Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“No, fish, don’t go…” said Silly while sobbing. Drops of water trickled down its tentacles.
Gao Peng wiped the tears off its face. “Stop crying, you silly jellyfish.”
Silly felt a twinge of anger when it heard what he said. I’m okay with you naming me Silly, but you’ve crossed a line by calling me silly, it thought.
It lifted its tentacles up, ready to strike at Gao Peng. However, when it thought of a future where Gao Peng decided to withdraw its fruit juice privileges for lashing out at him, its tentacles slackened and flopped against its cheeks weakly. “I hate you!”
“Flamy, try to shoot a ball of fire at the ocean’s surface.”
Flamy, who had barely escaped the Gloaming Oceanic Manta Ray’s jaws not too long ago, tried to still its heart, which was still beating rapidly. Using all the hate it had in its heart for underwater monsters, the crane spat a huge fireball at the ocean.
Boom!
It was as if someone had stabbed a water-filled balloon with a needle.
There was a resounding explosion, and the spray rose 13 feet in the air. A white ring-shaped wave spread out in all four directions. The fireball’s explosion left a crater twice its size on the ocean’s surface. Steam rose up from the blast zone and dissipated in the air.
All of this seemed impressive. However, to the wide and boundless ocean below them, it was nothing more than the tip of the iceberg.
The rest of the ocean remained unperturbed, save for a small ripple here and there.
It was as if the entire ocean was a huge fish lying flat on its side that had rolled its eye and casually spat a huge bubble at Gao Peng in its aquarium.
Flamy’s fireball had attracted the attention of many underwater lifeforms. The other side of the surface darkened as fishy silhouettes began swimming towards the blast site. However, they quickly dispersed and turned around in a hurry, as if something in the area had spooked them. Gao Peng could see the underwater silhouettes swerving around and swimming away in a panic.
[Monster Name]: Pink Bullet Dolphin
[Monster Level]: Level 20
[Monster Grade]: Normal
[Monster Attribute]: Light
[Monster Ability]: Charge Level 1
[Monster Status]: Healthy (Excited)
[Description]: The Pink Bullet Dolphin is a direct descendant of the bottlenose dolphin. They are quite fond of swimming at top speed in the water.
Gao Peng could clearly see what the silhouettes beneath the water were: a school of dolphins.
“Gao Peng, Gao Peng, those pink fishies look so cute,” said Flamy, slobbering.
Silly nearly burst into tears when it heard what Flamy said. You always bring all kinds of dead birds back home. Now you want to bring fish home? You must really despise me for loving fruit juice so much.
“Cute?” said Gao Peng, frowning.
He gazed at the princely creatures swimming elegantly in the water without a word. Most people were so easily taken in by their adorable appearances, but Gao Peng knew for a fact that they were nature’s most notorious rapists. This fact had been widely observed among dolphins by researchers worldwide.
Gao Peng had read a study once that stated that male dolphins generally had 40 times the libido of a bonobo. (Anyone interested in finding out more about the countless crimes dolphins had committed against other species could look it up themselves on the internet.) Gao Peng had no idea why such an abhorrent species was so beloved by many. Perhaps the dolphins thought that their cute and bubbly appearances automatically absolved them of their despicable actions.
As if it had just heard Gao Peng’s thoughts, a pink dolphin in the distance leaped up into the air and dove back into the water with a huge splash.
“Eh,” said Gao Peng, unimpressed.
Gao Peng didn’t care what others thought of him for holding such beliefs. He would never sign a Blood Contract with the likes of a dolphin, which could easily turn the tables on him if he wasn’t careful enough…
“Can I even eat something that cute?” said Flamy, its eyes lighting up.
“Probably…” muttered Gao Peng.
Even though the ocean beneath them seemed calm, Gao Peng had a feeling that there was something dangerous lurking in the waters. He could feel its malevolent eyes following their every move.
Gao Peng narrowed his eyes at the ocean. Suddenly, the dark blue water beneath them began to roil. In the next second, a pale-colored object a few hundred miles wide emerged from the waves, as if the ocean had given birth to an entire island.
When Gao Peng realized what was going on, he shouted to the others, “Go!” Driven by an overwhelming sense of danger, both Flamy and Da Zi quickly fled the scene.
When Gao Peng and the others left, the huge creature that had been lurking beneath them all this time stopped its ascent and silently watched as a pair of red and purple streaks flew away from it.
Gao Peng had no idea if the behemoth was disappointed or angry at him for leaving so soon.
“He’s gone, but he’ll bring more humans back here. This place has been compromised,” rumbled a resounding voice in the ocean, which was filled with countless chittering voices layered on top of each other.
Huge underwater monsters moved silently across the sea like submarines, whipping up turbulent undercurrents in their wake. A mere glimpse of a scaly claw beneath the waves would have caused anyone’s heart to leap out of their chests. The depths of the ocean were indeed the stuff of nightmares.
In the distance, Gao Peng let out a deep breath. There was now a permanent frown on his face. The ocean’s way too mysterious for my taste. There aren’t many places to hide on dry land. At least on the ground, I can see who I’m fighting, but the ocean’s a different story. With the water blocking my view, there’s no way I can accurately assess any monster living down there.
However, Gao Peng pulled himself together. Well, it wasn’t a complete loss. At least now I know that whatever’s behind the attacks is lurking in this area, he thought.
Back in the Southern Sky headquarters, Gao Peng reported what he had seen and heard to Yang Cheng City’s army division.
In an office in Yang Cheng City’s army division, Jiang Shuangze sat in his office with a bored look on his face. Everyone else in the other divisions had been sent out on missions. He was the only one stuck on desk duty.
“I’m so bored,” he moaned. He lay across his desk, staring at the ceiling fan spinning above him with a glazed look in his eyes.
The only thing keeping him busy these days was training and more training. The missions he had actually been on since joining the army were few and far between.
Ringgg—
Suddenly, the phone on his desk rang.
Jiang Shuangze picked up the receiver and held it to his ear. “Who’s this? Oh, er, sir—” He quickly stood up straight behind his desk. “Yes, I’m free! I’m always ready for combat, sir!”
The army had reacted far more quickly than Gao Peng had anticipated. He shouldn’t have been too surprised to receive such a reaction, seeing as how all of this had been putting the army under a lot of pressure lately.
Almost immediately after hearing Gao Peng’s findings, the army division sent a couple of investigators to the coordinates that he had sent them. Not only did they find out that there was something strange about the place, but they also discovered via sonar that a huge number of aquatic monsters were converging on Gao Peng’s coordinates from all directions.
Something big was brewing beneath the calm ocean surface!
