Chapter 79
It’s no wonder Xia Yi was taken aback. This little guy is too similar to Abiseth, but this head is too different!
Siren was not surprised by Xia Yi’s astonishment. This little creature did indeed resemble Abiseth a lot, but the difference in size of their heads was quite significant!
Abiseth, with its tentacles, was at least twenty meters long and weighed tons, while the blue-ringed octopus under the reef was tiny, only a few centimeters long. If one wasn’t careful, they could easily mistake it for a piece of broken seaweed.
Although it had all eight tentacles intact, each with tiny suckers on them, it was compact and chubby, tempting one to want to poke it with a needle—too savage?
Well, nails are too big to aim precisely!
In reality, the blue-ringed octopus inhabits under rocks, hiding very well and rarely showing itself.
However, if any marine creature mistook it for a meal, or if someone unlucky stepped on or touched it, that would be disastrous. The deadliest creature on Earth was the Australian box jellyfish, followed by the blue-ringed octopus… so many creatures meet unjust fates. With such a small size, who would pay attention?
Therefore, in the same marine environment, there’s a species of small fish, pale yellow with blue circles, which hides in coral reefs almost without predators daring to attack. The blue-ringed octopus had quite a reputation in this sea area, especially among crabs crawling around and lobsters trampling through.
When they suddenly see bright blue rings, they immediately turn tail and flee or change their swimming direction to escape for their lives.
Especially when the blue-ringed octopus felt threatened, those blue rings could even brighten or flash—Xia Yi has never seen Abiseth in this form.
That lazy giant octopus, what could threaten it?
But if that day really came, it would be extremely amusing—a neon-lit Abiseth in the deep sea, just like the rotating lights above the disco dance floors of the previous world. Circular spots of light shining on the seabed, moving around…
Before encountering the blue-ringed octopus, Xia Yi had long suspected Abiseth’s striking blue concentric circles were intentionally bizarre. After all, many octopuses can change color to blend with their surroundings for camouflage.
Even after knowing about it, Abiseth’s home in Australian waters meant the blue-ringed octopus was indeed remarkable, unlike the giant squid that Xia Yi had imagined.
Suddenly seeing such a tiny creature, Xia Yi could hardly believe it.
“So…”
Siren, who seemed dizzy from the explanation, added finally, “Abiseth only swims by jetting water, and even changing direction relies on its tentacles. If you want it to shrink, you’d probably have to dry it out completely.”
Xia Yi nodded silently.
Indeed, where would the skin shrink to if it ever did?
Like the loose skin on someone who successfully lost weight. If Abiseth turned into paper and all its moisture was wrung out and dried, it might be large enough to use as a blanket… no, more like a carpet in a hotel lobby!
But then, a new question arose!
“Abiseth… I mean, is it the same species as this little octopus?” Xia Yi still found it unbelievable.
“Yes,” Siren confirmed.
“Both are blue-ringed octopuses, and both are venomous.”
Siren thought for a moment and added, “Don’t touch these little guys. They’re timid and will release toxins if startled. If you’re curious, we can go find Abiseth. You can step on its head every day and ask it to hand over its tentacles for you to examine as much as you want—Abiseth wouldn’t mind.”
A giant octopus frolicking with half its body hanging off an aircraft carrier in the distant ocean—do you think it feels pressure?
Wait, why would sea monsters that can roam the Fichas Abyss fear pressure? They could withstand the weight of a mountain without a second thought!
Xia Yi continued to stare at the blue-ringed octopus, now well-hidden with only a few small tentacles visible in the gaps, and seriously considered Siren’s suggestion before decisively dismissing it.
Cute creatures are always small and chubby, not the kind you measure in tons—what’s there to be curious about?
“Oh no, apart from mermaids, all sea monsters are vulnerable. Forget about being shot in the knee, sea monsters don’t even have knees =皿=”
Of course, that’s not the point. Xia Yi felt his thoughts were all over the place, and after much turmoil, he finally managed to blurt out:
“So, what did Abiseth eat to grow big?”
“……”
Not just in Australia, but conflicts over islands near coasts around the world were intensifying. Many people fought to the death every day, and even surviving governments wanted to control but lacked the ability, a move not favored by everyone.
Islands, near coasts—what did that imply?
Typhoons in the northwest Pacific, storms in the Indian Ocean, hurricanes in the Atlantic.
Whether typhoons or hurricanes, they were just different names for tropical cyclones, capable of ruthlessly destroying buildings on land, causing floods, let alone on lonely islands in the sea.
Comparatively, inland mountainous regions were safer.
Of course, there were those who were reckless and didn’t care at all, like Zhou Liang.
As contact between anomalists increased, so did the scale of their conflicts. Some information sporadically leaked out, with no clear division even from City B Base regarding the types of anomalies. For now, there were only two rough categories.
It was said that those who often heard inexplicable voices were advanced anomalists, although no one could say for sure what those voices really were, and those who heard them were reluctant to speak up.
Then there were those judged by their power—regardless of their abilities, anomalists with high destructive capabilities and a certain attack range were feared. Even those with good eyesight or who ran fast were not taken seriously by people with stronger physical strength.
“On the sea, bad weather isn’t the biggest problem—”
Many anomalists muttered to themselves, becoming more determined to find nearby islands. Only in shallow seas would sea monsters not come; their massive bodies obstructed the way.
“Are we just going to watch them fight to the death without doing anything?”
Captain Hao in City B Base appeared very irritable, pacing around in circles and speaking loudly, “People like Zhou Liang, being the scum that he is, actually incites some unscrupulous people to drive over five hundred refugees to kill each other over a mouthful of food. And even if they see someone approaching an island, they’ll kill without hesitation…”
But he didn’t wait for the general to come and appease or explain. Instead, entering the door was Professor Lin from the Academy of Sciences.
As soon as they saw him, members of the Anomaly Team wanted to run away as fast as they could.
Professor Lin looked at Captain Hao and the other three anomalists with great anticipation. It had been over ten days since the last acoustic data on sea monsters had been cut off. What exactly had happened to the sea monsters was difficult to speculate with such scarce information.
“The latest military intelligence indicates that islands near the East China Sea, Yellow Sea, and even the South China Sea have already been occupied by anomalists. We can’t say for sure about territory loss or division now; people need to survive. Other things can wait… they, these anomalists, their identities, professions, and even their worldview are all complex. There are definitely non-Chinese among them.”
“Unless they can sit together and become one voice, there’s no need to worry. City B has already concentrated on organizing an area for planting, and those who have farming experience from northern Anhui and northern Huai must be counted.”
Professor Lin cleared his throat and pointed to the map on the table, saying, “Regardless of whether the so-called alliance of anomalists can be established, what worries the Academy and the Chairman the most is that sea monsters don’t seem to be a loose and disorderly group. From our observations, they seem to have intelligence and can communicate with each other. It’s incredible that these sea monsters, although originally in each other’s food chain, don’t kill each other.”
Professor Lin spread out the paper on the table, and the later anomalists curiously leaned over to look.
It was a complex tree diagram, with plankton at the top, becoming more intricate as it descended.
“Octopuses eat crabs, and sea turtles eat both crabs and jellyfish… Among them, octopuses and squids are typical examples of cannibalism within their own species. But there’s no way to explain how these creatures can peacefully coexist, not considering each other as food, with language, communication…”
Professor Lin nodded towards Captain Hao, signaling him to continue, “During the eradication of spider crabs, we also discovered a perfectly coordinated division of labor and cooperation. Acoustic data shows they even have a recognized leader, Abiseth the octopus, who takes gifts to visit Volcus in the Atlantic. This is already quite a structured group! So the Academy unanimously believes that at least the ‘Sea Monster Alliance’ exists! Unless absolutely necessary, do not attract their attention, because we cannot predict what sea monsters might desire.”
Professor Lin sighed and shook his head, “This is much more difficult than diplomacy; their reasoning doesn’t even belong to a single species.”
Dumbfounded members of the Anomaly Team: “…”
Had they not woken up properly today, or why were they hearing such bizarre conclusions?
“The final conclusion from the acoustic data shows that the Siren sea monster did not die, and Abiseth the octopus found a ship. Do you understand what that means inside?”
Captain Hao and his group shook their heads in unison.
Professor Lin huffed, “It means that no matter when you leave City B for missions in the East China Sea, if you see a floating ship, absolutely do not interfere, no matter what kind of ship it is, no matter what it looks like!”
“Uh… understood…”
After Professor Lin left, everyone fell into another round of discussion about what sea monsters really were, whether they had civilizations, whether they fell in love.
Would the nations in the future post-apocalypse need to establish diplomatic relations with sea monsters and sign non-aggression treaties?
Such absurdities!
Forget it, that wasn’t their concern!
—Yes, absolutely right, sea monsters didn’t have a clue what an “alliance” was.
Could they eat it?
Why laugh?
In the world of food enthusiasts, things were simply divided into edible and non-edible.
Was there anything wrong with that?
As for humans, what could they possibly have in common with sea monsters?
Amidst the lively discussions, Captain Hao squatted on the side, staring blankly.
In fact, Professor Lin deliberately avoided one topic: where did sea monsters come from? Their existence was so illogical; they weren’t the result of radiation or genetic manipulation in laboratories. Were they truly this miraculous by nature?
He absentmindedly flipped through a stack of so-called news.
This era was really terrible; plowing with a plow, handwriting reports, would they eventually have to write with a brush pen, or was a goose feather pen better?
And then life would only have candles, and after the successful reconstruction of the post-apocalypse, entertainment would be limited to watching plays and dances live?
Ugh!
The paper in his hand floated down onto the table.
On that paper happened to be written: Li Shao, Zhoushan Islands, judged as an advanced anomalist with attributes of strength, surname An, gender female, name unknown, advanced anomalist with fire attributes, so far known as the strongest in the same attribute… Comprehensive analysis ability, dangerous.
