Qianyuan: My crew comes from the world of anime.

It was a rustling sound, completely different from my own footsteps and breathing; it sounded like a dry mop being dragged on the ground.

"What's going on?" Luo Tianming muttered to himself.

At first, he thought he was hallucinating, but as he stopped walking, the eerie low-pitched frequency disappeared.

He looked at the back of his diving suit and saw that he wasn't holding onto anything. Instead, the seemingly endless darkness behind him gave Luo Tianming goosebumps.

This fear of not knowing what lies in the darkness stems from memories rooted in humanity's primal instincts.

Driven by this fear, Luo Tianming quickened his pace once more. Water began to accumulate on the ground, and under immense pressure, more and more seawater began to seep into the sunken ship, eventually breaching the dam at its weakest point and utterly destroying the entire submarine along with the treasures that hadn't yet been dealt with.

But when he arrived at the entrance of the food warehouse he had come from, the scene before him left him stunned.

Where are my oxygen cylinder and cutting machine?

"..."

The oxygen cylinder and plasma cutter that he had placed by the closed door had vanished, and the turbine propulsion unit was left lying in the corner...

Fortunately, Luo Tianming went forward to check: the turbine device was not damaged; it had simply been accidentally triggered when it was thrown against the wall, causing the turbine to start briefly...

At the same time, he was also thinking about what had happened: the oxygen cylinders and the cutting machine couldn't have disappeared for no reason; something must have taken them into the darkness.

Then, something probably accidentally triggered the turbine, and it got scared by the activated turbine and hid?

"..."

While pondering the disappearance of the cutting machine and oxygen cylinder, a thought also arose in Luo Tianming's mind: Who did it?

Was it washed away by the sea?

Impossible—the weight of the cutting machine and oxygen cylinders is destined not to be affected by the seawater.

So there are still people alive?

"..."

That's unlikely... The oxygen level inside a submarine is so low that it's unsuitable for human survival, so even if there were any, they wouldn't be humans.

"!"

After eliminating the human option, Luo Tianming immediately became alert!

Without hesitation, he picked up the harpoon gun from his back and held it in his hand; the electronic earpiece crackled to life again.

The flashlight's beam had a very limited range, illuminating only about ten meters ahead. Luo Tianming couldn't see anything beyond that in the deep darkness.

'Huff... hiss... huff...'

Along with the feeling of tension, my breathing began to quicken.

Luo Tianming's mind began to wander wildly, conjuring up images of the creature that had invaded the submarine. While Europa's oceans weren't only home to parasitic creatures like the "Painted Skin," very few could actually infiltrate a submarine.

The other party was clearly intelligent, at least cunning enough to want to destroy the vehicle he had placed at the door, trapping himself here forever.

Its purpose in doing so was simple: because the monster itself was not large, it would not have an advantage in a head-on confrontation with Luo Tianming. At the same time, the monster also had lungs that could hold its breath, otherwise it would have lost its ability to move due to lack of oxygen the moment it entered the submarine.

Having narrowed the scope to this extent, Luo Tianming immediately called out the other party's name:

"Damn it! Algae crawl...!"

The other party immediately noticed him after he shouted those words.

A green figure flashed within the beam of the flashlight, and Luo Tianming pulled the trigger of the harpoon gun without hesitation.

Whoosh—!

Two crossbow bolts flashed past with astonishing speed.

The first crossbow bolt struck the wall with an echo, while the second bolt vanished without a trace... Luo Tianming was now incredibly grateful that this harpoon gun was a double-barreled weapon; otherwise, with his abysmal marksmanship, he might as well have just thrown a crowbar.

Luo Tianming: "..."

After reloading the crossbow bolts into the harpoon gun, Luo Tianming walked into the darkness with a flashlight... He suspected that the thing was still alive.

The term "algae crawler" is actually an abbreviation for an algae-mane crawler, a humanoid creature that resembles a mermaid.

Well, saying they look like mermaids is a bit of an insult to fish.

Perhaps they can be seen as a kind of 'water monkey'.

They have an upper body similar to a human, four pairs of red eyes on their heads, green skin, segmented spines on their backs, and a lower body that resembles the tail of a bloated fish.

They have multiple hand-like appendages, but only the forelimbs are functional, helping them attach to surfaces, swim, or crawl (hence they are called crawlers).

These algae-crawling monsters are similar in size to humans, so they cause relatively little damage to submarines at sea. However, if these creatures manage to attach themselves to a ship's hull, they will do everything in their power to get themselves inside.

Once the ship's hull is breached, the true domain of these monsters begins to emerge: they will drag humanity into the ocean battlefield, where they will use their advantages to gradually wear down humanity.

What's worse is that they usually travel in groups, and when you see one, it usually means there are 2 to 3 of its companions nearby.

And... they are not picky eaters; they can gnaw on corpses to quickly heal their injuries.

Luo Tianming knew exactly where the corpses were.

-

Upon arriving at the passage marked with blood-red words, the algae-like creature was indeed feasting on a corpse.

As soon as he appeared, the algae-like creature immediately crawled quickly over on its forelimbs...

This time, Luo Tianming didn't even need to aim. At a distance of three to five meters—in a passage that could only accommodate one and a half people—he could easily hit the target even with his eyes closed.

The two crossbow bolts, launched electromagnetically, reached an astonishing speed of 260 m/s from the water, their power and penetrating force comparable to pistol bullets.

The specially treated spiral arrow easily tore apart the algae's body, and the moment it entered the body, it churned the muscles from the inside, forming two fist-sized holes, before finally flying out along with the flesh and blood.

"..."

Of course, after doing all this... the 'Captain's Log' in his arms once again felt warm, the second mission's [combat phase] was also completed, and he had gained another recruitment ticket.

Looking at the completely dead green creature on the ground, Luo Tianming breathed a sigh of relief... But things weren't over yet; at least its companions were still nearby.

There was no further sound from the electronic headset, indicating that there were no enemies nearby for the time being, and the remaining guys were likely still waiting for him outside the submarine.

At this moment, Luo Tianming painfully realized the reason that the algae had crawled on: it was the food that had long since spoiled.

When he cut open the lower deck, seawater rushed in and carried away the food scraps, which is how the algae crawlers discovered the submarine.

"..."

It's too late for regrets now. Luo Tianming has to find a way to deal with the two remaining algae crawlers. The constant oxygen alarm in his diving suit is also making him feel dizzy.

If he doesn't act quickly, he really will die in this ocean.

However, it is still difficult to make up for the physical disadvantages of humans and algae in the ocean—humans have to exert all their strength just to move under the enormous water pressure.

Moreover, amphibians are far more agile than humans...

On Europa, an alien ocean, humanity's only advantage is its superior brain.

Looking at the algae-covered corpse on the ground, Luo Tianming suddenly had an idea.

"..."

He pressed the button to open the hatch, and seawater immediately began to spread from his feet, quickly reaching waist-deep and gradually submerging the half-corpse that Luo Tianming was holding.

Taking advantage of the door being fully open, Luo Tianming immediately pinned the half-eaten corpse to the ground. He then retreated four or five meters, aiming his harpoon gun at the corpse, ready to fire...

When seawater filled the channel, the blood of the algae-covered corpses diffused into the water.

Soon... its two brethren were attracted by the smell of the corpse. They circled the corpse for a moment, and then opened their mouths without hesitation to devour their companion's body.

"..."

Luo Tianming observed the two algae crawlers through the lenses of his oxygen mask, slowly aiming the harpoon gun in his hand...

These reptiles aren't particularly intelligent; at least when they're feeding, they don't care whose carcass they're munching on.

It only displays extreme hostility when it can observe humans with its eyes.

Luo Tianming targeted the largest one among them. Compared to his own size, the other one was probably 170cm tall... This one was also the most ferocious in tearing at the corpse; it tore off half of the corpse's sternum and started gnawing on it.

"!!"

Just then—Luo Tianming placed the harpoon gun trigger and pulled it hard.

This time, the harpoon gun made no sound underwater, and the crossbow bolts did not deviate even slightly under the powerful water pressure, accurately hitting the monster's head and chest!

'...!'

The smaller algae crawlers, who were still munching on leftovers, were suddenly presented with an even larger 'meal' in front of them.

It paused for a moment... then instantly turned its head to look in Luo Tianming's direction: at this moment, he was struggling to put the few remaining crossbow bolts back onto the harpoon gun.

The smaller algae swirled in the water and suddenly rushed towards Luo Tianming... When they spot a human diver, they abandon all their original targets and immediately attack the human.

Luo Tianming, however, did not panic... Instead, he abandoned the slow-loading harpoon gun, aimed the tail of the turbine device hanging on his chest at the charging algae, and pressed the switch...

"Well……!"

He was suddenly jolted in the chest by the power provided by the turbine, causing him to groan involuntarily.

Of course, the algae crawling at the tail of the turbine jet fared even worse.

It crashed head-on into a powerful current that could propel a 100-kilogram object underwater. The impact left it dizzy and disoriented, causing it to slam directly against the narrow wall of the submarine.

Upon seeing this, Luo Tianming quickly picked up the crossbow bolt in his hand, rushed forward, pressed down on the algae with his hand, and then pierced it fiercely, pulled it out, pierced it again, pulled it out... The crossbow bolt went in and out of the green flesh eight times.

Luo Tianming only let go, panting, when the crawler's arms finally drooped limply.

"..."

After waiting a while with the harpoon gun, Luo Tianming noticed that no other algae were crawling around, so it seemed that these three were all the species in the vicinity.

Only then did he push the turbine device out of the hole he had cut open, not forgetting to take the two algae-covered corpses with him.

In a sense, this is also a spoil of war for him. These green things still have a lot of good stuff on them, and he might be able to exchange them for some recruitment vouchers with the 'Business is Business' system.

"..."

With his departure, seawater has completely flooded the sunken ship, and it won't be long before the place becomes a wasteland.

However, Luo Tianming's current situation cannot be considered out of danger, because during the battle with the monster, the oxygen mask he was wearing had already started flashing a red warning.

He'll run out of oxygen in less than thirty seconds...

In those final moments, he saw the Nautilus's return lights...

Fifteen seconds...

ten seconds...

The last three seconds...

He entered the submarine's return capsule just before the oxygen supply to his oxygen mask was cut off.

"...!"

But it was only at this moment that he realized:

He couldn't immediately remove his oxygen mask after returning to the submarine.

The purpose of the return capsule, in addition to emptying the seawater inside, is to help it slowly pressurize and depressurize to adapt to the underwater environment.

If he were to return to the submarine and immediately enter atmospheric pressure, the water pressure at a depth of 1000 meters would immediately cause his blood to enter a state of decompression sickness, thus posing a risk of cardiovascular dysfunction.

"..."

Therefore, he could only wait quietly for the return capsule to close its doors and for the surrounding water pressure to slowly decrease... Luo Tianming's vision began to blur, and the water pressure gauge decreased incredibly slowly as he waited with suffocating anticipation.

The mask, now depleted of oxygen, had become a glass dome tightly pressed against his head, and with each breath, he felt as if his head was about to explode.

Cyanosis gradually appeared on the lips and nails, which is a compensatory increase in red blood cells caused by hypoxia.

"..."

Finally, with his mask fogged up, he collapsed to the ground due to lack of oxygen.

The crisis caused by this reckless extravehicular activity is far from over...

Chapter 13 Hypothermia

Let's rewind to 3 minutes before Luo Tianming entered the return capsule...

"Tsk..."

Levi clicked her tongue in displeasure at the blinding red light emanating from the return capsule.