Chapter 212

Chapter 212

On the fourth day after successful registration, the natives and representatives from the three academies gathered at Daruwa Port. People from other academies were also mixed in the crowd, seeing the top three on the list for the first time.

Although they were all young people of similar age, everyone felt that these three had a special aura, making them particularly eye-catching and outstanding, different from others.

As the head of the academy, Ji Xinghai; as a researcher, Chacha; and as an auxiliary mech warrior, Kira—these two represented Hungry Academy.

Gold Academy had the largest group, with five members: the head, Song; his brother, Feng; the deputy, Tu; logistics officer, Pan; and the researcher, Yan.

Zhentian College had four members: the head, Duo Xi; the deputy, Lai Duoduo; the beast warrior, Wu Du; and the researcher, Pali.

The twelve individuals boarded the main ship docked at the port, accompanied by two A-class teams and other scattered individuals, totaling over 120 people.

Ji Xinghai and his companions were dispersed. Ji Xinghai stayed in room 305, Chacha in 402, and Kira in 407. They met up in the ship's dining hall.

"Counting the escort ships and the lead ship, there are nine in total. We registrants are on the second and fourth floors (counting from the top), while the first and second floors are occupied by the official personnel of the Special Operations Group."

"The upper levels have recreational rooms and a large swimming pool. I noticed some nobles being protected by bodyguards among them."

"It seems there are many secrets within the ruins."

Due to the registration conditions, Hungry Academy only sent two people. Ji Xinghai was a lone wolf, Chacha was a typical introverted researcher, and Kira introduced himself as "I am Kira, which means queen in our country," indicating he was used to being in charge.

They silently looked at each other for a few seconds before parting ways.

Well, let's talk back in the room. Ji Xinghai bought a bag of fresh fruits, intending to feed Jianqiang later.

In the real world, viewers watched them board the giant ship.

"This should be the final level of this holographic game world, I wonder what kind of boss we'll encounter and how many stages there will be."

"I don't know why, but I'm so nervous! It's been just a few days in our world, yet Ji has already adapted to the new environment and is about to start deciphering things. The time dilation technique in the holographic world is truly amazing."

"Technology hasn't caught up yet. I wonder if magic can achieve it."

"Upstairs, it's said that scholars and elf mentors have developed a new spell that allows learning during sleep."

"What a terrifying idea? Will we have to study even when sleeping?"

The topics in the live stream always change rapidly, leaving the public opinion monitoring team baffled.

Since the world's environment began to recover, everything has improved, and people's thoughts have become very active. More and more people participate in discussions, and topics change every minute.

"Do you think the students will no longer recognize their hometowns when they return from the academy?"

"Who knows? Although it's only been a few months, it feels like a century has passed. Now, you can see many people walking around with mutated pets. Damn, why can't I have one too?"

"High aspirations indeed, unlike me. I just want to be taken as a disciple by an elf mentor."

"Ho! Is that not high enough?"

The public opinion monitoring team mentioned that the audience had become more lively, but they themselves had changed as well.

Not just people, but the environment had undergone significant changes. The once-empty office was now filled with green potted plants, and a corner was specially set aside for the staff's "clingy" mutated pets to rest.

Even long-lost food deliveries made a comeback. If they had any extra money, they would first buy snacks for their family's ancestors, then get themselves a cheap lemonade if there was anything left.

In the holographic world.

While the real world chatted and sipped tea, the fleet heading to the ruins had already ventured into deep waters.

Ji Xinghai sat on the sofa in his room, with the now much larger ink snake coiled nearby. Its iridescent body moved like a living work of art. It still disliked staying in the pet space, only tolerating it when they went out.

He looked out the room's only window at the blue sea and sky, with seagulls circling near the fleet.

He heard footsteps outside the door, unsure whether they belonged to other students or natives. Thinking about it, this world's map consisted of a single continent, with a few small islands nearby. This was their first time traveling so far.

What was the world beyond the continent like? The game designers hadn't provided an answer.

With no desire to go out and nothing else to do, Ji Xinghai started building card houses in his room. He managed to build a two-story structure, which collapsed, and then built another two-story structure.

His fingers were steady enough to perform delicate surgeries, but the slight swaying of the ship at sea prevented him from achieving his goal of a five-story structure.

Time slowly passed as he played with cards. The waves grew higher, splashing onto the windows of the second floor. The ink snake looked up at the window, but Ji Xinghai did not.

The sky had turned dark, with heavy clouds pressing down low, causing even the seagulls to become restless, signaling an impending rainstorm. Despite the stabilizing system, the ship swayed more violently, but he still managed to build a two-story card house.

It was dinner time, and Ji Xinghai left his room with the ink snake. The corridor was empty because the ship was swaying severely, causing even the staff to slip.

He walked steadily, as if glued to the ground.

"There are many fresh fruits in the dining hall. What would you like to eat? There are apples, plums, and peaches."

"Dad will have peach juice, and Jianqiang will have peaches."

He arrived at the dining hall, where the tables were fixed to the floor, but the tablecloths slid around, causing the staff to struggle.

"Hello," Ji Xinghai greeted the pale-faced staff and headed towards the ordering counter.

Duo Xi stood with a few others at the counter and immediately spotted Ji Xinghai: "Are you taking your meal back to your room?"

"It's not convenient to dine here with such rough seas," Ji Xinghai replied.

"Yes, with such big waves, there must be plenty of fish. It's a good day for fishing, but unfortunately, I didn't bring my fishing rod."

Ji Xinghai's ears twitched. So it turns out that stormy weather is actually good for fishing?

The sky grew darker and darker. Even before nightfall, it was pitch black. The waves rose higher and higher, and even the largest main ship danced to the cha-cha in these extraordinary winds.

Finally, lightning joined the party, several purple dragons striking the ship's lightning rod, causing electrical malfunctions and plunging the ship into darkness.

Then the backup power kicked in, but only for the most essential systems, ensuring basic needs were met in each room.

In the captain's announcement, almost everyone hid in their rooms with doors locked tight. Some couldn't handle the rocking and vomited into the toilet.

After the lightning came the torrential rain, as if the sky had sprung a leak, pouring down like a celestial river onto the deck. One small vessel nearly capsized in this tempest. But they had no time to worry about that; the radar beeped, signaling the approach of a massive creature.

"The energy fluctuation detected is very strong, at least A-level."

"Clearly, the weather forecast said there would be no storm today, yet here we are with this bizarre and fierce one. I suspect that thing below is an S-level monster." Only S-level monsters bring natural disasters with them.

The crew knew this voyage would encounter obstacles, but they didn't expect an S-level on the first day, especially at sea.

"The land, vast as it is, has already spawned so many monsters. The sea... will have even more, and stronger ones. S-level is just the limit we humans define, not the monsters'. This is just the beginning."

The Special Operations Group had prepared thoroughly for this exploration of the ruins. When the deep-sea monster finally surfaced, a group of warriors and a mech capable of underwater combat were ready to engage.

"Do we need to call those people? Didn't they sign up for this?"

"Forget it. These people are meant to explore inside. Our task is to get them to the ruins. If we bring them out now and use up resources, who will cover the costs?"

Generally, when high-star monsters appear, other creatures quickly scatter. But occasionally, exceptions occur.

So the patrol soldiers, wearing black raincoats with reflective strips, emerged from the cabins, holding flashlights to check everywhere, preventing any unexpected incidents.

The young soldier responsible for patrolling the stern moved his flashlight around, checking everything. Suddenly, the light beam revealed something unusual.

Could it be a monster?

Images of deep-sea behemoths and giant octopuses from myth flashed through his mind, making the young soldier jump and slow his steps.

The raindrops in the light seemed crystal-clear and beautiful, but the heavy rain made it hard to see clearly. The young soldier wiped the rain from his face and cautiously approached, trying to discern what was in the shadows.

Finally, he saw it, but then began to doubt his eyes. How could someone be sitting on the railing, fishing, in such terrible weather?

The person facing away from him had long legs hooked over the railing, sitting steadily despite the ship's violent rocking, holding the fishing rod tightly.

The young soldier rubbed his eyes again and again.

In this weather, with monsters around, he's fishing?

"Excuse me, miss—no, sir." The young soldier realized the person with braids was a handsome young man, the rain creating a soft glow around him.

"Shh," the young man turned his head, placing his ringed index finger to his lips. "The big fish is coming."

"A monster is approaching." The young soldier wanted to pry open his head to see what was inside. Who fishes in this weather? With monsters around, which fish would dare swim nearby?

"I've been waiting for this big fish."

"What?"

The young soldier didn't hear clearly and was about to pull him away when the sea erupted like boiling water.

"Ahhh—" The ship, which had been dancing the cha-cha, suddenly flew up and crashed back down, sending waves towering.

In the moment of flying, the young soldier thought he was dead, but a hand reached out and grabbed his clothes. He felt like a garbage bag in a storm, being dragged by one end, tossed around wildly.

Finally, the rocking ship steadied slightly, and the young fisherman released his grip. The young soldier fell to the deck, his legs like noodles, trembling all over.

"My fish is here." The young man reeled in his fishing rod and stood on the swaying railing.

The young soldier, finally catching his breath, watched as his savior leaped toward the sea.

"Ah, don't think of—what?!"

A huge silver-gray mech with golden highlights descended from the sky in front of the ship. The young man leaped effortlessly into its open cockpit.

By the time the young soldier regained his senses, the cockpit had closed, and the powerful metal giant landed in the sea. Its previously dark eyes glowed silver, and the sound of energy activation echoed throughout its body parts.

Facing the long, undulating monster in the dark, turbulent waters, the giant's hand gently swung, revealing a curved saber in the night, its tip shimmering like a star.