Chapter 298 - 271: Lend Me Your Head

If a song could describe Liu Ze’s mood right now, it would be one filled with the desolate drifting of snowflakes.

After such a dramatic reversal of fortune, Liu Ze was like a gambler who had lost it all. "Anchor! Anchor! Show yourself, damn it!"

The crimson anchor had only just floated halfway out before retracting on its own.

The only thing Liu Ze could hear was the notification from his Home.

[Your permissions are insufficient. Anchor deployment failed. Please continue to increase your permission level.]

Hearing this cold, mechanical voice, Liu Ze suddenly burst out laughing.

He laughed so hard he almost cried.

"Insufficient permissions... Insufficient permissions... Hahahaha."

’My carefully prepared trump card was nothing but a joke.’

Liu Ze looked around.

A large crowd had now surrounded him, forming a tight circle. They held crossbows and bows at the ready.

"So you’re the motherfucker who can swim!"

Li Yue wanted to rush over and kick his ass, but Jia Liangcai held him back.

The man’s stamina was extraordinary; he clearly wasn’t a normal person.

A cornered beast will still put up a desperate fight; there was no need to risk getting close.

Liu Ze’s gaze fell upon Jia Liangcai, then shifted to Zou Jianghe.

"I’ve lost. The information gap was my downfall."

"A bet’s a bet," Li Yue sneered.

Liu Ze nodded, his head bowed. "Yes, a bet’s a bet. But at least let me know who I lost to. Was it the person who led the attack on us that day?"

As they were talking, the sound of beating wings echoed from above.

A Beaked Eagle circled overhead. From its back, Qin Ziwen peered down.

He saw a bare-chested, red-haired young man standing in the center of the crowd.

Qin Ziwen used Insight.

[Extraordinary Abyss Diver (Human): ☆☆☆☆☆]

’Extraordinary, but still only Five Stars.’

’Does this mean that advancing to Extraordinary through a First Gear mission doesn’t improve physical attributes? That only Second and Third Gear missions do?’

Liu Ze craned his neck to look up at Qin Ziwen.

"It’s you," he said, his tone certain.

Qin Ziwen leaned over and asked, "What’s your Extraordinary Ability?"

Liu Ze replied, "I can operate underwater for extended periods, pushing beyond my physiological limits."

"Oh." Qin Ziwen nodded. ’The ability sounds decent, but it’s basically just a free version of Deep Sea Oxygen.’

"What’s your role in Blood Words?" Qin Ziwen asked.

A glimmer of hope appeared in Liu Ze’s eyes. ’If he’s asking about my role, that must mean I’m still useful.’

"I’m the leader of Blood Words. I surrender. I’ll cooperate with whatever you want."

"Good. In that case, I’ll be borrowing your head. Give him a quick death." With that, Qin Ziwen flew off on the eagle.

Liu Ze was stunned. "Wait—"

Before he could finish, the surrounding crossbows and bows fired in unison.

Liu Ze was instantly turned into a human porcupine.

Li Yue took a knife from someone nearby, strode forward, lifted Liu Ze’s head, and sliced it off with a single stroke.

"Liangcai." Back at the Home, Qin Ziwen summoned Jia Liangcai. "Get ready. We’re going to attack the island directly. It’s time to take it over for good."

"The Mosasaurus is severely wounded, and both the Fish Dragon and the Snake-necked Dragon are dead. The Lost Home can sail freely now. We can’t let this opportunity slip by."

"Understood," Jia Liangcai replied.

Not far away, Li Yue came running. "Boss, I got it!"

A strange expression crossed Qin Ziwen’s face. He stared at the head dangling from Li Yue’s hand, then back at Li Yue’s own face. "What did you cut his head off for?"

"But Chief, didn’t you say you were borrowing his head?" Li Yue’s jaw dropped.

"..."

The corner of Qin Ziwen’s mouth twitched. He waved a dismissive hand. "Just... go back to your inventions."

"Oh." Li Yue sounded a little disappointed. He felt his potential could have been better used elsewhere.

"Just get rid of the head. We’re not a bunch of sickos, carrying a head around like terrorists." Qin Ziwen felt mentally drained. He waved his hand, gesturing for Li Yue to hurry up and get out of his sight.

He turned and walked over to the Ghost Ship Dock.

Inside the dock, Tao Fu was leading the Ghost Boatmen in an inspection of the ship’s damage.

"What’s the damage report?"

"Sir, this section got knocked askew, but thankfully it didn’t snap. The Ghost Gold is incredibly tough. This part here is dented in, and the wooden planks inside have probably cracked. We’ll need to remove them and install new ones."

"Alright, I’ll leave it in your hands." Qin Ziwen recalled that the Mosasaurus had only hit the ship twice, hadn’t it? Once on the hull’s side and once on the stern.

Both points of impact were clearly dented inward.

Just from the shape of the dents, he could imagine the terrifying force of the Mosasaurus’s impact.

An ordinary wooden ship probably would have had its hull planks shatter on the first impact, immediately taking on water.

In a clearing nearby, the massive corpse of the Fish Dragon lay sprawled on the ground.

Seen up close, the Fish Dragon’s corpse looked like a small hill.

Qin Ziwu had climbed on top of it. Lying on the corpse, he spotted his older brother and waved.

As Qin Ziwen got closer, he saw that the Fish Dragon’s most grievous wound was on its neck, where the Mosasaurus had bitten it.

A huge chunk was missing.

The surface of the Fish Dragon’s corpse was scaleless, like that of an oversized shark.

Its most prominent feature was the long, sharp beak on its head, which was lined with sharp, conical teeth.

"There’s something in its stomach."

A large hole had been cut open in the Fish Dragon’s belly.

A man emerged from inside, holding a basketball-sized, amber-colored stone.

"What’s that?" someone nearby asked him.

"I don’t know. Found it beneath its throat bone." The man, still covered in slick mucus and blood, presented the stone to Qin Ziwen.

The stone emitted a faint, exotic fragrance.

"What’s your name?" Qin Ziwen asked him.

"Chief, my name is Nie Pan."

"Put the stone here." Qin Ziwen glanced at the stone. Based on experience, he suspected it was a Marvel and used Insight on it.

"Yes, sir." Nie Pan crouched down, placed the stone on the ground, and then turned to leave.

[Level 1 Marvel] Fish Dragon Stone (Can be embedded in aquatic buildings or resources. Greatly reduces conflict and predation among different aquatic species within its range, forcing them into a "symbiotic" state and promoting healthy population growth.)

’Interesting. It increases the yield from aquaculture. The Fish Pond would be the perfect place for it.’

He found some clean water and rinsed the mucus off the surface of the Fish Dragon Stone.

Then, he carried it over to the Fish Pond.

Hearing his approach, a dense mass of fish heads broke the surface of the Fish Pond.

After being farmed for some time, the fish had grown less and less afraid of people.

The sound of footsteps meant it was feeding time.

The Building Card for the Fish Pond materialized. Qin Ziwen picked up the Fish Dragon Stone and tossed it in.

The Building Card absorbed the item with a flash of light, then faded back into the structure itself.

Before, he had only raised fish in the Fish Pond, not daring to add too many crabs or shrimp to the bottom for fear that conflict would affect the yield.

Now, that was no longer an issue.

Standing by the edge of the pond, he swiped his hand, and three cards appeared in his palm.

These were the Spoils of War recovered from the Fish Dragon’s corpse.

[Advanced Resource Card] Level 1 Wailing Fortress, [Recruitment Card] Ordinary Fishman Skilled Sailor, [Resource Card] Level 1 Red Coral Group.

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