The journey was silent.
Natsuki and the girls quickly arrived at the edge of the swamp.
On the surface of the swamp was a shallow pool of water up to their calves, with soft mud underneath. One step in, and the entire foot would sink into the mud.
"Ahhh! So dirty!" Chika pulled her foot out with effort, looking at the mud on her foot, and couldn't help but exclaim, "It smells so bad too!"
Natsuki said:
"Dirty and smelly, this is a real swamp in nature... Do you still want to swim now?"
Before coming, Chika was very excited, even saying she wanted to swim in the swamp.
"Of course not." Chika quickly shook her head, unable to help but complain, "Swimming in this kind of swamp, I'll get skin diseases!"
Yukino crossed her right arm over her chest and said softly:
"The size of this swamp is about four to five football fields. According to the information observed earlier, there should only be one type of monster inside, and that's mosquitoes."
Natsuki followed up:
"The swamp area is too large. To find the boss inside, we must go deep into it."
After a pause, Natsuki looked at Kaguya and said softly:
"We'll use Dark Shadow to infiltrate first. The goal of the infiltration isn't combat, but to find and confirm the boss's identity... The swamp is too dirty, so Kaguya, you can become a leg attachment, and then move with me?"
Kaguya nodded lightly and agreed:
"No problem."
The number of mosquitoes in the swamp was in the tens of thousands; they could only be outsmarted, not attacked head-on.
Sneaking in secretly was very necessary.
Although Natsuki could Copy and Paste, transforming into a Dark Shadow had a time limit; he could get in, but the skill duration wouldn't be enough to get out.
Therefore, he had to act with Kaguya.
After the discussion.
Kaguya quickly transformed into a leg attachment, attaching herself to Natsuki's thigh.
A leg attachment is a standard subordinate item; once it becomes an attachment, all its abilities can be used by the other party. Unless the attachment user releases it, it can only remain in attachment form.
In other words.
Becoming an attachment carries risks.
Only when both parties have enough trust are they willing to become an attachment, sacrificing themselves to help others.
If it were the former Kaguya, deeply poisoned by Shinomiya Un'yo, who believed that relationships between people were only about Exploit, she would never easily put herself in a disadvantageous position.
But now, she had no doubt whatsoever and quickly became a leg attachment.
If there was anyone in the world she trusted one hundred percent, Mrs. Shimizu was one, and Natsuki was undoubtedly the second. Chika and Hayasaka would come after them.
"Equipment successful."
Natsuki equipped the Kaguya-brand attachment to himself, then began to take off his clothes.
"Eh eh eh?" Chika quickly covered her face, her fingers spread, and her pink eyes curiously looked over, "President, what are you doing?"
Natsuki said righteously:
"Of course, I'm taking off my clothes."
Chika couldn't help but exclaim:
"Why are you taking off your clothes in front of Yukino-chan and me?"
"The swamp is so dirty, it's normal to take off your clothes beforehand to avoid getting them dirty, isn't it?"
As players, few people had mysophobia, and even if they did, it would have long been cured by the game.
However, if they could keep their clothes clean and tidy, no one would willingly get them covered in mud.
Natsuki spoke as he took off his clothes and handed them to Yukino, saying righteously:
"Yukino, hold these for me."
"I refuse..."
Yukino's pretty face froze, about to refuse.
Natsuki lowered his voice and whispered:
"Haruno-nee will be able to awaken soon. You don't want Haruno to be taken advantage of to tears by me, do you?"
Yukino: "..."
The second miss gritted her teeth, glaring at Natsuki in annoyance, and reluctantly took the clothes.
After taking off his clothes.
Natsuki did a simple set of warm-up exercises, then waved goodbye to Chika and Yukino:
"You all stay here; don't move."
Chika puffed out her pink cheeks: "I don't know why, but I suddenly want to punch the president."
Yukino nodded in agreement: "Me too."
"..."
The instructions were complete.
Natsuki wasted no time, activating the Dark Shadow he had copied from Kaguya on the way, transforming into a shadow, and submerging into the swamp.
A ripple disturbed the murky surface of the swamp, then quickly subsided.
"...So many mosquitoes."
As Natsuki stealthily infiltrated, he observed his surroundings and found that there were even more mosquitoes in the swamp than he had imagined; they were everywhere—in the sky, on the vegetation.
Moreover, these things were incredibly large, each mosquito the size of a football, making it seem like only King Kong could ignore them.
"What if the mosquito beast boss is the anomaly's true form?"
Natsuki pondered seriously.
Rushing in head-on was definitely not an option; the best solution would actually be insecticide, but unfortunately, no insecticide could repel all the mosquitoes in the entire swamp.
Next was fire attack.
Burning the mountain to eradicate the roots.
The problem was, this was a swamp; fire simply couldn't ignite.
"So, the best approach is actually to play the long game?"
"Sneak behind the enemy and then deliver a fatal blow."
Natsuki pondered countermeasures while searching for the boss's whereabouts.
He didn't find the boss, but instead, the duration of his Dark Shadow state was about to end.
A few seconds later.
In the dead silent swamp, Natsuki appeared out of thin air.
The chaotic mosquito swarm briefly froze, then a buzzing sound suddenly erupted, and countless mosquitoes swarmed towards Natsuki.
"Excuse me, goodbye."
Natsuki decisively activated Kaguya's ability, once again vanishing into the Dark Shadow.
After equipping the leg attachment, all of its abilities can be used, unless they are unique limited skills or title skills.
Therefore, Natsuki could use Dark Shadow twice in a short period.
However, once both uses were expended, he would have to wait for Kaguya's skill cooldown before he could use it again.
"I still have five minutes of action time; if I can't find the boss, I'll go out first, rest for a bit, wait for the skill cooldown to finish, and then come back."
Natsuki held his breath, not anxious.
As an assassin, calmness and patience are fundamental requirements.
Several minutes passed in a flash.
"...Alright, I didn't find it."
Natsuki sighed helplessly, quietly withdrew from the swamp, and successfully reached outside the swamp before his Dark Shadow state ended.
The swamp was vast, and the direction Natsuki explored was already some distance from Chika and Yukinoshita, so he was alone at the moment.
"Hoo..."
Natsuki gently exhaled, wiggling his pinky finger to send a safety signal to Chika using the red string.
After receiving a response from secretary Chika, Natsuki then released Kaguya from her leg attachment form.
A Kaguya appeared out of thin air, and then Kaguya used a Skin Card to transform into Bunny Girl Kaguya.
"President..."
Her gaze fell on Natsuki, Kaguya's pretty face flushed, and she quickly averted her eyes, biting her silver teeth as she said:
"President, please put on your clothes quickly."
"If I put them on, I'll have to take them off later; it's too much trouble," Natsuki grumbled, "You haven't not seen them before..."
"Hmm?"
Kaguya's pretty face hardened, and she slowly tilted her head to look over.
"I'm sorry, I was wrong, please forgive me."
Natsuki apologized sincerely and decisively.
Of course.
Apologies aside, he still wouldn't wear clothes; at most, he'd wear underwear.
"I've already explored half of the swamp just now," Natsuki said, "One more time should be enough."
Kaguya said softly:
"The Dark Shadow skill still has over twenty minutes until it cools down."
"No rush, take your time," Natsuki said softly, "There's still plenty of time."
"Mm."
Kaguya lightly assented.
Natsuki looked at Kaguya and asked:
"Standing all the time is too tiring, shall we go sit for a while?"
Kaguya gently nodded:
"Alright."
The two had already left the swamp, and there was a tree not far away.
It wasn't a large tree, but it was more than enough for people to rest under.
Natsuki led Kaguya to the tree, then picked up Kaguya, leaped up, and jumped directly onto the tree, finding a sturdy branch to sit down firmly.
As for Kaguya... of course, she was directly held in his arms.
"You saw all those mosquitoes in the swamp just now, right?"
Natsuki leaned in and spoke into Kaguya's ear.
"Mm." Kaguya's neck recoiled slightly, and her earlobes quickly flushed pink. "Mosquitoes are so disgusting."
"They are indeed disgusting." Natsuki nodded, massaging Kaguya, "I heard that in Africa, there's a special delicacy called 'mosquito cakes'."
Kaguya's pretty face quickly flushed red, and she turned her head to look elsewhere, saying nonchalantly:
"That... that kind of thing... can actually be eaten?"
Big progress!
Before, when he massaged Kaguya, it was always in the morning while pretending to sleep; now it was daytime, which was cause for celebration!
Natsuki said earnestly:
"Of course, as long as you overcome the psychological barrier, there's nothing you can't eat. According to those who've eaten it, aside from being a bit salty, the taste is actually quite good."
"Pre-President, don't say anymore..." Kaguya bit her lip, her pretty face flushed crimson, and she turned her head to look elsewhere, pretending not to know anything, "It sounds so... strange..."
Clearly.
After so many days without a chance for intimate contact, Kaguya also wanted to get close.
Otherwise, Natsuki would have been hit the moment he reached out.
After teasing Kaguya for a while, Natsuki reluctantly jumped down from the tree, preparing to continue challenging the swamp.
"Hoo..."
Kaguya covered her chest and exhaled softly, almost losing her balance.
Turning her head, she glared at Natsuki in annoyance, then Kaguya's figure vanished, transforming into a leg attachment.
Loading complete.
Natsuki transformed into a Dark Shadow, re-submerged into the swamp, and continued to explore the unexplored areas.
This time, he was lucky; Natsuki quickly discovered a giant mosquito with a completely different body shape and outline.
This thing was quite peculiar, appearing half-human, half-mosquito from a distance, floating in the air, quite unique and looking very dangerous.
"This should be the boss, right?"
Natsuki exited his Dark Shadow state, then quickly donned his Presence Concealment Cloak, narrowing his eyes to carefully observe the giant mosquito.
As he stared intently, a prompt quickly appeared before him.
[You have carefully explored and discovered the boss of the Mosquito Swamp, the Mosquito Queen]
[You discover that the other party is a female creature, and you are overjoyed...]
"Hey, hey, what's with this prompt?"
Natsuki was speechless.
What the hell was "overjoyed"?
If it were a mermaid, he might grit his teeth and be able to stomach it.
How could he be overjoyed by a half-human, half-mosquito monster!
The prompt continued.
[You continue to observe, and a disappointed expression quickly appears on your face... You discover that the Mosquito Queen is not the anomaly's true form]
"It isn't?"
Natsuki frowned slightly, indeed a bit disappointed.
After working so hard for so long, only to find that he had found the wrong target, no one would be happy.
The prompt couldn't be wrong; since it said this thing wasn't the anomaly's true form, even if the half-human, half-mosquito creature was super eye-catching, it definitely wouldn't be the anomaly.
"Is it bait designed to attract attention?"
Natsuki was not yet clear, so he packed away his cloak, then used Kaguya's ability again, vanishing into the Dark Shadow, and quietly left the swamp.
"They're back, they're back!" Chika's eyes lit up, and she happily waved and shouted, "President and Kaguya are back!"
"We're back." Natsuki and Kaguya walked over. "Sorry to keep you waiting."
Yukino asked curiously:
"How did it go?"
Natsuki shook his head:
"I found the Mosquito Queen boss in the swamp, but it's not the anomaly's true form."
"Eh, it's not?" Chika blinked, "We've searched the entire island, haven't we... Could our judgment be wrong?"
"It could be a misjudgment, or there might be something we missed," Natsuki said calmly, "Let's go catch crabs first, then return to the cave; it'll be dark soon."
"..."
The group headed to the Red Mangrove Forest to start catching crabs.
However, due to the misjudgment that the Mosquito Queen was not the anomaly's true form, the atmosphere was somewhat silent.
They arrived at the Red Mangrove Forest.
After catching crabs and breaking off their claws, Natsuki and the girls headed back.
There was no conversation along the way.
Upon returning to the sea, the girls all came out to greet them; Tsubame and Hayasaka had already awakened, and with the two of them there, their safety was naturally not a problem.
"President, what's the situation?"
Hayasaka inquired.
Regarding their ability to leave the deserted island, the girls were all very concerned, pricking up their ears to listen.
"The situation, you ask..."
Natsuki did not hide anything, telling the truth about the situation.
"Did we get it wrong?" Tsubame asked softly, comforting Natsuki, "Don't be disheartened, Natsuki-kun. Things rarely go smoothly in this world."
"I'm already disheartened," Natsuki pretended to give up, lowering his voice, "Unless Senpai gives me a reward."
Tsubame couldn't help but glare at him, letting out a soft hum:
"If Natsuki-kun says it out loud, I'll give you a reward."
Natsuki said decisively:
"Suddenly, I don't want it anymore."
"Pfft~"
Tsubame spat softly, then pulled her daughter away.
They hadn't found the boss, but island survival had to continue, and the crab claws still needed to be cleaned.
"Actually…"
Juju, who was beside him, moved her lips, a hesitant expression on her small face, but in the end, she said nothing.
Natsuki keenly noticed Juju's small gesture and curiously approached her, lowering his head to ask:
"What did Juju want to say just now?"
Juju turned her small face away, crossed her arms over her chest, and hummed softly:
"You saw wrong."
Natsuki extended his right hand and patted Juju's small head: "Do I need a kiss for you to tell me?"
"Pfft!"
Juju slapped Natsuki's wrist, her small face flushing red with shame and anger, she said:
"You fellow, don't push your luck!"
Natsuki said:
"Then hurry up and say it."
"Tsk…" Juju hesitated for two seconds, then whispered, "You just said you've searched all the bosses on the island, but I think there might be one left."
Natsuki raised an eyebrow slightly:
"What?"
Juju whispered:
"There's a boss called Octopus King in the Don't Starve shipwreck version. You haven't encountered it yet, have you?"
"Octopus King?"
Natsuki's eyes lit up slightly. Since encountering the shark, no one had gone into the sea, so naturally, they hadn't encountered the Octopus King.
As a famous new boss in the Don't Starve version, it couldn't be ruled out as a potential anomalous entity.
"What Juju-sama said makes a lot of sense." Natsuki lifted Juju up in one swift motion, "A single word has awakened the dreamer."
Juju immediately panicked, quickly grabbing Natsuki's arm, and anxiously said:
"W-what are you doing?"
Natsuki smiled:
"Of course, it's a high lift."
"S-stupid!" Juju's small face flushed with anger, and she shouted in embarrassment, "Put me down quickly!"
Natsuki said innocently:
"Didn't you like high lifts the most before?"
"You're talking nonsense!" Juju was both shy and angry, "I don't like high lifts at all!"
"..."
He put Juju down.
Natsuki found Kaguya and Yukino, and others, and told them about Juju's reminder.
"Octopus King?"
"We really haven't thoroughly explored the sea."
"Let's talk about it tomorrow. It's almost dark."
Natsuki nodded and said:
"We'll go check the sea tomorrow. That's all for today… One more thing, who should receive the mushroom today?"
Marin and Sayu were still in doll form, so they didn't need a mushroom. Currently, only Haruno, Juju, and Shoko were left.
The last two, Aoi and the passerby player, were all ordinary people, so they didn't need to be considered.
"How about giving the mushroom to Shoko-chan?" Chika raised her right hand and suggested, "Once Shoko-chan awakens, communication will be much easier."
Kaguya, Yukino, and the others naturally had no objections to this suggestion.
"Then it's settled." Natsuki nodded, "During dinner, I'll plant the mushroom for Shoko."
"..."
The crab claws were cleaned.
Everyone quickly returned to the cave and began cooking tonight's dinner.
"Shoko, come out with me for a moment," Natsuki called out by name.
"Eh?"
Komi looked up blankly. From being stranded on the island until now, she had always been a background character. Now, suddenly being called out by Natsuki, a bewildered and confused expression appeared on her pretty face.
"That's right, it's you," Natsuki retorted, "Don't look at others, Shoko, come out with me for a moment."
Confirming that Natsuki was calling her name, the the timid girl immediately panicked, looking nervously at Juju beside her.
"What do you want to do?"
Juju bravely stood up and blocked Shoko.
Natsuki said seriously:
"I'm just planting a mushroom for Shoko."
Juju clearly didn't believe him: "Are you really just planting a mushroom?"
Natsuki spread his hands helplessly:
"If you don't believe m
e, you can go out with Shoko."
Juju hesitated for two seconds, then bit her silver teeth and said:
"...I'll go then!"