The members of the First Division had expected to be temporarily overtaken in the early stages; after all, the five of them had collectively decided to sleep in before heading to the arena.
However, on the morning of the second day, seeing the logistics staff wake and drag away the eliminated, still-slumbering members of the Fifth Division at the boundary between the Living Zone and the Nature Zone left a bitter taste in their mouths. The blatant traces left by others on the path ahead signaled that this team—which had only ever known first place—was currently being suppressed.
Fortunately, their turning point arrived quickly.
A notification regarding the factional conflict flashed on their watches. Teaming up with the Second Division, they immediately eliminated the Eighth Division’s squad, who had only recently spoken of an alliance. Shortly after, Fan Shuwan, the instructor from the previous mission, followed them to the outskirts.
"I’ve found information regarding the Red Material," the senior said, holding a book with a refined and gentle air. "I only hope you all will owe me... owe our team a favor."
The girl standing beside him kicked at several pebbles, showing her impatience with this information trade. "I really hate these well-connected types..."
"Weiwei, don't be rude."
They successfully obtained the information and proposed a division of labor to the Second Division. They took the initiative to handle the search for the White and Blue Materials. The collaborators raised no objections, allowing Captain Tao Cheng’an to breathe a sigh of relief.
His plan was simple: keep the White and Blue Materials under their control. Even if their collaborators turned back on their word and refused to hand over the Red Material later, his team would still be in the lead based on progress alone, having secured two types of materials.
...As for that team from the Seventh Division—the one rumored to include Vice Minister Leng’s son and Secretary-General Xing’s daughter—they would surely double back for the Red Material. At worst, they would just end up in a draw. After all, his father still had to make a living under the Vice Minister.
With these thoughts, Tao Cheng’an led his team into the Nature Zone with confidence, only to be pelted in the face with pinecones by mutant squirrels in the trees.
There was only one girl in their team who could use her ability to understand the language of mutants. She shrank behind her teammates to dodge the pinecones. "Captain... those squirrels say they were bullied by the previous team of ability users who came through here. We look like soft targets, so they’re hitting back."
Tao Cheng’an: "?"
He ordered his team to break the branches. The squirrels fell, shrieking and chattering, while several snakes poked their heads out from the nearby thickets, hissed twice, and fled.
The girl said in surprise, "Those snakes are telling us to follow them. Could it be a lead on the White Material?"
The team followed the snakes all the way to the sinkhole, where they saw the fig trees and the serpent swarm.
Thinking the white fig sap was the material, they cut off the small "white river" nurtured by the snakes. Upon discovering the Headquarters mark on the "trunk," they plunged a blade into it without hesitation.
A massive tail suddenly swept out, slamming the offending team member against the sinkhole wall. By the time he fell, he was coughing up blood and had lost consciousness. He wouldn't be recovering anytime soon.
The giant serpent opened its maw, baring fangs in a threatening, low growl. It considered itself a provider of materials to advance the progress, but its kindness was not to be insulted.
With a toss of its head, it spat venom onto the ground. The White Material was secured, but the First Division had lost the combat strength of one member.
At the edge of the sinkhole, a young man walked away, looking disappointed.
"Captain, this team seems pretty useless. Even with me helping out with 'Critical Perception,' they still made such a mess of it," the observer complained into his comms to his own captain after watching enough of the show. "As expected, the people from the Seventh Division are more interesting."
***
The injections didn't just allow humans to temporarily grow gills for breathing in deep-sea environments; they also enhanced resistance to water pressure. Even with professional equipment, a normal person without an awakened ability would reach their limit at a depth of three hundred meters.
【The current simulation is at five hundred meters below sea level,】 Xun Yin said. 【Keep going down. Your target is at one thousand meters.】
Xin Ye retracted his searchlight.
The deeper they went, the more light appeared. Many deep-sea creatures possessed bioluminescent organs; they were like stars scattered across a dark ink-blue cloth, gems condensed by the compression of harsh survival conditions.
Though these gems might suddenly rush up and take a bite out of you.
Several brightly glowing night-light jellyfish drifted past slowly, followed by an alarm jellyfish. The poor, non-toxic cnidarian was startled by the humans appearing there, spinning and emitting a radioactive red light like a siren to attract other animals while it slipped into a different colored light to hide.
Fortunately, the group showed no aggression. A passing giant blobfish also remained convinced of its own fragility and helplessness, and no conflict broke out.
【The mutant genes are a mess. It’s not unusual for creatures to move from shallow water to the deep sea. However, when an endangered species like the horseshoe crab fled to the depths, it attracted quite a bit of attention.】
【It has blue, copper-based blood. When it used to play by the shore, it was constantly captured by humans for blood harvesting to make tachypleus amebocyte lysate. So, after the apocalypse, it simply ran away. Good for it.】
【The amount Headquarters requires for collection is enough to bleed a horseshoe crab to death. If the species population hadn't recovered somewhat over the last few years, those old researchers wouldn't have dared let you in.】
Hearing this, Xin Ye felt a bit hesitant to draw blood before even seeing the mutant, but whether they could even move at that depth was still a question. He calculated their current depth and tried to flex his fingers; the movement was labored under the crushing pressure.
Seven hundred and ninety meters, eight hundred meters...
The five of them had been diving continuously since the middle of the night, and their physical stamina was severely depleted.
There was a small mound below. Xing Yue tightened the thread holding Xin Ye’s arm to make him look back, then pointed at the mound. She was managing her ability while diving, making her the most exhausted of them all. By now, she truly couldn't hold on and wanted a place to rest.
They couldn't speak, but hand gestures were sufficient. The five of them began to move toward the mound together.
Algae are the mainstay of marine plants. Even on this small mound in the corner, several brightly colored stalks of seaweed grew, their pseudo-branches and leaves spreading out so that the yellow of the sand was barely visible.
Seeing that she was only a short distance from the resting spot, Xing Yue reached out her foot to touch it.
【...Stopping randomly in the ocean is not a good move.】
Leng Xianye suddenly yanked back on the silk thread wrapped around him, attempting to pull Xing Yue back, a string of bubbles escaping his mouth. He was trying to warn her to be careful.
Knowledge of the marine domain was the only theoretical area Xin Ye admitted he was inferior to Leng Xianye in. He immediately moved to help Leng Xianye pull Xing Yue back, but the hunter hidden in the mound was faster.
Beneath the beautiful algae lay the lure of an anglerfish.
A cavernous mouth burst through the thin layer of soil, biting directly onto one of Xing Yue’s legs. Its mutant, highly aggressive fangs pierced through her boot and into her calf.
Redness bloomed and was quickly diluted by the surging current. The scent of blood would soon lure other predators.
The two strands of Endless Silk that had been holding Xin Ye and Leng Xianye shifted to grab the upper and lower jaws of the anglerfish. Xing Yue struggled to activate her ability to pry the fish's mouth open, but to no avail.
Xin Ye drew his dagger to help, but before the tip could even touch the fish's body, the metal blade was deformed by the water pressure.
A mass of black energy appeared; Leng Xianye intended to use his ability to devour the anglerfish directly.
*No.*
Xin Ye immediately changed direction and blocked Leng Xianye. If the teeth penetrating the leg disappeared and the pressure balance shifted, Xing Yue’s leg would likely be crushed.
Leng Xianye also realized the recklessness of his action, but his hand holding the black sphere did not retract. He didn't know how else to help her.
...
A long, grey shape wound its way from behind, gradually encircling the five frantic humans.
A short snout bumped into the anglerfish’s body. After pulling back, the newly appeared monster bared its teeth at the little fat fish—
Twenty-five rows, over three hundred teeth in total.
It was a humiliating comparison for the fish. The little fat fish trembled, wanting to let go, but was bumped again by the monster and became completely paralyzed with fear.
The eel-like monster didn't close its mouth after showing its teeth. Instead, it took the anglerfish into its maw as well.
Xing Yue couldn't hold back her terror and closed her eyes. Lian Muyun and Leng Xianye supported her together.
Before long, a flowing liquid sprayed from between the monster’s teeth. This time, when it opened its mouth, the anglerfish fled immediately.
Xin Ye checked Xing Yue’s injury and found that the blood had actually coagulated. There seemed to be some blue substance at the puncture wounds.
【Yi Ting might have pushed you down, but she didn't leave you for dead. She found a backdoor for you.】
【Follow this frilled shark.】
The mutant frilled shark continued to circle the five of them in a protective stance. Other nearby marine life didn't dare approach. With this layer of protection, they easily descended to the simulated one-thousand-meter environment of the Water Zone.
One thousand meters was the current limit of Headquarters' simulation capabilities. At this level, Xin Ye felt that every movement brought immense pain to his body; even the gills on the side of his face were struggling to hold up.
The frilled shark escorted them to their destination, shook its body, and left temporarily. When it returned, it brought another... fish?
This new fish had the same ribbon-like body as the frilled shark but lacked scales, and its color was strange. As for what exactly was strange about it...
Xin Ye thought it over and could only find one suitable description. He felt the color of this frilled shark looked like human skin.
The new frilled shark circled the group twice. He wasn't sure if it was an illusion, but Xin Ye thought he saw disdain in its eyes. After finishing its laps, the shark spat a disc out of its mouth.
Tang Qiuqiu was the closest and caught it, handing it to Xin Ye. He realized it wasn't a disc, but an arthropod with a round shell and many legs hidden beneath.
【This is a horseshoe crab that’s already near death. The breeding season is over, so you can use it to its full potential without any guilt,】 Xun Yin said. 【Hurry back up. Your bodies won't be able to take it if you stay any longer.】
Xin Ye held the horseshoe crab, asking as he floated upward: "Yi Ting found a backdoor... she found this frilled shark?"
【Yes, but you also put in the effort.】
【The frilled shark just caught the scent of the Forest King Snake on you, which is why it gave up the horseshoe crab so readily.】
...
The white boards at the entrance of the Water Zone had been redeployed. Xin Ye was so weighed down by his soaked uniform that he could barely breathe and almost failed to climb up.
They helped each other up. Once they reactivated their own respiratory systems and oxygen intake became sufficient, Lian Muyun collapsed directly onto the floor.
Xin Ye didn't dare lie down. He told his Mirror Image to get dry uniforms while he took out a syringe, preparing to draw blood from the horseshoe crab they had worked so hard to bring up.
He hadn't been able to see clearly underwater, but there was a clear Headquarters mark carved into the horseshoe crab's shell. When he flipped the crab over, he found that the poor elderly creature was already dead.
And between its appendages was a piece of paper that read:
"Just an experimental subject, yet you think you can compare to a normal human?"
Below, in small red letters, it was noted that this was a clue regarding the Red Material.
***
| Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 陶承安 | Tao Cheng’an | Captain of the First Division team. |
| 关键感知 | Critical Perception | An ability used for observation/monitoring. |
| 皱鳃鲨 | Frilled Shark | A primitive-looking deep-sea shark used as a "backdoor" helper. |
| 鲎 | Horseshoe Crab | A marine arthropod with blue blood, used as a source for materials. |
| 鮟鱇鱼 | Anglerfish | A predatory deep-sea fish that attacked Xing Yue. |
| 森林王蛇 | Forest King Snake | A creature Xin Ye encountered previously; its scent helped gain the shark's favor. |
