Chapter 349 [The Abyss] Arrives

Klaus, Ivan, and Nathan, having just pinpointed the location from which the submarine had evaded their approach, were now in a hurry to give chase.

But at the same time, I felt a pang of heart palpitation.

An indescribable sense of oppression descended from nowhere, somewhat like the feeling of facing a domineering homeroom teacher when I was a child.

They all stopped and looked in that direction.

All I saw was...

That sea area, though not dark, gave them the illusion that there was a constantly expanding whirlpool there.

And at the center of the vortex...

It means arbitrary.

"Hurrah... Niu Fu..."

Ivan muttered to himself the shared sentiment of the other two fish:

"Is the boss... about to transform?"

......

Inside the "hidden wall".

To the rather inappropriate yet incredibly rousing background music, King Arthur, with his seahorse at the forefront, raised his adamantite trident high, tearing the mutated creatures that rushed forward to pieces.

The purple mist surrounding Liv formed a deathly domain around her.

The unfortunate creatures who entered were all disoriented and then torn into a net by her sharp claws that had grown to half a meter long.

However......

The mutated monsters pouring out of the rifts are endless.

From the initial "zombie mermaids" to the aggregated mutant species that are completely unrecognizable as fish, it is as if the abyss is pouring out all its malice.

But just as the war was raging...

All the fish, even the mutated species, involuntarily froze for a moment, all looking forward (or backward)—

That aura...

"Could it be that the Abyss has circled around to the other side...?"

Riseben whispered solemnly.

......

"No...this is impossible..."

Hattari was the closest and felt it most clearly.

The seawater gradually became viscous, and the light was distorted, making me feel like a mortal who had stumbled into the realm of gods.

The thrusters beneath his feet were still running, but his body felt as if it were trapped in royal jelly, rendering him unable to move.

[Ship Modification Technician]?

No...impossible, even a ship modification engineer couldn't cause such a phenomenon!

He's not a ship refitter... no, he's not human!

At the center of the vortex, Renyi slowly closed his eyes.

"Don't be afraid, it might make a lot of noise."

Upon hearing the captain's voice, Sita calmed down and began to curiously observe the incredible changes being made by the massive vessel beneath his feet.

Hart struggled to move his eyes.

They saw the ship that was rushing towards them from behind the Chinese contestant.

The figurehead, resembling a deep-sea spirit, looks like a blackened oil painting, its edges blurred and stretched.

The slender skeleton belonging to the [Pseudo-Abyssal Sea Dragon] was not directly replaced as it had during the ship's previous evolution. Instead, it broke apart with a mournful cry and was then filled and taken over by a more powerful substance...

Perhaps it could be described as parasitism, or coverage.

The [divine bone] used for evolution came from Vanessa, and that divine core was actually the [gallbladder of the Naga god].

Vanessa's frustration at missing out by just one step seemed to have an effect on the ship as well.

Countless sacred yet cruel "light spikes" grew on the keel, taking deep root in every inch of the ship's hull and in every module.

They are not physical entities.

It is formed by the condensation of some kind of energy.

They 'killed' the original cells and transformed them into a completely new hull that appeared unchanged.

The [Pseudo-Dragon Horn] at the mast location has disappeared.

What remained was a bone pillar formed by countless twisted arms, which, though radiating a faint holy glow, could not conceal the truly hellish reality...

Especially at the top of that mast, several truly bony skeletal hands were arranged in a standard "stars surrounding the moon" pose.

...The one being praised is, of course, the one that shines like a little sun, the "Heart of the Sun".

Any: "..."

Against the backdrop of those skeletal hands,

The light of the Sun's Heart is no longer warm; instead, it's like a stubborn sun rising from hell, determined to leave its mark in the darkness.

The mithril that had been coveted for so long transformed into a liquid galaxy, flowing through every inch of the ship under the pull of an inexplicable force, sometimes forming mocking faces, sometimes converging into mysterious incantations.

The figurehead hasn't changed much, except for the eyes that have no pupils.

at this time,

Her eyes turned into two bottomless whirlpools.

The ship's originally smooth and supple outer shell, after being bathed in light and mithril, transformed into a texture somewhere between crystal and shadow.

It appears crystal clear and fragile, yet when an object touches it, it feels as if it has been trapped in a gelatinous cloud.

When the change ends.

The ship's size hasn't increased much, but it gives the feeling of a moving deep sea.

Siddhartha unconsciously reached out and touched the beautiful wall in front of him, which seemed to reflect starlight.

But the next second,

Suddenly, an eye opened on the wall!

It was black, huge, and just stared at her indifferently!

"Help! Captain!"

She was startled; its tail nearly poked into its eye. Then it blinked and closed its eyes.

?

"Don't worry... it's just renovations."

The arbitrary voice rang out again, somewhat helplessly;

"Also, don't shout into my eyes, you almost spat your saliva in."

Sita: "..."

Ren Yi didn't explain further; he was busy examining the new changes brought about by this evolution.

【Abyss (LV4)】

【Durability: 10000/10000】

【Dimensions: 42 meters x 8 meters】

[New Trait 1: Domination. Grants rank-based suppression over deep-sea creatures. Requires a mental assessment (the success rate decreases with higher-level creatures, influenced by their subjective will). Success results in a state of "submission."]

[New Trait 2: Plunder. Consumes bio-energy to temporarily and forcibly fuse with the traits of a "subjugated" creature.]

[Inherited Traits: Shadow (Upon active activation, the ship enters a phantom state for 120 seconds, immune to physical attacks, 1-hour cooldown), Submersion (can dive to a depth of 5000 meters below the surface), Flesh Repair, Ghostly Navigation]

[Mutation: Symbiosis (Activated) Passive. Sharing the same breath, sharing the same fate.]

[Modules: Lightweight Sail, Mimicry Buffer Layer (LV3++), Rumination Digestion Module (LV2), Biomimetic Sound Module (LV2), Intoxicator's Revelry (LV2), Circulatory and Respiratory System (LV3+), Heart of the Sun (MAX), Biokinetic Energy Module (MAX), Death Thorn Spear (Damaged)]

[Comment: A one-way street to taboo, where the boundaries between species and life and death will blur. PS: Are you ready to be rejected by the world? Blasphemer.]

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

He and his new "body" have completed the initial adjustment period.

The prow, like a pair of swirling eyes, slowly turned towards Hart Tarly, together with the main figure.