by N. Heller
"Lord…" Soulsqn bit the bullet and opened her mouth in the end. She wiggled towards him as she said, "Erm… about my clansmen…"
She did not get the chance to finish her sentence either because Maxin moved away from Puppeteer and appeared in front of her in a swift motion. Startled, the flesh worm raised her body and assumed an attack position. Baring her layers of mandibles, she snarled menacingly at the man. Then, she froze, confounded by Maxin's reaction.
He stared at her and pouted his lips at the crowd of Zeus.
He was afraid that Soulsqn could not understand his signal, but he dared not speak his intention aloud. All he could do was keep jutting his lips at Zeus while looking out for Ji Shanqing. Fortunately, Soulsqn got his message in the end. Then, as soon as she jerked her head, a stream of air shot out straight towards the group of Zeus.
Ever since they entered this ocean, no matter if it was Lin Sanjiu, Ji Shanqing, Soulsqn, Hegel, or even Zen, everyone Maxin met had been shifting sides every now and then. Sometimes, they were comrades whereas at other times, they were enemies. This time, however, Soulsqn was on his side. The moment she launched the attack, she turned around and shouted, "Lord Puppeteer! They are coming! I can't hold them back for long!"
"Do whatever you can to hold them!" shouted Puppeteer without even turning his head. He waved his hand and a knife appeared in his palm. There was a manic gleam in his eyes, and he now looked like a rover who refused to give up a drop of water that he had found in the desert. He plunged the knife into Ji Shanqing's c.h.e.s.t, pulling the blade in a downward motion and splitting his shirt wide open.
Maxin's head jolted to where the noise came from. With a quick glance, he did not see any human skin underneath the layers of clothes but pure darkness. His heart gave a little start upon his discovery. However, upon realizing the gravity of the situation, he pushed his doubt to the back of his mind, kicked the carpet, and launched himself towards the crowd of Zeus. This was the first time he wished the group of Zeus would attack them.
The silver lining was that his effort paid off.
He had no idea whether it was his or Soulsqn's attack that landed on Zeus. They recoiled a few steps back and conjured a water barrier in front of them to intercept their attacks. Gone were the smiling Zeus. After they had neutralized their attack, all of the Zeus turned their eyes towards Maxin, whose heart skipped a beat. Before he could do anything, the sea suddenly churned wildly. The world in his eyes spun and his vision went black. The next thing he knew, he had already fallen into the ocean.
He was not afraid of falling into the water. What he was worried about was Ji Shanqing. He feared that the moment he returned to the surface, he would already be dead.
No matter how great a swimmer you were, it was difficult to break yourself free once you were caught by the undercurrent. As Maxin fought the violent current, he put his Special Item on. His eyes stung from the seawater, and he could not see a thing, so he did not know what was happening up there.
The darkness seemed never-ending. When Maxin finally broke himself free from the underswell and resurfaced, he heard a Zeus laugh. It took him about half a second to realize it was Zeus Lin that guffawed.
"Oh," he lamented cloyingly, "I thought I would be able to see what was inside of him. What a shame."
Maxin heaved a long sigh of relief once the words wafted into his ears. He felt as if a heavy burden was lifted off his shoulders. He rubbed his strained eyes before looking around to see that Ji Shanqing was still alive. He was sitting on the carpet with his hands tightly clasped in front of his c.h.e.s.t. He was soaked to the bone, and his face was as white as a sheet. The only thing Maxin found unacceptable was Puppeteer's hands that gripped Ji Shanqing's neck tightly like a pair of manacles. He lifted him up from the carpet, nodded his chin towards the Zeus, and hissed, "Say, what's on your mind?"
'He's going to save Lin Sanjiu!'
Just as Maxin was awash by a surge of astonishment, he heard Soulsqn shout at him, "What are you still doing inside the water? Get up now! They are coming!"
He had spent too much effort on the Trafficker's roster that he wanted to reclaim it even if the chances were slim.
"First, we should work together and take down that Zeus," said Ji Shanqing in a raspy voice, "After that, we'll force him to hand the roster over. Then, maybe we'll have a slim chance of saving my sister."
Chapter 650 - Red Bikini
As it fluttered its wings, a small paper crane flew into the fog and soon vanished from their sight.
Following Puppeteer's instruction, it summoned Rize and Old Hag to their side. Aside from those two, all surviving posthumans—both foes and allies alike—and puppets had gathered around Puppeteer, making their final preparations for the forthcoming fight.
The carpet had spread out across the sea, keeping the waves at bay. It was wide enough to accommodate four football fields. Fearing that Puppeteer might plant a trap on the carpet, all of the Zeus stopped beside it. They twisted their necks and inspected it meticulously. Silence befell them while the momentum of the war came to a sudden halt.
Maxin wondered if his heartbeat was the loudest there.
He calmed himself down and relaxed his muscles as he usually did when facing a fight. Meanwhile, the flesh worm was fearless. She raised her head in a striking position as she hissed menacingly at the group of Zeus, baring her layers of mandibles. There were four puppets standing at the four corners of the carpet while Hegel took the rearmost spot of the team. He craned his neck and looked around, waiting for his chance to make his move.
Puppeteer was the only one amongst them who seemed the most relaxed. He kept a serene look on his expression as if he was taking a stroll in a garden. He was still holding Ji Shanqing at his side, having strapped a rope around his neck. Nobody knew why Ji Shanqing did not try to resist. He just kept both his hands clasped tightly in front of his c.h.e.s.t and followed wherever Puppeteer went.
"Stay beside me. We're going to attack Lin Sanjiu now," ordered Puppeteer. Then, without turning his head, he barked out his next orders, "The rest of you, scatter out and strike them down one by one."
They had only nine people on their side, including four puppets and the two white camp members that were on their way. In contrast, they were going up against 20 or so Zeus. However, among the nine, Hegel could not be considered as a force due to his volatility. If they were all put in the wilderness, Puppeteer would be the alpha of a wolf pack while Hegel would be a vulture. He would not join the bloodshed, but instead wait on the sidelines for his chance to feast on the dead bodies.
Just as Maxin was analyzing their situation, a soft chuckle wafted through the air and slid into his ears.
"I'm happy to see my old friend." Zeus Lin fingered the bandage around his neck as a huge grin blossomed on his face. "But it's too bad I have something more important to tend to, so…" Then, he turned around and left without finishing his sentence.
Puppeteer was the first to react. He immediately launched himself towards Zeus Lin with a powerful thrust of his legs, vanishing into the horizon along with the latter. As if they were a bunch of snakes that had regained their activity after winter hibernation was over, the group of Zeus turned their heads in unison toward the direction where Puppeteer was heading as if they wanted to go after him. However, before they had the chance to do anything more, Soulsqn squawked loudly, releasing a battle cry and throwing herself into the group of disorganized Zeus.
Thus, the fight began.
When Hegel realized it was Maxin behind him, he roared, "I'll go this way. You go that way. They won't be able to catch up to us like that."
"Don't worry." Maxin picked up his speed again, his face bereft of any emotion. "They can hardly look after themselves."
If Hegel did not look for Maxin and come up with this retreat plan, perhaps he would never have let his guard down when Maxin got close to him. Without giving him time to retaliate, Maxin immediately stretched his arm and reached out for Hegel's back t
he second he finished his sentence.
It was already too late when Hegel realized that something was amiss. After Maxin had a firm hold of Hegel's shirt, Maxin yanked his arm free and pushed him off the carpet. A spout of water was sent high into the air. Seizing his golden opportunity, Maxin put on the mermaid's tail, conjured up a water vortex, and sent it towards the mayhem in the distance along with Hegel in it. His movement was so smooth and fluid as if he had done this countless times in his brain. Then, as he expected, Hegel flew through the air and landed in front of a Zeus.
The Zeus wheeled around and locked gazes with Hegel. A grin erupted across the Zeus's face, which was shrouded under the shadow of a large straw hat.
"Here comes another one," he greeted Hegel with merriment. "Hello, nice to meet you. Please don't run away from me."
Maxin dove into the water to hide from the Zeus. After waiting for several seconds underwater and confirming that there were no movements around, he kicked the water and propelled himself towards the heart of the battlefield.
As long as a player attacked a Zeus, all the other Zeus would begin to overwhelm the player. Maxin peered around to study the battlefield. Right now, Soulsqn was having a hard time dealing with three to four Zeus while the four puppets had locked horns with five to six Zeus. He could not find the rest of the Zeus around. 'Perhaps they've gone for Puppeteer?'
The tide of the battle was tilting in Zeus's favor. Considering the fact that he could not do much above water and that most of his Special Items were more suitable for use in water, after a short rumination, he took a deep breath and went underwater once again.
The second he dove into the grayish-blue water and opened his eyes, he saw Zeus's face right in front of him.
Like the other Zeus, a grin broke across this Zeus's face. Then, three holes that were as black as the night and as dark as the deep blue sea below appeared on his arctic white face, replacing his eyes and mouth.
Without wasting a second, Maxin brandished his mermaid's tail and sent a jet of water at the Zeus, pushing him away. After that, he realized something.
'Was this Zeus going to ambush somebody? Am I a deer who sent itself into the jaws of a tiger?'
Much to his chagrin, Maxin realized that he was now blocking the space between Hegel and the Zeus before him.
Maxin was confident that the Zeus in front of him would not go after Hegel now. The spray of water he sent at the Zeus did not push him very far away. Wearing a bright red bikini, the Zeus lunged at Maxin once more, and Maxin seemingly caught a faint shriek of excitement from the water around him.
All of a sudden, Maxin realized how powerful these Zeus were.
It occurred to him that they had been fighting with one hand tied behind their backs all this time. Even Zen, who had transformed into a Zeus, was holding himself back while being tormented by Puppeteer's power because he had to announce the new rules.
Even though Maxin had a lot of confidence when he was in the water, he lost all his edge facing this particular opponent in front of him. All his Special Items, which he took pride in, that could manipulate water to his will had lost their function. Right now, he felt like he was an insect that had fallen into a pool of resin. No matter how hard he struggled, he could not paddle himself free from the pool of sticky and heavy liquid substance. All he could do was watch in despair as more and more air left his lungs and his heartbeat slowed down.
Zeus was not affected.
The streak of crimson red became clearer until it became a strangely styled bikini in Maxin's eyes. He flailed his limbs weakly, trying to get out of Zeus's reach but to no avail. Eventually, Zeus grabbed his face in between his fingers.
A chain of silvery bubbles tumbled out of Zeus's lips and into the deep blue ocean. Maxin knew Zeus was saying something, but he could not hear it well. It was a minor problem for him to be robbed of his ability to breathe since he could hold his breath underwater for a long time. The only thing that left him on the edge of the seat was Zeus's erratic movement. Just when he was rummaging his brain for a solution, he suddenly felt dizzy.
'What happened?'
Three holes once again appeared on the oxygen-deprived face.
This time, the series of bubbles were closer to Maxin, and he finally heard what Zeus was trying to say. "Farewell."
As soon as Maxin realized that something was not right, another wave of dizziness washed over him. At the same time, he felt all the energy leave his limbs as if he had been starving for days. His consciousness was fading away, and he was losing it. He tried to activate the wisdom of bluffing, but as he was unable to move or speak, the effect was halved. Zeus was merely stupefied for half a second, but he did not release his grip and the smile on his face grew wider.
'What's happening?'
Maxin's vision got foggier. He laboriously raised his arm, only to see that his skin was now as pale as death. His blood vessels bulged and become darker, screaming for more blood like a toddler who did not get enough milk. Compared to him, Zeus had a radiant, blooming complexion.
He realized that like the ocean, his blood flow had slowed down and was getting thicker.
Maxin wanted to laugh. This was not what he had imagined he would get in the end after following his heart once and helping others. He was robbed of his mobility even before he could do anything. He had seen countless powerful posthumans who lost their lives to their opponents due to bad luck. Alas, now it seemed that he was going to end up like them as well.
'Hold on a sec.'
A bikini was typically a woman's two-piece swimsuit. His thoughts began to blur, but a weird melody and a strange scene began playing in the depths of his mind. It was a woman walking around in a bikini in the perilous apocalyptic world.
'Why…'
He tried to pull his thoughts back, but his oxygen-deprived brain refused to work. Lowering his guard, Zeus swam closer to Maxin. He peeled open Maxin's eyelids and began to inspect his dilated pupils.
The scene of Ji Shanqing clutching tightly to his clothes slowly surfaced in his mind.
'She's protecting herself… Doesn't the woman wearing a bikini want to protect herself too? How's she going to protect herself if she leaves herself bare? That's too dangerous…
'Unless…'
Maxin's dilated pupils shifted slightly.
Chapter 651 - The Enemy Of This Game Is Always Changing
The sea surface broke open, sending a spray of water skyward. As it crashed down in a mighty splash, at the same time, a faint wheeze that sounded like a broken blower erupted.
Maxin's head appeared amidst the foam. Supporting himself by the side of the carpet, Maxin realized that the noise was coming from his c.h.e.s.t.
'Where is that Zeus?'
As the thought came into his mind, he quickly pulled himself up onto the carpet. Then, he heaved a sigh of relief when he turned his head around.
Not only had he successfully hit Zeus with the [Addition and Subtraction of Swimming Skill], but it also worked like a charm. Like any other non-swimmers when they fell into the ocean, Zeus was now thrashing and flailing wildly in the water, brandishing his arms and kicking his legs desperately to keep himself afloat. His head bobbed up and down along the currents, and his nose and mouth clogged with foamy water. Everything that tumbled out of his mouth carried no meaning at all.
Gasping, Maxin revelled in the feeling of being awash by a surge of relief. He could not believe he had pulled this one off in the end. He thought he was doomed when he was losing his consciousness. Lowering his head, he looked at the mermaid tail and the bikini in his hand.
With help from the sunlight, he saw a patch of dried blood in the center of the bikini.
There was only one explanation as to why a female posthuman would wear a two-piece swimsuit to take part in a game that happened in the ocean—she believed that the bikini could protect her.
Judging from the connection between "swimsuit" and "ocean," perhaps the female posthuman put on the bikini only after
she arrived here, just like Maxin's water-based Special Items.
However, Maxin felt really lucky for being able to snatch the bikini from Zeus on the brink of death...
[Addition And Subtraction Of Swimming Skill]
This is Special Item #23 from the series "Knowledge Is No Burden." The originality of this item can be determined by its thoroughly white and tooth-like appearance. Besides, there is an anti-counterfeit code number "23" printed inside the groove of the tooth. Rumor has it that The M*nition Factory has mastered the technology of making counterfeit copies of this Special Item, thus users are advised to check their Special Item thoroughly before using it.
Preparation Steps: First, use pliers, a wrench, or a wire to extract one of your teeth. After rinsing the blood off, place Specimen #23 at the site of the extraction. Once this Special Item touches the gum, it plants itself firmly in the socket. Since this Special Item looks exactly like a real tooth and can work as one, and is practically indestructible, it is said that some posthumans actively seek it to use as a denture.
Next, please use this tooth to collect water current.
Way to collect: After diving into the water, get closer and take a bite of the water around your target. Please take note that the water must pass through Specimen #23, though it will be hard for the water inside your mouth cavity to miss a tooth. After that, the "swimming skill" of your target will be converted into a numerical value known as swimming value, and be stored in Specimen #23. For example, the swimming value you will get from the legendary Zhang Shun is +10, while the swimming value of a bad swimmer is -10. It is rumored that after biting the water around a submarine, you will get +65 swimming skill. Be that as it may, the likelihood of coming across a submarine is near impossible, whether it is during the modern days or in the post-apocalyptic worlds, so this statement has yet to be confirmed.
For instance, the first swimming value stored in Specimen #23 is +10, and the second swimming value is -10. To gain the +10 swimming value from Zhang Shun, crunch Specimen #23 with your teeth once then spit the stored water onto yourself. Similarly, crunch Specimen #23 twice and spit the stored water to give the -10 swimming value to your opponent.