Chapter 58

“The area with light is too small. When there are too many people, it’s inevitable that there will be pushing and shoving. I accidentally bumped into you just now, and I was going to invite you to come back. Since you’ve now said you don’t want to return, then forget it.”

Feng Shan wore a hypocritical smile on his face. He waved enthusiastically to someone not far away. “There’s just one last spot here. Mirella, hurry over.”

He seemed certain of victory.

But Mirella stopped two or three steps away from the area with light.

She acted as if she hadn’t heard Feng Shan’s voice and squatted down directly.

Mirella asked the Lead Fish, “Is it here?”

The Fish Bone’s tail swayed back and forth.

Mirella reached out, pressing her hand to the ground, and began to search, murmuring:

“Alright, I understand. You sense water here… Where is it? Let me look for it.”

–

Without the light, the Fish Swarm was agitated, and Luo Jia Bai was agitated too.

“Feng Shan is such a jerk! Pretending to be a good guy! If my Awakening wasn’t a Healing Ability, I’d have gotten a Strength Ability and punched his face in!”

Luo Jia Bai looked at Lu Li, frustrated. “Why did you let him? Him being arrogant is one thing, but if we don’t stand under the Moonlight, does that mean we can’t clear the Instance?”

“Moonlight only slows down the Fish Swarm’s movement, giving me some time to make deductions. Standing there doesn’t clear the Instance.” Lu Li glanced at Mirella, thoughtful. “Can Bone Fish understand human speech?”

Mirella was communicating both ways.

He couldn’t understand what Bone Fish was saying.

But one-way communication-doesn’t that count as communication?

So Lu Li stopped what he was doing and made a ‘pause’ gesture toward the Fish Swarm charging at him.

“You’re thirsty, aren’t you? Calm down, I’ll help you find water.”

The Lead Fish paused, its gaping mouth freezing in place.

It struggled to retract its fierce fangs, its fins stopped moving, and it quietly floated in midair.

With the Lead Fish reacting, every Fish in the Swarm stopped making noise.

All competing to be the quietest, best Fish.

“That actually works!?” Luo Jia Bai was shocked, but quickly grew worried about Lu Li’s promise. “How are you going to keep your word? The ground in the Prison is all cracked and dry-where are you going to find water? The Players on Feng Shan’s side just splashed water from Items at the Fish Swarm, but it didn’t work at all!”

He tried to muster his courage and communicate with the Fish Swarm, just like Lu Li.

The Fish Swarm targeting Luo Jia Bai also stopped.

“Because those are Items exchanged for, they don’t actually belong to this Instance.” Lu Li placed his hands parallel to each other. “The Fish Swarm needs water that exists within the Instance.”

“They devour Players because those people have cracked, bleeding skin, and since Players are part of the Instance, the Fish Swarm can sense them. So they treat blood as a water source.”

Thinking of the Players’ tragic deaths, Luo Jia Bai shivered all over. “Do we… have to use blood too?”

“No.”

Lu Li squatted down, and the Fish Swarm quietly floated lower.

He touched a cluster of weeds growing together.

The Lead Fish approached, circling Lu Li’s hand.

Its fins didn’t move, but its tail couldn’t help swaying back and forth.

Lu Li spoke softly, “Aside from the newly arrived Players, the Prison is almost empty, with only weeds left. No one comes in to water them, yet some of the weeds have survived…”

He pulled out a few from the weed pile, feeling a chill in his palm.

Crushing the weeds into juice, Lu Li placed the dark green liquid in front of the Lead Fish.

“Is this the water you want?”

The Lead Fish avoided the puddle of juice, its fins moving again, making a harsh ‘clack clack’ sound, looking somewhat displeased.

It bared its mouth at Lu Li again.

Sharp, fierce teeth appeared, clashing violently up and down.

Fish trusts people, fish is good.

People fool fish, people are bad.

Luo Jia Bai hesitantly spoke up, “I think I just saw a drop of water on the ground.”
“But it’s so strange here. The water evaporates really fast, and now the ground is dry again. I’m not sure if I saw it wrong.” Luo Jia Bai rubbed his eyes hard, then widened them again to look at the spot where there had just been water. “Let me take a closer look.”

Lu Li frowned in thought. He pulled up a few more weeds, and the cold feeling in his palm grew even stronger.

Cold and damp.

Sensing something, he quickly moved the weeds aside.

A few drops of water appeared in his palm.

These drops quickly scattered along the lines of his skin, no longer whole.

The Fish Swarm began to stir. They had already rushed to Lu Li, but, having lost their sense of direction, stopped in confusion.

Lu Li bent down, trying not to touch the weeds themselves.

He saw dewdrops hanging on the underside of the drooping weed leaves, lined up in a row.

The outermost drop was trembling, so heavy that it finally fell to the ground, leaving a damp mark. But because the area was so small, it dried up in a second.

If you blinked slowly, you wouldn’t even see that drop of water.

“Luo Jia Bai, you were really helpful this time,” Lu Li praised without hesitation. “The water is on the underside of the weed leaves.”

He used his hand to gesture the size of the Lead Fish in the air.

He opened the Shop and exchanged for two Item cups, each a bit larger than the fish, and began collecting dew.

He nearly stripped four clumps of weeds bare before the two cups were half full.

As soon as the dew was collected, the Fish Swarm surged over, almost frantically.

The Lead Fish was the first to dart into a cup. The moment it touched the water, it vanished in a strange way.

The water level in the cup dropped a little.

The rest of the Fish Swarm leapt into the two cups one after another.

Luo Jia Bai was excited, repeatedly confirming with Lu Li, “Did I really help just now? That drop of water was so tiny, but I was really focused. It feels great to actually help you this time.”

Lu Li affirmed, “You were a huge help.”

Luo Jia Bai was embarrassed by the praise and waved his hands, “It’s nothing, I just happened to see it. I didn’t think of anything else. I even thought we’d have to rely on Moonlight to clear the stage.”

When the entire Fish Swarm disappeared,

There was only half a finger’s width of water left in the cups.

The surface of the water began to ripple and shake.

Luo Jia Bai asked, “Is the ground trembling?”

Lu Li lifted the cup. “No, something inside is about to come out.”

The ripples in the water grew more intense.

Finally, a fish appeared out of thin air in the clear, transparent water.

A complete fish, with not a single bone visible.

This fish was just a bit smaller than the cup.

It lay in the shallow water, flapping violently, its tail slapping the surface, lively and energetic.

Both of their Wristbands grew hot and vibrated, delivering a notification.

[Key Item Exploration Progress: +1]

“Click.”

With the Wristband notification, the Shackles on both of them unlocked with a sound.

Luo Jia Bai let out a long breath. “We got it right.”

“Hello.” A cool, slow female voice sounded beside them. “What are your names?”

Mirella was holding a white porcelain plate.

On the plate was also a live fish, flipping back and forth.

–

The Players standing in the lit area grew anxious, craning their necks to watch the live fish, both envious and nervous.

“They cleared the stage! I saw what they did. Feng Shan was totally wrong, you still need water! Hurry and find weeds-there’s dew on the weeds!”

“No wonder they gave that Silver Hair the right to advance. Turns out he’s a hidden master! He just seems a bit unapproachable. If I get a chance in the next round, I have to talk to him!”

Feng Shan said nothing, gritting his teeth and clenching his fists. He also exchanged for a cup and started collecting dew.

When all the Fish Swarm disappeared, the door of the Prison was opened from the outside.

Strangers exclaimed in surprise:

“It’s fish! They have fish in their hands!”

“You actually have fresh, whole fish! That means you are our most honored guests! Who put the guests in the Prison!?”