Chapter 68: Undersea Locusts

Lily Rhodes sent the message, and the chat group instantly fell silent.

A long time passed.

Hayes: "I do have a reconnaissance item on hand, but its scanning range is limited. However, since you have the Orcas with you, having them take this item to the ocean floor should gather some useful information."

Lily’s eyes lit up at the message. "Deal. I’ll trade you this for it." She posted the details of the large planter box into the group chat.

But this time, the other party refused.

Hayes: "No need. I’ll just give it to you. It’s a single-use item anyway. I only have one condition: you must share the information with us the moment you get it."

"No problem."

Shortly after Lily agreed, a device resembling a radio appeared in her hands.

[Regional Information Collector: Once deployed, it can gather all data within the immediate area.]

Lily weighed the item in her hand before turning to Shelly. "Turn around. We’re heading toward the hotter waters."

Shelly immediately changed course and headed back the way they came.

About half an hour later, Shelly stopped, stubbornly refusing to move another inch. Lily stood near the water’s edge. Sprout rested by her ear, but its vines extended downward, wrapping securely around her waist.

Along the way, the number of fish in the surrounding waters had dwindled. By the time they reached this spot, marine life had completely vanished. Moreover, numerous dead fish drifted aimlessly in the sea.

Lily pressed her hand against the surface of the Absolute Defense, feeling the distinct warmth radiating from it. It seemed Shelly was right; the temperature really was rising. She tossed the device into the water. The data collection process would take an hour.

"Let’s go, Shelly. We’ll come back in an hour."

During the wait, Lily opened the World Chat channel. Ever since the beginner phase ended, the restriction of sending only one message per day had vanished. The messages here refreshed at such a dizzying speed that Lily rarely bothered to open the World Chat, but this time was different.

The Regional Chat was a place for Survivors in a specific localized area to communicate, whereas the World Chat encompassed every Survivor on the planet. Her region was currently only experiencing rising water temperatures without any major disasters yet. However, that did not mean other areas were equally fortunate. It was entirely possible that things had already gone south elsewhere.

"The seawater over here is practically boiling! Is it like this in other regions too?"

"I thought it was just my area."

"It isn’t too hot where I am yet, but the temperature keeps climbing."

"I don’t feel a thing. My whole area is just glaciers. I’m freezing to death."

"I’m on an island right now, but the water temperature is definitely rising. This isn’t normal at all."

"Haven’t you guys noticed that fishing has gotten much harder lately? I used to catch something almost every time I cast my line. Now, I only get bites half the time, and it’s always just some half-dead fish."

Lily read through the comments. "Sure enough, other regions are experiencing problems too," she thought. However, the number of players who could actually explore the ocean floor was incredibly small. So far, the only one she knew of was Mimi Bishop.

Right, Mimi!

Thinking of the girl, Lily opened her private chat with Mimi.

The blueprint for the fused Fishbone Dagger had been sent over a long time ago. She had just been so busy with other things that she completely forgot about it. The upgraded blueprint was called the Fishbone Short Sword. Judging by its appearance, it looked significantly more lethal than the Fishbone Dagger. After storing the blueprint, Lily sent Mimi a message.

Lily: "There are some changes happening on the ocean floor recently. You’d better find a cool place to stay."

Meanwhile, on Mimi’s end.

No longer having to worry about food, Mimi had spent the past few days living in an absolute daze of comfort and indulgence. She had found a safe ocean trench to hide her submarine in and hadn’t moved an inch since.

Upon hearing the notification chime from Lily, Mimi jolted upright from the carpet, leaving a half-eaten bowl of egg fried rice beside her.

Mimi: "Boss, did something happen? I scare easily, so please don’t frighten me."

She had only enjoyed two days of peace. She prayed nothing else was about to go wrong.

Lily: "I don’t know the exact details yet, but the seawater temperature is rising. Haven’t you checked the World Chat?"

Mimi’s eyes went wide. The World Chat? The messages in the World Chat were a dizzying blur, refreshing countless times a second. Who could possibly read anything in there?

However, out of sheer trust in Lily, Mimi decisively chose to follow her boss’s instructions. She would find a cool spot and continue to lay low. It was a good thing she had accumulated plenty of Energy over the past few days. She could sail for quite a long distance now.

An hour later.

Lily returned to her previous location and retrieved the Regional Information Collector. The device instantly vanished, replaced by a detailed report in her hands. The report showed the seawater temperature section highlighted in glaring red, indicating a severe anomaly.

On top of that, trace amounts of a paralyzing toxin had seeped into the water. This toxin was not life-threatening to large marine life, but prolonged exposure would cause their bodies to grow sluggish. For small fish, however, it was outright lethal.

Lily’s gaze skipped past the rest of the data, landing directly on the bold text at the very bottom.

[Massive surge of active Biological Energy detected. Abnormal submarine volcanic activity. Suspected presence of Volcanic Snail variants: Volcanic Venom-Snail.]

"Volcanic Venom-Snail?"

Lily stared at the report in her hand before forwarding it to the Advanced Material Trade Group.

Rhodes: "Does anyone know what Volcanic Snails and Volcanic Venom-Snails actually are?"

A response came through almost immediately.

Zhan: "Volcanic Snails are a type of snail that live in volcanic craters. They feed on magma, are non-toxic, and are edible. Volcanic Venom-Snails are variants created when they suddenly consume large amounts of toxic magma. They are larger, burn at higher temperatures, possess violent temperaments, and can spew toxic magma. Both regular and venomous variants are swarm creatures.

"You can think of Volcanic Snails as ordinary locusts, and Volcanic Venom-Snails as the locusts in a devastating plague.

"A single locust is edible—quite tasty, even. But the locusts in a swarm are toxic and cannot be eaten."

Vaughn: "That’s terrifying. Is there a solution?"

Zhan: "I don’t know."

...

Lily watched the chat for a moment. Seeing that no one had any practical solutions to offer, she let out a sigh and closed the group. Afterward, she went to check on the Orca Pod.

After the Orca Pod soaked in massive amounts of Healing Water, their injuries had stabilized. Assured of their safety, she returned to the living room to prepare a meal. As she ate, she distractedly browsed through the blueprints she had received that day.

"A gun! Someone was actually willing to trade a blueprint for a gun?"