nucmednet Chapter 6: Prehistoric Era Beset by Crisis, Leveling Up Alone is the Only Way
Chapter 6: Prehistoric Era Beset by Crisis, Leveling Up Alone is the Only Way
The cold system notification sound flashed a blinding red light on my retina.
Lei Dong's dozens of tentacles tensed instantly, and a chill emanated from the hard shell on his back.
"Damn it, they beat the kids, now it's the older ones! We can't even get a peaceful meal in this wretched sea!"
Lei Dong did not hesitate at all. Faced with an absolute difference in strength, a direct confrontation would only lead to death.
His abdominal siphon frantically sucked in seawater, pushing the jet power to its limit!
"Bang!"
An extremely powerful jet of water exploded out, and Lei Dong resembled a deep-sea missile launched in reverse.
They frantically reversed and sped deeper into the complex network of hidden reefs!
Behind them, the giant horseshoe crab (sea scorpion) that was over 1.5 meters long was clearly enraged by the "snack" that had been on its lips but suddenly flew away.
It brandished its terrifying giant claws, which resembled hydraulic shears, and its powerful tail thrashed wildly in the seawater.
Like a heavy armored vehicle rampaging across the seabed, it relentlessly pursued Lei Dong.
"Boom! Crack!"
Where giant sea scorpions have passed.
Those fragile prehistoric crinoids, giant sponges, and primitive coral reefs were crushed to pieces like paper.
"Want to eat me? Maybe in your next life!"
Although Lei Dong's cornerstone body was still in its infancy and its size was at an absolute disadvantage.
But those high-contrast compound eyes gleamed with extreme calmness and cunning.
He is all too aware of his strengths.
Although the cone-shaped hard shell of the cornerstone is heavy, its maneuverability in water is comparable to that of a modern nuclear submarine thanks to the ingenious regulation of its internal air chambers.
Although the sea scorpion had high armor and strong attack, it was no match for the complex terrain of the reef area.
Its large, broad, and flat body became a fatal burden.
"It's just ahead."
Lei Dong keenly noticed the unusual water flow ahead.
There is a dense stone forest formed by the collapse of a huge basalt rock, with crevices that are interwoven like a maze.
He took a deep breath of seawater, and the siphon's spray angle was finely adjusted three times in a very short time.
"Whoosh—"
Lei Dong drifted at an incredibly sharp right angle, clinging to the edge of a giant rock covered in sharp barnacles.
It squeezed itself into a narrow crack that was only half a meter wide.
The giant sea scorpion following closely behind had no time to brake; its greedy compound eyes only saw its prey suddenly vanish, and then—
"Thump!!!"
A deep, muffled roar echoed across the seabed.
The giant sea scorpion's massive body slammed violently against the hard basalt rock wall.
The enormous reaction force smashed a pale crack into its hard head shell.
Its two prized giant claws were firmly wedged between the narrow crevices of the rocks.
No matter how frantically it twists its body and lashes its venomous tail, it cannot break free from this natural stone shackle.
Undercurrents surged, stirring up a murky atmosphere.
Lei Dong leisurely poked his head out from the other end of the crevice, his dozens of tentacles stretching comfortably in the water.
He glanced indifferently at the prehistoric behemoth still raging helplessly in the crack in the rock, too lazy to even finish it off.
With his current teeth, he couldn't bite through that heavy armor. If he forced his way in, he would be more likely to be hit by the venomous tail.
"In this prehistoric meat grinder where even breathing can be fatal, the brain is always more useful than the muscles."
Lei Dong swam along a hidden trench into a deep underwater cave, perfectly concealing himself in the darkness.
He summoned his attribute panel with his mind.
[Player: Lei Dong]
Species: Orthoceratops (Cephalopoda)
[Status: Childhood (Healthy)]
[Genetic evolution progress: 12/100]
"Too weak."
Lei shook his huge cone-shaped head.
This Ordovician ocean is now a perilous hell.
That sea scorpion was just a local bully.
In the deeper waters, there are undoubtedly even larger and more terrifying apex predators lurking.
"What faction gathering, what headquarters, it's all bullshit!"
Lei Dong sneered.
In this dog-eat-dog world.
Forcibly gathering a group of "youngsters" who have no ability to protect themselves together.
That's not called preserving the spark; that's called providing a "buffet feast" for large predators!
Top killers in the ocean possess extremely keen senses of smell and lateral line perception.
The vibrations caused by the gathering of hundreds of creatures can be clearly heard even dozens of nautical miles away.
In this version, leveling up alone and developing your character stealthily is the only way to succeed!
Just as Lei Dong was lying in the cave, preparing to rest and recuperate, and planning the next hunting route.
The [Yunxia Region Exclusive Communication Network] that he had been keeping silent in his mind suddenly went off.
Originally, those speeches were filled with words like "passion," "serving the country," and "gathering."
At this moment, it had all turned into horrifying screams and desperate cries for help.
[Yunxia Experiencer - 84 (Wang Meng)]:
[Help! Professor Li, help! What have I encountered?!]
It's huge... It's a monster fish with blades growing out of its mouth!
Ah—my shell is crushed! My leg is broken! Ouch, ouch, ouch—
On the communication channel, Wang Meng's text message came to an abrupt end.
Immediately afterwards, a blood-red system announcement popped up that all Yunxia players could see:
【Ding!
Yunxia Experiencer-84 (Wang Meng) was devoured by an Ordovician predator (early species of dinosaur) at coordinates (outer periphery of the Reef Trench).
[Player has been defeated; real-world brainwaves have been cut off; brain death declared!]
The channel fell into a deathly silence.
Seconds later, panic erupted like a plague.
This is not a game about leveling up by fighting monsters at all.
Death here is a real farewell, with a white sheet covering the face!
【Yunxia Experiencer - 21 (Liu Jiao)】:
I'm too scared to go any further! There are monsters everywhere outside!
Just now, a giant worm that looks like a shrimp swam over my head and sliced a foreign player next to me in half!
I want to go home... Waaaaah...
However, the cruelty of nature is only the tip of the iceberg of prehistoric hell. What is truly terrifying is always the players who are also human.
Just as the channel was filled with cries of despair, another wave of intense distress signals flooded the screen.
This time, however, the enemy is no longer those prehistoric beasts without intelligence.
【Yunxia Experiencer - 105 (Li Jian)】:
[Damn! There's an ambush! Everyone, whatever you do, stay away from the current channel on the east side of the reef trench! There's an ambush there!]
【Yunxia Observer-001 (Military Commander)】:
[Li Jian! Calm down! Report on the enemy situation! Have we encountered a large herd of beasts?]
【Yunxia Experiencer - 105 (Li Jian)】:
Not wild beasts! They're players! Those Japanese chickens from Kuroshio Island!
They didn't even go to their base camp.
They chose a very small but extremely fast-swimming prehistoric social marine worm (a variant of the conodonts) with a mouth full of venomous fangs!
【Yunxia Experiencer - 105 (Li Jian)】:
Hundreds and thousands of them gathered together, specifically blocking the only road leading to the crater!
Our dozen or so brothers... Ah! They've burrowed into my gills! Commander, avenge us—!