The immense whirlpool did not hinder the ferry's voyage. It sailed straight into the ocean depths, momentarily feeling like a free fall, laden with weightlessness. The pitch-black waters engulfed the vessel, yet, paradoxically, the passengers did not float up, defying gravity. Apart from being submerged, everything aboard remained as if it were still on the surface.
The sea water here was unexpectedly hot, causing discomfort to a few passengers originally shrimps, their exteriors turning the reddish hue of cooked protein due to the heat intolerance.
Tang Xunan squinted slightly, his underwater endurance significantly enhanced thanks to Lu Yan's training. However, the sensation of seawater rushing into his nostrils still caused a burning pain in his lungs.
Despite being unconscious, Lu Yan's gill slits on the side of his face remained open, functioning diligently.
All passengers, including the live flesh fish that had been confined below decks, were herded onto the deck. The flesh fish, their mutations advanced, had arms devolved into slender fins, managing movement by bouncing across the deck.
Below the water, Captain Octopus's body swelled to double its size, resembling a water-injected giant. He glanced at Tang Xunan, casually picking up a flesh fish from the ground and squeezing it forcefully. The fish's eyeballs and innards were violently expelled, its pink blood diffusing into the sea water, as it spat out an inflated swim bladder.
"Here, eat this. Living beings are such a hassle," Captain Octopus remarked, tossing the swim bladder at Tang Xunan's feet. It granted terrestrial species the temporary ability to breathe underwater, lasting between 24 to 28 hours. Tang Xunan didn't refuse.
Even in such hot water, Lu Yan's limbs remained ice cold. To avoid attracting other pollutants, Lu Yan was wrapped tightly in a black cloak. His face, now completely covered by fish scales, shimmered like a golden cocoon, leaving one to wonder what would emerge from it.
Amidst turbulent currents, the rust-streaked ferry finally reached the dock. The structure here was peculiar: dark waters overhead, ink-green below, with a serene vacuum separating the two layers of sea.
The captain expelled a mouthful of fresh seawater, "Crew, let's get to work." Dozens of squid people, moving with a sluggish gait, used their salty tentacles to gather the flesh fish from the deck.
Stepping onto the bow, the captain let out a muffled laugh, "We're home, friends. Let's return to the embrace of the abyss." As his words fell, one after another, the living fish leapt into the ink-green waters. A group of flesh fish, as if in worship, knelt at the ship's edge, murmuring fervently, their eyes filled with zeal.
The seemingly clear waters turned mire-like, bubbling up with murky froth.
Captain Octopus's gaze briefly rested on Tang Xunan, specifically on Lu Yan in his arms. For some reason, the Oracle appeared weak...
The captain couldn't help but fantasize about possessing the power of Precognition. Those eyes that could see the future were coveted by many.
Sensing the malevolent gaze, Tang Xunan lifted his eyes slightly. His expression was unreadable, yet a frenzy of emotions brewed within.
Captain Octopus, having traversed this route for many years and holding the sole passage to R'lyeh, was fearless even against more formidable pollutants. This underwater city, both a city of origin and evolution, was a place where pollutants dared not kill him, lest they incur the wrath of higher-ranking pollutants.
Yet, in that moment, Captain Octopus had a premonition. If he laid hands on the "Oracle," this delectable offering, it would fight back desperately, perhaps even to the death.
Dismissing the thought with a snort, he looked away. The finest ingredients were reserved for the highest echelons; no offering would leave this place alive.
... ...
The sacrificial offering before our eyes continues unabated. On the ship, hundreds of live fish are halved in the blink of an eye. Beneath the calm surface, through the clear seawater, flesh fish are continuously crushed into pieces by the water pressure, then converge onto a central flesh orb. This flesh orb grows larger, with a layer of fat and debris floating on the seawater at the bottom of the ship. Eventually, the buoyancy of the seawater can no longer support the weight of the flesh orb, and it plummets straight into the abyss.
After a long while, the entire sea area begins to shake violently. People on the ship are rocked from side to side, Tang Xunan spreads his wings behind him, embracing Lu Yan as they ascend into the mid-air. He looks towards the abyss. Huge stone pillars rise to the sky, covered in dizzying reliefs. It's unclear if the ground is rising or the seawater is sinking; on the green moss, one by one, sinister eyes open, and like spreading dye, they start swirling.
The stone pillars stop growing only when they reach the pitch-black surface above, with countless such pillars emerging from the boundless sea. After ceasing their growth, the surface of the pillars becomes mold-like, sprouting layers of green mycelium. The dark green threads intertwine, dyeing the entire fortress into a dull, oppressive black.
Tang Xunan's head aches, gasping slightly as if unable to breathe. A chill spreads across his chest. He looks down to see the Glory Medal in Lu Yan's pocket. The medal floats up, with a visible crack forming on the black diamond, which continues to widen. Tang Xunan can feel his previously improving mutation degree skyrocketing.
A warm, fishy sea breeze blows, bathing the pollutants on the ship like a hot spring, eliciting comfortable sighs. A boiled crab begins to molt, seemingly a female, its back bulging with a meat pack, its abdomen crawling with tiny crab offspring. The shed shell is consumed by the offspring, which grow larger and return to her pouch.
An evolution that would be extremely difficult in the outside world requires only a gust of sea breeze here. The captain deeply inhales the warm wind, intoxicated, "We have arrived at our destination. Dear passengers, I won't accompany you further. Remember, we only have one week. Regardless of whether you can return, I will leave."
Its tentacles placed on the ship's drain holes move, pushing the cruise ship forward two steps, just enough to enter the dark green mycelium by an inch. Not all evolutions succeed. For its own safety, the octopus captain never ventures deep into it.
The tourists disembark in an orderly manner, vanishing into the darkness. Tang Xunan touches Lu Yan's forehead. There's no fever; instead, it's as cold as ice, frighteningly so. He whispers into Lu Yan's ear, "Yan Yan, we're home."
Lu Yan's brow furrows, uttering meaningless babble. Tang Xunan listens for a moment but can't make sense of it. Unconsciously, Lu Yan is using his talent for Delirium, even in his unawakened state. His mutation value has reached a dangerously critical level. Sending him to a research institute might even result in euthanasia. A mutation degree over 100 doesn't necessarily turn one into a Pollutant; death is also a possibility.
The Lu Yan Tang Xunan remembers is always calm, almost indifferent, maintaining a pride almost bordering on arrogance, never once as vulnerable and heartbreakingly fragile as now. He doesn't hesitate for long. Holding Lu Yan tightly, Tang Xunan dives headfirst into the abyss.
... ...
What really lies within the abyss? Shen Qingyang had once been curious about this question until he devoured Dr. Lu Cheng and saw the abyss through that eye. The abyss left him with nothing but death and fear. He had slept for so long that he was no longer accustomed to his massive shell.
Shen Qingyang heard a familiar murmur. Thus, the eyes on his tentacles slowly opened, eventually fixing their gaze towards the entrance. He was immobile. Shen Qingyang's body had grown exceptionally large, but from above, it appeared as if he was suctioned onto a flesh-colored gelatinous mass. This mass had vine-like flesh roots growing from its top, and its body was covered with mucous-like eyeballs and worm-like mouths.
This monster, known as "Mother" by all the inhabitants of R'lyeh, was once a human and a mother to a child, despite no blood relation between them. Yet, she might have loved him briefly. The monster reminisced for a long time, remembering she was once called Jiang Yue, and her child, Lu Yan.
Due to the Delirium, the little monsters sleeping in R'lyeh began to awaken, falling into a bizarre frenzy. On Shen Qingyang's hand, a bright red eyeball screamed, "Jiang Yue! You heard it—The vessel has arrived, he's here! I didn't lie to you!"
As the mother of the children, she nurtured two vessels. One was a mental vessel, and the other, a physical vessel. The former was Lu Yan, and the latter was Shen Qingyang. Shen Qingyang's tentacles were attached to her massive body, with Jiang Yue continuously feeding her own flesh into Shen Qingyang's body. He was like a duck being force-fed in a cramped box, with food being pushed from his mouth into his stomach against his will, inflating his body with feed.
Dr. Lu Cheng said, "As long as the two vessels merge, we can welcome the return of the gods and a brand new world! You can also leave here." His tone was more urgent than he realized. Bursts of seawater splashed onto the only remaining eye of Dr. Lu Cheng. Jiang Yue couldn't speak, but she seemed to agree. She released her mouth.
Shen Qingyang fell to the ground. His tentacles painfully curled up, quickly retracting like shrinking. Shen Qingyang forcibly reverted to human form using mimicry. However, this human form was unstable, with black tentacles probing out from every possible crevice, wriggling under his skin.
A bulging red eyeball was in Shen Qingyang's palm. Keeping his human habits, he dressed and walked outside. The red eyeball whispered urgently, "Quick, go find Lu Yan while he's still asleep. Otherwise, we won't stand a chance!"
Shen Qingyang punched the eyeball in his palm. Dr. Lu Cheng exploded in rage, "I'm doing this for your good—and you hit me! What I said just now was to deceive her. She's already an irrational S-class Pollutant, whose only goal is to give birth to a god. Would she have let you go otherwise?"
"We are one now; of course, I'm on your side," he continued. Shen Qingyang looked down, his face wearing an uncontrollable, mocking smile. "Really? Teacher?" he asked softly.
Shen Qingyang spread the fingers of his other hand, his fingertips slightly hooking towards the eyeball in his palm. Dr. Lu Cheng's tone became panicked, "What are you doing?! Shen Qingyang! If I die, the Precognition will disappear too! Think it through! Don't you want to save Lu Yan?!"
Unmoved, Shen Qingyang pried open the eyelid, and the red eyeball let out a sharp, painful scream. "I've already found out what I wanted to know, Teacher," Shen Qingyang answered with a smile. Dr. Lu Cheng became his eye. What made him think Shen Qingyang couldn't see?
He kept Dr. Lu Cheng merely to persuade Jiang Yue. Shen Qingyang dug out the eyeball, holding it in his palm. On the back of the eyeball hung a piece of tender red flesh and plant root-like umbilical blood vessels.
After leaving the nutrient medium, the eyeball continuously dehydrated and shrank. Dr. Lu Cheng felt death approaching, endlessly cursing weakly. Shen Qingyang said, "Haven't seen the doctor in a long while, thought I'd bring him a greeting gift. You'd understand, right, Teacher?"
The content summary comes from the song "This World is Beautiful Because of You." It felt very fitting.
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