Chapter 32: The Abyssal Tide Worm Queen

Chapter 32: The Abyssal Tide Worm Queen

In the afternoon, Lei Jin Hao's metahuman team occupied Gardenia Beach, covering the beach with animal carcasses to lure the Abyssal Tide Worms ashore.

This future "Gale Fist King" had only been a month since the Abyssal Descent, and he had already assembled a team of over fifty metahumans.

With over fifty metahumans, it wasn't as simple as paying them a salary to get them to follow orders.

Therefore, Lei Jin Hao must have had a wealthy backer, otherwise, he wouldn't be able to support so many subordinates.

...

On the Bao Shan Lighthouse by the coast, Su Muyu was annoyed when she saw that Gardenia Beach had been taken over by others, "Damn it, they took our spot."

Lu Heng looked at the surging waves on the sea, his expression calm, "Don't be angry, this area wouldn't have been peaceful for long anyway."

"But I'm still angry. If we could have hunted the Tide Worms for a few more days, we might have gotten a couple more Crystal Cores." Su Muyu decided to stay angry.

Lu Heng smiled indifferently and said, "Ordinary Abyssal Tide Worms don't yield good loot. It's time to move on to the next plan."

"What plan? How come I don't know about it?" Su Muyu blinked her eyes.

"You don't need to know." Lu Heng reached out and tapped her forehead.

"You're always tapping my forehead, I'll become stupid." Su Muyu pouted in protest.

"You're already stupid enough, there's no room for further decline."

After teasing her, Lu Heng turned his attention back to the sea.

Observing the wind and waves, he estimated that the Tide Worm swarm should appear within a day or two.

However, this "Gale Fist King" was too arrogant.

Even though hunting the Abyssal Tide Worms didn't yield high rewards, Lu Heng didn't plan to give them the chance to grind. He took out his backup phone and made a call.

After the call connected, neither party spoke for a while.

After a long pause, the other party finally asked, "Who is this?"

Lu Heng greeted him in a casual tone, "Hello, Inspector Chen."

This number belonged to the senior inspector of the Ironblood Paranormal Event Investigation Bureau, Chen Lianian.

"Who is this?"

The voice on the other end of the line asked the same question again.

Lu Heng didn't answer his question and went straight to the point, "Under the reef in the Gardenia Beach area, there's an Abyssal Tide Worm Queen that has laid tens of thousands of eggs. In a few days, this swarm of Tide Worms should emerge from Gardenia Beach."

"There are people attracting the Tide Worms at Gardenia Beach. I estimate the worm swarm will reach the shore earlier, and many people in the surrounding area will die."

After conveying the information, Lu Heng hung up the phone and took out the battery from his backup phone.

The call was made.

In less than an hour, the Ironblood action team arrived in armored vehicles to take over Gardenia Beach, driving away all of the Silverhair Man's subordinates.

Immediately after.

Ironblood dispatched speedboats to survey the Gardenia Beach area and began deploying their operation.

On the other side.

The Silverhair Man was in the hospital, receiving nutrient injections and a newly developed Essence Energy recovery agent, when he suddenly received a call from his subordinate.

Upon learning that Gardenia Beach had been sealed off by the official metahuman armed forces, and his team had just taken over Gardenia Beach only to be driven away without obtaining a single Demon Crystal Core, the Silverhair Man was furious. He smashed his phone with a loud 'bang'.

...

Ironblood acted swiftly, dispatching Perception Power Users to scout the area near Gardenia Beach and confirm the presence of the Tide Worm swarm. They then began deploying their operation.

In the early stages of the Abyssal Descent, low-level Abyssal Monstrosities were no match for the armed forces' steel barrage.

If the Tide Worm swarm appeared at Gardenia Beach, they would only need a few armored vehicles and high-caliber machine guns to destroy the Tide Worms that made it ashore.

However, the Abyssal Monstrosities weren't lacking in intelligence."

If their landing was obstructed, they would immediately disperse and attempt to reach the shore from other directions.

By that time, the armored vehicles wouldn't be able to pursue them.

Therefore, it would be difficult to control the situation once the worm swarm formed.

The most correct approach was to reduce the number of Tide Worms as much as possible before the swarm formed.

The most crucial point was to kill the Queen as soon as possible.

If the Queen wasn't eliminated, there would be an endless supply of Tide Worms hatching.

If the Queen hatched the next generation of Queens, the worm swarm would spread out, and thousands of kilometers of coastline would be affected.

...

Ironblood issued a bounty.

Hunting the Abyssal Tide Worms in the Gardenia Beach area, with a reward of 10,000 for each worm.

The Abyssal Tide Worm Queen had a bounty of 1 million, and all the rewards from killing the Queen belonged to the hunting team.

From this day forward.

The rental prices for speedboats, yachts, and fishing boats skyrocketed by several dozen times.

Over a dozen metahuman teams gathered at Gardenia Beach, renting boats, and hunting the Abyssal Tide Worms at sea.

The Abyssal Tide Worms were only secondary; the stronger teams had their sights set on the Queen.

For top-tier metahuman teams, the 1 million bounty wasn't that attractive; the Queen's value itself was the key.

The Queen's rank was higher than that of ordinary Tide Worms, which meant that the Demon Crystal Core it produced upon death would definitely be of a higher rank.

...

Although many boats were hunting the Abyssal Tide Worms at sea, the efficiency was low.

This was because the Abyssal Tide Worms could hide in the deepest parts of the ocean, which was difficult for humans to reach.

If one were to wear a diving suit and dive to such depths, it wouldn't be hunting the Tide Worms; it would be delivering food.

Most metahuman teams could only fish for the Abyssal Tide Worm by hook and line due to its size. Despite being a meter wide and two meters long, the Abyssal Tide Worm could still be caught with professional shark-fishing gear.

The Abyssal Tide Worm was extremely bloodthirsty, and it was easy to lure them with animal blood and meat as bait.

While fishing could catch the Abyssal Tide Worm, it couldn't catch the Queen.

The top metahuman teams aimed for the Queen.

To find the Queen, they had to dive into the water.

As a result, the prices of all water-related skill crystal cores on the Crystal Core Dark Web skyrocketed.

Skills like Underwater Breathing, Deep Diving Pressure Balance, and Energy Flippers, which enhanced underwater mobility, were all sold out.

However, the top metahuman teams didn't purchase these skill crystal cores for their core members.

Metahumans had a limited number of skill slots, and powerful warriors wouldn't waste a slot on skills like Underwater Breathing.

Unless a metahuman intended to dominate the oceans and specialized in water-related skills, they wouldn't make such a choice.

Humans were primarily land-based creatures, and those pursuing the path of the Sea King were always a minority.

Therefore, when these water-based skill crystal cores were purchased, they were given to the less essential members of the team, who were tasked with exploring underwater and searching for the Queen.

...

On a luxurious yacht, several metahumans hauled a rope, dragging an Abyssal Tide Worm onto the boat.

The worm wriggled onto the yacht's deck, twisting its body and creating several dents.

The once elegant yacht was now a mess.

After the worm was pulled up, a bodyguard-like figure in a black suit walked to the cabin door and said to the person inside, "Young Master Lin, we've caught another one."

A young man in his twenties emerged from the cabin, holding a shiny silver revolver.

On the deck, several metahumans struggled to pin down the worm with tools.

The young man aimed the revolver at the worm's back shell and fired three shots in quick succession.

The worm's numerous legs straightened, and it lay still on the deck.

After disposing of the worm, the young man checked his upgrade prompt and said excitedly, "Well done, everyone! I'll double your bonus today."

"Thank you, boss!" the others replied in unison.

...

Binhai Bao Shan Lighthouse was a popular attraction in the coastal city.

Standing atop the lighthouse, one could enjoy the sea breeze, gaze at the azure waters, and watch cargo ships returning from afar.

However, there were no tourists at the lighthouse today.

The authorities had issued a warning and evacuated the residents around Gardenia Beach.

So, only Lu Heng and Su Muyu were at the Bao Shan Lighthouse.

With demons appearing worldwide, the news could no longer be suppressed.

As the official bounties increased and the Gardenia Beach area was sealed off, the public began to learn about the Deep Abyss Invasion.

Lu Heng had received several calls from his parents, all expressing their concerns.

"Son, why don't you come home? It's not safe out there. I've heard many people have seen monsters," Li Xiuyun said, worried after seeing numerous reports about the Abyssal Monstrosities.

"Many places are blocked off now. I heard that the Gardenia Beach area is completely sealed off, and there's a rumor about a Godzilla in the sea. If I want to come home, I'd have to pass through Gardenia Beach..." Lu Heng had a task at hand and could only make up an excuse.

"Then don't come back for now. Stay at school; it's probably safer there. Don't leave the school unless necessary," Li Xiuyun quickly changed her mind after seeing the news about the blockade around Gardenia Beach the night before.

"Okay, I understand," Lu Heng reassured his mother and quickly ended the call.

Su Muyu was in a similar situation, needing to calm her mother's worries as well.

After her call, she switched to the Recon Eagle's vision and flew a circle over the sea.

"There are so many teams hunting Abyssal Tide Worms in the sea. Should we join them?"

"We can't rent a boat now, and hunting the worms this way is too inefficient," Lu Heng shook his head.

To hunt the Abyssal Tide Worms in the sea, they would first need to rent a boat and then search for the worms on the open waters.

With luck, they might catch three or four worms in a day, but the catch would be divided among the entire boat crew.

"So, what should we do?" Su Muyu felt a bit frustrated.

"We're waiting for the Queen to appear," Lu Heng said, his expression calm as he watched the waves.

"The Queen must be hiding deep, right? I see many teams searching for her," Su Muyu thought finding the Queen would be challenging.

While it was like finding a needle in a haystack for others, Lu Heng already knew the answer from his past life.

In his previous life, the scene of the Abyssal Tide Worm swarm landing on Gardenia Beach was spectacular, and the news from Binhai City was overwhelming.

Many major powers had hired mercenary armies, offering generous rewards for hunting demon crystal cores and finding the Queen's lair.

When they finally located the Queen's lair, journalists even entered to capture the scene on camera.

Therefore, Lu Heng didn't need to search; he already knew the Queen's lair's location.

...

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end