39: Returning to Haicheng (passive voice)

Clap, clap, clap...

The sound of applause drifted from a distance. Only then did the two of them see Second Nine Jia and Yi Sanyi already standing on the edge of the cliff, slowly clapping as they watched the slaughter.

Zhou Yan had just been having a blast killing monsters, and his focus had been entirely on the enemies around him; he hadn't noticed the red dots on the periphery for a moment.

Han Wenqing was also desperate to save people, which prevented him from discovering the two of them nearby in time.

"Hmph, it doesn't matter. It's the same no matter how many come!" Zhou Yan was incredibly confident at this moment, just like Cao Ang in Wancheng back in the day.

Wait, isn't saying that bad luck?

There were many weak mobs now, and Zhou Yan could use them to easily stack true damage. Now that he knew how lethal true damage was to them, Second Nine Jia's 6,000 HP didn't seem so intimidating anymore.

With true damage combined with Sword Qi attacks, Zhou Yan currently didn't see how he could lose.

"General Wolf, let's see who kills more enemies!"

After saying this, Zhou Yan became fired up.

And while Han Wenqing didn't know what he meant by 'General Wolf,' seeing how fiercely powerful Zhou Yan was right now, his own confidence surged as well.

Han Wenqing let out a shout: "Kill!"

Zhou Yan let out a shout: "Ah!"

The former was filled with Killing Intent; the latter was just pure confusion.

At that moment, Zhou Yan's vision went black, and he collapsed to the ground.

"Heh~ sigh, is this kid the new Fish Bed? He looks quite spirited, but it's a pity about that good skin of his."

"You're actually feeling pity? If you don't hurry up and finish so we can start production, you can wait to feel pity for yourself instead."

"Alright, alright, stop nagging."

Feeling that the two people in front of him had finished their business and departed, Zhou Yan finally opened his eyes to check his current status and surroundings.

Had his shoulder blades been pierced and was he locked in a dungeon?

He looked at the cold iron rings piercing his Physical Body, with tubes of various sizes inserted into him.

There are water pipes in this world?

Unfortunately, now wasn't the time for snarky comments; otherwise, Zhou Yan would have spent half a day studying just those water pipes.

With the piercing of the iron rings and the restraint of the iron chains, he could only move his hands slightly.

However, this wasn't enough to make Zhou Yan worry.

Step, step, step.

Steady and rhythmic footsteps were approaching.

"Greetings, Lord Yi Sanyi."

"Alright, step aside!"

Hearing the conversation outside, Zhou Yan knew the other party was coming for him.

*Click,* the iron door was pushed open.

The newcomer bore a seventy percent resemblance to Yi Sanyi, except that this Yi Sanyi now had deep blue skin, shark fins growing from his back, and looked like a shark-man.

He waved a hand at the same kind of half-human, half-fish monster at the door, and the creature closed the iron door.

Now that only the two of them remained in the room, Yi Sanyi dropped his ferocious expression, and his face took on a playful look.

He pulled over a chair and an interrogation torture device from the side, then sat with his legs crossed, fiddling with the device while looking at Zhou Yan with a grin.

The two of them stared at each other like that, neither speaking first.

After a long while, Yi Sanyi finally gave in and spoke first.

"Young Brother Zhou, you really are an interesting fellow. Even as a prisoner, you're still so relaxed and at ease."

"Usually, the Cultivators caught and brought here either have a face ready for death or are a mess of snot and tears."

"Heh, I remember there was a rather sturdy Body Cultivator; that kid literally pissed himself from fear, and then there was..."

"If I said I was caught on purpose, you probably wouldn't believe me, right?"

Zhou Yan spoke up, interrupting Yi Sanyi who was getting into his story. However, Yi Sanyi wasn't annoyed; instead, he uncrossed his legs and gestured for him to continue.

Zhou Yan chuckled lightly. He looked at Yi Sanyi's icon on the mini-map, which had remained in a neutral state the entire time.

"But if I said I was just going with the flow, how much would you believe me?"

"Heh." Yi Sanyi let out an ambiguous laugh, then said, "I really don't know if you're confident or just stupid."

"However, I indeed didn't find anything on you. If you really still have a trump card, then show it to me."

As he spoke, he pulled out a small sea snail from his robe that was made of a special material and shaped like a rapier.

"This is a master key. It can open the vast majority of doors within this Sea City, and it will turn into a puddle of water in three hours."

Yi Sanyi lightly pinched it with two fingers and held it forward, as if wanting Zhou Yan to see it clearly.

After showing the key, Yi Sanyi released his fingers, letting the key fall by Zhou Yan's feet. After putting the torture device back in place, he prepared to get up and leave.

"In three hours, the tubes connected to your body will begin to extract your vitality and inject you with drugs so that you can adapt to life as a Fish Bed."

"Because Immortal Giant Abyss wants to use you for experiments later, the transformation potion will be very mild, giving you a chance to return to normal."

"But believe me, the level of pain in that process is no better than anything else."

"If your trump card isn't strong enough and you can't escape, heh..."

He didn't continue, but Zhou Yan understood his meaning.

If he couldn't escape while his condition was still relatively good, the result would only be worse once his condition deteriorated.

"Just three hours."

"Escape within three hours and come find me in the tallest red pavilion outside. Of course, you can also try to run out on your own."

"Oh, right. Before the key dissolves, there basically won't be anyone outside."

The heavy door slowly closed. Yi Sanyi had his back to Zhou Yan, but just before the door shut completely, he turned back and winked at Zhou Yan.

The room returned to silence once more.

"Whew~ finally gone. That guy had me hard-CC'd for ages."

Zhou Yan thought to himself that this Yi Sanyi was quite a closet flirt—no, he was being pretty blatant about it now.

Recalling that moment earlier, it was indeed a bit tricky. Fortunately, it ended up being a close call without any real danger.

At that time, Zhou Yan had teamed up with Han Wenqing. Combined with the buffs from the Path of Slaughter and Fatal Strike, Zhou Yan had become exceptionally overconfident, preparing to deal with Second Nine Jia and Yi Sanyi right then and there.

And then the Boss's long HP bar was shoved in his face.

Zhou Yan had just confirmed the enemy's position below the cliff, and before he could get ready, a massive octopus tentacle shot up from below straight into the sky.

Then, before Zhou Yan could use Fatal Strike, he was hit by a Fatal Strike himself.

In that one hit, Zhou Yan lost nearly two-thirds of his HP. It was a close call; he was almost killed outright.

While he didn't die, he was still inflicted with the 'Stun' status effect.

But Zhou Yan was no ordinary person; he was a Panel Superman.

Through the influence of Combat Mode, this status was merely a "black screen" to him.

The inventory could be opened normally, and the panel functions could be used normally.

Zhou Yan could completely feed himself medicine to wake up from the stunned state.

It was also in this state that he indirectly made direct contact with the Boss, refreshing the other party's panel information.

【Boss · Immortal Giant Abyss · Chen Yan】

【HP: 28,000 / 28,000】

【MP: 1,000 / 1,000】

【Rank: Foundation Establishment Early Stage】

Yeah, I went too easy on Wang Yao when I cursed him. Wang Yao must be a super-tier trash mob.

Originally, Zhou Yan intended to use his trump card to finish them off directly, but a sudden System notification changed his mind.

"Ding! Quest updated. Player, please explore the map [Underground Water City]. Completion of exploration can increase quest completion rate."

"Take these two down. Use the handsome one as a temporary Fish Bed. Be gentle, don't break him; I want to use this handsome young man for experiments later."

"As for that stray dog... keep him. I'm quite curious how a failed product has survived until now."

"Note, you must keep a strict watch. That handsome young man has some tricks up his sleeve, hehehehe."

"We obey the Immortal's decree!"

This was the content of the conversation Zhou Yan heard while his screen was black.

That person had some purpose; after crippling him with the first hit, they didn't finish him off but instead locked him up.

According to what Yi Sanyi said before, they still had three days to rescue Little Yueer, so excluding today, there were still two days left.

Zhou Yan recalled the place he hadn't successfully entered before; that should be the Water City mentioned in the quest.

Since there was still time, and it wouldn't be hard for him to fight his way out if he wanted to, he just let nature take its course and allowed them to take him to that place.

Otherwise, fighting his way in might be even more troublesome.

So, since there was no immediate danger to his life, and he could still use his panel and trump cards to respond to any sudden crises, Zhou Yan simply continued to stay in his "black screen" state, waiting to see the subsequent "plot update."