An Lan listened intently, her eyes following Lu Fan's gestures closely, and she kept asking questions, "What happened after that? What's left after all the meat was eaten?"

"After that, it's time for some small crustaceans and polychaetes to take the stage."

Lu Fan continued enthusiastically, "They will settle on the whale's skeleton and slowly gnaw on the remaining tissues, and this process can last for several years. The lipids in the whale's skeleton can also be decomposed by some special bacteria to produce hydrogen sulfide, which can support a large group of organisms that survive by chemosynthesis, such as tube worms."

An Lan listened and nodded, her eyes sparkling with curiosity in the dim light: "I never imagined that the death of a whale could bring so much life to the ocean. Nature is truly amazing."

The chat room remained lively and bustling.

"Even such a colossal beast has its day of death. Indeed, all things are equal in the face of death. Life is truly wondrous."

"If whales can give back to nature when they die, what about us when we die? Can't we also give back to the world in some way?"

"It can reduce the waste of resources, right? You don't want to go down in history, do you? But then again, we should cherish the present."

"But Lu Fan is so knowledgeable, he knows all of this."

"What, didn't you watch CCTV10's Animal World when you were a kid?"

The three stood on the sandy seabed, surrounded by a tranquil and mysterious deep-sea world.

The dim light struggled to penetrate the layers of seawater from the distant sea, and by the time it reached this place, it was only a faint, bean-like glow, barely illuminating their path forward.

In this deep and boundless seabed, the light was utterly inadequate; darkness was like an invisible behemoth, ready to devour everything at any moment.

Just as they were preparing to venture deeper into this mysterious and unknown sea to explore the secrets hidden in the darkness, a strange undercurrent quietly began to stir.

The surrounding seawater suddenly became restless, the currents swirling erratically, as if something terrible was about to happen.

Giant Squid Invades!

Immediately afterwards, a huge black shadow, carrying an overwhelming sense of oppression, struck out of the darkness with lightning speed.

Their speed was so fast that the three people's brains didn't have time to make a complete reaction before their bodies were controlled by instinct.

"Get out of the way!"

Lu Fan lowered his voice and called out urgently.

Driven by instinct honed from months of adventure, he grabbed An Lan and beckoned to Ling Yue with his other hand. The three of them quickly ran toward a dead coral reef nearby.

The coral reef resembled a long-abandoned castle, its surface pitted and covered with traces of time's erosion, as if telling the ancient story of this ocean.

The three hid behind the coral reef, not daring to breathe.

Their hearts were pounding violently in their chests, as if they might burst out of their chests at any moment.

The tense atmosphere was like an invisible net, tightly enveloping them.

After their initial shock subsided, they stared intently at the terrifying figure before them, which made them gasp in horror—a giant squid!

Its massive body resembled a small submarine, appearing particularly ferocious and terrifying in the dark and oppressive seabed.

The giant squid can be over ten meters long, with tentacles as thick as giant pythons, covered with countless suckers.

Each suction cup is like a terrifying trap with hidden dangers, seemingly capable of instantly and firmly adhering to any prey that gets close.

Its size and appearance are reminiscent of the terrifying monsters that crawled out of the endless deep sea in the Cthulhu Mythos. Just one glance at it is enough to send chills down your spine and make you shudder.

The giant squid swam straight toward the whale carcass, its enormous eyes gleaming eerily in the darkness.

Like two ghostly flames emitting an eerie glow, they stared intently at the whale carcass before them.

In the giant squid's mind, whales are perhaps one of its few formidable rivals in this ocean.

It first swam slowly around the whale carcass, its tentacles swaying gently, as if carefully observing something, or as if repeatedly confirming whether its "enemy" was truly dead.

Suddenly, the giant squid seemed to be enraged, bursting forth with astonishing power.

Its tentacles, like a surging black torrent, instantly wrapped tightly around the whale carcass.

The tentacles tightened forcefully, and the immense power caused the whale skeleton to creak and groan.

The sound was particularly jarring in the silent underwater environment, like the desperate groans of a whale skeleton.

Every time the giant squid exerts its strength, fragments of the whale skeleton can be clearly seen scattering with the current, leaving messy trails in the seawater.

Before long, the whale skeleton, which was originally quite intact, was torn to shreds, and the broken bones scattered like snowflakes in the sea.

The three hid behind the coral reef, watching the scene intently, trying to keep their breathing as low as possible.

An Lan instinctively gripped Lu Fan's arm tightly.

"This...this is too terrifying." An Lan's voice trembled, almost inaudible, filled with boundless fear.

Shh, don't make a sound.

Lu Fan also lowered his voice, his eyes fixed on the giant squid, not daring to relax for a moment.

His forehead was covered with fine beads of sweat, which shimmered with a tense and vigilant light under the underwater glow.

After venting its anger, the giant squid seemed finally satisfied.

It loosened its tentacles that were wrapped around the whale carcass and slowly swam away into the distance.

Its body gradually blurred in the seawater, eventually disappearing into the dark depths, leaving only a murky expanse of water and scattered whale bones, as if telling the story of the thrilling "battle" that had just taken place.

The three of them finally relaxed and breathed a sigh of relief.

They slowly emerged from behind the coral reef, and looking at the chaotic scene before them, a wave of fear washed over them. Only then did they truly realize how terrifying the danger they had just faced had been.

"You only realize how terrifying it is when you actually face it," Ling Yue said with lingering fear.

Lu Fan finally came to his senses and turned his gaze back to the whale carcass ravaged by the giant squid.

Right where the whale's head had been crushed, something flickered in the dim light, catching his attention.

[Found Supplies Card]

"Wait, there's something here."

A sense of curiosity welled up in Lu Fan's heart. He cautiously approached and took a closer look. He saw three cards emitting a strange light fall out of the whale's head remains.

The light seemed particularly mysterious in the dark seabed, as if it contained endless unknowns and possibilities.