Chapter 104
The night was quiet.
Under the bright beams of the players’ flashlights, the two merpeople’s scales shimmered as they leaped from the deck and into the ocean.
“Don’t jump! Come back!”
“Ahhh! What’s happening?!”
Several players, their faces contorted in despair, watched helplessly as the two merpeople disappeared into the dark water.
“What do we do?! My Mermaid’s Tear!”
Without the high-level Water Breathing Pearl, they didn’t dare jump into the ocean after them.
The A-rank player, after a moment of stunned silence, was the first to regain his composure. He gripped the railing and stood up.
“It’s okay. We still have the other merman.”
There were two merpeople being held captive on the lower deck!
The other one was stronger and more resilient, but also more severely injured, barely clinging to life.
The monsters craved the merpeople’s unique energy, using various methods to extract it.
And once a merman died, its body could be devoured.
The other players, calming down, nodded and, finding a secluded spot, started discussing how to steal the other merman.
“That octopus is probably fighting the other monsters now. This is our chance!”
One of the players, still shaken, asked hesitantly:
“Can’t we go after the merman who escaped?”
The A-rank player clicked his tongue impatiently.
“Even with my high-level invisibility cloak, we encountered countless dangers during the day. It’s even more dangerous at night. Go ahead if you want. I’m not going.”
The player fell silent, glaring at the A-rank player, then lowered his head.
The players finalized their plan and stealthily made their way to the lower deck.
Meanwhile, the little octopus, its slender tentacles whirling like blades, slicing through a monster with a metallic clang,
stood over the fallen fish-headed monster, which was gasping for breath, its grotesque form fully revealed.
“Even if you kill me, the treasure I have is this energy pearl!”
The monsters, having received the SS+ level transparent energy pearl from the players, had immediately started absorbing its energy.
The pearl was now slightly cloudy, no longer as clear and pure, milky white impurities swirling within it.
They hadn’t suspected the humans at all.
An energy pearl of this level was incredibly rare!
Several of the monsters were on the verge of reaching S-rank. Once they absorbed this pearl and devoured the dying merman, they would definitely level up!
But they hadn’t expected the humans to trick them!
The box hadn’t contained an energy pearl at all!
They had only heard that the octopus treasured the item inside the box.
Anything kept in a locked box must be valuable!
But they didn’t know what it actually was.
“The humans tricked us! This energy pearl is all we got!”
They were so close to reaching S-rank, to no longer fearing the little octopus!
And now, they had been cheated!
The little octopus, its tentacles flailing, its body growing larger, filling the room,
angrily wrapped a tentacle around the monster and dragged it outside, searching for the humans.
“Whoever took my treasure will pay!”
The ocean floor at night was pitch black, except for the faint glow of bioluminescent creatures.
The injured merman, after jumping into the ocean, his wounds reopening, lost consciousness again.
Xing Nuo, gripping his arm, struggled to pull him along.
The merman’s condition was critical, but back in the ocean, his healing rate had increased.
Xing Nuo, not daring to return to the ship without the little octopus, dragged the merman towards the merpeople’s territory, hoping to leave him there and then go back for the little octopus.
But he had overestimated his strength. Dragging the heavy merman quickly exhausted him.
His body felt heavy, sinking towards the ocean floor, and he struggled to move even a short distance.
He stopped, placing the merman on a large clam shell, and rested, his cheek squished against the hard surface.
He sighed softly, then, ever optimistic, thought:
Good thing Zaizai is merman now!
If Zaizai human, couldn’t pull merman in ocean!
Zaizai so stwong!
Having reassured himself, he continued his journey, pulling the merman along.
The scent of blood from the merman’s wounds, spreading through the water, attracted a shark.
The same shark that had chased him earlier!
The shark, its eyes gleaming at the scent of blood, swam towards them.
Seeing the injured merman with only a small, weak merchild, it bared its teeth.
Finally, a chance for a meal!
It lunged at Xing Nuo.
Xing Nuo, his senses sharper now, sensed the danger before the shark even attacked.
He looked around and, pulling the merman, swam towards the coral reef.
The dense coral formations stretched almost all the way to the merpeople’s territory.
The complex terrain offered some protection, and the shark, unable to find them, roared in frustration, its sharp teeth bared.
It started biting and tearing at the coral, creating a path of destruction.
Its speed increased, and it was gaining on them.
Xing Nuo, struggling to swim quickly while dragging the merman,
just as the shark was about to reach them, the injured merman woke up.
He immediately sensed the shark’s presence.
Seeing the little merman, his face strained with effort, his cheeks puffed out as he pulled him along, his eyes filled with tears.
He looked back at the approaching shark and, with his remaining strength, pushed the little merman forward.
The shark’s jaws snapped shut, narrowly missing Xing Nuo, but its teeth sank into the injured merman’s tail.
Xing Nuo, turning back, seeing the merman caught, screamed and grabbed his arm.
“Bad shark! Let him go!”
The injured merman continued to push Xing Nuo, urging him to escape.
“Go back to the clan! You’ll be safe there!”
Adult merpeople at their peak could easily defeat a shark!
But he was injured and could barely protect the little merman.
A merman’s tail was as strong as steel, and despite the injury, the shark hadn’t been able to bite it off completely.
The shark, its jaws dripping with blood, not wanting to let go of its prey, opened its mouth again, trying to swallow the merman whole.
Its stomach acid was highly corrosive and would dissolve even the toughest merman tail.
But just as it opened its mouth, Xing Nuo, seizing the opportunity, pulled the injured merman to the side.
They tumbled into the coral, their bodies scratched by the sharp edges.
Xing Nuo’s face was covered in mud.
He ignored it and, before the shark could reach them, continued to pull the merman along.
The merman’s tail, already injured, was now completely severed by the shark’s bite.
He was weak and exhausted, but he still used his remaining strength to sing, sending a wave of healing energy towards the little merman.
This was why monsters craved merpeople’s energy.
They were unique!
Low-level land monsters mostly relied on brute force, but merpeople’s songs contained powerful mental energy!
Monsters, unless they leveled up, could only rely on physical attacks or high-level energy props.
But even newborn merchildren possessed this mental energy in their songs.
It was a highly coveted ability!
Just as Xing Nuo was about to collapse from exhaustion, about to be devoured by the shark, the shark, having taken a few bites of the coral, suddenly started thrashing, its body convulsing.
It roared in pain, its mouth foaming.
Xing Nuo, startled, looked back.
“Some corals…poisonous,” the injured merman said, relieved.
Even the smallest coral in the ocean had its own defense mechanisms.
The outer layer of the coral reef was highly poisonous.
Any fish or monster that encountered it would quickly retreat, recognizing the danger.
But the shark, too eager to devour the merman, had forgotten about the poisonous coral.
Xing Nuo, not understanding, but seeing the shark incapacitated, quickly swam away, pulling the merman.
They swam through the coral reef, past a few large rocks, and finally reached the merpeople’s territory.
Xing Nuo, seeing the familiar coral formations, his strength giving way, collapsed onto the coral.
The little merpeople, poking at the fruit on their plates, sighed sadly.
“Little Gold not here. He likes yellow fruit the most.”
“I save for him…eat later.”
The chubby, red merchild, his chin resting on his hand, sadly ate his fish.
“It’s okay. I Little Gold’s fwiend. I eat for him!”
The other little merpeople rolled their eyes at him, about to say something, when Lia returned, calling out:
“Little Gold is back!”
The little merpeople cheered and swam towards her, asking where he was.
The red merchild, looking at the fruit on his plate, his eyes filled with reluctance, but still grabbed it and followed the others.
They swam to the palace with Lia and saw the injured red merman lying on the crystal bed.
“Yoe! He’s back!”
The little merpeople, crowding behind Lia, looked up at her, asking:
“Where Little Gold? Where he go?”
