Two days remained before the Monster Tide.
The atmosphere across the world had become tense.
Even Regional Chat, which was usually full of arguments and trading, had become quieter.
Everyone was preparing.
Everyone was afraid.
The countdown timer remained visible on every player's panel.
Monster Tide
Time Remaining: 2 Days 3 Hours
Lin Chen stood at the front of the Sea Fortress.
The coordinates provided by Su Yao were marked on the map.
Ahead lay the Abyss Sea.
A place mentioned repeatedly by clues, Talents, and inheritance information.
A place that even the Treasure Goddess Talent considered dangerous.
A Team Chat notification appeared.
[Su Yao] : Are you close?
[Lin Chen] : Very.
[Su Yao] : Be careful.
[Lin Chen] : You keep saying that.
[Su Yao] : Because my Talent keeps warning me.
[Lin Chen] : That bad?
Several seconds passed.
[Su Yao] : Worse.
Lin Chen smiled slightly.
At this point, he expected danger.
The real question was what kind of danger awaited him.
...
Hours later, the ocean began changing.
The water became darker.
The temperature dropped.
Even the wind felt colder.
Then the Core Radar suddenly reacted.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
Warning symbols appeared across the screen.
Unknown Energy Zone Detected
Entering Abyss Region
Lin Chen narrowed his eyes.
The surrounding ocean had become almost black.
Visibility decreased dramatically.
Even stranger, a layer of black fog floated above the water.
The fog stretched endlessly.
Like a wall separating two worlds.
The Sea Fortress slowly entered it.
The moment the ship crossed the boundary, silence filled the ocean.
No birds.
No wind.
No monster sounds.
Nothing.
Only silence.
Lin Chen instinctively tightened his grip on the Ocean Emperor's Trident.
This place felt wrong.
Very wrong.
...
Several hours passed.
The fortress continued moving through the black fog.
Then the radar suddenly detected movement.
A massive signal appeared.
Lin Chen immediately focused.
Something was approaching.
The ocean surface began rippling.
A moment later—
BOOOOM!!
A gigantic creature emerged.
Its appearance resembled an eel.
However, its body exceeded fifty meters in length.
Dark scales covered every inch of its body.
Red eyes glowed within the fog.
Abyss Eel
Level: 35
Elite Monster
Lin Chen's expression became serious.
Level 35.
Much stronger than ordinary monsters.
The eel immediately attacked.
Its enormous body rushed toward the fortress.
Fortunately, the Core Turrets activated.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Energy projectiles struck the monster repeatedly.
The creature screamed.
Before it could recover, Lin Chen moved.
The Ocean Emperor's Trident flashed.
A wave hundreds of meters high rose from the sea.
Crash!
The attack struck directly.
The monster's body split apart instantly.
Experience +300
Elite Monster Core Obtained
Lin Chen nodded.
The power of the trident was extraordinary.
Against normal monsters, battles barely lasted seconds.
However, the appearance of a Level 35 monster so close to the entrance worried him.
If this was merely the beginning...
What existed deeper inside?
...
As the Sea Fortress continued forward, more creatures appeared.
Abyss Sharks.
Shadow Crabs.
Black Tentacle Beasts.
Every monster possessed levels above thirty.
Any ordinary survivor entering this area would likely die immediately.
Fortunately, Lin Chen was far from ordinary.
Hours later, the fog suddenly began thinning.
A strange structure appeared ahead.
His eyes widened.
It was a temple.
A gigantic ancient temple floating above the ocean.
Countless stone pillars surrounded it.
The architecture resembled the ruins he had previously explored.
Yet this structure was far larger.
Far older.
The Core Radar immediately reacted.
Sea God Inheritance Signal Detected
Lin Chen's heartbeat accelerated.
He had found it.
Or at least part of it.
Jumping from the fortress, he landed on the temple platform.
The moment his feet touched the stone floor, ancient runes illuminated.
Blue light spread across the structure.
Then a notification appeared.
Inheritance Fragment Found
Sea God Inheritance Progress: 1%
Lin Chen frowned.
Only one percent?
The inheritance was even larger than expected.
Still, progress was progress.
A second notification appeared.
Obtained: Sea God's Fragment
He examined the item.
Sea God's Fragment
One of one hundred inheritance fragments.
Required to fully unlock the inheritance.
Lin Chen almost laughed.
One hundred fragments.
The Sea God clearly didn't want his inheritance obtained easily.
...
A Team Chat notification appeared.
[Su Yao] : You found something.
Lin Chen blinked.
[Lin Chen] : How do you know?
[Su Yao] : My Talent reacted.
[Lin Chen] : You're cheating.
[Su Yao] : Says the guy who opened a Diamond Chest.
Lin Chen laughed.
For once, she actually made a joke.
[Lin Chen] : It's a Sea God fragment.
Several seconds passed.
Then another message appeared.
[Su Yao] : Good.
[Su Yao] : Because I found something too.
[Lin Chen] : Another clue?
[Su Yao] : No.
[Su Yao] : A warning.
The smile on Lin Chen's face disappeared.
[Lin Chen] : Explain.
A long pause followed.
Then her answer arrived.
[Su Yao] : Something stronger than the Black Sea Dragon is sleeping inside the Abyss Sea.
Lin Chen became silent.
Stronger than a King-Class Monster.
That was difficult to imagine.
Yet considering the importance of the inheritance, it made sense.
The greatest rewards required the greatest risks.
...
Elsewhere, the Sea Wolf Alliance continued its investigation.
Inside the alliance headquarters, Zhao Feng listened to new reports.
[Wang Jie] : We found another clue.
[Zhao Feng] : About the mysterious survivor?
[Wang Jie] : Yes.
[Wang Jie] : Every major treasure event in our region seems connected.
[Zhao Feng] : Meaning?
[Wang Jie] : Gold Chest.
[Wang Jie] : Diamond Chest.
[Wang Jie] : Rare Boss activity.
[Wang Jie] : It's likely the same player.
The room became quiet.
Zhao Feng slowly smiled.
[Zhao Feng] : Interesting.
For the first time, he felt excited.
A rival.
Someone worth finding.
Someone worth defeating.
Unfortunately for him, he still had no idea who that person actually was.
...
As night fell over the Abyss Sea, Lin Chen returned to the Sea Fortress.
The temple slowly disappeared into the darkness behind him.
One inheritance fragment had been obtained.
Ninety-nine remained.
The road ahead was still incredibly long.
At that moment, another announcement appeared.
World Announcement
Monster Tide Arrival:
48 Hours Remaining
The final countdown had begun.
Across the world, millions of survivors prepared desperately.
Weapons were crafted.
Defenses were upgraded.
Resources were gathered.
A great battle was approaching.
Lin Chen looked toward the endless darkness of the Abyss Sea.
Somewhere ahead lay greater secrets.
Greater treasures.
And greater dangers.
But before he could pursue them...
He would need to survive the Monster Tide.
To Be Continued...