The whip had barbs on it, and as Linda struggled to walk forward, the barbs pierced through his clothes and embedded themselves in his skin.

A series of sharp pains, like slaps to awaken a slumbering person, jolted Linda awake.

Linda jolted awake.

"Kafni, Monica?"

The first thing he did was look around for his teammates.

Because Kafni was a deity, she had a high resistance to mental attacks. She stood still, but her face showed pain. Kafni herself was unharmed, but she didn't have the extra power to help others.

Linda glanced to her side and was startled.

Monica, trembling like a puppet, had already reached the edge of the pool.

One foot was dangling in the air, and he was about to fall!

The water in the pool boiled again.

The thing below seemed very excited, ready to devour Monica, its new offering.

"go!"

At the critical moment, Linda unleashed the Dark Whip.

Snap!

The dark whip wrapped around Monica's waist and pulled her back sharply.

Linda held Monica in her arms.

Away from the pool, Monica's empty eyes gradually regained their clarity.

"Huh? How did I end up in Captain's arms?"

"It's a psychological attack."

Linda's face was ashen. She put Monica down and stared sharply at the pool: "What is that thing? Come out!"

"I didn't do anything, did I? It's an instinct for mortals to worship gods and want to be embraced by them. It seems your little girlfriend isn't very determined."

The melodious voice of the Goddess of Dawn rang out once more: "Come, answer me, what is your wish?"

"Lin Xi...what did you do to her?"

"I cannot answer questions about other wishers; that's the rule."

The Goddess of Dawn said regretfully, "Please choose another one."

"Then... bring Lin Xi to me."

Linda gripped the Azure Sword tightly.

If the goddess of dawn distorts his wishes, he will launch a direct attack.

The fact that the opponent is hiding under the pool and doesn't dare to come out indicates that their combat strength is average.

A hidden boss on a mere four-story level, level 20 is the highest you can imagine.

He held onto his 120,000 mystery points without using them, then leveled up 20 levels to give this guy a taste of double ultimate moves.

Linda was ready to fight at any time.

—"Your wish has been granted."

Suddenly, the light from the magic array went out.

The pool became clear again.

The goddess of dawn also seems to have disappeared.

Has my wish come true?

Nothing has changed, right?

Lin Da looked confused and turned to look around. There were only the three members of the Phoenix Tail Flower Squad in the hall, and Lin Xi was nowhere to be seen.

Splash...

At that moment, the sound of water reached my ears.

Linda's eyes sharpened. She tied the Dark Whip to her waist, had her teammates provide cover, and cautiously approached the edge of the pool to look down.

A dark shape is rapidly rising.

"What is that?"

Linda's azure sword was poised to strike.

But then it occurred to me, could this dark figure be my sister?

The goddess of dawn said that his wish had been granted. Judging from the experiences of others in the log, something is bound to happen whenever a wish is made; it's impossible for nothing to happen.

As I pondered, a dark figure emerged from the water and leaped into the hall like a seal.

Linda was stunned.

Kaphni frowned in disgust.

Monica screamed and ran far away.

The person who appeared in front of the three was not Linda's sister.

Instead, it was... a huge white worm.

The worm is one meter long and as thick as a bucket.

The legs under its body are short and numerous, just like those of a silkworm.

There were nearly a hundred of them in two rows, slowly crawling on the ground.

In front of the worm's head was a huge, spiral-shaped mouthpart, filled with countless tiny teeth that gleamed with a sharp, cold light.

If you threw a bone in, it would probably be instantly shredded by its mandibles.

"What the hell?"

Linda's expression changed.

Could this giant worm be my sister?

Is he going to live with the big worm for the rest of his life?

No adventurer would want to marry a sister like that!

Kaphni said speechlessly, "Don't overthink it. This is a monster. I can feel a very clear monster aura emanating from it!"

After saying that, Kafni rubbed her hands together, ready to kill the giant worm.

"Wait a minute." Linda shook her head. "What if this thing... really is Lin Xi?"

The chances are slim, but we must take precautions.

Even after killing the worms, an investigation is still necessary.

In his journal, Lin Xi listed the word 'eternal life' among his wishes.

As far as Linda knows, some simple-structured monsters can achieve near immortality tens of thousands of meters below the surface of the ocean.

They have no brains and only eat by instinct.

But it is indeed a form of immortality.

In other words, the possibility that this ugly worm is Lin Xi is not 'zero'.

"Eek."

The worm made a pleasant chirping sound, like a kitten, and rubbed its head against Linda's shoes.

That terrifying spiral-shaped mouth showed absolutely no intention of attacking Linda.

I've had dogs for years, and none of them have ever been this well-behaved!

The sense of unease in Linda's heart grew stronger and stronger.

He desperately wanted the flesh worms to attack him and start a major battle.

This would prove that the worm is no longer his sister, and he can safely kill her.

But the worm's affectionate behavior and unguarded actions made Linda suspicious: Could it really be Lin Xi?

After rubbing against the shoes for a while, the worm opened its bloody mouth like it was begging for food.

"You two watch it, I'll go upstairs and get some food." Linda rubbed her stomach; she hadn't eaten all day and was feeling a bit hungry herself.

"Still keeping this thing?" Kafni stared warily at the flesh worm. "Why not just kill it? I have a feeling this thing isn't normal. It might be highly intelligent and deceiving us."

"Waaaaah!"

The worm seemed to have guessed something from Kaphni's cold expression, and screamed in fright as it crawled toward Linda.

The little feet in front were clinging to Linda's thigh.

It's clearly an ugly, large, fleshy worm without a 'face', but it somehow evokes the image of a delicate and pitiful girl.

Linda sighed helplessly.

"Kafni, I understand what you're saying. However, there's no way there's even a sliver of a possibility that it's Lin Xi..."

"Take it to White Dove City and invite high-level beast tamers and druids to see the truth about this flesh worm."

"Anyway, I'll go get some food first, you guys keep an eye on things."

Linda sent two team members to monitor the flesh worms.

He went upstairs to look for food.

The church staff in the castle had all fled long ago; in such a large place, only Linda remained.

It took him quite a while to find the canteen. He packed a large amount of bread and dried meat into his spatial ring and returned to the underground hall.

As soon as he entered, he saw Monica sitting on the floor with a pained expression.

He clutched his calf; blood wouldn't stop flowing.

Kafni blocked the flesh worm and shouted, "You damned monster, you've revealed your true nature, haven't you!"