Kui Niu

"Don't you trust me a little too much? I never said I had the ability to see the future, did I?"

Gu Yan's forehead was covered in black lines. How did this ball get kicked to his feet again?

Before, it was Xu Muchi who insisted he join the Ability Department, providing all sorts of considerate services like information security and wake-up calls. And now, it turns out she's like a capitalist who's found a bunch of highly productive leeks?

Now she doesn't even have to lift a finger to harvest them, just telling me to handle it myself?

"You have the ability to solve it, I believe in your ability, isn't that simple?"

Gu Yan was rendered speechless.

Thank you for thinking so highly of me.

"I understand, thank you."

Xu Muchi was indeed quite decisive, even saying she would take responsibility if anything happened.

Gu Yan shook his head helplessly, but his expression turned serious after a moment.

In that case, his actions were approved, so...

Hehehehe!

Little thing, prepare to die!

Gu Yan plunged into the water, the icy seawater engulfing his body. Unable to feel the sun's rays, he opened his eyes to a profound darkness.

Sunlight penetrated the ocean, transitioning from deep blue at the surface to pitch black below. In the tranquil depths, a cyan glow emanated, severely impairing Gu Yan's vision.

Although he was still human, with his abilities, breathing underwater and diving deep was incredibly simple.

Ability: Water Control!

The water flowed under Gu Yan's control, dragging him rapidly downward.

There was no scenery of schools of fish underwater; the surroundings were deathly silent. Only the light served as a reference. In such an environment, deep-sea phobia and claustrophobia would cause anyone to break down in minutes.

Li Shi was momentarily surprised when he saw Gu Yan enter the water. He had already clearly explained the dangers, and this choice seemed unwise to him.

But perhaps it was a case of "skillful hands and bold heart"? After all, who else was so powerful at such a young age and willing to gamble with their own life?

"Do not obstruct Gu Yan's actions. Cooperate with him when necessary."

Xu Muchi's communication suddenly came through, startling Li Shi for a moment.

He was from the Ability Department headquarters and naturally knew the weight of this senior's words. Her issuing such an order at this time had naturally astonished him.

"Received!" Although he was confused, obeying orders was a basic tenet of his.

This short sentence practically handed over half of the Bohai Sea's command authority to Gu Yan!

Meanwhile, underwater.

The water, vibrating at an ultra-high frequency and infused with Honkai Energy, enveloped the light source. Anything entering it would be pulverized. Yes, this was that "barrier."

However, the lack of a physical form didn't pose a problem for Gu Yan. Since it was vibrating water, he would use Water Control to contend with it. As long as the water flow stopped, it would collapse on its own.

Although he could choose to brute-force his way through, being enveloped by water flowing at such a vibrational frequency would undoubtedly be an unpleasant experience.

With a thought, the Honkai Energy within him rapidly fueled his Water Control ability. The water under Gu Yan's control increased, and he became the master of this aquatic domain, manipulating everything within his territory at will.

Of course, this was due to favorable timing and location, and his Water Control had reached its limit and could not be further enhanced.

This "barrier" wasn't very large, so breaking through it wasn't difficult.

The coverage of his Water Control was sufficient. As long as the vibrations stopped, then...

"Moo!"

A sound like muffled thunder exploding in his ears emanated from within the barrier, causing even Gu Yan's eardrums to ache.

It seemed the entity inside sensed his intentions, as the barrier instantly expanded several times. Gu Yan's ability was overwhelmed, and the controlled water flow slipped from his grasp.

He wasn't surprised by this situation. No matter how strong you were, could you strangle a cow with noodles?

The cyan light dimmed, and the Honkai Energy in the water was violently drawn away, concentrating towards the light source.

Gu Yan, enveloped by the high-frequency vibrating water, wasn't significantly affected, but every part of him was permeated by the flow, leaving him completely numb.

He couldn't stay underwater any longer. He shot out of the water, and the sensation of being cleansed by ultrasound finally disappeared.

The people on the many warships had clearly heard the sound just now. Everyone snapped to attention, fingers hovering over triggers, their dark cannons seeming ready to unleash hell at any moment. However, out at sea, they didn't experience the intensity Gu Yan did.

"Moo!"

The thunderous moo sounded again from underwater, the sound even stirring waves on the calm surface.

[Ding! Plunder is effective, gained buff: Resurrection. Honkai creature upgraded to LV48.]

A flicker of surprise appeared in Gu Yan's eyes.

LV48? Has it reached Emperor-class?

However, he didn't panic. As long as a Herrscher didn't appear, he could accept it.

In fact, this Honkai beast had indeed reached Emperor-class. It was just that Gu Yan had interfered with its gestation period, so it was currently one of the weaker Emperor-class Honkai beasts, much weaker than Surtur.

But the might of an Emperor-class is not comparable to lower-tier Honkai beasts!

"Get away from here!"

Gu Yan relayed the message to Li Shi while warily watching for the Honkai beast's attack.

The warship began to pull away. It was still underwater, its dim cyan glow stretching out, its massive silhouette faintly visible.

『December 12th, Year 250, 8:15 AM. The second Emperor-class Honkai beast: Kui Niu, is born in Huaguo's Bohai Sea.』

BOOM!

A massive, hornless bull's head was the first to break the surface. Its entire body was covered in cyan fur, and its mountain-like back was revealed. It was 140 meters long, and that didn't even include its tail.

Its eyes lacked whites, being a strange deep purple. Its nonexistent limbs were submerged underwater.

The bull's head didn't move, yet everyone on the warship felt as if they were being watched.

What kind of monster is this!

"Open fire!"

The warship's cannons were already aimed at the Kui Niu. At the command, countless shells rained down like a storm. Under such firepower, even a real mountain would be leveled.

"MOO!"

However, the Kui Niu opened its mouth, and the cyan light on its neck flared. A bellow like muffled thunder erupted again, and invisible ripples spread out, shattering the sea waves and clouds.

BOOM!

All attacks detonated prematurely as the ripples swept over them, not harming the Kui Niu one bit. They merely added a different color to its roar.

Gu Yan, in the air, would not intervene until the warship had retreated to a safe distance. The Kui Niu's roar was significantly weaker in the air than in the water, so it naturally couldn't harm him.

Because he had ordered the warship to retreat a short time in advance, those on board were unharmed.

Li Shi stared blankly at the giant bull, the turmoil in his heart no less than when the Kui Niu broke the surface.

"This is the Bohai Sea. A giant bovine creature has appeared in the water!" He uploaded a picture and information to the communication network. The noisy chatter surprisingly quieted down.

"We've already attempted to bombard it, but it's impervious to damage. The monster's roar is incredibly loud; the shells were intercepted by sound waves."

More information followed.

"What is that thing? A bull bigger than a warship?"

"I'm almost done here. I'll be there to support you soon!"

"Silence!"

A voice filled with authority cut through the comms, and the channel fell silent again.

"Li Shi, share your vision with me. I'll take over the scene."

"Understood!" Li Shi knew immediately whose command this was and immediately initiated a one-way vision share.

Vision sharing placed a significant burden on both the Mental-Attribute personnel maintaining network operations and the owner of the perspective. Therefore, it was typically only used between two individuals and required approval.

In other words, a one-way share was an exclusive method for high-ranking officials to take over command.