Chapter Thirty-Seven: The World Upon the Waters

As Li Shan drew ever closer to the surface of the water, the surrounding light grew brighter.

With a splash, Li Shan broke through the surface with his triangular head, peering out to observe the world above the depths. Unlike the time when Li Shang had come here for amusement, this world was far more peculiar.

There was no sun in this sky. Only countless brilliant stars illuminated the heavens, each one casting its own unique light—some strong, some weak, and their colors dazzling in their diversity, painting the world with a magnificent beauty.

'Why doesn’t my map look like this? Why is mine pitch black?'
'Whoa! This looks a lot like the subpolar star region.'
'The designers must have used that map template.'
'Damn! This is stunning. I need to experience this game myself—watching streams just doesn’t cut it.'

Li Shan, having seen many grand sights before, merely found the map beautiful; he was not particularly astonished. His gaze shifted down to the surface of the water around him.

Floating on the restless waves were plant-like forms resembling giant water lilies.

"Hey, guys, there’s something over there," Li Shan said, focusing on one of the lilies. His evolved biological radar sensed signs of life nearby.

'What is it? I don’t see anything.'
'+1'
'Is Old Demon tricking us?'

Seeing the skepticism in the chat, Li Shan smiled and simply swam towards the spot. Actions speak louder than words—why waste time explaining when you can just show the truth?

"Look at the left side of that lily—it’s much thicker than the others, isn’t it?" he said as he drew near.

'I don’t see it.'
'Li Shan: If I say it’s there, then it’s there.'
'Compare it with the other lilies—I think it really is thicker.'

Seeing the chat, Li Shan stopped keeping them in suspense. He drew in a mouthful of seawater and sprayed it at the spot.

But nothing happened.

"Still putting on a show," he murmured, then swam right up. Predators that lie in wait for their prey are usually terrifyingly explosive, but he trusted his skills—and his investment. After all, he’d spent a million, so if he couldn’t handle a minor creature, that would be hard to justify.

As Li Shan drew closer, the viewers in the stream could finally see the details. Clinging to the edge of the lily was a long, narrow creature, its color nearly identical to the plant. If not for the crimson line running along its body, it would have been nearly impossible to spot, even up close.

'There really is something!'
'What the heck is that? Looks so weird.'
'It’s not so bad—compared to Old Demon’s pyramid creation, this guy looks almost normal.'
'Good point.'

Li Shan was too focused on the green creature’s movements to notice the chat’s banter. He tensed all his muscles, ready to counter the moment the creature revealed itself.

A faint rustle came from the creature—it seemed to sense Li Shan’s approach. At the moment of contact, the crimson line at its center suddenly split open. Six sharp, brown, bony legs shot out, striking the water surface with a speed Li Shan could hardly react to. It dashed away across the water and vanished without a trace.

Li Shan, poised for a counterattack, was left stunned.

"Uh..."

'Hahaha! It ran away! Didn’t expect that.'
'Damn! That startled me. I thought Old Demon was a goner, but the thing chickened out—hilarious.'
'Am I the only one who noticed it walked on water? That’s so cool!'

Li Shan cleared his throat to cover his embarrassment. "Looks like my presence scared it off. My bad, I’ll be more careful next time."

He moved on in search of new targets. A few more of those green creatures appeared, but without exception, they all fled at the sight of him, never giving him a chance to show his skills. This left him a bit frustrated.

'Maybe try the deep-sea region? I remember stage nine has changes under the sea.'

Li Shan pondered the suggestion. "I’ll look around a bit more. If I don’t find anything, I’ll head for the deep sea."

He kept searching the surface, and before he knew it, he had left the area with the giant lilies, entering open ocean.

It was there he spotted land not far off, along with a prompt to head for the continent.

He thought it over, then swam towards it.

Challenging level design is basic gaming practice, so he figured following the plot would offer a better chance of finding monsters than wandering aimlessly.

Just as he suspected, after swimming towards the continent for less than three minutes, a ferocious roar sounded overhead.

Li Shan looked up to see a creature the size of half a person—round-bodied, with a pinkish hue. Its upper half resembled a bulging balloon, while the lower half was a spiraled mouth bristling with spikes.

At that moment, the balloon-like upper body rapidly deflated, expelling air to power its own movement, boosting its speed with gravity as it dove toward him.

In the blink of an eye, it was right above him, its gaping maw wide open.

Li Shan immediately used his exhaust organs to propel himself aside.

With a splash, the balloon creature crashed into the water, sending up a towering spray. Yet, for all its ferocity, it didn’t even touch Li Shan’s wayward lock of hair.

Having dodged, Li Shan quickly surfaced, ready to strike back—only to see the creature’s head, previously shriveled, rapidly swelling again. In seconds, it regained its round shape and soared into the sky.

'What is that thing? That organ is fascinating.'
'It’s just like a balloon. Didn’t I see something like this in that episode of Cosmic Animal World?'
'I think it’s called a pneumatic cavity or something. Looks like the game’s gene organs are all adapted from real life.'
'Damn! Old Demon, what are you standing around for? Go after it, or it’ll get away again!'

Li Shan replied, "No rush, let it fly a bit longer."

He watched as the balloon creature climbed to a height of over ten meters, then calmly dove beneath the surface.

"Let me show you a carp leaping over the dragon gate—a combo move I developed by coordinating several organs!"

The chat erupted with mockery.

'Developed? I’ve watched you play the whole time—I know exactly what you can do.'
'I remember Old Demon installed two flesh membranes, so he should be able to glide in the air, right?'
'There’s a catch, though—first he has to get airborne.'

Li Shan ignored the doubts scrolling by and began his performance.

"Watch my Electric Light Poison Dragon Drill!"