Human-Faced Thornfish

Those were some seriously strong teeth.

Xiao Hao's incredulous gaze met the beauty's eyes, which had betrayed her true nature. For a moment, things were painfully awkward.

The beauty quickly recovered, her vicious gaze turning timid again.

The frail, tragically beautiful woman bit down on the spear with her sharp teeth. A consummate actress, she put on an aggrieved expression, but it did nothing to sway Xiao Hao's utterly unromantic heart.

Biting it wasn't enough. She even twisted around.

She acted as though the spear had wounded her.

Xiao Hao tried to pull the spear out, but she had clamped down so tightly that he couldn't budge it.

And she insisted on playing the victim, as though Xiao Hao were the one keeping it firmly stuck in her.

After tugging for a while, Xiao Hao pretended to gather his strength and counted, "Three! Two!"

Then he yanked the spear free when she wasn't expecting it.

Ha! Didn't see that coming, did you?

He had pulled before saying "one."

The beauty was furious, practically ready to accuse him of fighting dirty.

Xiao Hao had to admit that was damned impressive. The iron tip was razor-sharp, yet she had bitten down on it and held fast.

Xiao Hao regrouped, ready to give her another stab.

The scales on her body looked hard too, so he aimed for her eyeball. Xiao Hao refused to believe even this thing's eyes could be that tough.

The beautiful head hastily cried out, "No, please don't! I don't want you to end my suffering anymore!"

Xiao Hao declared righteously, "Don't be shy! Helping others is a virtue!"

With that, Xiao Hao thrust the spear hard!

To his surprise, the monster nimbly dodged it.

"I'm not human!"

"I like helping little animals too!"

A thrust!

A dodge!

Damn it, she dodged again!

"I don't want the curse lifted anymore! I-I've already transcended!"

"What you need isn't transcendence. It's last rites!"

The Darkness Domain shimmered like fading light and shadow, and ribbons of darkness bound her.

Let's see you dodge now!

She writhed desperately, hoping to break free of the dark ropes, but the eight seahorses were like eight burly men, restraining her so tightly she couldn't move.

The woman's head turned toward Xiao Hao and pleaded pitifully, "Showing kindness is a virtue too. Please spare me..."

"You're not human."

"You like helping little animals too!"

"That's why I'm ending your suffering."

Despair filled the beautiful head's face.

"Then... then don't stab me with the spear. Use... use something else..."

Damn it!

This actress actually wants to disturb this humble monk's pure heart!

Not a chance!

Just as Xiao Hao was about to end her life with the spear, the wild monster suddenly raised her head and spat out a jet of water!

The jet even broke through the Exploration Bubble and pierced Xiao Hao's chest!

Xiao Hao's body slowly dissolved like a 3D hologram, leaving a patch of shadow behind.

Shadow Transformation!

I knew this thing was up to no good!

From within the shadow, Xiao Hao glanced at the ground behind him. The jet had blasted a huge crater into it, sending dark red sediment flying everywhere and clouding the surrounding seawater.

Isn't that about a billion times too powerful?!

So this thing looked all delicate and frail, but one mouthful of spit could kill him!

That was close!

Fortunately, Xiao Hao had never let his guard down!

The Human-Faced Thornfish blinked. Seeing Xiao Hao emerge from the shadow in human form, she gave him an awkward, ingratiating smile. "Would you believe me if I said that was an accident?"

Xiao Hao realized the monster was stalling.

Apparently, that powerful attack needed time to charge.

Xiao Hao replied politely, "This humble monk will now perform your last rites."

With that, he gave her no further chance. The iron spear drove straight through her eyeball and into her brain.

He couldn't afford to underestimate a single monster.

Xiao Hao looked at the panel. This thing should be worth quite a few Spirit Pearls.

[Human-Faced Thornfish has died]

[Spirit Pearls +500]

[Bind Human-Faced Thornfish?]

Xiao Hao didn't bind her immediately. He wanted to hear what the viewers thought.

[I told you my husband wouldn't fall for it! See? See?]

[What husband? That's your brother-in-law!]

[Everyone knows how brothers-in-law feel about their wives' little sisters... hehehehe...]

[It's over. This one's beyond saving...]

The thread had gone off the rails again.

Xiao Hao had no choice but to steer it back on track.

"Should I bind the Human-Faced Thornfish?"

[Yes! Absolutely!]

[With looks like that, you'd be inhuman not to!]

The corner of Xiao Hao's mouth twitched. He remembered the reason he had given for refusing to bind the previous monster-ugly.

But what he wanted to know was whether this thing could deal with the Deep-Sea Ghost!

This bunch of viewers was impossible to manage.

Xiao Hao murmured softly, "Can the Human-Faced Thornfish handle the Deep-Sea Ghost...?"

[The Human-Faced Thornfish's only worthwhile abilities are beguilement and water cannon.]

[Beguilement doesn't work on the Deep-Sea Ghost, and the water cannon would just give her a bath. The ghost would still kill the thornfish instantly.]

[Bathwater... hehehehe...]

[Her again! That laugh is so creepy! Quick, someone cover her mouth!]

Xiao Hao was utterly exasperated.

These viewers were driving Xiao Hao up the wall.

Xiao Hao declined to bind her and made up another excuse. "I like the honest and straightforward type. This thing's too good at putting on an act. No thanks, no thanks!"

The moment he said it, Xiao Hao regretted it.

Because...

[See? My husband likes honest, straightforward girls like me! If you like someone, boldly declare your love!]

[In that case, I'll have to compete with you ladies too.]

[Holy crap! You're such a handsome guy yourself. Why are you competing with us for handsome guys?!]

[Heh, everyone knows we Silverfolk are into both men and women!]

[Boohoo, all the handsome guys belong to other handsome guys...]

[Draw your blade! My husband is mine alone!]

He had lost the will to live.

Sure enough, viewers of any race could make the veins in Xiao Hao's temples bulge.

After eating a little to replenish his strength, Xiao Hao decided to upgrade everything where he was, then continue hunting monsters.

Six hundred Spirit Pearls were just enough to upgrade the Coral Shell Room and all the seahorses to level 4.

The upgrades didn't seem to change their appearance much, but the increase in strength was very real.

Of his two fights, the second had been far easier than the first.

Just as Xiao Hao was about to coax the viewers into giving him hints, the stream of comments suddenly grew much denser.

[The Deep-Sea Ghost is coming!]

[It's over, it's over! The streamer's too far from the Coral Shell Room. He can't outrun the ghost in time!]

[Aw, I finally found a player I like. It'd be such a shame for him to die like this.]

[What do we do? What do we do? The ghost's still hundreds of meters away, but she's already spotted him!]

[Aaah! Don't die, honey!]

Comments flashed past one after another. There were so many that Xiao Hao couldn't immediately find any information on how to escape.

Xiao Hao struggled to calm himself down.

Before, he would have found that difficult.

But after several brushes with death, Xiao Hao's nerves had grown considerably stronger.

His night vision only reached about ten meters, while the Deep-Sea Ghost had spotted him from hundreds of meters away. That alone showed how powerful she was!

Running back to the Coral Shell Room was unrealistic. He had been injured during his last hundred-meter sprint, and now the room was at least several hundred meters away.

He couldn't win a fight, and he couldn't escape!

Frantic with worry, Xiao Hao had only one option left-hide!

Xiao Hao decisively switched off his phone's light. The instant the light vanished, a heavy, oppressive feeling settled over him.

It felt as though countless eyes were watching him. Even every stone and plant seemed to have sprouted eyeballs, all staring at him!

Forcing down that strange sensation, Xiao Hao couldn't spare the attention to memorize the terrain beneath his feet. With the comments to help him, he didn't have to worry too much about getting lost on the seabed.

Fortunately, the Human-Faced Thornfish had lived here for some time. Her previous water blasts had left numerous large craters in the seabed. Some even connected to form a small fissure, giving Xiao Hao somewhere to hide.

Instead of hiding in a pit toward the Coral Shell Room, Xiao Hao moved farther from it and chose a relatively intricate, trench-like depression.

Xiao Hao didn't hesitate and went straight into Shadow Transformation, "flowing" into the pit.

Half a minute later, almost as soon as Xiao Hao had concealed himself, the ghost arrived.

Everything around him was pitch-black and deathly still. Xiao Hao crouched in a small hollow in the trench. There was only one exit; if he was discovered, he would be trapped with no way out.

On the other hand, it was an excellent hiding place. Even overhead, there was dark red earth and rock. With only a vent-sized opening, it would be hard to spot.

Xiao Hao didn't dare make a sound. He wasn't sure whether he was imagining it, but in the silence beneath the sea, his pounding heartbeat sounded unnaturally clear.

[The streamer's so smart. He didn't just run blindly.]

[But how did he know the Deep-Sea Ghost had spotted him?]

At that moment, Xiao Hao didn't dare speak to make up an explanation. Cold sweat kept seeping from his forehead and running to the corners of his mouth, but he didn't even dare wipe it away.

Xiao Hao was like a wax statue, not daring to move a muscle.

[Some people have a really strong sixth sense. It's perfectly normal for him to notice the ghost.]

"Hoo... hoo..."

The ghost drifted back and forth overhead, putting Xiao Hao under immense psychological pressure. To keep panic from going to his head, he could only read the comments to calm himself down.

Suddenly, the whooshing stopped.

The female ghost's mocking voice rang out.

"Found you..."