Chapter 454: the storm continues

TORRENTIAL rain kept pouring down.  The wind was howling like some ghost call from the underworld.  Streaks of lightning were flashing across the dark sky.  The sound of thunder booming was like the melody of an impending doom.  The was rumbling.  It's almost like Poseidon and Zeus decided to work together to produce this unrelenting storm.

And at the center of it all was a ship.

The violent waves kept on hitting the ship from both sides.  The players on board the ship felt like it would topple over any minute now.  Especially those who were left on the deck when the storm began.  In fact, a number of players had already fallen overboard.  Most of them were those who was unprepared for the sudden arrival of this storm.

Many of them tried to get on board but only a handful managed to do it.  The swept away by the waves and drowned.  Many saw them turned into small light particles.  Which what usually happened once a player's HP turned zero.  Because this ship was the only one that could take them to the Four-Seasons Island, once a player died at the middle of the journey, then they're out of the Rookie Carnival.

Realizing that, the players on the deck finally understood that this might really be the beginning of the preliminary.  They probably should have realized that the moment that pirate NPC appeared and told them to survive until they reached their destination.  It was especially true for those who were eliminated.

But the possibility of falling on the ocean wasn't the only problem the players had to face.  They also had to face the probability of being hit by lightning. 

In fact, a lot of players had already been hit and quickly turned into small light particles.  All the players here were at least level 80 or above.  Meaning their HPs were quite substantial.  But the fact that a player could be eliminated just by a single hit of lightning showed just how strong that lightning was.

The players on the deck who were trying their best not to be thrown overboard the ship.  And then someone shouted;

"Let's go inside the ship!"

It was as if everyone just came back to their senses.  And they scampered to run inside.  After all, it was indeed much safer to be inside than outside.  Which only made the situation worse.  A stampeded almost happened and most were thrown to the sea.  Because they cluttered together, once a lightning struck, a lot were affected and turned into light particles.

If that wasn't enough, when someone tried to open the door, they found that it was close.  When they tried to open the door by force, even using weapons, it still didn't budge.  What's worse was there wasn't even a damage on the wooden door.  Which could only mean one thing – players were not allowed to damage the ship.  That made the players on the deck panicked even more. 

"Open the door!  Can you hear us!"

"Hey!  I know you can hear us!"

"Shit!"

These things didn't concern Luo Yan who entered the ship with Luo Jin as early as the first drop of rain fell.

He glanced at the players guarding the door and preventing those players outside from entering.  Then he looked at a male player with curly golden hair and a worried look on his face.  His golden hair indicated that he's from the Angel race.  His pristine white clothes perfectly matched that.  But his angelic countenance was the complete opposite of his character.

If one looked at him, they might thing that he's worried about the players outside.  Especially because of his soft facial features and petite stature.  It gave people the illusion that he was someone pure and innocent.  But it's nothing more than that – an illusion. 

Because this guy was the one who instigate those players to lock the door and prevent the players on the deck from entering.  He's like an evil Uriel – that guy from team Celestials.  Maybe they would recruit this one after the Carnival was over.  After all, they only accept Angels. 

"I really want to punch the heck out of that guy."

He heard Luo Jin grumbling.  He glanced down and saw his brother glaring at the direction of the Angel.

Luo Yan couldn't agree more.  He also had the urge to beat the guy up.  Because he witnessed the process of him instigating those players to lock the door.  He did it so seamlessly that if one wasn't paying attention, they might not discover it.  Especially in this kind of situation where almost everyone was simply panicking.

He first stood at the most crowded spot.  Then he said to the player beside him that they should call the people on the deck.  So that they wouldn't be thrown to the sea because of the storm.  That they needed to reach the Four-Seasons Island because they were all participants of the Rookie Carnival.  It wouldn't be good if they were eliminated here.

A lot of player were inspired by what he said and proceeded on locking the door.  If not for that instigation veiled in worry, it would probably take a while before a player thought of doing that. 

That kind of manipulation might work on others, but not on Luo Yan.  He knew what a manipulation was when he saw one.  After all, he often did that when situation needed him to.  But his kind of manipulation was harmless at best.  That guy, on the other hand, do it because he enjoyed it.  As evidence of the small smile that crossed his lips when the other players locked the door.  Luo Yan truly disliked that type.

"Do you want to open the door then?" he asked his brother.

"Nah.  It's their fault for not being more alert.  They should have gone inside the moment it started raining," Luo Jin said.  "Look at us, we're pretty far from the entrance of the ship but we still managed to go here ahead of them."

Luo Yan also thought the same.  Besides that, if they really tried to open the door, they had to go through those line of players surrounding it.  Someone already did so earlier and it didn't end good for them.

They were the ones who received damage instead of the player they tried to attack.  That small incident showed them that during their time on this ship, they were not allowed to attack another player.  Not only that, when that player tried to take a potion to regain their lost HP, he wasn't able to. 

Seeing that, Luo Yan also tried to open his Items Tab.  He could open it but the only thing he could take out was his weapon. 

So, right now, the known rules were; one, they were not allowed to attack another player and two, they couldn't use any other items aside from their weapons. 

He hadn't tested yet if he could use his skills.  But he hoped that he could just in case a sea monster appeared later.  With this game, you just never know.

With those rules, who would try to save those players on the deck?  Luo Yan was not some holy father who would save anyone in need.  He might do something if Luo Jin was one of the players outside, he would definitely do something.  But unlucky for them, that was not the case.

Luo Yan could still hear the howling of the wind outside.  It seemed like this storm wouldn't end anytime soon.