It is really difficult to maintain correct judgment in this situation. The experience of this night made Zhannia suspect that there was something wrong with her head. But she could only act according to her own experience and ideas: when Lenny Klein appeared at the bow of the ship, she immediately took out the telescopic swing stick from her pocket.
She didn't know how Lenny Klein got on board. In the short ten seconds when she was blinded by the sea water, some kind of change had already occurred on Klein. Although he still has a human face, his movements and posture are completely inhuman. It beats like a dog louse with its belly turned upside down. This stupid bastard might be possessed by an evil spirit.
Jania had not been taught how to deal with evil spirits, and she had no crosses or prayer beads at hand. So when Klein leaped across the cabin towards her, she decided to treat him like a zombie and smash his ugly head to pieces.
There was no room for her to turn over and dodge on the boat, so Zhaniya fell directly back, only drawing her legs up to block her chest. If Klein jumped on her, he couldn't hit her in the stomach or chest, nor could he easily bite her face or neck, but she could kick him hard. And if he bites her leg, it will be easier for her to aim for his head.
Be strategic. Malcolm admonished her. If your physique and strength are not advantageous, you have to know how to reduce your losses. Don't be afraid of getting hurt, it's almost inevitable, your efforts should be spent where useful, weakening your opponent more than your opponent weakens you.
To weaken such a living corpse emerging from the sea is not as easy as Malcolm said. Klein's back hit her calf, as cold and hard as a stone, and her calf almost became paralyzed. The bastard was still lying on his back, his head resting on her knees, hanging down and staring at her. His exposed teeth seemed to bite, but they didn't reach her face. Jania seized the opportunity and slammed the stick into his face. She had practiced this skill before. In Malcolm's studio, she could use the swing stick to accurately hit the basketball that Malcolm threw towards the target. Five or six times out of ten, she hit it very accurately. . She also made the stick very powerful, breaking steel pipes and tree trunks, and of course she could also smash bones at weak points.
The only thing she didn't expect was that she never thought that Klein would appear in front of her in this way. She couldn't knock him down before he got closer, and when he pinned her legs down, Jania had to bend her right arm, which was holding the stick, to hit him. That posture made it difficult to exert force and make it easy to miss the target. Moreover, Klein was on his back, so the stick that was supposed to hit the back of his head could only land on his face. But if she could hit him, the blow would be enough for him.
Klein noticed her movement. Before the stick fell on his face, his wide mouth suddenly opened and his head was lifted straight up as if suspended by a rope. Zhaniya heard a rubbing sound that made her skin crawl. The area around the tiger's mouth was numb with pain from the vibration. She was shocked to find that Klein had the stick in his mouth. His gums bleed, but none of his teeth were lost. The bloody mouth bit tightly at the end of the swing stick, making it impossible for Zhannia to take it back and hit it a second time.
Jania kept cursing the hell in her mind. She began to feel chest tightness and suffocation, because Klein's heavy body was still pressing on her, and it seemed to be getting heavier and heavier. This thing no longer looks like a human being. It doesn't behave like a human being at all. He bit and swung the stick without breaking his teeth, which made her think it was not a good idea to stick her fingers in his eyes now. The distance was too close. If he could bite the swinging stick, he would probably bite her fingers off.
She had to find a way to get this bastard off of her. She tensed her legs hard, trying to give Klein a hard kick on the lower back. But Klein was too heavy, almost as heavy as three or four people of his size. Jania couldn't push him away, or even roll him off. She also tried to pull the stick out of Klein's mouth, but Klein bit him hard, like a rabid dog. It was better now, she was getting more and more out of breath. The bastard wanted to kill her. The bastard had been in jail, and now he'd escaped and became an even dirtier thing than before. Why doesn't he die? Why doesn't he die like this? This bastard still wants to ride on her head!
A surge of rage began to rise from her belly, burning her head. Jania thrust the stick into Klein's mouth and pulled it in the direction of her feet. Then she raised her left hand and pressed hard into Klein's left eye frame with her thumb. For a moment she felt it was soft and elastic, like a slippery rubber ball, and then the little ball sank. It shattered at her fingertips, and for the first time Kolaine reacted. He shook his head so violently that Jania could no longer press her thumb deeper. At the same time Jania felt the burden on her body became lighter. She used the same momentum as a quick-break shot in the last minute of the game to kick Klein's back hard.
Klein tumbled to his right. He hit the side of the boat first, and then his whole body slipped into the water. After regaining her breath, Jania suddenly sat up in the cabin, coughing and gasping for air. Her chest hurt as if it were on fire, and she immediately realized that she had lost her swinging stick. She fumbled roughly around her leg a few times, hoping that it would not fall into the water with Klein, but obviously she did not have such good luck. Her defense was completely lost. And her left thumb was still sticky and wet.
Jania quickly wiped her thumbs on the wooden bilge as she reminded herself not to look. She didn't see the process clearly, but she felt that Klein's left eye might not be saved. That's what the bastard deserved - but does that really mean anything to him anymore? He really doesn't look like a human being anymore.
It was necessary to confirm whether Klein was alive or dead, or whether he was still underwater. That's what Zhaniya thought, but her body was still hurting so much that she didn't want to get closer to the sea at all. She was trying desperately to appear calm, not to pant too much or tremble, because there were two other people on the boat watching her.
"Are you okay? You lost your head?" Chirabin asked, "No injuries?"
His voice still sounded so witty and relaxed. Zhannia really wanted to grab him by the collar and yell at him, then push his head directly into the sea water. But she wasn't stupid, and she didn't forget what she heard just now. Akarahama once greeted the thing crawling out of the sea. Normal people wouldn't say hello to that kind of thing. What did Zhou Wenxing say again? Why did he mention his brother just now?
Jania's body gradually returned to the control of her will. But she continued to breathe hard, pretending that she had not fully recovered.
"What was that just now?" she asked in a weak voice that was mostly fake.
"Don't you know him, Tou? I thought you knew him."
"I don't know anything that can crawl out of the bottom of the ocean."
"Oh, I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about his image. Isn't he a person you are familiar with? How could you see him under the sea if there wasn't some kind of ideological calling between you and him? ?You have to know that he is not the only one calling the sea monster around this time."
Zhannia didn’t know if what Chirabah meant was what she understood. She couldn't help but glance at Zhou Wenxing, who was still standing beside the boat as before, as if he was not worried about being attacked by anything. He could see the sea from his position, and Zhannia hoped to see some signs from his facial expression. But he was no longer looking at the sea, but was waiting with Akurahama for her to speak.
"What do you mean by summoning a sea monster?" she asked.
"It's pretty much what we do, end of the story. We look at sea monsters through water, but that's not what everyone does. If you happen to be somewhere without water, say, in an inland city, Or in a desert, you have to look at it in other ways."
Jania laughed a little angrily and wiped her left thumb vigorously again. "Why do they have to see sea monsters?" she asked. "If I lived in the desert, I wouldn't give a shit about sea monsters or anything like that."
"They want to play games with the sea monster."
“Are they all marine animal protectors?”
"That doesn't matter. It's like this. End of the story, have you heard some stories about demons in the sea? It's like someone caught some ancient object from the sea, but it turned out that the devil was sealed inside?"
"You mean 'The Devil in the Bottle'?"
"Yes, that's the kind of story. You see, playing games with the sea monster has its rewards. It has the ability to grant your wishes, as long as you can find it. But if you want to find it, you have to follow the instructions it gives. Play according to the rules of the game. That's actually not that difficult... Kraken doesn't make a game where you and your team kill each other, and it doesn't take pleasure in people's pain or fear. But it requires fairness and dedication. If you want to take something from it, eventually you have to give it something of equal value. But the sea monster is also generous, and it will not make such a deal with you all at once. It always gives you something first. Unearned opportunity.”
"what chance?"
"A gamble, the end. When you first find it, it always makes a bet with you. If you win, it will pay for your wish. If you lose, you can still treat it as Nothing happens. It doesn't ask you for something that's yours unless you borrow it from it. Sounds charming, doesn't it? Don't you want to try your luck? But I suggest you Don't try, Jennifer. This is very sincere advice, because the Kraken rarely loses its bets. And when you do, you will find yourself becoming so greedy that you won't return what the Kraken lent you. Then you have to make a deal with it. Deal—meaning it's a mutual exchange."
Akurahama had stopped paddling. He leaned against the side of the boat and glanced down at the sea. Jania wondered if he saw anything strange, for he just shrugged, as if a little disappointed.
"But," he continued, "this is what happened before. I see that the sea monster is not as playful as before. I don't know that. As for the one you just saw , I guess he must have wanted the sea monster to help him. He was wearing a prisoner's clothes, wasn't he? But I guess he was ignored, otherwise he wouldn't be here. He was trapped in the sea Between the strange world and our world, until you see him. When you see him, your thoughts guide him and let him come to us. However, I think he looks a little strange, maybe in Something else happened while he was trapped."
"what is that?"
"I don't know. I really don't know. Maybe his head was caught in the door panel."
If this wasn't on a small boat surrounded by fog, Jania might have laughed along with Akarahama. But after seeing what Lenny Klein looked like, it was absolutely impossible to laugh at Akarahama's words. Jania is not a devout believer and does not belong to any religion, but she cannot be regarded as a firm atheist because she has indeed encountered strange things. Now, since Akarahama explained to her about the sea monster, she quickly followed this line of thinking.
"What do you want the sea monster to do for you?" she asked. "That's what you're here for?"
"No, I don't want it to do anything. At least not in your old acquaintance's way. I don't play with sea monsters, because they are dangerous. I just want to see it tonight, and the ocean is one side A very good mirror. But even if one day I wanted the sea monster to do something for me, I still wouldn't play its game. I'd rather let it play mine."
Akurabin leaned slightly towards Zhaniya, and then extended a hand to her.
"I apologize for what happened just now," he said. "I was really surprised when that thing jumped out. Then it ran to attack you. Zhou and I didn't go up to help. I knew you must be very annoyed. But I think you dealt with it very well at that time, you were really good at it. That thing won't be able to deal with you for a while. If he is about to bite you, I will find a way to get him out."
"So I have to thank you."
"That's not necessary. But let's just make up, how about it? I asked you to come with me because I admire you, and I'll make sure you get ashore safely. Now that you've seen the trouble caused by sea monsters, let's We are really just people on the same boat. I think we can all be called the 'Sea Monster Team'."
Zhaniya didn't completely believe this cordial confession, but she had lost her swinging stick, and Akarabin undoubtedly had a lot of strength. She only weighed it a few times, then quickly took Akira Bin's hand and asked him to pull her up slightly.
"Well," she said, "it's going to be interesting tonight, Mr. Akarahama—"
"Just call me Akarahama, Tsukuru. Or maybe call me Captain, I think that sounds interesting."
"Then Captain. But I must be back before daybreak, Captain. I came out with my guardian, and she will be very anxious if she wakes up and finds me not in the room. I wrote her a note telling her that I Come to your invitation, she might think I'm drowned in the sea."
"It's very reasonable." Akurabin said, "Of course we will go back before dawn. In fact, I think it's almost the same now. You saw something interesting, Zhou also saw something interesting, and as for me, I think It’s the same regardless of whether you look at it. So let’s do it now…”
"Go back, go back, go back?" someone said on the bow of the boat.
Chirabin and Zhaniya turned to look together. They all saw the upper half of Klein's body appearing outside the bow of the ship. Now he was no longer a flea lying on his back, but stood upright like a mermaid on the sea. There was blood around his left eye socket, and there was no eyeball inside, but it wasn't empty either.
Something like flesh and blood filled the empty eye socket. Several slender tentacles, like snail's horns, poked out from the surface of the material, reaching out of the eye sockets to sniff and look around. The head twitched and shook violently, as if there was an electric motor hidden in the head, and at the same time it emitted a very high-pitched laugh. Jania had never heard Kollein make such a sound.
"Oh oh oh oh oh!" the sharp and terrifying voice shouted, "another broken meat bag! What's going on? The place you can see is so so so so so narrow!"
He lowered his head suddenly and banged his forehead and eye sockets against the bow of the ship. The small wooden boat shook violently, making everyone on board unsteady. Akarahama was almost thrown into the mist outside the ship. But he stood firm in time, and gave Zhaniya a gentle push on the shoulder, sending her back to the center of the wooden boat.
"Who are you?" he asked loudly in the turmoil. "There is no need to mess with our ship, my friend? Are you sent by the guard to watch the door?"
The shrill voice became louder and higher pitched, and Akarabah's questioning made him almost ecstatic.
"Friends, friends, friends, friends, friends!" Klein said with a sharp smile, "I'm a superstar!"
The crazy-headed monster put his hands on the bow of the small wooden boat.
"Oh," Akurahama said, "This is not good."
"Friend!" the thing laughed wildly.
The small wooden boat was overturned at once.
