This time, he finally heard it clearly—it was truly a human voice, and it was calling for help.
It wasn’t just him; Gong Xiao and Ding Longyun heard it too.
“Huh? Someone’s calling for help? There’s a person on this corpse boat.” Ding Longyun’s curiosity was piqued. Ignoring the nauseating stench of the corpse boat, he jumped aboard as well.
The center of the corpse boat had caved in, forming a massive crack. The faint cries for help were coming from this very crack.
When Su Li looked inside, he immediately saw a person.
It was a man around thirty years old, his face pale with no trace of color, his eyes deeply sunken into their sockets, filled with despair, fear, and agony. His lips moved like a fish’s, opening and closing weakly. It seemed that uttering the word “help” had already drained too much of his energy. He gasped for breath, needing to rest before he could speak again.
Su Li looked at him, his heart sinking.
Only the man’s face and half of his chest were exposed; the rest of his body was fused into the corpse boat, merged with it.
That he was still alive was already a miracle.
“Save… save… me…” He saw Su Li, opened his mouth, and mustered the last of his strength to force out the words, his eyes revealing a desperate longing for life. He didn’t want to die.
Gong Xiao, who was behind him, and Ding Longyun, who had boarded the corpse boat, also came over. When they saw the man, their hearts jolted.
Ding Longyun immediately stepped forward, intending to pull the man out of the corpse boat.
“Don’t worry, I’ll get you out.” Ding Longyun grabbed the man’s shoulders and began to pull, trying to yank him free. As he tugged, the man’s face twisted in pain. Ding Longyun pulled out his arms, which were fused into the corpse boat, only to see chunks of flesh falling off like jelly, revealing the white bones beneath.
The man seemed unable to feel the pain in his arms anymore, but when he turned his head and saw his arms dissolving, pieces of flesh dropping away, fear crept into his eyes.
“No…” He let out a terrified sound.
Ding Longyun had intended to pull the man completely out of the corpse boat, but he stopped when he saw this.
He could already see that not only had the flesh on the man’s arms melted away to bare bones, but the skin and muscle from his chest downward had completely rotted and disintegrated. Just now, he had glimpsed the stark white ribs beneath the chest, and even the internal organs were faintly visible. The man had become part of the corpse boat.
If he pulled the man out, he would die instantly.
This was a fatal injury. Even if a large amount of spirit source were brought to him now to absorb, it couldn’t be reversed.
“Save… save me…” The man, still unaware of his own condition, stared at Ding Longyun with a pleading look, hoping to be dragged out of the corpse boat.
Ding Longyun shook his head, gently set him down, as if unable to bear looking at him, and stepped back.
Su Li silently observed everything. The moment he saw the man, he knew he was beyond saving and hadn’t even moved to touch him.
Seeing Ding Longyun retreat, the man’s eyes filled with terror. He mustered his last strength and screamed hoarsely, “No… don’t give up… I… beg… you… save me… I… I don’t want… to die…” He was terrified, afraid of being abandoned.
“Alright, I’ll save you.” Su Li suddenly spoke, stepped forward, and reached out to grab the man’s shoulders.
Seeing Su Li coming to his rescue, the man grew excited, his eyes brimming with gratitude, tears streaming down his face.
Ding Longyun was taken aback, thinking the man was beyond saving. How could Su Li save him? If he pulled the man out of the corpse boat, he would die immediately. He moved to stop Su Li.
Gong Xiao suddenly blocked him and shook her head slightly, signaling him not to interfere.
Ding Longyun was puzzled but stopped anyway.
Su Li gripped the man’s shoulders tightly and murmured, “I’ll save you now. There won’t be any pain. You’ll be free soon…”
With a sudden yank, he pulled the man up.
With a “splash,” from the chest downward, large chunks of flesh and internal organs fell away, leaving only a white spinal column being dragged out of the corpse boat.
The man’s face, once full of excitement and joy, froze. His mouth opened slightly, as if he wanted to say something, a flicker of bewilderment in his eyes, which then turned vacant.
Just as Ding Longyun had guessed, the moment Su Li pulled the man out of the corpse boat, he died. He had long become part of the corpse boat, and leaving it meant his death.
“You’re saved. No more pain, no more despair…”
Su Li murmured softly, gently laid the nameless man down, and reached out to close his wide, vacant eyes.
Ding Longyun let out a deep sigh. Now he understood Su Li’s intent.
The man was beyond saving. Rather than letting him continue suffering in agony here, it was better to give him hope of life and end his life at his most excited and joyful moment. At least he died with hope and excitement, far better than dying tormented by pain and despair.
Gong Xiao gave Su Li a deep look, a strange glint in her eyes. She felt this man had surprised her many times.
She had initially thought Ding Longyun, the only Level 4 spirit source user among them, was the strongest. As an accomplished woman herself, she admired strength and thus held Ding Longyun in high regard.
But after just half a day of interaction, she realized Su Li was the most formidable among them. Whether it was his performance during the earlier dive to investigate underwater conditions or his courage and decisiveness in luring away the Demonmare alone, he far surpassed both her and Ding Longyun.
Even though Ding Longyun was a level higher, he seemed somewhat overshadowed compared to Su Li.
“Let’s go.”
Su Li turned back. Seeing Ding Longyun and Gong Xiao still standing together silently, he smiled and said, “What are you still doing here? Aren’t you hungry?”
At his words, Ding Longyun suddenly remembered he hadn’t eaten dinner yet. He had long been past the point of hunger, and the revolting scene before him had made him forget. Only now, reminded by Su Li, did he feel the pangs of hunger.
“You’ve got a nerve, thinking about food at a time like this.” Ding Longyun shook his head, somewhat admiring Su Li.
Su Li looked up at the three-story building looming above the water and said, “The Demonmare has damaged a lot of places. This building probably won’t hold out much longer.”