As soon as the fire inside the cave went out, everyone knew that the monster was here again.
The darkness only lasted for a moment.
With prior experience, everyone managed to restart the fire very quickly.
But when the cave was bright again, Chen Fei and Huang Rui unfortunately had already disappeared. The system had once again quietly sent the last ranked examinees over to the monster.
Just like Qin Jiu and You Huo last ti.....Huh?
"Where's Brother You?" Di Li was a little confused.
He now regarded You Huo and Qin Jiu as something on par to cram study sessions and would stare at them all day long without averting his gaze.
But now, one of them was gone.
"Isn't he her————"
Shu Xue turned around and pointed behind her only to find that there was only Qin Jiu there.
There was an empty space on his left. Before the monster's arrival, You Huo was standing there but now not even a shadow was left behind.
Shu Xue asked with surprise: "Where did he go? I heard him speak earlier."
Qin Jiu slowly wound a rope back up: "Then did you hear what he said?"
"I was looking at the scores so I didn't hear clearly...….."
She and Wu Li's ranking had been rising steadily so there was nothing to worry about, but she was very concerned about You Huo and Qin Jiu.
These two gentlemen themselves didn't care so she had to do their share for them.
Shu Xue tried to recall: "I think I heard you two betting something."
"Mhn." Qin Jiu said, "We made a bet."
They betted whether their ranking would drop.
The winner could work out a little by doing some fishing, while the loser would need to deal with the boring aftermath.
Qin Jiu won.
But when the monster's tentacle reached down, someone cheated. Without a word, he stepped forward and was snatched away by the tentacle right in front of Qin Jiu's face.
"S-so what now? What's happening now?" Someone asked.
"I'm going to go find it to get someone back. You are free to do whatever." Qin Jiu strung the coiled rope on his arm and left the cave.
Di Li was shocked for a moment. He then quickly rushed over to the entrance of the cave: "Are you going to fight it? Can I go too————"
***
The system's punishment mechanism always comes into effect instantly.
The moment the ugly octopus's tentacles that are lined with suction cups wrapped around the two final ranked examinees; the surroundings changed instantly.
For a moment, it felt that the food tonight was a bit heavy.
Something didn't seem right.
But the next second, the tattered cabin was reflected on its round, beady eyes and it was welcomed with a familiar smell. It very quickly relaxed.
It had returned to its usual dining place.
It called this place the Cliffside Restaurant.
Because the old ship had been trapped in the reef here for many years, layers upon layers of ice covered it.
But the other side was suspended in the air, as if one day it would still break away from the ice and return to sea.
But today the Cliffside Restaurant was a little messy....
No, it was a complete chaos.
It was all thanks to the efforts of its two food sources from last night.
No matter where the octopus looked, anger surged.
Carrying an 'if I don't see it, it's okay' mindset, it twisted around and proceeded to stuff its two new prey into its mouth.
Just as it turned around, it noticed someone standing by the porthole.
A familiar figure and familiar face. Who else could it be if not for You Huo?
The octopus's dark eyes widened in shock.
It saw the headache inducing food from yesterday stand there as if he had just arrived.....Next to him was a sack and in his hand was a knife.
Those who didn't know what was going on would think he was here to get sashimi.
The octopus's soft mouth trembled a few times. It intended to swallow its food first before fighting the person before it.
But before it could do that, the food in its mouth suddenly moved.
It felt a sharp, burning pain. It's tentacles instantly curled up.
Soon after were two needle-like pricks. Its eye rolled over and it saw two metal hooks sticking out of its mouth pinning deeply into its flesh.
Bang, bang, bang————
There were several dull sounds coming from inside its mouth.
The new food had suddenly started to struggle. They danced around wildly inside its mouth causing pain to the octopus.
The octopus endured but eventually couldn't hold itself back. Once again, it vomited.....
Chen Fei and Huang Rui tumbled out onto the ground.
They still hadn't realised that they had escaped and were still flailing around with their eyes closed.
This continued until Chen Fei kicked Huang Rui causing the other to cry out. Only then did they stop.
Chen Fei opened his eyes wide open. He and Huang Rui stared at each other. They were both still in a state of shock.
They gasped for air for a long time before the thunderous roar nearby gradually subsided.
"Move aside!" You Huo's voice suddenly sounded from behind.
Perhaps it was the natural tone of his voice but at this moment his voice sounded extremely calm.
Chen Fei and Huang Rui were startled out of their shocked state. They fumbled over to the side.
By the time their backs met the wall and they could no longer back away any further, You Huo had already jumped over a staircase and started his fight with the octopus.
"We...….we're alive?" Chen Fei was still very much confused.
Huang Rui panted and said: "Alive! Alive...…..It really worked!"
Human's are very strange creatures. Once they've managed to escape from the tiger's mouth, they no longer felt that the tiger itself was scary. They suddenly felt as if they had become stronger or, at least, they were stronger then they thought.
Chen Fei watched You Huo's agile figure: "Are we just going to sit here and watch?"
Huang Rui gripped tightly onto a metal hook: "I have no pride anyway."
"Me too."
"Going?"
Chen Fei took a deep breath. Together, he and Huang Rui rushed out.
***
With one hand on the ground supporting him, You Huo took advantage of the tilted cabin floor to slip under various obstacles.
The tentacles chasing after him weren't able to stop in time causing it to ram into those obstacles. Once those tentacles hit the wrong target, You Huo used that opportunity to cut it off.
Slap——-
The severed tentacle fell to the ground. After writhing around a few times, it became lifeless.
You Huo was used to fighting alone.
With Qin Jiu not around this time, he suddenly realised how beneficial it was to have someone whose skills are par to his fight together with him.
It would be much more efficient, and it would at least prevent him from spilling a sweat.
But with just a giant octopus, it wasn't something he couldn't manage on his own.
At most, it would just take a few more minutes.
What surprised him was that the two examinees who were almost eaten were not completely scared witless and had even joined the battle.
Compared to Qin Jiu, their agility, strength, speed, skill and physical fitness was not as good....They also couldn't take much damage and their minds weren't quick enough but they were still reasonably good teammates.
You Huo glanced at the sack and internally made some calculations. He would leave after cutting off three more tentacles.
But the ugly octopus appeared to have realised its predicament. It bolted away as fast as it could.
As soon as he lifted the knife, the octopus tensed up it's tentacles and thrusted itself out through a hole in the bottom of the ship. Passing through the narrow cracks, it slipped out into the sea.
"It ran away?" Chen Fei stared at the hole not daring to move.
Huang Rui walked over and carefully looked down. He reported: "I don't see it anymore. It probably left."
"I guess so. It also left from there last time." You Huo kicked up the sack and tossed a few more tentacles in. After checking the weight, he appeared to look a little disappointed.
Just as he was about to tie up the mouth of the sack, there was a soft squelching sound coming from the bottom of the ship.
It was as if something had quietly attached itself to the ship.
You Huo frowned. He looked up and said to Huang Rui: "Don't stand there!"
It was almost too late when he said that.
Thanks to Huang Rui's conditioned reflex to automatically obey You Huo's instructions, he didn't even have the time to think before his body instinctively fell backwards.
The moment he fell, several thick tentacles pierced through the hole.
Just a little more, and he would have been dragged out into the sea.
Strange squeaking sounds resonated within the cabin. It was as if something slippery and soft was rubbing against something hard. It also seemed to be.....some strange form of communication.
You Huo didn't have a good feeling.
Sure enough, the next second three identical octopuses emerged from the hole on the ground.
Their tentacles swung around wildly, and it even carried whistling sounds as it flew past.
"......…."
You Huo didn't think that a monster like this would go call its parents over after being defeated.
One gigantic octopus was manageable and two would also be alright.
But wasn't three a little too much???
Those three ugly things were extremely large and plump. The old ship was already in a dire state and it couldn't contain those three things.
You Huo kicked the sack over to the corner, grabbed the other two and pulled them behind the metal cabinet.
After just a few creaks, the deck above them finally succumbed. In an instant, it broke open.
***
Not far away, on the ice field.
With Di Li and the others insisting on following, Qin Jiu didn't stop them.
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And so, a large group of examinees hurried over the ice while trying their utmost best to avoid making too much noise in fear that the "angels" under the ice would be lured over.
"Are we there yet? How far is it?" Di Li who did his best keeping up with Qin Jiu asked in a quiet voice.
As soon as the last of his words were spoken, loud explosions could be heard in the distance. Soon afterwards, fleshy white tentacles appeared. They swung around wildly, smashing everything in sight.
Alright then.
With all this ruckus, even without Qin Jiu answering, everyone knew the answer.
Di Li took in those giant tentacles and swallowed nervously: "I.....Fuck...It doesn't seem to be just one?! That octopus can reproduce?"
Qin Jiu's looked over in the distance. He didn't answer.
The next moment, he suddenly chuckled.
Di Li internally wondered if he had gone mad.
But before he could suppress those thoughts, Qin Jiu turned around and said to everyone: "Excuse me."
Everyone had grown used to him acting roguishly the past few days. With him suddenly saying 'excuse me', for a moment they couldn't get used to it.
"No, no, no. Don't say excuse me. If there's anything we can do, please tell us."
They said in a very small voice.
Qin Jiu: "Shout a few times."
Everyone: "???"
Huh?
With all those angels watching underground, you're getting who to shout a few times?
Di Li was so dumbfounded; he almost fell to his knees.
But his brain worked quickly. After standing there frozen for a few seconds, he came to understand Qin Jiu's intention.
And so, with his two hands forming a projecting horn in front of his mouth, he let out a howl.
Just howling out wasn't enough, he even jumped on the ice a few times.
The next second, hundreds of small pale faces raced over.
.........
***
In the cabin, the three giant octopuses were still rampaging around.
Probably because it was bullied earlier, it wanted to vent and show off its power now that it had the upper hand.
The sounds of smashing and collisions were endless. The whistling of the air as the tentacles flew by was extremely terrifying.
In addition to this, there was also something else going on in the background.
It was the sound of the ice below them cracking.
Unfortunately, the octopuses were too excited and were completely unaware of this.
By the time it was done showing off its power and was ready to attack, human voices suddenly filled the half-destroyed ship.
The three octopuses froze for a moment. They then looked back impatiently.
At this moment, they saw thirty plus examinees rushing over.
But that wasn't the main issue. The main issue was behind them.......
Numerous pale human faces swarmed over. Like a white wall of wind, it rushed over like a tsunami.
"............…."
The octopuses didn't know what sin it had committed.
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It's hard being a villain these days…..