Chapter 504: Self-Rescue Method
"Got to give it a try too," another player overheard their conversation and said. "What, are we just going to wait to die?"
Xu Huo was concerned about something else. "Does an unstable space mean this area can't be incorporated into the game?"
Previously, the instance boss Little Pink Hat from the amusement park had told him that unfolding an instance in an unstable space was extremely dangerous, because collisions between spaces could cause irreversible consequences, not just the collapse of the instance.
"Not necessarily." Selin interjected. "The sea area chosen by the nobles of District 011 must be safe. Even if there are unstable zones, they should be like the places the train tracks pass through—relatively safe. It couldn't possibly cause a disaster that affects the entire sea area."
"Aren't all these mutated species here living just fine?"
"Take a gamble, turn a bicycle into a motorcycle!" a player behind them said. "Our only way out now is to find that unstable zone."
Selin and the others shared the same view, but to change course, they had to go down to the lower three levels—if the main controller of this prop ship was still functional.
So the current self-rescue plan was to find the fuel Lu Yun had brought, clear a path to the main control room on the lower third level, adjust the main controller to return to the original course, and then hold out for another half hour, maybe lucky enough to escape using the ticket.
But the success rate of this plan was also very low.
Just the fact that the ship was controlled by the holding player was a tough problem to solve.
"I believe the gods won't abandon us." Selin tapped his chest twice.
Because the ship's condition had changed, the communication tools on board were all unusable, so they couldn't directly call the main control room. In fact, quite a few players were hiding on the lower three levels. If they could contact each other directly, coordinating from both sides would save time.
After pushing through the obstacles of the seaweed arms all the way to the staff workroom Lu Yun had mentioned, they searched and found several boxes of fuel powder.
"This is powder from a special ore. Once ignited, it can burn for a long time. We don't need to burn the ship, just open a path through the corridor. That kind of seaweed is very afraid of fire." Lu Yun distributed the fuel to everyone. "I'll lead the way."
To get to the lower three levels, they had to use the elevator in the floor. After scattering the fuel powder to drive back the seaweed, everyone went down via the elevator. But as soon as they descended, something like black mud seeped through the metal gaps, continuously flooding into the narrow space, and the elevator got stuck on the third level.
Xu Huo decisively returned to the fifth level. "The lower three levels might already be submerged."
"There are so many players down there..." Lu Yun frowned. "Some should have escaped."
Indeed, some had escaped. Not everyone was submerged on the lower three levels. Some tried to escape using the escort ships outside, so quite a few people were staying on the fourth level. Unfortunately, the escort ships were also covered inside and out with seaweed. Additionally, being closer to the mutated giant octopus—perhaps because they weren't coated with special paint—the two escort ships flanking the main vessel had already been attacked several times and didn't look very sturdy anymore.
"Boom!" With a loud crash, the ceiling of the fifth level was punched through. A figure fell from the sixth level, smashing a huge crater into the floor like a cannonball.
"It's that female player!" Lu Yun said.
It was Bai Kou. She stood amidst the rubble, looking up at the ceiling. From the breach, the ceiling of this level began to melt into ash. In the opened view, the seventh and sixth levels no longer existed.
"Gurgle..." Seaweed hands grew up from a distance, surging toward Bai Kou in waves. But the woman in the middle of the encirclement didn't even blink. She raised her right index finger, and a drop of white potion dripped onto the seaweed arm at her feet. The next second, that arm went into a frenzied convulsion, and the spreading white spread like a virus to the other seaweed it touched, instantly turning all the dark "human arms" on the ground white.
The seaweed closest to Bai Kou changed color and quickly died. As the white spread to the walls, the seaweed products that were like mud and swamp also became dry and stiff.
Good grief! A whole patch of seaweed nurturing ground was like it had been hit with herbicide—all burned to death!
Seeing this, Lu Yun was overjoyed. "Go down!"
The fifth level was a dangerous place, not suitable for staying long. Everyone started moving back to the elevator.
After taking two steps, Xu Huo turned back, took out a porcelain doll potion bottle, and cut off the top half.
The stench immediately spread. Bai Kou turned her head, saw him tapping the broken edge of the bottle, then expressionlessly looked away. She leaped out of the fifth level, hoisted an energy cannon midair, and fired a shot at the descending Yu Guo:
"Your prop can melt metal and melt props—try melting an energy cannon too!"
Yu Guo, who was fighting her, flipped midair to dodge, ignoring the flash of cannon fire. He looked coldly at Bai Kou. "Young, but your heart is pretty dark."
Bai Kou ignored him and fired another shot. Neither shot hit Yu Guo, but they headed straight for the central axis of the ship. Unfortunately, they didn't explode near the axis. Instead, a tattooed strongman who suddenly appeared clapped his hand through the air, sending the cannon fire flying out to sea!
"Boom!!!" The energy explosion was deafening. The sea churned, and two mutated giant octopuses were blasted to the surface. The other giant octopuses, agitated, began thrashing underwater.
The ship itself was rocked by the energy shockwave, swaying on the sea surface. Under the jostling of the mutated giant octopuses, it lurched left and right. A large amount of corrosive seawater rushed into the ship, instantly flooding the fifth level.
By this time, Xu Huo had already put on his protective suit and gone to the third level.
Lu Yun and the others successfully found the main control room and adjusted the navigation direction. But now the ship was out of control. Under fully automatic mechanical operation, the ship was forced to turn, ultimately causing two of the power engines to be destroyed.
Alarms sounded, and Lu Yun had to disengage the controls.
Xu Huo came in, took a look, and understood the situation. He said, "The ship's central axis seems to have special protection. It wasn't melted either time."
The others didn't know this, but when they saw him switch to expansion mode, they were taken aback. Lu Yun immediately canceled it. "We don't know if each level uses special materials. Expanding the levels might withstand the wind and waves, but if a mutated giant octopus hits us, the ship might sink!"
"You're underestimating this prop too much," Xu Huo said. "Besides, Captain Matt is still up there. If the ship is really in danger, he won't just sit idly by. The real control of the ship is still in his hands."
"If the giant octopus really attacks after the expansion, he'll naturally sail the ship out of this sea area. That way, we'll be temporarily saved."
"He has a point," Selin said. "Water is leaking from above. I'm afraid if we wait any longer, the lower levels will all be flooded. This isn't ordinary seawater."
(Chapter End)