C12 He's Still a Child!

Zhang Hai was on the verge of losing his mind.

"This system is garbage! You can't seriously expect me to take this thing down."

"Come on, Captain, you've got this. We're all rooting for you."

"Get lost!"

What in the world was this monster? It was ridiculously over the top.

The assault was relentless. He had an abundance of skeletons, after all.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! The Magic Cannon fired as if it cost him nothing.

Though it seemed futile against the monster, it at least hindered its movements.

The warriors seized the moment, launching attack after attack.

Zhang Hai glanced at his experience bar and felt a twinge of disappointment. This creature was even more glitched than he was.

Not a single point of experience gained. It was an utter pitfall.

"System, deploy the Nether Energy Gravity Field."

"Affirmative."

Instantly, the nature of the warriors' and skeletons' attacks transformed.

He was out of options. Apart from activating this, he was clueless about how to go toe-to-toe with this beast.

To his surprise, their attacks now had a significant impact.

A Shield Bash could actually throw the skeleton off balance.

Even though the skeleton was still largely ineffective, an opportunity had presented itself.

He had to fully utilize these three minutes.

The firepower suddenly intensified.

The attack rate of the giant skeleton greatly diminished.

Coupled with Zhang Hai's cannon fire, the giant skeleton's center of gravity shifted, and it was hit with several shield strikes.

It toppled over, crashing to the ground.

The skeletons swarmed it, hammering away at the colossal form.

The outcome was predictable.

But Zhang Hai was undeterred. He continued to bombard the enemy, creating openings for his allies.

Then, an idea struck him.

He accessed the System Merchant Shop and browsed through it, a crafty grin spreading across his face.

Spending two hundred points, he retrieved an item.

Without hesitation, he tossed it into the fray.

The skeletons swarmed it, pinning the massive skeleton down.

Suddenly, he felt a wave of danger.

Through a gap, the huge skeleton caught a glimpse of the item's edge.

It was so terrified that it turned a ghostly white.

"Damn it! That's cheating!"

Zhang Hai paused, taken aback by the voice.

It had the quality of a little girl's tone.

But there was no little girl to be found here.

Suddenly, the Ghost Ship was engulfed in a blinding white flash, and all the warriors, along with the bomb known as the Great Emperor, were hurled into the air.

Not far off, a red glow flickered beneath the water.

He witnessed a ten-meter radius seemingly obliterated.

The surrounding water rushed into the newly formed semicircular crater.

Zhang Hai was startled by the sight.

If this were used on a warship, he doubted any ship could withstand it.

But at that moment, he felt an ominous premonition.

Turning around, he saw a massive skeleton radiating white light leap onto his battleship.

As the white light faded, the skeleton's form began to shrink incrementally.

With a loud crash, it kicked open the door to his Commander Room.

Zhang Hai gaped at the little girl in a white dress standing before him, a metal spear over two meters long slung over her shoulder, charging at him with ferocity.

"Damn it, you have no sense of fair play. If you can't handle the game, don't step inside!"

With a clang, she inadvertently caught the tip of her spear on the doorframe.

She stumbled, and the spear narrowly missed Zhang Hai's face as it fell.

The close call nearly scared him out of his wits.

It was an instinctive reaction. Despite now being a battleship, his subconscious still couldn't help but dodge.

The little girl, dressed in a white gothic outfit, stood with her mouth agape in shock.

She was so startled that she began to drool.

Zhang Hai snapped back to reality and looked down, nearly swearing aloud.

"What are you staring at? Careful, kid, or you'll get stye in your eye."

He hurriedly put on a jacket to cover up and protect himself from further exposure.

Today just seemed to be a string of bad luck for him.

Yet, at that moment, he sensed something was amiss. His eyes settled on the little girl in the white dress.

"Who are you?"

"Hmph, you have the nerve to ask. You're such a miser. If you can't take the heat, don't throw the Emperor. Have you no shame?"

Zhang Hai was taken aback; he hadn't expected her to know about the Great Emperor.

Then, a thought struck him.

"Don't tell me... you're the giant skeleton."

"Hmph, what of it? Do you think it was easy for me to slumber for hundreds of millions of years just for this day?"

The system chimed in with an explanation.

"Captain, the power of the Dead Spirit enables one to enter Undead Mode. Some powerful individuals can use this method to temporarily become undead and remain so."

Zhang Hai grudgingly came to terms with this revelation.

But what was this little girl up to with all these antics?

"Little girl, can we talk about something?"

The little girl sat on his command chair with a defiant look, arms crossed.

"Go ahead."

"Well, I just stumbled in here by mistake. How about you let me go and we both pretend this never happened?"

"Hmph, keep dreaming. You've interrupted my rest. Did you really think I'd let you off without some form of compensation?"

Zhang Hai considered simply purchasing more Magic Cannons and obliterating this space. After all, he would accumulate more points soon enough. But he was worried—if the little girl lost her temper, he'd be done for.

Biting back his annoyance, he pressed on.

"So, what do you want?"

"Simple," she giggled. "Just take me out of here and provide food and lodging."

Zhang Hai sensed something amiss as he scrutinized the little girl.

"Are you trapped here?"

Her heart raced, and she averted her gaze.

Her reaction delighted him. So she was the proverbial canary in the coal mine, albeit in a rather sophisticated cage.

He wondered which despicable person had gone so far as to not spare such a young child. She was just a kid, after all.

The System gave him a silent, wary look but said nothing.

Suddenly, the tables had turned.

Zhang Hai's mood soared. He nudged her off the command chair and stretched out comfortably, smugness written all over his face.

He contentedly lit a cigarette, reveling in the little girl's frustrated grimace.

"What's the matter? Weren't you acting all dark and brooding a moment ago? Here's your chance to show what you're made of."

"You! Jerk! You're just bullying a kid!"

"Heh, if you're so upset, why don't you try biting me?"

Zhang Hai was on cloud nine.

The feeling was indescribable...

"Damn it! You really bit me, you little terror! Let go!"

He was completely taken aback as the little girl clamped her teeth onto his thigh.

"Hmph."

As he massaged his bruising thigh, Zhang Hai mentally rattled off a litany of curses.

Still, he managed to keep his cool.

"I might consider taking you out of here. But I've heard there's a Nether Energy Module around. Where might that be?"

The little girl gestured nonchalantly.

To his amazement, the Ghost Ship before him disintegrated into a swarm of black particles and materialized in the palm of her hand.