signingbooks Chapter 109 Strange Beasts of the Sea
Chapter 109 Strange Beasts of the Sea
Zhao Kunlun led Song Chen into a blue building in the center of the island.
The building wasn't large, but two heavily armed soldiers stood at the entrance. Upon seeing Zhao Kunlun, they stood at attention and saluted.
Zhao Kunlun pushed open the door and went inside, with Song Chen following behind.
At the end of the corridor was a wooden door with a bronze plaque hanging on it: "Base Commander".
Zhao Kunlun knocked on the door twice.
"Come in."
Zhao Kunlun pushed open the door and stepped aside to let Song Chen go in first.
Song Chen walked in and saw a person standing in the room.
This man was in his forties, not tall but very strong. He wore the rank of Major General on his uniform. He was Shen Tie, the commander of the Yunbo Island base, a peak fourth-level martial artist with over thirty years of combat experience at sea. He was one of the most capable fighters in the Tianhai City Navy.
He was also Zhou Wangyue's old subordinate. When Zhou Wangyue was still in the army, Shen Tie was his bodyguard and followed him for ten years.
Shen Tie looked at Song Chen, his gaze lingering on the Tianjun Blade at his waist for a moment, then he raised his head and looked into Song Chen's eyes.
The two stared at each other for three seconds. Then Shen Tie extended his hand.
Welcome to Yunbo Island.
"The principal told me about you. He said you are the most talented young man he has ever seen. I don't believe in talent, I only believe in battle achievements. The more sea monsters you kill here, the more I trust you."
Song Chen grasped his hand; Shen Tie's grip was very strong, as if he were testing Song Chen's strength.
He neither tightened his grip nor loosened it; he simply held it naturally.
Shen Tie held his hand for two seconds, then released it and nodded.
Shen Tie picked up a key from the table and handed it to Song Chen.
"Your dormitory is in the East District, a private single room with hot water."
"The mess hall is open all day. Go eat whenever you're hungry. The weapons maintenance room is behind the barracks. Just tell the quartermaster if you need anything. You can use the artillery emplacements and training grounds as you like, just don't blow them up."
Song Chen took the keys and put them in his pocket.
"Thank you, Commander Shen."
Shen Tie waved his hand: "No need to thank me. The number of sea monsters you've killed here is the best thanks you can give."
"Did Zhao Kunlun tell you about the gathering of sea monsters?"
"They say there are over 100,000."
Shen Tie shook his head, walked to the map on the wall, and pointed to a sea area northeast of Yunbo Island on the map.
"Now it seems there's more to it than that."
"According to the latest intelligence transmitted back by the reconnaissance aircraft this morning, the number of sea monsters is still increasing. It is conservatively estimated that it has now exceeded 150,000, with several thousand of them being of the third rank or higher."
The room fell silent for a moment.
Song Chen looked at the area of sea marked in red on the map: "When are we going to attack?"
Shen Tie shook his head: "Those sea monsters won't listen to our commands. It might be tomorrow, or it might be longer."
"Take a rest today and get used to the sea environment."
Song Chen nodded and turned to walk towards the door.
He stopped at the door: "Commander Shen."
"Um?"
"What are the differences between the strange beasts of the sea and those of land?"
Shen Tie crossed his arms and thought for a moment before replying, "If you cut a land beast, it will retreat because of the pain. But if you cut a sea beast, it will go crazy because of the pain."
"Sea creatures have duller pain receptors than land-dwelling beasts, but they have a stronger fighting spirit. When injured, they won't run away; they'll just attack even more frantically."
"Moreover, the sea is their home ground. You can exert 100% of your strength on land, but at most 70% in the water."
"If you fall into the sea, don't linger. Get ashore immediately. You can't win a fight in the sea."
Song Chen nodded, then pushed open the door and went out.
Once outside, he gazed intently at the sea.
He knew that this was the real threat to humanity; in terms of overall strength, humans were far superior to the land-dwelling beasts.
However, whenever humans launch an extermination campaign against the land-based monsters, the sea monsters also come out to help, as if to provide support.
After watching for a while, Song Chen went to his dormitory, changed into some light clothes, hung the Tianjun Blade on his waist, and went to the beach.
He walked to the beach, wanting to experience the sea firsthand.
The beaches of Yunbo Island are not like those in tourist brochures, with white sand, azure water, and swaying coconut trees.
The beach here is grayish-black, with coarse sand mixed with broken seashells and volcanic rock particles, making a crunching sound when you step on it.
The seawater was a deep, dark blue. The waves were small but dense, surging in one after another, licking the beach, and then receding, leaving behind white foam.
Scattered along the edge of the beach were some black rocks, their surfaces covered with barnacles and seaweed, gleaming wetly in the glow of the psionic particles.
Song Chen took off her shoes and stepped barefoot on the beach.
The sand was cold, and the waves surged up, washed over his ankles, and then receded.
The seawater was much colder than he had imagined, feeling like something was licking his skin.
He squatted down, scooped up a handful of seawater, and smelled it under his nose.
It tasted fishy, salty, and had an indescribable smell, like rotting seaweed.
He stood up and walked along the deeper part of the beach.
After walking about two hundred meters, the beach disappeared, replaced by a black rocky area.
The rocks are scattered at varying heights, some as big as a house, others as small as a table, densely packed together like a group of black behemoths crouching on the ground.
The waves crashed against the rocks, splashing up white spray and making a deep, rumbling sound.
Song Chen stepped onto a rock. The surface of the rock was slippery and covered with seaweed and barnacles, making it feel like stepping on a layer of ice.
His toes gripped the crevices of the rocks to steady himself, and he activated his Illusionary Eyes.
In the golden light, the world below the sea became clear.
The seawater beneath the reef was not black, but deep blue and translucent, like a huge, flowing sapphire.
Deep within the sapphire, countless points of light flickered, representing the fluctuations of a sea beast's vital energy.
Some are very small and weak, like fireflies; some are larger and brighter, like candles; and some are very large and bright, like lanterns.
Densely packed, countless.
The nearest point of light was in a crack beneath the reef.
Song Chen squatted down and looked at the crack, which was a meter wide and pitch black, with seawater surging inside.
Something is glowing deep within the crack.
He reached out his right hand and into the crevice. The seawater was icy cold, and his fingers touched a slippery, wriggling body, like a large fish.
Startled by his fingers, the creature abruptly retreated into the depths of the crack.
Song Chen reached deeper, his hands submerged below the shoulders in the seawater. He grabbed the creature's tail and pulled it out forcefully.
A giant lobster flew out of the crack and crashed onto the rocks with a dull thud.
This lobster was huge, nearly five meters long from head to tail. Its dark red shell gleamed with an oily sheen in the dim light of the psionic particles, and its two enormous claws, like two pincers, were wildly waving in the air.
Its eyes were black, protruding from the sides of its head, staring intently at Song Chen, its claws spread wide, reaching towards his face.
Song Chen turned his head, and the claws grazed his ear with a crisp cracking sound, a force powerful enough to break steel.
He drew the Heavenly Blade with his right hand, the dark silver blade gleaming coldly in the twilight. The blade sliced into the junction of the lobster's cephalothorax and abdomen, where the carapace was thinnest.
The blade pierced the flesh, but no blood flowed. The sharpness of the Heavenly Blade was such that blood was severed before it could even flow out, cutting off the contraction of blood vessels.
The lobster's claws froze in mid-air for a moment, then drooped limply and crashed onto the rocks.
[A Tier 2 alien beast has been killed, gaining 35 kill points.]