CHAPTER 655: MUDSLIDE’S STRANGE WHITE SPOT

Damn it, a bunch of immature kids discussing such things and getting all worked up about it! As if I, a young woman in her prime, don’t even exist? Aren’t they supposed to be shy?

Then again, how do I know so much about this strange stuff? And why do I suddenly feel the urge to lecture these two? It’s clearly not like that; it should be like *this*, and *this*.

Jing Shu shook her head. I’m probably overthinking it.

Indeed, after being scolded, both of them sighed in unison. People always say that after the apocalypse, men can have countless women, one on each arm, they thought. Too bad we don’t have the qualifications or the guts. We really envy those novel protagonists.

"I’m just practicing out of loneliness," Gold Dominator muttered, then fell silent. He felt frustrated, pitifully possessing abilities with nowhere to use them.

Li Chenglong focused on nibbling the yogurt balls. My God, I’ve never tasted anything so delicious! The purity of milk, that tangy, fermented aroma... it lingers endlessly on my taste buds.

The best part is how long these yogurt balls last. A bun this big, I’d usually finish in one bite. But I’ve been gnawing on this yogurt ball for half an hour, and it’s only shrunk by a tiny bit! If I get hungry, I can just take it out for a bite. It’s cold-resistant and keeps hunger away—truly perfect!

"This is so delicious, even better than the milk tea at home!" Gold Dominator exclaimed, then lamented, "If only my family could make yogurt balls too. Ah, it’s a pity. Our cow hasn’t been successfully bred recently, so milk is pitifully scarce. It’s already a blessing to get a little milk each day."

No, no, I can’t look so pathetic, Gold Dominator thought, deliberately slowing his eating pace and putting on a haughty expression.

Ugh, I don’t want yogurt balls, I want hot pot! When can I sneak off to have some hot pot?

The three of them were each lost in their own thoughts, and for a long time, no one spoke. Only the MUNCH, MUNCH, MUNCH of their eating could be heard.

The steel rod occasionally twitched. Jing Shu arched an eyebrow, a surprised look on her face. It wasn’t that a fish was actually on the hook; she had discovered some strange things in the Mudstone Flow Sea.

Jing Shu slightly closed her eyes. Countless insects, linked one after another, followed the fishing line deep into the Mudstone Flow Sea.

Jing Shu frowned slightly, seemingly dissatisfied.

SPLASH. Jing Shu stood up, tied a dozen more ropes to the steel rod, and cast them into the Mudstone Flow Sea. Soon, the insects followed, spreading out like a net.

Gold Dominator gaped. "I’ve never seen anyone fish like this."

Li Chenglong retorted, "Sis is doing something important; you wouldn’t get it."

Jing Shu ignored the two, squinting her eyes as a pattern formed in her mind. The insects relayed the conditions in the mud, much clearer this time than when she had used only a single line.

Countless little white dots were reflected. This is the strange part, Jing Shu mused. Why are there such peculiar things in the Mudstone Flow Sea?

I need to get these white dots and study them.

Naturally, it wouldn’t be as troublesome as actually fishing. Using the fishing line and the insects’ touch, I can just put these strange things directly into my space.

Just as Jing Shu directed the insects toward one of the white dots, a huge mouth suddenly roared towards them, swallowing both the white dot and the insects whole. Initially, Jing Shu still received signals, but as the huge mouth chewed rapidly, her connection was severed.

All the insects approaching the white dots had died.

Jing Shu’s expression turned grim. She directed the insects toward the other white dots, this time proceeding with extreme caution, waiting patiently near the white dots until she could see clearly.

Near each of the white spots in the Mudstone Flow Sea, there were rows of rotten mermaids!

These rotten mermaids usually remained motionless, completely indistinguishable from the mudstone flow, having become one with it. Only when they opened their mouths to feed could one tell they were rotten mermaids.

In the blink of an eye, several white spots vanished, all devoured by the rotten mermaids, who also swallowed the surrounding mud. It turned out that rotten mermaids ate not only mud but also these white spots.

Jing Shu grew even more curious. What exactly are these white spots? With her newfound experience, she directed more insects toward the white lights underground. As long as they can touch these lights, I can instantly pull them into my space.

However, Jing Shu had clearly underestimated the rotten mermaids beneath the surface. It seemed every white spot was guarded by a rotten mermaid. Anytime something dared to approach the white light, the rotten mermaids would engulf the white spot along with everything around it.

The most terrifying aspect of the rotten mermaids was their teeth: six rows of gear-like structures that churned everything in their mouths like a blender, leaving no blind spots.

I initially thought that my new breed of apocalypse insects, fearing neither heaven nor earth, would at least survive in the mermaids’ mouths long enough to touch the white spots and complete their mission,

she thought. But alas, the rotten mermaids’ saliva is also a highly corrosive mucus.

Jing Shu’s expression was grim. After several attempts, she hadn’t managed to retrieve a single white spot and had instead lost quite a few of her prized insects. What a loss, what a real loss.

Speaking of which, just how many rotten mermaids are down there? Jing Shu felt goosebumps rise on her skin.

It felt like drifting in a small boat on the open sea, with dense shoals of man-eating sharks circling just beneath the surface.

Even someone as powerful as Jing Shu felt her scalp tingle.

She hadn’t realized it before, but now, knowing that the area beneath the building was teeming with rotten mermaids, her mood soured considerably, and she felt a wave of revulsion. It seemed the ones that attacked the building last time were just a tiny fraction; so many more were still lurking below.

But the building is always moving. What about these rotten mermaids? Are they always moving too? Or perhaps...

A thought struck Jing Shu, one she found utterly bizarre. Could it be that these rotten mermaids have never moved? That there have always been this many? That would be truly terrifying.

"Sis, you look a bit pale. Are you cold? Shall we go back? It’s rather chilly outside," Li Chenglong voiced his concern.

Gold Dominator also shivered—it was indeed getting colder. Lately, he had stopped worrying about his appearance, wearing whatever army coats his uncle could find for him.

"Let’s head back," Jing Shu nodded, swiftly began to reel in her steel rod and retrieve the insects from the mud.

As the three of them walked back, Jing Shu turned to look at the black Mudstone Flow Sea, thinking, I’ll come back better prepared to investigate next time.

Jing Shu suddenly had a premonition. These white spots... they seem like some kind of treasure. Perhaps they can connect to dimensions, or even represent a form of dimensional linkage.

Upgrading my space can no longer rely solely on practicing with the Magic Cube. It requires absorbing massive amounts of energy—very likely, energy from various dimensions.

Perhaps this is an opportunity, she thought.

No sooner had they returned to the building than they found the lobby bustling with activity.

Curious, Jing Shu wanted to see what the excitement was about, only to discover, astonishingly, that she was the center of it.

Because someone was about to search Jing Shu’s villa.