Survival on the Internet: A Bizarre Start at Sea

"The Nest of Life"

Lilia stood before an archway entwined with living coral and vines, softly uttering the name of the academy.

The entire building seems to breathe—the walls undulate slightly with the flow of water, the window frames are like interlocking joints, and a translucent water snake coils on the lintel, its scales reflecting an emerald-like light.

"Dean Hydra calls this place the 'Nest of Coexistence'."

She pointed deep into the academy: "Unlike the Deep-Sea Forging Institute, which focuses on the mastery of the ocean and engineering, the Life Nesting Institute focuses on the transformation of life forms, the reconstruction of ecological cycles, and... the purification of pollution."

Su Zhisu gazed at the academy before him, which seemed to have grown out of a deep-sea dream. The gray-blue anchor mark on the back of his hand was faintly warm, as if responding to some hidden life rhythm.

"I choose this place," he said.

Lilia nodded and led him through the doorway draped with vines.

The interior is not a traditional classroom, but a three-dimensional, interconnected ecological chamber.

The upper layer is filled with bioluminescent jellyfish, the middle layer is a floating bacterial carpet platform, and the lower layer is a river of bioluminescent algae.

Students either squatted on the fungal carpet to graft plant roots or guided the "jellyfish" to release invisible energy to activate the alchemical array.

Some people are even injecting a drop of dark red seawater into a coral skeleton to observe the changes.

"Newborns must first complete the 'Birth Ceremony'." Lilia led him to the central chamber.

A huge egg-shaped object, covered with pulsating blood vessels, floats in the center of the central chamber.

"This is the 'Primordial Egg,' an alchemical creation of Dean Hydra."

"It will absorb the most primal life information within you and match you with the most suitable path for this school of thought."

Su Zhisu placed her palm on the eggshell as instructed.

In an instant, a burst of intense light erupted from inside the egg, and a network of blood vessels spread throughout the chamber like a star map.

A warm energy surged into his body, resonating subtly with the Night Watcher's Heart Flame and the strange power.

[Adaptation Path Generation]:

Main path: Pollution purification (87% compatibility) Secondary path: Symbiotic transformation (63% compatibility) Prohibited path: ***.

The eggshell slowly cracked open, and a jade-colored badge floated into Su Zhisu's palm, shaped like intertwined vines and an anchor chain.

"Congratulations," Lilia said, a hint of surprise in her eyes.

"You are the first outsider in recent decades to be assigned to the 'Pollution Cleanup' pathway. This pathway is usually only open to deep divers."

Before the words were finished, a languid female voice came from above: "Oh? The contractor of the Deep Sea Titan has chosen my Nest of Symbiosis?"

Su Zhisu looked up and saw a string of "chandeliers" made up of nine long, emerald-green braids hanging from the dome, each braid tip having a golden vertical pupil open.

Then, a tall woman dressed in a long, scale-like dress slid down from the vines, her skin as white as mother-of-pearl, with tiny tentacles extending from her fingertips.

"Dean Hydra," Lilia bowed immediately.

Hydra paced around Su Zhisu, her nine braids slithering around him like snakes.

"Interesting... You possess a peculiar flame within you, and even strange powers? Hmm~ There seems to be white mist as well?"

"I think I understand why the Deep Sea Titan chose you as its contractor."

She suddenly leaned closer, her nose almost touching his cheek. "Tell me, little one, why did you choose my academy?"

Su Zhisu looked directly into her eyes.

"The calamity of this world—the strange power... If I want to understand it, then the Institute of Life Weaving is the only choice for me."

Hydra paused for a moment, then chuckled, as if it had encountered a new species.

"Good! Straightforward enough!"

She tossed her long braid, one of which curled up Su Zhisu's badge. "From today onwards, you are the 'Purification Apprentice.' First lesson—"

She snapped her fingers, and the ground cracked open, gushing out a pool of viscous, dark red liquid that reeked of decay.

"This is a contaminated sample collected from outside the rift. Your task: Use alchemy to restore it to pure seawater. Time limit: three days."

Su Zhisu frowned: "No guidance whatsoever?"

"My Nest of Coexistence does not offer step-by-step instruction; to learn, you must practice."

Hydra turned and walked deeper into the vines, her voice fading into the distance, "Either purify, or be devoured. That is the law of life."

Lilia handed him a notebook made of bacterial film: "This is the basic purification formula, but... no one has ever completed Dean Hydra's project in three days."

Su Zhisu opened her notebook, and the first page read: [Purification = Understanding + Acceptance + Rebirth].

That night, he stayed alone in the experimental chamber.

The dark red seawater sample wriggled in the container, attempting to corrode the glass walls.

He tried to ignite the flames of his heart, but only hastened its demise; he injected strange power, but it only made the pollution worse.

Late at night, as he stared at the brand on the back of his hand, he suddenly remembered the basic formula for purification.

He took a deep breath and dipped his palm into the sample.

The excruciating pain struck, and the skin instantly ulcerated, but it did not cause any mental distress.

But instead of withdrawing his hand, he allowed the strange power to seep into the wound, white mist enveloping his palm, while the Night Watcher's Heart Flame enveloped the white mist inside, layer upon layer.

Gradually, the dark red seawater stopped churning, and the black particles inside seemed to lose their activity and gradually faded in color.

[Network Notification]: You have learned the [Skill]: Alchemy Purification lv.1.

【Alchemy Purification lv.1】: Use your talent to understand, accept the strange power, let the white mist act as a filter, and finally purify with the Night Watch Heart Flame. Your unique alchemy array is beginning to take shape.

The next morning, when Lilia opened the door, she saw that there was only a pool of clear seawater left in the container, with a silver crystal settled at the bottom.

Su Zhisu was fast asleep, lying on the edge of the table, with new scars on the back of her hand like vines.

Hydra's voice suddenly rang in her ear: "It seems the person the Deep Sea Titan chose is indeed quite interesting. His flames are also quite unique."

She slowly walked into the cavity, picked up the silver crystal, and gently licked it with the tip of her tongue.

"Hmm... It actually transformed the pollution into 'stardust residue,' which is a raw material for making purifying agents."

She bent down and stuffed the crystal into Su Zhisu's pocket. "Keep it. It might save your life someday."

Su Zhisu woke up at this moment, her eyes clear.

"I understand," he said softly. "Purification is not about annihilation, but about transformation."

"The corruption of strange powers is disorder and alienation, while alchemy is to restore order to them."

Hydra squinted, and all nine of her braids swung up at the same time.

"Smart. But don't get cocky—this is just the beginning." She pointed outside the cavity.

"Starting tomorrow, you will process ten samples of different concentrations of contaminants every day. If you fail once, add one more. Continue until you can do it with your eyes closed."

She turned to leave, but then stopped.

"By the way, before the Sea Moon Festival, that girl Cthulhu might come looking for trouble. Your arrival yesterday attracted a lot of attention."

"Her 'Star Dream Academy' has always wanted to steal the talent that can handle pollution. Remember—don't agree to anything she asks, even if she turns into a crying, green-haired little girl."

After she finished speaking, her figure transformed into countless vines and disappeared into the water.

Lilia breathed a sigh of relief: "Dean Hydra rarely talks this much to freshmen... You really impressed her."

Su Zhisu looked out the window, where the glass lights of Atlantis swayed in the deep blue sea.

He touched the crystals in his pocket and then looked at the new scar on the back of his hand.

Here, for the first time, he felt that he was not just a survivor, but someone who could really change something.