Chapter 1173 - 514: Underwater Shelter

Liang Yuan laughed, "Is this a skill unique to your Merfolk Transformation Superpower Users?"

"Uh, I guess so. I haven’t seen any Merfolk Superpower User with this skill."

"Superpower Users of the Merfolk type, their evolutionary direction is somewhat similar to Strength-type Superpower Users; their physical constitution is very strong."

"We Merfolk Superpower Users lean a bit towards Spirit Ability Users. In the later stages, the application of superpower energy becomes more complex and varied."

"In general, the evolution direction of Merfolk is a bit wild and rough, making them seem clumsy, haha."

Ji Xiaoyu laughed out loud herself.

Liang Yuan was also infected by her cute laughter and laughed, "Do you also have an internal disdain hierarchy?"

"Uh, no, I’m just joking."

"You haven’t said what your situation is yet. Are you considered a Merfolk Superpower User or a Merfolk type?"

Liang Yuan smiled and said, "That’s a secret, I can’t tell."

"Tch, who cares." Ji Xiaoyu made a scoffing sound, then sped up to swim ahead, trying to shake off Liang Yuan and wear him out, giving him a little show of strength.

However, no matter how she sped up, Liang Yuan could easily keep up with her.

After swimming some distance, Ji Xiaoyu herself was exhausted.

Her main attribute was only in the low thirties after all, which was nothing compared to Liang Yuan.

Seeing her speed start to drop, Ji Xiaoyu suddenly saw an underwater building ahead, and her eyes lit up.

"We’re here, we can stop now."

She quickly stopped and shouted to Liang Yuan.

Though she tried to keep a calm demeanor, the intense exercise made her heart pound wildly, causing her to produce noticeably more bubbles.

Liang Yuan didn’t expose her, just smiled and looked at the building ahead.

Before them lay a massive shopping mall submerged underwater; the road had long been covered in silt, and the streetlights were rusted through.

The underwater building was gloomy, with broken windows resembling snarling mouths, sharp glass shards lingering on the sills.

Long corridors stretched out like deep-set eyes staring at you.

The underwater environment felt dark and eerie, always giving off a sense of creepiness.

However, that large shopping mall ahead looked distinctly different from the buildings in other places.

A vast mass of dense seaweed surrounded the mall.

The seaweed didn’t seem wild, appearing to have been deliberately planted extensively by someone.

The seaweed’s height was towering, reaching seven or eight stories tall, covering most of the massive mall.

The density of the seaweed was impressive, from a distance it looked like rolling waves of wheat.

Besides, the mall’s rooftop was covered by a high layer of coral.

At a casual glance, you wouldn’t even notice it was a huge shopping mall below.

Liang Yuan asked, "Were these seaweeds planted by you guys?"

Ji Xiaoyu nodded, "Yeah, there’s a lot of mutant creatures underwater, including quite a few Genetic Species level mutation beasts."

"These seaweeds not only serve as a barrier to block larger Genetic Species mutants, but also provide cover."

"How do they serve as a barrier?" Liang Yuan curiously asked.

Ji Xiaoyu said, "The seaweeds are extremely dense and incredibly resilient; if you swim into them, you can easily get entangled."

"Once you’re ensnared by these seaweeds, the more you struggle, the deeper you get wrapped in, eventually being completely trapped inside."

"Of course, this is aimed at the larger mutant creatures. If smaller ones enter, it’s like humans entering a forest; come on, let me take you in to experience it."

With that, Ji Xiaoyu swam towards the seaweed forest, with Liang Yuan closely following, swiftly diving into the seaweed forest.

Inside, it truly felt like diving into a dense enormous forest.

Everywhere you looked was filled with giant seaweeds.

The seaweeds were dark green, sticky on the surface, swaying gently with the water.

Liang Yuan gently pushed aside a seaweed, feeling its slippery texture.

He pinched it hard, and indeed, as Ji Xiaoyu said, it was incredibly tough; he exerted a lot of force to finally break it.

"These seaweeds are edible; we plant them as food," Ji Xiaoyu said, picking a tender leaf from a slightly shorter seaweed.

"If you want to eat it, make sure to choose these tender tips, have a taste," she said, handing a tender seaweed sprout to Liang Yuan.

Liang Yuan took it and put it in his mouth, his teeth gently breaking the seaweed sprout, instantly bringing a texture reminiscent of kelp.

Chewing the seaweed felt like gnawing on leather, with no extra flavor.

Liang Yuan frowned, "Is this what you eat?"

Ji Xiaoyu giggled cheerfully, "How does it taste?"

"Not much flavor," Liang Yuan replied.

Ji Xiaoyu laughed, "Now you know why I still want to live on land, right?"

"Hehe, our generation is still accustomed to land vegetables. Even though we’ve awakened superpowers and adapted to underwater living, our eating habits haven’t changed."

"Eating raw mutant fish and these algae plants is something we do only when there’s no other choice."

"If we could have fried chicken, roast duck, and fragrant hotpot, who would want to eat this stuff?"

Speaking of which, Ji Xiaoyu felt a bit dispirited.

"Don’t even mention fried chicken or roast duck; even on land, those aren’t possible anymore."

"After the great flood, our material living conditions as humans have really plummeted."

Liang Yuan also sighed, indeed, after the apocalyptic flood, humans struggle even to survive, so as long as the material conditions allow them to be well-fed, what more can one ask for?

The two talked as they swam forward.

Suddenly, in the seaweed forest, a face emerged from behind a broad seaweed leaf.

"Xiao Yu?! Why... why have you brought outsiders in here!"

This face belonged to a woman in her thirties, with blue scales adorning her forehead and arms.

Her legs similarly had fish tails covered with superpower energy membranes.

She was a Merfolk-type Superpower User.

Ji Xiaoyu saw her and immediately smiled, saying, "Sister Yue! It’s you."

She then pulled Liang Yuan over and said, "Sister Yue, he’s also a Merfolk-type Superpower User, and he’s really powerful. He wiped out Wu Yaobang’s Eden, and now Little Straw Mountain is his."

Guan Yue was shocked, looking Liang Yuan up and down, seeing the Merfolk-type Superpower User traits on him, she couldn’t help but feel more amicable.

Yet she was still in disbelief: "Really? The Angel Corps of Eden isn’t easy to deal with—they have quite a few Genetic Species-level experts."

Not waiting for Liang Yuan to explain, Ji Xiaoyu excitedly said, "Of course it’s true, you haven’t seen Mr. Liang’s prowess."

"Do you know why that Wu Yaobang had so many Genetic Species underlings?"

"Haha, you’d never guess—even if you tried—his superpower wasn’t immortality, but duplication!"

"We were all deceived before; he used his superpower to impersonate an immortal being and tricked us all."

"Those silly people on shore believed his lies and joined his Eden, and now they’re all dumbfounded."

Ji Xiaoyu revealed a series of shocking information that left Guan Yue stunned.

Her mind couldn’t process it for a moment.

"What? Wu Yaobang is dead? That’s... impossible."

"His ability wasn’t immortality? It was duplication?"

"What’s going on, what exactly happened?"

Guan Yue quickly inquired.

Ji Xiaoyu briefly narrated the events that occurred at Little Straw Mountain.

Guan Yue, after hearing this, still found it unbelievable and turned her head to look at Liang Yuan.

It was hard to imagine that such powerful Merfolk-type Superpower Users existed among them?

Liang Yuan did not speak throughout, only nodding and smiling along with Ji Xiaoyu.

Having reached his level of strength, he naturally had Xiao Yu helping to defend him.

Liang Yuan smiled and said, "Sister Yue, right? Can I visit your shelter?"

"Xiao Yu made a deal with me, don’t worry, I won’t disrupt your lives."

"What deal?" Guan Yue immediately became alert and quickly looked at Ji Xiaoyu.

Ji Xiaoyu whispered a few words in her ear.

Guan Yue’s expression relaxed a bit, she hesitated, and said, "Xiao Yu is not sensible, Mr. Liang, I better tell you first."

"The Genetic Mutation Beast she mentioned is extraordinary, very powerful; even our Genetic Species expert alliance couldn’t kill it in the past."

"Sister Yue! I’m not lying, he only asked for the whereabouts of a Physical Class Genetic Mutation Beast, didn’t specify its strength." Ji Xiaoyu quickly shouted.

Simultaneously, she turned to Liang Yuan and asked, "Mr. Liang, you’re so powerful; you won’t go back on your word, right?"

"Indeed, the Sword-tailed Sea Snake is a Physical Mutation Beast; I’m not lying."

"But it’s too formidable; if you can’t kill it, you can’t blame me."

Liang Yuan, upon hearing this, curiously asked, "Sword-tailed Sea Snake? Can you tell me details about this Mutant Beast?"

Ji Xiaoyu excitedly asked, "Does our deal still count?"

Liang Yuan smiled: "Regarding the deal, first let me visit your shelter."

"Honestly, if your numbers aren’t large, giving half of Little Straw Mountain’s territory to you—isn’t that too much?"

"Little Straw Mountain is not high or large overall; I still need to arrange personnel to station here and build a shelter later."

"Dividing half for you isn’t quite realistic."

Ji Xiaoyu immediately asked: "Then how much area can you allocate for us?"

Liang Yuan smiled and said, "First tell me how many people you have?"

Ji Xiaoyu reluctantly had to look at Guan Yue.

Guan Yue said: "Mr. Liang is a guest, let’s first have him come to our place."

With that, she took the initiative to lead the way, inviting Liang Yuan to follow her.

Liang Yuan nodded with a smile, following her deeper into the seaweed forest.

On the road, Liang Yuan asked: "What was Sister Yue doing in the seaweed forest just now?"

"Just call me Guan Yue, Mr. Liang; Sister Yue is what Xiao Yu, the kids, call me."

"The only food we have is the fish, shrimp, and these seaweeds; things on shore were previously under Wu Yaobang’s watch, we didn’t dare go onshore."

Liang Yuan, upon hearing this, immediately understood that their food supplies must be tight.

As the last seaweed was brushed aside, what appeared in front became clear—revealing a large shopping mall.

A network of ropes surrounded the mall, secured around the building to prevent Mutant Fish from breaching the seaweed forest and infiltrating the mall.

And inside the mall, it wasn’t dark, with many green and yellow lights shining.

Many Merfolk-type Superpower Users and Merfolk Ability Users could be seen swimming within.

Seen from afar, it looked just like a mall operating underwater.