168: Chapter 168 Storming the Shrine and Seizing the Dock Keys

As soon as the eye on the sea surface opened, Chen Chen pressed his hand onto the auxiliary command console.

"Jiang Jiuyou, hold the vehicle steady and retreat thirty meters."

"Received."

Jiang Jiuyou's fingers tapped rapidly across the panel, the arc at the tail of the Ghost Fortress lashed out, and the entire vehicle slid backward by force.

The moment the waves crashed up, the vehicle swayed only slightly, giving that eye zero opportunity.

Shen Wanbing's voice pressed through the communicator.

"Tier 5 Limb Projection, located in the deeper layers of the seabed, eight hundred meters down to the southeast. The access control for the Tide Cage is still active; the shrine maiden is not dead."

"That's enough."

Chen Chen looked up at that black-red tentacle.

"Qin Hongye, dismantle a piece of it first."

On the five-story dome, Qin Hongye was already lying steady.

Raising her gun, locking on, and pulling the trigger—all in one smooth motion.

The Gauss projectile cut through the sea breeze and drove straight into the thickest part of the tentacle.

"Pfft!"

Black-red plasma exploded high into the air, the tentacle recoiled violently, and then lashed out viciously at the front of the Ghost Fortress.

"Blood Rose."

Chen Chen only called out once.

Blood Rose was already standing at the edge of the vehicle roof, her red lips curling as pink toxic mist spread out with the wind.

"This group of people, they're annoying just to smell."

The white-robed believers in the front row inhaled just a little, and their expressions changed; they couldn't even hold the blades in their hands steady.

A few of them knelt down directly, turning their heads to choke the necks of the people beside them; the scene instantly descended into chaos.

Jiang Yanxue flipped off the side of the vehicle, landing and rushing into the crowd while hugging the edge of the altar.

"Don't block me."

She held her Shadow Instant-Kill Blade horizontally, and the two shrine warriors rushing toward her were sliced open on the spot, with no route of retreat left behind.

Su Xiaoqi jumped down after her, flicked her twin tails, rushed to the side of a stone pillar, and threw a punch.

Boom!

The pillar snapped in two, and the entire front edge of the altar collapsed.

She shook her fist and added quite seriously,

"The pillars here aren't durable; next time, use thicker ones."

Chen Chen didn't respond to that, his hand already pressing onto the start button of the Void Annihilation Matrix.

"Shen Wanbing, activate remote synchronization for the Deprivation Tower."

"It's already connected."

Shen Wanbing's fingers paused on the panel, a flash of golden light in her eyes.

"I've dismantled half of the outer Spirit seal of the Amaterasu Shrine. If you go deeper, their Spirit techniques will be severely suppressed. If you charge in now, it's equivalent to letting them hand over their heads themselves."

Chen Chen nodded.

"Yi Chang."

On the other side, the Floating City's remote channel lit up immediately.

Yi Chang's voice was crisp and efficient.

"Present."

"Take a look at this place and see if it's worth dismantling."

In a mere two seconds, a string of rapid keystrokes came from Yi Chang's side.

"It's worth it."

She replied even faster.

"This isn't just a simple shrine; it's a sacrificial hub. Beneath it lies a seabed dockyard ruin, and it can connect with the Floating City to form a sea-air dual node. Once opened, logistics, troops, and supplies can all be directly linked. If you let this place go, I'd feel heartbroken for you."

Chen Chen's mouth twitched slightly.

"Then don't spare it."

"I've already started calculating the modification plan."

There was an irrepressible excitement in Yi Chang's voice, "Once you get the access control for this department, I can directly take over the seabed dockyard. By then, this place can become a second outpost."

"Did you hear that?"

Chen Chen looked forward.

"Jiang Jiuyou, take over all the gunboats for me."

Jiang Jiuyou stood before the auxiliary command console, her silver-white low ponytail somewhat disheveled by the sea breeze, but her hands were rock steady.

"Abandoned gunboats numbered 3, 5, 7, 9, and 12, connect to the left-wing firepower. The rest, pin down the main shipping lane. Fire everything that can be fired; don't let a single ship get near the main body of the shrine."

No sooner had she finished speaking than the cannons on those semi-sunken derelict ships on the sea surface were actually raised by her.

The next second, the damaged cannons roared.

A few shrine speedboats had just poked their heads out when they were blasted until their hulls capsized, and everyone on deck fell into the sea.

Iron Wall watched from the side, clicking his tongue in amazement.

"You can take over these too?"

Jiang Jiuyou swept a glance at him.

"Don't waste what can be used."

Chen Chen didn't pause again; with a stomp of his feet, his entire body leaped above the Whale Bone Altar.

A five-hundred-meter freefall, the wind whistling past his ears, he gripped the Void-Splitting Gravity Ship-Slashing Blade, and upon landing, he directly stomped a shrine warrior into the rubble.

"Where is the entrance to the main headquarters?"

The warrior spat blood, and just as he wanted to open his mouth, his head had already flown off.

Beside him, a priest wearing white and red divine robes had just raised his hand, preparing to cast a Spirit technique, when his chest was pierced by a shot from Qin Hongye.

"Next."

Qin Hongye's voice was very flat, and her muzzle didn't shake in the slightest.

"The third one on the left, two centimeters above the head—are you still doing it?"

"Don't steal my kills." Jiang Yanxue wove through the crowd, slicing open another warrior's throat as she passed, "Leave these small fries for me to warm up."

Blood Rose's toxic mist had already pressed into the shrine's front courtyard.

She lifted her chin and laughed at the group of warriors who had fallen into disarray.

"Stand steady, don't trample yourselves to death."

The white-robed believers coughed as they retreated, their formation completely broken.

Taking advantage of this opening, Chen Chen raised his foot and kicked open a hidden iron door beneath the altar.

Behind the door was not a flight of stairs, but a Tide Corridor leading straight down.

When Chen Chen walked in, he didn't stop his pace.

Rows of bone tablets hung on the walls, with names written in crooked script—there were survivors from Huaxia, as well as people who had gone missing here in Sakurajima.

Numbers were nailed next to the bone tablets, with the dates of sacrifice recorded beneath them.

Su Xiaoqi poked her head in to look and frowned on the spot.

"This is just too disgusting."

"Don't touch it."

Shen Wanbing's voice rang out from the communicator, "The Spirit pollution in this corridor is still present; the Deprivation Tower suppressed it just now, but the markings on the walls will induce emotional fluctuations."

"Then let's just burn it all down with one fire." Jiang Yanxue raised her hand, the tip of her blade already touching the wall.

"Not yet." Chen Chen swept a glance, "Keep it as evidence."

He walked forward a few steps, and suddenly, a sound of footsteps came from ahead.

At the end of the corridor, the lights were very dim.

A woman was locked in a metal chair, wearing a tattered white and red shrine maiden outfit, with sealing rings around her wrists and ankles.

She looked very weak, her complexion excessively pale, yet her posture hadn't collapsed; when she lifted her eyelids, her entire being still exuded a suppressed intensity.

Chen Chen stopped in front of her.

"Are you the person who called for help?"

The woman looked at him, her voice a bit hoarse.

"Finally, someone who can fight has arrived."

Shen Wanxing poked her head in from behind, muttering softly.

"She doesn't seem like an ordinary sacrifice..."

The woman heard it and lifted her face directly.

"Of course not."

She stared at Chen Chen, speaking very slowly.

"I am the High Tide Maiden. All the access controls for the Amaterasu Shrine are in my hands. The group outside locked me here not because I'm weak, but because they still rely on me to open the door to the seabed dockyard."

Chen Chen didn't beat around the bush.

"Where is the dockyard key?"

The High Tide Maiden stared at him for two seconds and suddenly smiled.

"You are more direct than them."

She raised her locked hand, and in her palm was a blood-stained bronze bell with sea patterns.

The bronze bell was very old, its edges polished to a shine, and the clapper was still swaying gently.

She didn't hand it over immediately, just watching Chen Chen.

"The dockyard key you want, I will give to you."

"But I must warn you first."

The corridor was very quiet, with only the cannon fire outside still resounding.

The High Tide Maiden spoke slowly.

"What the Amaterasu Shrine worships is not a sea god."

"They are feeding something that is alive."

The dried meat in Su Xiaoqi's hand dropped to the ground with a smack.

Shen Wanxing's expression changed completely.

The High Tide Maiden didn't care about this and continued to stare at Chen Chen.

"That Tier 5 Limb Projection outside is just bait. The thing beneath the seabed is still half-awake. Once it truly opens its mouth, this entire Sakurajima will sink."

"So, do you still dare to take it?"