"Where did this thing come from?!"
The moment he realized it was the distorted flesh sludge clinging to him, Fatty's hair stood on end. Just then, the boat lurched violently. He leaned back, his back hitting the deck hard.
Fatty's bulk, combined with his deliberate downward force, smashed heavily onto the flesh sludge. He seemed to hear a screech, and as the sludge detached from him, he rolled away from the spot!
Having just landed, he glimpsed a blur of white. Before he could identify it, the iron rod in his hand smashed down heavily!
Just as he was about to smash the grinning human face on the flesh sludge into a pulp, he was shocked to see the white sludge twist and transform into a headless human body right before his eyes?!
Fatty watched, wide-eyed, as the headless figure kicked towards him. Just as he tried to dodge, the boat turned, sending him tumbling uncontrollably across the deck like a rolling gourd. With a clang, he crashed into a pile of equipment.
"Damn it, what the hell is this?!" he cursed, throwing a backpack directly at the headless figure. He saw the flesh sludge writhe, and the part that was hit sprouted countless tiny tendrils, devouring the backpack into its body like some kind of glutton.
"Good heavens..." Fatty couldn't shake the feeling that this scene was familiar, like a trick his old friend, who was good at sending rockets sky-high, would pull.
"No, could there be another Bronze Tree in this sea?! This is unbelievable. Fatty originally thought it was the only one in its family tree, but now it turns out its family is full of talent!"
"—You fatso, what are you doing in there?!"
Suddenly, he heard a shout from Wu Tianzhen. Fatty looked over and saw that Little Wu had several scratches on his face. He was clinging to the doorframe, complaining to him indignantly:
"I tied the rope to you so you could be located, but did you just start playing bumper cars in there?"
"Do you know how maddening it was for me out here, being dragged around like a sandbag because of you!!!"
"I swear, I'll be damned!" Wu Tianzhen looked up and finally discovered that the white sludge he had been searching for had not come for him, but had come to meet Fatty.
Now, Fatty was throwing equipment, and the headless white sludge was dodging it. The two of them were going back and forth, and Wu Tianzhen even had a strange thought that he shouldn't have come to disturb them.
"...Uh, you guys continue?"
Fatty: ?!!
"My dear Tianzhen, stop fooling around!!" Fatty was startled as the white sludge lunged at him. He yelped in shock and kicked out!
But the moment he kicked, he realized something was wrong!
Countless flesh tendrils shot out, directly entangling his legs!
Fatty's belly was piled high with flesh, making it difficult to lift his leg to kick. Now, with the tendrils wrapped around him, he couldn't pull free, forcing him to hold a leg up, his whole body cramping.
Seeing the situation turn bad, Wu Tianzhen grabbed a shovel from the ground and rushed forward, intending to smash the headless figure with it!
But at that moment, with a command from Hei Yanjing outside, the boat lurched forward as if it had stepped on stilts and shot onto the waves!
Little Wu stumbled, tripped by something sliding under his feet, and stumbled directly towards the headless figure!
Fatty watched, wide-eyed, as Wu Tianzhen fearlessly rammed the headless figure with his own body. The two rolled together, inseparable, and crashed heavily into a corner, unable to be separated. He was almost moved to tears by Xiao Wu's self-sacrificing spirit.
...Just kidding, he was laughing harder than anyone.
Wu Tianzhen's collision was so sudden that even the headless figure didn't react, being completely pinned!
A sharp scream seemed to erupt from every piece of its sticky flesh. Its form instantly dissolved into a pool of foul water, which flowed rapidly across the floor before rising into the air again, transforming into a seal!
Seals were originally cute animals, but this flesh sludge seal was skinless, its rough, uneven rotten flesh exposed, dripping with slime. Where its face should have been, there were no eyes or mouth, only crisscrossing blue-purple veins.
Wu Tianzhen, dizzy and disoriented, was helped up by Fatty. He was startled by the sudden transformation into a dead seal and was about to exclaim "Holy crap!" to fit the scene when his eyes lit up as he suddenly noticed several golden scales scattered on the ground.
These were...
"Fatty, I know!" he suddenly shouted. "I know what this is, it's a Golden Scaled Fish!!!"
"What?!" Fatty felt that either his ears were deafened or Wu Tianzhen's brain was. One of them had to be wrong.
"What did you just say this thing was?!"
"Golden Scaled Fish?!!!"
"Not the Golden Scaled Fish you're thinking of!" Wu Tianzhen knew Fatty's confusion and spoke a torrent of words like a machine gun.
"This is a shapeshifter rumored to appear in the sea. Because its true form is unknown, foreigners call it 'It'!"
"It's just that in China, because golden scales often scatter when it appears, and it's a creature of the sea, it was directly named the Golden Scaled Fish!"
"It's afraid of fire, don't fight it directly, just burn it!!"
"Got it—!" Fatty hadn't really heard all of Wu Tianzhen's explanation, but he clearly heard the last part about setting it on fire. Almost as soon as Wu Tianzhen finished speaking, he threw a burning stick!
The flames streaked across, landing precisely on the seal. With a burst of flame, the flesh sludge, which had turned to run from the fire, was completely ignited!
The ship's deck was entirely made of steel and was non-combustible. The flesh sludge rolled and screamed on the ground, constantly changing shape, but eventually turned into a pile of ashes.
Wu Tianzhen and Fatty finally relaxed, sitting down on the ground together.
"...Damn." Fatty sniffed, showing an expression of both pleasure and disgust.
"Why does this thing still smell like roasted meat after it burned?!"
Wu Tianzhen said nothing. He didn't know whether he should smell it or not, but his stomach rumbled honestly.
—
Hei Yanjing's body was tense, his gaze focused on the ocean currents.
He had noticed the unknown visitor on the boat early on, but Zhang Qiling had shown no signs of tension, so Hei Yanjing assumed the white rice cakes could be handled by Fatty and Wu Tianzhen, and he stopped paying attention.
However, his keen hearing clearly picked up Wu Tianzhen's chaotic movements outside, the two of them putting on a comedy show in the cabin, and then a bright light behind them as they started a bonfire party, successfully spreading the smell of roasted meat to every corner of the ship.
Hei Yanjing: ...
He was splashed in the face by seawater again, his mood slightly complicated.
Just then, he felt the boat slow down slightly!
This was a critical moment for breaking through the waves. Even a slight change in speed could be the root of their destruction! Zhang Qiling had been controlling the boat, so he wouldn't make such a mistake!
...Is there something under the boat?!
"Blind—!!" Zhang Qiling's voice came!
Hei Yanjing understood instantly. He gripped the railing tightly, his cold brows narrowed under his sunglasses, and in an instant, he had grasped the wave patterns below for the next ten seconds!
"East East West North Accelerate Northwest!"
Taking one last look at the sea, he saw the white flesh sludge rapidly climbing up the underside of the ship, its sheer quantity unimaginable!
Those things covered the entire hull, gradually condensing into long, thick tentacles, seemingly intending to drag the entire ship to the seabed!
He had heard Wu Tianzhen's assessment, but in the water, ordinary fire would be ineffective!
The situation was critical. Without hesitation, Hei Yanjing retreated and rushed towards the cockpit!
Zhang Qiling brushed past him. The cockpit had been instantly adjusted to semi-automatic pilot mode according to Hei Yanjing's assessment. As he ran, his Black Gold Ancient Blade sliced across his palm. In the raging storm, the Qilin Fire burned fiercely, displaying a shocking ferocity!
At this moment, the pale tentacles had risen high, about to smash onto the deck and shatter the ship!
The hull swayed left and right in the waves, suddenly drifting and dodging the tentacles' attack. Zhang Qiling understood that Hei Yanjing had successfully taken over the cockpit. His heart settled, and without stopping, he leaped onto an airborne tentacle!
The blade slashed down fiercely, and the tentacle was severed. The severed part burned to ashes before it could fall into the sea, leaving only flying ash scattered by the wind!
Seeing the inextinguishable Qilin Fire in the rain, the tentacles, filled with fear, attacked in unison. The numerous pale tendrils intertwined, forming a giant white cage that descended directly upon them!
Zhang Qiling used the severed tentacle as a springboard, leaping with his saber as if he couldn't see the cage descending from above. The flame at the edge of the Black Gold Ancient Blade stretched into a long, brilliant streak of light, charging straight up, its landing point exactly at the center of the tentacle's white cage!
The blade pierced the barrier, and with a single force, shattered the cage!
Using his waist, Zhang Qiling spun in mid-air, the Qilin Fire wrapping around him and leaping, transforming into rings of fire that dispersed into scattered sparks falling down!
Floating like clouds, agile like startled dragons; scales rising from the waves, dragons playing in the surging tide!
The sparks fell gently, the Black Gold sharp and unstoppable, the ultimate softness and hardness, the blazing light and darkness.
In the downpour, where the sparks landed, they erupted like bears, burning from the tips of the tentacles all the way to the colossal body deep beneath the sea!
The Qilin trampled all evil spirits, protecting the human world. When the flesh sludge was completely wiped out, the hull remained intact.
With a soft sound, Zhang Qiling landed on the ground. As he sheathed his saber, a thin line of blood from his left hand melted into the rain and dripped slowly.
"Not bad, mute." Hei Yanjing, who had appeared at some unknown time, tossed him a roll of bandages. Zhang Qiling caught it casually and began to bandage himself quietly, without asking about the situation in the cockpit.
When he looked up again, the wind and rain had stopped. A crack slowly appeared in the overcast sky.
Through that crack, light shone down.