Chapter 220: Mermaid World

Chapter 220: Chapter 220: Mermaid World

Just as Xu Qingsui was about to face-plant into the concrete, a warm hand grabbed her. With a swift pull, she tumbled into a solid embrace. Before she could see who had caught her, the person holding her rolled forward with her in his arms, keeping her securely shielded against his chest to ensure she didn’t suffer a single scratch. Once they steadied themselves, the person let her go and helped her to her feet.

Only then did Xu Qingsui realize her protector was Lu Jingyu. Likely due to their tumble, faint scrapes marked his face. As she stared at him, she noticed he was gazing gravely back in the direction they had come from. Recalling how she had tripped for no apparent reason, she suddenly realized what was happening and quickly followed his line of sight.

Vines as thick as an adult’s arm were bursting through the concrete, thrashing in the air like seaweed. The very thing that had tripped Xu Qingsui was one of these vines that had just broken through the pavement. The flailing vines seemed to sense the living auras around them, abruptly changing direction and whipping toward the surrounding crowd. Lu Jingyu’s evasive roll with Xu Qingsui had been to dodge one of these sweeping attacks. Because the incident happened so suddenly, many residents had no time to evacuate and were completely powerless against the devastating sweep of the vines.

Lu Jingyu’s face was as calm as still water. He immediately pushed off his toes and launched himself forward. The situation was critical. The moment he moved, Tan Lang—his half-red, half-black sword—materialized in his grip. With a sweeping slash, he severed the nearest vine in two. Upon hitting the ground, the severed piece rapidly rotted as if splashed with acid, emitting a pungent, sour stench.

Earlier, when Xu Qingsui fell, Shen Yan had also wanted to protect her. But just as he was about to act, he watched helplessly as Lu Jingyu swept her into his arms. Seeing Lu Jingyu hold her so securely filled Shen Yan’s heart with deep frustration. Now, seeing Lu Jingyu charge into the crowd first, his competitive spirit flared. He immediately drew his own longsword and prepared to join the fray.

"Shen Yan..." Seeing him about to act, Xu Qingsui couldn’t help but call out. Her concerns were on the tip of her tongue, but considering his pride, she swallowed her words.

Hearing her call his name only to see her hesitant expression, Shen Yan immediately understood what she left unsaid. Lu Jingyu could attack freely, yet before Shen Yan even made a move, Xu Qingsui was already worrying that he might lose control and hurt someone. The sheer contrast left a bitter taste in his mouth. But he didn’t blame Xu Qingsui; he only hated his own condition.

With his chest heavy, the urge to vent his frustrations grew stronger.

"Don’t worry, I’ll just use my weapon to clean up the stragglers," he said. "It won’t push me into a frenzy. If I feel even the slightest sign of it, I’ll stop immediately. I definitely won’t cause any more trouble."

Admitting out loud that he was a liability felt like a thorn piercing right through his chest. Afraid his expression would crumble, Shen Yan charged at the frenzied vines the moment he finished speaking.

His words made Xu Qingsui feel a twinge of discomfort. After interacting with him recently, her impression of Shen Yan had improved quite a bit. Overall, he wasn’t a bad person; some things were just beyond his control, and there was nothing he could do about it. Her reaction just now had clearly struck a nerve, and a trace of guilt welled up in her heart. She thought, "If only there was a way to change Shen Yan’s constitution." Xu Qingsui sighed silently, collected herself, and turned her attention back to the unfolding battle.

With Shen Yan joining in, the rate at which the vines were being cleared sped up significantly. However, new vines continued to burst from the ground at a pace just as fast as they were being cut down. If this kept up, they wouldn’t be able to control the situation at all. Furthermore, the ground was still quaking intermittently, and a dark, oppressive aura faintly radiated from the epicenter. The situation there was likely much worse. If they remained trapped here, the phenomenon at the epicenter would eventually spread, making it even harder to contain.

Just as Xu Qingsui was worrying about this, considering whether to call Lu Jingyu and Shen Yan to head to the epicenter first, Chen Yunfei rushed over with his team.

"Brother Lu, we’ve detected that the pollution source at the chemical plant has begun to spread! Let Meng Donghua and the others handle things here. We should head to the chemical plant first!"

As he spoke, Meng Donghua and several team members jumped into the fray. While their abilities couldn’t compare to Lu Jingyu and Shen Yan’s, they made up for it in numbers. With their arrival, the situation was brought under a degree of control. Seeing this, Lu Jingyu nodded and immediately sprinted toward the chemical plant. Even so, as he passed by Xu Qingsui, he didn’t forget to signal her, and the two of them hurried over side by side.

Watching their tacit understanding, a trace of bitterness welled up in Shen Yan’s eyes. But as someone who had never known the meaning of the word "quit," he wasn’t about to back down now.

The group hurried to the chemical plant. From a distance, they could see dark clouds shrouding the airspace above it. Due to the earthquake, deep fissures crisscrossed the ground within a two-kilometer radius, with the chemical plant at the epicenter. Gray mist continuously seeped from the cracks in the plant’s grounds.

A mosquito happened to fly by. Enveloped by the gray mist, its tiny body instantly began to contort. Before everyone’s eyes, the minute insect expanded rapidly, gradually growing to the size of a newborn calf. And it didn’t end there—it showed signs of continuing to grow.

But just then, a flash of red light streaked past. The still-mutating mosquito was sliced clean in half. It fell to the ground, twitched a few times, and finally lay dead.

As Lu Jingyu sheathed Tan Lang, a cold, mechanical voice suddenly echoed in the air.

[Dungeon: Mermaid World has begun. Human participants, please enter the dungeon in an orderly manner.]

[Clearance Time: 48 hours. Failure to clear the dungeon within the time limit will result in the complete pollution of this area.]

[12 hours after the dungeon begins, Mermaids will attack the area every 3 hours. Human participants, please clear the dungeon as quickly as possible.]

Hearing the voice in the air, everyone’s expression turned grim. Unlike previous dungeons, this time, the outside world would also be under attack. Their duty was to protect the safe zone, so naturally, they didn’t want it to face any onslaught. But clearing a dungeon was already unpredictable and fraught with uncontrollable variables. Now, factoring in the Mermaid attacks on the safe zone in twelve hours only added to their mental burden.

For a moment, everyone fell into a heavy silence, mentally calculating the odds of clearing the dungeon within twelve hours. No one spoke a word, but the solemn looks on their faces made it clear that confidence was lacking. Yet, their resolve remained unwavering. Regardless of the odds, they had to enter the dungeon!