From cannon fodder villain to beloved heroine

The wind howled, the waves roared, and the rain poured down, plunging the world into chaos.

Lightning tore through the night sky, illuminating the churning waves on the sea, which resembled menacing monsters, ready to devour their small boat at any moment.

The ship rocked violently, as if it would be capsized by a giant wave at any moment. The crew clung tightly to the gunwale, their faces pale.

"It's all over! It's all over!" a young crew member cried, his voice trembling. "We're all going to be fish food!"

"Heavens! This is the wrath of the sea god!" Captain Chen's face turned deathly pale as he pointed tremblingly at the mountain of treasure piled up in the cabin. "We must have taken something we shouldn't have, and angered the sea god!" He suddenly turned to Yan Ruyu, his eyes filled with madness. "Miss Yan, throw the treasure overboard! Only in this way can we appease the sea god's anger!"

"Throw it away? What a joke!" Yan Ruyu's almond-shaped eyes widened, refusing to back down. "This is a treasure we risked our lives to obtain, why should we throw it away?"

Captain Chen stamped his feet in desperation, "But if we don't throw it now, we'll all die! What's the use of treasure if we're dead?!"

The crew members looked at each other, some agreeing with Captain Chen and others supporting Yan Ruyu. For a moment, the atmosphere on the ship became extremely tense.

"Stop arguing!" Yan Ruyu snapped, silencing the argument. "It's just a storm, right? Don't scare me like that. I have a plan!" A confident smile played on her lips as she turned and headed towards the cabin. "Bring me the nautical chart!" Yan Ruyu unfurled the chart, her fingers moving rapidly across it as she muttered, "Southeast wind, force 5, waves three meters high, estimated duration six hours..." She looked up at Captain Chen...

Captain Chen looked at her with a skeptical expression. "Miss Yan, do you really have a way?"

“Of course,” Yan Ruyu raised an eyebrow. “Back in the day, I was… cough cough, anyway, trust me!” She winked mysteriously, exchanged relevant ancient meteorological knowledge from the system, and combined it with modern navigation experience to quickly formulate a response plan.

She directed the crew to adjust the angle of the sails, using the wind direction and the patterns of the waves to minimize the ship's swaying.

At the same time, she had the cargo in the hold rearranged to increase the ship's stability.

Captain Chen was initially hesitant, but seeing Yan Ruyu's confident demeanor, he gradually relaxed and began to direct the crew to operate according to her instructions.

Watching Yan Ruyu's busy figure, the crew members' initially panicked hearts gradually calmed down.

Xu Mo walked to Yan Ruyu's side, held her hand tightly, and gave her silent support.

Yan Ruyu felt the warmth of his palm, and a warm feeling welled up in her heart.

She looked up at him, their eyes met, and everything was understood without a word.

Time passed second by second, and the intensity of the storm gradually weakened.

The rain gradually stopped, the dark clouds dispersed, and a ray of sunlight pierced through the clouds, sprinkling the sea with sparkling waves—a truly breathtaking sight.

"We did it!" The crew cheered, their joy at surviving the ordeal palpable.

Captain Chen excitedly grasped Yan Ruyu's hand, "Miss Yan, you are truly our lucky star!"

Yan Ruyu smiled modestly, "It's all the result of everyone's joint efforts."

Just as everyone was immersed in joy, suddenly, a crew member pointed into the distance and exclaimed, "What's that?!"

Following his finger, everyone looked and saw dark shadows appearing on the calm sea, rapidly approaching them...

The black shadows drew closer and closer, and the group finally saw their true forms—a group of enormous sea monsters!

Their bodies are enormous, like small mountains, with ferocious tentacles waving across the sea surface, emitting terrifying roars.

"Holy crap! What is this thing?!" one of the crew members exclaimed in shock.

"Kraken! It's the legendary sea monster!" Captain Chen's face turned pale, and his voice trembled.

The sea monster opened its gaping maw, revealing sharp teeth, and lunged at the ship.

The foul-smelling seawater, mixed with the slime of a sea monster, sprayed onto the crew's faces, making them feel nauseous.

"Stay calm! Don't panic!" Yan Ruyu shouted, redeeming a powerful anesthetic from the system. "Load these into crossbow bolts and shoot them in the eyes!"

Although the crew was frightened, they followed Yan Ruyu's instructions, loaded the anesthetic into the crossbow bolts, and aimed at the sea monster's eyes to fire.

The crossbow bolt struck the sea monster precisely in the eye, and the anesthetic took effect quickly. The sea monster let out a painful howl, thrashing wildly on the surface of the sea and creating towering waves.

"Now! Attack!" Yan Ruyu gave the order, and the crew members picked up their weapons and launched a fierce attack on the sea monster.

Although the sea monster was enormous, it was slowed down by the anesthetic and was no match for the crew's attacks.

After a fierce battle, the sea monsters finally succumbed and sank to the bottom of the sea, disappearing from sight.

"We won!" The crew cheered and hugged each other excitedly.

The ship finally returned safely, and Xujia Wharf was bustling with activity, filled with the sounds of gongs, drums, and firecrackers.

With the treasures they brought back from overseas and the newly opened maritime trade routes, the Xu family rose rapidly to become the wealthiest and most powerful merchants in the region.

At the celebration banquet, there was constant drinking and laughter.

Xu Mo walked to Yan Ruyu's side and looked at her affectionately, "Ruyu, thank you."

Yan Ruyu smiled sweetly, "Silly boy, why are you thanking me?"

Just then, a carrier pigeon landed in Yan Ruyu's hand.

She opened the letter, her brow furrowing slightly.

"What's wrong?" Xu Mo asked with concern.

Yan Ruyu handed him the letter. "Look."

The letter mentions that a remote and mysterious ancient town seems to be hiding a huge secret.

Yan Ruyu and Xu Mo exchanged a glance, their eyes sparkling with curiosity.

"It seems we have a new adventure ahead of us." Yan Ruyu's lips curled up slightly, revealing a mysterious smile.

In the distance, the ancient town, shrouded in a thin mist, stands quietly among the mountains, as if waiting for their arrival...

"Prepare the horses!" Yan Ruyu said firmly.