Chapter 544, Section 543: The Humanoid Shell Monster
Mermaid Tears and Siphon Worm Crystals aren't exactly unavailable if you really want to acquire them.
But the quantity is too small.
Even if this is only needed for some nodes of the city's defense magic array, the number needed for the entire Fungus Castle would be considerable.
The core function of this part of the magic circle is to slowly absorb and store the free ice element energy in the environment on ordinary days, and release it all at once when needed to form a large-scale frost impact.
It's quite suitable for mushroom burgers.
Omitting this part of the structure is not impossible, but as the core foundation of Lin Jun's business, he still hopes to build the mushroom castle as perfectly as possible, given the opportunity.
If the archipelago still existed, these materials could probably be obtained through trading, it would just cost a little more gold coins.
However, after the fog cleared, the archipelago lost contact with the mainland.
Lin Jun estimated that they were probably all wiped out.
Therefore, we had to find a way to obtain the materials ourselves.
According to information collected and compiled by Aiding, siphon worm crystals are indeed produced in the underwater underground city called "Tide Sanctuary".
As for the Mermaid's Tears, we can only search for them after leaving the dungeon.
I just hope that these merfolk aren't all wiped out by the mist.
After all, the fog isn't real fog; it can still be affected even in the sea.
So, it's time to bring out my long-dormant diving skills!
Soon, several mushroom-bodied, fish-tailed diving poop-like creatures fell onto the fungal carpet. Or, according to the naming conventions of this world, they should be called "poop-fish."
[Underwater Adaptation LV7] + [Wake Jet LV6] + [Water Flow Perception LV5] + [Sound Detection LV8] + [Swimming LV5] + [Infrasonic Attack LV9] + [Mana Storage LV10]
After so much time, my underwater skills haven't improved much, mainly because I lack suitable sources of training.
In addition, the Puji itself has limited adaptability to aquatic environments, so the performance of these diving Puji can only be described as quite ordinary.
However, this trip was just to scout out the situation and find the group of murlocs I had dealt with back then.
In the past, the two sides did not have much contact, but their relationship was relatively peaceful.
The only thing that bothered Lin Jun was that the god they worshipped was the same one that the cultists of the Hand of the Dead worshipped.
Fortunately, these murlocs neither proselytized to Puji nor mentioned sacrificing Puji, which is much more normal than the Hand of the Dead.
Lin Jun would be happy to outsource the task of collecting materials to them.
As for the deal, Lin Jun is not worried.
Nowadays on the mainland, apart from the Dwarf Mountain area, where isn't there a source of Puji?
Lin Jun always manages to find what these fishmen trapped in the underground city need.
Several cattle and horses splashed up the fish that could only leap and splash on the shore, and threw them all into the rift on the seventh floor that led directly to the "Tide Sanctuary".
With a few "plop plop" sounds, after entering the water, the puffy fish immediately became active and quickly began to scout.
However, even before the [sound wave detection] was put into use, a discovery was made.
Not far from the crevice, a strange corpse was floating in the water.
It was a creature that resembled a human, but was covered by a thick, gray carapace.
It's somewhat like how Lin Jun added a chitinous shell to the D-level personnel.
However, the shell created by this skill on a human body is very inconvenient for joint movement and is not suitable.
But the creature in front of us doesn't have this problem; it's an arthropod.
Its trunk and limbs exhibit a clear arthropod structure, with prominent bony spurs at the joints.
The left hand has five fingers, but the right hand is a large pair of pincers.
The head has no obvious facial features, only a slit resembling a breathing gill, and several pairs of compound eyes that have lost their luster.
At this moment, it is slowly rotating with the water flow, and strands of dark blue fluid are seeping out from the gaps in its shell.
It was killed by a harpoon that pierced its breastplate from the front, penetrating its entire body, with half of its blood-stained tip protruding from its back.
The harpoon was so powerful that its shell and the spearhead shattered everywhere, and the surrounding water was stained a small patch of pale blue turbidity by the seeping bodily fluids.
He doesn't look like he's been dead for long, at least no more than a day.
If Lin Jun remembered correctly, the design of this harpoon should belong to the fish-men.
Is this yet another racial war fought over living space?
In any case, there's no reason to waste anything.
The Puji fish nudged the humanoid crab to the side of the crevice, and a fat Puji on the other side of the crevice stretched out its tentacles, wrapped the corpse up, and threw it onto the fungal carpet.
The mycelium immediately began to wriggle and spread, enveloping the shelled man and beginning efficient decomposition and absorption.
However, the result was somewhat unexpected for Lin Jun.
The decomposition process went smoothly, and the total amount of magic power returned was quite considerable, almost equivalent to the energy provided by a diamond-level powerhouse of the same volume.
But apart from that... it's completely empty.
There is absolutely no skill proficiency as expected!
What the hell is going on?
Switching to the "Inspiration" perspective, it's soulless?!
Lin Jun could only continue exploring.
The Puji fish left the initial room and passed through a deep and wide corridor.
The corridor walls are made of a smooth, dark stone, covered with thick calcified deposits and floating filamentous seaweed.
Some large but blurry murals can be vaguely seen on it.
Most of the patterns are incomplete and unclear, and only some humanoid figures that seem to be worshipping or struggling can be barely identified, as well as some symbolic symbols full of tentacles and holes.
Click!
Just as Lin Jun was controlling the Puji fish to move forward slowly while admiring the murals on the corridor walls, an unexpected event occurred!
That was quite unexpected.
Although the Puji fish only have one active reconnaissance method, [Sonic Detection LV8], Lin Jun has a panel!
Everything that could be opened was clearly visible. In this situation, it was surprising that they were ambushed at close range!
The attack came from a humanoid shelled monster that had curled up into a ball and was disguised as an ordinary rock.
It suddenly kicked out, its movements so fast they were completely at odds with its bulky appearance, and a huge, guillotine-like bone pincer clamped and killed the nearest Puji fish!
What shocked Lin Jun the most was that it didn't have a control panel!
In an instant, Lin Jun thought of the water ghost she had encountered in the mist, which also had no interface.
Monster in the mist?
Surprise did not delay Lin Jun's counterattack.
[Infrasonic Attack LV9]
The shelled monster shuddered, and a few strands of pale blue blood seeped out from the gaps in its shell, but it only swayed and did not fall down!
The thick, dense carapace clearly had a strong attenuation and defense effect against infrasound, preventing it from causing fatal damage.
Damn it.
I should have brought the all-purpose [Self-Destruct] skill!
They originally came here to make contact and negotiate, but they didn't have the kind of large-scale destructive means they came with, and now they've suffered a loss.
With his only effective means of attack failing, Lin Jun lost interest in playing underwater hide-and-seek with this hard-shelled monster. He was planning to give up on these few Puji fish and build some combat-specialized models to get revenge later.
However, at this moment, a previously inconspicuous stone brick on the side wall of the corridor silently slid away, revealing a hidden passage.
A dark shadow shot out with great force—it was a harpoon!
It pierced through the shell monster's head in an instant, pinning it to the stone wall!
The beetle convulsed violently a few times, then remained completely still.
From the hidden door, an ugly yet robust merman slowly swam out.
Its bulging fish eyes, filled with obvious vigilance, swept across the battlefield and finally settled on the three surviving Puji fish.
"Gurgle, gurgle gurgle?"
Forehead……
"Pop~"
The Puji fish exhaled a bubble.
This could be considered... a response?
(End of this chapter)
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