RoleplayNovel Chapter 135: They've stirred up a hornet's nest!
Chapter 135: They've stirred up a hornet's nest!
Chapter 135: They've stirred up a hornet's nest!
Summoned, Duck C left the cabin and stood at the bow, facing the distant sky where the outline of the "Fishman Royal Capital" lay quietly like a giant beast lurking in the water.
Holding the badge, I recited the oath of "Environmental Guardian" for who knows how many times.
However, this time, something seems different.
hum!
The badge suddenly trembled slightly and emitted a pale green light! This light quickly spread and enveloped Duck C's entire body. It looked down blankly at the wave pattern that appeared on its chest, which was exactly the same as the "Environmental Guardian" badge.
In the void, a sigh of relief seemed to echo.
A phantom image of an old man, half-human and half-fish, clad in ancient and majestic armor, appeared on a level beyond the perception of mortal beings.
The old man's ethereal hand gently brushed across Duck C's head with an air of approval.
"Gah?" Duck C felt a warm current wash over its entire body, as if it were soaking in the most suitable seawater.
The green light gradually receded and became more subtle.
When the light completely disappeared, Duck C's appearance had changed significantly!
Its body had noticeably grown taller, and its previously slightly messy, colorful feathers had become broad and powerful, enough to support its flight!
The feathers are more vibrant, covered with a layer of oil that effectively repels water. Beneath the feathers, a layer of fine, tough, fish-scale-like soft armor plates is faintly visible, providing additional protection.
[Summoned Item: LV1 Lemon Duck, now evolved into LV2 Eco-Friendly Duck!]
On Yu Wang's side, the process of forcibly clearing the way was not going smoothly, so he did not see this prompt in time.
The accident occurred when the ascent reached a depth of approximately 130 meters.
In order to avoid an unknown glowing spot approaching on the map, he chose a direction slightly deviating from the original plan to break through the wall.
Unexpectedly, behind them was the nest of a brooding female crab.
To make matters worse, the beam of his headlamp and the noise of breaking through the wall clearly alerted the cave dwellers.
Two crimson lights suddenly shone brightly deep within the cave!
Immediately afterwards, a colossal creature burst forth with surging undercurrents!
That was a giant spider crab, as big as a small private car!
Its aura was incredibly fierce, probably only one step away from the true "extraordinary" level!
Its dark purple carapace is thick and rugged, covered with sharp spikes. Its two enormous claws are vastly different in size!
The smaller one was only the size of a winter melon, while the other was exceptionally thick, its claws opening like a thick cement pipe, gleaming with a metallic cold light!
This brooding female crab is currently in the most protective and sensitive period of her life!
Any intruder will be seen as a serious threat to its future generations!
The crab was clearly enraged by the intruder. The cave was just big enough to fit its massive body, so it didn't need to move at all. It could simply raise its claws and smash them at Yu Wang, who had just broken through the wall and hadn't even had time to adjust his position!
Yu Wang only had time to lean back sharply and shift the oxygen tanks on his back as far as possible. He could recover from his physical injuries, but if the oxygen tanks exploded, he was finished!
"Bang—Crack!"
The giant pincers grazed the edge of Yu Wang's chest and slammed heavily against the coral wall beside him!
The hard coral skeleton crumbled and collapsed like tofu, stirring up a cloud of turbidity.
Yu Wang was thrown several meters away by the current, his chest heaving with blood and qi, but fortunately he avoided a direct impact.
"It saved me a lot of trouble breaking through the walls." Yu Wang glanced at the huge gap that the giant crab had smashed open, leading to other waterways, and smiled bitterly to himself.
Having narrowly escaped a fatal blow, he dared not linger for a moment. He spotted a crevice exposed by the collapse of coral and began to rise with all his might!
Whether it was a sudden burst of energy or not, Yu Wang felt that his swimming speed seemed to have increased significantly.
Duck B followed closely behind, watching the rear warily, ready to cover the retreat at any moment.
Fortunately, the primary task of this brooding female crab is to protect her eggs and drive away intruders.
Seeing Yu Wang, the "threat," flee quickly, it did not intend to pursue him relentlessly. Instead, it waved its giant pincers, threatening him, and then began to anxiously examine its eggs, seemingly planning to move its nest with its offspring.
Yu Wang buried his head and swam wildly through the maze-like coral passages, his heart still pounding.
The power of that pincer strike had given him a long-lost sense of terror, almost like that of a supernatural being. He charged forward for a considerable distance, and only after confirming that there was no sign of pursuit behind him did he breathe a sigh of relief.
"Phew—I've finally escaped this ordeal."
At this moment, the visibility in the surrounding waters improved significantly; it was no longer absolute darkness, but rather tinged with a faint blue and pale green glow. This was the unique glimmer of light provided by bioluminescent corals and other organisms in the middle layer of the "fluorescent zone."
Looking at the depth gauge again: 118 meters. He has successfully returned from the edge of the dangerous deep dark zone to the mid-level fluorescent zone.
In this area, drinking a night vision potion will grant you clearer vision.
As for the absolutely dark, deep shadow zones, even drinking night vision potions won't help; it's better to rely on artificial light.
Almost two minutes after Yu Wang sent the coordinates again, water surged to the side and two beams of light rapidly approached. It was Zhang Xinlan and Lao Wang, who were anxiously rushing to meet him with spare oxygen cylinders!
"Yu Wang! Are you alright?"
The bubble helmet prop is on Yu Wang, and Zhang Xinlan can only ask about it through text chat at this time.
"Hey kid, I've finally found you! How's it going?" Old Wang swam up to him and looked him up and down.
After a brief exchange, Yu Wang recounted his experience of encountering the shipwreck and the crab, omitting the part about the "pale mark," but it still made Zhang Xinlan and Lao Wang's hearts pound.
They actually dived to a depth of 300 meters!
Furthermore, a perfectly intact warship is hidden deep within the darkest part of the Coral Labyrinth!
The fish-men are a powerful and influential race, already the most powerful race in the world of seafaring. They're hoarding guns and cannons; who are they planning to attack?
This was also what puzzled Yu Wang, but he soon noticed that the two people were looking at him strangely, with surprise, doubt, and a hint of hesitation.
"What's wrong? Is there something wrong with me?" Yu Wang looked down to check himself.
The bones that pierced his body during the shipwreck while fighting the "Pale Mark" had already been retracted by his "Flesh Remodeling" ability. Apart from his wetsuit being torn in a few places by coral while dodging the crab, making him look a bit disheveled, he seemed to be in no abnormality.
When it comes to survival, sleeping in the open and wearing tattered clothes is the norm, so what high demands can one have?
Just then, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of something slowly drifting by in the seawater beside him.
It was a rubber tube with jagged ends, as if it had been shredded by something sharp.
This pipe looks very familiar.
Yu Wang's heart sank suddenly, and he immediately reached behind him.
Sure enough! The breathing hose connected to the oxygen tank had been cut open with a long gash! The oxygen had already leaked out!
"Oh no!" Yu Wang's first reaction was that there was a suffocation crisis.
But then, he froze.
He—did not feel any suffocation!
Instead, he felt as if he were on land, naturally and effortlessly drawing the life-sustaining energy from the surrounding seawater.
The water flowed over his skin, bringing a cool and moist feeling, as if the seawater was the "air" he could breathe!
"This is—" Yu Wang suddenly realized something and immediately opened his summon panel.
My eyes quickly locked onto [Duck C]'s status bar.
【Name: Eco-friendly Duck】
[Level: 2]
[HP: 300/300]
[Awakening Time: 10 days (Updated)]
[Description: Significantly enhanced underwater adaptability, optimized wing structure, and significantly improved flight endurance and load-bearing capacity. Through tireless environmental protection practices and special opportunities, it has evolved from an ordinary duck into a truly environmentally friendly duck!]
Now, it's an amphibious duck that can lay eggs, dive, and fly! It has a great passion for cleaning up the ocean (perhaps too much passion, hooray!).
really!
"So it was Duck C that evolved and gave me the Ocean Blessing ability!" Yu Wang suddenly realized, and at the same time felt a chill of fear.
If it weren't for this timely ability, I might not have been able to escape the crab's nest if the oxygen hose had ruptured.
Then, he immediately opened his personal attribute panel and focused on checking the extraordinary pathways and ability blocks.
He vaguely sensed that he had established a deeper connection with this sea and with some ancient will.
[Extraordinary Paths: Monster Merchant, Flesh Craftsman, Environmental Guardian]
[Abilities: Wealth Perception, Flesh and Blood Reconstruction, Fearless Heart, Ocean Blessing]
The "New Ability: Ocean Blessing" has a very wide reach.
[Ocean's Blessing: Allows normal underwater breathing, but may be ineffective or less effective in heavily polluted waters; if you can tolerate saltwater burns, soaking in water after an injury can promote healing. While in the water, your adaptability to changes in water pressure is slightly increased, and movement resistance is slightly reduced.]
Upon seeing the description of "slightly reduced drag," Yu Wang understood: "No wonder I felt faster and lighter when escaping; it was the 'Ocean Blessing' at work."
With the ability to breathe underwater as a safety net, Yu Wang felt much more at ease.
The extraordinary path of "Environmental Guardian" has immense potential, backed by the ancestors of the Fish-Man race.
Even just this basic skill has benefited me greatly.
Advanced abilities include manipulating ocean currents and creating 100-meter tsunamis. Unfortunately, this is just wishful thinking, or we can only hope that DuckC will continue to work hard.
Yu Wang shook his head, no longer thinking about these unattainable abilities. Then, he gave a simple explanation to Zhang Xinlan, who was filled with questions. Although Zhang Xinlan was full of doubts, she didn't ask any more questions since Yu Wang seemed to be in good condition. The three of them determined their direction and quickly floated up.
On the "Ghost Pirate," to celebrate Yu Wang's safe return and new abilities, Chef Duck displayed his full strength, preparing an extremely sumptuous lunch and dinner.
Rare seafood gathered from the maze, such as colorful coral shrimp, tender grouper with sharp teeth, and blood-spotted clams, were carefully prepared into delicious dishes that filled the entire deck with their aroma.
Old Wang immediately felt that the dry bread he had brought didn't taste good anymore. His face turned red as he sat down at the table. At first, he was still able to be somewhat reserved and maintain the politeness of a guest. However, Yu Wang ate too much and too fast, and he couldn't help himself. He took out his dentures and his eating habits gradually became more unrestrained.
To change things up, Zhang Xinlan also showed off her skills, standing on the ship's railing and channeling Matilda, the first owner of the Rose Vow, with a series of loud "Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Several crisp gunshots rang out, and seven plump seagulls, each the size of a turkey, which had been circling and foraging for food nearby, fell to the ground, flapping their wings and landing on the sea.
Duck C immediately flew over happily and brought back the spoils.
Zhang Xinlan's clean and efficient marksmanship left the female captain of a neighboring awning boat, who was also resting there, completely mesmerized.
The female captain hesitated for a moment, then steered her awning boat closer and somewhat embarrassedly suggested that she could exchange some resources for a seagull to have a treat.
She had been at sea for too long and was really craving a change of pace, wanting to eat some poultry.
Zhang Xinlan turned her head to look at Yu Wang, seeking his opinion.
Yu Wang was busy working at the moment, stuffing food into his mouth with both hands.
Activating the "Flesh Remodeling" ability to combat bone mutation and subsequent repair consumed a massive amount of energy, and he had long been so hungry that he had begun to deplete his own muscle reserves.
At this moment, his stomach was like a highly efficient bottomless pit, digesting and transforming as much food as it entered, leaving almost no residue, and making every effort to replenish the body's deficiencies.
"Sell the prey you hunt if you want," Yu Wang said vaguely without looking up. "The money you earn is your own pocket money."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Xinlan immediately and happily made a trade, exchanging a seagull for a batch of useful basic materials.
Unexpectedly, the business took off from the start.
Perhaps it was the irresistible aroma of the chef's duck dishes, or perhaps seagull meat was indeed rare at sea, but soon several nearby boats came to inquire if there was any wild game for sale.
Aside from the ones she kept for braised, the seven seagulls that Zhang Xinlan caught were snapped up in the blink of an eye!
After all, a seagull the size of a turkey has a high meat yield, but its meat is much more tender than that of a turkey. In the eyes of survivors who are short of resources, it is definitely a luxury.
Looking at the empty deck and the expectant eyes around her, Zhang Xinlan could only regretfully announce that the deck was sold out.
She was in a great mood after making a small profit.
Just as they were enjoying their meal and relaxing their tense nerves, an unusual commotion arose outside the cabin.
Yu Wang held his bowl, shoveling rice into his mouth, and walked to the porthole to look outside.
Not far away on the sea, dozens of ships of varying sizes had gathered and were surrounding a pure white ship that resembled a mobile church.
On the church deck, several believers dressed in uniform were distributing something; packaged food and water could be vaguely seen.
Beside it, a huge, seashell-shaped loudspeaker was playing a male voice on a loop. The loudspeaker was very effective and had a wide coverage area, so that it could be heard in half of the coral maze: "————My lost compatriots! Seeing you struggling to survive in the treacherous seas, I feel your pain! Our Lord is merciful and cannot bear to see His creations thirsting."
Today, I am willing to share the food and water blessed by our Lord, asking for nothing in return, only hoping to save more of our lost fellow countrymen for our Lord.
Q
"If you are grateful and want to know where this light comes from, you may step forward, stand quietly for a moment before the angel statue, offer your sincere prayer, and open a door to power —"
Many survivor ships, having exhausted their resources and supplies in the dungeon, were drawn towards the white church ship by the lure of food and water, like ants smelling honey.
In the short time it took for people to watch the spectacle, more than a dozen other boats gathered near the church boat, creating a rather "prosperous" scene.
Zhang Xinlan also peeked out the window to watch the commotion, pursing her lips. "Their business is really booming, giving away freebies, and they're packed with people. Should we go—uh, grab some bread to try? We're definitely short on clean fresh water, anyway."
Yu Wang finished the last bite of meat, wiped his hands, and said with a half-smile, "If you're really curious, go and experience it for yourself. Anyway, it's not a bad deal if you can get some bread and water. Remember to listen to what they have to say."
Zhang Xinlan — Zhang Xinlan actually went.
She rode in a sea helmet worm, mingling with the other ships as she approached the white church ship.
The process is simple: queue up, enter the church, and when you come out, you'll have a piece of black bread and a bottle of mineral water in your hand.
As Zhang Xinlan got to the front of the line, she could already see the people in front of her unpacking and eating their bread.
The black bread was dark brown in color and had a rough, dense texture. Most people who took a bite of it had subtle expressions, so it was clear that it didn't taste very good.
Seeing the dark bread that she thought would taste bitter, she immediately lost her mind.
This stuff isn't even as good as the biscuits made by Chef Duck with lemon and duck eggs.
Wait, the lemon duck has evolved. Will it still lay lemon-flavored duck eggs in the future?
These are tonics! I haven't had enough yet!
Putting aside the distracting thoughts, Zhang Xinlan focused her attention back on the church in front of her.
She thought to herself, "I've already come all this way, and if I go back empty-handed without finding out anything, Yu Wang will definitely laugh at me."
So, she gritted her teeth and continued moving forward with the group.
Just as she was about to reach the cabin entrance, a familiar figure walked out from inside.
It was Lu Ping, the captain of the double-gun sailboat that was sailing with others outside the instance!
Lu Ping was taken aback when she saw her. In her memory, Zhang Xinlan and Yu Wang didn't seem like people who were about to run out of supplies.
Zhang Xinlan asked curiously, "What's going on inside?"
Lu Ping looked around and spoke very quickly: "After entering, you must kneel before the six-winged angel statue, kiss the instep of the statue, and then recite a fixed prayer, such as 'Thank you, Lord, for giving us food and water,' and 'May the holy light guide our path'—only then can you receive this item."
She waved the black bread and water in her hand, her face expressionless, but her eyes revealed a subtle hint of resistance.
But due to the pressures of life, she had been hungry for a day, having only eaten a little clam meat and some seaweed. Now her body was desperately craving carbohydrates.
"Kiss—kiss feet?" Upon hearing this, Zhang Xinlan got goosebumps all over her body. The last bit of curiosity and the desire to take advantage vanished instantly, leaving only a strong sense of discomfort.
Forget it! Let her be laughed at! She can't afford to take advantage of that!
After parting ways with Lu Ping, Zhang Xinlan immediately left the group and sheepishly rode the Sea Helmet Beetle back to the "Ghost Pirate," where she told Yu Wang and Lao Wang everything she had seen and heard.
After listening, Yu Wang simply nodded without saying anything.
Old Wang snorted and took a sip of the fine wine he'd won that morning: "Indeed, there's no such thing as a free lunch. But what's the meaning behind them sending so many people to kiss the statue?"
Yu Wang casually replied, "Maybe they have their own KPIs."
At four o'clock in the afternoon, the three of them, having eaten and drunk their fill, had recovered their strength and returned to a healthy state thanks to the considerable amount of fish meat in the dish.
The three immediately decided to dive into the "Deep Dark Zone" again and use Yu Wang's "Wealth Perception" to obtain the Abyss Pearl.
This time, however, Zhang Xinlan kept a close eye on Yu Wang, determined not to let him go to the deep water area again.
Unfortunately, she had neither talent nor the tools of Lao Wang. Just an hour later, she was forcibly taken back to the ship by Yu Wang for talking nonsense and disturbing the morale of the troops.
Yu Wang and Lao Wang persisted in the deep, dark zone for another two hours before safely returning to the surface with a substantial harvest and an astonishing "2280" points.
Yu Wangneng could sense that after these two rounds of intense searching, they had found most of the "Abyss Pearls" in the vicinity.
To find new ones, you'll need to board the "Ghost Pirate" and move to the area around the edge of the maze to explore again.
However, those are tasks for tomorrow.
He glanced into the deeper darkness. "The eye-shaped mark on my left hand disappeared after I woke up. I wonder if I can undergo another tempering if I go back and touch the cabin—oh well, I was just lucky to survive this time, so I'd better not do anything reckless."
Suppressing his inner urge to explore the mysterious shipwreck 300 meters deep, Yu Wang rationally chose to return.
The return journey was smooth sailing, without any further incidents.
At 6 PM, the iridescent fluctuations reappeared.
However, considering that the sky would darken rapidly after 7 o'clock and that the underwater world would be a monster's world at night, Yu Wang and his two companions did not choose to go deeper. They simply searched the shallow, well-lit areas and eventually found two rainbow pearls and one moon pearl, reaching a score of 2321. They then decisively retreated to the "Ghost Pirate" to rest.
For them, the points are already enough to give them a significant lead, and they can simply maintain their first-place position without taking any risks.
That evening, a little after seven o'clock.
As expected, bad news started appearing one after another in the instance chat channel.
Due to numerous miscalculations, the survivor team failed to return before darkness completely, leading to reports of team members going missing or being...
The devastating news of monsters relentlessly attacking and even the entire team disappearing.
By day it's a beautiful water world, but by night it becomes a bloody slaughterhouse.
Humans endured a difficult night under the protection of the ships.
The next morning.
The sea in the instance area was calm and the temperature was pleasantly comfortable.
Zhang Xinlan got up very early, which was unusual for her. Of course, "very early" was relative to her usual routine; it was actually already past eight o'clock in the morning.
Swimming is one of the most physically demanding activities, second only to the Great Harmony of Life.
After soaking in the water for so long yesterday, she was mentally and physically exhausted. If it weren't for the various "treasure fish" essences that continuously nourished and restored her, it's hard to say whether she would be able to get out of bed properly today.
Zhang Xinlan yawned and habitually opened the real-time points leaderboard to see if the pursuers had closed the gap at all after one night.
However, when her self-shine fell to second place on the leaderboard, the last bit of sleepiness was instantly and completely vanished!
"Yu Wang! Look!" Zhang Xinlan pointed at the virtual screen: "Look at the points after 'Holy Radiance - The Wind from the East'!"
""
Yu Wang immediately opened the leaderboard.
第1名：你要撞大运咯（14分区444分区）—2321分第2名：圣辉·东来的风（13大区233分区）－688分第3名：穆青（13大区233分区）—141分关键在于，「圣辉·东来的风」这个名字后面的积分，正在跳动！
It's not a slow increase of 1 point or 20 points, but a continuous jump of +100 points!
During the time they were watching, the opponent's score jumped from 688 to 788!
Moreover, the jumping trend shows no signs of stopping!
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