Chapter Thirty-Eight: The Underwater World

Having finished speaking, Li Shan manipulated the air reservoirs located on either side of his body, directing them to expel air in the same direction. His body began to spin, propelled by the force, starting slowly and then picking up speed. Gradually, a vortex of bubbles enveloped him, shrouding his entire form. When he felt the speed was sufficient, Li Shan made a subtle adjustment to the direction of the air jets.

In that instant, with a sharp hiss, the force realigned and his body shot forth like an arrow released from a fully drawn bow. Spinning, he sliced through the water and burst from its surface, reaching the balloon creature in the blink of an eye. Li Shan did not slow; he crashed directly into the creature’s side. The armor covering him became a series of steel blades, instantly tearing a bloody gash along the creature’s flank. Blood and internal gas gushed out, and, like a ruptured sack, the balloon creature was flung down into the sea below.

Just as he slew the balloon creature, a prompt appeared before his eyes: Evolution degree increased by one. Yet Li Shan had no time to concern himself with such details, for his body did not cease its rotation after the kill; instead, he continued to ascend, spiraling upwards.

‘Holy hell! This electric drill move is outrageous!’
‘He just smashed through! Old Mo is insane!’
‘Wait, why is Old Mo still shooting upward? Does he want to touch the sun?’

The viewers in the livestream erupted, astonished by Li Shan’s fluid and daring attack. None had expected such a bold maneuver, and a storm of donations ensued.

Yet Li Shan was oblivious to the chaos in his livestream; he had miscalculated. He had underestimated the planet’s gravity. The low gravity allowed his spinning centrifugal force to exceed his control. Now, he couldn’t stop even if he wanted to. This was no mere leap over the dragon gate—it was a flight straight into the sky.

‘Why isn’t Old Mo stopping? Is he planning to rocket straight into the atmosphere?’
‘Something’s off—is there no gravity in this game?’
‘Woohoo, lift off!’
‘Haha, I bet Old Mo is panicking now. He was acting cool just a moment ago, but now he’s the fool.’

As Li Shan continued to rise, the mood in the livestream grew ever more jubilant. Some viewers even started betting on how long it would take him to come to a halt.

After ascending for approximately two more minutes, Li Shan’s spinning finally eased. At once, he extended his four limbs, stretching the membranes between them to their fullest in order to cushion his descent.

Seeing the situation return to his control, Li Shan breathed a sigh of relief and addressed his viewers:
“No worries, everything is under control. I was just giving you all a demonstration—showing how a marine creature can properly take to the skies.”

‘So it was a demonstration? I thought Old Mo had messed up.’
‘I don’t know if your flight was proper, but if you don’t run, you’ll really be ‘up there’ for good.’
‘Old Mo, run! If you don’t, it’ll be too late!’

Noticing the sudden shift in the messages, Li Shan paused, quickly refocusing on the game. He then realized that a layer of dark clouds was gathering overhead. Looking up, his eyes widened.

Thousands—no, tens of thousands—of balloon creatures floated above him. He had flown directly into their nest.

“Holy hell!” Li Shan exclaimed as he saw a dozen balloon creatures begin to deflate and plummet toward him. Instantly terrified, he retracted his limbs, allowing himself to fall freely.

One or two, he felt he could manage. But a dozen...
“Brothers, I remember someone mentioning that at stage nine, the deep sea changes. I won’t waste any more time—let’s dive down and check it out together.”

‘He chickened out, Old Mo chickened out.’
‘Low EQ: Run because he can’t fight. High EQ: Show the brothers something new.’
‘Trust Old Mo to make even running away sound so dignified.’

Ignoring the banter, Li Shan watched the sea below draw ever closer. When he was about ten meters from the surface, he once again spread his limbs wide.

With a splash, he absorbed most of the impact and plunged back into the water. Instantly, he felt much safer. After a brief rest, he refilled his air bladder and addressed his viewers:
“All right, brothers, let’s begin our deep-sea exploration.”

As for the sky...
It was best to keep things steady and only consider it once he reached land.

He directed his body downward, using his sensitive hair to monitor his surroundings. When he sensed a large creature, he casually avoided it; with smaller ones, he feigned surprise and ruthlessly dominated them for his fans. As long as no one knew there were creatures stronger than him, he would be the god of the deep!

‘Old Mo is incredible!’
‘So strong, kill, kill, kill!’
‘Is this what it’s like to be a big spender? Makes me want to spend, too. Whenever I played, I was always the one being slaughtered.’

Seeing the messages return to their usual rhythm, Li Shan nodded in satisfaction. This was what real fans should be like; those earlier ones were all fakes.

“All right, brothers, we’re almost at the seabed. It’s my first time this deep—I wonder what’s down here.”

Receiving feedback from his biological radar that he was about to reach the bottom, Li Shan reminded his viewers, then focused entirely on the game.

Because he was far from the surface, no light reached this depth; the seabed world was utterly dark. Fortunately, the money he’d spent hadn’t gone to waste—among the genes he’d evolved was a pair of eyes capable of seeing in darkness, which he’d already equipped.

After another ten minutes of swimming, he finally touched down and beheld the true face of the ocean’s depths.

People often imagine the seabed as silent and desolate, nothing but mud and sand. Yet here, it was breathtakingly beautiful. Sea plants of every hue competed fiercely for attention, and countless marine creatures darted through the underwater city, a scene of vibrant prosperity.

“The plant route probably starts here,” Li Shan observed, scanning the area and finding no immediate danger. He addressed his viewers:
‘Old Mo, what’s here? I can’t see anything.’
‘Switch your view to Old Mo’s and you’ll see.’
‘It’s beautiful here, but I still think the sky is prettier. Old Mo, why not go back to the sky? I’ll give you a dime for it.’

“...”
Li Shan pretended he hadn’t seen that last message. Looking around, he spotted a massive mound to his left.

“There’s a mountain over there. Let’s check it out—maybe we’ll find a surprise.”

He swam over, and then—

A deep rumble sounded.

[You have discovered an epic creature]
[Each one is unique]
[They are unimaginably powerful]
[Defeating them will grant your tribe a blessing]
[But only if you possess the strength to challenge the epic]
[Otherwise, you will be crushed]

-END-

[Evolution degree]: 13
[Gene points settled]: 13
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