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墨書 Inktalez
After the three of us sat down, Mai Lao began to speak. "Although Wreck has already been discovered, we still need to salvage it. I’ve decided to attempt the salvage again tomorrow morning. Does anyone have any objections?"
We all nodded in agreement, but Jenny suddenly turned to me and said, "Can you handle it? Your leg injury isn’t healed yet. Don’t push yourself." Although her tone was a bit harsh, I could sense a hint of concern, which warmed my heart.
"It’s nothing; this little injury won’t hold me back. We are from the Marine Corps," I emphasized the Marine Corps, keeping my eyes fixed on Jenny, but she quickly turned her gaze elsewhere.
"Loyalty and Righteousness, Jenny is right. You’re injured right now, so it’s not suitable for you to go into the water. You should stay on the boat tomorrow while we go down," Old Mai said seriously.
"Alright! Mai Lao, you can make the decision." In truth, I didn’t want to go into the water at all; I was just brushing them off earlier. My leg injury wasn’t healed yet! It wouldn’t be worth it if it got worse. Besides, I wanted to rest more.
"Okay then, since there’s nothing else, let’s disperse," Mai Lao said. Just as he finished speaking, I suddenly remembered something and asked, "Oh right, Mai Lao, I want to ask you something."
"What is it?" Mai Lao adjusted his glasses.
"What were those little black monsters we encountered in the deep sea?" I looked around; this unknown creature was etched deeply in my mind. My damn leg injury came from that encounter.
Mai Lao frowned and thought for a moment before saying, "Well... it should be some kind of fish in the ocean! But I can’t determine exactly what type it is at the moment; there are no records of it yet."
I sighed helplessly and thought to myself, what the hell! That’s practically saying nothing! I already knew it was some bizarre creature from the ocean! Aren’t you supposed to be a marine biology expert? Since going out to sea, you haven’t identified anything we’ve encountered. What kind of expert do you claim to be, Professor? Give me a break.
Seeing my expression, Mai Lao awkwardly said, "It seems that I still don’t have a thorough understanding of this vast ocean."
Jiao Ba chimed in with a grin, "Oh come on, that thing has nothing to do with marine life. If I’m not mistaken, it should be a Bloodsucker Worm."
"Bloodsucker Worm? What the hell is that?" I looked at Jiao Ba with confusion. This guy actually knew quite a bit about these strange things; tomb raiders really are different from ordinary people.
Mai Lao and Jenny both listened intently, especially Mai Lao. How could this marine biologist be outdone by a tomb raider? It was quite embarrassing for him! Old Man didn’t dare say much either and just listened obediently.
Jiao Ba smiled and said, "You all should know about leeches, right? That’s what we call them."
"Leech? Is that what they’re called?" Shunzi suddenly asked.
Jiao Ba nodded and replied, "That’s correct. In Northeast China, they’re called leeches—commonly known as bloodsucking worms. They usually appear in ponds and often attach to your feet; they’re hard to get rid of. You usually have to stomp them out with your shoe sole."
Jiao Ba's words suddenly reminded me of a time in my childhood when I had once been bitten by a leech. That creature latched onto the sole of my foot, and if I tried to pull it off, it wouldn't budge. The only way to get rid of it was to smack my foot against the ground, which was quite painful. But what did that have to do with the little black monster?
I quickly asked, "Everyone knows what a leech is; you don't need to tell us! What we want to know is what that black creature is."
Jenny chimed in, "Yeah! A leech is a type of suction creature. Is it related to that strange thing you mentioned?"
"Absolutely related! Don't rush me; let me explain slowly," Jiao Ba said as he gathered his thoughts. "To put it simply, the Bloodsucker Worm is actually a leech, just a mutated variety of it."
"A mutated variety of leech? Come on, Lao Ba, are you kidding me? I've seen leeches before; do they really have sharp teeth like that? Do they have fins like fish?" I felt that Jiao Ba's words were a bit far-fetched; leeches didn't resemble that creature at all.
Jiao Ba glanced at Mai Lao and teased, "Mai Lao, what do you think? Is there any connection?"
Mai Lao took a deep breath and replied, "Well... based on my understanding of marine biology, it's not impossible for mutations to occur. But whether that creature is indeed a mutated leech, I can't say for sure."
I thought Jiao Ba was deliberately putting the old man on the spot. He knew Mai Lao wouldn't be able to answer and still asked him, clearly trying to embarrass the Old Man. I stifled a laugh but caught Jenny's glare; she shot me a fierce look that made me force my smile away.
Jiao Ba chuckled and said, "It's definitely a mutated variety of leech. I saw one of these things a few years ago in an ancient tomb in the Golden Kingdom. There were some differences compared to what we saw in the deep sea, but they were quite similar overall. My old man told me that the Bloodsucker Worm is actually a parasite used as a method of torture on living people."
"In ancient times, there was a form of punishment where large numbers of leeches were placed on a prisoner’s body, allowing them to suck the prisoner’s blood slowly until they died—a very disgusting and cruel form of execution. After the prisoner died, they would be buried along with the leeches."
"After hundreds of years or even longer, these parasitic leeches would evolve into the monsters we saw underwater, known as Bloodsucker Worms."
After listening to Jiao Ba's explanation, I felt somewhat confused but understood a bit more. Although his credibility wasn't high, there was no better explanation available at the moment, so I had no choice but to accept it blindly. Still, I asked him back, "How can you be so sure this thing is definitely a mutated leech? Could it not be some other creature?"
Jiao Ba looked at me and said, "Don't ask me that! I only know this much; why it is so remains beyond me. It's like asking how humans came to be—if I could answer that, I wouldn't have to work so hard for my living."
Shunzi chimed in with something silly: "That's easy! Humans evolved from monkeys!"
After he said that, Jiao Ba added, "Oh right! Almost forgot—this Bloodsucker Worm has another name: Demon Worm Corpse."
What? Demon Worm Corpse? We all froze upon hearing this. I immediately asked, "Is this Demon Worm Corpse related to that other Demon Worm Corpse?"
Jiao Ba nodded and said, "Of course! As far as I know, there are two methods for creating a Demon Worm Corpse. One involves using elixirs—some concoctions refined by certain mages—but the success rate isn't very high and it's easy for things to go wrong during production. If you fail once, the corpse will start to decay immediately. The other method uses Bloodsucker Worms; the success rate is very high but they're hard to find. So generally speaking, ordinary nobles don't have the means to create a Demon Worm Corpse. What do you think about that, Mai Lao?"
"Jiao Ba," with his final words, tossed the matter back to Mai Lao. Mai Lao adjusted his glasses and said, "It seems like what you said is true. I only know that such evil things exist; beyond that, I have no clue."
I suddenly felt that this Old Man might be hiding something. Perhaps I was overthinking it. I casually asked, "Lao Ba, according to what you said, could these Bloodsucker Worms have come out of that female corpse's coffin?"
"That's quite possible. Didn't you mention encountering a few Diver corpses before? I suspect their deaths are connected to the female corpse in the coffin. It could very well be the work of the Bloodsucker Worms," Jiao Ba analyzed calmly.
I turned my thoughts around and said, "Right! They died pretty gruesomely, so there is indeed a chance. They probably opened the coffin and released those Bloodsucker Worms. Shunzi, do you remember when we first opened the deck Hatch? Wasn't that swarm of Bloodsucker Worms coming out from inside?"
Shunzi nodded and replied, "Yes, that's true. Mai Lao, what do you think?"
Mike, with a stern expression, said, "I don't care about their deaths; I just want to know if we can touch that coffin."
Jiao Ba replied seriously, "It's best not to touch that coffin, including the Wreck. If we can stay away from it, we should try our best to do so. I don't know what will happen with that female corpse; in any case, it won't be simple."
Jenny interjected firmly, "Absolutely not! I've said it many times; no matter what, we must salvage the Wreck. Jiao Ba, you need to come up with a solution for me."
Jiao Ba sighed helplessly and said, "What can I do? Let's just leave it to fate! Hopefully, we'll be lucky enough to get through this crisis."
At that moment, Mai Lao concluded, "Alright, alright. No matter what that ghostly thing is, none of us want to encounter it again. It's getting late; everyone should go back and rest! Tomorrow we continue diving; we must salvage the Wreck at all costs."
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