Lin Shuangshi thought the two on the boat were probably out of their minds, but without a megaphone in hand, shouting at them with just his voice wasn’t going to give him any advantage. He gritted his teeth, darkened his face, and turned to the players: “You can’t cross the rainforest, head back to Ghost Island!”
His scowl was terrifying, and combined with the shockwave from the previous cannon blast, no one dared to argue. One by one, they obediently fell in line.
Lin Shuangshi led the way, steadily approaching Ghost Island.
The seaweed stretched endlessly ahead, and using electric attacks might shock everyone in the area, so Yi Luo and He Wuning had to switch to conventional firepower.
Ordinary firepower wasn’t particularly effective against the Seaweed King, but its sheer size meant any hit caused damage, so attacking it wasn’t too difficult.
He Wuning carried the cannon on his shoulder and glanced at the monster ahead; two bulges on the water’s surface indicated the other two Seaweed Kings were surfacing.
He Wuning raised an eyebrow: “Looks like the other two are out too.”
Indeed, all three Seaweed Kings had appeared.
Having three Seaweed Kings appear at once made everyone treat them as a serious threat—not because of poison or raw strength, but because they were a huge hassle.
First, they were dangerous to attack. These monsters could control all the surrounding Poison-Sting Seaweed, which spread across the seabed like endless tentacles. Any player approaching them risked being ensnared.
Second, their HP was abnormally high. According to the administrator database, each 100 square meters of Poison-Sting Seaweed could give rise to a Seaweed King, and all the seaweed in that area formed its body. To defeat it, the entire patch of seaweed had to be cleared; otherwise, the Seaweed King would continuously regenerate.
In other words, by observing a Seaweed King’s health bar, one could estimate how much poisonous seaweed remained in that area.
The damage from the handheld cannon was average. He Wuning glanced at the broadsword leaning against the door and felt a bit itchy.
For the tangled masses of seaweed, the sharp sword might even deal more damage than the cannon.
Yiluo didn’t avert his gaze but seemed to read his thoughts. Without turning his head, he said: “Don’t even think about going into the water.”
“If you get caught in one of those things, that’s a tentacle play. Don’t you think you should be careful?”
His tone sounded like he was scolding a child.
He Wuning remained expressionless: “If a tentacle dares to reach for me, I’ll just cut it off.”
“Arrogant,” Yi Luo chuckled. He glanced toward Lin Shuangshi, noting that the others were moving efficiently. Team Five combatants, following closely, were clearly skilled in advancing quickly, escorting the players safely toward Ghost Island.
After the earlier intimidation, the players had calmed down and dared not cause trouble.
Yi Luo withdrew his gaze. “Once they reach the other side, zap twice, then you find your chance. Don’t enter the water—stay on that bridge over there.”
“They’ll have to enter the water eventually. The bridge isn’t that far from collapsing,” He Wuning replied, though he continued attacking with his weapon.
Even with the “Fish Form” buff, underwater attacks were less effective, but for humans, having a footing on solid ground made striking easier.
Seeing Team Five escort the players to Ghost Island, Yi Luo raised his megaphone: “Lin Shuangshi, keep your team at a distance. I’m about to fire!”
Lin Shuangshi turned back angrily, his refined face twisted in frustration, but he gritted his teeth and moved his team a few steps forward to avoid the electric blast from the sea.
Q-chan, in charge of controlling the electromagnetic cannon, looked eager, almost bubbling with excitement: “I’m ready! Take my electromagnetic cannon! Ora!”
He aimed at the nearest Seaweed King and fired another blast.
Q-chan knew that if the Seaweed King got too close, the cannon would risk hitting allies, so now was the perfect time to fire multiple shots.
The other two Seaweed Kings, emerging from the sea, ignored their companion under attack. They didn’t care about the pink milk tea boat floating on the surface and moved toward the bridge, their tentacle-like seaweed swaying menacingly.
He Wuning observed from a distance, puzzled: “Why are these monsters so fixated on the bridge?”
Whether it was piranhas, giant devilfish, or the Seaweed King, they all relentlessly attacked the bridge.
Previously, one could argue that human players on the bridge attracted them, but now that the bridge had been evacuated, the Seaweed Kings still attacked it.
Their target was clearly the bridge itself.
Was this a game mechanic, or was there something wrong with the bridge?
He Wuning examined it closely.
“Probably just annoyed that someone built stuff in its territory,” Yi Luo guessed casually, steering the milk tea boat closer to the bridge. The combatants on board were eager to act. He Wuning grabbed his sword and jumped from the rear cabin onto the bridge.
“He Wuning,” Yi Luo called without looking back, “be careful. Remember to refresh your buff when it expires.”
He Wuning, backpack full of milk tea, nodded and nimbly jumped onto the bridge.
Now using the electromagnetic cannon would risk hitting everyone, so Q-chan flew up, dodging the Seaweed King’s tentacles, and followed He Wuning, reporting: “Sweetie, the electromagnetic cannon is working well, but its HP is dropping very slowly. This is going to take a while.”
He Wuning’s Tang broadsword swept through the air, severing the wet, slippery seaweed tentacles that fell in a mess around him. He glanced at the Seaweed King’s health bar—hardly any damage had been done.
After all, the body covered 100 square meters; losing this little was probably like a human losing a tiny chunk of fingernail.
Yi Luo was still on the milk tea boat, which was equipped with a variety of fire-suppressing weapons. The anti-collision rail on the bow had a high-speed machine gun firing continuously to keep the tentacles at bay. He occasionally shot from the window—his usual gun was left in the lab because Zuo Qianming wanted to experiment by combining the administrator fragment and weapon He Wuning left behind, so he temporarily substituted a submachine gun.
A dense barrage of bullets ran up the Seaweed King’s body. The creature, a mass of indistinct limbs and features, seemed unfazed, stubbornly moving toward the stone bridge.
It resembled a massive ball of intertwined poisonous seaweed, reaching its tentacles toward the bridge.
He Wuning’s sword sliced through the floating tentacles, cutting them down and leaving some debris that interfered with the operatives’ movements on the bridge. He flicked the debris into the sea with his foot, slightly annoyed.
Suddenly, a seaweed vine stealthily climbed up from the opposite side of the bridge, launching a sneaky rear attack, wrapping around He Wuning’s unprotected back.
He Wuning had already noticed it peripherally, and Q-chan shouted: “Sneak attack from behind! How despicable!”
He Wuning spun with his sword in a broad arc. Suddenly, a deep, passionate male voice shouted: “Come on! Watch out! He Wuning! Don’t lose—”
His movements abruptly sped up, power and precision rising significantly, but he couldn’t help breaking out in goosebumps.
After cutting the attacking seaweed, He Wuning turned to see who was shouting.
A nearly two-meter-tall burly man stood there. He turned to another operative: “Comrade! Watch out! Don’t lose to it! This is called never giving up—”
Yelling passionately, he pulled an onion from his pocket, skillfully rubbed his eyes, and produced a stream of tears.
He Wuning: “…”
Noticing He Wuning’s gaze, the burly man explained: “This is my ability, ‘Bond Shout.’ Saying lines like a manga protagonist to encourage teammates grants them an instant power boost. The more sincere the emotions, the stronger the boost.”
“You’ll get used to it—it’s actually pretty useful. Go for it!”
He pumped his fist passionately, whether from habit or personality, it seemed natural to speak this way while using his ability.
He Wuning quietly lowered his gaze.
Q-chan wiped nonexistent tears: “Wuwu, many players’ awakened abilities aren’t very useful, but they still push themselves for the sake of their teammates. That’s the spirit of hot-blooded determination!”
He Wuning expressionlessly: “That ability will definitely be very useful to you.”
He cut through another tentacle aimed at him while helping a combatant nearby who nearly slipped on seaweed.
He frowned, noticing the stone bridge beneath them growing narrower.
At that moment, his device rang. He glanced at Q-chan, who immediately responded: “Hello? Who’s this? We’re super busy right now!”
“It’s us, here to help,” came Xue Xun’s voice. “He Ge, try to lure those Seaweed Kings toward the shore. We brought Special Operations Division’s countermeasure combatant.”
He Wuning looked at Yi Luoon the boat: “I’m not on the boat. Q, go get Yi Luo.”
“Understood!” Q-chan flew off, dodging attacks from the Seaweed King, reaching Yi Luo at the window: “Hey, sweetie says to take Xue Xun’s call.”
Yi Luo had just finished a burst of bullets, removed his earplugs, and raised an eyebrow: “Hmm? Xue Xun? What’s up?”
Xue Xun: “......”
Even though I brought big weapons, these guys don’t seem to see me as a savior at all..
He patiently explained again.
“Oh.” Yi Luo responded casually, not overly excited, and asked: “Who did you send?”
He was familiar with the Special Operations Division members.
Xue Xun didn’t hold back: “Lu Bai.”
Yi Luo raised an eyebrow, unsurprised: “Got it. When we come over, try to kill a few more so she has less to deal with.”
He gestured to He Wuning from the window, and the milk tea boat launched several harpoons, which pierced the Seaweed King without obstruction.
The massive Seaweed King seemed indifferent to the harpoons, as if it felt no pain. It eagerly tried to use the ropes attached to the harpoons to drag the entire milk tea boat into itself.
Yi Luo sneered, turned the boat’s bow sharply toward the shore, powering the four oars rapidly. The Seaweed King’s enormous body toppled toward the boat, the water surface shaking violently in response.
He Wuning, along with combatants on the bridge, moved closer to the rainforest coast. Yet the swaying Seaweed King grabbed the bridge, tautening the ropes, creating a tense standoff with the milk tea boat.
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The author has something to say:
Xue Xun: Can you at least show a little respect for the reinforcements?
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