Chapter 554, Section 553: Deviation

"At the third corner, there will be mermen lying in ambush," Kiro warned Tanaka.

"learn!"

When the fishman, wielding his harpoon, charged out of the shadows around the corner again, Tanaka's clone, who was prepared, deftly sidestepped, using the water flow to easily evade the thrust.

The white light of "Memory Deletion" followed immediately.

The short sword pierced the fishman's unsuspecting neck. Seeing the thin white threads emanating from the wound, Tanaka frowned in disgust and quickly moved away.

This time, Kiro did not let Tanaka continue along the original route, but instead instructed him to turn into another, more circuitous, hidden path.

However, an accident still occurred. Before they even reached the exit of this new secret passage, they ran into another merman and two half-demon soldiers leading a squad of Puji!

The moment Tanaka saw those glaring LV10 skills on the Puji panel, he knew something terrible was about to happen.

The white light flashed almost instinctively, and it turned around to try to escape back the way it came.

But it was too late. Several mycelial tentacles blocked all escape routes and pierced through his body!

The clone did not immediately dissipate; the intense pain caused him to struggle and writhe in the water for a few futile moments.

Seeing that there was no hope of breaking free, Tanaka had no choice but to cancel the dying clone.

...

Snap!

The third round.

On the floor in front of Kiro, there was another small tuft of white hair.

Opposite him, a new Tanaka clone had just taken shape and was reaching out to push open the cabin door.

This time, Kiro changed his strategy. He sent his clone back to the vicinity of the exit of the original secret passage, where it hid and waited for the patrol of half-demon soldiers to pass before making his move.

However, guided by a hastily arriving merman guide, the group of half-demons actually opened the hidden door from the outside. The wall parted, revealing Tanaka's clone, who was hiding on the opposite side, looking embarrassed and still in a bad position.

The outcome was predictable.

Fourth round, fifth round, sixth round...

No matter how Kiro adjusted his route or calculated the time difference, Tanaka's clone would always be blocked by the opponent, as if he were being targeted and hunted down!

...

...

...

The twelfth round.

Snap!

Muffled clapping echoed in the cabin.

"I'm coming in... Holy crap! How come you've lost so much fur?" Tanaka was about to report that he had entered the underground city when he turned around and saw the conspicuous layer of white fur on the floor beneath Kiro, and he was startled.

The whole process of me going into the water was only about ten minutes, so how come this fox lost so much fur?

Tanaka subconsciously raised his hand and touched his not-so-thick head.

So, even orcs suffer from hair loss...

When Kiro turned his gaze towards him, Tanaka returned a look that was three parts understanding and seven parts comfort.

Kiro ignored Tanaka's misunderstanding gaze; he was trying to figure out what went wrong.

The other side had almost blocked every possible path, which was clearly not a random patrol, but rather a genuine discovery of Tanaka's clone's whereabouts.

But when was it exposed?

The fungal carpet hasn't even spread out underwater yet!

Kiro's thoughts drifted back to the past, to his experience in the simulation of trying to enter the territory of the United Kingdom and unseal the Demon King's clone in the Amethyst Dungeon.

At that time, no matter what route, timing, or disguise he chose, he would eventually be caught by the Puji.

After conducting over three hundred simulations, he finally determined that the fungal carpet was the ubiquitous eyes and ears of the Puji.

Any plan is useless if you are within the area covered by the fungal carpet.

However, at this point in time, according to the original trajectory, the fungal carpet should not have spread inside the Tide Sanctuary yet.

Although Tanaka encountered a battle, he repeatedly checked and found no trace of fungal carpet along the way.

To get to the bottom of things, Kiro changed his strategy this time. He demanded that Tanaka describe in detail everything his clone had seen, down to the smallest detail.

When Tanaka mentioned that the fishman he killed had white filaments oozing from his wound and that the status bar displayed the word "parasite"—

"Why didn't you say so sooner?" Kiro's fox ears suddenly perked up.

"Huh? You asked, so I told you! What do you mean by 'say it sooner'?" Tanaka looked bewildered; he didn't have the memory from the simulation.

Kiro, however, had already figured out the situation.

Those individuals parasitized by mycelium have a certain kind of connection with each other within a certain distance!

The killing of the first murloc inevitably alerted other parasitized individuals nearby, which is why there was a continuous stream of others surrounding it!

In this way, all the anomalies make sense!

but……

Kiro's heart sank.

It has deviated again.

The parasitization of the merfolk population, in early simulations, should have occurred several months later.

The effects of altering one's own trajectory, coupled with uncontrollable random events, ultimately caused the course of reality to deviate more and more significantly from the initial trajectory.

Fortunately, the deviation wasn't too great.

Fortunately, the deviation does not appear to be significant at present.

If the sea and waterways have already turned into a bioluminescent ocean like they will in the future, then we are truly in a hopeless situation.

...

Snap!

The thirteenth round.

Tanaka, who was standing next to him, was focused on his clone. He had probably already followed the mercenary group to the first room.

Soon, Tanaka's clone disappeared into the secret passage again.

"At the third corner, a murloc will ambush you. Be careful, subdue it quickly, but don't kill it!"

"learn!"

This time, after the memory was erased, Tanaka lunged forward and, using the metal scabbard of his short sword instead of the blade, smashed it hard into the back of the fishman's head.

Before the fishman could recover from the dazed feeling of a blank memory, everything went black, and he fainted, slowly sinking with the current.

This time, when he emerged from the secret passage, he indeed did not encounter the search team again.

Meanwhile, in this intricate underwater labyrinth, several reconnaissance teams are active in various waterways.

They were the eyes and ears of Louisa's army.

Further back, Marshal Louisa herself was commanding the main force, a mix of Fungus Fortress soldiers, various combat Puki, and Murlocs, steadily advancing along the planned attack route.

The reconnaissance squad leaders maintained communication with Louisa through the local microbial network.

"Second team reports: The left branch corridor has been explored and no enemy activity has been found."

"Three reports indicate that the right corridor is safe, but there is a structurally vulnerable section. It is recommended that the main force detour."

"A report: A small group of enemies, about eight to ten in number, has been spotted in the main passageway directly ahead, destroying a stone statue."

"One group, stand by and wait for the main force to arrive before crushing them!" Louisa ordered.

After the routine report, the second team leader added a separate piece of information: "But something's strange. That newly joined merman in the fungal net didn't respond when I called it several times, even though I could clearly sense it was not far ahead..."

Another captain chimed in, "They're probably not used to speaking through the microbial network yet, that's normal. I was like that when I was first infected with the symbiote, I could think clearly, but the words just wouldn't get out."

His words immediately resonated with the others.

Nevertheless, out of caution, Louisa instructed another fishman nearby to check the situation, but this time she wasn't as hasty as Kiro had been in the previous simulations.

When the fishman was discovered by his companions and news of the attack finally reached them, Tanaka's clone had already slipped into another secret passage, constantly moving away from the area.

It was at this moment that Louisa's main force, after clearing out another batch of mist monsters entrenched in the room, discovered several snake-man mercenaries hiding around a corner, secretly observing them.

outsider!

The attack on the merman guide was almost instantly linked by Louisa to these uninvited outsiders.

Without hesitation, under Louisa's concise and powerful command, the army split into multiple units and surrounded the area where the snake-men mercenaries were located.

Levi was transported into a game world where all the extraordinary beings bore the names of gods from their previous lives. He, on the other hand, was ordinary, without any supernatural abilities or cheat codes, and could die at any moment.

I have no desire to live an ordinary life, far removed from the extraordinary world.

Before the story begins, Levi rummages through his memories and decides to go all out—

He's going to marry Shub Nicholas, a ninth-tier transcendent!

He fabricated lies, deceiving her after she suffered severe injuries and amnesia, claiming to be her beloved boyfriend.

(End of this chapter)