Chapter 150.1 – Fire Seed (20)
◎ The island split open ◎
Song Ke felt very uneasy; the tragedy unfolding before her eyes seemed to foreshadow something.
“Do you all know how to swim?” She turned to her companions.
“Sister, I can do many different swimming styles!” Xu Xing and Song Ke both came from the District F177, where most children growing up by the seaside were adept swimmers.
“Yes.” Su Cha, who grew up in the rainforest, underwent rigorous training and swimming was a necessary survival skill.
Song Ke felt a bit relieved and then looked at the two difficult brothers sitting in wheelchairs.
“I used to know how.” Lu Xiaoyu was always candid, not deliberately avoiding his own shortcomings. “Now, I might need some time to adapt.”
After breaking his legs, he was thrown into the Death Prison and hadn’t had the chance to go into the water since then.
Zhuang Qingyan leaned on the wheelchair, his gaze fixed on the blood-stained sea, wrinkling his nose in disgust.
“I actually don’t like this sport of swimming…”
“Really? Didn’t you book the temperature-controlled swimming pool at the dormitory building? The young master, spending money like water, paid ten years’ worth of exclusive booking fees in one go.” Lu Xiaoyu didn’t hesitate to expose his old classmate.
Zhuang Qingyan’s smile remained unchanged, but his tone changed, “But I’m quite good at it.”
Song Ke: “…” You clearly just find the sea water dirty.
Among the remaining two, Fang Zhixu honestly shook his head, “No, I was too busy with work before, didn’t have time to learn.”
Surprisingly, Lin Youyou also followed with a sheepish smile, “Um, yeah, I don’t know how either.”
“Huh?” Song Ke’s eyes widened slightly. “Didn’t you shoot an ocean-themed photoshoot?”
At that time, fans supported her, and the flower boats and billboards along the street looped Lin Youyou’s new song promotional MV, portraying her as a mermaid swimming in clear waters. Song Ke remembered it very clearly!
“It was all special effects, synthesized to create the ‘pure desire’ image.” Lin Youyou grabbed Song Ke’s shoulder and looked pitiful, “I’m actually terrified of water. Song Ke, you must not make me go in!”
Song Ke fell silent for a moment, once again marveling at how fake the entertainment industry could be.
“Well, then wear a life jacket,” Zhuang Qingyan pulled out life jackets from the space and distributed them to everyone. “Be prepared, everyone put them on.”
As they put on the life jackets, they discussed, “Why did so many marine beasts suddenly appear?”
“Because we closed T001,” Zhuang Qingyan looked up at the gloomy sky, “the strong radiation it originally emitted had the effect of repelling beasts. Marine life tended to avoid it, automatically staying away. Now that it’s back to normal, with more awakeners gathering here, they come attracted by the scent.”
The Ribbon Bridge where V587 was located was the famous “Island Loop Scenic Line” in the Elderly People’s Nation, rotating slowly around the entire island. As it moved closer to the sea level, the scene gradually became clear.
The zombie whales and the extremely ugly giant flounders that appeared later leaped high into the sky, eagerly crashing towards the island with a “bam bam” sound. Although they were blocked by an invisible barrier, the ground beneath the feet of the people shook continuously.
The awakeners on the island took action one after another.
On the side of “Tustan,” the Yin Xiao raised a mortar, activated his ability “Seeing Weakness”. The scarlet explosive bomb drew an arc in the air and landed accurately on a zombie whale that had just jumped out of the sea. Its eye sockets were instantly blown open, countless shrapnel pierced its skull, and its bulky body fell heavily, creating a splash of water over ten meters high.
Lead by Jennifer, the AOE-type awakeners bombarded wildly, causing fire, thunder, wind, and mist to rise on the sea surface. However, these marine beasts were equally cunning. As soon as they saw the attacks starting, they quickly submerged underwater to avoid damage.
Gu Ruoyi, from the “Peace Dove,” was an A5-level powerful control-type awakener. Her ability, called “Gathering,” could maximize the traction of enemies to specific locations or areas. Coordinating with the AOE-type awakeners, it often had a miraculous effect when facing a tide of corpses.
Gu Ruoyi moved her fingers, and whirlpools appeared on the sea surface, sucking nearby beasts together.
She glanced at Tustan’s side, changed direction, and helped them gather a wave of monsters. Finally, the group attacks had tangible results.
“Thanks, Sister Ruoyi~” Tustan’s teammate shouted from a distance.
The combat capabilities of the awakeners in the New Asia Alliance were strong, and among them were prominent S-level individuals.
Looking at Cario and Luce’s side, the most eye-catching should be the pair of polar lovers from the “Kazan Locomotive,” Vladimir and Veronica. Vladimir’s ability is “Distortion,” and he is also an excellent boxer. Although he cannot go into the sea, he slightly raised his right hand, covered with old scars, and clenched his fist fiercely—
The giant flounder was twisted into a spiral, with hundreds of broken bone spikes piercing into flesh, instantly turning into a bloody string of sashimi!
Everyone was quite formidable, except… for V587, who looked like a slacker.
From the perspective of Rainbow Head Yang Xiaobo, this group of people was cowardly, wearing life jackets early on, and the whole team was goofing off. Surprisingly, the only one taking action was a kid? He immediately regretted his apology; he didn’t say anything wrong. The ranking of 235706 definitely made sense. Even if they were skilled at repairing machines, they completely fell apart when it came to killing monstrous beasts.
“V587.”
Slacker number one, Fang Zhixu, usually responsible for picking up crystals, found himself almost useless in the current situation.
Slacker number two, the wheelchair brothers in charge of logistics and transportation, refrained from getting involved unless absolutely necessary.
The remaining two passive slackers, Song Ke and Su Cha, looked at each other.
Both were melee fighters; they couldn’t just jump into the sea to fight, right? Not to mention the current concentration of monsters; those awakeners didn’t have foresight. They lazily held their spiritual crossbows, shooting into the sea with sporadic attempts.
Xu Xing, on the other hand, was in his element. He started doing radio calisthenics, and his ice-type ability became significantly more potent in the presence of water. With a set of stretching exercises, the sea instantly froze. Then, with a set of kicking movements, ice blades shot out, skewering various fish into a string.
Xu Xing sneakily glanced at Dylan, his small face full of pride. “Nightmare Descends” couldn’t control the monsters, and Dylan was visibly frustrated.
Lin Youyou was also pondering new possibilities. Her ability relied on lyrics to function, and different lyrics imposed on different targets resulted in completely different buffs. However, evidently, these marine monsters couldn’t understand human language, causing her singing effects to be greatly reduced.
Lin Youyou closed her eyes, singing a song without lyrics that echoed gently in the air above the sea. When the song finished, nothing happened. Lin Youyou couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed; she had just expressed her willingness to communicate, but evidently, these monsters couldn’t understand.
Yang Xiaobo couldn’t bear to watch anymore. Why were they doing exercises and singing? Were these people here for a vacation? Could they be more serious?!
After half an hour of concerted efforts from everyone, the sea monsters disappeared without a trace, and the floating corpses drifted away with the waves. The crisis in the Elderly People’s Nation was averted. The powered individuals prepared to conduct a comprehensive search of the entire island. As they were leaving, Song Ke looked back at the crimson sea. Was the crisis really resolved?
…
Six hours later.
“Click—”
Song Ke twisted the pull ring, and the sweet and thick hot corn juice poured into her throat, warming her entire abdomen. The weather was continuously gloomy and rainy. She blew into her cupped hands, but unfortunately, her fingers were still icy cold.
There were many colorful small pavilions along the streets of the Elderly People’s Nation. These mobile restaurant-style booths offered various flavors, and without payment or verification, passersby could take out warm food cooked on-site by machines.
Similar facilities couldn’t exist in the District F177 District. If they were placed there, they would be smashed and looted by the crazy wanderers on the first day. However, the residents of District A5 lacked nothing in terms of clothing and food. They seemed to prefer showcasing their “noble” morality through such “generosity.”
After the failure of T001, the dreamlike Elderly People’s Nation was torn apart to reveal its true face. The island was shrouded in gray cold fog, with a blurry vision, slippery and difficult to walk on the wet road. The incessant raindrops were enough to make one feel anxious.
A group of awakeners passed by, and fragments of their conversation were carried into Song Ke’s ears by the wind.
“The access restriction is about to expire. Damn, where did the people here go?!”
“Maybe we should give up. S-level missions were never easy, and this place is eerie. I feel uneasy. Captain, let’s just leave?”
“Sure, let’s go. Staying here is no fun; it’s like a ghost town.”
As they spoke, the group headed towards the Splendid Tower, seemingly preparing to retreat.
Song Ke watched them go, took another sip of the warm corn juice, and then left the small pavilion.
