Wasteland Border Inspector

Chapter 218 Magic Eye Sponge, Powerful Fish-like Form!
Sponges are a general term for porous filter-feeding organisms that have existed on Earth for hundreds of millions of years.

The phylum Sponges comprises approximately five thousand species, exhibiting diverse forms such as tubular, forked, umbrella-shaped, cup-shaped, and fan-shaped, covering almost all irregular shapes.

What Garcia drew on the ground was a tubular sponge, but its overall shape was more similar to the structure of a virus.
On a huge, abscess-like body, countless terrifying protrusions grew densely, each protrusion covered with hideous patterns, making it look extremely gruesome.

According to the scale marked by Garcia, Cheng Ye calculated that the diameter of the central abscess alone was at least two or three hundred meters, and each of the extended tentacles was at least ten meters long.

But how deep is the Baishui River?
This great river, which originates from the Linjiang River, is only about forty meters deep at its deepest point, even after years of water flow.

How could such a huge creature be hidden in such shallow water?
Hard to imagine.

Even the courage to face it directly is wavering.

Cheng Ye couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement, but Garcia hadn't stopped painting and continued to depict the scene.

As each tentacle tip was adorned with an open eyeball, Cheng Ye subconsciously turned to look at Rokuk, only to meet Rokuk's equally shocked gaze. Both of them swallowed hard.

"Could the cave be located beneath this sponge?" Rokuk asked first, his voice tinged with uncertainty.

"The fragments of the immortal artifact are inside his body?" Cheng Ye added.

After the words were spoken, both of them fell silent.
Regardless of the possibility, we cannot avoid confronting this sponge behemoth.

To enter the cave, one must first pass through its tentacles; to find fragments of magical artifacts, one must crawl into its tubular protrusions, or even delve into the central abscess.

No wonder Garcia subconsciously thought that the group had no chance of completing the mission. Faced with such a colossal source of infection, humans were simply too insignificant!
Even the courage to face it directly and look at it is hard to maintain, let alone enter its body and contain its core.

Fortunately, before deciding to enter Dabo Town, Cheng Ye had already given up on being human.

Although the sponge in front of him was not some optimistic yellow sponge, it was also not that red starfish with its butt sticking out.

After calming himself down, Cheng Ye took out his Xin Huo Tong (a mobile communication device), quickly typed in the words "sponge-like infection source," and began searching for relevant information.

Several related messages immediately popped up on the screen.

As expected, all the descriptions of the sponge-infected organisms in the entries differed from the one in the White Water River, the most obvious being the absence of eyeballs at the ends of the tentacles.

However, putting that aside, humans have indeed discovered similar sponge variants in other regions, and the characteristics and coping methods recorded in the data are quite valuable for reference.

Cheng Ye browsed through the list one by one, and soon stopped at a summary, which he read aloud in a low voice: "The sponge itself does not have organs to perform complex functions, nor does it have a central nervous system. Even if it is infected and mutated by the S3 virus, it has not developed a high level of intelligence, but only retains the most primitive instincts of hunting and absorbing energy."

The lack of high intelligence means that the attack patterns of this behemoth are easier to predict, and it will not have many flexible and adaptable methods, making it less unpredictable in dealing with.

Unfortunately, a closer look at the entries below reveals that the highest-level sponge infection source currently recorded is only at the disaster level.

Named 'Oath Sponge', it is also a benign source of infection.

This sponge can give infected people extremely strong resistance to impacts. As long as it is not an instantaneous, super-strong kinetic energy impact, it can perfectly buffer the damage and will not cause harm to the body.

However, the cost of infection is unique: those infected must fulfill a vow they made in their hearts but never kept.

If one has no unfulfilled vows, one can disregard this cost.

However, as we grow older, everyone inevitably makes promises they don't keep. For example, casually telling a child, "I'll pick the stars for you," can lead to a fatal backlash if the promise sponge judges it as a "promise" and it cannot be fulfilled.

"The sponge beneath the Baishui River doesn't appear to be a benign source of infection; these are eyeballs."

Cheng Ye put away the torch and turned his gaze back to the drawing on the ground.

Garcia was already finishing up, and he had completely outlined the shape of the sponge.

It's remarkable that he could remember so many details, considering the extremely dangerous situation he must have been in when he went into the water last night.
For example, the sponge has a total of 22 tentacles, the longest of which is more than 20 meters long, while the shortest is only about 10 meters long. The difference in length is almost double, and they are scattered on the pus-like body.

In addition, the sponges have different diameters. The longest one is about three meters in diameter, while the narrowest one is only one and a half meters in diameter, like an entrance to an underwater cave.

"I'm not sure if this thing is proactively aggressive, but it certainly didn't attack me."

After Garcia finished the last stroke, he casually tossed the vines aside and sat down against the concrete wall of the dock.

He had entered the water from this spot last night, and now, back where he started, even with the sunlight reflecting off it and bringing warmth, he still felt a chill run through his body, and those eerie faces involuntarily flashed through his mind.

Rococo took out the Fire-Burning Scroll and took a picture of the pattern on the ground.

The two huddled together for a while and first gave the underwater source of infection a name.

"Let's call it the Magic Eye Sponge for now," Cheng Ye suggested. This was the first time he had named an unknown source of infection, and he found it rather strange.

If it can be successfully contained, in the future, when inspectors of the entire Spark Alliance investigate the source of sponge-like infections, they will see his and Rokuk's names under the entry for "Magic Eye Sponge".

Furthermore, reporting information about unknown sources of infection can earn you special rewards from the Spark Alliance, with a separate tiered achievement system.

However, Rokuk was not very clear about these details. He had never contained any unknown sources of infection, and had only heard a few scattered mentions from inspectors in other sanctuary cities.

"Its eyeballs are exposed at the tips of its tentacles, which, logically speaking, is most likely a weak point."

"Based on my experience, infections that have evolved such a clear sensory organ usually have abilities related to that organ. The eyes are associated with hallucinations and mental shocks. The best way to be immune to its attacks is to avoid eye contact with those eyes."

“We can test its eyes first to see what threat they pose. One person can make eye contact to probe, while the other can provide support from the sidelines.” Cheng Ye continued, adding, “I’ll take care of probing. You have more experience and can handle more unexpected situations when providing support.”

"Alright, let's get ready now. We'll be in the water right at 10 o'clock sharp!"

Rococo nodded in agreement. Talking on paper was useless; only by going into the water himself could he find out the true nature of the Magic Eye Sponge.

Cheng Ye stood aside and continued to organize his thoughts, while Rokuk took the opportunity to update Garcia on the situation inside the town.

Residents' test results, infrastructure progress, and measures to deal with infection.
Now everyone is in the same boat. Even if Garcia has other ideas, he can only suppress them for the time being and honestly agree to cooperate with Wang Kang to maintain order.

It's just that the feeling of completely entrusting your life to someone else is really not pleasant.

Cheng Ye could sense that Garcia's gaze towards him held a more complex emotion, devoid of the previous provocation and hostility, as if he wanted to say something to him.

But he had no time to worry about such trivial matters; the most important thing right now was the upcoming underwater exploration.

nine thirty.

The three returned to town, and the residents were not surprised to see Inspector Garcia back.

After the previous reassurance, and with the arrival of daylight and pleasant weather, everyone quickly forgot about the abnormality. Even though some of the missing people still had family members and relatives, they didn't have time to think about where they had gone once they started working.

The infection test results are also in. Yesterday, the number of people infected with the water crab was not high: 92 people in the red zone and 66 people in the blue zone, which is less than one-fifth of the total number.

Even if a day of rest is needed after dehydration, it will not affect the overall progress of infrastructure construction.

Four saunas have been erected on the edge of town, and vines are being burned to create a high-temperature environment.

Wang Kang was giving the residents who were about to enter the sauna some psychological support when Garcia thought for a moment and joined in. The two of them reassured the residents, and soon the first group of residents entered.

Taking advantage of the break, Cheng Ye went to the government building alone and went straight to the fourth floor.

Huang Liang and all his patrol team members yesterday.

The hidden network includes a leader who has reached the half-step into the extraordinary realm.

None of them had completely lost their vital signs, but they had been turned into vegetative state patients by the pollution. They lay motionless on the makeshift mats, their faces as pale as paper.

As his gaze fell on Huang Liang's face and then swept over the others, Cheng Ye suddenly felt a heavy feeling welling up in his heart.

He dared not imagine what it would feel like if he were lying here like these people one day.
Will anyone grieve for him?

Will anyone be angry for him?

Will someone help him find the source and take revenge?

call.

suck.

He took several deep breaths to barely suppress the fear that was growing in his heart.

"I am not in a position to say goodbye to you now."

"Once all of this is over, once all the sources of infection have been successfully contained, I promise you will not die nameless and faceless. Your sacrifice will be remembered!"

Cheng Ye bowed slightly, silently making a promise in his heart. Then he straightened up, his eyes regaining their firmness, and resolutely turned and went downstairs.

ten o'clock.

With the task refreshed on the Firelink platform, the assessment task has been officially updated to "Investigate the underwater situation of the Baishui River next to Dabo Town".

When acting, you have to do the whole thing.

Cheng Ye first gathered the residents of the Blue Zone, and Luo Kuke simultaneously rallied the people of the Red Zone. The two stood side by side in the center of the crowd, turned on the speaker they had used before, and let the pre-recorded "competition rules" be slowly broadcast.

The content is very simple. It is nothing more than "This assessment has been adjusted to a dual task of 'exploration + construction'. The four inspectors are divided into two groups, two of whom are responsible for underwater exploration and two of whom are responsible for infrastructure construction in the town. All residents need to cooperate with their respective groups to complete the tasks. The final score will be based on a combination of the exploration progress and the infrastructure results."

The core of these words was to convince everyone that the assessment was still proceeding normally and that underwater exploration was part of the mission, thereby completely dispelling everyone's doubts about the "prosecutor suddenly going underwater".

After the residents dispersed as arranged and got to work on the infrastructure project, the two men carried their half-person-high black equipment boxes and hurried to the dock by the river.

Cheng Ye stopped in his tracks, looked up at the horizon, and saw that dark clouds were slowly gathering in the distance, the clouds were very low, and they gave off a heavy atmosphere.

According to the weather forecast I checked earlier, it will rain lightly tonight.

For hydrophilic infectious agents and organisms, rainy days are their prime time. Water vapor enhances their activity and may even expand the scope of contamination, so it's essential to understand the underwater situation before the rain.

"It really is a case of when it rains, it pours."

Cheng Ye shook his head, temporarily putting the rain out of his mind, and without stopping, quickly took off his heavy conventional protective armor.

As soon as I took it off, the feeling of backache and soreness surged up, but this was clearly not the time to worry about that.

He leaned down, exchanged a glance with Rokuk, and the two of them simultaneously placed their palms on the surface of the black equipment box.

A magical scene happened.

The once cold metal box suddenly seemed to come alive, beginning to tremble violently. As the vibrations intensified, the box gradually "dissolved," as if venom had possessed it, with wisps of black substance climbing up the two people's fingers.

But once it's on, just like Iron Man wearing nanotech armor, all the black material quickly begins to weave, revealing intricate patterns.

"Isn't this the rune that appears when searching for skills?"

Cheng Ye suddenly froze, his gaze falling on his right hand.

At some point, several faint black lines appeared on the back of my hand. The lines were twisted but followed a certain pattern, and they were somewhat similar to the runes that appeared each time I collected skills.

In the past, when collecting skills, the runes would first appear and then be collected by the collector into text that he could understand.

Has humanity already grasped the meaning of these runes, or even developed similar technology?
He temporarily suppressed his doubts and refocused his attention on the equipment. This set of level-destroying protective gear was essentially more like an "external infection source suit".

The investigation primarily targets terrorist extermination efforts.

These beings possess such bizarre abilities that even hiding in a bunker dozens of meters underground could lead to contamination, rendering simple physical protection largely ineffective.

Therefore, the core function of this "Obsidian Armor" is concealment!

It can completely envelop and shield human scent to the greatest extent possible, preventing the source of infection from detecting it. As for its protective capabilities, it is actually not much different from the regular armor that was just taken off.

Huff. Huff.
The equipment box vibrated more and more violently, and more black substance "shaked" out of the box, climbing up the two men's arms like living things.

Soon, their skin was completely covered by a layer of black keratin, which felt soft to the touch. When they moved their joints, they only felt a slight tightness, which did not affect their movements.

But as the black substance climbed up his neck, a sharp pain suddenly shot through him.

Cheng Ye groaned, not struggling, letting the black threads seep into his nostrils, mouth, ears, and even the slits of his eyes, completely sealing off all the openings on his body.

The moment the enclosure was sealed off, the surrounding sounds suddenly diminished, as if someone had suddenly put on heavy earplugs.

After the eyeballs are covered by a black substance, seeing things becomes like looking through sunglasses, and the clarity is reduced.

He subconsciously touched the top of his head, and sure enough, these sources of infection seemed to be obsessed with human hair.

Rokuk previously lost his hair after taking Source Heart Flesh Iron, and now his external armor has also caused all his hair to fall out.

"I feel a bit strange. Are you alright?" Rokuk stood up, his voice coming through the black keratin layer, sounding noticeably muffled.

"good."

Cheng Ye nodded, bent down to pick up the infection source detector from the ground, and pressed the switch.

Two large black dots appeared on the screen, both with a value of 10, indicating that the two people's human aura had been completely sealed and would not leak out.

"How long can you hold your breath?" Rococo asked again, while bending down to touch the river water.

The rapid current causes heat to dissipate quickly, and the river water temperature is estimated to be less than ten degrees Celsius.

Compared to the wild rivers before the crossing, the Baishui River in front of us can be considered truly "wild"!
To prevent accidents, the truck was actually equipped with a complete diving kit, including an underwater breathing apparatus and an electric scuba diving device, but neither of them offered to bring the equipment.

Because these human creations, when they go to the world of the source of infection and the infected, are as conspicuous as light bulbs in the dark, they will not only weaken the concealment effect of the Obsidian Armor, but may also actively attract the infected.

It's better to rely on holding your breath and diving multiple times. Although each underwater session is shorter, it's safer.

"I haven't done any extreme tests yet, I'll go into the water later to get familiar with it."

Cheng Ye also touched the river water, but the obsidian armor did not block these sensations; they were still transmitted completely and could be clearly perceived by others.

Before he transmigrated, he had no chance to learn swimming, a "non-essential skill".

Right now, all I have in my mind are the few memories left behind by the original owner, including swimming-related knowledge and scenes of training in the inner city swimming pool.

However, it wasn't a big problem. The panel opened in the field of vision, and Eagle Force and Snake Force were unloaded one after another.

The Lv3 rare skill 'Surfing Through Waves' and the Lv1 rare skill 'Fish-like Form' are simultaneously added to the skill bar.

hum.

The obsidian armor on his body trembled slightly, as if the skin beneath was subtly changing. Cheng Ye subconsciously touched his cheek and breathed a sigh of relief; thankfully, the fish-like form hadn't actually made him grow a pair of gills.

In a daze, gazing at the white river before me, wisps of illusions began to appear.

One moment it looks like a black fish darting nimbly through the waves, and the next it resembles a human figure swimming and splashing in the water.

But perhaps because of our increased strength, these illusions are not as realistic as they used to be.

Cheng Ye simply shook his head slightly, and the illusion before his eyes completely dissipated, allowing his mind to settle down once more.

Only a strange feeling remained, as if the river in front of me was becoming more and more intimate.

"Then I'll get off first, you take it easy and get used to it."

Seeing that Cheng Ye seemed to be distracted, Roku said something and sat down on the dock steps, putting his legs into the water. He wanted to feel the speed of the water flow first, and then slowly let his body adapt to the water temperature.

Before he could figure out the flow rate of the Baishui River, he saw Cheng Ye suddenly straighten up, exert force with his legs, and leap into the water outside the dock.

thump.

The splashing sound was not loud. Like a professional diver, the body was stretched into a straight line as it plunged into the water and then nimbly swam underwater, leaving almost no trace.

"Fuck!"

Rokuk was startled and, without waiting to adjust, took a deep breath, braced himself on the edge of the steps, and plunged into the water.

The icy river water instantly enveloped my body, and my vision suddenly darkened.

Fortunately, it was almost noon, and the sunlight pierced through the water, bringing some light. Rokuk squinted slightly, but quickly regained his vision and spotted Cheng Ye five or six meters ahead.

Like a swimming fish, the figure moved nimbly up and down in the water, the movements so fluid that it didn't seem like adapting to the environment at all, but rather like moving freely in its own swimming pool.

Such strong swimming ability?
Rococo was stunned. Most of the residents of Happy City were landlubbers, and the few who could swim could only "float," which was completely different from professional diving.

Only prosecutors, who are often away on missions, are required to master these survival skills, but even then, they are only "good enough."

But Cheng Ye. Wasn't he the probationary prosecutor who had just taken over from Cheng Long?
How could someone develop such underwater skills in that tiny swimming pool in the inner city?

Rococo was filled with questions, but Cheng Ye had no time to pay attention to him. At this moment, he was immersed in the novel experience underwater, feeling the lightness and comfort of his body in the water, while looking down at the still clear panel in his field of vision:
[The collector has been detected to be in an underwater environment, and is in 'fish-like' mode.]

[Current breathing time: 34 minutes 37 seconds (Cooldown: 1 hour)]

[Current acceleration energy: 100%]

The skills collected from humans are completely different from the characteristics extracted from other organisms.

Lv3's 'Wave Chaser' does indeed bring extremely strong water skills, but it's more like an "inherent advantage," just like how humans can improve their swimming skills through years of training—an ability that can be achieved through effort.

However, the 'fish-like state', which was two levels lower, was more like the "game skill" he understood, with a clear effect, a clear duration and cooldown, and intuitive data.

"This is amazing!"

Cheng Ye couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

Even though he was underwater, he felt no obstruction in his breathing. Whether he was taking small breaths or deep breaths, it was no different from being on land.

According to the panel prompts, a single "fish-like" state can support breathing for 35 minutes, and the cooldown time is only 1 hour, which is more than enough to support multiple explorations.

"What is this accelerating energy?"

Cheng Ye shifted his gaze from the panel and glanced at the surrounding aquatic environment.

The Baishui River has less silt than the adjacent Huangshui River, but there are still a lot of impurities and suspended matter in the water, and the field of vision can only extend to about six or seven meters at most.

In addition, the obsidian armor covering the eyes creates a blurry effect, further reducing the visible area.

The water wasn't teeming with fish as he'd imagined, but Cheng Ye wasn't disappointed. Instead, he silently chanted "speed up" in his mind.

The next second, an invisible energy suddenly gathered at the waist.

He subconsciously swung his leg slightly, and his whole body felt like it had been pushed hard from behind. In an instant, he turned into a black shadow and rushed into the water like a cannonball. The water flowed past his ears, bringing a series of faint whistling sounds.

"what?"

In just a moment, Cheng Ye had dived at least five meters down.

He quickly chanted "Stop accelerating" to himself, and the downward momentum gradually stopped. Looking down at the panel, he saw that the acceleration energy had dropped by 2%.

"Isn't this basically like having a built-in submersible?"

Cheng Ye was secretly delighted. Recalling the feeling of exerting force just now, he silently chanted "accelerate" and planned to float to the surface of the water.

But as soon as he gently kicked his leg, the upward force was several times stronger than the downward force. Before he could react, he was lifted up by a force and shot straight out of the water.

His accelerated energy instantly disappeared, and he lost his support, slamming back into the water with a splash.

"Damn it!"

"What the hell is this!"

Cheng Ye was completely stunned, and Rokuk, who was floating in the water not far away, was also dumbfounded.

The two were some distance apart. He had only vaguely seen Cheng Ye dive underwater, and the next second he was "bouncing" out of the water as if hit by a spring. The whole process was so fast that no one could react.

"Are you alright?" Rokuk, ignoring his surprise, quickly swam towards him.

"It's nothing, it's nothing." Cheng Ye quickly covered up, making up an excuse on the spot, "It felt like something pulled me down and pushed me, so I lost my balance."

This skill formed by extracting characteristics is too powerful. It's only level 1, but the effect is exaggerated beyond imagination.

If it continues to upgrade and integrate, I really can't imagine what it will be like.

Could it be that at an advanced level, one could stay underwater all day without needing to breathe?

It can even use acceleration energy to travel faster than vehicles to other places along the river.

Compared to Superman flying in the sky, the feeling of "flying underwater" doesn't seem to be much different.

The panel data is flickering.

[Current acceleration energy: 95% (Recovery time: 5 minutes)]

"It's a pity that we can't equip the skills provided by the infection source. No wonder the infected become so strong as soon as they break out. These skills are too abnormal."

Cheng Ye was thinking to himself, but Rokuk next to him immediately tensed up, "Is there something underwater?"

After saying that, he quickly reached out to feel around, "Is your armor damaged? Do you feel anything unusual?"

"There's no damage, it must be a problem with the water flow." Cheng Ye waved his hand, indicating that they should continue diving. "We'll just be careful."

This time, he didn't use the acceleration energy. He relied entirely on his water skills, gained from "Shuttle Through the Waves," to resist the impact of the White Water River and the dragging force of the undercurrents, and slowly probed underwater.

The midday sun can only penetrate up to ten meters of water. The light is still relatively clear at five meters, with a pale green tint, but it becomes noticeably dimmer at around eight meters, and the view becomes blurry.

The two swam slowly along the embankment, carefully searching the area, but they couldn't find the strings of corpses Garcia had mentioned, nor the crab-men who stood in rows at night.

During the day, the Baishui River appears like an undeveloped and unpolluted natural river, with no trace of any source of infection to be found.

As Rokuk surfaced for air, his face darkened: "I didn't see a single one during the day, it's unbelievable!"

If we can find traces of the source of infection, even just figuring out their activity range, the risk of dealing with it at night will be reduced.

But now there isn't a single clue, which means that the danger at night is probably much more serious than previously estimated.

"Shall we take headlamps down and take a look?" Cheng Ye suggested. Since natural light wasn't enough, they would have to rely on artificial light sources.

“Okay, that’s the only way.” Rokuk nodded, wiped the water off his face, and turned to swim towards the dock.

The two quickly retrieved headlamps and deftly attached them to their heads.

With the help of the light source, they became bolder and this time, instead of slowly exploring, they plunged into the water directly towards the location of the Magic Eye Sponge that Garcia had indicated.

Rokuk's swimming ability was clearly only "good enough." When he went down to a depth of ten meters, his movements became somewhat stiff, and he was obviously forcing himself to stay afloat.

Cheng Ye saw this and quietly reached out to grab his arm, subtly activating the acceleration energy.

After the initial probing, he had grasped the logic of energy manipulation and was now completely driven by his thoughts.

The first time, the mind is focused on descending as quickly as possible, so the energy propels the body upwards at high power; the second time, the mind is focused on surfacing as quickly as possible, so the energy pushes the body upwards with all its might.

At that moment, he was only thinking about moving forward slowly. Two weak currents of water quietly formed on both sides of his body, carrying the two of them steadily and quickly to the bottom of the river without any sense of abruptness.

Feeling the support coming from his body, Rokuk was slightly surprised and subconsciously turned his head to try to see Cheng Ye's expression. However, it was already pitch black at a depth of nearly 20 meters underwater, and the light from his headlamp could only illuminate a range of two or three meters in front of him. He couldn't see Cheng Ye's face at all.

Wait, how did Garcia see the monster so clearly?
Without a light source, how could one possibly see the shape and details of the Magic Eye Sponge, or even count its twenty-two tentacles, in the pitch-black water?

But as soon as the question popped into his mind, Cheng Ye pulled him down further, leaving him no time to think about it.

When they reached a depth of about 25 meters underwater, Cheng Ye suddenly stopped and ceased outputting energy.

The water has stopped!

The surrounding water suddenly calmed down. The rapids of the upper reaches of the Baishui River seemed to be isolated by an invisible boundary. Down below, the water was as calm as the deep sea, and not even the slightest ripple could be felt.

Even more strangely, the bottom was no longer pitch black; instead, a faint purple light was shimmering, as if covering the entire riverbed.

Should we go down?
Cheng Ye made a questioning gesture, and the purple hue was reflected in Rokuk's eyes.

After hesitating for only a few seconds, the two decided to go straight to see what was underwater.

call.

Cheng Ye activated the energy again, but this time, the closer he got to the unknown area, the slower he controlled his descent. With each meter he descended, he carefully observed the surrounding activity.

At a depth of about 35 meters, the two seemed to pass through an invisible barrier.

hum!
A slight ripple swept across my body, and the next second, the pitch-black underwater world suddenly lit up!

A magnificent purple light instantly filled the entire field of vision, as if one were in a space crafted from amethyst, so breathtaking that it left one mesmerized.

Upon closer inspection, however, it became clear that it was not amethyst at all, but rather the body of the Demon Eye Sponge emitting a faint glow, which undulated with a certain rhythm, as if it were breathing.

One light, one dark.

One strong and one weak.

Rococo's expression froze instantly. He could clearly see that the tubular sponges were now all limp and stuck to the riverbed, their surface protrusions drooping, and even the eyeballs at the tips of their tentacles were closed, like lifeless objects that had completely lost their vitality, without any movement.

What's even more chilling is that the entire riverbed within sight is covered by this spongy substance, densely packed without a single gap, as if it had "swallowed" the entire bottom of the Baishui River!

"Is this a living organism, or a source of infection?"

Rokuk was completely stunned. He couldn't even imagine what terrifying abilities such a massive source of infection would possess.

Bang, bang bang.

Cheng Ye reached out and gently patted his shoulder, then pointed to the right.

Based on their estimated location, the two are currently situated below the confluence of the Baishui River and the Huangshui River.

With the help of the purple light, one can see that beneath a sponge-like structure, other lights are faintly shimmering.

It looks like cyan, and it also looks like yellow.

"Could this be the entrance to a cave?" Rococo immediately wanted to curse. What kind of cave would be located underwater?

Before he could process this guess, he saw Cheng Ye draw the red knife from his waist and slash at the corpus cavernosum next to him without hesitation.

what?
Rokuk was greatly alarmed. When faced with an unknown source of infection, the worst thing to do is to attack rashly.

But Cheng Ye's knife had already swung down, and he could only watch helplessly as the red blade sliced ​​through the corpus cavernosum, cutting off a palm-sized piece of tissue, which Cheng Ye then grabbed in his hand.

hum.

Almost the instant Cheng Ye grasped the sponge tissue, an invisible wave suddenly spread out, and the purple light throughout the underwater world flickered violently, as if some sleeping behemoth was being awakened.

"Run!" Without thinking, Rokuk immediately swung his legs to float upwards, his heart pounding wildly.

But before he could swim even a meter, a pair of hands suddenly grabbed his ribs tightly, and a violent force instantly surged through him.

boom!
Rokuk had no time to react; he felt as if his body had been stuffed into a cannon barrel, and the next second he was violently pushed forward.

It's hard to describe how this feels.

It's like sticking your head out of the window of a speeding vehicle, being swept forward by the howling wind.

But now there was no wind, only the rushing water violently crashing against his body, so violently that he could barely open his eyes.

The water surface seemed to be approaching at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The next second, the two of them were launched out of the Baishui River as if they had been ejected by something, flying straight up more than three meters before they began to fall.

Rococo instinctively turned his head, his gaze fixed on the water, and witnessed a scene he would never forget.

A terrifying sponge tentacle had somehow emerged from underwater, far exceeding the twenty-odd meters Garcia had drawn. At its tip was an eyeball the size of a vehicle, staring intently at the two people in the air.

And in those murky pupils, he surprisingly saw an emotion that only humans could have.

Its name is anger!
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(End of this chapter)