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Quickly, the giant beast emerged from the depths of the sea.
It had dragon horns and whiskers, but behind it were deep blue wings.
Those wings didn’t seem capable of flight; instead, they resembled the fins of fish in the ocean. The translucent wings extended from its back to the rippling waves, glimmering softly in the sunlight.
This wasn’t a dragon, at least not the kind of dragon Gu Zhan had imagined.
It had a pair of deep purple eyes, and in the depths of those eyes, tiny lightning flashes seemed to dance.
Its voice was ethereal and distant, as its dragon head approached Gu Zhan. Those purple eyes, larger than Gu Zhan's head, fixated on him: “Human... that is... mine...”
“What’s yours?” Gu Zhan interjected before the giant beast could continue. This was a dream, a dream of the giant beast, and his own.
As it was a dream, it was controlled by its master. He stretched out his hand, and the iridescent scales appeared in his palm.
The moment the scales appeared, the giant beast's purple eyes lit up.
But it understood this was merely a dream.
The scales weren’t real.
It stared intensely at the scales, revealing its unmasked desire: “Give me... mine...”
As it spoke, its massive body rolled in the sea.
The movement wasn’t very large, but it stirred the waters, causing towering waves to rise. Dark clouds gradually gathered in the sky... Gu Zhan looked back and saw that some houses near the village had already been destroyed by the waves.
Even a fraction of a god’s power was an unbearable burden for humans.
The return of the scales to their original form would definitely not go unnoticed; the entire Haizu Village could be destroyed.
Those trapped in Haizu Village would not stand a chance of survival either.
“I won’t give it to you.” Gu Zhan quickly put the scales away.
The giant beast froze, immediately angered by Gu Zhan: “You... greedy!! Human!!”
It churned in an attempt to crush Gu Zhan, but Gu Zhan stood atop the surface of the sea, untouched by the water, the waves, or even the beast itself.
As the giant beast thrashed, Gu Zhan noticed a small gap in its tightly arranged deep blue scales.
It was located just below its neck, at the throat.
No wonder it was so eager to reclaim that scale.
That scale must be very important to it.
But Gu Zhan could not easily hand over such a crucial bargaining chip. Their powers were inherently unequal; once the giant beast regained its original strength, he would be as helpless as a weed before it, ripe for the taking.
Gu Zhan refused to give up the scales, and the beast would not let him leave.
They remained in a stalemate, the dream stretching on...
Time flowed slowly, the waves beneath his feet rising and falling, and Gu Zhan lost track of how long he had been in this place.
It felt both long and brief.
He had been with the giant beast in the sea, sometimes watching it roll in the waves, sometimes leaping out of the water... Most of the time, it simply floated on the surface, half its body basking in sunlight while the other half soaked in seawater.
Whenever this happened, its color would lighten, blending with the waves.
Sometimes Gu Zhan would wander elsewhere, but the ocean was vast; no matter which direction he walked, he saw nothing but endless azure.
At those times, the giant beast would hide in the sea, only to suddenly pop up and scare him.
As time passed, Gu Zhan’s inner calm faded, replaced by a growing restlessness.
Before this, he had never realized he also needed to communicate with others.
This dream... was too long, too silent.
Aside from the occasional scare from the giant beast, there was nothing to interact with.
But as the scaring incidents increased, he began to stop being frightened... gradually imprinting the giant beast's form in his mind. Even if it tried to hide, wanting to scare him, he could still recognize it at a glance.
The sea was blue, and the sky was blue.
It felt like a prison, trapping him.
As if sensing Gu Zhan's unstable emotions, the giant beast said, “Scales... give me... let you go...”
Unexpectedly, Gu Zhan sat cross-legged before it and began to speak: “Let me teach you the human language.”
“Look, you can’t even express what the humans of Haizu Village want to do. Even if you want to help, you can’t. If you can communicate with me, then I can understand what happened in Haizu Village two hundred years ago.”
The giant beast: “...” This human really wasn’t just mad from being trapped here too long, was he?
He even said he wanted to help it.
If he truly wanted to help, he should return the scales to it!
“You... are lying to me...”
Gu Zhan continued, “Yes, I’m lying to you. It seems you can understand human language, so let’s start with pinyin.”
[This player is insane! He actually wants to teach the evil god the human language!]
[This dream seems to be different from what I experienced. This evil god is so gentle, but why does his dream have no time limit?]
[We’ve only been watching the livestream for half a day, but from Gu Zhan’s appearance, it seems he’s been inside for a long time.]
[The flow of time must be chaotic.]
Once Gu Zhan decided to teach, he genuinely began.
The giant beast naturally didn’t want to learn. It attempted to escape into the depths of the sea, but Gu Zhan had gradually mastered the ability to control the dream. Even if it dived deep, Gu Zhan could use the waves to push it back up.
The giant beast quickly realized that this was Gu Zhan's cunning scheme!
It had trapped Gu Zhan here in an attempt to wear down his will with the endless silence of the deep sea.
Gu Zhan, refusing to compromise, decided to annoy the beast, hoping that it would eventually release him out of frustration.
Ha! How naïve! Did this human really think it would be that simple?
There was no way it would let him go!
Two hundred years had passed since the humans trapped it in this sea, and this was its only chance.
It had to leave this cursed place, to escape from the world of humans.
And so, the giant beast began to follow Gu Zhan’s lessons.
【……】
【This scene is so magical!!】
【One dares to teach, the other dares to learn.】
【This dream world shouldn't be so gentle; isn't it supposed to force him to comply?】
【Maybe the dream is just a creation of the evil god to scare him, and it’s realized he doesn’t fear it, so it remains calm?】
【?? Not fear? How is that possible? This isn’t child’s play!】
【I’m not joking; this newbie is outrageous!】
【Newbie?? With this performance in the instance, you call him a newbie?】
【Of course he is! I just came from the last livestream!】
【???】
Time passed, and the giant beast was finally able to communicate smoothly.
The two began to chat.
From their conversation, Gu Zhan learned that this beast had been sleeping in the deep sea and had no knowledge of its origins. It said it had lived in this sea for a very long time.
Two hundred years ago, during the early days of industrial development, the fishing boats from Haizhu Village awakened it from its slumber. But it had been weak when it first woke up, and during a stormy night, it lost its reverse scale.
Humans began to make wishes on its scales and offered sacrifices… Humans were the favored beings of the weather, brimming with spiritual energy. Their blood held powerful energy that even it could not refuse.
Having been weakened further, and with the reverse scale gone… it accepted the humans' offerings.
But unexpectedly, when it regained its strength and demanded the scales back, it was met with rejection.
The reason the evil god was called an evil god was that they didn’t share the same morals as humans; moreover, in this story, the humans were not innocent either.
Thus, the destruction of Haizhu Village was foreseen.
However, the beast also provided a clue that Gu Zhan had never known before.
It had lost two scales in total.
“So he’s telling us that when it rains, scales will appear, is that just a trick?”
Gu Zhan furrowed his brow.
“He is a cunning human, tainted by the blood of sacrifices, an evil person. Anything that comes from his mouth is untrustworthy,” the beast said. “Give me my scales, and I will leave this place.”
“And what about your other scale? You don’t want that one?”
The beast clearly didn’t tell the whole truth and fell silent when Gu Zhan pressed for an answer.
It definitely wanted to retrieve what belonged to it, but it realized that humans were craftier than it had imagined, and its power had not yet fully recovered.
Gu Zhan understood that neither this giant beast nor Masaki Taro would tell the truth.
If he handed over the scales, he would lose his leverage and truly become prey to be harvested.
Taking advantage of his current position of power, Gu Zhan said, “How about I help you get the other scale back?”
The beast: “……”
【He’s starting again! Trying to trick the NPC!】
【This doesn’t just belong to the NPC category; it’s more like a BOSS now!】
【Who cares? Just keep the deception going!】
The giant beast stared at Gu Zhan for a while, who wore an earnest expression.
After a long moment, the beast said, “I want you to sign a contract with me. If you break it, you will become my subordinate and stay in the deep sea forever.”
……
“You’re just trying to trick me! How can we go out in this heavy rain to find the scales?”
“If we don’t find the scales, we’ll drown!”
Takagawa Ayaka’s panicked voice echoed in his ears. Gu Zhan slowly opened his eyes, finding several people seated beside him.
To his left was Miyamoto Satoshi, and to his right was Nakano Ayaka.
As soon as he opened his eyes, Miyamoto Satoshi asked, “You’re awake?”
“Uh.” Having lingered in the dream for too long, he felt a bit groggy. Gu Zhan rubbed his forehead and noticed Tōkawa Ayaka arguing with Masaki Taro.
“What… happened?” After so long without speaking, his language skills had almost regressed, but he gradually found his ability to communicate again.
Miyamoto Satoshi was watching the argument between Takagawa Ayaka and Masaki Taro with great interest, oblivious to Gu Zhan’s unusual state. “Masaki Taro wants us to go out to find the scales now, but Ayaka thinks it’s a futile trip and suspects he’s trying to deceive us.”
Masaki Taro was hidden beneath his cloak, his expression unseen, but his body language suggested he felt truly wronged.
“I didn’t deceive you. Why would I trick you when we’re all in the same boat?”
“You don’t want to go on land? You can go underground. You’ve walked through that passage before; it’s waterproof and won’t get us drenched in the rain!”
“Uh.” Gu Zhan rubbed his forehead again.
Miyamoto Satoshi asked, “What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”
Gu Zhan replied, “It’s nothing; I might just have slept too long and feel a bit dizzy.”
He had indeed slept for too long, but it seemed the flow of time in the dream was different from the outside world; to the others, he appeared to have merely taken a brief rest.
Miyamoto Satoshi said, “This instance should be coming to an end soon; just hang in there.”
After saying that, he clapped his hands to end the argument. “Alright, Akiyama is awake, let’s get ready to set off.”
This clearly meant that Masaki Taro had won, and Miyamoto Satoshi decided to follow him to find the scales.
Takagawa Ayaka knew she had no say in this team; it was good enough that they didn’t throw her out... She also didn’t have the courage to stay alone, ultimately keeping her mouth shut with reluctance.
During Gu Zhan’s break, Miyamoto Satoshi and the others had prepared everything.
Considering they might be attacked by mutated villagers outside, they didn’t bring too many items—only flammable and rainproof ones.
Each person had a small backpack.
Masaki Taro said, “If you’re afraid of the rain, how about we take the underground tunnel?”
But Gu Zhan suddenly said, “No, let’s go above ground.”
“But…” Masaki Taro hesitated at this point.
What surprised everyone was that as soon as Gu Zhan finished speaking, the rain outside stopped.
Gu Zhan said, “The rain has stopped. We can go above ground now.”
Masaki Taro: “…”
How is that possible? Wasn’t the rain summoned by the evil god to prevent them from leaving Haizhu Village?! How could it stop just like that?!
The others also showed expressions of surprise and went to the door to check.
It really had stopped, although the weather was still hazy.
Masaki Taro gritted his teeth and said, “Fine, then let’s go above ground.”
Moreover, they discovered that after the rain stopped, the rainwater had lost its power and turned into ordinary water, which didn’t feel any different upon touching.
Only Masaki Taro expressed awe at the stagnant water, keeping a distance as he walked.
“The evil god’s power comes from the sea; water symbolizes His strength. In places where rainwater gathers, there will be crystallizations of power. The village is higher in the north and lower in the south, so let’s head south.”
They made their way to the southernmost part of the village and saw a pool of water.
On the surface of the pool floated a shimmering scale.
Miyamoto Satoshi found a tree branch and scooped it up, holding it in his hand; it looked exactly like the one in the wooden box of the shrine.
Miyamoto Satoshi had never taken the one from the wooden box and didn’t know the difference between the two.
He handed the scale to Gu Zhan.
Gu Zhan said, “It’s the same.”
Miyamoto Satoshi then let out a sigh of relief: “It seems we have hope of leaving this place.”
Masaki Taro said, “The pond has a ditch; let’s follow the ditch forward.”
With their first find, Takagawa Ayaka appeared less averse to Masaki Taro.
They wandered around the village for a while; perhaps because the rain had stopped, the mutated villagers had also disappeared.
They successfully found two more scales.
But it wasn’t enough.
Masaki Taro suggested, “I know there’s an empty water well in the village; we can check it out.”
Everyone had explored the village quite a bit, and the sky was gloomy, threatening rain at any moment.
Now was the best time to act quickly.
Miyamoto Satoshi said, “Then let’s go take a look.”
Masaki Taro led them to a household in the village.
Miyamoto Satoshi joked, “You know the way so well; you’re not planning to ambush us, are you?”
Masaki Taro quickly waved his hands, “No, no, how could that be!”
They entered the small courtyard and indeed found a well inside.
Takagawa Ayaka said, “This well has been here for many years; won’t it run dry?”
Masaki Taro said, “You’ll know once you go take a look.”
Takagawa Ayaka, without suspicion, really walked towards the well.
However, just as she took a step, she was pulled back by Gu Zhan.
Takagawa Ayaka instantly froze.
Masaki Taro beside them also stiffened; the atmosphere in the courtyard changed dramatically.
Miyamoto Satoshi quickly reacted, a playful smile appearing at the corner of his lips.
Masaki Taro’s face was hidden beneath his cloak, making it impossible to see his expression, but his body language revealed his tension.
The team that had just been close together suddenly fell apart.
Masaki Taro realized he couldn’t deceive these people at all; perhaps the ones ahead were also just pretending along with him.
He took a step back and silently vanished before everyone’s eyes.
“He’s running away!”
Finally coming to his senses, Nakano Asaka shouted, but soon realized that Masaki Taro wasn’t just running away.
A faint sound came from all around, and the vanished mutated villagers crawled out from the corners of the courtyard.
Some of them even crawled up from the well!
If Takagawa Ayaka had truly walked over to look, she would have probably already gone down to keep them company!
Those villagers moved extremely quickly, pouncing towards the group.
They finally realized that the villagers weren’t driven by the evil god but rather by Masaki Taro!
“Not good.”
The courtyard was small, forcing them into a direct confrontation with the villagers. Nakano Asaka picked up a wooden board from the ground and charged at the villagers' distorted faces.
At that moment, the sky suddenly poured down rain, coming unexpectedly, as if a pot had been overturned.
Everyone was caught off guard and drenched. Nakano Asaka shouted, “It’s over! We’re going to dissolve in the water!”
After shouting, he realized he was completely unharmed, while the villagers beside him seemed to be in some sort of pain, unable to attack them, instead rolling on the ground.
And in the rain, Masaki Taro, who had just vanished, gradually revealed himself.
“There he is!”
Nakano Asaka lunged towards Masaki Taro, but unexpectedly, just as his fingers barely touched the edge of Nakano Asa’s clothing, everything went black in front of him, and he stumbled forward, falling into emptiness!
At the same time, the scenery around them rapidly changed, and everyone was pulled downward into the depths of darkness.
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