Chapter 132: 130 Start Over Again (Combined)

"It works!" Yu Lianyun watched as those aggressive fish-men, upon approaching the green light radiation range of the Yinghuan Nest, all suddenly had their momentum sapped; they slowed down, listless and fearful. Although they still looked terrifying and ferocious, their threat level was at least greatly reduced, and she and Li Nuowei could not help but feel joy in their hearts.

The fish-men, who had been surging forward wave after wave, also keenly sensed the danger of the Yinghuan Nest, and one after another, they stopped their berserk posture, frequently retreating with vigilance and fear.

Seeing this, Yu Lianyun merely held her gun aimed at them and ceased firing.

Bullets were limited after all; one should save them whenever possible.

Both sides retreated while locked in a standoff, stepping back bit by bit into the house where the tunnel entrance was located.

However, after escaping the narrow space, the fish-men were no longer as timid as they had been beneath the tunnel; instead, they formed a perimeter in the room and slowly closed in on them.

The fish-men were clearly not stupid; they knew strategy and how to analyze the situation. In an open area, the advantage held by Yu Lianyun and the others would be greatly diminished.

Yu Lianyun's expression was grave as she struggled to control her heartbeat. Li Nuowei scanned the surrounding fish-men with indifference, and the two of them stood guard over Drake and the innocent boy, who were sandwiched between them.

The only weapon in Drake's hand was that dagger, but he knew the purpose of that blade was not for self-defense, but for suicide...

Since he was the "God's Child" in the prophecy of the Anhai Divine Society, then as long as he died and ceased to exist, the prophecy could not succeed. At the very least, he could use his death to protect the human world.

However, a life of misery is better than a good death; if Drake had a choice, he would naturally choose to believe in hope, hoping that his capable teammates, Yu Lianyun and Li Nuowei, could lead them to escape alive.

The fish-men closed the circle simultaneously, actively stepping into the influence range of the Yinghuan Nest, insisting on dragging Drake and the innocent boy away.

In response, Yu Lianyun and Li Nuowei immediately chose to resist. Yu Lianyun blew apart the heads of the fish-men as they approached, while Li Nuowei, like a swordsman with refined technique, swung his great sword with fluid motions, actively meeting them head-on and cutting the fish-men down.

Drake did not want to sit and wait for death either. Gritting his teeth, he set the boy down on the spot and gripped his dagger, wary of the fish-men who might close in at any moment.

A fish-man rushed in front of him. Without a second thought, Drake moved in close; having studied jiu-jitsu for a time, he threw the fish-man to the ground, then seized the opportunity to plunge the dagger into the fish-man's neck. In an instant, bright red blood sprayed out from the ruptured windpipe.

The moment he killed the fish-man, Drake realized that these fish-men were actually not much different from humans; they could also be killed this easily, even if it was partly because they were affected by the power of the Yinghuan Nest.

It was practically a bloody battle, with the three of them locked in an inextricable fight against the fish-men.

When the gunfire ended, Drake collapsed to the ground with a hazy consciousness, the broken corpses of Yu Lianyun and Li Nuowei lying beside him. Even though the power of the Yinghuan Nest had weakened the vitality of those fish-men, they were only ordinary people with limited stamina; they could no longer endure such a large-scale attack and had been killed by the fish-men one after another.

Drake took one last look at the innocent boy, who was still unconscious amidst the cruel pool of blood, feeling a sense of regret in his heart. It was a pity he couldn't bring this child back to the surface; if the boy's parents knew the news that their missing son was still alive, they would surely be happy.

He weakly and tremblingly raised the small knife, aiming it at his own throat, watching as a fish-man quickly approached him.

"If I have no ability to choose my birth, at least let me choose how to die," Drake thought, plunging the knife into his throat without hesitation.

And just as half the blade was buried in his neck, as he was about to pull it out to let the blood gush from the severed artery, he felt a force hold his hand before he died.

It was a cold touch, rough with scales, and filled with a strange fishy stench; a fish-man had restrained his attempt to pull the dagger from his throat.

Drake looked at the fish-man with some confusion and bewilderment, suddenly realizing that this fish-man who had rushed over so suddenly was somewhat special and strange. Ripples actually welled up in the creature's lifeless eyes, and then cold tears rolled down from eyes that could not blink, dripping onto his face.

"Are you sad for the dead God's Child? You can no longer fulfill the prophecy, and your deity will never awaken again." Drake felt the fish-man's sorrow and couldn't help but think, though it was a pity he could not voice his mockery.

The fish-man's act of stopping him from pulling out the knife was meaningless, for the blade had already severed the windpipe and artery. He was not only leaking air, but blood was also flowing uncontrollably from the wound; not pulling out the knife only temporarily delayed his death, making him feel more pain before he died.

Drake closed his eyes and waited silently for death; before long, he felt that even opening his eyes was a difficult task.

He could not open his eyes, but he felt something else; the fish-man that had stopped him from pulling out the dagger seemed to have freed one hand and was stroking his head.

"So cold..." For some reason, as his consciousness became increasingly chaotic and dark, Drake actually began to feel afraid and sought comfort. The object of his seeking was none other than that strange fish-man who had shed tears for him. Incredibly, Drake himself did not know why he would suddenly rely on this fish-man and even act spoiled toward it.

Strange... everything was too strange. Drake thought, as his consciousness entered the freezing point of death.

Drake's final life-review lantern only allowed him to see the deepest hidden memory of his life. He did not remember how old he was, but in short, it was a woman with a sweet smile holding him, happily reciting his name: "Grow up well, my treasure..."

"Pfft—"

In the car after leaving the hospital, Li Nuowei had a nosebleed without warning. Blood flowed like a fountain from his nose, dripping all over the floor.

"Holy crap, what's wrong with you?" Drake was driving and was startled by Li Nuowei's sudden nosebleed.

Li Nuowei waved his hand weakly and immediately pulled out a tissue from the car to stop the bleeding. While cleaning the blood, he said, "Go to Liuhua Twelve Streets and take the Anhai Ancient Records from the museum; that is the key to solving the case..."

"Huh?" Drake was slightly bewildered. He did not yet know about Li Nuowei's ability and was just confused by Li Nuowei's sudden change in attitude.

"Turn around quickly, I'll explain it to you slowly later." Li Nuowei placed his blood-stained hand gently on Drake's shoulder and said. Whether it was the backlash of the Death Reincarnation ability or because of excessive blood loss, he was dizzy and nearly fainted.

Seeing this, Drake did not hesitate. As if he had just come to his senses, he suddenly jerked the steering wheel at an empty intersection, showing off driving skills that nearly flipped the entire car, and turned back toward the direction of the Liuhua Port Museum.

Everything seemed like a broken record. Li Nuowei told Drake the "lines" he should have been numb to by now with slightly more emotional fluctuation, making Drake believe in his peculiar ability once again.

This time, Li Nuowei saw the hope of success, and he naturally had an indescribably intense sense of excitement, more than anyone else.

On the way, Li Nuowei asked for Drake's phone and hurriedly sent a text message to Yu Lianyun, asking her to bring more equipment and manpower this time to head to the Underground Air Raid Shelter together.

Everything went as before. Drake and Li Nuowei broke into the museum, brazenly stole the Anhai Ancient Records, and were hunted by those crazy fish-man believers. Relying on his excellent driving skills, Drake successfully shook off the pursuit of those lunatics.

However, Li Nuowei knew this calm was only temporary. Those half-fish, half-human monsters had already guessed their destination; although they would be a few beats behind, they would definitely be able to catch up to the two who had just snuck into the shelter at the first opportunity.

After arriving at the strange tunnel near Tianya Haijiao Beach, Li Nuowei and Drake got out of the car and saw Yu Lianyun and the three Mysterious Investigators she had brought, who had been waiting there for a long time.

"You must be Drake, and you must be Li Nuowei. What on earth are you..." Before Yu Lianyun could question them, Li Nuowei preemptively asked coldly, "Where are the things I told you to bring? Did you bring them all?"

Yu Lianyun was choked up. After a long while, she said somewhat speechlessly, "They're all here. What on earth are you trying to do? Is the area beneath this tunnel really the seal of the mysterious sea monster you mentioned in the text?" As she spoke, she opened the trunk of the car, which was packed full of weapons and equipment.

"Yes. If you returned from that island, you should know that the sea monster from back then was not destroyed but sealed." Li Nuowei explained while familiarly picking up the equipment to put it on, and he pulled Drake over to hurry and put on his gear as well.

Drake, like Yu Lianyun, had an indescribable sense of confusion, and these doubts stemmed from Li Nuowei's urgency.

Li Nuowei had explained a lot, but his urgent and pressing mood left them with no clue, which only deepened their doubts and anxiety regarding the so-called "Death Reincarnation" ability and the stories of other reincarnation timelines.

"Please believe me." Li Nuowei quickly noticed the expressions of the group and realized his own impatience. He quickly adjusted his mood and then said earnestly, "I finally see hope for success, so I am a bit impatient. I didn't mean to confuse you. Of course, the situation is quite urgent right now; those remnants of the Anhai Divine Society will be here soon, and I don't have time to explain in detail to you now.

I can only say that there are survivors below, as well as important items that can resolve this crisis, so we must act quickly."

"... Fine, I'll trust you once." Upon hearing this, Yu Lianyun looked at him for a few seconds, and as if she had received some kind of confirmation, she suddenly nodded and said.

Just a moment ago, she had secretly used her intuition ability to confirm what the results would be if she "trusted Li Nuowei" versus "did not trust Li Nuowei," and her intuition guided her to choose "trust."

"Thank you very much." Li Nuowei skillfully put on all the gear, fully armed, and then took Drake to the front, leading these Mysterious Investigators into the tunnel together.

"Are we going to chisel through the wall now?" Yu Lianyun asked, puzzled. The message Li Nuowei left was incomplete; she only knew there was an air raid shelter beneath the tunnel but didn't know how to get in, so she could only think of the simplest and crudest method.

Li Nuowei shook his head: "Pray to the dead, pray to be sent over to accompany them."

"Isn't this just praying to go to your own death?" Yu Lianyun couldn't help but retort.

However, before Yu Lianyun could finish speaking, she suddenly discovered that Li Nuowei had disappeared, passing into the wall. The other party seemed to have passed through an invisible light curtain, but when she reached out to touch it, she could only feel the solid wall; the trick she had expected did not actually exist.

Drake trusted Li Nuowei, and immediately he became the second person to disappear from before the crowd; only then did everyone understand that what Li Nuowei said was all true.

Consequently, the Mysterious Investigators followed the actions of Li Nuowei and Drake one after another, and sure enough, a few seconds later, they reunited with Li Nuowei and the others behind the wall.

"Let's walk faster; we can talk as we go," Li Nuowei continued, giving a long, detailed explanation of the details everyone was curious about.

As Li Nuowei provided more and more simple and clear explanations, the crowd suddenly saw the light.

When the crowd heard a burst of hurried footsteps coming from behind them, they quickened their pace down the stairs in unison.

When they finally walked out of the stairs and arrived at the huge open space of the Air Raid Shelter, Li Nuowei walked at the very front and said, "Attention everyone, follow my lead, run together."

Following behind Li Nuowei, the crowd could only rely on the sounds coming from afar and the strange limbs glimpsed within the range of their Night Vision Device; only then did they truly believe that a young university student like Li Nuowei possessed magical abilities, after all, the other party could accurately dodge every emerging zombie in the dark environment without the assistance of night vision goggles, and could also find a precise path without hitting walls.

Without hundreds or thousands of drills, it would be impossible to have such a clear understanding of every inch of land in such a vast underground space.

However, even the most careful plan has a flaw, and having many people has its disadvantages; even with safety guarantees, it ultimately increased other risks, and someone was still discovered by the fish-men.

Li Nuowei and the others could only kill those fish-men who went berserk upon seeing people, and finally rushed into the underground house that hid the underground passage with Li Nuowei.

They skillfully locked the main door tight and added an iron bar to prevent others from forcing their way in.

Walking into the underground passage, Li Nuowei tried hard to recall the gains from the previous reincarnation cycle, reviewed them in his mind, and finally led everyone to continue walking into the stairs of the next tunnel.

The method of seizing the Yinghuan Nest was exactly the same as the last time; as a severe case among the Jiaoren Disease Patients, Drake had to make personal contact to remove the Curse of the Jiaoren Disease in the fastest but most disheveled way.