Chapter 642: Continuing the Descent |
The massive tendril monster kept diving, and diving along with it were the countless parasitic organisms nearby.
Lin Ye's perception range was also expanding; some deep-sea creatures hadn't even gotten close before they became part of the Parasitism Network.
"What's this? It's pretty tasty."
Ayla chewed on a snack that resembled shredded squid strips. Outside the window, countless fluorescent jellyfish followed the massive tendril monster as it descended, creating a dreamlike, surreal scene.
"That's a special organ from some deep-sea creature that's been dried and processed."
These snacks were all made from materials prepared by those tendrils. Lin Ye didn't touch the stranger-looking food; instead, he picked some more normal parts to eat.
"...What do you mean by 'special organ'?"
Ayla's sharp instincts caught something wrong.
"The more important kind of organ. It's a nutritious ingredient with a fairly unique flavor."
"Then why aren't you eating any?"
Ayla picked up a 'squid strip' and held it to Lin Ye's lips.
"I'm really not a fan of strong fishy tastes."
Lin Ye shook his grotesque head, dodging that weird piece of food.
"Then don't put it out on the table!"
Ayla threw the 'squid strip' back onto the plate. She decided that from now on, she'd only eat things Lin Ye had already tried.
"Shh, something's coming."
Lin Ye looked out the window. A massive shadow was drawing near—a giant deep-sea creature that looked like a whale. Probably attracted by the fluorescent jellyfish, it kept circling nearby.
"Why isn't it coming closer?"
Ayla nervously stuffed a bit of food into her mouth. This was her first time facing a creature of this size at such close range.
"It's probably trying to decide if we're dangerous."
Lin Ye wanted to control it through the Parasitism Network, but any parasitic organisms that got close were eliminated.
Creatures this massive usually had built-in biological systems that cleaned out parasites. Only something like the tendril monster, which mindlessly ate whatever it pleased, could be so easily controlled by Lin Ye.
"So what do we do? Should we try to scare it off?"
Ayla had studied some relevant knowledge about this kind of thing.
If it got a little closer, Lin Ye could use the tendril monster to lock into a struggle with it. Then, in the chaos, he could slowly dismantle the creature's body bit by bit.
"Oh, looks like it's leaving."
Ayla watched the enormous shadow gradually drift away. With her limited view, she couldn't even tell what kind of creature that giant shadow was.
"Too bad. Its insides would probably be way more comfortable than this place."
Lin Ye said with some regret.
"This is already good enough. It's best if we don't have to fight."
Ayla really didn't want to change their mode of transportation.
The tendril monster continued its descent. The seawater around them had turned pitch black, but with the fluorescent jellyfish lighting the way, they could see all kinds of bizarre deep-sea creatures.
There were also many underwater terrain formations that almost never appeared on the surface. Ayla stayed by the window the whole time, staring outside. The snacks on the table were nearly all gone.
"Hey, there's a sunken ship down there. Is that another trap set by the Organizers?"
Ayla looked at the abandoned cruise liner lying on the seabed and asked.
"That's right. And there's a very troublesome deep-sea monster hiding inside it. Even I would have a hard time dealing with it in this environment."
That wreck had already entered the range of the Parasitism Network. Lin Ye sent parasitic organisms to explore the ship's interior, but they were taken out not long after they got inside.
It was a deep-sea creature made of compressed liquid. Its body structure was spread throughout every corner of the ship, and it had become one with the wreck. As long as the ship wasn't destroyed, it could regenerate rapidly.
"Then let's stay far away from it."
Ayla could feel the Organizers' malicious intentions. Anyone who could come to a place like this was definitely the adventurous type. Leaving a sunken ship here would make them absolutely desperate to go inside and explore.
"I wasn't planning to get close anyway, because I already got the treasure inside."
A tendril climbed onto the dining table, holding a water-blue bracelet. The bracelet shimmered with faint, starry glints and looked extremely valuable.
"Is that the treasure from the sunken ship?"
Ayla couldn't tear her eyes away. She really liked that bracelet.
"That's right. This cursed bracelet is the treasure from that wreck."
Lin Ye pulled out a pair of sunglasses and put them on before looking at the bracelet.
"So don't bring out stuff like that!"
Ayla kept turning her head, trying to look away from the bracelet, but she failed. Those flickering lights were like rapidly spinning whirlpools, pulling her focus in and binding it tight. In that state, she couldn't even manage to focus on anything else.
"This is my first time seeing a spiritual energy item of this kind. Don't you think it has a unique beauty to it?"
Lin Ye put a pair of sunglasses on Ayla too. They were spiritual energy items he had prepared in advance.
He had used mental barrier technology on the lenses. That technique was pretty effective, but it required first establishing a mental defense system to use it.
"It really is beautiful, but beautiful things are usually dangerous."
Ayla looked at the bracelet through the sunglasses. Even after escaping its influence, she still had the urge to possess it, even though she knew perfectly well how dangerous it was.
"That's because without deadly danger, those beautiful things wouldn't even show up in front of us. So it's not necessarily a bad thing."
Lin Ye applied a stable mental barrier over the bracelet, then tossed it to Ayla. He had already figured out how the bracelet worked, so it was useless to him now.
"You're giving it to me?"
Ayla took off her sunglasses. The bracelet had lost its fatal allure and now looked completely ordinary.
"I really liked that dress from before. This bracelet is a simple return gift. But the mental barrier on it will only last about a year, even if you replenish mental energy regularly. You can have someone take care of it when you get back."
Lin Ye took off his sunglasses and tossed them onto the table. Some tendrils crawled over and laid out a fresh array of food on the table.
After passing the sunken ship, the tendril monster found a massive, bottomless trench.
Only a few deep-sea creatures lived inside that giant trench. At this depth, most of the area was a silent wasteland. As the depth increased, Lin Ye constantly adjusted the body structures of those parasitic organisms to adapt to the increasingly dangerous deep-sea environment.
Just as Lin Ye was busy fine-tuning the Parasitism Network, something rather peculiar appeared within its range.