Runes • Rifles • Reincarnation

Fan Biyu opened her eyes to darkness. The soothing sound of lapping waves that she’d grown accustomed to was absent, replaced by a strange noise echoing through the hallway outside her door. Frowning, she sat up and strode to the door. Opening it cautiously, she peeked into the moonlit corridor.

The moonlight spilling in from the deck doorway illuminated the scene: the doorway was broken down, and Jin Shu stood facing two men charging toward him. Around him, a few others lay on the ground, groaning or bleeding.

Jin Shu raised his strange weapon—the pellet gun, she recalled him calling it. It made two sharp ping sounds, and the charging men were suddenly hurled backward down the hallway. Fan Biyu blinked in astonishment. That pellet gun wasn’t that strong when I used it… if it had been, Li Xue’s rear would have been flattened. A smile pulled at her lips from the thought.

A faint creaking sound caught her attention. She turned her head to see others peeking out of their rooms, drawn by the commotion. Down the hall, Sun Li stepped out of her cabin, her small frame starkly contrasting with the burly sailors. No matter how many times I see her, I still can’t believe she isn’t a girl, Fan Biyu thought, before shaking the distracting thought from her head.

Focusing back on Jin Shu, she approached him swiftly, her brow furrowed. “What’s happening?”

Jin Shu, crouched low as he scanned the open doorway, glanced up at her. “Night raid,” he said curtly.

His words sounded strange, like they were in another language. “Huh?” she asked, puzzled.

He sighed and clarified, “We’re under attack.” He waved a hand at the groaning men on the floor to emphasize his point.

Fan Biyu scowled at his tone but didn’t comment—she could tell that much on her own. “By who?” she pressed.

He only shrugged. She felt her brow twitch in irritation but quickly dismissed it. How would he know who they are? she reasoned.

Suddenly, Jin Shu stood, and she had to tilt her head back slightly to meet his gaze. Why does he have to be so annoyingly tall? she thought. If he were just a bit shorter, we could actually see eye to eye.

Turning to a nearby sailor, Jin Shu asked, “Is there another entry point into this area?”

The sailor hesitated before pointing toward a door at the far end of the hallway. “There is. It leads to the cargo hold.”

Fan Biyu’s gaze followed the sailor’s gesture, unease bubbling in her chest. They could attack from there too. Her fears were confirmed when the door creaked open, revealing three black-clad men. One of them whistled sharply, and three more men appeared from the deck, each carrying a makeshift wooden shield.

We’re boxed in! Panic sparked in her mind. I’ll have to help him take some of them down.

Before she could act, Jin Shu barked an order. “Biyu, get everyone into their rooms!”

She hesitated. Wouldn’t it be better for her to fight alongside him? Still, she trusted he had a plan. If she got everyone out of the way quickly, she could help him with the remaining attackers.

“Everyone, get back inside!” she shouted. Some sailors retreated into their rooms, but most lingered, watching the scene unfold with wide eyes.

Three more sharp pings echoed behind her. Fan Biyu whirled around just in time to see fragments of wood spray across the hallway. Jin Shu’s pellet gun, while effective against unarmored attackers, seemed useless against the makeshift wooden shields.

She saw his lips move, but he was too far away for her to catch the words. Then, in a flash, his pellet gun disappeared, replaced by a slightly different weapon.

He raised the new weapon calmly, aimed, and—

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The deafening cracks filled the hallway as flashes of light erupted from the weapon. Fan Biyu flinched at the sound, and when she looked again, the three shielded men were on the ground, groaning and bleeding.

Her mind reeled. What was that?!

Jin Shu spun on his heel, aiming the strange weapon at the remaining attackers. The men, abandoning their broken shields, charged down the hallway. Fan Biyu noticed Jin Shu hesitate for the briefest moment before he lowered the weapon slightly.

Seeing this, she redoubled her efforts to herd the gawking crowd back into their rooms. “Get inside, now!” she shouted, but her words seemed to fall on deaf ears.

“Get out of the way!” Jin Shu snapped, his voice sharp and commanding. The sailors, frozen in terror, didn’t budge.

He cursed under his breath, frustration clear on his face, and shoved his way through the group. Fan Biyu abandoned her attempts to corral the onlookers and quickly followed behind him.

As she caught up, a sudden commotion made her freeze. One of the attackers lunged forward, grabbing Sun Li, placing a blade against her throat.

“Stop!” the man barked, his voice cutting through the chaos like a blade.

Sun Li’s wide eyes were filled with terror, her chest heaving as if the air had been stolen from her lungs.

Fan Biyu stopped a few paces behind Jin Shu, her fists clenched as she assessed the situation.