Chapter 271: Chapter 222: Abnormal
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“Gong Zhouheng,” said seriously to Pei Pengfei, “go take a look. You’re the Water Element Star Card Master.”
“Alright then.”
Pei Pengfei shook his head. After all, the captain is the captain, and orders must be obeyed.
In reality, this was one of Pei Pengfei’s duties. This time, both the teachers leading the team and the student team assignments were not just based on levels.
For teachers, almost all were of the Ice and Water Elements, able to exert stronger power in volcanic island combat. As for students, each small team must have at least one Water or Ice Element Star Card Master. Additionally, each major team should have at least one Star Card Master who mastered the Healing Skill and a Magician.
Water and Ice Element Star Card Masters could extend their effective range to the ocean, taking responsibility for maritime reconnaissance in the team. Even though all students were treated equally in terms of battle merit, the academy would provide additional assessment points and academic points as rewards to these students.
At this moment, after a short sprint, Pei Pengfei leaped out. Star Power surged through his body, and with a flicker of water, his body transformed into a phantom fish wrapping around him as he entered the sea with a light splash.
Su Yuan watched as Pei Pengfei swam deeper and deeper, disappearing from view after a short while.
If it were daytime, they might be able to barely observe him; yet at night, their vision was too obstructed to see clearly. They could only faintly sense his Star Power fluctuations.
One minute, two minutes, three minutes…
The minutes passed quickly. The sea remained calm, but Pei Pengfei had not returned.
“Old Pei, could he have met some mishap?” Cheng Mu couldn’t help but worry.
The night was deep, hiding unseen dangers within its silence.
Gong Zhouheng frowned but remained composed. “Wait a bit longer, nearly ten minutes now.”
According to the agreed standards among the teams, underwater scouting shouldn’t lose contact for more than ten minutes; otherwise, it would be considered an accident.
Seconds ticked by…
Gong Zhouheng stared at the time on the detection communication device, and without realizing it, it had already been nine and a half minutes.
With every passing second, Gong Zhouheng’s tension grew. Could this guy really be in trouble?
Just as it was about to reach ten minutes, ripples appeared on the distant sea surface. A figure wrapped in ghostly blue fish-like water patterns emerged.
“Pei Pengfei, are you alright?” Gong Zhouheng quickly called out.
“I’m fine, Captain! Hahaha, no worries. Didn’t I come out within the stipulated time?”
Usually, Pei Pengfei wouldn’t pull such stunts. However, with Gong Zhouheng about to break through the Gold Level bottleneck, and Su Yuan’s words prompting him to go underwater, Pei Pengfei was slightly annoyed.
“Are you testing our limits?” Regardless, seeing Pei Pengfei safe, Gong Zhouheng sighed in relief.
Su Yuan remained expressionless, having sensed Pei Pengfei had returned a few minutes ago and remained motionless.
Gong Zhouheng asked, “Any issues underwater?”
Pei Pengfei replied, “No, it’s quiet. There’s really nothing there.”
“Alright, come back then!” Gong Zhouheng called.
“No worries, I’m already out here. Since Su Yuan sensed an issue, I’ll take another look.”
Pei Pengfei glanced at Su Yuan from a distance, thinking that after this patrol, he might need to scrub off with soap seven or eight times…
“Be careful,” reminded Gong Zhouheng.
“Ha! What could possibly happen?” Pei Pengfei waved before diving back into the sea, swimming away.
“This guy…” Gong Zhouheng frowned. They could hear the hint of resentment in Pei Pengfei’s tone.
Considering the nearshore’s dirty waters and potential dangers, the team hadn’t sent Pei Pengfei underwater for recon since their initial patrol.
At this moment, the three watched Pei Pengfei swim farther until he vanished from sight.
“Let’s sit for a bit,” Cheng Mu said, sitting down first.
Seeing this, Gong Zhouheng also sat to wait.
“Su Yuan, sit down. Since he scouted once and found nothing, there shouldn’t be any issue. He’s likely just sulking because we sent him out.”
Su Yuan knew Pei Pengfei hadn’t scouted far. Watching the sea, he remained vigilant for any abnormalities.
It wasn’t long before the sea dimmed slightly.
Su Yuan’s expression tightened. He saw the moonlight on the distant sea seemed engulfed, rendering a part of the sea pitch-black and deep, devoid of any light.
“There’s something!”
Su Yuan urgently warned, not bothering to speak further to the seated Gong Zhouheng. With a silvery flash in his eyes, he instantly teleported above the sea, flying forward rapidly.
Underwater.
Pei Pengfei contemplated that this distance seemed alright when suddenly the scene ahead turned pitch-black. Something seemed to block the moonlight; his lower body remained in the moonlight, while his upper body entered the darkness.
“What is this…?”
As Pei Pengfei wondered, the sea ahead rippled, parting to reveal an ultra-long gap from top to bottom. Inside was a wall of flesh; it was the inner chamber of a giant spherical sea beast!
The gap opened to reveal the interior filled with resting sea beasts of various kinds.
[Large Ghost Water Monster]
[Grade: Elite]
[Level: Gold Early Stage]
[Introduction: A massive deep sea star beast, lacking in attack capabilities but possessing invisibility to merge with water. It can also conceal creatures within its body.]
“What… What?!”
Pei Pengfei was horrified to see the multitude of sea beasts inside the Ghost Water Monster. Blood pressure surged to his head, feeling suffocated, even struggling to move his body!
“Move quickly!” Su Yuan’s voice faintly came from above the sea.
With cold limbs and a pounding heart, Pei Pengfei regained control, using his “Swimming Fish Technique” to retreat rapidly!
But the next moment, a giant tentacle shot from the gap, grabbing Pei Pengfei and pulling him in. The gap closed slowly. The invisible Ghost Water Monster swam ahead as if nothing happened.
At that moment, a dark line sliced the Ghost Water Monster’s invisible body, tearing a long opening like cutting through silk.
Su Yuan teleported, seeing hundreds of star beasts, including two at the Gold Level.
Pei Pengfei was entangled by one of the Gold Level sea beasts, a terrifying monster with numerous tentacles and a massive single eye.
[Deep Horror Sea Monster]
[Quality: Master]
[Level: Gold High Stage]
[Introduction: A fearsome sea monster lurking in the ocean, near invincible underwater]
“Su Yuan, save me! Help!!”
In his despair, seeing Su Yuan was like grasping a lifeline. He reached out and screamed for help!
But before Su Yuan could act, Pei Pengfei was bitten in half by the Deep Horror Sea Monster’s massive jaws. Blood flowed into the water from his waist. Pei Pengfei, stunned, smelled the stench, his vision darkened, and his upper body was swallowed.
The Deep Horror Sea Monster then saw Su Yuan ahead, shooting a quick tentacle towards him!
Su Yuan slashed, the Boundary Breaking Line instantly creating a “Blood Cloud” in the water. The tentacle, incredibly tough, was cut just slightly, retracting in pain before regenerating.
“Eeeek…!”
A sharp shriek came from the Deep Horror Sea Monster, charging at Su Yuan rapidly!
The other sea beasts in the Ghost Water Monster’s inner chamber, disturbed, also charged at Su Yuan.
Su Yuan flashed, instantly teleporting to mid-air from the water’s surface.
Barely catching his breath, he saw a giant tentacle shooting rapidly from the sea!
“You dare chase me out?”
Su Yuan’s eyes grew cold, yellow flames surged within, dark light enveloping his Phoenix Perch Saber.
“Slash!”
The dark light flashed. The Boundary Breaking Line sliced through, cutting the tentacle in half. The severed part dropped into the sea.
Although the Deep Horror Sea Monster had strong regenerative abilities, it couldn’t quickly regrow such a large part.
The sea churned as the Deep Horror Sea Monster emerged, its remaining eleven tentacles reaching for Su Yuan in mid-air.
Knowing Su Yuan’s power, the monster’s tentacles were covered in shimmering Water Element Star Power to weaken slashes.
With his instant teleportation cooldown over, Su Yuan flashed upward hundreds of meters.
Looking down, apart from the Deep Horror Sea Monster, more sea beasts from the Large Ghost Water Monster’s inner chamber surfaced.
Su Yuan’s expression tightened. These beasts, sneaking through with the Large Ghost Water Monster, were organized and disciplined. Besides fighting the star beasts below, he had to relay the message to the camp.
Without messaging, Su Yuan sealed his hands, unleashing scorching Hellfire Gates in the night sky, as bright as beacons.
Not knowing what happened, Gong Zhouheng and Cheng Mu watched anxiously from the shore, seeing the Hellfire Gates unfold.
“There’s trouble indeed!” Gong Zhouheng’s heart sank. “For Su Yuan to use such a high-powered move, the sea beast must be extremely formidable… Pei Pengfei might not have survived!”
Cheng Mu’s heart skipped a beat. “Captain, what do we do?”
“Send out the message first!”
Said Gong Zhouheng, quickly using the communication device…
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