Staring at the small black hole that had been floating beside him, the octopus monster swallowed, its throat thick and twisted like a flabby neck.

“No, me… we were islanders originally. “

“Islanders! ” He Yishu stared at the man in disbelief.

The freak spoke with a trembling voice.

“We worked for Lord Ka. Yunni. Sometimes when we messed up—like not paying enough taxes or owing him money we couldn’t pay back—he’d send us to work overseas. “

“So you’re one of them? What’s your name? “

“My name is Ka. Bomu. A few years ago, my mother fell ill suddenly. To get treated at the biggest island in the Chebin Archipelago, I borrowed some loans from the Xueyun family’s private bank. “

He said, with a hint of sorrow:

“A year later, my mother passed away, and the debt still hasn’t been paid off. So I had no choice but to go work at Lord Yunni’s offshore fishery. “

“Are there many people there? ” He Yishu keenly sensed that this could lead to more valuable glittering clues.

“It’s okay. My workplace had quite a lot of people, but it’s really dangerous there. Every few months, one or two people go missing… “

Needless to say, he was one of the missing.

As Ka Bomu spoke, his pupils suddenly began to shake violently, and his tentacles twitched uncontrollably. “Ah… I… “

“What’s wrong with you! “

A terrifying aura emanated from the depths of the cave.

{If you don’t want to die, shut your stinking mouth. }

A voice like an echo in a dream drifted out from the depths, carrying a sinister, eerie presence.

Ka Bomu suddenly screamed and fell to his knees. Beneath his skin, blue vein-like paths of light emerged, bulging as if they were about to explode.

Yang Zicang and He Yishu exchanged a glance; some hidden secret here was indeed surfacing.

“Urghhh! “

In agony, Ka Bomu slammed into a nearby rotting crate that was barely holding together. Amidst a clatter, one of his tentacles exploded, and a blood vessel on his neck burst with a loud pop as well.

“What inside is preventing him from speaking? ” The iron bar in He Yishu’s hand flared with an orange, illusory flame.

{What do you mean by preventing? These people who breach their labor contracts don’t even have the basic respect for their employer. }

“URGGHHH! “

Yang Zicang pulled a healing Ability Sphere prepared back at the inn from his pocket. With a firm slap, he pressed it onto Ka Bomu’s writhing body.

“Use it! “

{Go ahead, use it. The more you use, the fewer you’ll have left. Really laughable… You can’t even do math better than my grandson… }

“Urgh… I… pray… to the… Source of the Holy Spirit… “

The Ability Sphere in his hand burst apart with a bang.

The bulging veins of skin on Ka Bomu’s body began to shudder incessantly, as if the fluid inside was rapidly dispersing, collapsing and then swelling back up.

At least it managed to keep his remaining body from exploding again.

｛Musing Night.｝

A mental shockwave rippled outward.

……

Yang Zicang’s Musing Night spread deep into the cave.

Things that hadn’t existed during the last scan surged forth, waves of discomforting energy pouring out relentlessly.

At the same time, Yang Zicang sensed that within the artificial passage just a few meters above the cavern’s ceiling, two figures were heading off into the distance.

One of them, perceiving the sweep of the Musing Night, was on the verge of bolting out of the cave when Lange let out a low laugh.

“What is it, Captain Lange?” asked the lantern-bearing companion, glancing at the man whose physique and skill brought a sense of security.

“Nothing, I just confirmed someone’s identity.“

Lange, wearing a gas mask, felt a pang of relief. The man who had been scouting the island this afternoon had been found—and he was the guy inside here.

“Are they really going to die in there, Captain Lange?“

“The Old Island Lord has been summoned successfully. They’re definitely dead. Let’s get out of here quickly; it’ll be trouble if we get contaminated.“

The two had barely scrambled out of the small, later-dug burrow when a tremor rumbled from the depths, and countless bizarre, muttering voices erupted into shrieks.

……

Inside the cave, blocked off by a boulder.

A heavy blue mist surged forth from the deep passage, and the crashing roar of blasted walls billowed out from the abyss.

{I just heard what my grandson said. }

Crumbled rocks tumbled down the tunnel.

A voice full of malice echoed from within:

{Two fresh faces, who have just emerged from the depths of the Fog Sea, can’t wait to show off before they’ve even figured out the coastline. }

As the illusory sound emerged, a nauseating, fishy stench spread rampantly.

Kekele!The ground twisted, as if a stream was bulging up from below.

“This is… “

“It’s… the seawater that bred our bodies! “

Ka Bomu, who had recovered slightly, spoke:

“It can fuse us with the octopus. “

Through his Silent Night, Yang Zicang had already sensed something gathering energy unceasingly within there. It was growing stronger, rivalling even Lighthouse Chief Long Qiula.

Bam!A massive, dark octopus tentacle burst out of the ground from beside the cargo behind them!

A wave of disgust and utter dread washed over He Yishu and Yang Zicang. A sticky, viscous liquid splattered onto their skin, resembling the amniotic fluid of some creature.

{What do you say about forming a new body with it, you two? }

Half a large octopus eyeball emerged from under the tentacle.

So this is the secret of this place! Yang Zicang felt a jolt of terror.

-｛Distributor May Valkyrie gazes upon the glorious prelude I am incubating.｝

As if sensing the hesitation stirring within Yang Zicang’s heart, the distributor’s message of encouragement swiftly echoed in his mind.

-｛May Valkyrie raises the price by 20% for the Radiance of Glory I am incubating.｝

Yang Zicang turned his head to look back at the path they came from. If it was just this information… it should be enough for them to withdraw from exploring this place.

He needed to find a way to get out quickly and then make subsequent plans by combining this intelligence. However… the Distributor gave a price increase prompt right at this moment.

What does this mean? Continue?!

Yang Zicang paused his steps slightly. He felt the cold, wet touch of liquid seeping into his shoes. He called out loudly:

“Ka Bomu, what exactly is inside? “

“It’s, a kind of… treasure… fog… “

“Bomu? “

This octopus-like man was swept into the cracked ground by a large tentacle, only the sound of “Ulu ulu ” came through.

……

The cave hole bubbling with sea-liquid filth began to constantly crack and expand.

“What do we do now? ” He Yishu asked, dodging a newly formed gap in the ground.

｛I offset 55.9N｝

Yang Zicang, dressed in a thin blue corduroy jacket, gritted his teeth, rose to his feet, and with a swift swing of his coattails, dashed deeper into the cave.

He Yishu ran beside him.

Suddenly, with a loud crash, a bulging giant tentacle violently slammed Yang Zicang and the other man, flinging them against the wall and the ground.

｛Deploy!｝

｛Latticed position expansion, ones, tens, hundreds.｝

In the instant before hitting the ground, He Yishu felt his body being counter-flung, the impact force cancelled out.

He Yishu had no time to marvel at how useful the “Dust-dispelling ” ability was,

The huge tentacle, whipping up like a great tree trunk, smashed down the passage, producing a deafening sound.

Spreading through the seawater juice, Yang Zicang flipped himself up with a somersault.

The Hundred-rank positions allowed “Dispatch ” to offset the force carried by these tentacles to the maximum extent. It indicated that although these tentacles weren’t evil nightmare creatures, they possessed similar rank augmentations.

What exactly was controlling them?

{No need to resist; just stay in contact more, and they will let you two experience what it feels like to merge with the ocean… }

He Yishu grabbed a handful of the liquid and examined it.

Puff-Boom!

A silver long spear shot out from the black hole, piercing through two octopus arms; meanwhile, the giant blanket abruptly unfurled, coiled around He Yishu, and swept him along with Yang Zicang, who had jumped on, rapidly shuttling through the cave.

The walls, years of erosion flayed, were whipped behind at high speed.

“Ah, Cloth Dust… ” The handsome Mr. He had wind blowing into his mouth, his face as rippled as fast-moving lake water.

“Hold steady! I’m about to speed up! “

The walls on either side rapidly receded, transforming into blurry black shadows with a “whoosh. “

Dizzily reeling, He Yishu felt as if all his blood had suddenly pooled into his feet, while his head was filled with air pressure, and even the voice of someone right beside him was, muffled thanks to bursting eardrums driving it dim.

……

Deep within the twisted cave was a sealed warehouse that had been expanded by the navy decades ago.

A dim, shadowy figure was submerged in a large bucket-like liquid pool, four to five meters wide. It wasn’t an octopus in shape, but rather resembled a tangible apparition. Its whole body was a dark green and blue, with shadows condensed within.

However, within this person’s pupils were three incomplete circular rings.

A buzzing, amplified voice came from the top of the cave.

— “Grandfather, do you see them? “

This figure held a small iron hammer. He struck a vertical pipe three times with it, which meant “no. “

Then he struck it one more time.

Far inside the island, Ka Yunni, through the crackling earpiece, hadn’t heard the sounds of battle. But upon asking the question, he heard ading-dongchime in response.

This middle-aged man, wrapped in a silk robe, touched his hair as he anxiously waited, pressing his hand to the earpiece.

Entirely unable to hear their psychic voices or witness the scene firsthand, he could only wait idly… Thankfully, the power of science had enabled him to, at the very least, attain some of the enigmatic abilities of the Fogfolk!

Thank the Golden Shell Federation, butchered by the devil.