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墨書 Inktalez
The loud crash startled us all into stillness. The Wreck began to sway from the noise, and the few of us carrying the coffin found ourselves rocking back and forth in the deep sea. Despite our efforts, we couldn't hold on, and the coffin slipped off my shoulder and fell.
Mai Lao noticed the coffin was about to drop and quickly reached out, but it was too late. Everything happened too fast; with another dull thud, the coffin sank directly into the water. We exchanged glances, still trying to process what had just occurred, especially after that deafening sound. What was going on?
I glanced at Mai Lao, who shook his head and made a cautious gesture. He then held his Spear and light, scanning the area back and forth.
Jiao Ba was also observing with an Underwater Light. I approached him, tapping his shoulder and gesturing to ask, "What was that just now?"
Jiao Ba ignored me, but the Underwater Light stopped at a spot near the forbidden area on the left. Following the beam, I saw one of the coffins adorned with Corpse Grass. However, it seemed to have changed somehow. The distance was too far, and visibility in the deep sea wasn't great, so I couldn't see clearly.
Jiao Ba signaled for me to shine my light over there as well. When I directed my light toward it, I still couldn't make out much—just a vague sense that something was moving erratically. I looked at Jiao Ba, seeking answers in his eyes.
He shook his head, but from his expression, I could tell it wasn't good news. He quickly shifted the light toward the right coffin; it remained unclear, but I felt like something was definitely moving.
Suddenly, his expression changed dramatically as he hurriedly gestured to others, "Lift that coffin up! We need to get out of here!"
After signaling, he swam directly toward the left coffin. Seeing him move made me follow suit; everything had unfolded so quickly—less than a minute had passed.
When we reached the vicinity of that coffin, we finally understood what had happened. Under the Underwater Light, I saw that the Coffin Lid was missing. That loud crash must have been caused by this.
What was even more alarming was that inside that coffin were countless things resembling small snakes crawling out. They slithered around in circles after emerging from the coffin; some even climbed back onto it. The left wall of the forbidden area was also covered with these creatures.
I could hardly believe my eyes. What were these ghastly things? The mass of them looked like a tangle of dead hair floating in water, sending chills down my spine.
An unprecedented wave of fear washed over me; my mind felt like it might explode. These strange little snakes were about a meter long and entirely black. Their heads were slightly larger and oval-shaped—about the size of an adult's fist—covered in pockmarks resembling the surface of the moon.
But the body was relatively thin, only as thick as a thumb, covered in scales. I looked closely, and it seemed these creatures had no eyes; there was basically nothing on their heads.
These bizarre shapes were not only frightening but also quite disgusting. I almost felt like vomiting. Under the Underwater Light, I saw a small Strange Snake wriggling its body, slowly making its way toward me and Jiao Ba.
I had no idea what this creature wanted. When it got close to us, it stopped and raised its body. Although it had no eyes, I felt as if it was staring at us.
Just as we were about to back away, suddenly, the Strange Snake opened its wide mouth. It had no sharp teeth, but from its mouth came a piercing scream. The sound wasn't loud, yet it felt like it could penetrate my eardrums, causing a heart-wrenching sensation that was suffocatingly uncomfortable.
I covered one ear with my hand, enduring the shriek while my heart raced faster. At that moment, the Strange Snake suddenly spat out a mass of black substance toward me.
With nothing in my hands to block it, I instinctively held the Underwater Light in front of me. The black mass hit the Underwater Light and burst like a bubble, releasing a liquid as dark as ink.
As the liquid flowed out, I was momentarily stunned because the Underwater Light in my hand began to emit black smoke; this black liquid was corroding my light source. I quickly threw the Underwater Light away.
When I looked up again, I was completely dumbfounded. Not far away, a large group of small black snakes was slithering toward us in a disorganized manner.
Jiao Ba and I exchanged glances; from his expression, I could tell he was just as bewildered. This situation was beyond his expectations. Soon enough, the swarm of small snakes closed in on us.
We slowly backed away. With the light from his hand, I saw that the creatures were nearly surrounding us. Some had already raised their bodies; if they all spat out that black liquid at once, Jiao Ba and I would probably be left with nothing but bones.
I held my Spear close to my chest, planning to find an opportunity to escape. I aimed at the nearest Strange Snake and shot my Spear at it. Then, I quickly turned around and grabbed Jiao Ba's arm to make a run for it.
We dashed toward the forbidden gate like madmen, but I didn’t feel anything chasing us from behind. I took Jiao Ba's light and glanced back; just that one glance nearly made me drop the Underwater Light in fear—the creatures were right behind me, less than two meters away!
I hadn’t noticed them at all. Just when we were at this life-and-death moment, someone suddenly grabbed my ankle from below. Before I could react, both Jiao Ba and I were pulled down.
It was Mai Lao who pulled us down and urged us to retreat quickly. The three of us dashed toward the entrance of the forbidden area, and this time the gate remained open. I saw Shunzi and Li Xin waiting for us at the entrance. As we got closer, I frantically gestured to them, "Close the gate, close the gate."
Seeing my urgency, Shunzi and Li Xin hurriedly began to shut the iron gate. We had to escape before it closed completely. A few sailors were slowly carrying a coffin in front of us.
After we caught up, Jiao Ba and I helped push the coffin from behind while Mai Lao stayed back to cover us. He signaled for us to go ahead. I didn’t have time to think about anything else; we dragged the coffin and forced our way out of the forbidden area.
The gate was about to close. We made it out, but Mai Lao was still inside. I called out to Jiao Ba, telling him and the others to leave first while I planned to go back for Mai Lao. If those Strange Snakes got out, none of us would survive.
Just as I was about to move, Mai Lao sidled out, barely squeezing past the edge of the iron gate. Seeing him emerge, Shunzi quickly shut the gate behind him, narrowly preventing a few Strange Snakes from bursting through.
Once the gate was securely closed, silence returned. However, I felt as if I hadn’t fully recovered from the earlier panic. Mai Lao patted my arm, bringing me back to reality.
He gestured to me, "Are you okay?"
I nodded and signaled back, "I’m fine, let’s retreat."
Mai Lao counted everyone; everyone was present. It seemed we had managed a thrilling but safe operation. We cautiously left Wreck while dragging the coffin.
As we exited the Dark Sea Area, I intentionally glanced back. The Dark Sea Area was gradually fading away, its colors lightening. It seemed we had broken its original barrier...
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