenyuan witness what had just transpired made him feel inexplicably irritable. He lowered his eyes and said in a hushed voice, “What are you staring at? There’s no class for you today.”

Gu Shenyuan didn’t respond.

Ye Qingyun didn’t want to talk either. He stood up, feeling his legs a bit weak—running for so long had exceeded his usual exercise capacity.

Ye Qingyun leaned against the wall, slowly making his way back the way he came.

He needed to find a safe place to hide; he couldn’t stay here.

As he brushed past Gu Shenyuan, Ye Qingyun heard him say, “My room is over there.”

Ye Qingyun looked at Gu Shenyuan in confusion. “What do you mean? Are you inviting me to your room?”

Gu Shenyuan answered without addressing the question. “Don’t you remember my room number?”

“Are you sick?” Ye Qingyun retorted. “Do you think I’m like you, forgetting things I remembered today by tomorrow?”

That could be considered slander, but Gu Shenyuan didn’t respond.

Ye Qingyun continued walking forward and heard Gu Shenyuan’s voice behind him: “That person’s intentions are lustful. Why not lead him to my room? That way… you might be safe.”

Ye Qingyun truly didn’t expect Gu Shenyuan to be this perceptive. Not explaining would be risky; he feared Gu Shenyuan might overthink things. So Ye Qingyun scoffed and mocked, “With just you? Do you think you can compare looks with me? Hmph, ridiculous.”

After saying that, Ye Qingyun quickened his pace and walked away, while Gu Shenyuan followed behind, his expression obscure.

Gu Shenyuan looked down at the headless corpse, extended his right hand, and clenched it in the air, turning the corpse into a pool of blood. He then turned and walked swiftly in the direction Ye Qingyun had just gone.