Chapter 185: Entering the Water Again

Although a Rare-class monster was undoubtedly hidden in the depths, and potentially in large numbers, the water was their domain. They could unleash their power to the fullest, while humans were inherently disadvantaged, unable to utilize their full strength.

If not absolutely necessary, no one dared to disturb them. Just like the Lion-Scorpion Cinder Beast and Purple-Striped Aberrant Beast that were roused today—they were lucky the two appeared sequentially. If they had attacked simultaneously, Su Li and the others would likely have been wiped out.

But no one could guarantee that their luck would hold every time.

“I feel so restless. I only need 10 Spiritual Sources to reach Level 8, which will let me unlock the mysterious Blood Crystal and see what treasure it holds. I really want to dive down and hunt Level 7 monsters…” Su Li watched Jiang Shuijue’s group paddle their rafts closer to the building. He was the first to jump into the water.

“Why are you here? Where are Wu Feng and the others?” Su Li’s question confirmed his initial guess. His group was heading toward the Golden Eagle Alliance, but Xu Xuehui’s super vision allowed her to track Su Li, Gong Xiao, and the Lion-Scorpion Cinder Beast’s battle from afar, including the appearance of the Purple-Striped Aberrant Beast and Su Li’s retreat toward the building.

Jiang Shuijue ultimately decided to sacrifice one raft and rush to the building to meet Su Li, instructing Wu Feng and the others to escort the Sea Cow Beast corpses back to the Golden Eagle Alliance first, as the food was crucial.

Jiang Shuijue wanted to pick up Su Li, and Ling Yi, Xu Xuehui, and Ding Longyun naturally followed. Gu Mingfeng had to stay behind due to his severe injury, or he certainly would have come as well.

Gong Xiao, draped in Su Li’s jacket, also jumped into the water. She had retracted the Unquenchable Spear and used both hands to pull Su Li’s jacket tightly around her upper body.

Ling Yi looked at her, his eyes showing worry and concern. His lips subtly moved, as if he wanted to speak, but he couldn’t summon the courage.

“Let’s go. Back to the Golden Eagle Alliance,” Su Li retracted his dual swords, Seven-Star Bracer, and Purple-Striped Belt. He needed only ten Spiritual Sources to level up. He decided to find a way to hunt Level 7 monsters now, but he would return to the Golden Eagle Alliance soon. He couldn’t risk the others joining him in this adventure.

Today’s hunt had resulted in heavy casualties: eleven people died. The dead included one Level 7 Wielder and ten Level 6 Wielders. Three were from Jiang Shuijue’s Gold Eagle One A-Building, four from the B-Building, and four from the Shimao Center.

The Golden Eagle Alliance, which had a total population of 146 people, was reduced to 135 people.

Although the price was steep, the reward was immense: eleven Sea Cow Beast corpses and one White-Limbed Sea Cow corpse.

This meant the Golden Eagle Alliance would not face a food shortage for a long time.

After returning to the Golden Eagle Alliance, Wu Feng commanded the people to move the eleven Sea Cow Beast corpses and the one White-Limbed Sea Cow corpse onto the floating island. They then returned to their respective residences to change into clean clothes and rested, awaiting Su Li’s return for allocation.

After Su Li returned, everyone changed into clean clothes and gathered on the floating island for the distribution.

The eleven Sea Cow Beast corpses were divided: Gold Eagle One A-Building and the Shimao Center each received three, and Su Li’s B-Building received five due to its larger population. The White-Limbed Sea Cow corpse was divided into three equal parts, one for each building.

After the corpses were distributed, the residents of the three buildings took their portions, and the rest was left for the logistics team to process.

The eleven deaths had sobered the survivors. Their mood was somber.

The experience reinforced the cruelty of this world. Today, eleven people had died. Who could guarantee they wouldn’t be next?

Su Li was preoccupied with advancing to Level 8. He was only ten effective Spiritual Sources away. He needed to find ten Level 7 monsters to break through. After distributing the Sea Cow Beast corpses, he saw that it was still early. He handed the remaining tasks to Xu Haishui and prepared to leave alone.

Unwilling to wait, he jumped onto a small raft reinforced with four life preservers and picked up the paddle, ready to depart.

Gong Xiao saw him and, without a word, jumped onto the raft.

“Why are you here?” Su Li, holding the paddle, looked at Gong Xiao, who had changed into a new outfit. His mind automatically recalled her ripped clothes and alluring, exposed body. He looked at her with a slightly strange expression.

“Where are you going alone?” Gong Xiao stared at Su Li, matching his slightly intrusive gaze.

Su Li shrugged, deciding to be honest. “I’m still short ten Spiritual Sources. I’m going to look for Level 7 monsters.”

Gong Xiao said, “Are you in such a rush? It will be dark in half a day. Hunting tonight would be the same.”

Su Li shook his head. “Do you remember Ding Shijie, the former leader of the Golden Eagle Alliance?”

Gong Xiao replied, “I heard you mention him, but I never met him. What about him?”

Su Li said, “I fought him the day before yesterday. He was already Level 8. Do you understand what that means? I don’t know how many people like him are out there, but he’s certainly not the only one. Another two days have passed since then. It’s hard to imagine what level Ding Shijie would be at today if he were still alive, and how many other people like him there are.”

Gong Xiao took a deep breath. “So you’re anxious and want to advance to Level 8 quickly? But how did this Ding Shijie advance so fast? We haven’t slacked off; we’ve been hunting monsters every day.”

Su Li shook his head. “To advance as fast as him, passively waiting for monsters to climb ashore is not enough. There’s only one way: actively dive into the water and hunt high-level monsters.”

Gong Xiao took a deep breath. “That’s only theoretical. Do you know how dangerous that is? We survived today purely by luck. We won’t be so lucky every time. A single mistake, and we won’t come back alive.”

The fear of the underwater world still persisted, deeply ingrained in them, a primal fear of the unknown, despite their strength.

Su Li said with a wry smile, “This world is full of lunatics. If there’s one Ding Shijie, there will be a second and a third. I don’t want to be left far behind.”

Gong Xiao heard Su Li’s determination and knew she couldn’t stop him. She thought for a moment. “It’s too dangerous for you alone. I’ll go with you. We can watch each other’s backs. Besides, someone needs to look after the raft, or you’ll have to swim back.”

Su Li thought Gong Xiao’s reasoning was sound. Having someone watch his back would make things much safer. He nodded in agreement.

The two boarded the raft, leaving the Gold Eagle One B-Building. They headed toward the direction of the former Purple Wind Building. They traveled about two kilometers before passing a 30-story building exposed above the water.

Su Li stopped the raft. “Let’s choose this place. Gong Xiao, how many Spiritual Sources do you still need?”

“I still need 48 Spiritual Sources. I was planning to wait for tonight’s hunt. Based on last night’s ratio, the number of Level 7 monsters should increase significantly tonight.”

She was half a day behind Su Li in leveling up. This time, she decided not to compete with Su Li for the kills.

Su Li acknowledged this. He drew his Seven-Star Bracer and Purple-Striped Belt. The hilt of the Dragon Rhino Sword automatically extended from his chest. He grabbed the hilt and drew the Dragon Rhino Sword.

Gong Xiao secured the raft with a rope to the balcony window frame. Fire-red energy surged from her chest, transforming into a dark-red spear—the Unquenchable Spear had materialized.

Gong Xiao saw Su Li flip into the water, and she immediately followed.

Gong Xiao did not compete with Su Li this time. She lagged behind him. Her purpose wasn’t to harvest Spiritual Sources but to support Su Li. Diving into an unknown body of water alone was perilous. With her backing him up, it would be much safer, especially since she had the Unquenchable Spear, which significantly boosted her combat power. The two of them, working together, would not be as helpless as they were against the Level 9 Rare Beast.

Su Li dove first. He saw only scattered Arrow Serpent Beasts, Level 3 Common monsters, resting on the 29th floor.

Su Li continued to descend. He saw no monsters on the 28th floor. On the 27th floor, he saw three Level 5 Purple Rat Beasts floating motionlessly in their sleep. They hadn’t noticed the observers.

“It seems the powerful monster that used to lurk here was killed, and the other monsters scattered, leaving only a few scattered ones.”

Su Li decided to dive deeper. On the 26th floor, he saw a few Purple Rat Beasts. On the 25th floor, there were no monsters at all.

Gong Xiao silently followed behind him. She held the Unquenchable Spear in her right hand, constantly scanning the surroundings. Three water shields floated around her, ready to protect her.

If an emergency arose, the three water shields could block a fatal attack.

Su Li reached the 24th floor. He saw about ten White Jade Centipedes there.

These White Jade Centipedes were Level 6 Common Beasts.

(End of Chapter)