Chapter 19: Sinking into the Deep Sea (Fourth Update, Monthly Ticket Bonus)
In the pitch-black seawater, a fat fish over ten meters long swam past. This fat fish was a mutated species; its original type was unrecognizable, but its mutation had gone awry, making it hideously ugly.
The fat fish was struggling in the water, seemingly in pain, with streams of blood gushing from its mouth.
Inside the fat fish's throat, Su Xiao climbed out with a speechless expression. He had been swallowed by a sizable fish and nearly digested.
All of this started because of the mining lamp on Su Xiao's head. The light attracted the fish's attention, and it swallowed him in one gulp.
The Dragon-Slaying Flash in his hand was deeply embedded in the muscle ahead. Su Xiao gripped the hilt and crawled outward, the slimy, cold sensation around him disgusting.
Su Xiao needed to kill this fish quickly. If it swam dozens of kilometers away, the deployment of the world coordinate would be interrupted, resetting the twelve-hour deployment time. That would mean his three hours of persistence were wasted.
Spending three hours in pitch-black seawater was a maddening experience.
Standing in the fat fish's throat, Su Xiao didn't want to break out through its mouth. The rows of sharp teeth had nearly cut him in half earlier.
A flash of blade light cut a wound in the upper part of the fat fish's throat. The fish struggled, and Su Xiao immediately crouched to stay steady, abandoning further slashes.
Strangely, the fat fish stopped struggling after about five minutes and lay motionless.
Su Xiao tried slashing inside the fish's body. A gush of blood sprayed out, but the fish didn't move.
Confused, Su Xiao continued his destruction inside.
A few minutes later.
*Pfft.*
A bloodstained longsword pierced through one side of the fat fish's body. After cutting an opening, Su Xiao crawled out from the side. The fat fish was likely dead, lying on its side.
Instead of the expected rush of seawater, Su Xiao adjusted his mining lamp and looked around.
He was in a spacious area. A sour smell hit him. Everything was pitch black. He shone the lamp upward, revealing a dark red fleshy wall covered in mucus.
Su Xiao froze, multiple thoughts racing through his mind.
Had Reincarnation Paradise teleported him somewhere else? Or had the fat fish entered some place?
After observing for dozens of seconds, Su Xiao understood his situation. He hadn't been teleported. That fat fish had been swallowed by another, even larger fish.
Su Xiao stood on the fat fish, which was now like a raft, surrounded by a small lake of pale green liquid.
*Ssss.*
The fat fish's body began to corrode and dissolve. This was stomach acid, evident from the sour, fishy smell.
Based on the corrosion rate, if Su Xiao didn't find a way out within ten minutes, he would be reduced to a pile of bones.
More importantly, this unknown giant fish was swimming through the sea. In another fifteen kilometers, it would leave the coordinate deployment area.
He had to think of something fast. After a moment's thought, Su Xiao pulled out a long iron rod and tied a shield to one end. He was going to row.
The sound of flowing water came as Su Xiao began rowing inside the giant fish's body, heading toward what seemed like an esophagus.
From his judgment, this was a carnivorous fish. Most herbivorous fish lack a stomach, using intestinal enzymes to digest food.
After rowing for a few minutes, Su Xiao finally neared the esophagus. The fat fish beneath him was mostly corroded.
He leaped onto the cold, slimy esophagus and moved forward. His steps halted as Reincarnation Paradise issued a warning: only ten kilometers remained before leaving the designated area.
Su Xiao quickened his pace. This fish swam fast. From the width of the esophagus, its size must be unimaginably massive.
Jogging, Su Xiao took out the [Havana Eye] and tried to scan the giant fish's data.
[Comparing intelligence attributes... Comparison complete. Enemy intelligence is ??? times yours. Obtained 5% of enemy data.]
Data as follows:
Name: Deep-Sea Sperm Whale (Severely Mutated)
Health: 100%
Mana: ???
Strength: ???
Agility: ???
Stamina: ???
Intelligence: ???
Charm: ???
Skill 1: ???
...
Su Xiao was speechless. Aside from the name, everything else was question marks. How massive was this sperm whale to have such terrifying attributes?
Running through the corridor-like esophagus, Su Xiao fell into thought. This situation wasn't necessarily bad. He had luckily encountered an extremely powerful creature. If used wisely, the Kara Star people would have trouble dealing with him.
The best scenario was to communicate with this whale, but that was clearly impossible.
Since communication was out, he would resort to violent means. Su Xiao ran quickly through the esophagus until he reached the end, facing a closed fleshy wall.
Confirming his position, Su Xiao slashed at the fleshy wall.
*BOOM!!!*
A deafening sonic wave erupted. Although the sperm whale roared, no air came from its throat. This sperm whale had mutated from lung breathing to gill breathing, otherwise it couldn't survive under the ice.
After the roar, Su Xiao fell to the ground with a thud, ears ringing, his health dropping by a third.
Struggling to his feet, Su Xiao walked to the wound he had just made and, ignoring the gushing blood, crawled inside.
He passed through a layer of flesh and entered the sperm whale's mouth. Seawater rushed in, and Su Xiao immediately held his breath.
The water current in the whale's mouth was strong. If careless, Su Xiao would be swept into the gills and back into the sea.
Su Xiao didn't want to return to the sea. If he did, he would die quickly. Even inside the whale's mouth, he felt immense water pressure.
A grappling hook shot from his bracer, flying through the water and embedding itself in the whale's upper jaw.
Tightening the Realm Severing Thread, Su Xiao was pulled to the upper jaw.
Raising the Dragon-Slashing Flash, he slashed without mercy, then immediately covered his ears.
*BOOM!!!*
The sperm whale let out another long cry, and the water current in its mouth surged. The whale had sensed a creature inside it.
Though dizzy from the shock, Su Xiao held tightly to the Realm Severing Thread.
After a few seconds, the sonic wave subsided. Su Xiao shook his head, spitting out a stream of bubbles.
He took out a lunchbox-sized object, feeling a pang of reluctance. He had traded for it from a new contractor in the Trade Market. It was only white quality, but the seller didn't know its true value. Su Xiao had exchanged it for just a white weapon.
He shoved the lunchbox-like object into the wound on the whale's upper jaw and secured it.
Done, Su Xiao pulled the grappling hook from the upper jaw, used it to return to the front of the whale's throat, and crawled back through the fleshy wall into the esophagus.
He unclipped a small oxygen tank from his waist and took deep breaths.
One, two, three...
Su Xiao counted silently. About a minute later, a dull explosion came from behind. The sperm whale's body shuddered.
Checking his position on the screen, only six kilometers remained before leaving the deployment area.
After the explosion, everything began to tilt. The sperm whale wasn't killed but knocked unconscious. The bomb was called a [Pulse Bomb]. Outside the whale's body, it would have little effect on such a giant, but inside the upper jaw, near the brain, it was different. Plus, Su Xiao had "kindly" cut a wound to increase the impact surface.
The sperm whale began to sink into the deep sea. The unknown depths were pitch black, full of dangers.
For Su Xiao, reaching the deep sea without enduring water pressure was a great boon. His original plan was to find a big fish, let it swallow him, kill it, and let it sink. If not for the fat fish's small size, he wouldn't have left its body.
Though the sperm whale wasn't dead, Su Xiao wouldn't attack it further. Under that impact, it would likely remain unconscious for at least ten hours.
The sperm whale slowly sank into the deep sea, gradually disappearing into the darkness.
With Su Xiao's somewhat crazy plan, the Kara Star people's chance of finding him was less than 10%. The world coordinate didn't need guarding; it just needed to keep sinking into the deep sea.
Seven hours remained until the coordinate deployment was complete. Once done, the war would be won, and the derivative world would end immediately.
.