Chapter 59: Island Exploration

Chapter 59: Island Exploration

The blood-red sunset hung low in the sky, the orange-red sun almost completely dipped below the horizon.

The island was bathed in the orange glow of the sunset. The previous layer of ice and snow created by Zhou Yun was slowly melting. The massive killer crab lay still on the melting ice.

A few young men were scooping out the crab roe and placing it into large, clean glass jars. Zhou Yun patiently instructed them to sprinkle sea salt over the roe, layering the roe and salt. He said with regret, "We'll need to freeze it now and make crab roe oil with lard once we return."

Qin Mu: "..." He now understood why Zhou Yun had brought so many food storage boxes and glass jars on the ship. At the time, he had thought that seafood would spoil easily and the fridge wouldn't hold much, but salting it immediately was a good solution.

What he hadn't expected was that Zhou Yun was a Water psychic, able to freeze things directly. That was indeed a very convenient and practical skill.

In his previous understanding, Water psychic powers were only good for providing clean water and convenient for watering plants, but he hadn't realized how offensive they could be, with abilities like creating ice and releasing blizzards, ice blades...

Zhou Yun must be much more powerful than any psychic he had encountered before.

His desire to become stronger grew even more intense. He noticed the dark shadow crystal core in a glass jar, picked it up, and examined it closely. Like other crystal cores, it contained dark, shiny hair-like structures that shifted unpredictably inside the core.

Qin Sheng deftly cut into a thick crab leg. The meat was ice-white and robust. He said with some regret, "This could actually be eaten as sashimi or deep-fried after coating it with flour. But out here, we'll have to settle for steaming it and dipping it in vinegar." He looked at Comet, who was sitting upright and alert, and asked Zhou Yun, "Should we give Comet a crab leg? He worked hard today saving my brother."

Zhou Yun, seeing Comet's eager gaze, smiled. "Sure." The mutated crab meat was nutritious and wouldn't be affected by common parasites.

Qin Sheng placed it in front of Comet, who happily took a bite and started eating. Qin Sheng patted his head. "Thanks to you today for saving my brother, good Comet. When we get back, I'll find you some fire crystal cores."

Zhou Yun turned to see Qin Mu holding up the dark shadow crystal core to the light and asked, "Haven't you seen a dark shadow crystal core before?"

Qin Mu shook his head but asked Zhou, "Doctor Zhou, what's this king-grade crystal core useful for?"

Zhou Yun, who had been watching Qin Sheng dismantle the crab meat, glanced at Qin Mu. "It's not very useful. If you want it, go ahead and keep it."

Guan Yuanfeng could absorb crystal cores of other attributes, but dark shadow attribute cores were somewhat negative and optional to use. Light and shadow attributes also canceled each other out, so even though light attribute psychics could absorb them, they didn't like to.

In his past life, people generally avoided dark shadow crystal cores. From his research, Qin Mu had studied them before and hadn't discovered anything new.

Qin Mu said, "I'm a bit curious. Do scavenger mutated animals have a high chance of producing these?"

Zhou Yun, having researched this before, agreed. "Yes, eels and sharks feed on carrion. Crabs, clams, oysters, and starfish also feed on dead animals, helping to decompose and remove organic residues from the ocean. It's normal; when a whale falls, everything lives."

"Scavengers on land, like vultures, hyenas, and jackals, also eat carrion... In fact, most carnivores will scavenge while hunting."

"I once considered researching whether these scavenger animals, after consuming zombies and their mutations, exhibited any correlations."

Qin Mu asked, "Did they?"

Zhou Yun said, "The sample size was too small, and the research was discontinued." After all, humans certainly wouldn't eat zombies, and whether animals consuming zombies had any negative consequences, such as promoting mutations or turning them into zombies, required an enormous amount of time and samples. With limited research resources, few would pursue such studies.

Qin Mu thoughtfully said, "If we artificially farmed crabs, clams, and oysters and fed them zombie corpses... would that result in a lot of dark shadow crystal cores?"

Zhou Yun shuddered and gave him a look.

Qin Mu smiled. "Why are you giving me that look? Isn't that how experiments work?"

Qin Mu laughed. "With renewed confidence in Zhou Yun, he finally understood why Zhou Yun remained so calm. With such powerful abilities, it made sense that mutated animals would fear him. He was truly the ultimate boss."

Zhou Yun readily agreed. "Alright."

Qin Mu continued, "Tonight, I'll take you and Qin Sheng diving to check for other mutated animals near the coral reefs."

Qin Mu said, "Stay on the ship tonight; we'll set up camp on the island." The ship had better conditions, and it was obvious that Doctor Zhou, with his fair skin and gentle manner, stood out among their rough, weather-beaten crew.

Zhou Yun smiled. "No need, I brought my own camping tent as well. It's better to stick together and take collective action. With Comet around, it's safer. Staying on the ship would just be a waste of energy."

Qin Mu understood that Zhou Yun was worried about the safety of the others. He silently appreciated the concern but didn't say anything. He took a few people to find a safe spot on the hillside for setting up tents and even brought Zhou Yun’s tent along.

Before leaving, he arranged for two young men to go back to the ship and bring down gas tanks and a briquette stove. One would be used for boiling drinking water, while the other was set up with a stove to cook the deadly crab meat.

Zhou Yun casually used his ability to fill their containers with clean water, then took Comet for a leisurely walk along the beach.

Qin Sheng had been busy dismantling the deadly crab and didn’t pay much attention to him. Everyone knew that Doctor Zhou, with his fire-breathing dragon dog, Comet, was exceptionally safe. In contrast, they were the weak ones, at the bottom of the food chain.

On the island, near the sea, there were many weathered rocks. There, Zhou Yun discovered a large cluster of robust, dark green cacti. The layers of broad, rough cactus pads had needle-like spines as hard as steel, and they bore clusters of purplish-red fruits.

Zhou Yun walked over to take a closer look and noticed faint silver patterns on this wild-looking cactus, a pleasant surprise indeed.

Though it was a common southern cactus species, this one had been growing for years, robust and thriving. Its hardy spines made it suitable as a weapon. Most importantly, it had many ripe mutated cactus fruits. These fruits had many uses: making jam or fermenting the flesh with rock sugar to create fruit wine, both of which had excellent health benefits.

He took a plastic bag out of his backpack and used scissors to carefully cut off all the ripe cactus fruits, quickly filling the bag with heavy, purplish-red cactus fruits.

Putting the fruits aside, he reached out to touch the cactus, feeling for the location of its crystal core. He closed his eyes and cast "Nature's Seed."

The wood-element crystal core of the cactus seemed to be awakened by something. If anyone had been on the beach, they would have seen this large cluster of wild cacti emitting a green glow.

Then, the light intensified, and the thriving cactus shrank back into its original crystal core, faintly glowing amid the decayed wood, sand, and rock crevices.

Zhou Yun picked up the dense green crystal core and cast "Grafting." He integrated it into his own crystal core.

From then on, he could control and manipulate this mutated cactus plant. After the crystal cores of the trumpet vine, thorny tendrils, and the mutated millennium lotus that induced his mutation stabilized, he always condensed them into seeds and integrated them into his crystal core.

He crushed a few cactus fruits and casually scattered the eight-sided spiked seeds into the rock crevices. He first used his water abilities to wash his hands and thoroughly wet the soil, then cast a growth spell.

The cactus seeds, freshly extracted from the cactus fruit, quickly took root and sprouted in the soil, growing into tender cacti. Zhou Yun cast another growth spell, and the cacti grew layer by layer, blooming beautiful yellow flowers, replacing the old cactus cluster, and continuing to keep company with the seabirds on this island.

He walked around the island again but didn’t see any more mutated plants. The island was indeed quite desolate, with only ordinary weeds and trees, low shrubs predominating, some sheep horn trees, thin soil layers, and bird droppings on the rocks.

A thought flickered in his mind. This calcareous soil, rich in phosphorus and organic matter accumulated from the seabird droppings, was excellent natural phosphate fertilizer. He thought about collecting some for planting at home but decided against it. The main goal of this trip was the king-level crystal core and mutated sea fish. The soil would take up too much space, and there would be time later for planting.

He strolled to the shaded reef on the island and saw a discarded shell of a deadly crab. At first glance, it looked jagged and eerie, quite frightening.

Crustaceans had the habit of molting. The shell had some medicinal value, and its powder could dissipate bruises and relieve pain, but not much. As for the deadly crab... it was unclear what else it could be used for. However, the shell of crustaceans was indeed very hard. If made into shields or weapons, it could be useful against mutated animals and zombies.

Thinking this, he returned to the campsite. The young men from Laojie Gang were indeed very skilled. Large pots were boiling with delicious fish meat. They were cooking crab meat, large chunks of fish, along with onions, tomatoes, and garlic to make soup. They also had a pot of Spanish mackerel chunks and a pot of boiled shrimp.

Qin Mu smiled at him. "We were wondering where you went. Come and eat."

Zhou Yun handed him the heavy bag of golden-purple cactus fruits. "I've washed them. Everyone can have some fruit. It's from the island."

Qin Mu was a little surprised. "I remember there were cacti on this island, but there weren't this many fruits last year."

Qin Sheng had consumed a lot of his abilities today and was quite hungry. Although he had eaten a few compressed biscuits earlier, he still felt unsatisfied. Seeing the cactus fruits, he felt thirsty and came over to take a cactus fruit, cracking it open to reveal purplish-red, glistening flesh. He took a bite and exclaimed, "Very sweet!"

Finishing it quickly, he immediately felt a sense of fullness different from ordinary food. Surprised, he said, "This is a mutated cactus?"

Zhou Yun said, "Yes."

Qin Sheng looked at the bag of cactus fruits. "These are good stuff! They could be auctioned for a lot of things!" He was eager to try. "Is there more? I'll go dig some to plant at home."

Qin Mu: "..."

Zhou Yun: “……”

He felt a bit exasperated. “Go ahead and eat them all. Just keep the seeds for me, and I’ll give you a few pots when we get back. It’s hard to maintain the soil and water here on this island, so let them be. There’s also a shed skin of a killer crab behind the island. Tomorrow, you can go dismantle the claws and shells. We’ll bring them back to be processed into shields; they’ll be handy against both mutated animals and zombies.”

Qin Sheng immediately forgot about the cacti. “Really! That’s great! We’ll go dismantle them tomorrow.”

Recalling today’s battle, he added, “My current weapon doesn’t cut it against big mutated beasts. I need to forge a special harpoon gun that can use chains.”

Zhou Yun thought for a moment. “Try to get some high-quality steel.”

Qin Sheng sighed. “There’s no good steel in the south.”

“We’ll see if we can get some when we go to Central Base in a while.”

Qin Mu and Zhou Yun both looked at him. “You’re going to Central Base?”

Qin Sheng only just remembered. “Yes, today the captain of the guards at the city lord’s mansion selected a few squads to escort the city lord to Central Base for the city lord conference. Our squad was chosen; it’s usually a plum assignment that we don’t get. It’s probably because of the medicine sales.”

The two fell into deep thought.

Qin Sheng was still very excited. “They said we’ll fly there. I’ve never been on a plane in my life. I didn’t expect to fly in these chaotic times, though I won’t get to see the old glory of the big cities anymore.”

Qin Mu felt a little sorry for his brother. “Actually, everywhere is the same. There’s nothing exciting out there, and home is where the comfort is.”

Qin Sheng grinned. “Brother, even though you’ve been to many countries by ship, I know you’ve never been on a plane either.”

Qin Mu smiled. “There are many things in the world that I haven’t done or seen.”

Zhou Yun, appreciating the brothers’ optimism, said, “That’s true. The key is to do what you love most now.”

Everyone set up a simple camping table, put large chunks of crab soup on it, and served steamed buns and cooked rice. They then ate a simple dinner.

Qin Mu was in the mood to savor it. “This killer crab leg tastes just like king crab or matsuba crab—tender and sweet.”

They cooked up a big pot of crab meat just for Comet. Although Comet had eaten a crab leg earlier, he was still very hungry and ate it with great satisfaction.

After sunset, the young people lit a bonfire on the beach, leaving two to watch the camp and the boat. The others changed into wetsuits, carrying emergency air tanks, diving knives, harpoon guns, and signal whistles. They headed to the shallow waters on the other side of the island for a night dive.

Before diving, Qin Mu offered a harpoon gun to Zhou Yun, who declined. For him, who could control ice spears and ice needles at any time, it was unnecessary.

But, to be fair, the harpoon gun was indeed a powerful tool for fishing and fighting zombies. Compressed air would shoot out the sharp metal harpoon head at high speed, capable of penetrating the hard shells of zombies and most marine life. It had high lethality and was equipped with a scope to help accurately lock onto targets. Once you hit your target, you could reel it in with a special rope, making it super beginner-friendly.

Zhou Yun wished he had bought a few high-end models before everything went south.

They swam along the slope on one side of the island, from the sandy bottom to the soft and splendid coral reefs. Through the high-definition diving goggles, in the light of the diving lamp, they saw the blue-black water swaying with seaweed. Active cuttlefish and squid swam around, and large schools of unnamed small fish floated in the water.

This area was rich in nutrients and had a high biological mass in the coral reefs. Before the apocalypse, it was an important fishing ground, producing a variety of seafood such as groupers, cutlassfish, tuna, tiger prawns, and lobsters.

But their targets were giant fish and lobsters.

Zhou Yun saw Qin Mu and Qin Sheng holding harpoon guns, slowly moving through the coral reefs, scanning for large fish or lobsters hiding in crevices or caves.

Soon, Qin Sheng had a catch. With a close-range shot from his harpoon gun, he accurately hit a lobster trying to retreat into its hole, piercing it through the head and pulling it out of the water.

It was a massive lobster, with a colorful shell of greenish-blue and orange-red patterns. Its strong claws waved in the air to no avail.

Qin Sheng threw the lobster into the bucket and laughed. “At least we didn’t come back empty-handed! We’ll see what else we can get!”

Zhou Yun gave a small smile, and in the dark depths where the light couldn’t reach, he unleashed his thorny tendrils.

The thorny tendrils extended towards the deep sea in all directions, like endlessly stretching tentacles, reaching into that deep, cold expanse where light was swallowed, an infinite darkness that light could not reach.

The seawater turned eerily cold and silent, and in the dim sea, various marine creatures swam slowly. They were of strange shapes and glowed faintly. Clusters of jellyfish floated softly in the sea, like flowing starlight.

The slender, flexible thorny tendrils glided through the water, faintly glowing green like delicate silk. They harmlessly passed through the lively small fish and silently extended into the darkness. Soon, they found their target.

At a deep-sea volcanic rock, in the crevices of the rocks, a giant mutated shark was discovered by the thorny tendrils.

This shark was enormous and occupied an absolute dominant position in this abyssal territory.

The thorny tendrils from other directions began to retract and then extended endlessly towards this side. Countless thorny tendrils, like sentient green ribbons, silently approached the shark's side.

The shark had not failed to notice these strange plants and sensed an unprecedented threat. It twisted its body, opened its giant mouth, revealing sharp blade-like teeth, and bit towards this unfamiliar plant.

The shark's teeth could usually easily tear through the hard shells of other fish, but at this moment, the densely packed thorny tendrils, like a bunch of green ribbons, rapidly contracted, displaying a burst of strength, swiftly and accurately wrapping around the massive shark.

A thorny tendril had already darted like a venomous snake into its mouth, heading towards its soft cavity. The shark's dense sharp teeth crushed the cacti that entered its mouth, splattering the cactus juice, releasing the toxic sap of the peyote.

Tightly packed thorny tendrils coiled around the shark's body like thousands of water snakes. The dark green stems popped out countless sharp thorns, piercing the shark's hard skin.

A green glow intensified as the shark, wrapped in densely packed thorny cacti, struggled and rolled in the deep sea, violently erupting with the immense strength of a dying beast, triggering a tsunami-like shockwave.

The water oscillated violently, and the fish near the abyss frantically fled.

But the thorny tendrils continued to generate new branches and thorny stems, like a green cage, tightly binding and constraining the shark. The stems that penetrated the shark's belly bloomed countless pink flowers in the invisible black abyss.

The surface of the thorny tendrils frosted over, giving off a chill, and shattered bit by bit during the violent struggle.

As time passed, the sea floor gradually returned to calm, cold and silent. The thorny tendrils slowly retracted, dragging the massive, silent green cage towards the sea surface.

"Another lobster!"

Zhou Sheng, brimming with energy, picked up a lobster as thick as three or four arms and tossed it back into the bucket. He saw Zhou Mu standing in the shallow waters of the coastal area, looking into the distance. His diving mask had been removed, and he seemed surprised. "Bro, what are you looking at?"

Zhou Mu said, "Where's Doctor Zhou?"

Zhou Sheng was startled. "Wasn't he just standing here by the coral picking sea snails?"

Zhou Mu: "..."

Zhou Sheng stood up and looked around, casually asking a few young people, "Awang, have you seen Doctor Zhou?"

Awang looked confused. "Wasn't he following you and Brother Mu all the time?"

Zhou Sheng: "..."

He called out louder, "Comet? Comet?"

On the dark sea surface, he heard a howl, as if Comet was answering his call.

Zhou Mu and Zhou Sheng exchanged a glance and walked towards that direction.

On the dark reef beach, Doctor Zhou was standing on a high rock. Comet was by his side, lowering his head, sniffing something in the water. He turned to look at them and barked twice.

Zhou Mu and Zhou Sheng walked over, and the diving lights gradually illuminated the water in front of Doctor Zhou. Zhou Mu suddenly stopped and raised his harpoon gun. "Doctor Zhou... what's that in front of you?"

Doctor Zhou turned to look at them and smiled. "A mutated shark. It's alright; it's already dead."

Zhou Mu: "..."

A shark about four to five meters long floated on the surface of the pitch-black water, entirely encased in ice. Qin Mu stepped forward to examine it. "Blackfin shark. They're usually quite aggressive, but not this large. Did it mutate?"

Zhou Yun said, "Hmm." He stretched out his hand, revealing a crystal-clear, blue, king-grade crystal core, exuding a chilling cold. A smile reached his eyes. "This is what I'd call a golden touch for scavenging loot." It was a mutated ice-type crystal core.

Qin Mu asked, "Did you kill it by yourself?"

Zhou Yun laughed. "You could say that."

Qin Mu muttered, "We came for an adventure, but you're here to scavenge the sea."

Judging by how things looked, Comet didn't even get wet, making it clear that Zhou Yun had taken down the shark alone.

Zhou Yun said, "Everyone's tired from today. Let's leave this shark frozen for now. Get a few more people to drag it ashore. We can deal with it tomorrow when it's daylight. Just make sure to save the shark's liver for me—it's highly valuable for its medicinal properties."

Qin Mu and Qin Sheng used their harpoon guns to pierce through the ice and haul the shark onto the beach. Members of the Laojie Gang gathered around, marveling at the sight. "Wow, what a catch! These sharks are usually only a meter or two long. With this size, we’ll have enough food for days!"

"The skin alone could fetch a good price at auction."

Qin Mu noticed Zhou Yun had already gone back to the tent with Comet to change out of their diving gear and rest. He then arranged for everyone to take turns standing watch, before he and Qin Sheng entered the tent to change out of their wetsuits, wiped down, and lay in their sleeping bags.

Though it was already late at night, after everything that had happened during the day, Qin Mu was still feeling energized. Listening to the waves outside, he casually chatted with his brother. "So, Sheng, do you think you'll ever be as strong as Doctor Zhou?"

Qin Sheng's eyes were already half-closed, mumbling incoherently, "I hope so... I have no idea what abilities that mutated shark had... I need to get a good ranged weapon soon... Today, you really scared me, bro. Don’t be so reckless and rush ahead like that. Stick closer to me."

Qin Mu reached over to grab the shadow crystal core from the jar beside him, unable to resist asking Qin Sheng, "How do you guys absorb crystal cores?"

Qin Sheng opened his eyes and glanced over. "Just hold it in your palm and channel your abilities..."

He was already so sleepy that his eyes were almost shut, but when he saw his brother try to hold the shadow crystal core in his palm, he was about to tease him. But when Qin Mu opened his hand, the shadow crystal core was gone!

Qin Sheng bolted upright, fully awake. "What just happened?"

Qin Mu looked equally confused, staring at his palm and checking around his sleeping bag. "I... I think I just absorbed the shadow crystal core?"