Chapter 154: The Abyssal Creature in the Cargo Hold

Besides this batch of goods highly suspected of carrying abyssal aura.

Luo De also saw a very familiar face among those boarding the ship.

That was a girl wearing very cool clothing, with her waist and legs fully exposed, wearing a red magical crown on her head that held back her coral-colored waist-length hair; beneath her hair were a pair of white-to-yellow antlers extending outward from both sides of her head, and on the backs of her hands and the exposed sides of her waist could be seen a few white scales, while a fire-element Vision hung conspicuously at her waist.

"Yanfei?"

Luo De raised an eyebrow, recognizing the girl's identity from those antlers.

A mixed-blood adeptus from Liyue, a renowned legalist.

I never expected she would end up on the same ship as me.

When boarding, Yanfei and those merchant-looking people beside her were constantly chatting and laughing.

It seemed.

She probably went to Mondstadt this time to serve as a travel consultant for those merchants.

I just don't know whether she knows that the ship's cargo has been mixed with things carrying abyssal aura.

Time soon gave the answer.

Yanfei didn't know.

And the other people on the ship probably didn't know either.

When Luo De had nothing to do, he observed the behavior of the passengers and crew.

No one deliberately went to the cargo hold, which really shows that no one knew something strange had gotten mixed into the cargo.

"This is strange."

"Who exactly brought the abyssal stuff in?"

In the cargo hold.

Luo De stood before the haphazard corpses, gazing at the batch of goods carrying abyssal aura, stroking his chin in thought.

Guarding these goods.

Were two abyssal mages leading a few lackeys whose bodies were full of abyssal aura.

To deal with them.

Even without using sneak attacks, Luo De could easily tear them all apart face‑to‑face.

Moreover, he ambushed them while they were unprepared, almost instantly tearing those abyssal creatures apart with ease.

However, speaking reasonably.

The abyssal aura in this batch of goods is actually very weak; only Luo De, who frequently deals with abyssal aura, is sensitive enough to notice it at once, while the other people on this ship probably truly lack the ability to detect this thing.

I suppose those abyssal creatures thought the same, which is why they had not a single bit of preparation.

"Forget it, I won't think about it."

"Just swallow it."

Abyssal aura and Death Zone power are basically the same thing, merely different names; for Luo De now, it also counts as a little supplement.

Luo De also didn't bother to consider whether dismantling the intact cargo would cause any problems.

He directly flung open the nailed‑shut wooden crate, pulled away the hay and normal cargo on top, and headed straight for the target, dragging out the thing inside that emitted abyssal aura.

"Whoa—"

When he took the thing out, Luo De couldn't help but his eyelids twitched.

Bomb

No wonder this thing didn't leak much aura; after all that work, it had all been compressed into the bomb.

"If this thing explodes."

Luo De hefted the abyssal bomb in his hand, clicking his tongue as he muttered to himself.

According to the assessment given by the Void Terminal.

The abyssal bomb in his hand, with a diameter over twenty centimeters, if detonated would be capable of causing a contamination zone over a hundred meters in diameter.

And such a bomb.

Luo De counted and found that this pile of boxes contained nearly a hundred of them.

In other words.

If all of these were detonated at once, they could instantly create a small Death Zone.

If detonated in a densely populated residential area.

"Really ruthless."

Luo De collected these abyssal bombs.

A Vision is not merely an external magical organ; inside it also has a tiny space where some personal items can be placed.

Normally people use it to store weapons and potions, these life‑saving things.

That is, Luo De has many Visions, so he's rich and bold enough to stuff anything he likes into them.

The abyssal aura contained in these abyssal bombs isn't that easy to swallow; you have to detonate them first.

But now, out at sea, there's no place to use for detonation.

So Luo De can only first stow these hazardous items, then after reaching Mondstadt detonate them.

"Huh?"

While Luo De was gathering the bombs, he sensed a set of footsteps rapidly approaching.

The footsteps were very faint.

The comer had some martial skill.

But his level wasn't high; he couldn't even suppress his footstep noise.

Luo De hastily secured the bombs, then took a quick step and concealed his figure.

Soon.

The newcomer revealed their true face.

It was Yanfei, whom they had seen earlier on the deck.

At this moment, she was curiously sniffing, looking around these goods.

Just now, when Luo De ambushed those Abyssal monsters, they leaked a bit of Abyssal aura.

It seems that the leaked aura is what let her notice the anomaly.

But she is obviously not as sensitive to Abyssal aura as Luo De, and cannot instantly pinpoint the source of the problem.

"As expected of an adeptus' bloodline; even if his martial skills are crude, he still has some ability."

Seeing Yanfei enter, Luo De no longer bothered to conceal himself and stepped out from the dark corner.

His appearance.

It instantly startled Yanfei.

"Who are you?"

A brilliant flame suddenly flared up in Yanfei's hand, instantly illuminating the dim cabin.

At the same time as seeing Luo De's face.

The few Abyssal monster corpses on the ground that hadn't been dealt with yet also appeared in the firelight.

Yanfei's pupils contracted instantly, and the flame in her hand blazed even brighter.

"Stop! I'm not your enemy!"

Seeing Yanfei on guard, ready to strike at any moment, Luo De immediately raised his hands in a French military salute and said: "I am Luo De, a scholar from Sumeru. I found something with dead zone aura on this ship and came here to check it out."

"A scholar from Sumeru?"

Yanfei's guard did not waver; she stared at Luo De and said: "What proof do you have of your identity?"

Luo De turned his head to look at his null terminal, lifted his chin at it, and said: "Hey, say something."

Just as Yanfei was puzzled.

The null terminal, which had been silent, played a segment of audio.

"Luo De, of the Academy's Theoretical School, Tuosaduo, and the Practical School's apprentice Tuosaduo, acting on the orders of the Dendro Archon Buerer, headed to Mondstadt for official duties."

While proving Luo De's identity.

The null terminal also radiated a light unique to the power of the Dendro Archon.

This action finally dispelled Yanfei's doubts.

An Academy scholar who bears the Dendro Archon's token and has slain so many Abyssal monsters is a trustworthy person.

After gaining initial trust.

Yanfei retracted the flame in her hand and introduced herself: "I am Yanfei, the legalist of Liyue; this time I am serving as a shipboard consultant for the Mingyuan Merchant Guild."

After introducing herself.

She then impatiently asked: "What else did you find here?"

Members of the Abyssal Order appeared on the ship.

No need to think, you know there must be something fishy in this cargo hold.

"Here, this."

Luo De took out a bomb and weighed it in his hand.

Seeing this dangerous act, Yanfei couldn't help but shout: "Danger! Put it down quickly!"

My Geo Archon!

To just casually play with such a dangerous thing in hand—doesn't this bastard fear blowing up the ship?

"It's fine."

"I've checked it; this thing requires manual detonation—let alone playing with it, even if you throw it on the ground it won't explode."

Luo De wore a look of utter nonchalance, then glanced at the cargo crate where he had just found the Abyssal bomb, raised an eyebrow, and said: "Yo, Mingyuan Merchant Guild, your boss, huh?"

"Hiss—"

Hearing "your boss" made Yanfei's teeth ache a bit.

After she stepped forward and finished checking, confirming that these dangerous goods had indeed been mixed into the Mingyuan Merchant Guild's cargo, she frowned and said: "That shouldn't be; the elder of Mingyuan is an honest businessman—how could he collaborate with those Abyssal Order folks?"

"The Abyssal Order?"

This was still Luo De's first encounter with the Abyssal Order.

Before, when he was in Sumeru, he hadn't even run into a single member of the Abyssal Order.

"Hmm."

"Disguising the Order's dangerous goods as normal cargo and sending them to their destination—only those of the Abyssal Order could pull that off."

Yanfei thought for a moment, but still couldn't believe that her boss was collaborating with the Abyssal Order.

"Think about it openly."

"Maybe they're not collaborators; maybe it's just because they have a lot of cargo."

Seeing Yanfei's troubled look, Luo De offered another line of thought.

"Ah? A lot of cargo?"

What kind of reason is that? Yanfei was about to retort, but then immediately realized.

"Right!"

In this cargo hold, the Mingyuan Merchant Guild's goods are the most abundant; if one wanted to hide dangerous goods, they'd certainly be best hidden in their stuff.

"Of course, I'm not ruling out that he really is collaborating with the Abyssal Order."

"I've checked this ship; there are no other Abyssal Order members or dangerous goods left."

After landing, I still have to go to the City of Mondstadt.

Just stay in Jingfu Port and report this to the Knights of Favonius. Anyway, don't act on your own—they dare send something this dangerous to Mondstadt, so if the Abyss Order contacts you there, they'll definitely not let you go. You're not skilled in combat; if they set their sights on you, you'll be in big trouble.

As for these bombs,

Just leave them to me, this professional, to handle.

While Yanfei was still thinking about various possibilities, Luo De had already arranged all the things she would need to do next.

Yanfei had no objection to the earlier arrangements; it was only the last sentence.

A professional?

A professional who handles Abyss bombs?

Yanfei isn't some ignorant person; after all, she's an immortal who has lived for thousands of years, but she truly had never heard of anyone self-proclaiming as a professional who resolves Abyss bombs.

At this point, they needed to use the Void Terminal to prove their identity.

Luo De, the strongest ranger of Sumeru, cleared a total of thirty-four dead zones in two months, making a huge contribution to the safety of the rainforest area.

Yanfei's lips twitched.

She had heard of Sumeru's dead zones before; Liyue scholars had also gone to study them, confirming that the harmful components inside were similar to Abyss power, making them not easy to clean up.

Two months, thirty-four dead zones cleared.

Looking at this astonishing record,

This guy really can be called a professional.

Fine.

Unable to find words to refute Luo De for a moment, Yanfei reluctantly agreed.

After assigning the tasks the two needed to do ashore,

Next.

They then cleared the Abyss monster corpses in the cargo hold, restored the opened cargo to its original state, and returned to the passenger cabin as if nothing had happened, waiting to dock before reporting to the Knights of Favonius the discovery of the Abyss Order.

(End of chapter)