Fishmen

Chapter 50: Fishmen

"Feng Ling!!!"

Zhou Diao lunged forward, reaching out to grab her, but caught only empty air.

Dark red blood surged to the river's surface, then quickly faded without a trace as the waves rolled on. By the time the patrol boat steadied, they could no longer tell where Feng Ling was.

The three team members kept their guns trained on the surroundings but stopped firing, afraid a stray bullet might hit Feng Ling underwater.

Zhou Diao paced the patrol boat in a fury, scanning back and forth. Aside from the churning waves, he could see nothing!

Frustrated beyond reason, he grabbed Huangfu Miaomiao by the arm and roared, "What the hell were you doing?! The Xenomorphs came and you didn't say a word?!"

Huangfu Miaomiao was stunned senseless, only now starting to cry. "I didn't know... the player was in the water, I couldn't see..."

Zhou Diao shoved her hard, pulled out his phone, and made a call. "We're under attack on the west side of Qingjiang Bridge No. 1. The enemy is lurking underwater. We need backup!"

"There's movement on the surface!" Qin Liang suddenly shouted.

"Don't shoot!" Xiao Li cried out in panic. "It's Feng Ling!"

A familiar figure rose from the pitch-black waves. Before they could confirm whether it was Feng Ling, a sharp black spike pierced straight through the figure!

Zhou Diao's heart nearly leaped out of his throat. He was certain Feng Ling was dead. But when the splashing water settled, he saw that only a set of clothes had been impaled.

Where was Feng Ling?

Zhou Diao's heart pounded wildly. He wished he could jump into the water right now and fight those bastards to the death!

But would jumping in even help?

Swimming and fighting underwater were two completely different things. His beast claws were covered in thick fur—underwater, they'd only be dead weight.

And besides...

Zhou Diao's face tightened as he stared at the dark water—

Besides, by now, Feng Ling might already be dead.

Since he couldn't save her, there was no point in making a pointless sacrifice. The priority was to get back to shore, evacuate nearby boats and pedestrians, and seize the initiative in the attack.

—As an inspector, ensuring civilian safety was always the primary objective in any operation.

"Head to shore." Zhou Diao gave the order. "Wait for backup. Once we regroup, we'll clear the Xenomorphs along the riverbank!"

Huangfu Miaomiao was sobbing uncontrollably on the boat.

Zhou Diao stared at her coldly. "What are you crying for? It's not like one of your own kind died."

Huangfu Miaomiao choked out between sobs, "...I don't know."

The truth was, Feng Ling had never been good to her. She always bossed her around, never trusted her, and loved to scare her out of nowhere.

But now that Feng Ling was dead, she didn't know why—her heart just ached...

In the icy river water, Feng Ling could feel her body slowly sinking.

The churning silt and the blood spilling from her wounds clouded the Xenomorphs' vision, buying her a sliver of hope.

Her body was working hard to repair itself.

But the water pressed in from all sides, crushing her chest and lungs. The suffocation crept closer like death itself.

Feng Ling recalled the posts on the Player Forum. She was absolutely certain now—these Xenomorphs had come for her.

To suppress the Hive's regenerative ability, they had deliberately chosen to attack her on the water. Even if her body functions recovered, she would drown over and over again.

Right now, she should swim to the surface as fast as possible and take a deep breath.

But Feng Ling watched the Xenomorphs darting around and thought she could wait a little longer. Just a little longer...

One...

Two...

Three...

Feng Ling counted silently.

The pitch-black riverbed was as bright as day to her. Aside from the occasional murky silt blocking her view, she could see everything clearly.

The creatures attacking her were three monsters that looked like Fishmen.

Their faces still bore human features, but from the cheeks down to where the neck met the shoulders, they had gills. Where arms should have been, two sharp, long spikes jutted out—

Just now, those spikes had pierced straight through her body.

To be precise, they weren't spikes. They were a kind of sharp, spear-like pectoral fin.

These fins could spread out like sails to paddle through the water, or contract into spikes for attack.

Besides that, their powerful lower bodies and fish tails could also deal damage.

Feng Ling had seen their body structure clearly. Her heart grew much calmer.

She continued to wait.

At the same time, she was also curious—in the deep, dark waters, who would be more afraid: her, facing three monsters, or them, facing a Hidden Boss whose whereabouts they couldn't pinpoint?

The Xenomorphs were on edge, having lost their target like headless flies. After searching in circles, they decided to expand their search range, unwilling to let the Hidden Boss slip through their grasp.

Feng Ling patiently waited for one of them to draw near.

Her body, now completely transparent, went unnoticed by the Xenomorph. When the two almost brushed past each other, the Bone Blade hidden in the water suddenly lashed out!

The Bone Blade sliced through the Fishman's neck!

She lunged forward, and the moment it lost its ability to move, she grabbed its head with both hands, planted her feet on its back, and used the leverage to launch herself out of the water!

Fresh air filled her lungs. There was no time to savor it; the next second, she plunged back into the bloodied water gushing from the Fishman's corpse, spotting two Fishmen charging at her at full speed!

Feng Ling's underwater speed was nowhere near a match for the Fishmen's.

Four long spines shot toward her. She had no way to dodge, nor did she intend to. The reinforced Bone Blade met the attack head-on from the front! Then, using the water's current, she tilted and pushed the spines aside—they struck empty water.

The Fishman violently whipped its tail, trying to adjust its angle for another strike!

Feng Ling's four Fangs and Claws seized the moment! They bit down on the Fishmen's shoulders!

Crack—

The long spines were snapped off at the root by the Fangs and Claws, like dragonflies stripped of their wings, leaving only their slender bodies thrashing desperately!

Feng Ling kept her Fangs and Claws locked tight into their wounds, coldly watching their gills heave violently and their tails thrash wildly.

The already murky river water grew even murkier. They writhed in agony, twisting their bodies to shake her off, swimming erratically with terrible balance.

Feng Ling still held on without letting go.

Unless the oxygen in her lungs ran out, why would she ever release such a hard-won prize?

She still had two Bone Blades.

She extended one scythe-like Bone Blade and sliced off the gills of one Fishman, watching as sand and mud poured into its mouth, its face twisting in agony.

Then she cut off its pelvic fin.

Next, its tail fin.

It gradually lost the ability to swim.

She began scraping off its scales, layer by layer, until white fish paste emerged.

The river water was completely stained red—everything within sight was a murky crimson!

The other Fishman was nearly driven mad with terror by Feng Ling!

It opened its mouth wide, trying to scream something, but the sound dissolved into the water, and Feng Ling couldn't make out a word.

Still, she cooperatively released her Fangs and Claws.

Because she was worried this Xenomorph might shout "log off"—that would be far too boring.

The moment her Fangs and Claws let go, the Fishman fled like a mad creature.

Feng Ling looked at the other Fishman in her grasp.

It was barely alive, battered and broken, its shoulders clamped in her two Fangs and Claws, its body swaying weakly with the dark current.

Feng Ling pondered for a moment, then, as if showing mercy, gently loosened her Fangs and Claws and let this Fishman go.

It's around 12 now for one chapter, and around 8 PM for another—does that work for you all? From now on, should I release two chapters together?