Looking at the five layers of solid "armor" Xie Tianlang was wearing, the somewhat heavy atmosphere in the room became subtly lively.
"Well, it may look a bit cumbersome, but life is the most important thing! It's fine as it is, really."
Song Sanchuan tried his best to improve his expression and sincerely praised his captain.
Si Wuyai was much more direct and blunt: "Won't wearing so much stuff choke you? Also, are you even able to move around nimbly?"
When Gou Fugui heard the first question, he almost choked. He thought Xie Tianlang would explode, but Xie Tianlang didn't show any displeasure. Of course, this was also because the mask covered their faces so they couldn't see him.
But the werewolf still retorted without hesitation.
"How could a single dog like you possibly understand the joy of having your partner provide you with equipment and worry about your safety?"
"Someone like you, destined to be single forever, can only fight to the death with those wretched bugs."
What does it mean to strike with precision and on a large scale in a single sentence?
That's what it's called.
Si Wuyai chuckled through gritted teeth, ultimately deciding not to bother with this guy who was about to risk his life.
The room became excessively quiet again.
Finally, Gou Fugui spoke up: "Since you're all dressed, let's go. We'll have to go to the lake sooner or later anyway, and it's obvious the earlier the better."
Xie Tianlang pursed his lips and finally nodded decisively.
Although he didn't want his beloved to risk going into the water, he ultimately couldn't stop him, so they might as well face it together.
Song Sanchuan also stood up: "I'll go down with you..."
"You can stay upstairs and control the little tit. The distance between upstairs and downstairs isn't much, and it's all within your control."
"Besides, it's safer for you to stay upstairs. Nobody knows what might suddenly appear in the fog. If the two of us go down and you're alone by the lake and get attacked, there'll be no one to help you."
Song Sanchuan wanted to say something more, but in the end he just frowned and nodded.
Since what Brother Fugui said is highly likely to happen, his assistance shouldn't add any more surprises.
"Then you two must be careful. I have reinforced the breathing connection of the diving suit with soft alloy tubing. It will not break unless it is hit repeatedly with full force in the same place."
"Have you decided what weapons you'll use down there? I can temporarily modify them for you to be more suitable and have greater firepower. Little Tit will also carry high-voltage electric bullets and small underwater smoke bombs. I'll have the mechanical Little Tit lead the charge and provide cover for you."
Gou Fugui nodded. He had already decided what kind of weapon to use. His inspiration, of course, came from the "electric eel," which he hadn't included in the manual and couldn't transform.
The best underwater attack method is electricity. Depending on the strength of the current, it can cause paralysis, fainting, or even death. It can be used to collect materials or deliver a fatal blow.
He used to think it would be great if he could turn into an electric eel, but now he doesn't actually need to turn into an electric eel. As long as they have the right equipment, they can become "human electric eels".
"I have more than a hundred specially made high-voltage stun batons in my storage space, which are just enough to use underwater. As long as we wear full-body insulated clothing, we can use them."
Both rubber waterproof diving suits and nano-level close-fitting protective clothing are waterproof and insulating.
However, this would make the outermost steel protective suit difficult to wear, otherwise they themselves would very likely become an electrified iron canister.
Gou Fugui pondered whether he should prioritize high attack power or high defense power.
In the end, he chose the former.
One should not rely solely on defense; offense is the best form of defense.
Then Gou Fugui also put on four layers of waterproof, insulating, and sharp-weapon-resistant clothing.
After putting it on, he felt the same way Xie Tianlang did—his whole body felt cramped and constricted by the clothes—but thankfully, it didn't choke him.
However, even with layers upon layers of clothing, they were still completely covered from head to toe.
At least we can be sure that once they're in the water, their clothes won't be easily damaged or their bodies injured by killer fish and deadly seaweed, and that's enough.
"Walk!"
As the colorful mantis shrimp Fugui spoke, he gestured to Xie Tianlang to walk away.
He activated the mantis shrimp's bloodline boost ahead of time, deciding to resort to fists if clicking didn't work.
Three minutes later, under the watchful eyes of the innkeeper and the innkeeper's wife, the two left the inn and arrived at the lakeside.
As they were leaving, the landlady stood in front of the room downstairs and asked them in a barely audible voice, "Do you really have to go out so late? And dressed like that, what are you planning to do?"
Gou Fugui looked at the smiling proprietress through his diving mask, then turned and left without saying anything.
What is he going to say?
Should we go save humanity or... raid the invaders' lair?
He is now almost certain that the boss and his wife have been hacked, but he still clings to the idea that he can heal and save the victims.
At least until the boss and his wife have gone mad, he doesn't want to disrupt the balance of their consciousness.
Thump, thump.
With two consecutive splashes of water, two tiny bubbles burst open on the surface of the crystal-clear lake.
Upon entering the lake, Gou Fugui's first impression was that the water was icy cold. Even though he was wearing four full vests, he could still feel the bone-chilling cold.
Without the bloodline bonus from the rainbow mantis shrimp, which made him more adaptable to the water temperature and pressure, he probably would have needed quite a while to adjust.
With that thought in mind, he turned to find Xie Tianlang, wondering if this guy without bloodline enhancement would be suitable? If not, he could reluctantly take him under his wing...
As a result, he was grabbed by the wrist and swam directly downstream. The speed at which he swam and the strength with which the werewolf was gripping his wrist suggested that the werewolf was in much better condition than him.
Qi Cai Fugui thought that this guy was an ordinary person on the surface, but in reality, he was a genius who wanted to pursue the path of immortality even in the world of technology.
At this moment, the mechanical little titmouse controlled by Song Sanchuan had also found them. The little titmouse happily flew around the two of them once and then turned on its automatic searchlight to lead the way for them.
Qi Cai Fu Gui was almost pulled downstream by Xie Tian Lang's hand; he didn't look at the direction or use much force.
He merely observed the surrounding dark lake water warily, on guard against the possibility of a sudden swarm of killer fish—
Gou Fugui still vividly remembers the scene when the little tit was almost trapped by a school of fish when it first went into the water.
He had already prepared his powerful weapon to fend off the swarms of fish, just waiting for those ungrateful killer fish to pounce on him in droves.
However, even after diving more than ten meters, they still hadn't seen a single fish in the lake.
There wasn't even any aquatic plant in the lake; the entire lake was excessively clean and calm.
The mere thought of words like "clean and peaceful" made Gou Fugui's teeth ache, and he subconsciously wanted to think of places that were too densely packed.
Then he remembered Si Wuyai's words about possibly encountering a 'miracle of life,' and not only did his toothache worsen, his stomach started to hurt as well.
If he had to encounter any underwater danger, he would rather encounter a large group of various killer fish than a huge, mind-numbing, unknown monster.
Perhaps heaven heard Fugui Yuanyuan's prayers, for soon the rainbow mantis shrimp Fugui "saw" fish surging in from all directions.
He couldn't communicate with Xie Tianlang underwater, but he saw Xie Tianlang's hand gesture: "Watch out! 22 meters!"
This means they have already dived to a depth of 22 meters in the lake, and there is danger in the surrounding area.
The danger, of course, refers to those killer fish.
It wasn't until he went into the lake himself that Qicai Fugui could clearly see what those ferocious fish with their mouths wide open were, tearing at him.
Their scales are smooth and they swim extremely fast in the lake. Because their tails swing so much, they even leave behind a string of tiny bubbles in the water.
No matter which one you look at, these fish rushing towards them can be described as fresh and lively river delicacies.
But here's the problem—
These fish are so lively, they're almost not like fish at all.
Then the fish opened their mouths and attacked Xie Tianlang and Song Sanchuan, biting them or using their bodies as weapons to ram into them.
Such attacks are not particularly effective, after all, he and Xie Tianlang are two adult men, not some mechanical little tit that can be picked up with a single slap.
The biting and ramming of these fish could only slightly slow down their descent.
But the school of fish surrounding them looked dense, numbering at least several hundred or even thousands. They were attacking and stopping the two of them as if they were irrational. If this went on for too long, even the strongest armor would give way.
After being hit hard on the head and belly by several unknown large moonfish, the Seven-Colored Fortune, who had been "fishing," finally sneered and pressed down hard on the high-voltage stun gun in his left hand.
He also gave the frenzied school of fish a mocking middle finger.
It's time for an underwater grilled fish feast!
Accompanied by the crackling sound of strong current, more than a dozen blue-purple currents spread outward from the inside out, centered on Gou Fugui and Xie Tianlang!
The powerful electric current instantly illuminated the dark lake bottom, revealing the ferocious and insane appearance of the killer fish, as well as their convulsions, vibrations, frantic shedding of scales, and belly-up movements from the very center.
The large black carp, weighing at least ten kilograms, that had previously bumped into Gou Fugui's head and belly, was shaking as if it had Parkinson's disease. Its mouth, full of tiny, sharp teeth, was frantically opening and closing as if it were broken. Finally, it snapped shut, its white belly flipped upwards, and it remained motionless.
I don't know if it's just my imagination, but I can almost smell the aroma of burnt fish.
...This is, of course, an illusion.
Although the group of fish surrounding them looked like all sorts of different kinds of fish, they were no longer fish at all.
Although they were electrocuted and their bellies flipped over by the powerful electric shock, the invading microorganisms' strong adaptability and vitality still managed to save their lives, preventing them from dying completely.
Leaving aside the fish closest to Gou Fugui and Xie Tianlang, the fish that were a little further away and were attacked by the increasingly weaker current only froze for a dozen seconds before one after another flipped over their white, upward-facing bellies and swaggered fiercely towards Gou Fugui and Xie Tianlang again.
[Tsk.]
I knew these invasive species would be hard to kill.
But they couldn't linger here too long; their target wasn't the fish, but something in the deepest part of the lake.
Gou Fugui tugged at Xie Tianlang twice, and the latter immediately understood his meaning. The two of them simultaneously turned on their high-voltage stun guns again. With a series of crackling sounds and bursts of blue-purple light, they accelerated their descent into the lake.
The killer fish relentlessly pursued them, even though they were frequently struck by electric shocks, some even having their skin ripped open by the current.
When Gou Fugui and Xie Tianlang dived to a depth of thirty meters, the previously unseen aquatic plants in the lake began to show their presence and extend their tentacles.
However, even the killer waterweed couldn't withstand the endless barrage of high-voltage electric batons from Fugui Yuanyuan and the sharp long knife in Xie Tianlang's hand. In the end, the two managed to cut a large hole in the dense waterweed and continued to swim deeper into the lake.
After an unknown amount of time, Gou Fugui, who was being pulled down by Xie Tianlang, suddenly realized that there were no more killer fish or seaweed chasing them from behind or to the sides.
He paused, stopping the stun gun that he had been pressing every three seconds, and waited quietly for ten seconds. He found that there were indeed no more fish or aquatic plants chasing after him.
In the entire dark lake, only he and Xie Tianlang remained, silent and still.
A subtle sense of dread suddenly arose in his heart.
It's as if they are walking into an abyss.
Gou Fugui's hand was still being held by Xie Tianlang. He raised his left wrist, which was not being held, and saw the diving depth displayed on his wristwatch—
80 meters underwater.
Gou Fugui found it hard to believe, not because they had dived to a depth of eighty meters, but because he couldn't believe that this not-so-large inland lake in an ancient city could be so deep.
He could almost imagine the immense vibration and force that must have caused when that enormous meteorite fell from the sky and crashed into this land more than two thousand years ago, creating such a terrifying crater.
But this position hasn't reached its bottom yet.
So how deep is this "lake that fell from the sky"?
Is it more than 100 meters?
Even though he and Xie Tianlang were equipped with top-of-the-line diving gear, the water pressure they experienced would increase significantly once they descended to a depth of 100 meters, thus shortening the time they could move underwater.
At this moment, Xie Tianlang was still pulling him down into the water.
Gou Fugui kept staring at the constantly changing numbers on his wristwatch.
When the yellow number 99 suddenly jumped to the red 100, Gou Fugui seemed to hear a shattering sound in his ear.
At the same time, Xie Tianlang suddenly pulled him downwards, as if he had passed through an invisible barrier in an instant, and finally arrived at the alien abyss he had imagined.
However, as Gou Fugui slowly descended to the deepest part of the lake and looked up to observe what he had imagined to be an abyss, he saw a world completely different from what he had envisioned—
There were no ferocious monsters baring their fangs in the abyss, only specks of fluorescent light floating in the pure, transparent water.
The fluorescent light comes from various adorable aquatic plants, along with agile little fish and transparent shrimp darting and playing among them.
A small fish with fins and tail like silver gauze swam swiftly past Gou Fugui, its tail swaying. It seemed to tilt its head and observe the two uninvited guests who had suddenly appeared for a while.
How could this resemble an apocalyptic source area teeming with invasive microorganisms?
There were no indescribable alien monsters they had anticipated here.
Rather than describing this place as a dangerous abyss, it's more accurate to call it a fairytale-like "underwater world."
Gou Fugui watched as a small crab emitting a red glow used its two large pincers to pick up a transparent gem and swim to him, presenting the gem as if offering it as a treasure. For a moment, he was at a loss for what to do.
They no longer knew whether the scene before them was real or an illusion.
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