This group of players had just returned from the island across the sea.
The Ghost Island area opposite the ocean region was a Level 30–40 grinding zone. They said they had brought tons of supplies, and to avoid going back and forth, they had camped on Ghost Island for over half a month.
They claimed they were lucky on the way there, barely encountering any monsters in the ocean zone. But on the way back, their luck clearly took a turn for the worse.
As He Wuning looked them over, he really couldn’t imagine how these people had survived so long in a Level 30 zone.
The bob-cut girl flushed. “It’s true! Our abilities work really well against the Ghost Island monsters! But against the ones here…”
He Wuning handed them the milk teas they ordered and figured out their abilities from a few casual questions.
The bald middle-aged man was a “pay-to-win player.” As long as he placed game coins on a monster, it would force a trade and buy the monster’s HP.
But these fish were too small—he couldn’t get the coins onto them.
The acne-faced youth’s ability was “traps.” If a monster stayed inside a circle he drew for more than three seconds, it would fall into a trap that could apply various debuffs or damage depending on the trap type.
The piranhas’ constant darting back and forth kept them from ever staying still for three seconds—which was also why the players hadn’t immediately run away. He kept feeling he was just about to get one.
The bob-haired girl’s ability was extremely straightforward—Light-element magic, which worked wonders on some of the non-human monsters on Ghost Island, but not on fish.
In a way, this party composition was actually quite strong—if they used their abilities in the right place.
He Wuning didn’t comment, just looked at them calmly. For some reason, the three players froze under his gaze, exchanging glances as if questioning their entire life’s choices.
The pimply young man lowered his head first. “Thinking about it… yeah, I got carried away. It’s my fault… I kept thinking I was about to catch it, so I didn’t want to give up…”
“And even if we didn’t know before that these monsters always come in at least three waves, that’s no excuse. We shouldn’t have been greedy for that one fish drop—we should’ve run back to restock.”
The bob-haired girl lowered her head, too. “Me too. I thought my ability wouldn’t help much, so I didn’t do anything… but I should’ve helped somehow…”
The bald middle-aged man scratched his shiny head, looking ashamed. “I should start thinking about how to deal with small monsters like these, too.”
“We also need to check the forums more often. Ugh… a few days gone and suddenly there’s so much new monster info. Did we send someone to hack into the game’s database or something?”
Not every player read the forums.
Whenever an important update appeared, Xue Xun would plaster announcements everywhere and print piles of copies to hand out. Even then, people still slipped through the cracks. That was why they even stuffed Q-chan with flyers.
He Wuning’s gaze drifted, looking like he couldn’t be bothered to explain. “...Something like that.”
Q-chan: “That’s really not like that at all… Forget it, as long as you’re happy, sweetie.”
Yiluo was driving the milk tea boat like a bumper car on the sea. The unlucky piranha that tried to leap up again got rammed straight into respawn. He picked up a drop near the boat’s edge and looked up curiously. “Hey, I just heard someone say ‘mermaid.’ There’s a monster like that in this zone? I don’t remember seeing that in the data.”
He Wuning had just gotten past that topic, and his face went emotionless again. Yi Luo realized something. “Don’t tell me… they meant you?”
He Wuning lifted his eyelids. “You talk too much.”
The milk tea boat’s rear hatch opened, and he flipped off the bridge in one smooth motion. Two of the players gasped and rushed to the railing; they only relaxed when they saw him land safely on the boat.
Before the rear hatch closed, Q-chan called back worriedly: “If you need supplies, don’t linger here! Hurry home!”
It zipped in after He Wuning, and the pink milk tea boat moved again, drifting lazily along the stone bridge like it was on a casual sightseeing cruise.
The bob-haired girl blinked vacantly. “Who are they, really…?”
The bald middle-aged man slurped his milk tea hard. “Who cares who they are. If they’re strong and still human, that’s great news. Let’s go—hurry back.”
……a
The sea was calm today. They almost reached the Ghost Island zone, but along the way only ran into a few waves of piranhas—not even the higher-tier giant devil rays, let alone the rumored field bosses.
He Wuning flipped through the documents he’d brought from the Administrator Archive Room.
Ocean Region: No one knows how deep this mysterious sea truly is, but countless dangerous monsters lurk beneath. That shaky stone bridge is the only safe passage. Do not enter the water lightly—beware of wandering into a monster nest.
He Wuning tapped the table lightly with his finger. If it specifically warned him about going into the water, then of course—it made him want to go in and take a look.
Yi Luo didn’t even need to ask. One glance at He Wuning’s thoughtful expression in the rear-view mirror, and he knew the guy was up to no good again.
He reminded him, “Before we left, you promised Xue Xun you’d act cautiously.”
He Wuning looked at him. “There are only two of us here.”
“Um…” Q-chan raised its hand timidly.
He Wuning said mercilessly, “You don’t count as a person.”
“Waaah.” Q-chan whimpered, unable to refute.
“So,” He Wuning continued calmly, “there are only two of us. As long as I don’t say anything, no one will know what we’re doing.” Yi Luo shot him a meaningful look. “So what bold idea do you have?”
He Wuning answered simply: “Go underwater and take a look.”
“How much time is left on your ‘Fish-form’ status?” Yi Luo didn’t immediately respond to the situation and instead asked.
He Wuning glanced at it. “Eight minutes.”
“You can go down for five. After five minutes, if you don’t come up, I’ll go look for you.” Yi Luo nodded slightly, his gaze fixed on him. “Just reconnaissance. No matter what you encounter, come back up and discuss it with me before continuing.”
He Wuning considered and reluctantly nodded.
Q-chan looked at him nervously. Yi Luo was speaking so boldly—he actually dared to tell He Wuning what to do…
The even more shocking part: He Wuning didn’t talk back.
Had Yi Luo’s status secretly risen without Q-chan noticing!?
A sudden sense of crisis washed over Q-chan. It immediately volunteered, “Sweetie, I can go underwater with you!”
He Wuning frowned slightly, clearly unsure. “Won’t you short-circuit?”
Q-chan froze.
“I think it’s possible,” Yi Luo said with a smile, propping his chin up. “You’re basically an appliance.”
Q-chan jumped in fury. “You’re the appliance!!”
While the two bickered, He Wuning had already moved to the back hatch again. The “Fish-form” timer was ticking down—he wasn’t about to waste it watching those two fight.
“Wait.” Yi Luo suddenly stopped him. He Wuning paused and looked back.
Yi Luo’s expression was serious. “You’re going into the water… without taking off your clothes?”
He Wuning: “…”
Q-chan shot upward, attempting to headbutt him. “Pervert!”
Yi Luo held him back. “You’re the pervert! What are you imagining all day? What man goes into the water without taking off at least his shirt?”
Q-chan flailed its tiny arms while warning He Wuning, “Sweetie, don’t trust him! He’s up to no good!”
He Wuning felt like he was an idiot for expecting a serious question for even half a second.
Ignoring the two noisy troublemakers, he slipped into the water again.
As seawater swallowed his vision, the “Fish-form” allowed him to see clearly. He tested the underwater flashlight provided by the tech department and examined the surprisingly clear water.
There really didn’t seem to be any monsters nearby.
According to the admin archives, the Ocean Region currently had three unlocked normal monsters—Piranha, Giant-winged Devil Ray, and Poison-Sting Seaweed. As for field bosses—Giant Blue Orb Octopus, Bloodthirsty Shark, Seaweed King, and Berserk Whale.
The most common monsters should’ve been piranhas and devil rays, yet after scanning the area, He Wuning didn’t even see a single fish shadow.
The normal monster Poison-Sting Seaweed was one that most players wouldn’t have known about if not for the unlocked data.
Some players who had fallen into the water and barely survived claimed to have seen it, but it had never actively attacked them. Records indeed described it as non-aggressive.
Low HP, low defense, doesn’t attack—on paper, it seemed like a filler monster. Other than accidentally touching it and getting poisoned, it posed almost no threat.
If not for one line in the data, He Wuning might not have realized how dangerous it actually was.
—A dense, pitch-black carpet of Poison-Sting Seaweed spread before him, drifting like underwater black hair, its tendrils swaying toward him.
Within the thick seaweed, he occasionally spotted a flicker of fish. Piranhas that carelessly swam too close were dragged downward by the harmless-looking seaweed. The mass of black tendrils swarmed, and the fish were devoured completely—not even bones remained.
The records clearly stated: Poison-Sting Seaweed feeds on certain sea monsters. Its growth is astonishing. When it reaches 100 square meters, it will spawn a field boss: the Seaweed King.
He Wuning looked solemnly at the endless field of seaweed before him. No wonder there were fewer fish lately. The nearby section of the stone bridge seemed safer because someone had claimed this place as its personal buffet.
Tang Broadsword appeared in his hand. He glanced at the Fish-form timer—three minutes left. Enough to test the seaweed’s attack power.
But as he gripped his blade, he hesitated. He looked upward.The pink milk-tea boat floated above, tiny colored lights twinkling cheerfully along its sides.
He sighed, pushed the water aside with both hands, and returned to the boat.
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The author has something to say:
Yi Luo: Why is a mermaid going in the water with clothes on?
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