Survival on the Internet: A Bizarre Start at Sea

Before the words were finished, the surface of the crack suddenly boiled.

The purplish-black mist condensed into a giant claw, grabbing straight at the Redemption!

The flame of the vigilant heart ignited, but was corroded and scorched the moment it came into contact with the flame.

Su Zhisu swung his sword at the mist claw, but the blade actually pierced through the afterimage.

"It sees you as pollution!"

Agasa's amber eyes were filled with terror.

"Your flames are too peculiar, and your white mist belongs to... it sees you as a special kind of pollution... but this is completely different! Quickly! Touch the rift with the Titan's mark!"

Su Zhisu leaped onto the bow of the ship, swam toward the crevice, and pressed his hand hard against the glass surface.

The moment the gray-blue imprint touched the crack, the entire sea area came to a standstill.

The purplish-black mist receded like a tide, and a door slowly opened in the center of the rift, revealing a dazzling starlight within.

The moment the Redemption passed through the Pearl Gate, the entire sea suddenly brightened.

Inside the door was a deep blue, pristine seabed. Clearly, the waters of Atlantis were not dark red and had not been contaminated by any strange forces.

Located on the seabed, it is a transparent and clear city of crystal.

The tower spirals upwards, and the streets sway like seaweed in the pure, deep blue seawater.

Above them was a black glass curtain wall spanning thousands of meters, with purplish-black mist flowing across the surface of the cracks, reflecting the dark red, blood-red sea outside.

"Welcome to Atlantis, Your Excellency." A cool female voice came from the side of the ship.

A young girl dressed in a seaweed-covered long dress walks on the water, with a brass book hanging from her waist.

Tiny corals twined in her dark red hair, and her skin shimmered with a pearly sheen.

"I am Lilia, a student of Dean Nautilus. The Dean sent me to guide you."

Just as Su Zhisu was about to speak, the Redemption suddenly trembled violently.

The altar of sacrifice, the core of the Redemption, shone brightly, white mist filled the air, and the entire ship began to shrink, with wood and iron recombining as if they were alive.

Under Lilia's calm gaze, the Redemption transformed into a pendant, its shape exactly like the outline of the spirit offering array, and gently landed in Su Zhisu's palm.

A faint light shimmered on the pendant, and a miniature, eerie bony arm could be vaguely seen moving on the deck.

"Once you enter Atlantis, all ships will do the same," Lilia smiled.

"This is a law set by the headmaster; you can summon it at any time using the pendant."

"But within Atlantis, only ships with special permission can be restored to their original form."

Su Zhisu tied the pendant around her neck and followed Lilia into the sea.

Strangely, the seawater did not enter his mouth and nose; instead, he could breathe it as if it were air.

Lilia led Su Zhisu onto a "carriage" pulled by two "seahorses" the size of a person.

The carriage moved smoothly through the seawater. Lilia opened the brass book at her waist. The pages were made of a semi-transparent film of water, with alchemical runes floating on them.

Seeing Su Zhisu look up at the "black sky" above, Lilia explained:

"The echoing rift you see is the only barrier between Atlantis and the outside world."

"The sea outside the rift has long been polluted by strange forces, turning it dark red. Only those who have been polluted can survive in it."

"Thanks to the unique mechanism of the Echo Rift, Atlantis has managed to remain pure in this polluted ocean."

Lilia lightly tapped the page, and images of the outside world appeared on the water film: twisted creature remains floated in the viscous, blood-like seawater.

The carriage drove through a coral forest, where buildings of various shapes and sizes were situated.

Some are layered like seashells, some float in mid-air like jellyfish, and some are made entirely of crystal, refracting seven colors in the deep sea.

"Whether in the past or present, Atlantis is a great city of alchemy!" Lilia said with reverence.

"It is the duty of every guide to ensure that every being who comes to Atlantis understands its history."

"About 850 years ago, the pollution caused by the strange and mysterious power broke out, which was only a century ago."

"In Atlantis, a city still on the sea, something momentous happened that was enough to change the world."

"The headmaster of Atlantis, and also the first great being of the fourth rank—Lord Oberon Seraphim—created the ascension ritual array, but an accident occurred during this experiment..."

"The massive ascension array accidentally tore a rift in reality, causing the city to plunge into the sea. Outside the rift, a great being from the truly 'outside' took this opportunity to project its image into our world."

Lilia smiled at Su Zhisu.

"But this is not a bad thing. The world is already riddled with holes, and it is precisely because of their existence that the world has survived."

"These days, most of these great figures are deans of academies!"

The carriage turned toward the city center, where a giant pillar pierced the seabed to the bottom of the fissure, with three star-like points of light suspended atop it.

"That is the Temple of Atlantis, the center of the current Atlantis 'Academy', and the council hall of the great beings. It is usually surrounded by restricted areas and is only opened to the public during the annual Sea Moon Festival."

Soon after, the seahorse neighed, and the carriage stopped in front of a giant, vortex-like building.

The building's surface is covered with flowing alchemical runes, with water flowing between them to form a continuous tidal pattern.

Two Titan statues stand on either side of the gate, holding giant anchors and their eyes gleaming with deep blue light.

"This is the Deep Sea Forging Institute. The institute has two major schools: Ocean Alchemy and Deep Sea Engineering. Lord Deep Sea Titan is the dean in charge of both schools."

She pointed to the two wings of the giant vortex building.

"The left wing is the oceanography school, and the right wing is the deep-sea engineering school. Both are extensions of the strange alchemy."

Upon entering the academy, one is greeted by enormous, transparent, glass-colored, gold-plated experimental buildings on both the left and right sides.

All teaching, experiments, and living activities of the entire college are conducted within the two buildings.

Between the two buildings, there are transparent, glass-colored corridors that connect to the interior of the giant vortex building.

Upon arriving at the giant vortex-shaped building, the gate opened silently, revealing a vast space as expansive as the ocean.

The ceiling is a flowing star map, the floor is transparent crystal, and below is an endless, deep blue ocean.

In the center of the room, a colossal figure sat on a throne made of coral and steel.

Nautilus was as large as a mountain, its gray-blue form appearing and disappearing in the distance. Just sitting there, it could bring a huge mental impact.

"Lilia, please wait outside."

Nautilus's voice was like the tides of the ocean, vast and deep, echoing throughout the space.

Lilia bowed respectfully and withdrew, the door closing behind her.

Nautilus's gaze fell on the gray-blue brand on the back of Su Zhisu's hand. The giant anchor gently tapped the ground, and the water in the entire room resonated in response.

"The contractor from the outside world, we meet again."

His voice carried an ancient echo.

"Your arrival was foreshadowed in the tides. Tell me, what do you ask for this time?"