My surf shoes glided across the inky black sea, and all I could hear was the roar of the waves crashing higher and higher.

The corpse, rising and falling gently with the waves, drifted slowly toward them, eventually moving into the illumination range of the Blue Mushroom Soup.

It was a corpse, the corpse of a middle-aged man.

In the dim light, it was clear that the striped shirt was soaked with seawater and clung tightly to his chest, with a few white salt crystals still clinging to his hair.

Under the cold moonlight, these salt crystals shimmered with a strange and eerie light, sending chills down one's spine.

Xi Xi stopped two meters away, turned on the light screen camera, and observed it at a magnified level.

"The rigor mortis has not spread to the lower limbs, and the cornea is slightly cloudy but not completely milky white. Based on the seawater temperature of 23 degrees Celsius, the time of death is estimated to be no more than three hours." She silently estimated in her mind.

In her past life, torrential rains fell from the sky for months on end, and Xi Xi witnessed too many corpses floating in the floodwaters. From initially being unable to bear the sight, to eventually becoming numb and indifferent, she now felt no ripples in her heart.

At that time, social order was in chaos, and people scavenging for supplies would even dig up corpses in the water in search of any useful resources.

As a result, a group of people who were good swimmers had a wicked idea: they pretended to be corpses and floated on the water, waiting for others to get close before killing them and stealing their supplies.

Having witnessed many cases of staged accidents, Xi Xi eventually learned how to circumvent them, mastering the method of determining the time of death by observing the appearance of the floating corpse.

Chu Zhiqin's kayak then slowly approached, and the center of the azure light completely illuminated the deceased's ashen face.

The man's skin was almost rotting, and salt particles were even growing on his hair.

Chu Zhiqin quickly raised the oar in her hand and poured a mouthful of seawater over them, melting away the terrifying "crystallizations".

Xi Xi looked up at the cross-sea bridge not far away, and suddenly a thought struck her.

No one knows a daughter better than her mother. Chu Zhiqin immediately saw through her thoughts and pulled Xi Xi to turn back: "No! Absolutely not! Look at how corroded his body is!"

"Forget about the supplies this person left behind, let's get going! Listen to me!"

However, Chu Zhiqin ultimately could not resist Xi Xi's stubbornness. She glimpsed the despair of her past life's scarcity in her daughter's eyes and her heart softened, so she let go of her hand.

Xi Xi understood her mother's worries, but she also knew the saying "nothing ventured, nothing gained." Based on the speed of the water flow and the time of the man's death, she roughly estimated the distance the body had drifted. Then, she kicked the floating corpse below the bridge by herself and set up a ladder on the body.

To be on the safe side, Xi Xi paused briefly before stepping onto the Magic Rhythm retractable ladder, putting on a mask and dust goggles, and then slipping light feather gloves over her shoes for protection.

Logically speaking, the feather gloves should be able to protect against all negative damage such as extreme cold, fire, and electric shock. Xi Xi believed that the damage caused by crystal corrosion should also be included.

The moment Xi Xi stepped onto the cross-sea bridge, she was relieved to find that the salt crystals under her feet had not reached her ankles. She then began to look around.

The current situation is clearly much worse than when Xi Xi escaped from the cross-sea bridge; the entire cross-sea bridge is slowly dissolving in the salt fog.

The fog had condensed into crystals and was almost gone, but it still carried a nauseating, salty smell.

The salt crystals were enormous, like incredibly sharp blades, silently eroding every inch of the bridge's steel and concrete.

At first, there were only small cracks and blemishes, but as Xi Xi continued her hike, these cracks gradually widened, the concrete began to peel off, and the steel became rusty.

The bridge's supporting structure became increasingly fragile under the relentless erosion of the salt spray, as if it could collapse at any moment. Xi Xi could almost picture the bridge teetering on the brink of collapse in the not-too-distant future.

The cool moonlight shone through the twisted and deformed cable stays, casting intricate shadows on the bridge surface, resembling a spider web.

Looking at those steel cables, which are as thick as a thumb, their surfaces are covered with dense coral-like crystals, and every few seconds, there is a crisp sound of salt crystals peeling off.

The sound was particularly jarring in the silent night, like countless ghosts chewing their teeth in the darkness.

Xi Xi looked around, with a pixelated light screen unfolding around her, and quickly found a damaged, massive Type A RV.

Although the RV was covered in crystals, its general shape was still vaguely discernible. A cluster of hexagonal prism salt crystals pierced through the roof, appearing extremely fragile under the double attack of the salt mist.

Xi Xi dared not rush things and could only approach slowly, step by step. She observed the exterior of the vehicle from a distance through the light screen camera.

Judging from all indications, the RV clearly encountered its misfortune while crossing the middle of the bridge. Large amounts of salt spray condensed rapidly on the RV's windshield, forming a thick layer of white crystals.

The crystalline pillars ahead, hardened like iron by the fierce wind, shattered the windshield upon impact. The driver had no time to react; the sudden turn of events caused him to completely lose control of the vehicle.

The RV slid wildly across the bridge like a runaway horse, eventually crashing hard into the guardrail on one side of the bridge.

Xi Xi looked through the open door in the driver's seat and saw that it was empty.

Clearly, the enormous impact caused severe deformation of the vehicle, mercilessly throwing the driver off the bridge.

The furniture and various items that were originally neatly arranged inside the car were now scattered on the ground in a mess, but because of the crystal covering, their original appearance was completely obscured.

Xi Xi spotted a teddy bear doll among the crystal clusters.

The doll's left eye is inlaid with a glass bead covered with salt frost, while its right eye socket is filled with crystals, presenting a bizarre geometric static appearance.

She cautiously stepped forward and looked into the carriage, only to find that the figures inside had been frozen into crystals, and everything was covered in snow-white, like ice sculptures in the freezing cold, forming stalactite-like cascades.

This is a snapshot of a mother holding her child.

[Item Notification: This vehicle is unclaimed. Inherit vehicle assets?]