Chapter 165

Chapter 165

Ji Xinghai successfully infiltrated the area, concealing all his aura.

This was the first time he had seen so many Squidfolk in their true forms, and it was also the first time he had seen a city where Squidfolk lived.

The entire city had been transformed to accommodate their form. Buildings shaped like overturned shells, soft and damp sandy ground, round pipes, and small pools of water everywhere for the young Squidfolk to play in.

The owner of the notebook had seen a normal human city three years ago, but now there was no trace of humanity left.

If the Squidfolk succeeded, perhaps all cities would become unsuitable for human habitation.

Ji Xinghai lay on a pointed rooftop, watching several mutated humans with blue flames atop their heads walk by below. They moved awkwardly through the damp sand.

Were they comfortable living here?

If it were him, he would be extremely uncomfortable, feeling the instinctive irritation and anger of an animal whose territory had been invaded. He would have to reclaim his territory or be driven away entirely to stop feeling the frustration.

Fortunately, it wasn't him.

And it couldn't be him.

Ji Xinghai wanted to find the ruler of this place.

In the past, it was easy because most Squidfolk harbored deep malice towards humans. Ji Xinghai might not be one of the humans here, but he was still within the range of their enmity.

But here, the air was filled with a pervasive stench of evil, making his 'radar' malfunction. He had no idea which direction held more dangerous prey.

Finally, he followed the returning blue-flame people and found a spherical building half-buried in a pile of sand.

Ji Xinghai tore open space and sneaked in. The patrolling Squidfolk outside did not notice anything.

A blue-flame person found another blue-flame person and reported that their mission had failed.

Although they had been warned to be extra cautious this time due to unexpected variables among the humans, they still failed even after reinforcing their equipment.

Those humans were experienced fighters, many possessing mysterious abilities, possibly 'Awakened' individuals within the human population.

The leader of the blue-flame people seemed to have received similar bad news before, as he merely nodded without surprise, instructing them to continue clearing out the remaining humans outside the city, without setting specific goals.

They did not mention what to do about the humans inside the city. Either their reach did not extend into the city, or the humans inside were already under their control.

However, Ji Xinghai guessed that the blue-flame people simply had no access to higher-level matters; they were at the bottom rung here.

The next level of blue-flame people continued reporting upwards. This time, it was to a Squidfolk, who was not as patient. It berated the blue-flame people for their incompetence, failing such a simple task.

"I'll give you three more days," the Squidfolk said harshly. "Useless beings don't deserve to live."

The blue-flame person trembled slightly, unsure whether from fear or excitement.

Could it be excitement? Relying on the fact that no one could see him through the space barrier, Ji Xinghai moved between the blue-flame person and the Squidfolk.

The excited blue-flame person looked down, his eyes filled with deep hatred.

When the Squidfolk infiltrated human society, did some humans also enter the Squidfolk's inner circle?

The informed Squidfolk continued to report further up, moving through the interconnected holes in the building in its true form.

These Squidfolk seemed to have copied the octopus's abilities, not only regenerating limbs but also having boneless bodies that could squeeze through tiny gaps.

Did they assume the octopuses were not present and thus freely incorporated their traits?

Ji Xinghai followed at a leisurely pace, continuously jumping through space, consuming energy equivalent to a feast every second.

Level by level, he finally reached the highest-ranking Squidfolk. It was not in a spherical building but deeper underground, at least a hundred meters deep.

The area was surrounded by water and pitch black. But with Ji Xinghai's night vision, he could still see the bones scattered on the ground—fish, shellfish, and humans.

It was clear that humans were not the Squidfolk's main food source.

A massive Squidfolk lay atop the bones, larger than any previously encountered, its energy so abundant that a single tentacle could replenish the energy Ji Xinghai used to open space.

Yet this creature seemed to be all show and very afraid of death.

Humans could not normally bypass layer upon layer of defenses to reach this underwater location. If the blue-flame people did not inherit the Squidfolk's aquatic abilities, this place would be very safe.

The Squidfolk communicated using ultrasonic waves, and Ji Xinghai could not understand their conversation, lacking the ability to read minds.

"Should I drag it out and interrogate it?" he pondered, growing impatient.

Unexpectedly, when the lower-ranking Squidfolk left, this one rose, illuminating the surroundings.

He finally understood where the creature's energy came from. Beneath it lay five enormous fire seeds, previously hidden by its massive body. Now that it had risen, the place was as bright as day.

Ji Xinghai watched as the giant Squidfolk entered a passage, then glanced at the five large fire seeds left behind.

What a coincidence.

The Squidfolk swam through the lowest passage until it reached the sea, fawning over something on the shore, calling it 'Master.'

Wow!

A creature twenty to thirty meters long, writhing like Cthulhu, calling something 'Master'?

Ji Xinghai stared in that direction, dumbfounded.

A soft light illuminated beneath a rock on the shore, revealing a clearly student-like figure sitting upright, posing. The giant Squidfolk also appeared, with a glowing mark on its forehead, almost in a state of devout fanaticism.

So creative?

What kind of ability is this? Puppetry? It doesn't seem so; the squid person clearly retains their consciousness and acts autonomously.

Ji Xinghai didn't bother to condemn the squid person for ruining the reputation of the monsters created by the giant marine creatures. He stared at that mark instead.

Wants to...

"Master, everything proceeded as you instructed, but there was a slight hiccup." The squid person spoke somewhat guiltily, recounting the situation outside.

Apart from the Blue Fire People's ineffective actions, several other cities saw human forces counterattack, reclaiming two of the four captured cities. Meanwhile, they discovered a secret force in the Capital City...

It sounds like there aren't many good pieces of news.

The students in the holy light couldn't hide their disdain. The giant squid, still crouching by the seaside, continued to ramble on.

Their squid people had set up numerous traps using fire seeds, capturing many Fire Thieves. Unfortunately, some major ones had already been stolen by humans, and the news leaked, leading to anti-squid actions in many places.

In summary, they were failing at everything.

"But it's okay; we've also found quite a few scattered fire seeds, which have all been sent to the Capital City. The Capital City will be fortified with an impenetrable net, and no one can escape," the giant squid added, trying to salvage some dignity.

The students remained silent. Ji Xinghai thought they were probably too angry to speak or had been stunned into silence.

Actually, it wasn't the squids' fault; they hadn't anticipated the unexpected element of the students.

Oh, perhaps they had included the students as a 'factor,' but they underestimated them.

Thirteen academies, even if each had only a hundred people, would amount to over a thousand. A butterfly flapping its wings could cause a storm, let alone so many people?

Some of the events the squid person revealed involved Ji Xinghai, but many he didn't know about until now.

Creating a small space was quite energy-consuming. Every second Ji Xinghai spent here burned energy, but now he felt it was worth it.

How interesting! Some students chose the squid side!

Was this student genuinely joining the squid forces, or did they want to turn against them? Could the killings of students be their doing as well?

Then they wouldn't mind turning against the squids either.

The student still pretending to be a deity didn't realize this wasn't a dual space but a tripartite one. They reported the situation to the squid person as usual.

This controlled squid person wasn't particularly smart, but fortunately, they were obedient.

The squid race values pure bloodlines and pure faith, so this squid, whose parents were both squids and who had a single faith, became the supreme commander.

This made it easier for him to control them, as those with strong wills and firm spirits were harder to deceive.

The human and the squid conversed for a long time, and Ji Xinghai listened in.

From the squid's tone, although they planned to ascend to power and steal the kingdom in ten days, they initially hadn't intended to exterminate the human race.

The current plan came from the student.

On the first day, the student used their innate ability or an artifact to convert this largest squid into a devoted follower and began a series of arrangements.

As everyone knows, the main points come from bonuses. This student deduced that supporting a faction to the top might earn the highest bonus, so they chose the squid people over the disadvantaged humans.

The squid people's parasitic abilities were a significant advantage.

Due to appearance issues, the student couldn't gain the recognition of all squids, so they secretly developed a devoted follower and controlled everything from behind the scenes.

Even the squids themselves didn't realize they were serving a human.

But the squid forces needn't be upset because this human, having chosen their stance, completely abandoned racial differences and killed students without hesitation. All their schemes aimed to elevate the squids to power.

If the plan succeeded, the squids would have absolute, unshakable rule—enabling a racial massacre.

When the squids rose to power, only squids and Blue Fire People born and awakened by squids would be allowed to exist in the world, not even infants.

The squids gladly accepted this plan, calling these actions the 'Dolphin Plan.'

Everything they did aimed to end their thousand-year wandering and establish their own nation.

They didn't care how they achieved it, whether through deceit, theft, or force.

However, this plan was never accepted by the conservative squids, so a group opposing the 'Dolphin Plan' was imprisoned in Blue Whale City.

Yet, as expected, unexpected things happened.

Even though the student considered the students as a factor, the student group was uncontrollable.

No one knew what these people might do.

Here, the major fire seeds were stolen, and the city lord died; there, the plan leaked, and the human army acted prematurely. Then, the secret of the squids' vulnerability to salt appeared alongside the salt itself.

Unexpected events kept coming, one after another, and their strategies to chase the remnants outside the city back into it failed.

But the student wasn't worried.

If the plan failed, it failed. It was the squids' plan, not theirs. At worst, they'd lose the bonus points, but with the fire seeds collected by the squids, they could still win first place by delivering them to the Holy City.

Though the major fire seeds were taken, the scattered ones added up to a considerable amount.

With this mindset, they even comforted the squids, moving them to tears and writhing tentacles, like a disaster movie.

After meeting their perceived 'god' and reporting the failure, the squid put down their mental burden, preparing to happily return through the passage.

The student sitting on the reef retracted the soft light.

Sure, it was a special flashlight.

The trainee rubbed his stiff shoulders, pondering his next move.

*Snap.* Something cold stuck to his ankle.

Before his mind could react, his body had already launched a quick counterattack, almost shooting the harpoon into the sea. However, that thing reacted even faster than he did, and by the time he realized what was happening, he had already been dragged into the water.

Instinctively, humans resist water and would close their eyes, but he forcefully suppressed this urge and kept his eyes wide open.

Long black hair floated like seaweed, and under the faint light, he could clearly see those golden eyes. They were enchanting and mesmerizing.

A mermaid?

The trainee was only momentarily entranced. He quickly struggled, electricity coursing through his body.

This was his innate ability.

But when the water creature saw the electric sparks, it seemed to have found an interesting toy, reaching out a finger to touch them, then looking at him with a dangerous glint in its golden eyes.

A pale hand plunged directly into his body, sharp nails easily tearing through his clothes.

That hand seemed to grasp something and tightened its grip...

Ah... No!

He instinctively resisted, but the invisible source of his power was truly compromised, and the current vanished, no longer under his control.

Thin wisps of blood drifted in the water.

His chest felt as if it had been breached, icy cold seeping through. He screamed silently, his throat aching from holding his breath, but a slender hand choked him, pulling him down with irresistible force.

*Bubbles, bubbles.* He was dragged into the depths by that immense strength, his lungs turning into countless bubbles. The bubbles weaved through the red threads of blood, creating an inexplicably eerie scene.

Was he going to die like this?

The trainee recalled facing countless dire situations but always managing to survive.

He tried to pry off the hand around his neck, but it was like a vice. Everything around him grew darker, and the only thing he could clearly see was the water creature holding him. In the moment between life and death, that face was breathtakingly beautiful yet chillingly cold.

What was this? Could such creatures exist in the simulation?

In a daze, they reached the seabed, where he was pushed into a bed of floating seaweed. Suddenly, he saw something writhing in the murky water, resembling a monstrous creature.

Monster... Mermaid... Would there be a chance for a turnaround?

He wanted to look more closely, his eyes locked on the creature.

Finally, he saw clearly: it was a headless squid person, its bucket-thick tentacles writhing on the seabed, huge and terrifying.

The trainee's heart, which had been boiling, instantly turned cold.

Although squid people all looked similar to humans, he immediately recognized this one as the squid person he had controlled, the one he had watched leave the shore just half a minute ago.

Why was this squid person here? And why without its head?

Could it be that this mermaid had been lurking, planning something?

With his last few breaths trapped in his chest, his lungs and throat burning with pain, his consciousness began to blur.

A porcelain-white hand extended before him, holding a small piece of squid skin, bearing the mark of his prop.

Those golden eyes stared directly at him, devoid of any complex emotions, only...

'Want it, give it to me.'!