Chapter 98: Sea Monster

The painting before the artsy man was still a sea surface.

During his time in the instance, he had repeatedly painted this same image, trying over and over to capture the spirit of this sea.

He was certain he had uncovered the truth of this ocean and had already established a connection with it through art.

Unfortunately, the progress in clearing the instance far exceeded his expectations.

He shook his head, thinking inwardly: What a cheater.

The artsy man dipped his brush in pure black and swept it across the sea surface on the canvas; with just a few strokes, he outlined a massive shadow beneath the water.

"What an exquisite emotion—this is pure art."

On the other shore, Xiang Jianxing arrived alone near the small dock, untied a wooden boat moored to the shore, and rowed out onto the sea.

As he rowed, he continuously adjusted his direction, as if searching for something.

After rowing for about fifteen minutes, he reached the boundary of Briver Island; the distance was so great that a system prompt popped up before his eyes.

"Leaving Briver Island, exiting mission zone. Main Quest One's countdown will pause and may trigger unknown consequences. Player, proceed with caution."

Xiang Jianxing stopped the boat at the boundary; on the water beside the boat, a Bureau emblem surfaced.

When the cultists of the evil god first targeted him, the Bureau hadn't taken it seriously, because they were natural enemies; even if Xiang Jianxing had no prior quest, he would still sabotage the evil god cultists' plans.

The evil god cultists could be understood as traitors.

For various reasons, they refused to follow the orderly path of the Abyss Game, gradually growing stronger.

Instead, they chose to ally with the evil god within the Abyss Game, seeking shortcuts through the evil god's power to obtain special abilities.

In the Abyss Game, the evil god cultists were the very symbol of chaos; they spared no cost to please their worshipped entity.

The major organizations within the Abyss Game—especially the Four Organizations holding temporary administrative authority—were the guardians of order, naturally opposed to the evil god cultists.

Xiang Jianxing being despised by the evil god cultists was as normal as police being hated by criminals; initially, no one paid it any mind.

Only Lin Jiang sensed something odd and prepared in advance.

After Xiang Jianxing obtained his class-change item and entered the instance for the first time, Lin Jiang gave him a device capable of contacting the outside world.

Due to the time flow difference between inside and outside the instance, they couldn't communicate in real time, but Xiang Jianxing could use the device to send a distress signal.

As long as Xiang Jianxing could hold out for a while, Lin Jiang outside could use the device to provide a coordinate—a coordinate for reinforcements to appear.

From the beginning, Lin Jiang had set his sights on the forced teleporter in Sea Watch City.

Although prepared, the first few worlds collapsed too quickly, and the crises weren't severe enough as they'd anticipated to require reinforcements, so the device never activated.

Over time, Xiang Jianxing forgot it even existed.

Unexpectedly, just now, he suddenly sensed a reaction from the device in his personal space.

Due to the time flow difference between inside and outside the instance, he had ample time to react and reach the designated location.

He stared at the mark on the water, wondering who Lin Jiang would send—after all, for Quiet Town, a level twenty player wouldn't help at all.

Could it be that someone outside had found a way to bypass the forced teleporter's rules? As he wondered, a door appeared directly above him, and a white figure dropped from it, plummeting straight toward the water.

Xiang Jianxing moved to catch her, but the woman flipped gracefully midair and landed steadily atop the water.

The newcomer was a woman in her mid-twenties, tall at one meter eighty-five, with a princess-cut long hairstyle split down the middle: left side black, right side white, strikingly conspicuous.

As a prodigy of the Bureau's new generation, the two had met often in formal settings.

One carried a sword at her side; the other was tall with a two-tone hairstyle—once seen, unforgettable.

"Negotiation Master?" Xiang Jianxing was surprised by her arrival.

The Negotiation Master walked from the water onto the boat and said: "Who else would it be?"

Xiang Jianxing: "Isn't your motto 'A gentleman doesn't stand beneath a crumbling wall'?"

"Who says we aren't friends?" the Negotiation Master lied. She came only because the payment was too good to refuse.

Xiang Jianxing glanced at her and reminded her: "You forgot my Sword Heart can sense heartbeats?"

The Negotiation Master clicked her tongue. "I hate guys like you who can read minds—no concept of privacy."

"But whatever. You've already cleared most obstacles and entered the easy harvesting phase. Don't waste time—let's just finish the procedure and head out for the victory banquet."

Before entering, Xu Dejun and Lin Jiang had told her Xiang Jianxing had broken through under pressure, his power surged, and he had stabilized the situation. She was here only to patch gaps and watch for hidden evil god cultists.

Hearing the Negotiation Master's words, Xiang Jianxing was baffled.

What do you mean the instance has entered the easy phase? It's anything but easy! His inspiration is severely overflowing; even a slightly prolonged battle risks losing his will.

Among players, veterans are already scarce, and both of Iron Armor's veterans died earlier; the last Ronin is deeply suspicious of him and refuses any cooperation.

Moreover, strange events have plagued the town these days—statues keep shattering, as if the sky is about to collapse. It must be due to too many player deaths, pushing the instance toward collapse.

The situation now is far worse than when we first entered the instance, isn't it? Xiang Jianxing was about to confirm with the Negotiation Master whether she'd misunderstood—when he saw her suddenly stare at the sea with a strange expression. "Xiang Jianxing, look—the sea's gone dark, hasn't it?"

Xiang Jianxing looked at the water. Moments ago, under the moonlight, the sea had shimmered a beautiful deep blue—but now the blue grew darker, shifting toward black.

No!

It's not a color change—it's something rising from beneath!

"Row faster!"

Xiang Jianxing tossed one oar to the Negotiation Master; both frantically paddled, driving the small boat toward the small dock.

Behind them, a massive figure emerged from the water; its exposed body alone stood nearly ten meters tall, following the boat, its enormous form blotting out the moonlight, casting the boat entirely in shadow.

The Negotiation Master's scalp prickled; she felt tricked. She shouted at Xiang Jianxing: "Before entering, they told me this was a judgment instance and said there was no danger! Then explain to me—what the hell is that thing behind us?!"

Xiang Jianxing sighed: "I need someone to explain that too!"

In the Golden Flying Fish waters, Wu Chang's True Self arrived with Ailin beneath the cliff.

Though Ailin had lost her Holy Mark, blessed by the Great Mother, she could still use partial Light Magic and retained considerable power.

As they neared the Golden Flying Fish statue, a divine messenger transformed into a giant Golden Flying Fish leapt from the sea, baring sharp teeth as it charged toward them.

Before Ailin moved, Wu Chang saw the once-fierce divine messenger suddenly grow docile, circling Ailin slowly in the water.

No way, sis—did you just use mind control?

To be honest, is your nickname Yuri?

Wu Chang really wanted to ask Eileen whether she had used this kind of ability when she was preaching.

If that were the case, then he'd have to say a word or two on behalf of the Ganzhi Sect — they're all religions, so snatching believers like this is honestly a bit unfair.

The divine envoy affected by Eileen remained mentally stable; until Wu Chang smashed the statue in the Inner World and it vanished, it never showed a hint of aggressive intent.

"Item Name: Proof of Gluttony"

"Item Type: Special"

"Item Description: Holding the Proof of Gluttony allows free entry into the special space — Golden Sea. Within the Golden Sea area, the holder is treated as a divine envoy and may actively summon schools of Golden Flying Fish. Summon cooldown: 15 days."

Good stuff — although the Proof of Gluttony can't judge entrants, it allows one extra summon of Golden Flying Fish schools each month.

If he could enter the Quiet Town instance steadily, with the Proof of Gluttony he really could open up a reliable route for capturing Golden Flying Fish.

Pocketing the Proof of Gluttony, he turned his attention back to his main body and looked toward the small dock.

The Inner World of the small dock was the last stop before heading to the Earl's Manor.

One look and — oh my, good lord, what a huge sea monster.

Let me see which poor unlucky soul got dragged into the Inner World tonight and ran into such a big catch.

(End of this chapter)