95

Tao Sai felt like her head was about to explode. She slapped her forehead several times, but the crying continued, sharp and piercing to her soul.

Forcefully suppressing the discomfort in her heart, she returned to her previous train of thought and continued searching through the game system. She intuitively felt that the problem must lie there.

[Interaction] [Mall] [Mission] [Refuge Ship], his eyes swept across each functional module one by one, and finally came to [Character].

There are no new members in the [Character] list yet. It still consists of herself, Zhou Ning's family, An Nan and the other two, and 26 commandos. There is nothing unusual.

Just as Tao Sai was about to exit the [Character] function, she inexplicably clicked on her own name. The interface quickly popped up the character [Tao Sai's] attribute information, the last of which displayed was the character's equipped skills.

She had previously purchased another skill slot, bringing her total to five, equipped with [Gravity Adaptation], [Tempering], [Illusion], [Space Warp], and [Teleport].

This is also perfectly normal.

It wasn't until he opened the skill list that Tao Sai suddenly discovered: the S-level skill [Collapse] in the first row was flashing continuously, and the font was emitting a red light, which was completely different from the fonts of the other skills in the list.

The flashing red light seemed to be sounding an alarm. The flashing rhythm was irregular, but it corresponded to the frequency of the chirping sound.

What is going on?

Breathing and crying, are they all noises caused by [collapse]?

An idea suddenly popped up in Tao Sai's mind: Are the skills personified?

Headache.

She just wanted the shrill cries to stop. She felt like she was being pricked by the cries and desperately needed some peace and quiet.

This noise is so loud!

As for how to stop the crying, Tao Sai had no idea. The only thing she could do now was to equip [Collapse] on the skill slot.

After uninstalling [Tempering] and reinstalling [Collapse], the situation did not improve at all. [Collapse] was still flashing in the skill slot.

Calm down, Tao Sai reminded himself.

Breathing, and crying, if [Collapse] is truly anthropomorphic, then try to treat it as a human.

This is a growing S-level magical skill that can annihilate matter into nothingness. Although the effect is shocking, the scope of its action is very limited. In other words: this skill is in its infancy.

[Collapse] is a baby that breathes in its sleep and then suddenly wakes up and lets out this unstoppable series of screams because it is hungry, because hunger is the most unbearable discomfort for a baby.

It seems to make sense.

Thinking of this, Tao Sai turned off the overhead shower, quickly wiped the water off his body with a towel, put on his clothes and left the bathroom.

[collapse] It's hungry, so give it something to eat.

Coming out of the shower room is the chicken and rabbit coop at the stern. Tao Sai suddenly remembered the time he used it to clean up chicken manure, and he couldn't help but sigh.

Of course I can’t feed it anymore, it’s disgusting.

She walked into the large warehouse, where everyone was still sitting around the table eating happily. She quickly passed by and took a look in the kitchen, where she found clam shells and fish spines that had not been processed on the cutting board.

Tao Sai quickly gathered them together, then fixed the singularity above the pile of hard shells. She was experienced enough to know that this position was a safe distance from the chopping board, where the singularity's suction wouldn't reach and deform the board.

The pale blue light began to take effect.

The airflow near the singularity collapsed first, and then the tiny fish bones were sucked in and annihilated bit by bit. Then, the top layer of clam shells and fish spines also began to collapse irresistibly.

Tao Sai observed the process silently, feeling somewhat complicated.

If [Collapse] were a baby, its stomach and intestines would not be fully developed yet, but it would skip the stage of drinking milk and start chewing bones.

But considering that it had eaten a lot of corpses, steel bars and other things in the port area before, it shouldn't be a big problem.

Sure enough, as the clam shells and fish spines were continuously sucked into the center of the singularity, the crying sound gradually became smaller until it stopped completely.

Tao Sai finally felt at peace and breathed a sigh of relief.

It was exactly as she had guessed. As an S-level divine skill, [Collapse] was different from other skills. It was personified and had a personality.

This is still an upgrade to the "Insect Tide" game.

However, it is not clear whether all S-level skills will produce similar changes, and it is also not known whether such changes are good or bad.

But Tao Sai had a strange feeling. She leaned against the wall, quietly watching Qidian eating on the table, and couldn't help but imagine an old mother feeding her child.

Will it continue to grow? If it can cry, it should also learn to speak, right? Can it think? To what level will its intelligence evolve? Will it one day become her invisible companion?

Thinking about this series of questions, Tao Sai actually felt a little excited.

But Tao Sai's fantasy did not last long, and the residue on the chopping board was quickly absorbed by [Collapse].

The piercing cries that made people despair every minute began again!

Obviously, this amount of food is not enough for it to eat.

It is absolutely impossible to feed it like a human. [Collapse] must be a bottomless pit. Given enough time, Tao Sai has no doubt that it can swallow the entire ship.

Tao Sai closed the singularity floating on the chopping board, walked onto the deck, jumped onto the railing, kicked his legs and jumped out, landing steadily on the shore.

The space here was very narrow, with an almost vertical cliff behind her and the sea one step forward. The place where she stood was an extension of the cliff.

She froze the singularity on the sea level at her feet for easy observation, and fed it sea water as if it were breastfeeding.

Regardless of the substance, the rate of collapse is almost constant, so even if it is given an hour, it cannot absorb one cubic meter of sea water.

Tao Sai folded his arms, lowered his head and quietly observed the tiny vortex in front of him.

The cry continued to weaken. However, after reaching a certain decibel, it stopped attenuating. Although it was not as harsh as at the beginning, the sharp tone was still unbearable.

So it's crying while eating? Damn it!

"Are you done yet?" Tao Sai couldn't help but scold.

The cries intensified and the decibels increased sharply, as if it was accusing someone of being mean to it.

Tao Sai: “…”

My goodness, this child is picky about food and has a bad temper.

Tao Sai speculated that Collapse would be more inclined to "eat" hard objects, or denser materials. After all, it's not a human baby, and its intestines don't need a period of adaptation and development. Collapse's instinct is to constantly devour matter to grow stronger.

Well, in order to purify the six senses, we can only feed it first.

Using seawater to perfunctory it was no use, so Tao Sai used [Gravity Adaptation] to rise to the cliff and wandered around in the forest. She found a large rock and then released the singularity to feed. After a few seconds, the cry really stopped.

It would take a long time to eat such a large piece of stone. Tao Sai looked at it for a while but lost interest. She didn't have the time to watch it, so she simply activated [Imagination] and continued to train.

She'd been busy these past few days, diving into the illusion whenever she had a free moment, spending at least four hours there every day. Training in the illusion didn't consume physical energy, but it did cause mental fatigue. This was human nature, insurmountable, so four hours was the limit she could endure. Any longer, and she'd have a mental breakdown.

First find Cheng Li to practice melee combat, then practice combination skills.

More than an hour later, Tao Sai suddenly heard a hiccup in the illusion: [collapse] The kid is full.

When I exited the illusion, I saw that the big rock had indeed been eaten away, along with the soil and the plants within a few dozen centimeters around it.

That’s amazing. He can eat a big stone in one meal.

After turning off the singularity, Tao Sai casually asked, "Can you speak?"

When she was yelling at it before, it cried even harder, which proved that it could hear the sounds she made.

But strangely, there was no response, and the breath of [Collapse] also completely disappeared from Tao Sai's spiritual world. There was no noise, it was clean and clear. The [Collapse] in the skill slot of the personal panel also stopped flashing.

Tao Sai was even a little dazed and wondered if he was dreaming.

But it was definitely not a dream, the disappearing stones and the plucked grass could prove it.

By the time we returned to the ship, night had fallen. The "luxurious dinner" aboard the Deep Sea Fish had concluded. Li Yinzhu and Luo Qinqin were in the kitchen, washing dishes and clearing away, exchanging culinary experiences. Despite their age difference, they struck a rare chord. Most people were watching a movie in the large empty cabin. The movie was "Transformers," a Stephen Chow classic. Those who wanted to focus on the movie sat in the front row, while those with less intense urges sat further back and chatted. Some were also pedaling lightly on their exercise bikes in the back row of the large empty cabin, using it as a post-meal workout to help digest their food.

It was like an ordinary summer evening, with the cool sea breeze blowing through the side of the large empty warehouse, making it quite comfortable and cozy.

When Zhou Ning saw Tao Sai coming, he waved to her and quickly stood up from his seat.

"Taotao, I left some barbecue for you. You ate so little, you must not be full." Zhou Ning knew Taotao's appetite very well.

There was a full plate of pork belly and seafood left.

She didn't need to use the barbecue machine anymore, the meat was already grilled and didn't need to be heated up. In the middle of summer, Tao Sai poured a layer of sauce on it, picked it up with chopsticks and started eating it directly.

She carried the tray up the stairs to the second-floor platform, an extension of the bridge, with a wide view and a perfect sea breeze. Zhou Ning sat with her on a canvas chair, gazing into the distance and chatting with her.

Zhou Ning suddenly tugged at Tao Sai's elbow mysteriously, signaling her to stop talking and look below the deck.

Tao Sai stopped chewing, bit his chopsticks, and looked in the direction she pointed.

They are three children: Lin Kang, Cheng Cong and Sun Siyao.

Sun Siyao tied the dog's leash to the railing at the edge of the deck and asked someone to help build a simple doghouse with wooden boards. The local dog seemed to like the new environment here. Even with the leash around its neck, it continued to jump up and down without stopping.

And its little owner is patiently teaching it not to chew or bite anything, and not to pee or poop anywhere.

Including little An Peng, who was less than a year old, there were four children aboard the Deep Sea Fish. While they couldn't help now, they represented hope and the future. A global disaster was sweeping the globe, and the battle against the insect swarm would undoubtedly last a long time. It was, without exaggeration, a protracted war for all of humanity. If her generation couldn't make it, the burden would naturally fall on the next, for civilization must continue.

In front of the doghouse, Sun Siyao stroked Da Huang and told Cheng Cong about the interesting things that happened between her and Da Huang, such as how she took him away from her uncle's house, the first time she bathed him, and the first time she took him to the market in the city.

Lin Kang was a little further away, watching them with an unusually resentful look. But they had just met today, and they were chatting and laughing, and they completely ignored him! Cheng Cong was such a coward, actually playing with a girl, weren't he ashamed?

"Cheng Cong, come here." Lin Kang finally couldn't bear it anymore and waved to Cheng Cong.

The other party didn't even look at him.

"Come here!"

Lin Kang persevered, but still saw no results. The more fun they had, the more irritated he became.

"I can lend you my game console for a while," he even pulled out his trump card, generously handing over his precious PSP, chattering, "I also have Cheetos, potato chips, and pistachios. Can you share some? Let me tell you, Uncle Zhou caught a giant lobster today. Do you dare to catch it?"

"Are you annoying? Can you stay away from us?" Cheng Cong and Sun Siyao said in unison.

Lin Kang stood there in a daze. After a while, tears welled up in his eyes. He looked weak, pitiful and helpless.

On the second-floor platform, Tao Sai and Zhou Ning laughed unkindly.

After finishing the barbecue, Tao Sai took the plates back to the kitchen and washed them. However, he still felt hungry, so he drank half a bottle of nutrient solution.

One bottle would be enough for her, and since she had already eaten, half a bottle was just right. She screwed the cap back on and put the remaining half in the refrigerator.

She accidentally glanced at the LPG tank under the kitchen counter. They had bought four tanks, but they had used up one during the cooking process, leaving only three. With the remaining three tanks, they probably wouldn't be able to make it to the Chinese New Year.

The liquefied gas that ran out couldn't be refilled, so I had to use an induction cooker for cooking. The food wasn't as good as the gas stove, but there was no better way. I couldn't have a clay stove on the boat, as piling up firewood would waste a lot of space.

Coming out of the kitchen, she sat down in the large cabin and watched a movie. It was the turn of the movie, a black-and-white war film beloved by the elderly. She watched the end of the film, a rare sight, then brushed her teeth and returned to the captain's cabin.

It was ten o'clock in the evening, and Zhou Ning was still studying at his desk by lamplight, absorbed in his studies.

Tao Sai didn't disturb her. Just as he was about to put on his slippers and get on board, the system panel in front of him suddenly flashed.

It was a message from the Hailou channel.

[Tang Sixi (Lv3)]: @(Cx330) Sister Sai, I'm afraid you'll have to come pick us up.

[Tang Sixi (Lv3)]: Zhizhi and I had planned to travel all night. We were just about to reach the seaport at seven o'clock. I used a drone to detect several refugee ships, both level 4 and level 3, and they were guarding the seaport.

[Tang Sixi (Lv3)]: We didn't dare rush over, so we retreated a bit. Three hours later, they're still holding onto that spot! I seriously suspect they're the ones ambush someone!

[Three Feet of Life (Lv4)]: It is right to be cautious

Tao Sai immediately took out a light coat from the closet, put it on, and then pushed the door open and went out.

[Cx330 (Lv4)]: No problem, report coordinates

[Tang Sixi (Lv3)]: (120°53′17″, 31°13′40″)

After selecting the coordinates, a miniature space wormhole that was only suitable for her to travel through appeared before her eyes, and she jumped in.

However, just as her body was completely immersed in the vortex and was about to be teleported over a long distance, her head suddenly hit an invisible wall with a bang, and she was bounced back from the wormhole.

Tao Sai fell back in astonishment and landed heavily on the second-floor platform, where the wormhole had just opened.