Chapter 167: Mutated

The merchants of Tana City all arrived upon hearing the sound; the bugle outside the barracks was blown every day, sometimes even in the middle of the night, making it hard for these merchants not to hear it.

Most of these merchants were Believers in wealth, and a considerable portion also worshipped the God of Storms.

Seeing a Mutated Creature, these fellows did not think about how to escape, but rather about protecting their own cargo.

"Damn it, tell them not to go toward the cargo hold, those guys will only get in the way! No Mutated Creature is going to eat cargo or anything!" Tom said viciously; he had been running this route for three years, and this was the first time he had encountered a Sea Monster that dared to climb onto a Cement Ship.

Ever since he switched to this Ship, he had not fought these Sea Monsters again.

But he was a Believer in the Storm, so it was impossible for him to have no combat ability at all, not to mention that he was an Awakened of the Storm.

The bad luck was that this Mutated marine creature had actually appeared inside the cargo hold, and in front of so many merchants, no less.

"Lao Tangmu, you must protect my cargo." A tall merchant brushed past Tom; although many people were not afraid of death, there were also those who were.

This was one of them.

Tom nodded and said to the crew members behind him, "Don't forget how I trained you before. Also, those workers and merchants moving cargo in front, get out of the way for me! If you don't want to die, get out of the way!"

"This thing, ah!" A merchant was swatted away, seemingly having broken a rib.

However, compared to the kind of Mutated marine creature that Luolita encountered, this merchant was much luckier.

What he encountered was a Mutated Anglerfish; this thing was extremely ugly, but it had no special attack abilities.

The only thing Mutated was the tail part of the fish, which could shoot out quite a few poisonous needles.

But the effect was not very good; after all, the Anglerfish's eyes were not quite right to begin with, and its field of vision was too small, so its accuracy was not high either.

These poisonous needles had already pierced many crates, but fortunately, there was no Grain in these crates.

After all, Tana City did not need Grain.

Looking at the struggling merchant, Tom directly grabbed a rope; the rope was soaking wet, and he threw it directly onto the Anglerfish.

Seeing the rope, the fish became even more active; all the wooden crates around were smashed by it, and the entire cargo hold became increasingly messy.

The workers who were moving cargo hid themselves, but most of the surviving workers had encountered these Sea Monsters before and knew that the first thing to do when seeing these things was to run.

As long as one wants to live, one has to run.

As for the wages, they were usually not withheld.

Unless the Ship owner died.

"Be careful, this kind of thing is most afraid of ropes soaked in sulfur; its temper will be very irritable," Tom said unhurriedly. "Come a few people, bring more ropes. Damn it, I didn't expect that a Sea Monster from Port City would dare to run here."

Because he was unprepared, Tom did not have a suitable fishing net on hand.

But he did have suitable ropes.

These ropes were originally meant for dealing with Sea Monsters; they were soaked in sulfur all year round just so the Sea Monsters wouldn't gnaw through the ropes used for anchoring.

Now they were finally put to good use.

"All of you come over here, take your weapons!" Saying this, Tom took the initiative to grab a harpoon and ran over. As an Awakened, he could be said to exert more utility on the Cement Ship, and as for this fish, he could see at a glance where the opponent's weakness was.

The Anglerfish also sensed danger and hurriedly began to flee.

Several workers were clearly hiding behind crates, yet they were still hit by wood splinters.

"Get out, all of you! Do you want to be crushed to death by this cargo?" Chasing the dying fish, Tom shouted, "Don't delay me, kill this damn fish for me!"

The Anglerfish dragging the ropes naturally could not run fast, let alone with so much cargo here.

Several crew members threw ropes simultaneously, firmly securing the fish.

With a roar from Tom, the fish sprayed out a large amount of blood, and a foul stench rose throughout the ship's cabin.

"I hate this kind of thing the most; it has no value and is troublesome," Tom said coldly. "It's a good thing our strength is decent, otherwise all of you would have been eaten by it."

Several crew members were covered in sweat, and no one dared to approach the Anglerfish.

Everyone just watched until the fish's blood had mostly drained.

"Save me, save me." At this moment, the merchant who had just been swatted away finally found his voice. "Save me!"

"Damn it, I actually forgot. You two, go and carry that unlucky guy out," Tom ordered. "The rest of you, clean up this fish. And those workers, if you want your wages, don't run yet; remember to tidy up this cargo, don't lose anything!"

"Can I watch from here?" The merchant lying on the stretcher asked, full of worry.

"You've already bought so many supplies, are you still afraid of losing them? Rest assured, I, Lao Tangmu, never do that kind of thing. Carry him to the lounge for me; the wounds on his body need to be treated." Tom did not want to slow down his schedule because of this merchant; after all, he himself had a batch of cargo on the Ship.

Although the scene was chaotic, it was handled quickly.

Several players who came to pull the Ship poked their heads out to look at the lively Cement Ship and began to discuss.

It was night now, so there were not many players coming online, and even fewer in Port City.

Fuling stood behind Chimu and complained, "I can't see clearly, and I don't know if the guests are arguing."

"Didn't you hear people shouting that there was a Sea Monster?" As soon as Chimu finished speaking, several sailors dressed in simple clothes carried the Sea Monster off the Ship.

This thing could not be thrown back into the sea, but that did not mean it couldn't be thrown somewhere else.

"What bad luck, this thing can't be sold for money and has no practical value. It also smashed so many crates."

"Lao Tangmu is going to start cursing again; we definitely won't be able to drink Wine today."

"Damn thing, can't every one of these Sea Monsters have some practical value?"

"What are you thinking? The ones with practical value are all very difficult to deal with; it would cost lives."

Saying this, the few people threw the fish directly into the woods nearby and then walked away, laughing and talking.

"This thing is a Sea Monster? It's different from what Luolita said." Luolita had to wait until she returned to upload the photos, and it would be tomorrow at the earliest before the review came out.

Therefore, the players all confirmed what these Sea Monsters looked like through Luolita's descriptions.

Seeing that the people had left, Chimu and Fuling also ran over, wanting to see what this Sea Monster actually looked like.

Fuling even started taking pictures; this was first-hand information.

"The sailors meant that this Sea Monster has no practical value. Why?"

"Maybe we can ask someone we know, for example, Bob." Fuling looked around. "You watch here, I'll go find Bob and bring him over to take a look."

Bob was originally drinking Wine in the bar, but seeing such a beautiful young girl as Fuling come over, he was still willing to come over and see what had happened.

With a hint of intoxication, Bob saw the Sea Monster and was startled, then gritted his teeth and said, "Is this what you all are dealing with?"

"No, it's from that Cement Ship," Fuling pointed to the ship nearby and said, "We saw this Sea Monster on the ship, um, that's what they said, though we aren't quite sure."

"How is that possible? How could this kind of Sea Monster end up on a Cement Ship?" Bob paused for a moment, "No, you all go notify the crew members quickly, tell them to stay alert, I'm going to ask on that ship, I remember it's Lao Tangmu's ship."

Saying this, Bob trotted all the way toward that ship.

"You follow him, I'll go call for people," Fuling patted Chimu's shoulder, "It's easier for me to call for people."

Fuling had come along with the cargo ship; she herself had a batch of clothing she intended to sell in Port City.

This batch of clothing was ordered by those in the Royal Capital who saw Luolita's interview; those merchants were faster than Luolita, having already come to Tana City three days ago, and after seeing those clothes, they were amazed, so they placed an order.

These clothes were not difficult to make; Fuling found a factory run by players and finished making those silk stockings and hats in three days. To make the packaging exquisite, she even specially used very good-looking gift boxes.

This batch of goods was worth 3,000 Sid, so it was no wonder Fuling came along in person to follow the shipment.

However, she certainly didn't just have this one thing to do; she also needed to bring back the supplies the players had purchased.

For example, coke; this thing is very important now, and since it isn't in Tana City, it can only be obtained from Port City through purchase.

And the Steel refined from coke is of a higher quality.

So this time, Fuling and the others mainly came to bring the coke back.

The entire Tana City only has one Steel Plant that needs coke, so the price of coke is not expensive; on the contrary, it is much cheaper than the price of Steel.

Although these things are not afraid of the havoc caused by Mutated marine creatures, it doesn't mean Bob isn't afraid of something going wrong.

After all, there aren't many people on Bob's ship who can deal with that thing.

"She went to call for people, I'll go with you," Chimu caught up to Bob, "Why is this Sea Monster worthless?"

"This Sea Monster, sigh, the vast majority of Sea Monsters have utility value; these things are collectively referred to as Mutated marine creatures," Bob said while walking, "Many Mutated creatures are poisonous themselves, such as Mutated pufferfish, Mutated squid, etc... but there are also some Mutated creatures that are non-poisonous, like this Anglerfish; although it's a bit ugly, it's not poisonous. After they mutate, their toxins are mainly concentrated on the surface of their bodies. Other poisonous Mutated creatures can directly collect their poison sacs or some Spiritual Substance produced by the mutation. This kind of Anglerfish uses up all its toxins when it dies, and along with the Mutated Spiritual Material, it all evaporates, so there's simply no way to utilize it."

Walking onto the ship, Bob explained his purpose. Chimu saw the steel needle-like things the crew members were pulling off the wooden planks and asked, "Are these things useless too?"

"The strength doesn't compare to Steel," Bob's one sentence dashed Chimu's hopes. This thing is not as hard as iron, and it has no poison; although Sea Monsters can utilize it, it is useless to the War Church.

After all, the War Church deals with the barbarians, and those guys have high defensive power; this kind of thing can't penetrate it.

"My old friend, why did you come? Oh right, the ship next door is yours," Lao Tangmu hugged the other person in a friendly manner after seeing Bob, "You finally changed to a good ship."

"Yeah, you all always say how easy Cement Ships are to sail, how hard they are, and that you don't have to fear those Sea Monsters," Bob looked at the workers who were tidying up the cargo hold, "Anyway, what exactly is going on? How could there still be a Sea Monster on a Cement Ship?"

"I don't know how it got here; I guess it's because there are too many Cement Ships lately. You know how much the war in Tana City has increased these cargo ships; Port City hasn't had this many ships in a long time."

The ships parked around were all Cement Ships; many of those wooden ships had already been towed away by Bob, and now there were clearly several more Cement Ships in the port.

"That's what I'm worried about; I originally thought Cement Ships were safe enough, but..."

"I'll teach you a method: soak your fishing nets in sulfur, make them a bit thicker, and then dealing with this kind of Sea Monster will be much simpler," Tangmu imparted his knowledge, "Of course, you also need to have strong physical power like me. It's not that I'm bragging, but the Storm Church's requirements for awakening aren't high."

"But there's a chance of becoming a freak like these fish; I don't want that," Bob shook his head, clearly knowing something about the Storm Church.

"Most people are fine, look at me," Tangmu shook his head, "Anyway, you're on your own. Port City isn't that safe anymore either; I heard that a Sea Monster appeared in the Royal Capital last week, and it became common knowledge. Even the people from the Sun Church couldn't handle it."

"How could the Sun Church handle these things? It still depends on the Storm Church," even Bob showed this recognition, "Thank you, old friend, I need to hurry back to my ship and let those lazy bums keep a good watch, so they don't lose their lives at any moment."

Chimu couldn't wait to log off immediately and tell the other players the method for dealing with Sea Monsters.

But thinking about it carefully, it seemed not many players had encountered those Sea Monsters.

The point is, what can actually be done with the mutation areas of those Sea Monsters.

"Why doesn't the Storm Church organize manpower to clear out those Sea Monsters?" After getting off the ship, Chimu asked while following behind Bob, "I thought these things could be captured."

"Capture? Most of the Storm people are in the ocean; it's not realistic to ask them to come to the port and keep watch," Bob waved his hand, "The ocean is so big; as long as the common routes are safe, that's enough. We are also taking precautions in advance; it doesn't mean those Sea Monsters will definitely appear. At least they aren't on our ship, right?"

"That's true, but don't those Sea Monsters also have usable Spiritual Material?" Chimu said in a low voice, "What are those materials used for?"

"Don't you go setting your sights on those materials. Think about it, the people in the Royal Capital have to sacrifice dozens of lives to deal with these guys; how much of a chance do you have dealing with these things?" Bob patted Chimu's shoulder, "I suggest that if you encounter Mutated marine creatures, run if you can. If you can't run, then you're on your own. In most cases, these marine creatures will leave the ship once they are full and satisfied. I mean, under normal circumstances, if you don't provoke the other party, losing one or two people can ensure your own survival."

(End of this chapter)