Survival on the Internet: A Bizarre Start at Sea

As the morning light penetrates the deep sea, the fungal carpet rises and falls again, like a living organism breathing.

The main hall of the Institute of Life Weaving is filled with the scent of fluorescent spores, and the heavy atmosphere is permeated with the pressure of the deep sea.

Hydra stood on the podium, her nine braids hanging down, three of which were charred and curled as if burned by invisible flames. Her scale-patterned long dress was an unnatural dark red, as if soaked in some ominous liquid.

Today's topic: Tracing the source of contaminated samples.

Her fingertips brushed across the suspended water sphere, inside which was sealed a wisp of dark red seawater like mist.

Su Zhisu raised his hand, and the anchor marks on the back of his hand stung painfully, like tiny ice picks piercing through his blood vessels.

Thinking of the mechanical gear fragments from yesterday's processing of contaminated samples, he asked, "Dean, where did the samples we processed come from?"

Hydra's golden eyes narrowed, like a wounded beast, and a braid unconsciously wrapped around the edge of the podium, carving fine cracks into the stone surface.

"Eastern tributary, ruins of the old archives area."

Her voice was flat, but she deliberately avoided Su Zhisu's gaze, her knuckles turning white from the force.

"That place used to be a hub for exchanges among scholars from other countries, but now... only ruins remain."

After saying that, she turned around and sketched the alchemical array, her scale-patterned long skirt rustling.

After class, Lilia stopped Su Zhisu in the mushroom carpet corridor.

The chain brand on her right wrist gleamed faintly, like the flickering of her breath.

Lilia traced an anchor-shaped mark on the damp wall with her fingertip; the glowing trace lasted for three seconds before disappearing.

"My lord, I know the location of the ruins in the Eastern District. There... there are unusual energy fluctuations there."

"Take me there."

In the afternoon, the sound of the water from the ruins of the eastern tributary was mournful.

In the collapsed corridor, the fluorescent corals had long since withered, leaving only grayish-white alien skeletons.

At the end, the figure entwined with vines swayed gently with the current, like a corpse floating among the water plants.

The man had a faded conch shell emblem embedded in his chest, a scar on his left cheek as menacing as a deep sea trench, and his right arm twisted unnaturally, revealing festering skin where the scales had fallen off.

Su Zhisu brandished his curved blade, slicing through the vines that were binding the man.

The restraints were removed, revealing Kyle Crane's withered face.

He slowly opened his eyes, a faint light reflected in his gray-blue pupils.

"You are... a new member of the mission? What year is it now?"

"Never mind, these things aren't important."

His hoarse voice, like the scraping of rocks, said, "Be careful... Green Eyes..."

"Who are you?"

"Kyle Crane".

Kyle Crane's fingertips traced the conch shell badge on his chest, a weak yet precise movement.

"The chief alchemist of the previous Hydeland Mission, a third-tier 'Watcher'."

"At the end of the last exchange, I stayed behind, intending to engage in exchange and learning for a period of time... but unexpectedly..."

Kyle Crane shook his head and gave a wry smile.

"I have now been corrupted by that tentacle, and my power has fallen from a Tier 3 Watcher to a Tier 1 Survivor."

"But the conch shell mark bestowed by the Queen remains, recording my life's circumstances, preventing that one from completely devouring me."

"That's why I've made contact with Deep Sea Titan over the years and investigated some key information."

The amber in the pocket suddenly became hot, and the burning sensation penetrated the fabric.

Su Zhisu took out the crystal given to him by Cthulhu. Inside, dark red mist writhed like living things, vaguely forming the outline of the city of R'lyeh.

Kyle's pupils contracted sharply, and his withered fingers suddenly gripped Su Zhisu's wrist with astonishing force.

"This is?! Anchor point! She wants you to place it at the bottom of the temple?"

Before Su Zhisu could answer, Kyle breathed heavily and waved his hand, conjuring up a rippling illusion: the deep-sea Titan was sealed again and again, and the phantom of R'lyeh repeatedly overlapped with Atlantis.

"Listen, as the Deep Sea Titans are suppressed time and time again, the overlap between R'lyeh and Atlantis will increase time and time again."

As the ripples shifted, the outline of Atlantis gradually distorted, the temple transformed into a gigantic tentacle, the streets cracked open with gaping maws, and the inhabitants decayed in the green mist.

"At midnight on the Sea Moon Festival, when this amber is activated, the overlap will reach one hundred percent—at that moment, Atlantis will cease to exist. This amber in your hand is the final anchor."

Su Zhisu opened his palm, and white mist intertwined with heart flames to form a purification array: "I can help you purify the corruption."

"No!" Kyle suddenly shattered the alchemy array.

"Now that being's gaze is everywhere; any slight movement from me will alert it..."

He coughed violently, and the conch shell emblem dimmed.

"Let me keep things as they are; perhaps... I can still fool him."

"Although I am now only at the first level, I can sense that she is observing you. Be careful with this amber crystal and do not touch it with any strange power."

"Finally, watch out for Elias; his left eye... is green."

As night deepened, the green mist coalesced into the outline of R'lyeh, enveloping the temple and spreading throughout Atlantis.

The iron gate at the entrance of the seventh drain valve was covered with twisted rust. Su Zhisu and Lilia stood at the entrance of the seventh drain valve.

The chain brand on the back of Lilia's hand resonated with the anchor-shaped key, emitting a burst of blue light.

Blue light tore through the rust, revealing a deep passage, and a damp, musty smell mixed with the metallic scent wafted out.

"The Titan's key is guiding us..."

Thick, blood-like water flowed inside the drainage ditch, and the walls were covered with a luminescent bacterial film that flickered with Su Zhisu's breath.

The pocket watch on his wrist vibrated violently as three Deep Ones pounced from the shadows!

Their eyes burst open, their whiskers were wrapped in star-colored threads, R'lyeh runes seeped from the gaps in their scales, and they let out inhuman roars.

They have clearly been distorted.

The Night Watcher's Heart Flame ignited from the scimitar, severing the neck of the first Deep One. The eerie blue flames spread along the wound, turning it to ashes.

Lilia waved her hand, shooting out a stream of blue light that pierced the chest of the second creature, instantly freezing it with ice crystals.

The moment the last one lunged at Lilia, the chain brand lit up, and the phantom of the chain pierced the Deep One's eye socket, pinning it to the wall and deep into its skull.

In the end, the three Deep Ones were burned to ashes by the Night Watch Heartflame while convulsing.

"The battle just now was too loud, let's go quickly, Your Excellency."

Lilia gasped for breath as the chain branding resonated with the anchor-shaped key, pointing towards the depths of the seventh drainage ditch.

The deeper they went, the denser the runes on the rock walls became, eventually forming a complete alchemical array.

Suddenly, the anchor-shaped key floated in mid-air, pointing to the end.

There was no valve as expected; instead, a massive bronze door appeared on the wall.

The door is engraved with intricate alchemical diagrams and reliefs of deep-sea titans, and the central groove perfectly matches the shape of an anchor-shaped key.

The edges of the door frame are inlaid with luminous crystals, reflecting the view inside:

Inside the suspended crystal bottle are sealed stardust, deep-sea minerals, and strange biological tissues.

The experimental table was carved from a single piece of deep-sea black rock, and its surface was covered with runes.

The alchemy instruments and tools hanging on the walls and placed on the floor were still running, emitting a faint hum.