My Romance Game Updated – Chapter 45

by Little Panda

The 7th-Order Octopus

“Because there’s a 7th-order mutated animal in the sea.”

Mu Ning’s single, indifferent remark shattered the beautiful fantasies of seafood the other girls present had been entertaining.

“Actually, besides the 7th-order mutated giant octopus we’ve seen, the other mutated animals in the sea are also very dangerous!” Sun Jia added considerately. “Any human who has tried to go to the beach to gather some seafood to fill their stomachs, even espers, has ended up becoming food for that seafood instead.”

After the apocalypse, the entire world had undergone earth-shattering changes. This was true for the land, and naturally, the ocean was no exception. In fact, the vast and mysterious sea concealed even more unknown dangers than the land. The ocean’s mutated animals evolved far more rapidly than those on land.

On land, there were zombies, espers, and ordinary humans with considerable combat strength, in addition to mutated beasts. While these different races competed and fought amongst themselves, the hegemons of the ocean were constantly devouring other marine life. Without the interference of humans, zombies, and other mutated beasts, the speed at which marine creatures advanced was unimaginably fast for humans. For instance, while the highest-level esper in the base was only 5th-order, high-order mutated creatures of the 7th-order had already appeared in the ocean.

And the giant octopus was just one of them. According to Sun Jia’s speculation, in a sea as vast as the South Sea, teeming with so much marine life, there was certainly more than one 7th-order mutated animal. However, the sea area around their Zuoning Town, including the beach, had likely been claimed by that 7th-order mutated octopus as its territory. After successfully advancing to a high order, the giant octopus, though larger in size, had eight tentacles that were even more flexible and powerful. They could help it move from the deep sea to the shallows, and even rush onto the beach. After preying on the humans who were attempting to gather seafood on the beach, it could easily return to the sea.

There was once an extremely strong esper team in the base. The average esper level was above 4th-order, and one of the 4th-order espers was even stronger than the base leader, Qi Sheng, had been back when he was 4th-order. This team, relying on what they believed to be their formidable strength, ventured to the seaside. In their view, even if they didn’t have the power to fight a 7th-order octopus, they should at least have no problem escaping, right? So, before the octopus monster charged onto the beach to attack them, they could surely gather a basketful of seafood to satisfy their cravings, couldn’t they?

But in the end, this powerful 18-person team was completely annihilated, with not a single person returning. No one knew what kind of attack they had faced on the beach that resulted in not one of the 18 people managing to escape the monster’s clutches.

Of course, it wasn’t that no other survivors had managed to escape from the octopus monster. It was thanks to one lucky survivor that the others in the base learned of the existence of a 7th-order octopus monster in the sea. Previously, the espers who went to the beach and disappeared without exception had only led everyone to suspect the presence of dangerous 5th or 6th-order marine creatures. Who could have imagined that what was hiding in the sea was actually a high-order octopus monster!

Even after everyone learned that a 7th-order mutated octopus monster was in the sea adjacent to Zuoning Town, there were still many espers who didn’t fear death, or ordinary people who didn’t have enough to eat, who continued to gamble with their lives and venture to the beach. In their eyes, no matter how strong the octopus monster was, it couldn’t possibly be lurking in the shallows near the beach at all times. It was bound to be attracted by other creatures in the sea, leave the beach, and return to the deeper parts of the ocean.

If they guessed right, they could reap a huge harvest. There was once a lucky team of ordinary people and espers who actually brought back three large baskets of fresh seafood. At the same time, they also collected several hundred crystal cores, mostly 1st and 2nd-level. According to them, after the tide receded, the beach was crawling with giant crabs, most of which were 1st and 2nd-order mutated crabs. These crabs were easy for a 3rd-order esper to deal with; once their giant pincers were disabled, there was nothing to fear. As for the other mutated shellfish on the beach, they were even less of a threat. Their only mutation was a hard shell. As long as you flipped them over, even an ordinary person without an esper ability could handle them with a shovel or a machete.

This haul made the team rich overnight. Not only did they obtain a large number of crystal cores from the mutated crabs, conches, and clams, but they also sold the seafood in the base for a high price, earning them even more crystal cores.

Such an enormous reward immediately made others in the base burn with envy. Thus, even knowing there was a 7th-order octopus monster in the sea and that the beach was very dangerous, many people still formed groups to try their luck at the seaside. However, not all of those who gambled with their lives were lucky, and not all of them could bet correctly.

What these people risking their lives on the beach didn’t know was that, besides the terrifying 7th-order octopus monster, this dreadful sea area was also home to many 5th and 6th-order mutated creatures. They were only focused on guarding against the octopus monster and failed to defend against the 5th and 6th-order marine life also lurking in the sea. When the 7th-order octopus monster was temporarily away, the beach naturally became the domain of these lesser monsters.

Thus, 6th-order giant crabs with incredibly hard bodies, 5th-order strange fish with huge heads full of sharp teeth, 5th-order sea snakes as thick as four people, and even 6th-order deep-sea jellyfish that could kill instantly with their poison all rushed onto the beach, preying wantonly on the humans who had come to try their luck and score a cheap haul.

After 10 consecutive teams were wiped out with no survivors, the people in the base who had been itching for the seafood on the beach finally began to feel fear. This was because a speed esper, who had escaped at the cost of an arm and by the skin of his teeth, told everyone that the mutations of many marine creatures meant they were no longer confined to the deep sea. When they attacked espers on the beach, their movements were not restricted in the slightest!

This speed esper’s words put many people in the base on high alert. Some who thought further ahead even worried that one day, these terrifying marine creatures would set their sights on the base, and perhaps their base would be attacked by these horrifying mutated sea creatures.

With the speed esper’s warning, coupled with the fate of the annihilated teams, the restless hearts of most people in the base finally cooled down. They no longer blindly fantasized about getting rich off the beach through sheer luck. But these people did not include the team that had hit the jackpot and become rich overnight from the very beginning.

After enjoying the huge benefits of their adventure, with their entire team returning unharmed, they clung to the hope of getting lucky again. So, after everyone else became wary and afraid to go to the beach, and after this team had used up most of their crystal cores and all their espers had advanced by one order, they went to the seaside once more…

“This time they didn’t make it back to the base alive, did they?” After hearing Sun Jia’s account, Tang Ying couldn’t help but ask, her voice trembling.

“That’s right. They never returned to the base. Since then, even fewer people in the base would risk going to the beach.”

“Even fewer? So some people still go?” Jian Dan found it strange. “There have been so many precedents already. Why would people still go to the beach to court death?”

“Because there are always some people in the base who, if they don’t go to the beach to try their luck, might not be able to survive at all!” Sun Jia shook her head helplessly.

“…Sigh!”

As the girls continued to eat, lamenting how dangerous the seaside was and how delicious seafood had become so terrifying, Ren Chenxi was frantically calculating in her mind how many crystal stones a 5th, 6th, or 7th-order crystal core could be exchanged for. Especially that rumored 7th-order octopus monster. A 7th-order crystal core seemed to be exchangeable for… for one million crystal stones, right?!

A full one million crystal stones!

It was over. Ren Chenxi felt that one day in the future, she might become one of the adventurers Sun Jia spoke of, one who would even gamble her life for profit. However, those people were basically doomed if they encountered the mutated octopus monster, but she was different. Ren Chenxi hadn’t forgotten that she now had five SR explosion cards! Five SR explosion cards could be synthesized into one SSR explosion card. An SSR card was designed to be used against high-order enemies. Dealing with a 7th-order octopus monster should be no problem, right? Of course, she would only know the detailed card information after she synthesized the SSR card. After all, the incident with the greasy card having different probabilities against enemies of different levels had made Ren Chenxi much more cautious.

So, should she synthesize her five precious SR explosion cards into an SSR card?

Ren Chenxi’s brow furrowed, her heart filled with hesitation. On one hand, she wanted to keep the five SR explosion cards in case of some danger or accident. On the other hand, she was truly drooling over that octopus monster’s crystal core. If she really managed to get a 7th-order crystal core, how many ten-card draws could she do? Synthesizing five SR explosion cards again wouldn’t be a problem, would it?

Just as Ren Chenxi was caught in a dilemma, Mu Ning, who was beside her, noticed her distraction. Although Ren Chenxi was still shoveling rice from her bowl and her chopsticks would occasionally pick up a green vegetable, it was obvious she wasn’t enjoying her food as much as before. Why?

Mu Ning watched Ren Chenxi for a while, then suddenly spoke up. “You want to eat seafood? You’re not thinking of risking a trip to the beach to gather some, are you?”

Her thoughts hit upon so directly by Mu Ning, Ren Chenxi’s hand paused mid-shovelful. Then, she feigned innocent surprise and retorted, “Go to the beach? I’m just a 4th-order esper. How would I dare risk going to the beach?”

Noticing Ren Chenxi’s slightly evasive gaze, Mu Ning warned her in a heavy voice, “You’d better think that way. You should know, not just me, but even Qi Sheng wouldn’t dare to take his team to the beach to try his luck.” The subtext was: A 4th-order rookie like you shouldn’t go and serve yourself up as a free meal.¹

“…” Pfft, so what if you’re a 5th-order esper? Can’t I just blow your head off whenever I want? Ren Chenxi curled her lip in disdain and ignored Mu Ning, continuing to shovel rice from her bowl. With delicious food right in front of her, it was better to focus on eating! As for the beach… she would wait. Wait a little longer. When she had saved up more cards and gotten a bit stronger, she would find a chance to check out the situation from a place a bit farther from the shore.

Anyway, with the mini-map, she could detect danger as soon as it appeared and escape immediately.

In that case, she needed to stock up on a few more of a god-tier card like the flash card. And it would be best if she could manage to level up her Hit Skill to the max!

The author has something to say:

Wooden-head: Don’t go to the beach! (I’m worried you’ll be in danger)

Xixi: You dare call this mother a rookie!² I’ll blow your head off!

Wooden-head: ???

ps: A little cutie in the comments said they can’t drink milk on an empty stomach… You must be lactose intolerant, right???? You’ll have to be careful with all dairy products from now on!

Footnotes

Original phrase: 送菜 (sòng cài), literally ‘to deliver a dish’. In gaming slang, it means to be an easy kill or to feed the enemy team, essentially serving oneself up as a free meal.
Original term: 菜鸡 (cài jī), literally ‘vegetable chicken’. It’s a popular gaming slang term for a ‘rookie’ or ‘noob’, someone who is unskilled.

Footnotes

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