C2 Exploring the Deep Sea
The Synthetic House was stocked with an array of blueprint templates. By simply using the required materials, one could craft the items depicted on the blueprints.
Ordinary Coral Staff: Coral (0/1), Water Grass (0/1)
Exquisite Coral Staff: Coral (0/4), Copper Ingot (0/1)
Coral Spear: Coral (0/1), Iron Ingot (0/5)
Xiao Hao perused the dense collection of blueprints, noting that the majority were for weapons and protective gear. There were fewer blueprints for everyday items, mainly consisting of clothing, water purifiers, and agricultural tools, each requiring a distinct set of materials.
The ephemeral bullet messages had vanished from the void, indicating their temporary nature.
Xiao Hao refrained from rashly opening the door. This was no ordinary farming game where one could simply reset after a loss; here, a defeat could mean the loss of life itself. He knew he had to exercise extreme caution.
As the morning slipped away without any new bullet messages, Xiao Hao remained patient, conserving his limited food supply and resources.
By midday, the forum was awash with chaos—grievances, laments, and angry rants dominated. Xiao Hao skimmed past the noise, searching for any hints that might aid his survival.
He quickly stumbled upon a message that caught his attention: "Holy smokes! The Shellfish House isn't flooded because it's imbued with magic! And there's only a finite amount of it!"
Startled, Xiao Hao leapt from his bed. If others had discovered this clue, it must be hidden somewhere within the room.
Approaching the wall, Xiao Hao scrutinized its muddled colors, suspecting he might have missed something important. Meticulously examining every inch, he eventually spotted a small, dim screen-like object in a slightly elevated corner, easily missed amidst the wall's chaotic color scheme.
Magic Power: 955L
Magic Power Consumed: 45L
Xiao Hao inhaled sharply. The struggle for survival had just intensified. What intrigued him most, however, was the use of "L" as the unit for magic power—could it be a nod to the deep-sea environment?
It had been roughly four and a half hours since he woke up, and he estimated that about 10 liters of magic power were being used up every hour.
This meant that the Shellfish House could sustain itself for only 100 hours, just a little over four days.
Xiao Hao suspected there might be more secrets hidden within the game, so he continued browsing the forum.
"Hooray! I just stepped out and found a regular coral treasure chest! It's filled with all sorts of supplies for daily life. The downside is that the Exploring Bubbles use up a lot of magic power. I recommend everyone to expedite their explorations. Once you find something, head straight back. Don't dilly-dally outside!"
Exploring Bubbles?
Xiao Hao had only recently learned about the Exploring Bubbles' function. The system had indicated they were essential for venturing out but failed to mention their magic power consumption!
It was becoming clear that the Shellfish House might not even last the four days.
Xiao Hao scrutinized the various images shared on the forum until he stumbled upon one related to the Exploring Bubble.
It reminded him of the Sea King from a DC movie he had seen, who could envelop himself in a bubble underwater, filling it with air instead of water.
It appeared the Exploring Bubble worked in a similar fashion. If what the player said was true, the rate at which it drained magic power was worryingly high.
After several more sweeps of the forum without uncovering anything new, Xiao Hao was about to mentally command the game panel to close when a message flashed across the screen.
This guy's got luck on his side. The Deep Sea Phantom has departed, making it much safer to venture out now.
He's probably unaware that the Exploring Bubble chews through 1 liter of magic power every minute. Many players in the past have had their magic power depleted while exploring, only to end up crushed by the sea pressure!
Lucky? Maybe not. A prehistoric Parapenaeopsis stylifera is lurking just 20 meters from his door, watching him. One wrong move, two meters closer, and it would attack.
Beneath the dark sea, he might die without ever knowing what killed him!
Wow! Right in front of him was a nest of Shadow Hippocampus eggs! Securing them before they hatched could be a game-changer!
But if he failed to retrieve them before they hatched, the player was as good as dead.
Even if he managed to get them, would the player even know how to use them? Personally, I'd go for the coral treasure chest on the left.
One comment after another floated across the virtual game panel. Xiao Hao decided to put his faith in the advice from the comments.
Once he'd made up his mind, there was no room for indecision. Xiao Hao turned the doorknob, and a wall of water rose before him.
Despite the Shellfish House's light, visibility at the seabed was a mere one or two meters.
The game panel's "Exploring Bubble" feature glowed invitingly. Xiao Hao inhaled deeply and reached his hand out the door to test for seawater.
As his hand neared the water, the wall indented abruptly!
Relieved, Xiao Hao stepped out slowly, the surrounding water receding as if in reverse, leaving him in a bubble of air about two meters in diameter.
As Xiao Hao's second foot stepped out, a shiver shot up from the soles of his feet to his heart, sending a shudder through him.
Looking down, he saw the murky, dark red ground outside the door, seemingly composed of crushed bones and flesh.
A chill settled in Xiao Hao's heart; this game might be tougher than he'd anticipated.
Heeding the hints from the comments he'd memorized, Xiao Hao turned left and moved forward. A few steps in, darkness enveloped him. Turning back, the Shellfish House was out of sight, the world around him a void of blackness, save for the faint glow of his phone screen.
Xiao Hao was certain he hadn't turned off the lights in his room.
Yet, just a few steps away, the light from the Shellfish House seemed to have been swallowed whole.
Could the seawater here swallow light itself?
Xiao Hao switched on his phone's flashlight. Inside the Exploring Bubble, the light shone normally, but beyond its boundary, visibility plummeted, illuminating only about a meter ahead.
Xiao Hao pointed his phone's light behind him and could just make out the silhouette of the Shellfish House.
Thankfully, the Shellfish House was still there.
With his exit route confirmed, Xiao Hao pressed on. The Exploring Bubble was draining his magic power, so locating the treasure chest mentioned in the bullet screen comments was critical.
Meandering through the darkness, after several minutes, Xiao Hao stumbled upon the Coral Treasure Chest.
The chest was a jumble of colors, as if doused in paint, with shades of chaotic gray.
It was a size that was awkwardly in-between—not too large, but not small either. It required two hands to carry, leaving Xiao Hao without a spare hand to hold his phone. He had to make do with the phone's light to navigate.
The game shouldn't have such glaring oversights. Xiao Hao pulled up the game panel and went through the features one by one, eventually discovering a pick-up function in the inventory space.
He didn't recall a pick-up option when he first familiarized himself with the panel.
This game was riddled with pitfalls, lacking even basic instructions.
Not dwelling on it, Xiao Hao used the inventory space to collect the treasure chest.
He'd deal with opening it later; conserving magic power was his priority.
After retracing his steps for a bit, Xiao Hao returned to his room. Hesitating briefly, he resolved to retrieve the Shadow Hippocampus eggs as well.
If the bullet screen was accurate, then the eggs must be real.
Unsure of when they might hatch, the sooner he secured them, the better.
Maybe the bullet screen would offer guidance on using the eggs. If not, he could preempt any danger by dealing with them before they hatched.
Decision made, Xiao Hao stepped out once more, groping his way toward the direction indicated by the bullet screen.
Ten minutes of searching intensified his anxiety.
With visibility at a minimum and his arm aching from holding the phone, he couldn't risk lowering it.
If the light died, he'd be lost in the pitch-black depths of the ocean.
The bullet screen provided a direction but no distance, making Xiao Hao's search all the more challenging.
The gentle sound of water occasionally reached Xiao Hao's ears, punctuated by the eerie screeches of various creatures that reminded him of the large marine animals from fantasy films he'd seen.
Minutes ticked by, and Xiao Hao's frown grew tighter. If he didn't find the eggs soon, he'd have to return; the magic power of the Shellfish House couldn't afford such wastefulness.
As he was about to give up and head back, a dark red mound of soil caught his eye. Nestled within it were several black orbs, each about the size of a thumb.
Xiao Hao hurried over and opened the game panel, swiftly collecting all the small black orbs. The space box listed the names of various items, and there it was, behind the treasure chest slot: Shadow Hippocampus eggs x8.
Success at last!
Breathing a sigh of relief, Xiao Hao turned to head back to his room, only to catch sight of the chat floating in the void.
"Seriously! Did he just charm Lady Luck herself? How does he keep stumbling upon treasures?"
"In a sea of live streams, there's always a couple of lucky ones."
"Well, luck is a double-edged sword. He's found some great loot, but now the Deep Sea Phantom is back."
"The Deep Sea Phantom can close in fast—probably be here in 30 seconds."
Thirty seconds?
A cold sweat broke on Xiao Hao's forehead. He'd spent over ten minutes searching for those eggs, and now he had to make it back to his room in just 30 seconds!
With the last comment from the chat in mind, Xiao Hao spun on his heel and dashed off, mentally retracing the search path he had taken. The search had been slow and meticulous due to the small size of the eggs, but in reality, he wasn't too far from the Shellfish House.
The chat had only provided a rough direction, and Xiao Hao had taken a winding route to ensure he didn't miss anything. Now, sprinting back in a straight line, he was significantly closer than the roundabout walking distance he had initially covered.
By his quick estimation, he was no more than 100 meters away from the safety of the Shellfish House.
Hope was not lost!
A fierce will to survive ignited in Xiao Hao's eyes.
Blinded by his obstructed vision, Xiao Hao couldn't sprint at full speed. He used his phone's light to guide him, while rapidly recalling every subtle feature of the path in his mind to ensure he wouldn't stray.
Thankfully, his meticulous search over the past ten minutes had etched the sea floor's unique characteristics into his memory. Without these mental markers, navigating the pitch-black depths would be a perilous endeavor.
"Thump... Thump..."
Xiao Hao's heart pounded furiously as he fought to quell the panic within. Losing his cool now meant certain death!
I can make it!
I must survive!
Never before had 100 meters seemed such an endless expanse.
Faster!
Even faster!
A chilling sensation crept from Xiao Hao's feet to his core, his forehead slick with sweat, yet a cold shiver ran down his spine, his hairs standing on end.
At last, Xiao Hao glimpsed the dim glow of the Shellfish House in the ocean's expanse! And then, a sharp, grating laugh of a female ghost echoed from behind.
The sinister cackle unleashed Xiao Hao's latent power, propelling him to sprint even faster.
In this do-or-die moment, Xiao Hao spared no thought for anything but hurling himself into the safety of the Shellfish House!
As he burst through the door, waves of relief and joy flooded his being. But in that instant, his triumphant smile seized up.
The female ghost's claws had shattered the watery barrier, tearing through Xiao Hao's pajamas. The fabric clung to his back, the ghost's talons raking bloody trails across his skin!
