Chapter 65 Chilled to the Bone

Chapter 65: Chapter 64: Chilled to the Bone

Among the various plans, Han Ning leaned toward taking a detour through the outer perimeter and sailing the boat back.

The water depth here had already exceeded 2.5 meters, and it would likely be even deeper further out. Waiting for the water levels inside the city to rise enough to sail the boat in would be too risky. After all, the monsters here hadn’t been cleared out, and they grew a little stronger every day. He didn’t feel safe leaving the boat moored here.

As for towing the boat back, for one, they lacked heavy transport equipment. Furthermore, even in his fully transformed state, he couldn’t carry a ten-meter-long vessel inside.

After thinking for a few seconds, he said, "Old Xu, stay on this boat and carefully inspect all the critical equipment. Make a list of all the essential parts and supplies you think we need. I’ll protect you while we search other boats for replacement parts."

Next, he transmitted a clear command to Snow Cake through their Spiritual Link. "Snow Cake, go scout the waters outside the pier."

"AWOO!"

If they were to take the outer route, he had to assess its safety. If the monster density exceeded his expectations, they would have to find another way. Since he and Snow Cake shared their vision, the creature acted as his avatar and didn’t need overly detailed instructions.

In the dim light, Xu Ming squatted next to the diesel engine, tightly gripping an oil-stained wrench with a deep frown on his face. He carefully inspected the machinery while cross-referencing a maintenance manual.

"Mr. Han, look at this," Xu Ming said, pointing to a dent inside the transmission box. "The connecting flange is deformed, and it’s missing a critical buffer gear set. Without it, the vibrations will be massive if we force it to start. The drive shaft could snap or detach completely, and then we’d be totally screwed."

"What parts do you need? What are the specific models?" Han Ning asked.

He didn’t understand mechanics, but he knew they had to find replacements as soon as possible. While a future diesel shortage was inevitable, they were currently at a pier packed with boats. There was certainly no lack of diesel or other fuel types at the moment. Their priority was to gather enough diesel and sail the boat to a safe location.

Xu Ming flipped through the manual and pointed to a clear diagram. "We need this exact model of the buffer gear set, along with the matching flange. We’ll have to try our luck on other boats of the same type or similar tonnage. It would be best if we could find an engineering ship or a tugboat. Their transmission systems are usually more robust, and the part sizes might just match up."

"Understood."

Han Ning nodded, dividing a portion of his attention to sense Snow Cake’s situation through their Soul Link. Following its master’s command, Snow Cake was swimming toward the outer perimeter of the pier, heading in the direction of what should have been the ocean.

About fifty meters away from the mooring area, underwater visibility plummeted. Relying on its underwater perception, Snow Cake could still clearly "see" its surroundings.

To Han Ning’s surprise, this stretch of water was unusually quiet. The aggressive Vortex Shell Crabs and bizarre Mirage Insects had vanished without a trace. The water depth had reached three meters, but the density of underwater monsters was far lower than that in the pier’s mooring area. Only sporadic fish, Human-faced Jellyfish, and a few ugly snails paddled through the water.

"Keep swimming deeper," Han Ning commanded.

"AWOO!"

Snow Cake wiggled its body and accelerated. When it had swum nearly a hundred meters away from the pier in a straight line...

BUZZ...

An invisible Spiritual Fluctuation suddenly swept in from afar, slamming into Snow Cake. The wave didn’t seem to originate from any specific direction; rather, it felt omnipresent, as if it permeated every single drop of seawater.

"AWOO..." Snow Cake grew a little uneasy. The Tri-Colored Crystal Scale on its forehead flickered faintly.

"Something’s strange." Han Ning clearly caught Snow Cake’s emotional shift. He ordered, "Keep swimming a bit further out."

"AWOO..."

Suppressing its instinctive discomfort, Snow Cake continued swimming in the direction the Spiritual Fluctuation was coming from. The deeper it went, the heavier the pervasive spiritual pressure became, continuously crushing against Snow Cake’s consciousness. The Crystal Scale on its forehead kept flashing, looking like a lone lamp flickering in a violent gale.

When Snow Cake reached a point roughly four hundred meters from the pier, the strange Spiritual Fluctuation became overwhelmingly intense. Snow Cake absolutely refused to swim any further.

But there was no need to anyway.

"This..."

The scene before them left both the naive Snow Cake and Han Ning, who was sharing its vision through their Spiritual Link, in unprecedented shock.

The water ahead was completely blocked by a grayish-white wall of fog that was so dense it almost felt physical. This fog wall stood in stark contrast to the relatively thin mist outside. And behind this suffocating barrier, beneath the surface of the water, a Hellish scene was revealed.

Corpses.

Endless corpses.

They were layered on top of one another, piled up like mountains, nearly filling the entire body of water and stretching deep into the impenetrable gloom. There were humans with twisted, swollen limbs, their skin soaked into a wrinkled, ghastly white, displaying a horrifying, bloated "Giant" appearance. There were various marine creatures—fish, whales, and even twisted, mutated crustaceans—their shattered remains all mixed together. There were also the bizarrely shaped, unrecognizable carcasses of local creatures...

Looking closely, these corpses were pierced by countless dark red Coral branches.

These Coral branches resembled a dense, crisscrossing forest of thorns growing from the depths of Hell. They stabbed deeply into the insides of every single corpse, pinning them to the waterbed like specimens while seemingly siphoning nutrients from them. On some of the fresher corpses, the Coral branches could even be seen pulsing slightly, resembling the blood vessels of a living organism.

The entire riverbed had transformed into a forest made of corpses and Coral.

For some unknown reason, the Coral Monster that Han Ning had defeated had escaped from this place. Nor did these things launch an attack on Snow Cake. Perhaps the Tri-Colored Crystal Scale on its forehead was playing a role?

Inside the cabin, Han Ning’s expression turned incredibly grim. An inexplicable chill shot up from his spine straight to the crown of his head.

He finally understood why there were barely any human corpses in the waters near the Bailu Port mooring area. This place used to be a bustling resort area teeming with tourists. He also understood why the density of other monsters in the water wasn’t as high as he had imagined.

It turned out... they were all here.

The living beings swallowed by the flood across the entire pier and the broader region—be they humans or other creatures—had all ultimately been brought together into a massive Gathering in this death zone isolated by the thick fog. They had become a breeding ground for the growth of these bizarre Coral Monsters.

The sheer scale and terrifying numbers of this forest of death, formed by endless corpses and demonic Coral, far exceeded Han Ning’s imagination. Compared to this ocean of bones and mountains of corpses, the Coral Monster he had killed earlier was but a drop in the ocean.

"The Black Tide... Doomsday..." Han Ning muttered to himself, an indescribable sense of powerlessness washing over his entire body. Individual strength felt so small and insignificant in the face of such a terrifying scene.

"Snow Cake... come back, come back right now!"