Forty-eight hours passed quickly.
The countdown finally reached zero.
Every survivor in the world received the same notification.
World Event Started
Monster Tide Has Begun
Survive to Receive Rewards
The message disappeared.
For several seconds, nothing happened.
The ocean remained calm.
The sky remained clear.
Everything seemed normal.
Then the sea exploded.
BOOOOOOM!!
Massive waves rose across the ocean.
Roars echoed in every direction.
Countless monster signals appeared on the Core Radar.
Lin Chen's expression became serious.
There were too many.
Far too many.
The screen was filled with red dots.
Each dot represented a monster.
And they were all moving toward survivors.
A Team Chat notification appeared.
[Su Yao] : It started.
[Lin Chen] : I noticed.
[Su Yao] : The number of monsters is insane.
[Lin Chen] : Stay alive.
Several seconds passed.
[Su Yao] : Same to you.
The Team Chat closed.
Lin Chen focused on the battlefield.
The Sea Fortress floated at the edge of the Abyss Sea.
Unfortunately, that also meant stronger monsters would appear here.
The first wave arrived quickly.
Dozens of creatures emerged from the water.
Abyss Sharks.
Shadow Crabs.
Black Tentacle Beasts.
Every monster was above Level 30.
The Core Turrets immediately activated.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Energy projectiles flew through the air.
Several monsters exploded instantly.
Others continued charging.
Lin Chen stepped forward.
The Ocean Emperor's Trident appeared in his hand.
A massive wave rose from the sea.
Crash!
More monsters died.
Experience notifications flooded his vision.
Experience +120
Experience +95
Experience +140
Experience +110
The first wave lasted nearly an hour.
When it finally ended, monster corpses covered the surrounding ocean.
The Sea Fortress remained intact.
However, Lin Chen wasn't celebrating.
The event had only begun.
...
Elsewhere in the region, chaos erupted.
Regional Chat moved faster than anyone could read.
[Player 441] : Help!
[Player 918] : My raft is breaking!
[Player 273] : There are too many monsters!
[Player 801] : I'm surrounded!
[Player 617] : This event is impossible!
Death notifications appeared constantly.
Thousands of players were already dying.
The survival game had become even crueler.
...
Inside the Sea Wolf Alliance headquarters, Zhao Feng watched reports arrive one after another.
His expression darkened.
Things weren't going well.
Not at all.
[Wang Jie] : Casualty report.
[Zhao Feng] : How bad?
[Wang Jie] : Seventy-three members eliminated.
The room became silent.
The Monster Tide had only begun.
Yet dozens of alliance members were already dead.
Another player stepped forward.
[Liu Kang] : More monsters are approaching.
[Zhao Feng] : Hold the defensive line.
[Liu Kang] : Understood.
Even powerful organizations were struggling.
The Monster Tide wasn't something that could be solved through numbers alone.
Strength mattered.
Real strength.
...
Back at the Abyss Sea, the second wave arrived.
This one was different.
Much stronger.
The ocean surface suddenly split apart.
Several giant monsters emerged simultaneously.
Abyss Giant Crab
Level: 38
Abyss Sea Serpent
Level: 40
Shadow Whale
Level: 42
Lin Chen narrowed his eyes.
The event difficulty was increasing.
Without hesitation, he attacked.
The Ocean Emperor's Trident glowed brightly.
Water obeyed his command.
A giant whirlpool formed.
The sea itself became his weapon.
The monsters struggled desperately.
The Shadow Whale attempted to break free.
Too late.
Crash!
A gigantic water blade sliced through its body.
The monster died instantly.
The battle continued for hours.
By the time the second wave ended, Lin Chen had gained another level.
Level Up
Level 7 Reached
His strength continued increasing.
More importantly, his inventory was filling with valuable materials.
Monster Cores.
Rare monster parts.
Event rewards.
Everything accumulated rapidly.
...
As darkness covered the sea, a new notification appeared.
Monster Tide Ranking Activated
Lin Chen immediately opened the interface.
The ranking displayed only achievements.
Not identities.
Monster Tide Rankings
1. Anonymous
2. Anonymous
3. Anonymous
4. Anonymous
5. Anonymous
His eyes narrowed.
Interesting.
Apparently other powerful survivors existed.
He wasn't alone at the top.
That realization made the game even more exciting.
...
Hours later, the third wave finally arrived.
The ocean itself seemed to scream.
This time, the monsters weren't ordinary creatures.
They were commanders.
Leading smaller monsters.
One of them emerged from the darkness.
A gigantic armored shark.
Its body exceeded eighty meters.
Black armor-like scales covered its body.
Red eyes glowed with intelligence.
Abyss Commander
Level: 45
Elite Commander
Lin Chen immediately understood.
This was the strongest enemy so far.
The commander charged directly toward the fortress.
Boom!
One section of the defensive shield shattered instantly.
Warning notifications appeared.
Shield Integrity Reduced
Shield Integrity Reduced
For the first time during the Monster Tide, the Sea Fortress suffered real damage.
Lin Chen smiled.
Finally.
A worthy opponent.
The Ocean Emperor's Trident crackled with power.
Lightning spread across the ocean.
The battle began.
The commander attacked repeatedly.
Each collision shook the fortress.
Each attack carried tremendous force.
Yet Lin Chen matched it head-on.
Wave after wave crashed into the monster.
Lightning tore through its scales.
The battle lasted nearly forty minutes.
Finally—
Crash!
The trident pierced the commander's skull.
The giant monster froze.
Then its enormous body collapsed.
Dead.
A golden light appeared.
Event Reward Obtained
Lin Chen immediately examined it.
Monster Tide Reward Box
Interesting.
A reward system existed within the event.
That explained why stronger players were willing to risk everything.
The greater the contribution, the better the rewards.
As he stored the reward box, another world announcement appeared.
World Announcement
Monster Tide Day One Complete
Remaining Survivors: 7,603,000,000
The number shocked even Lin Chen.
Hundreds of millions had died in a single day.
The Monster Tide was far more deadly than previous disasters.
The event wasn't merely a challenge.
It was a selection process.
Weak survivors were being eliminated.
Strong survivors were becoming stronger.
And the gap between them was growing larger every hour.
Standing on the deck of the Sea Fortress, Lin Chen looked toward the endless darkness.
The first day was over.
But the event had only just begun.
Somewhere within the Abyss Sea, ancient monsters continued watching.
Waiting.
And sooner or later...
They would make their move.
To Be Continued...