Chapter 113: 111 Repeated Death

The mutation progressed from the inside and outside simultaneously. Drake soon felt a wave of physiological discomfort, kneeling on the ground and vomiting uncontrollably a yellowish-green, unidentified liquid. His throat swelled and contracted by turns, uncontrollably emitting repetitive, eerie, low growls: "... Haa-dah... Hrk-cough..."

Li Nuowei was also astonished on the side. He had never imagined that these treasures could produce such a strange effect on Drake, nor had he ever experienced it, because not once before had he succeeded in keeping both himself and Drake alive at the same time.

Drake had died, which meant the "clearance" had failed; he had to loop and start over.

And if he died first, he would be forced to loop.

With great difficulty, Li Nuowei had helped Drake get through the most difficult hurdle so far, yet he had not expected Drake to suffer a sudden change.

"Go, get away from the things here." Li Nuowei pulled up the weak Drake, intending to take him and run out of the range of the abnormal influence of these gold and silver treasures.

However, before they had run more than a few steps, Li Nuowei had his head grabbed by Drake, who needed to be supported while walking.

"Drake?!"

Under Li Nuowei's astonished gaze, Drake, whose face had protruded like a fish head, suddenly opened his bloody maw, full of fangs, and bit down fiercely on Li Nuowei's neck, tearing off a large piece of flesh and blood in one go.

Although Li Nuowei was surprised, he did not show any expression of pain; he remained silent and motionless, calmly accepting his own death.

……

"I suspect that the source of the Jiaoren Disease is buried beneath the Tunnel, along with treasures that possess the Curse to transform humans into fish-men..." On the road driving toward the Tunnel, Drake voiced his conjecture about what was hidden beneath the Tunnel.

Li Nuowei was essentially hearing Drake's speculation for another time. It went in one ear and out the other; having already completely memorized this content, he no longer needed to listen carefully.

On the road driving to the Tunnel, Li Nuowei looked at the coastline outside the car window; thick fog shrouded the sea, a stretch of hazy, deathly silence.

Noticing Li Nuowei's strange behavior, Drake frowned slightly and asked, "Did you think of something?"

"I don't think the Tunnel is a place we should go to right now," Li Nuowei said. He had tried this "checkpoint" route of going through the Tunnel hundreds of times, and all of them were death endings. He had finally seen signs of success and found the treasure laden with the fish-man Curse, but as a result, Drake's Jiaoren Disease had worsened, and he had rapidly turned into a fish-man who had lost his sanity.

Unable to find a good solution for the time being, Li Nuowei felt it would be better to simply change the route and not explore the Tunnel route.

"Why?" Drake felt that Li Nuowei knew something.

Li Nuowei glanced at him and recalled the words Drake had said to him. He did not hide it, telling Drake about his ability to possess "Death Reincarnation," and told the other party about the many times they had been through life and death together.

Drake, as if following a procedure, was first stunned, then thoughtful, and finally accepting, but during this time, it took him less than three minutes to accept this astonishing fact almost entirely.

"So, we can confirm that there is treasure hidden beneath the Tunnel that carries the fish-man Curse, and there is also something below that can lift the 'Jiaoren Disease' Curse." Drake looked at Li Nuowei deeply and analyzed based on the information Li Nuowei had provided, "But it is incomparably dangerous down there. There are terrifying fish-man crowds guarding the sealed treasure and the mire, there are Green Light Life forms that can cause people to die from hallucinations, and there is the sea monster progenitor that can devour all things, that pool of terrifying Soul-Devouring Mire."

Li Nuowei nodded affirmatively: "Although you might find the ultimate answer you seek there, every time you are only a little distance away from the answer, you always die an unnatural death. I think this is enough to prove that going down through the Tunnel is certain death."

"What about that missing boy?" Drake was silent for a while and asked; this was also the reason he was willing to walk into the depths of the Tunnel.

Li Nuowei sighed and shook his head.

Drake gripped the steering wheel tightly and said in a low voice: "I understand... then let's investigate in another direction."

"Then where are we going now?" Li Nuowei looked at Drake and asked.

Drake: "In the intelligence data sent to me by the Xuanmi Group, I noticed a piece of information, which is that the place where the Jiaoren Disease first broke out was on a small island in the open sea off Liuhua Port. Those people from the Xuanmi Group must have gone to find that small island."

"You want to land on the island to take a look too?"

"I just hope that this time we can finally find something." Drake said.

Li Nuowei understood, but he looked at the gloomy clouds and mist over the sea and said: "But now is not a good time to go out to sea. Although the reefs near Liuhua Port have been dealt with, there is still a risk that they haven't been cleared thoroughly."

Drake: "That's what makes it a challenge."

Li Nuowei chuckled: "Then let's give it a try."

Drake changed the direction of the vehicle, turned into the ramp, and headed straight toward End of the World Beach.

"Leave the scouting to me. I will use death to help you break through the difficulties in navigation," Li Nuowei promised Drake.

Drake looked at the other party with a complex expression and asked: "Aren't you tired?"

Li Nuowei was taken aback upon hearing this, because Drake had asked him this more than once. On almost every death line, as long as there was an opportunity, Drake would voice this thought.

Li Nuowei fell silent and clenched his fists; he did not want to hear this question.

Every time he heard Drake ask him this, his numb body and mind felt as if they had been reminded; exhaustion and negativity crashed down like waves, shaking one's vision until it blurred, almost causing him to faint on the spot.

Drake grabbed Li Nuowei's shoulder, squeezed it gently, and said: "Don't push yourself. Although I don't know what kind of impact each of your 'Death Reincarnation' cycles has on you, judging from your complexion, I highly suspect that this ability brings you a huge physical and mental burden. Even though you are always looping, I feel that your body temperature is very wrong, brother. I'm afraid you'll die inexplicably one day and never be able to use the ability again."

Li Nuowei secretly gritted his teeth and shook his head, saying calmly: "I'm fine, thank you for your concern."

Seeing this, Drake said no more.

Before long, the vehicle stopped in the parking garage by the sea. The three of them arrived at End of the World Beach, gazing at the vast expanse of fog ahead.

"The boat is there." Li Nuowei found the pier with familiar ease, drove away a red speedboat worth ten million, and signaled to Drake: "Come over and help move it; it's a bit too heavy to move."

Upon hearing this, Drake was puzzled: "Is this boat yours? You still want to take things home?"

Li Nuowei shook his head: "This is what I learned after observing the boat's owner countless times, along with how to sail and true diving."