76: Chapter 75 Two Scenes
The twin suns had sunk below the horizon two hours ago.
The Magic Sea was as black as a breathing shroud.
There was no starlight, no fishing lights, only the occasional flash from a distant, final gunshot fired by someone facing death. The sea surface was abnormally calm—not peaceful, but the deathly silence of a predator about to strike.
A thick, pungent stench permeated the air, surging up from the seabed and seeping into every breath.
Ten minutes until the midnight countdown.
Those survivors from other civilizations who had been kicked out or voluntarily left the Fate Platform were scattered in various corners of the darkness. No map, no compass, no help posts, no one to consult.
All they possessed was the bottomless blackness beneath their boats and the increasingly loud heartbeat in their chests.
In the southeast sea area, three dilapidated Houseboats were tied together with hemp rope. A man in his forties, a woman, and an old person.
Three days ago, the man had posted "We don't care for Yanhuang Civilization's charity" on the Symphony Realm, gaining over three hundred likes.
At that time, he felt a fire in his chest—it was the dignity of the great Taegeukgi civilization.
Now, the fire was extinguished, leaving only a coldness seeping out from the gaps in his bones.
"What big difference does it make whether we have the Fate Platform or not? If Yanhuang Civilization survivors can kill sea beasts, so can we." The man spoke, his voice dry and his expression stiff.
A bubble rose on the sea surface. The three of them trembled simultaneously.
In the darkness, suddenly, a voice in the man's head grew louder: Maybe if I hadn't quit... even if it was just the visitor system... at least I'd know I wasn't alone...
But the next moment, he shook his head vigorously. The dignity of the great Taegeukgi did not allow for regret. He roared out that he didn't need Yanhuang Civilization.
Yet his fingers were trembling, gripping the wooden planks tightly.
In the northern sea area, three dilapidated Houseboats. Seven or eight people huddled on the deck. The leader was a young man with dyed yellow hair.
He had quit voluntarily. On the day he quit, he posted his final message: "Fusang Bushido does not need Yanhuang Civilization charity. What a crappy Fate Platform; we don't need it at all with the protection of our great Amaterasu."
At this moment, the yellow-haired man was squatting in the corner of the deck, hugging his knees. His crotch was wet and cold, and he continued to mutter neurotically: "Fusang is invincible... we don't need the help of the lowly Yanhuang Civilization people..."
In the western sea area, a solitary dilapidated Houseboat. Leon held a machete made of scrap iron in his left hand and clutched a cross in his right.
He was not originally pious, but at this moment he was praying desperately: "God, I only need God... I don't need that stolen divine object, God will punish them..."
The sea surged, and the boat rocked. He stared into the darkness, inexplicably a little frightened.
When he was on the Fate Platform, he could watch others' live streams, see posts from survivors of his own civilization, and argue with survivors from Yanhuang Civilization or other civilizations. Although he was still alone on this Magic Sea, he didn't feel like he was alone.
Even in the dead of night on the Magic Sea, with wind and rain, he didn't feel much fear. This feeling had almost made him forget the memory of the time before he accessed the Fate Platform.
But now, the lonely, icy seawater and the bone-chilling wind and rain of the magic night hitting his face finally reminded him of that terrifying feeling again.
A trace of regret suddenly welled up in his heart. Would it really have mattered if he hadn't quit the Fate Platform? As long as he didn't fawn, and wasn't polluted by those poisonous posts from Yanhuang Civilization. God shouldn't punish him for that, right?
But immediately, an extremely twisted sense of shame surged into his head, causing him to cast this thought away completely.
He came from a so-called great, advanced civilization, a developed civilization, and believed that Yanhuang Civilization was nothing more than an uncivilized tribe. What kind of good thing could their Fate Platform be? Right! He didn't need it! He didn't need it! God would surely protect him!!!
In the southwest sea area, four boats were tied together, two men and two women. Their reason for quitting was very simple: two karma points a day was too expensive. Anyway, it was just for reading posts; what would happen if they didn't look?
Moreover, they had always looked down on Yanhuang Civilization. They considered themselves a developed civilization. What good use could a communication forum created by mere Yanhuang Civilization survivors have?
But now they suddenly missed the lively atmosphere of people communicating on the Fate Platform.
Midnight. The sea surface exploded. Countless bubbles surged, and the waves tossed the Houseboats like toys.
The first roar came from the deep sea, piercing the eardrums. Immediately following were the second, the third, and the hundredth. The entire Magic Sea was roaring.
A ten-meter-long serrated shark leaped out of the water and slammed heavily into a Houseboat. The sound of wood splintering, screams, and seawater rushing in sounded simultaneously.
Then came the tenth, the hundredth. The sea surface was no longer a sea surface; it was a terrifying carpet made of sea beast spines, extending from beneath their feet to the edge of their vision.
The Taegeukgi trio's boat was rammed through from directly below by an Iron-Clad Crab. The planks shattered, and the old person fell into the water. The woman screamed and reached out to pull them, but the shadow in the water was faster. The old person was dragged into the abyss, and a glaring red bubble surfaced.
The woman wailed, kneeling on the broken planks: "I don't want to die... I don't want to die!"
A tentacle covered in barbs wrapped around her waist and dragged her into the sea. The screams came to an abrupt end. The man raised his knife to slash, but was pierced through the chest by a leaping swordfish and pinned to the mast.
The Fusang fleet. The wooden sword in the yellow-haired man's hand struck the sea beast's head and broke into two pieces.
The sea beast bit his lower leg in one gulp. He screamed and grabbed the railing, his nails splitting, gouging ten bloody marks into the wooden planks. A middle-aged woman lunged over, using an axe to chop off the sea beast's lower jaw, saving his leg.
But the second wave of sea beasts surged up. The ropes snapped, and the boats were scattered. The middle-aged woman was pounced on by three sea beasts and dragged into the water, sinking without even a struggle.
The yellow-haired man knelt on the deck, watching the severed limbs spread on the water surface. Only one thought was in his mind: If he had the Fate Platform, and searched for the weak points of this sea beast now, and knew some defensive techniques, would his chances of survival be higher?
But... there were no ifs. A giant mouth rose from behind him, swallowing him along with half the deck in one gulp.
Leon of the Stars and Stripes had his boat besieged by three spotted sea lizards. His machete's blade rolled, and the stern sank. Leon jumped onto the back of one sea lizard, clinging tightly to its dorsal fin as it thrashed wildly, his ribs cracking. He roared, "I don't want to die," and then let go.
It wasn't giving up; his arm had broken. The moment he fell into the water, he looked at the pitch-black sky: suddenly, a question occurred to him: if he hadn't quit the Fate Platform, could he have survived?
He felt this question was a bit ridiculous. With just the posting and reading functions of the Fate Platform, what could it do even if he had it? But for some reason, before he died, his mind was filled with this thing. Unfortunately, he would never get the answer to this question.
The water engulfed him. At the same time, those powerful individuals from civilizations off the leaderboard who had been kicked out of the Fate Platform were now facing an unprecedented crisis.
Taegeukgi. Park Jun-ho's six automatic ballistae fired wildly into the beast tide, tearing through bursts of blood mist.
But only a dozen or so remained of the fifty-person fleet. Just as the low-to-mid-level sea beasts were cleared, the water surface in front suddenly rose with a roar.
A fifty-meter-long Iron-Clad Abyss King Horseshoe Crab surfaced. Its massive body, as tall as a ten-story building, was covered in black spikes on its carapace, and twelve scarlet compound eyes stared fixedly at them.
Park Jun-ho's breathing stopped.
Fusang. Takeda Shinichi's Muramasa replica blade was as fast as lightning, severing countless tentacles.
Only thirteen people remained of the sixty-person team. The sea surface split open, and a Thousand-Armed Ghost-Faced Octopus broke through the water.
On its massive head grew a ghost face resembling a human wail, and dozens of thick tentacles danced wildly in the air. Takeda Shinichi's hand holding the blade was trembling. Was this something he could deal with? His strongest weapon was only Silver Grade, wasn't it?!!?
Stars and Stripes. Jackson's dual pistols spat tongues of fire as he retreated to the last corner of the deck.
An Abyss Shield-Armored Whale rose in front of him, its open giant mouth filled with meat-grinder-like sharp teeth. The pride of the Stars and Stripes became a joke in the face of absolute size.
The scene cuts back to the Yanhuang Camp.