Chapter 242: Mermaid Core
Chapter 242: Chapter 242: Mermaid Core
Seeing that the Mermaid Princess kept using tricks to interrupt her attacks, Xu Qingsui simply changed her tactics and snapped her fingers at the monster. This time, the Mermaid Princess didn’t have time to react before a bolt of lightning struck its body head-on, truly turning it into roasted seafood.
The Mermaid Princess twitched as it tumbled from the throne, thrashing on the ground before completely losing its ability to move.
She knew this was her chance! Xu Qingsui’s eyes flashed as she rushed forward, pressing her hand against the roasted Mermaid Princess and entering its Sea of Consciousness. Because the monster had already lost consciousness, Xu Qingsui encountered almost no resistance upon entering and easily absorbed its spirit body.
In the end, the Mermaid Princess’s spirit body unexpectedly transformed into a crystal radiating spiritual power.
"Congratulations, Host. This Mermaid Princess is the core of this group of Mermaid Mutants. This is the core crystal it condensed. Once you absorb it, your spiritual power will be greatly enhanced," the Golden Octopus announced.
Hearing the Golden Octopus’s words, Xu Qingsui absorbed the Mermaid Core crystal without a second thought. She felt the crystal melt into a warm liquid that rapidly coursed through her body, reaching every nook and cranny of her being. Everywhere the liquid flowed, it left behind a surging sense of abundant energy. Unlike her previous experiences of devouring pollution sources, she absorbed the crystal very quickly this time.
She slowly opened her eyes. After being devoured, the Mermaid Princess’s body deflated rapidly like a punctured balloon, leaving behind nothing but an empty mermaid skin.
Xu Qingsui had no time to pay attention to the skin, looking at her own body in astonishment. At this moment, she could feel a powerful force coursing through her. The energy was overflowing, even seeping out through her pores to form a visible aura of power over her skin.
Seeing this, Xu Qingsui was astounded. She hadn’t expected such a massive harvest this time. She just wondered if, with her current abilities, she could help Shen Yan shield his spirit body.
As if sensing Xu Qingsui’s thoughts, the Golden Octopus popped right out. "Congratulations, Host, on successfully devouring the Mermaid Princess’s pollution core. Your Spiritual Power has drastically increased.
"There will be many unexpected gains from this upgrade. I’ll keep the surprises a secret for now so you can slowly explore them.
"With your current strength, you can now help Shen Yan shield the pollution source on your own."
Although the Golden Octopus kept her in suspense about the details, Xu Qingsui at least got the answer she wanted to hear.
She was in an excellent mood, but suddenly felt an intense gaze boring into her back. Full of doubt, Xu Qingsui turned around, only to see Lu Jingyu and Shen Yan staring fixedly at her. Lu Jingyu’s face was full of astonishment, while Shen Yan was slightly better, a hint of understanding visible in his eyes.
Earlier, the Mermaid Princess had controlled the group, but relatively speaking, its control over Lu Jingyu and Shen Yan was not as strong as its hold on the other team members. The most obvious proof was that when the Mermaid Princess controlled the team members to act as its guardians, Lu Jingyu and Shen Yan hadn’t made a move. Given the situation at the time, Xu Qingsui hadn’t paid much attention to it, tossing the two men to the back of her mind. Once she dealt with the Mermaid Princess, the connection between them and the monster vanished.
Since the two of them hadn’t been electrocuted, they quickly regained their consciousness. Before they could speak, they witnessed exactly what Xu Qingsui did to the Mermaid Princess with their own eyes. Then, the power within Xu Qingsui erupted. As bystanders, they could even clearly see the energy overflowing from her.
Both were utterly shocked by this transformation. However, compared to Lu Jingyu, Shen Yan’s expression held a bit more understanding. He had sensed something long ago, but he hadn’t expected her to be this formidable.
Seeing their reactions, Xu Qingsui knew her secret could no longer be hidden. She opened her mouth, trying to offer a few words of explanation, but the words died on her lips. She was truly at a loss for how to explain herself.
But just as she was struggling to find the right words, the two men tactfully looked away, acting as if they hadn’t seen anything at all. Knowing they were doing this to alleviate her awkwardness, a trace of gratitude appeared on Xu Qingsui’s face. Taking the hint, she smoothly let the matter drop without bringing it up.
The other team members gradually recovered as well, one after another picking themselves up from the ground. They still had no idea what exactly had happened. But no one bothered to dig into the details. They had been in the dungeon for over twelve hours, and they had no idea what the situation was like on the outside.
The exit portal of the dungeon opened, and the group hurriedly walked out.
Upon emerging, they immediately saw Chen Yunfei leading his team members, locked in a fierce battle with other frenzied teammates. Having just gone through the dungeon, this was a situation they had personally experienced. Xu Qingsui instantly knew what had transpired outside.
The Mutated Mermaids had caused these team members to go berserk. It seemed the situation had largely been brought under control, but spies copied by the Shadow Mermaids were still hiding within the ranks, only popping up to cause chaos when everyone let down their guard.
Since her secret could no longer be kept hidden anyway, Xu Qingsui prepared to take action herself. But just as she was about to make a move, Lu Jingyu stepped forward.
"Leave this kind of thing to me! You should be able to tell who the Shadow Mermaid replicas are, right?" he asked.
After her abilities had been upgraded again, Xu Qingsui’s perception had also enhanced several times over. She could clearly sense the aura of the Shadow Mermaids coming from the replicated team members; singling them out would be a breeze.
Xu Qingsui nodded. Lu Jingyu left her with one last sentence before charging straight into the fray.
"You just point them out. Leave the rest to me."
Watching Lu Jingyu’s retreating back, Xu Qingsui suddenly realized he was covering for her. Although she had already exposed her abilities in the dungeon, only Lu Jingyu and Shen Yan had noticed. If she were to take action now, they wouldn’t be the only ones who knew her secret. When it came to this kind of thing, the fewer people who knew, the better, lest she bring unnecessary trouble upon herself. Lu Jingyu knew this well, which was why he took the initiative to step up and continue keeping her secret.
As her heart warmed with gratitude, Lu Jingyu plunged into the crowd. After swiftly taking down the "teammate" who had instigated the riot, he looked back at Xu Qingsui.
Xu Qingsui caught on immediately. Her gaze swept across the crowd, instantly locking onto her targets.
"The one in blue on your right!"
The moment Xu Qingsui spoke, Lu Jingyu raised Tan Lang and swept it toward the target.
"The bald guy behind you!"
"The one on your left with the scar on his face!"
"..."
As Xu Qingsui continuously called out targets, one replica after another fell to the ground. The two of them coordinated with perfect tacit understanding. For a moment, everyone’s eyes fell on the two of them.