24 A new world
On the endless sea,
A red boat emerged from the Suancai Island.
Four burly men, covered in black plant juice, were leisurely rowing the boat.
One of the players asked skeptically, "Boss, will this really attract the Merpeople?"
Sitting at the front of the boat, Tight Clothes Night Walker replied, "Rest assured! We are the only boat out at sea among the players right now, and to make sure we're noticeable, I even painted the boat red. There's no way the Merpeople won't spot us."
"After we complete this mission, I'll treat you all to a drink from the new bar," he added.
The player beside him agreed, "Yes, big brother."
...
Under the sea, Gugu was bored, fiddling with the seaweed near the strange gate that had appeared on the surface just yesterday.
But today, it had suddenly disappeared.
And the players no longer ventured out to the open sea.
Instead, they stayed close to the shore, making it much more difficult to catch them. Sometimes, before the Merpeople could even get close, they would flee at the slightest disturbance.
The difficulty of the hunt had increased significantly.
This made Gugu feel heartbroken. After all, he had been promoted to the leader of the hunting team by the Shaman based on his achievements yesterday.
Even the female Merperson he had always admired had approached him this morning, rubbing her swollen belly and confessing her feelings for him.
Gugu had achieved success in both his career and love life.
But if he couldn't complete the mission given to him by the Shaman today...
He would be in big trouble!
While he was alone in his sorrow, one of his Merpeople swam up to him.
Excitedly, the Merperson said, "Captain, those strange creatures have appeared again, just a little to the east on the surface."
Upon hearing this, Gugu quickly swam to the temporary base of the Merpeople.
Hidden in a secluded watery hollow, hundreds of Merpeople were resting.
It was worth noting that there had been even more of them yesterday.
Many had returned to the tribe because they couldn't catch any humans.
Beside them, only a few unlucky players were being held captive.
Gugu gathered his team members and went to catch the players.
The capture process went smoothly, and with Gugu's experienced guidance, the four were quickly subdued.
However, one observant Merperson in Gugu's team noticed something strange and said to him, "Captain, why do the creatures we caught today look different from yesterday? And why are they emitting black smoke?"
Gugu thought about it, but he didn't know the answer either!
But to avoid this Merperson challenging his authority, Gugu slapped the questioning Merperson to the ground and scolded, "What do you know? This is a new species. We just need them alive for the blood sacrifice. Why do you care so much?"
With that, Gugu escorted the players to the temporary holding area.
But what he didn't notice was that the black juice on these four players was constantly dispersing into the water.
It was coherent but not chaotic, like a black thread connecting to the players.
As if guiding something.
Meanwhile, on the Suancai Island,
It was packed with people, all waiting for news from the warriors.
The players had discovered a potion that allowed them to breathe underwater.
One potion could provide underwater breathing for three hours.
The players eagerly bought one each, preparing to seek revenge on the Merpeople. Now, they were gathered on the island, waiting for the Merpeople to swallow the bait so they could find their lair and destroy them all.
It turned out that the four players were just bait.
They had all been coated with a special plant juice. This juice had a unique property that allowed it to remain underwater for a period of time, making it a perfect tool for tracking down the Merpeople.
"The boat has capsized, the plan has succeeded," said a player who was observing the red boat on the sea surface.
Upon receiving the message, the players dived into the water one by one, following the trail of black juice as planned.
Su Tongxin was among them, praising Yu Zhong Manbu, "You really did it. You even found this special plant. You deserve credit for this battle."
"I studied botany, so I couldn't help but research the plants in this other world. I didn't expect them to actually come in handy," Yu Zhong Manbu explained sheepishly, scratching his head.
As the two spoke, the players had already tracked down the Merpeople.
Battle was imminent, as thousands of players slowly encircled the Merpeople.
Seeing the encirclement form, the players charged towards the center.
At this point, the Merpeople finally realized something was wrong.
They saw the attacking players.
Instead of fleeing, the Merpeople laughed hysterically.
After all, in their eyes, although the players seemed numerous, their combat ability was inferior even to that of sea pigs.
Their charge was simply delivering themselves as easy targets.
So the Merpeople rushed forward to engage the players.
But as soon as they came into contact, the result was not as the Merpeople had expected.
Although the Merpeople were more agile in the water than the players, the players had the advantage of numbers.
Coupled with the fact that they had taken underwater breathing potions and were no longer afraid of the ocean, and their weapons and equipment were superior to the Merpeople's, the Merpeople could only temporarily hold their own against the players.
However, they were gradually overwhelmed, and Merpeople were being killed off.
It was only then that the Merpeople realized the difference in the players. They could now breathe underwater.
The Merpeople tried to break through the encirclement, but the players would not let their prey escape.
They surrounded the Merpeople even more tightly.
The original force of 600 Merpeople had dwindled to just over 100.
At this point, it seemed as if the players had all received some kind of message.
A gap suddenly appeared in the tight encirclement, and the remaining Merpeople quickly broke through and escaped.
Gugu still hadn't given up on the players it had captured today, as they were its future security. It grabbed one and took the opportunity to break through and escape.
In a place where it couldn't see, a player who had a chance to catch it backed off when they saw it grab a black-coated player, allowing it to escape smoothly.
They fled frantically, not daring to rest, and swam swiftly towards the direction of their tribe.
What they didn't realize was that the players were following them.
Finally, they reached the outskirts of their tribe, where the leader of the Merpeople force was holding a meeting with the remaining squad leaders.
Gugu, whose speed was limited because it was holding a player, also swam to the outskirts of the tribe.
Seeing the leader and the others in a meeting, Gugu, remembering its status as a squad leader, swam up to them with the player in its grasp.
They were currently discussing how the players had discovered them. The location they had chosen was supposed to be very concealed. Could there be a traitor among them?
Just then, Gugu arrived with the black-smoke-emitting player in its grasp.
They exchanged glances and understood what had happened.
Immediately, they surrounded Gugu.
"What are you guys doing? I..."
