Chapter 50: New Game and the Unseen Samoa Islands

Lin Chuching felt rather puzzled by the sudden phone call from her grandfather.

She casually replied:
"Uncle Wang, who sells fruit next door. Other than him, I can't think of a second person."

After all, she genuinely had no idea who else might be in her grandfather's social circle.

Hearing such an unreliable answer from his granddaughter, Elder Lin did not try to keep her in suspense any longer. Instead, he chuckled and said:
"It's the young man who came to do community service in our neighborhood recently. The university student Su Wen, who just hosted a lecture with Xiao Jiang two days ago."

"!"

Hearing this, her tone instantly shifted into that of a pampered, obedient granddaughter:
"Grandpa, what did Su Wen want with you?"

Hearing this tone from his granddaughter for the first time, even an old fox like Lin Yunwen was left speechless. He suddenly felt a strong urge to feed Su Wen some false information about the ruins, just to make this contemporary youth endure some hardships:
"He is an Awakened, and he's preparing to enter the ruins. He came to report his status to me before leaving."

Hearing these words, Lin Chuching finally made up her mind:
"The Isaiah Life Tech 'Aurora' formula—I remember our family has a quota for it. I'm getting ready to undergo awakening."

Upon hearing this, Elder Lin's tone grew somewhat solemn:
"You silly girl, ever since the enactment of the Westminster Equality Act, Awakened individuals no longer enjoy privileges; instead, they are likely to face even greater dangers. This could affect the entire trajectory of your future possibilities. Besides, weren't you previously indifferent to extraordinary advancement?"

"After I watched the film released by [Azure] and learned about the actions of the Nightwatcher Rhein, my perspective on the Awakened changed."

"Rhein, you say... To be honest with you youngsters, even this old man would love to see him with my own eyes. I wonder which major district cultivated such an outstanding talent."

Elder Lin ultimately decided to temporarily suppress the matter:
"Let's wait a little longer. You youngsters are prone to acting on impulse, and the future political climate remains unclear. If you still hold this conviction half a year from now, I will not stop you."

Meanwhile, back at home, Su Wen had completed the reporting procedure and secured the official stamp from Lin Yunwen. In fifteen days, he would be able to board a direct flight to the Samoa Islands. Furthermore, everything from the round-trip travel to the exploration of the ruins would be fully reimbursed by the government funds.

Three days later, just as Caroline continued to expose more behind-the-scenes details regarding the "Detroit Leisangton Building Collapse" incident, giving Su Wen plenty of material to thoroughly enjoy refreshing his social media trending feeds, the countdown before his eyes began to tick down without any warning.

A new game was arriving.

[15 natural days remaining until the 'Player's' scheduled time of death]
[Countdown begins]
[Do you choose to start the game?]

---

Su Wen stared at the countdown. On second thought, his life was probably more likely to be cut short by this "trash game" than by any ruins exploration.

Yet, he had no choice.

Moreover, since these events had indeed inflicted a massive impact on the future timeline, he had no reason to refuse.

Su Wen pressed the confirmation key. True to form, the computer screen displayed the contents of this new game:

[The Gravedigger of the Sea Islands]
[Game Genre: Action Adventure]
[Real-world Time Span: Thirteen Days]
[Game Difficulty: Medium]
[Game Background:
Time: Early Genesis Era
Location: Polynesia Region, Pacific Ocean—Samoa Islands—Savai'i Main Island.
To please the Deep Abyss—the 41st Demon God Focalor, the Tides Cult chose to hold a "sacrifice" ritual at the moment when the Storm Cliff ruins opened and the Orderkeepers were far away from the Savai'i Island region.
Due to the special target of the sacrifice, the Abyss Demon God—"Storm Griffin Focalor"—bestowed "blessings" in accordance with the sacrificial ritual.
The abyss border solidified.
The waters of the First Island Chain became impassable due to a tearing storm ring.
Moreover, due to the spread of mental pollution from the abyss border, the Storm Cliff ruins in the Polynesia region transformed from a low-tier ruin into a deep-red hazardous zone.
It was not until the Pacific Islands Lorenzriel Academy chose to dispatch Awakened personnel in the sixth year of the Genesis Era that—after paying the immense, life-based price of thirty-two Tier-3 Navigators and one Tier-4 Storm Anchor—the Great Wall of Despair successfully closed the border gate linking to the deep abyss.
This event is the sequel to the large-scale event chain "Deep Sea Ruins—Homeward Bound—Hurricane Ewiniar".
It may cause severe interference with future explorations of the "Song of Atlantis" and induce the large-scale hazardous event known as "Storm Extinction".]

[Game Objectives:]
[One Star: Eliminate members of the Tides Cult, protect the sacrificed individual]
[Two Stars: Completely terminate the "Deep Sea" sacrificial ritual]
[Three Stars: Hidden objective]
[Note: Completing the minimum rating will prevent the player's death in reality.]

[Trial Ability:
'Lantern Bearer':
1. You can converse with the dead.
2. By consuming psionic energy to project the Epic Relic: 'Branlit's Lantern', you can obtain the willpower of the deceased for three minutes.
(Hint: Acquiring the power of the deceased requires gaining their approval.)
(Note: Inheriting their unfulfilled will, some people never truly leave. Perhaps you will obtain faint clues regarding the true 'Branlit's Lantern' after the trial concludes.)]

The next second, he found that his screen had shifted to a somewhat bumpy cruise ship lounge.

Warm sunlight streamed into the cabin through a round, oak-framed porthole, making the scene feel cozy.

The ship's intercom broadcasted a prompt:
"Respected passengers, at ten o'clock tomorrow morning, the Colin cruise ship will arrive at our destination for this voyage: Apia, the capital of Upolu Island in the Samoa Islands. You are free to choose whether or not to participate in the shore excursions. Meanwhile, the Colin announcer wishes all distinguished guests a pleasant night enjoying the gentle sea breeze of the Pacific."

After listening to the cabin broadcast, Su Wen's computer screen entered the interactive mode.

He looked around, noting that he was indeed inside a well-appointed lounge. However, this game carried an overwhelming amount of information. He did not immediately jump into action, but instead calmly spent five minutes in contemplation:
"The aftermath of the Ewiniar incident... It seems that the disaster the Wanderer encountered after leaving the deep-sea ruins and heading home was probably no coincidence."

As for the fact that both the game and reality shared the Samoa Islands as their destination, he wasn't sure whether to consider himself unlucky or fortunate.

Still, having experienced the construction of Lighthouse No. 43 and the rescue of Professor Jiang, Jiang Menghan's father, Su Wen chose to view it as good fortune.

He smiled gently, leisurely popped open a can of soda, and prepared to clear this game with an attitude of pure enjoyment.

Consistent with previous openings, the very first thing Su Wen did in the game was to run an appraisal on the ship:
[Appraisal: The mega-cruise ship 'Colin' under the ownership of the multinational chamber of commerce Fals. The hull is currently in good sailing condition with no deviation from course.]
[Hint: Because a certain crew member on board possesses the 'Inspiration-tier Extraordinary Trait: Scan Shielding', the Chief Player's tier is too low, and the effectiveness of the 'Appraisal skill' has been reduced.]

A dark blue boarding pass with gold-foil edging rested on the table:
[Voyage Information: Vladivostok — Samoa Islands]
[Passenger Cabin Information: B17_Second-Class Cabin]
[Warm Reminder: This boarding pass grants entry to the ferry dinner banquet.]

Checking the time displayed on the cabin clock, Su Wen analyzed:
"It's currently 4:03 PM. There's still some time before the banquet. Therefore, the reserved time should be meant for gathering information from the ferry's passengers."

He put on the black trench coat hanging by the entryway of the lounge and said calmly:
"Time to go out and take a look."