Seaweed Guard... Fight!

Zhao Lei squeezed his eyes shut, not daring to look.

One second.

Two seconds.

Three seconds.

One minute...

There was no sound of impact.

No alarm signaling a drop in durability.

There was no noise of zombie claws scraping against the submarine's hull. He was still alive!!!

Something was wrong.

Zhao Lei first opened his left eye to a slit, then opened his right eye as well. Finally, both eyes widened to the absolute limit allowed by human facial muscles.

Outside the submarine, six enormous black Magic Top Hats were slowly dissipating.

Each top hat corresponded to one row. There were six rows on the submarine, one hat per row, all arranged perfectly, as if someone had drawn a dotted line of top hats in front of the submarine.

The black smoke left behind by the dissipating hats churned through the seawater. A row of Zombies stood within the smoke—one in each row, six in total—neatly lined up directly in front of the submarine, their backs to it and their faces toward the Zombie horde outside.

The top hat in the third row was the largest, and it was also the slowest to disappear.

When the hat vanished, Zhao Lei saw a Gargantuar.

"Gargantuar!!!"

Golden armor, a gigantic wooden shield, a thick stone pillar—it was exactly the same as this Gargantuar.

The six Zombies—including the Gargantuar—moved at the same time.

They... turned in perfect unison toward the Zombie horde outside and let out provocative snarls.

The Gargantuar charged out first. Its stone pillar swept across the battlefield, and not a single Zombie could withstand one exchange with it.

The other five Zombies summoned by Magic-shroom also pounced on the nearest enemies at the same time, using both teeth and claws as they tore into the Zombie horde outside.

The Zombies that had originally surrounded Zhao Lei's submarine had no idea what was happening.

They had suddenly been bitten by a group of their comrades—and that group was going all the way, showing absolutely no mercy.

Zhao Lei's mouth opened into a perfect O. Who could have seen this coming?

Magic-shroom could actually summon a Gargantuar... Could this thing depend on luck?

The First Federation... Had the person conducting the test simply been too unlucky?

(Zhao Lei: Sister Bai... What exactly is your talent?)

(Lin Yue chose Magic-shroom... It must be because of your information talent.)

Zhao Lei stood dumbfounded before the control panel, watching the battle outside through the observation window.

The summoned Zombies formed a temporary defensive line around the submarine and were harvesting the outer Zombie horde with astonishing efficiency.

The Gargantuar was the absolute main damage dealer. With every swing of its pillar, at least one Zombie became a sea pancake.

The other five were no less impressive. They served as meat shields at the front, protecting the plants' attacks from the submarine.

Three minutes later, every Zombie around Zhao Lei's submarine had been cleared out.

Those six Zombies... The sole remaining Gargantuar continued forward into the waters ahead without even looking back.

[+4 Rice Dumplings]

Although he couldn't see it, the system notification made it obvious that the Gargantuar was still there.

Zhao Lei... stared at the empty seabed outside, his mind filled with the wild ups and downs of life.

He lowered his head... and looked at his Magic-shroom.

Magic-shroom was crouching in the planting slot. The top hat on its cap was tilted to one side, its vines crossed over its chest. The entire mushroom radiated an aura that said, Now you know how awesome mushrooms are, right?

The mushroom... shot Zhao Lei a sidelong glance. Its face was filled with tsundere pride, and it was clearly saying three words.

Magic-shroom: ?(???.)?... Call me Daddy.

[Underwater World—Day Four Has Ended]

[You have successfully survived 96 hours]

[You may choose to continue exploring—or leave the event]

[Warning: Starting on Day Five, the Deep-Sea Ecosystem will contain colossal marine life. Today's tip—beware of Blue Whales.]

When Lin Yue heard the words "Blue Whale," he froze for three seconds.

"Blue Whales?"

His tone was flat, but anyone listening closely could hear the slight lift at the end—not the lift of curiosity, but the kind that said, You're kidding me, right?

Blue Whales.

Even without the mechanics from the game... their size and weight alone would be enough to cause serious trouble.

Lin Yue imagined the scene: a colossal creature several times larger than the submarine swimming overhead. It was enough to trigger thalassophobia.

Not to mention that this was an event.

The system would never turn "Blue Whales" into mere scenery.

As for how much trouble they would cause, Lin Yue didn't dare imagine it.

Lin Yue... took a deep breath, trying to dig some good news out of the bad to comfort himself.

The good news was—the event Rice Dumplings had already been accumulated in sufficient quantity.

Not merely enough to use. Enough.

Enough that even if he left the event immediately, this trip would still count as a worthwhile profit.

He opened the panel and glanced at the number of Rice Dumplings. Seeing that figure slightly calmed his restless mood.

(Although Bai Qingfeng had said... he would leave the event on the sixth day.)

(But... Did he really have to follow her talent?)

But at that moment... Lin Yue stared at the words "Blue Whales" on the screen and felt that the sixth day was simply too far away.

There were Blue Whales on the fifth day. What would there be on the sixth?

The Blue Whale's dad?

Lin Yue had learned the art of surviving cautiously from his parents since childhood.

"Little Bai said I won't leave until the sixth day, but can't I leave on the fifth? I'll leave later."

Lin Yue said this to the air, as if he were building himself up psychologically.

When Cattail Cat heard the words "Blue Whales," its ears twitched, but they soon returned to normal. Cats had no concept of whales. In Kitty's worldview, fish were fish, big fish were just slightly bigger fish, and how big could they really get?

Cattail Cat gently slapped the submarine with its tail, expressing the attitude, "Whatever you say. Kitty's following you anyway."

(Seaweed Guard: We want to go with you too.)

However, Lin Yue had to spend the Rice Dumplings he had accumulated first. Left on the panel, Rice Dumplings were merely a string of numbers. Only when spent did they become resources.

Pea Military Merit Helmet. Military green, World War II style, with the brim slightly turned upward and the silhouette of a pea printed on the side. Price: 1,000 Undersea Zongzi.

Every time he had seen that price before, his eyebrows had twitched. It had seemed like outright robbery.

But now that his number of Rice Dumplings had exceeded four digits, 1,000 suddenly didn't seem so painful.

Purchase. Confirm. Equip.

A military-green helmet appeared atop Peashooter's head.

The helmet was neither too big nor too small, fitting perfectly on Peashooter's round head. The brim cast a small shadow over its eyes.

Peashooter froze for a moment. Its cannon-like mouth turned left and right, as if it were getting used to having something on its head.

Then it saw its reflection in the observation window—a pea wearing a military helmet. Green paired with green somehow created an indescribable air of heroism.

Peashooter: (﹡^o^﹡)

(From today onward, please call me Captain Pea.)

Lin Yue chuckled at Peashooter's smug display, then spent the remaining 224 Rice Dumplings.

He tapped the exchange icon for Starfruit and confirmed twice. Two more Starfruit appeared inside the submarine.

Added to the two they already had, there were now four in total.

Four Starfruit appeared inside the submarine at once, their golden light reflecting off one another.

Lin Yue... arranged the two Starfruit in the second row, second column and second row, third column. The four stars formed a neat little square formation.

A mysterious excitement passed between them—there were four now. They could make a full table.

Starfruit: ☆(≧?≦)☆

(Mahjong! Mahjong! Mahjong! The first general assembly of Undersea Mahjong begins now!)

Chapter 68: Seaweed Guard... Fight!

Lin Yue watched the four Starfruit signal one another, his finger already hovering over the button to leave the event.

Once he pressed it, this Deep-Sea Event would be over.

Lin Yue... would take the four Starfruit, one Seaweed Guard—if he could take it with him—and the other newly acquired plants back to his own backyard.

"Then—"

Before Lin Yue could finish speaking, a sudden impact came from the direction of the Seaweed Guard family.

"Bang!"

A tremendous boom... exploded.

It wasn't a system notification or an illusion. It was a real impact.

How loud was it?

The submarine was affected by the current, and its hull rocked violently.

The five Puff-shrooms collectively staggered.

Lin Yue braced himself against the submarine wall and looked ahead through its observation window.

A huge silhouette had appeared in front of the Kelp Defense Line.

Not one. Many.

They slowly emerged from the dark deep sea. The first things to appear were the blowholes atop their heads. The jets of water they expelled formed streaks of white curtains in the beam of the searchlight.

Then came their broad backs—grayish-blue, dotted with pale spots, like enormous rocks that had been scoured by seawater for a thousand years.

Their backs continued rising and expanding until they filled the entire view through the observation window.

Blue Whales... three Blue Whales.

They were so huge... they created a purely physical sense of oppression.

The Blue Whales moved with extreme slowness and heaviness. Every sweep of their tail fins raised a huge wave across the seabed. The current crashed into the Kelp Defense Line, making the entire line tremble violently.

But... these Blue Whales hadn't come to sightsee.

Surrounded by Zombies... they repeatedly rammed the protective net woven by the Seaweed Guards.

The first Blue Whale crashed into the net wall, its entire body pressing against the grid woven from kelp leaves. The green netting was stretched to its limit, producing a teeth-grating creak.

Several Seaweed Guards drove their roots firmly into the seabed sediment. Their leaves pulled desperately backward, their stems bending into curved bows. A number of broken kelp leaves... drifted through the seawater.

The net hadn't broken.

But... the Seaweed Guards were all trembling.

Lin Yue saw that several players were still holding on at the very front of the defense line.

Their submarines fought side by side with the Seaweed Guards. Peas continuously attacked the Zombies—or drove away the Blue Whales—in an attempt to ease the pressure on the Kelp Defense Line.