Chapter 643: Deep Sea City |
“…There seems to be something strange over there. Want to take a look?”
Lin Ye had never seen anything like this before.
“Is it another trap set up by the organizers?”
Ayla wasn’t too keen on touching any more strange traps.
“Probably not. If this were a trap, the cost would be way too high.”
Lin Ye directed the Massive Tendril Monster to approach one side of the trench. Embedded inside the rock wall was a huge black platform, and beneath that platform hung the corpses of countless humanoid figures. At the center of the platform sat a black coffin.
Piled around the coffin were all sorts of rare treasures, with a large number of valuable spiritual energy materials scattered along the platform’s outer edge. The closer to the coffin, the higher the value of the items. Lin Ye even spotted a few items radiating the aura of relics beside the coffin, along with several Rule Fragments pulsing with rule power.
“…This looks way too much like a trap, doesn’t it?”
Ayla had studied adventure-related knowledge. Piles of treasure like this were basically synonymous with danger.
Lin Ye didn’t let the tendril monster get close to the platform. Not being a trap didn’t mean it wasn’t dangerous. Those corpses down there weren’t ordinary people’s bodies, otherwise, they wouldn’t have stayed intact in this environment.
“Are you going to take those things?”
Ayla asked with some concern.
“No. I don’t want to touch dead people’s belongings, and I don’t know if the thing inside that coffin is truly dead. I just wanted you to take a look at those hanging corpses. They haven’t actually completely died. They’re being kept in the moment right before death. That’s probably the fate of anyone who touches those treasures.”
The moment Lin Ye saw those corpses, he sensed their condition. It wasn’t because he was particularly sharp, but rather that looking at them made it instantly clear what had happened to those people. It was a very direct form of deterrence—one could even call it a judgment. Yet still, so many people had ended up hanging down there. That was something Lin Ye found hard to understand.
Even though he had encountered plenty of idiots among his own kind who baffled him, these people weren’t weak. So they shouldn’t have been stupid either.
“…Let’s get out of here quickly.”
Just looking at those corpses made Ayla feel suffocated. She had no desire to be stuck hanging in a place like this, never to be freed.
“Don’t worry. Since the master of this place has shown us the state of these corpses, they won’t mind us watching nearby. Otherwise, why bother putting them on display?”
A Fluorescent Jellyfish carrying some deep-sea snacks drifted toward the platform. It placed the snacks at the edge of the platform before returning to the tendril monster’s side.
The Massive Tendril Monster adjusted its course and continued diving deeper.
“This trip was really worth it. I’ve seen so many amazing things.”
Ayla picked up a cup filled with deep blue liquid and sighed.
“Yeah. This is my first time diving. I never expected to go this deep.”
The Massive Tendril Monster descended quickly. Lin Ye had no idea what depth they were at now, but it was certainly a place no normal diver could ever reach.
“This is my first time diving too, if we don’t count the bathtub… What is this stuff?”
After drinking that deep blue liquid, Ayla briefly experienced the suffocating feeling of being in the deep sea.
“Deep Sea drink. It lets you experience the sensation of facing the deep sea directly.”
Lin Ye took a sip of the Deep Sea drink as well. This stuff was way more intense than ice-cold cola.
“…Can we still get out of here? If this really is a competition, then we have to reach the finish line. But what if there is no finish line down here?”
The Deep Sea drink gave Ayla a brief taste of the terror of the deep sea. She had no idea what the deepest part of the ocean was like, but she knew it must be incredibly far away.
“That is a problem. Losing your way in the deep sea is extremely dangerous. I don’t know how deep this place really is either. But don’t worry—I can send you out of here anytime.”
Lin Ye rarely did things without a plan. He didn’t know if he could reach the so-called deepest depths of the sea, especially since time was limited, so he had already thought about an escape route.
“Then I feel relieved.”
In Ayla’s eyes, Lin Ye had always been that kind of reliable man.
“The deep sea and the Abyss are pretty similar.”
Lin Ye suddenly remarked.
“…Mr. Lin Ye, could you tell me why you mentioned the Abyss here?”
Ayla asked warily.
“Oh, because I’d need to use the Abyssal Eye to send you to the Abyss first. Then you can teleport out from there.”
Lin Ye’s understanding of space wasn’t enough to break the spatial blockade here. This alien body only had a Fishing Rod and a basket on it, so this was the only way to send Ayla away.
“…Then I’ll just stay here. At least it’s safer here.”
Ayla had no intention of venturing into the Abyss.
“Actually, going to the Surface Layer of the Abyss isn’t dangerous, and you won’t be affected by the Abyss. I can guarantee you’ll leave safely.”
As long as she didn’t come into contact with items like the Abyssal Egg, it should be fine.
Lin Ye suddenly thought back to past events.
“Wow, there seem to be a lot of glowing things down there.”
Ayla pressed her face against the window, awkwardly changing the subject.
“…Looks like there’s a city built in the deep sea. Want to go check it out?”
That city had already entered the coverage range of the Parasitism Network, yet Lin Ye hadn’t sensed anything there at all.
This must be some kind of information defense technology.
“In a place like this? That’s got to be dangerous, right?”
Ayla had no idea how someone could build a city in such a place, but she knew what that meant.
“It is dangerous, but we’re contestants. This city should be part of the organizers’ plan too, right?”
Lin Ye sent a Fluorescent Jellyfish to approach the city. Through the jellyfish’s visual system, he quickly found the city’s entrance.
The entire city was encased in a semi-transparent membrane. Through that membrane, only blurry moving figures could be seen.
The city’s entrance was very obvious. It was a massive passageway large enough for the Massive Tendril Monster to pass through. On both sides of the passage, some metal objects were placed.
As soon as the Fluorescent Jellyfish got close to the city entrance, a phantom image of a jellyfish appeared in front of it. That jellyfish phantom kept wiggling its body, as if trying to convey something.
“I’m a contestant in the Fishing Competition. The giant tendril creature up there is my friend. What kind of place is this, and is it related to the Fishing Competition?”
Lin Ye had altered the Fluorescent Jellyfish’s body to create vocal organs and spoke to the other party.
The jellyfish phantom quickly transformed into a humanoid figure and said:
“This is the Deep Sea City. To enter the Deep Sea City, you need to pay an entry fee. Competition contestants are no exception.”