Chapter 123: Chapter 123: Deep Sea Tentacle Monster

The luminous phantom fish could clearly sense its target’s mental state, so when Xu Qingsui’s eyes regained their clarity, it began to grow agitated.

Perhaps because it was the first time it had encountered a human it couldn’t mesmerize, the luminous phantom fish began to activate its ability once more.

The lantern hanging from its body began to shift through a variety of colors, as if it were a fluorescent light.

It even emitted a fluorescent glow that slowly spread toward Xu Qingsui.

Just as the glow was about to make contact, Xu Qingsui suddenly raised her hand and flung out a bolt of lightning.

The luminous phantom fish had no chance to dodge, and the lightning struck the lantern on its dorsal fin dead-on.

Then, the glowing lantern exploded with a BOOM. The lightning pierced straight through the luminous phantom fish, electrocuting it so severely that its skeleton was silhouetted against the flash.

Immediately after, the smell of scorched meat filled the air. The environment around Xu Qingsui shifted, reverting to the streets of Zone 9.

The other team members, who had been affected, all froze. They looked around in astonishment, staring at their companions with blank confusion.

Even Lu Jingyu had fallen for it this time, though he had already sensed something was wrong while inside the illusion.

However, before he could break out of it on his own, Xu Qingsui had already taken care of the problem.

"What just happened to us? How did we all get separated?" Chen Yunfei, who was a step behind Lu Jingyu, still hadn’t figured out what had occurred.

Lu Jingyu walked over to Xu Qingsui. He knew an illusion wouldn’t break for no reason, and the only one here with that kind of ability was her.

"We got tricked again?"

Xu Qingsui nodded. "I was mesmerized for a moment, too, but luckily I snapped out of it in time."

"What was that thing? Did you see it?"

"A luminous phantom fish. But don’t worry, the problem’s been dealt with," Xu Qingsui said, pointing to a pile of charcoal on the ground that was all that remained of the creature.

"You’re the one who dealt with it?" Lu Jingyu asked, unable to hide his astonishment.

He knew Xu Qingsui’s spiritual power was greater than his, so her breaking the illusion was understandable. But he hadn’t imagined she could kill the Mutant outright.

Seeing Lu Jingyu’s astonished expression, Xu Qingsui finally realized her mistake—she had forgotten to cover her tracks.

No one knew she could use lightning and the Fire Attribute. In her haste to answer Lu Jingyu, she had completely forgotten to be discreet.

’Seeing the probing look in Lu Jingyu’s eyes, Xu Qingsui inwardly cursed her carelessness.’

Just as she was racking her brain for an explanation, Chen Yunfei came over. "Brother Lu, we’re almost out of time! We have to go back up."

What had seemed like only a few moments in the illusion had actually been more than half an hour.

Lu Jingyu realized they were out of time. He couldn’t afford to question Xu Qingsui about how she killed the luminous phantom fish, so he immediately gathered the team to return to the surface.

Seeing that Lu Jingyu was too preoccupied to focus on her, Xu Qingsui breathed a sigh of relief.

She even shot Chen Yunfei a thumbs-up. He had no idea why, but he just responded with a dopey grin.

Once they were back on the surface, everyone marveled at how realistic the illusion had been.

After a brief rest, Lu Jingyu began to organize their second dive into the deep sea.

Uncertain if there was a second luminous phantom fish, Lu Jingyu decided not to take any chances and had the entire team descend together.

The goal of entering the deep sea was to explore the submerged Zone 9, with the ultimate objective being the so-called Deep Sea Abyss.

According to the rules, they had to enter the Deep Sea Abyss to clear the instance.

Applying that to Zone 9, the Deep Sea Abyss likely referred to the zone’s deepest, innermost area.

This time, Lu Jingyu rearranged their formation, changing it from the initial fan shape to a triangular formation with teams of three.

This way, even if they encountered another luminous phantom fish, members of the same group wouldn’t get separated. As long as no one was isolated, the chances of survival were much higher.

Once all preparations were complete, the group descended into the deep sea once more.

Standing before the sheet-metal sign for Zone 9 again, everyone still felt a little unnerved.

They wondered how different this place would be from the world they knew.

The group entered Zone 9 once more, following the street toward the inner depths.

Aside from the familiar scenery, the journey was uneventful.

But after an unknown amount of time, someone started complaining about the cold.

At first, it was just a few people, but soon even Xu Qingsui and Lu Jingyu felt it was getting too cold.

The air they exhaled turned into white mist.

"Halt! Stay alert!"

If they kept going, he feared they would all be frozen into ice sculptures. Lu Jingyu had to quickly call a halt to the team’s advance.

The moment they stopped, everyone’s faces fell, and they hurriedly began marching in place.

It was already cold enough, but stopping made it feel like their blood would freeze in their veins.

At least moving kept them slightly warmer.

"What’s going on? Why did the temperature suddenly drop so low?" Chen Yunfei asked Lu Jingyu, shivering so hard his teeth chattered.

Lu Jingyu’s gaze swept coldly over their surroundings. A layer of frost had already formed on his eyebrows.

But when his eyes fell on Xu Qingsui, he decisively pulled the clean change of clothes he kept in his pack—meant for after his frenzied states—and draped it over her shoulders.

"Everyone, be careful. It looks like another Mutant has appeared."

The words had barely left his lips when his pupils suddenly dilated. He whipped a dagger from his waist and lunged toward Chen Yunfei.

The cold gleam of the dagger was more chilling than the freezing air. Chen Yunfei’s face fell. As he dodged, he yelled, "Brother Lu, what are you doing?! It’s me, Yun Fei! Snap out of it!"

Faced with Lu Jingyu’s sudden attack, Chen Yunfei assumed he had been mesmerized by another luminous phantom fish.

But his shouting had no effect; Lu Jingyu’s dagger kept coming, aimed right for his shoulder.

There was no dodging it. Chen Yunfei closed his eyes, resigned to his fate.

He trusted Lu Jingyu. Even as Lu Jingyu brought a blade against him, he believed his leader wasn’t doing it intentionally.

SHK-THNK!

A strange sound of impact rang out, but Chen Yunfei didn’t feel the pain he expected.

He quickly opened his eyes to see that Lu Jingyu’s dagger was frozen solid, the ice rapidly creeping up the blade toward its wielder.

Lu Jingyu’s expression changed drastically. He immediately let go, and the ice-encased dagger fell to the ground with a CLATTER.

Something that looked like a piece of a tentacle fell with it.

Seeing this, Chen Yunfei was jolted to his senses. He immediately bolted forward, glancing back over his shoulder as he ran.

A giant, pale blue, tentacled monster had appeared right where he had just been standing.

The tip of one of its tentacles had been severed and was now dripping a pale blue liquid.

"What is this thing? Is it what’s making it so cold?"

Chen Yunfei’s jaw dropped in astonishment. His answer came in the form of a pale blue tentacle lashing out at him.

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