“Come back!” Bai Youwei snapped. “Are you going out there to get yourself killed?! Get back here and sit down!”

Another round of impacts!

Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!!

Wood splintered. Cat cries droned on and on. A piercing scratching sound seemed to come from right above their heads!

They could feel it clearly — the harsh, grating sound of iron cat claws raking across the hull of the ship!

Its long claws braced against the entrance, shattering the deck! It had broken the stairs apart, and now its massive head pressed against the narrow corridor opening, trying to squeeze itself inside!

“Will it get in?!” Tan Xiao said nervously, starting to panic.

“No.” Bai Youwei’s brow was furrowed, her voice calm. “If the information provided in the game data is accurate, once the cat is woken up during the day and can no longer see any players within its field of vision, its rage meter will drop quickly, after which it will return to the carousel to sleep. It’s been prowling around outside for a while now — it should leave soon…”

The moment she finished speaking, all noise outside suddenly ceased.

Shen Mo said suspiciously: “It left?”

Not a sound.

All around them, silence.

Tan Xiao crept quietly toward the exit, wanting to investigate.

Suddenly! The hull lurched with far greater violence than before!

Tan Xiao fell flat on his backside!

This impact was no longer coming from above — it was coming from the side of the ship —

Boom! Boom! Boom boom boom boom boom!

Each hit louder than the last!

Each blow more ferocious than the one before!

With every impact, the ship’s position gradually shifted, tilting steadily toward one side!

“What is it trying to do?!” Tan Xiao cried out in alarm.

“It knows it’s running out of time, so it wants to knock us into the lake before it falls asleep!” Bai Youwei gripped the doorframe with all her strength, keeping herself from sliding down the tilting floor. “Hold on tight! This ship isn’t a real ship — if it falls into the water it’ll sink quickly! Be careful not to get hit by anything on board!”

Before her words had even faded, with one final violent impact, the hull flipped over ninety degrees —

Tables, chairs, stools, and barrel props inside the cabin all came crashing down on them!

Bai Youwei was struck by some scattered decorations and lost her grip, falling through the air — then Shen Mo caught her!

The hull continued to tilt, nearly rotating a full hundred and eighty degrees!

With no time to brace herself, a thick heavy wooden table came crashing down and slammed directly into Shen Mo’s back!

The two of them fell hard together onto the ceiling!

Bai Youwei felt pain shoot through her entire back like it was going to shatter — and to make it worse, Shen Mo’s body was pressing down on top of her.

“Shen Mo!” She shoved him hard, only to find that Shen Mo was unresponsive. He had taken a blow to the head earlier and had lost consciousness.

Water was rushing into the cabin rapidly.

“Tan Xiao! Tan Xiao!” Bai Youwei raised her voice and called out his name again.

A few seconds passed. Tan Xiao came stumbling over in a wretched state. He took one look at Shen Mo’s tightly shut eyes and got another fright: “What happened to him?! Is he dead??”

“If we don’t get out right now, we really will be dead!” Bai Youwei said rapidly. “Hurry out through the hatch, then find something to smash the third window from the left on the port side of the pirate ship! Get me and Shen Mo out!”

Tan Xiao said: “You’re not coming out with me?!”

“We’re too slow — by the time we reach the exit, the ship will have already sunk to the bottom!” Bai Youwei urged him impatiently. “Go now!!!”

The water had already risen to ankle level. Tan Xiao dared not waste time and scrambled frantically toward the hatch.

The stairway passage was blocked by fallen debris. Tan Xiao spent precious moments clearing these obstructions out of the way.

The water level rose frighteningly fast — soon it was up to his calves. The lake water was murky, the lights around him flickering on and off, and he was in a complete panic. At last he found the hatch position, plunged into the water with a loud splash —

The moment he emerged through the hatch, he touched the muddy silt at the bottom of the lake. He kicked out his legs as fast as he could and swam hard!

Behind him, the pirate ship crashed down heavily, its deck and cabin door sinking deep into the mud.

Tan Xiao turned around and stared at the sunken ship beneath the water. His heart sank.

Youwei had just told him the left window — the left side… which side was that again?

—