Chapter 257: Sea's Tear (Third Update) |
After dealing with this creature, Qin Ziwen sensed a desire to devour emanating from his own talent.
His subconscious was asking him whether he wanted to plunder a talent from the Giant Clam.
Qin Ziwen closed his eyes and pondered, deciding to give up.
Mainly because this thing's talents were all a bit too otherworldly and not suitable for humans.
If he chose Spirit Pearl Conception, a grown man like him giving birth every day wouldn't be right either.
What he'd be producing were spirit pearls, not spirit pearl children.
If they were spirit pearl children, he might actually consider it...
The Hardened Shell was even less of a consideration.
Spirit Pearl Conception could at least be hidden, treated as a personal hobby.
How could he ever show his face in the residential complex again?
Probably within a day, new nicknames would be flying all over the place.
He withdrew his gaze and landed it on Chitu.
This guy had finally broken through.
He originally thought this mission was far off, probably doomed to fail, but just when he thought there was no way out, a new path suddenly appeared. He unexpectedly found the solution in the sea.
At this moment, there was an indescribable, intangible change about the evolved Chitu.
It lowered its head, trotted over quickly, and affectionately nudged Qin Ziwen's chest with its head.
"You..." Qin Ziwen suddenly paused.
He realized that Chitu's movement just now was very fast.
It didn't seem like it was on the seabed, more like on land.
He looked at Chitu's second ability after evolution.
All-Terrain Adaptation.
Although there was no proof, he felt it was related to this ability.
This 'all-terrain' should encompass various complex terrains.
He tested it, confirming that Chitu's running speed on the seabed now surpassed most fish.
He just didn't know if this All-Terrain Adaptation included the effect of underwater breathing. Currently, Chitu could breathe underwater thanks to the Deep Sea Oxygen.
If there was no Deep Sea Oxygen, could it still continue breathing on the seabed?
He could test that later.
As for Chitu's first ability, Unbreakable Body, it was related to defense. This ability could also be tested later; after all, he couldn't just immediately take a knife and stab it to try it out.
The last ability was more mysterious.
He vaguely felt it when riding Chitu.
He felt his thoughts seemed to become more active, but aside from that, there were no other obvious sensations. This ability needed further testing.
After hunting this one, Qin Ziwen stepped forward and pried open its shell.
By now, its internal structure was already completely destroyed and a mess.
In the very center, a fist-sized pearl emitted a soft blue glow.
The pearl's surface had many scratches, likely from being poked during the earlier fight.
It was a bit of a shame, but there was no helping it.
Under those conditions, there were no other opportunities.
At least Chitu had completed its evolution.
It wasn't a complete loss.
[Rare Treasure] Level 1 Sea's Tear (Can be embedded in ocean or aquatic product-type buildings)
Under Insight, this pearl revealed itself to be a Rare Treasure.
It seemed the minor scratches on its surface didn't affect its utility.
After stowing this Sea's Tear away and resting briefly, he led the team to continue forward.
This area's terrain was relatively flat and somewhat open, with only the dust clouds stirred up by everyone's swimming slowly settling.
Suddenly, the light dimmed.
A massive shadow passed overhead, covering them.
In Qin Ziwen's senses, the water flow pushed outwards in all directions.
This thing swam over from behind, moving slowly through the sea.
It was right above the group, only about a dozen meters away from them.
This distance wasn't far for its size.
Everyone held their breath, fully alert, prepared to counterattack.
Fortunately, the other party showed no signs of aggression. After it moved away, the group cautiously continued their exploration.
Qin Ziwen pondered internally. From what he'd seen so far, it seemed these seafloor animals didn't have a strong desire to attack humans.
It might be because humans were unfamiliar faces on the seabed.
Not on many animals' menus.
After the other party had moved far away, Qin Ziwen led the team to continue forward.
This route had just been traversed by that huge creature.
Theoretically, it should be relatively safer.
After walking about a hundred meters, Qin Ziwen's expression shifted slightly as he looked ahead.
"What is this?"
In the faint light of the seabed depths, an ancient altar stood silently.
It was built from rough stones, its surface covered in seaweed and coral.
Qin Ziwen made a hand signal, and the team slowly approached the altar in a fan-shaped formation.
As they drew near, he observed complex patterns carved on the altar's surface.
They looked somewhat similar to the altar from which they had obtained cards before, but there were differences.
But if this was an altar that spawned cards, then there should be cards on this altar.
Since there were no cards, perhaps it wasn't one; maybe it just looked similar by chance.
Of course, there was another possibility: it did indeed refresh cards, but today's card had already been taken.
Compared to the former guess, the latter one was more chilling.
"Who's there!?"
Qin Ziwen suddenly looked sharply to the right front.
Just a moment ago, he had felt a sensation of being watched.
He flipped onto Chitu's back and chased in the direction of the gaze.
The other party was very fast and very familiar with the surrounding terrain. Blending into the nearby coral reefs, taking a few turns, it quickly disappeared from sight.
Qin Ziwen pulled on the reins, signaling Chitu to stop.
His expression was grim. Although the other party had run, he had still managed to see part of its outline.
It was definitely humanoid!
He was sure he hadn't seen wrong.
Was it a Superhuman from the opposite island?
Or an indigenous person living in the sea?
Qin Ziwen leaned towards the latter. Looking at it this way, he would need to be even more careful from now on.
And since they had discovered the other party here, perhaps the other party's territory was nearby?
Qin Ziwen steeled himself and led the team in a cautious search of the surrounding area.
They found no obvious traces of indigenous life. The seabed silt and reefs here maintained their pristine appearance.
However, behind a vast forest of giant sea fans, a shadowy silhouette far larger and more impactful than the altar gradually penetrated the dim seawater, coming into the group's view.
It was a shipwreck.
It lay tilted, like a beached and dead giant whale.
Its visible length by eye alone exceeded forty meters.
The capsized hull was densely covered in barnacles and oysters.
Thick masts were broken. On the ship's side, a huge hole gaped open; this was likely the culprit that caused its sinking.
A small school of fish swam out from the crevices of the hole.
Just as he was about to leave in disappointment, Qin Ziwen suddenly remembered the ghost shipyard's Special Effect—damaged or rotten ships, if towed to the ghost shipyard, could be repaired by the ghostly shipwrights as long as the corresponding shipbuilding materials were provided. There was a low probability of awakening ghosts on the ship, turning them into special crew members.
He looked at this shipwreck.
The corners of his mouth gradually turned upwards.
Such a large, ready-made framework. If it could just be repaired, and then its surface plated with a layer of Ghost Gold, wouldn't this be his ideal large ship?