Survival on the Internet: A Bizarre Start at Sea

The moment the pale, bony claws tore through the sea curtain, Su Zhisu's thoughts were frozen.

A blasphemous image, which should never exist in this world, was brutally branded into his consciousness: the wailing and twisted fragments of souls were its flesh, the writhing and decaying tentacles were its veins, and the broken and fragmented pale finger bones were its claws...

All of these were forcibly combined by an incomprehensible force, forming this giant arm that, in itself, pollutes reality.

Pure, viscous malice is tangible, pouring out with its very presence.

Filth, chaos, and madness mingled into a nauseating wave that instantly engulfed him.

[Network Notice]: You have encountered a great being from the side of strange and mysterious power - "Abyssal Shadow - Aggregate (Projection)". Due to the huge difference in rank, its essence has shocked your understanding!

[Network Notification]: Talent Resistance Trigger Check in progress... Difficulty 90 (based on class difference and contamination intensity)... 1d100 + 30 = 68 < 90! Check failed!

"Well--!"

An uncontrollable groan of pain escaped his throat.

Su Zhisu felt as if her head had been stuffed into a wildly spinning cylinder full of rusty iron pieces.

Countless shrill fragments assaulted his consciousness; what lay before him was no longer a torrential sea, but a distorted, swirling mass of colors and lines composed of pure malice.

The stench of decay filled my nostrils, and the wails of countless overlapping souls resonated within my skull.

"I can't look at it... I can't think about it..."

He bit his tongue hard, the metallic taste and excruciating pain bringing a faint sense of clarity.

The flame of the vigilant heart burned instinctively, trying to dispel this spiritual erosion, but it was like a candle flickering in the wind.

The resistance provided by talent is as fragile as paper under the crushing power of absolute superiority.

My sanity is plummeting, my consciousness is blurring and melting away, sliding into the abyss of madness—

Just now.

A cool, calm feeling, carrying a familiar languor and a touch of concern, like a glimmer of light piercing through a heavy nightmare, gently brushed across the edge of his collapsing consciousness.

It's the "Old Contract: Sibling Alliance" on the back of my hand!

Deep within his soul, the emerald green contract mark glowed slightly. The power left behind by his sister, Behemoth Krasin, had passively protected him when he encountered mental corruption far exceeding his own level.

"...Stupid little brother...you dare to stare directly at this kind of 'trash'..."

The voice resonated directly in his soul, somewhat indistinct, tinged with reproach, yet like the strongest anchor, instantly stabilizing his wavering and dissipating mind.

"...Close your eyes...use your 'heart' to sense our connection...use the 'permissions' I've given you to feel..."

Su Zhisu had a sudden inspiration. He immediately closed his eyes tightly and tried his best to suppress all external senses. He focused almost all his attention on the mark on the back of his hand and activated the authority of [Atlantis - Dream Lord of R'lyeh].

The perspective suddenly shifts.

He no longer "saw" the terrifying bone claw with his eyes, but instead, through "contractual connection" and "lord's authority," he "perceived" everything happening around him with a higher essence and status.

The pollution pressure that had almost driven him mad and struck his soul was immediately reduced by more than half. Although it still buzzed like background noise, it could no longer directly shake the core of his consciousness.

He "sensed" that the pale, bony claw, composed of pure malice and filth, unleashed a devastating torrent of dark red energy, slamming it down on the hovering blue dot of light—the "marine iguana."

He also "sensed" that the "marine iguana" abandoned the destructive energy ball that was about to erupt from its mouth and let out a roar of extreme rage.

Its massive body, no longer gathering its strength, suddenly stretched out completely!

The dark blue scales on its body lit up with a ghostly light one after another, and countless fine and violent silver arcs of electricity exploded and intertwined wildly in front of it, instantly forming a huge ice and lightning rhomboid shield with ancient and majestic patterns!

"boom--!!!"

Bone claws clashed violently with the giant shield!

At the center of the impact, space seemed to groan under the strain. The inky black seawater was not displaced, but rather "wiped away," forming a distorted vacuum sphere that existed only briefly.

The eerie, dark red filth and the icy blue, orderly lightning, like two ancient beasts tearing at each other, were frantically annihilating and exploding!

The spherical shockwave crushed everything.

The Redemption, bearing the brunt of the impact, emitted a teeth-grinding cracking sound, and the Night Watch Heart Flame on the ship's surface was instantly suppressed to only a thin layer of eerie light.

Even with his eyes closed, Su Zhisu could still "feel" an indescribable force slamming into him through his access permissions.

"puff!"

He was thrown into the air, his back slamming heavily against the hard cabin wall. He felt a sweet taste in his throat, and blood uncontrollably spilled from the corner of his mouth.

The entire world trembled under the brutal clash of two primal forces.

The pale, bony claws frantically scratched and tore at the Ice Lightning Shield, each attack carrying the filth of the corrupting rules, causing the blue light on the shield's surface to dim and cracks to spread.

The "sea iguana" continuously spewed out its condensed blue breath, mixed with lightning that tore through space, which struck the bone claws, freezing and shattering the soul fragments on their surface.

Their battles have long transcended simple energy clashes, involving mutual erosion and suppression at the level of rules.

The celestial phenomena in the storm-stricken sea area were utterly chaotic.

Heavy rain, hail, thunderstorms, annihilation, and boiling alternated, and the sky flickered wildly between dark red and ice blue.

Su Zhisu struggled to his feet, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, and tried his best to maintain the fragile connection with the contract and the lord's authority, carefully "sensing" this terrifying battle that was far beyond his comprehension.

"This is... the war of the great beings..."

A sense of awe filled my heart.

All he could do at that moment was to cling desperately to the contract mark left by his sister, hoping to prevent himself from completely collapsing in the aftermath of the battle.

At the same time, he struggled to control the Redemption, like a leaf in a storm, drifting with the chaotic energy currents, desperately trying to get away from the center of death.

The battle didn't last long, but every second felt like it was stretched out by pain and fear.

Finally, after a most intense collision that almost temporarily tore apart the rules of that sea area, the stalemate was broken.

The filthy light on the surface of the pale bone claws dimmed noticeably, and the soul fragments and tentacles that made up the arm became illusory and transparent.

It is ultimately just a projection; its power is not limitless.

Seizing this fleeting opportunity, the "marine iguana" let out a roar that seemed to freeze the soul, and all the spikes on its ferocious bony crown simultaneously burst forth with a blinding deep blue light!

A deep blue ray, condensed to its extreme and only as thick as an arm, pierced through the pale bone claw like a scythe that cut through the eternal night, ignoring space and instantly penetrating the very core "node" of the pale bone claw!

"Pop..."

A soft sound, like a bubble bursting.

The pale, bony claws suddenly froze.

Starting from the point that was breached, the collapse spread like a plague.