Chapter 75: Drifting with the current? No! Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea

Drifting with the current? No! Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea

Everyone briefly lost consciousness under the immense impact.

Only Cheng Shi, eyes wide open, controlled the barely floating raft, struggling through the depths.

Yes, Cheng Shi did not pass out.

In that instant when the giant wave crashed down, he preemptively activated all his skills, leaving ample reserve.

This allowed him to withstand the massive force and remain fully conscious.

As for the others...

Forget it, they just spat out some blood—it’s not fatal.

Who asked them to be the captain?

When the battlefield shifted from mountain peak to underwater, Cheng Shi—the healer with underwater recovery—transformed from a slacker priest into the de facto captain with immense authority!

All he needed to do was cast underwater recovery on himself, then share the underwater breathing effect with his teammates via Shared Divine Grace, achieving maximum air intake with minimal mana cost.

Moreover, priests had the highest affinity for water elements after Water Element Judges; with precise control, they could fully maneuver the “raft submarine” in non-turbulent currents and become the team’s navigator!

In fact, Cheng Shi was already doing exactly that.

Zhao Qian’s physique, unsurprisingly, was the best—he was the first to regain consciousness.

When he felt he could still breathe and saw Cheng Shi steering the raft deeper underwater, he knew their situation was under control.

He was relieved.

Not because Cheng Shi had suddenly become reliable, but because underwater recovery hadn’t inexplicably made him pregnant.

Others gradually woke up, sensed their condition was fine, and all exhaled in relief.

The players’ current situation was peculiar:

The “hollow logs” woven from vines showed excellent sealing and buoyancy, so they floated on top.

Beneath the bamboo raft hung several vine baskets, each containing one player; though all were submerged, the effect of underwater recovery ensured their breathing remained unaffected.

If there was any discomfort, it was that breathing air had become breathing seawater.

The sensation of inhaling murky seawater, only for it to vanish inside the nose, was still unpleasant.

But because the raft’s buoyancy was too strong, Cheng Shi still found it difficult to maneuver at such great depths.

Fortunately, his teammates weren’t slackers—they didn’t just stand around watching while others worked.

Tao Yi immediately plucked several vine strands from the leftover edges of the basket, shaped them into flat boards, and tied them to her hands, using her arms as oars to provide manual propulsion.

Others followed suit.

Only Zhao Qian remained motionless, observing his surroundings.

Cheng Shi caught a glimpse of him out of the corner of his eye and grew slightly interested in this captain.

This follower of [War] gave him a strange feeling: though he automatically assumed command, he rarely exerted extra effort unless absolutely necessary.

Of course, many players used this conservative, energy-preserving trial style—especially now, with no mutual trust.

But Zhao Qian was different from them.

He didn’t seem purely self-interested; his eyes held clear longing for cooperation, yet he consistently did things that felt oddly solitary.

This faint contradiction... was deeply awkward.

But as long as he didn’t do anything harmful to himself, let him be.

Cheng Shi realized he was overthinking—he chuckled softly and resumed playing the role of Sun Ce.

As Cheng Shi controlled the raft while observing his teammates, Tao Yi spoke up.

“Gurgle gurgle... Cheng Shi, aren’t we surfacing... gurgle gurgle...”

“We can’t determine the wind and waves above—our little raft won’t survive another wave like that. Underwater is safer.”

“Gurgle gurgle... Is that so? Can your mana handle it? I have decent water affinity... gurgle gurgle... Let me take over for a bit...”

No way—I’m just getting started!

Cheng Shi thoroughly enjoyed being captain; this level of mana drain let him swim underwater all day.

Provided the underwater remained calm.

Cheng Shi didn’t answer directly, but smiled and asked:

“Why do you always gurgle when you speak?”

“Gurgle gurgle... Don’t you think it makes us sound like fish... gurgle gurgle... We’re underwater people now... So fun!”

“...”

Innocence defeated naivety; Cheng Shi had no reply.

The storm raged on the surface, but underwater remained quiet.

Aside from avoiding debris and trash swept in by the currents, the underwater journey held almost no danger.

Unfortunately, good fortune didn’t last.

After several hours of underwater travel, another incident occurred.

Though underwater senses were far less acute than on land, Zhao Qian seemed to sense something and warned:

“Watch out—something’s coming from below!”

Hearing the warning, Cheng Shi’s heart tightened.

They were currently in the upper-mid water column—just deep enough to avoid surface storms, yet far from seeing the seabed.

Logically, after such a long time since the giant wave, anything buoyant should’ve risen to the top, and anything heavy should’ve sunk beyond this zone.

Something rising from the seabed now was clearly dangerous.

“What is it? Living or dead?”

“Cheng Shi, can we turn to avoid it? Let’s paddle harder!”

“Below? I don’t see anything.”

Cheng Shi was at the front with the best forward view, but his downward visibility was no better than anyone else’s—he saw nothing below.

The seawater was thick with churned-up soil, visibility abysmal; Zhao Qian’s early warning clearly wasn’t based on sight.

“Can’t see anything! Can you sense what it is?”

Zhao Qian closed his eyes and projected his mana like sonar—within an instant, his face turned ashen.

“Can’t avoid it! It’s all around us—Cheng Shi! We’re going to collide!”

“Whoosh—”

The moment he spoke, the raft spun violently from the current’s strike.

“Gurgle gurgle...”

Countless bubbles surged upward—now they were truly gurgling.

“Everyone, protect yourselves! Healer, prepare healing!”

No need for Zhao Qian to repeat it—the moment the spin began, Shared Divine Grace had already sent seven or eight healing spells to every team member.

Cheng Shi’s expression turned grim—he dared not relax for a second.

Because he had finally seen what was rising from below.

It was a colossal beast he’d never seen before—its flesh hung torn, its half-open white eyes signaling death; it floated upward like a bloated balloon.

Only, in its ascent, it collided with the players.

“Collided” wasn’t quite the right word.

Compared to the beast’s size, the players’ raft was like a tiny fishing skiff beneath a giant ship—grossly disproportionate.

The raft bumping into this behemoth mattered less than the ocean’s natural currents.

Yet for the raft, even this minor impact was catastrophic.

Fortunately, the bamboo raft didn’t strike the beast directly—it was instead sucked forward by a powerful current, then shattered apart under the rushing water.

Everyone’s faces turned pale, for they finally understood what Zhao Qian meant by “all around us.”

Tao Yi clung tightly to a vine log, eyes wide with terror, whispering in disbelief:

“We... are we...”

Cheng Shi gripped Gao Yu, frowning as he replied grimly:

“Yes. Exactly what you think.

We...

Have entered the beast’s belly.”