Chapter 399: Dive Deep into the Sea to Retrieve the Crystal

Chapter 399: Diving Deep for the Crystals

Following the direction indicated on the bounty notice, the group quickly gathered and advanced.

The White Tiger Army looked at each other in confusion. "General, aren't we running the dungeon anymore?"

Wu Yue, throwing her weight around, declared, "Why call him General? From now on, address him as Alliance President!"

The White Tiger Army was stunned. "Huh?"

Where did this woman come from? Had she forgotten to take her medicine?

This was outright rebellion, overstepping boundaries, and defying authority!!

White Tiger sighed, "...Nothing’s been settled yet, and you’re already putting me on the spot."

Wu Yue replied, "I’m mainly worried you might back out. If that happens, I won’t know who to find to handle the Alliance President’s duties."

White Tiger remarked, "So many people are fighting tooth and nail for this position, yet to you all, it’s nothing but a burden."

Wu Yue said with utmost seriousness, "We call this self-awareness. If you don’t have the skills, don’t take on the job. Any position should be filled by those with the ability, regardless of their background."

White Tiger fell silent for a long time before suddenly saying, "A scholar would die for one who knows him. The ancients truly did not deceive us."

The closer they got to the final location marked by the bounty, the more everyone sensed the danger awaiting them.

It was clear that the so-called bounty was merely a facade. To truly obtain the 500,000 Iridium Purple Crystals, a fierce battle awaited them.

Beneath the sea surface, the waters were treacherous and unpredictable, churning into an abyssal, unfathomable black.

It was impossible to imagine what kind of massive beast might be gathering in the depths below.

Given their current lack of equipment and abilities being locked, engaging in underwater combat under such conditions would put them at a severe disadvantage.

Everyone’s expressions turned grim. The dungeon’s situation was worse than they had anticipated. Sea Ore Town had been bombed, and the ores had all been relocated to the seabed.

Just as Wu Yue was about to step forward, Shen Que grabbed her arm. "Where do you think you’re going?"

Wu Yue blinked. "I feel like if I just jump in, the crystals and the monsters will both appear at once."

Shen Que scoffed. "Who knows how many monsters are waiting for you down there? If you jump, you’re dead."

Wu Yue said, "Have you forgotten? I have an awakened ability—Blood Fusion: Elemental Manipulation. By forming a barrier around my body, I can—"

Mid-sentence, she suddenly had an idea. "If I can form a barrier around myself, could I also form barriers around everyone who’s been infused with my blood?"

Wasn’t this just exploiting a skill bug?

Genius! Her little brain was getting sharper by the day.

Shen Que raised a practical concern. "Manipulating that many barriers—will your mental stamina be enough?"

Wu Yue blinked. "Well, there’s still yours, isn’t there?"

Shen Que retorted, "You’ve already used up almost all of mine with all that thinking just now."

As Wu Yue slowly turned her gaze toward White Tiger, Shen Que gritted his teeth. "Don’t even think about it. If you don’t want the Alliance President you just found to be holding a funeral next week, you’d better rein in those overactive brain cells of yours."

Wu Yue said earnestly, "This is a critical time, every second counts..."

Before Wu Yue could finish, she suddenly saw that the White Tiger Army had already begun their pre-battle preparations with well-practiced ease.

Although the situation was somewhat tricky, the White Tiger Army fought year-round, renowned for their bravery and combat prowess. Whether it was aquatic combat while lacking proper gear or even more adverse conditions, they had faced it all before.

Their movements were decisive and skilled, well-trained as they cut wood to make boats and paddles.

It wasn't as if the dungeon provided nothing—along the nearby coast, there was diving gear and abandoned mining boat equipment left behind by previous NPCs.

Skilled at utilizing their environment and quickly coordinating and deploying resources, their preparations for surface water combat began to take shape in a short time.

Seeing how efficiently these people worked, Wu Yue immediately shut her mouth, determined not to make herself any more of a target.

White Tiger said, "I got the idea from those dungeon-run videos of yours. When tackling a dungeon, you have to be good at using the props available in the environment."

Fighting year-round in extremely dangerous conditions had made continuous improvement, absorbing more knowledge, and finding new ways to survive an instinct for White Tiger and the entire White Tiger Army.

Under Shen Que’s death glare from the side, Wu Yue gave White Tiger a proper, eight-toothed smile, "The White Tiger Army is truly impressive."

Watching as the White Tiger Army charged bravely under White Tiger’s lead, Wu Yue docilely lowered her head and started edging away. She took one step, and Shen Que followed with one step.

She stopped, but Shen Que kept walking toward her.

Shen Que walked up to her, looking down at the fluffy swirl of her hair, "Oh mighty one, why don't you keep working your divine magic."

The moment Wu Yue looked up, Shen Que immediately leaned in until their faces were close, "What were you thinking just now?"

Wu Yue denied it, "I wasn’t thinking anything. If I had, you'd know about it."

Shen Que felt something was off, "It seems like you’re still hiding something from me."

Why did he always feel that, even with Mental Power Sharing, he still didn’t know much about Wu Yue’s mental activities?

Shen Que never overthought things; he only trusted his intuition. And experience had proved that every time his brain started sounding alarms, Wu Yue was definitely secretly plotting something.

"Shen Que: Either you tell me yourself, or I won't be responsible for what happens here."

Wu Yue’s eyes widened slowly, looking at Shen Que in disbelief,

"Wu Yue: Have you lost your mind! There are so many people here, and the White Tiger Army is in the middle of fighting!"

Shen Que simply hooked a corner of his mouth in a smirk at Wu Yue, "I’ll count to three. One, two..."

Wu Yue gritted her teeth, grabbed Shen Que, and dragged him toward the water’s edge.

Shen Que, "What are you doing?"

Standing at the coast, in full view of everyone, Wu Yue suddenly reached out and hugged him. Shen Que immediately hugged her back.

Then, the two of them fell into the sea together.

The deputy asked uncertainly, "...General, did they just commit suicide together?"

White Tiger wasn’t sure either; Wu Yue’s behavior was just too bizarre.

"...Maybe. Tell the troops that if they see their bodies later, remember to fish them out."

The moment they touched the water, Wu Yue used her awakened ability to form a barrier around her and Shen Que, sealing out the seawater.

The two passed through the White Tiger Army and continued to sink deeper.

"Shen Que: What do you intend to do?"

"Wu Yue: I'm going to find the Boss of Seamining Town."

"Shen Que: Do you think that the Boss still has something your mother left for you?"

"Wu Yue: Yes."

As they sank further, an ethereal song could be heard from afar, its incomprehensible language continuously drifting into their ears, like a siren's mournful cry.

To think the final Boss of this resource dungeon would be a magic-type enemy, and a Western-style one at that!

Once such a song was heard, the White Tiger Army, already at a severe disadvantage underwater, might very well turn against each other.

Wu Yue immediately realized:

"Wu Yue: We can’t engage this Boss now—an SSS-level magic-based sound-controlling Boss at the bottom of the sea, with giant marine creatures all around visible from the surface. This doesn’t seem like the configuration for an SSS-level resource dungeon. It’s very likely a trap!"

"Shen Que: So we’re just giving up on the crystals?"

"Wu Yue: No, we must get the crystals. Just like in the Fox Spirit dungeon, if it’s placed right out in the open, it must be something Mom intended for me.

If she’s giving me so many high-tier crystals at this moment, there must be a purpose behind it. No matter what, I have to find a way to obtain them."

"Shen Que: In all likelihood, all these crystals are in the siren’s seabed nest. How do we get past the Boss to retrieve them?"

Simultaneously, the two thought of the same idea—

Kite the Boss!