# 1763
Chapter 1756: Operation God Hunt
Four years later.
Mist.
"Last night, we had one casualty."
Candlelight flickered in the dim cockpit, casting six shadowy figures like ghosts on the walls. Around a narrow metal table, faces flushed by the candlelight stared at each other.
Creak, creak—
The exploration vessel swayed slightly. A figure gripping the helm turned back, couldn't help but roll his eyes.
Su Zhe sat at the edge of the table, nervously swallowing.
"Who?"
"Number Four." Fang Mo said solemnly.
The others exhaled in relief, but Su Zhe couldn't help but stand up, cursing:
"Damn it, which rogue is so underhanded?! Three kills on me in a row!! Can you give me some game experience?!"
Su Yuan silently turned to look out the window, as if enjoying the scenery.
"You little—" Su Zhe rolled up his sleeves, wanting to teach this disobedient sister a lesson, but couldn't bring himself to do it. He stormed around the cockpit fiercely before sitting back down. "Just you wait!"
"Hm? What are you going to do about it?"
"I... if I don't die next round, I'm voting you out first!"
Amidst the laughter, Fang Mo slowly stood up and walked to Lu Baoyou, who was steering the ship. The candlelight turned their deep purple cloaks the color of the abyss.
"Aren't you going to join us?"
"Boring game." Lu Baoyou replied flatly.
"Tsk, you're a vice-captain now, how are you still so unsociable?"
Upon hearing the words "vice-captain," black lines appeared on Lu Baoyou's forehead. He shot Fang Mo a fierce glare. "Don't mention that in front of me! If I hadn't exhausted my spiritual power four years early, there's no way you'd be captain!"
"Who was it who didn't follow orders and charged in alone to solo a 'Mystery'? You didn't even kill it, you just exhausted your own spiritual power. If I hadn't shown up in time to finish it off, you would've been dead or half-crippled.
The one who kills the 'Mystery' first becomes captain. We made a bet back then, and even had Commander Lin as witness." Fang Mo argued righteously.
"Besides, I found a middle ground... I became captain, but used your proposed name for the squad. Isn't that a fair split?"
Lu Baoyou's lips twitched slightly. After a long moment, he simply harrumphed and focused on steering.
Fang Mo blinked and continued asking:
"Found any trace of 073?"
"No." Lu Baoyou's expression remained unchanged. "It's the middle of the night, the moon's gone, where am I supposed to find traces of 073?"
"...Fair point."
Fang Mo looked up at the sky. Besides occasional bright stars flickering through the mist, the moonlight that was once the brightest had vanished entirely.
Visibility on the night sea had dropped to its lowest point. Combined with the almost non-existent waves, the ship was steady, gliding across what felt like a dead, black void—nothing but darkness in all directions.
In such an extreme silence and extreme darkness, human fear amplifies to its maximum. If they didn't find some entertainment to relax their minds, problems would eventually arise.
"Speaking of which, ever since the Moon left, other than slightly weaker tides, there hasn't been much impact." Li Zhenzhen walked to the window and glanced outside, puzzled.
"There is, but it's too subtle for us to notice." Fang Mo looked up at the dim sky. "Earth's rotation is speeding up, the axial tilt is shifting... these changes are happening, but for Earth, four years is still too short a time for these effects to be consciously perceived by humans... Perhaps after ten thousand years, these effects will truly transform Earth's ecosystem."
Four years ago, when people discovered the Moon had vanished, it did trigger a period of panic. However, authorities provided a scientific explanation that muddled through. After some time, people realized that life continued unchanged without the moon, and public attention gradually faded.
"We've been ordered to track 073 for over half a month now, and we have nothing to show for it... How are we supposed to report back to Commander Lin?"
"If we can't find 073, we don't go back!" Fang Mo's eyes blazed with determination.
"Instructor Shen Qingzhu already had him on the brink of death. If we let him escape, our [Demon] squad's reputation would be ruined... We're a squad Commander Lin raised from scratch. We can't let those foreign knights get ahead of us!"
"That's right!" This statement immediately won approval from all squad members. "No way we're letting [Knight] get the upper hand!"
Fang Mo paced around the cabin, as if deep in thought.
"Zhenzhen, read the 073 file again."
Li Zhenzhen nodded, picked up a document from the table, and read aloud:
"Deity Sequence 073, the eighth target of the Great Xia Night Watch 'God Hunt' Operation. Former Olympian Chief God, Alastor."
"Four years ago, during the Olympian upheaval, the six Chief Gods besieged King of Gods Zeus, only to be counter-killed by Zeus. After the remaining four Chief Gods exhausted Zeus to death, they fought for the throne. In the end, Sea God Poseidon claimed the Golden Throne, subjugated the other two Chief Gods. Only Alastor refused to submit to Poseidon and was exiled from Olympus."
"In the same year, Commander Lin issued the 'God Hunt' Operation, mobilizing numerous powerful humans to venture out proactively, hunting stray deities in the mist according to plan. One year ago, after [Knight] squad first discovered Alastor's traces, they listed him as the eighth target of the 'God Hunt' Operation, designated 073."
"One month ago, Angel of Silence Shen Qingzhu pursued 073 to nearby waters, critically wounding him, but he escaped using a self-harming secret technique."
After Li Zhenzhen finished reading, she sighed heavily. "I heard that a few days ago, the ninth target of the 'God Hunt' Operation had already been eliminated by Wu Tongxuan, his corpse hung on the divine scaffold. But we still haven't resolved this eighth one..."
"Regardless, we can't panic. No matter how fast 073 runs, he can't escape these waters. What we need is patience." Fang Mo said slowly. "Although Alastor is severely wounded, he is still a god. We cannot underestimate him."
Everyone nodded vigorously.
Su Zhe sat back down beside the small table, about to suggest another round, when Fang Mo's expression suddenly changed. He spun around to look out the porthole.
His nose twitched in the air, his eyes bursting with sharp light!
"There's a smell of blood... He's nearby!"
He waved his hand, and all candles in the exploration vessel instantly went out. Everyone in the cockpit tensed, their gazes sweeping across their surroundings... What they saw was nothing but darkness, still darkness.
Just then, the exploration ship beneath their feet suddenly shuddered. Waves rolled as an enormous divine figure struggled to rise from the sea!