Chapter 181

Chapter 181: Oh dear, these young ladies are quite the performers!

"Well done, children!"

"Ah, it must be my Symbiotic Creature No. 2, the Spiny Shark young lady, summoning her little spiny fish."

Trilobite gazed at the "paper young ladies" icons on the system interface.

The three paper young ladies wore different expressions.

Symbiotic Creature No. 1, the Trilobite Mantis young lady, looked stern; her ruby lips parted occasionally as if issuing calm yet commanding orders.

She resembled a capable female executive.

Symbiotic Creature No. 3, the Jumping Spider young lady…

Showed no visible emotion.

Her inorganic appearance remained unchanged, but Trilobite knew how expressive she became when he "teased" her.

He decided to memorize the Jumping Spider young lady’s current look for future comparisons.

Symbiotic Creature No. 2’s expression was truly something!

Grinning wide-eyed with delicate hands propping fragrant cheeks, she laughed heartily like a supervillainess.

"If this system had roles like ‘character design,’ they’re certainly playing them well."

"Each girl has unique traits."

"It sparks a collector’s urge."

"Enough daydreaming – hunting time has come!"

Though Trilobite and his "True Sociality Trilobite" dug their "tunnel" deep beneath the "sludge layer," the porous mud still allowed water seepage. This made the Lorentz Jar and Olfactory Membranes highly effective.

The "sludge" also transmitted vibrations well, enabling the Lateral Line to function fully.

Every sense now warned Trilobite: a large school of prey approached!

Any delay would waste the "Spiny Shark young lady’s" efforts.

"So then…"

Thrashing his forelimbs, Trilobite tunneled upward through the sludge toward the water above.

"I must move faster."

"Hope I don’t scare those trailing fish."

"Should be fish, right?"

His concern proved unnecessary. Large predators lurking in deep sludge seemed rare in these "waters." Though the "fish" swam swiftly, they ignored the upward threat from below.

Trilobite breached the sludge surface effortlessly.

He lay concealed, nostrils and calcite compound eyes emerging to scan the swamp’s murk.

Here his calcite eyes shone: suspended particles couldn’t damage their sturdy lenses, while the murk itself masked their low resolution.

Thus the Gasmarosaurus waited.

Soon…

"Whoosh—!"

The Spiny Shark swam by with its long and graceful body.

Behind it, a school of spiny fish followed.

"Wow…"

"I didn’t expect the Spiny Shark young lady to perform so well."

"She looked entirely defeated."

"As for the fellows behind her…"

"Um…"

Trilobite analyzed briefly.

"The big one must be the ‘Madageria fish.’"

In fact, if you searched for ‘Madageria fish’ on Baidu, you would find nothing, because this four-legged fish from the late Devonian period didn’t have a Chinese name.

Its true name was ‘Madageria,’ a close relative of the lungfish.

Everyone knew about lungfish, right?

It appeared in the BBC’s ‘Walking with Monsters.’

In the documentary, it once chased two Hynerpeton; when Hynerpeton escaped to land, the lungfish charged ashore like an orca, dragging one of them back into the water!

‘Walking with Monsters’ described the lungfish as a ruler of rivers, measuring 7 meters in length and weighing two tons, a freshwater monster.

In comparison, the Madageria fish was much smaller.

They typically only grew to about 1.5 meters, with the largest being just two meters.

Of course, this fish would still have been considered quite large in any freshwater system at any time.

The one in front of Trilobite was slightly smaller, measuring about 1.4 meters.

It was much larger than the Spiny Shark and possibly weighed twice as much, but its bulky body and relatively primitive swimming structure couldn’t compete with the elegant and streamlined Spiny Shark.

"Well, having observed the large one, he checked out the medium and small ones…"

"Uh…"

"Okay."

Trilobite felt disinterested.

There wasn’t much to observe, as these fellows all seemed to be Madageria fish.

"The medium-sized one should be a ‘young fish,’ and the small one should be a ‘young fry,’ he thought."

"The differences in detail might be due to developmental stages."

"He never thought fish could form social-like communities."

"However, that was possible."

Trilobite recalled that some fish did take care of young fish and juveniles; for example, the cichlid, which was widely distributed and known for its unique appearance, was notorious for meticulously caring for its fry.

"It’s just… this phenomenon seemed a bit early."

"But it didn’t matter!"

"This was perfect for me to scoop up the whole family bucket in one go!"

Thinking of the family bucket made Trilobite excited.

He admired and was moved by the spirit of the whole family sticking together, never separating.

He was so touched that drool ran from his mouth.

However, the half-baked Gasmarosaurus Trilobite managed to control his excitement.

The "little fish" swam fast, quickly passing over his head.

Some of the "medium fish" were also swift and went by promptly.

Finally, the "big fish" came, bringing a bunch of timid "little fish".

This was the moment Trilobite had been waiting for—to catch the stragglers!

"Charge—!"

"Boom—!"

The mud exploded, stirring up a huge cloud of muddy water from the bottom!

Gasmarosaurus shot upward, its giant jaws snapping wide open!

"Ah—oooh—"

"Bang—!"

After a loud bang, all went quiet.

The Big Mouth shut.

He didn’t go for the biggest one but targeted the last in line!

A slow "medium fish" got completely sucked into Trilobite’s mouth!

—-

"Ah—help—!"

A desperate scream echoed over the comms; it was the final call from the rear-guarding "Fangwind-class" cruiser.

"Boom—!"

After that boom, everything hushed.

"Crackle…crackle…"

Only static filled the comms.

"Damn it!"

Commander Molybdenum Cleansing banged his fist on the control panel.

"Quick, contact the other ships! Find out what happened!?"

The situation was bad.

Suddenly, a fierce "Primal Mud eruption" burst out in the Sea of Ether; such things could happen but were very rare.

But once it occurred, catastrophe was inevitable!

The frigate beneath him had crashed into the abdomen of the Ark of the Celestial Divine Wood, disturbed by violent ocean currents. Fortunately, this vessel was sturdy enough—otherwise, that collision would’ve been disastrous.

"Quick! Communications officer! Establish contact now! Or I’ll hold you responsible!"

…

Though Commander Cleansing shouted, cursed, and raged, he received only the communications officer’s helpless head shake.

"Can’t…"

"All communication channels are…"

"Wh-what’s that!?"

The communications officer stammered.

His trembling finger pointed behind Molybdenum Cleansing.

"What? Don’t try dodging blame with childish excuses…"

When Molybdenum Cleansing turned around curiously, he too began to stutter.

Behind him lay the porthole of the Ark of the Celestial Divine Wood, revealing the outside view.

Not that there was much to see.

Particles of Primal Mud floated in the Sea of Ether, reducing visibility to near zero while jamming all sensors.

The once-arrogant Molybdenum Fleet now drifted deaf and blind.

Yet even through such murk, something pressed impossibly close became visible.

Molybdenum Cleansing’s eyes fixed on a colossal cluster of geometric crystals—tens of thousands stacked densely, emitting a sinister, bone-chilling glow!

Then—

"Whoosh—!"

Crushing mental pressure surged forth!

"No—!"

"Aaaah!!!!!"

Divine might pinned everyone down. None could lift their heads!

The Triton Empire’s battle-hardened warriors descended into collective madness: some knelt retching, others sprinted wildly, while some clutched their own throats, attempting self-strangulation!

As a high-ranking noble, Molybdenum Cleansing bore the fullest divine grace of the Great Primordial Deity.

"Guh…"

He grunted. Horns erupted from his skull; his face contorted monstrously.

This was "demonization."

It meant Mr. Molybdenum Cleansing was marshaling every shred of inner power to resist the "creature’s" terrifying pressure.

Its sheer presence crushed them.

"What… what kind of monster…"

Molybdenum Cleansing couldn’t fathom how such a terrifying "creature" could exist in the world; surely, not even the Great Primordial Deity could be as fearsome as this thing!?

And just at that moment…

"Whoosh—!"

The colossal creature suddenly turned its head, and then…

"NO—!"

In Molybdenum Cleansing’s double eyes, the Abyss itself reflected back!

"Boom—!"

The Ark of the Celestial Divine Wood was clamped in the terrifying colossal creature’s jaws!

The Sea of Ether boiled once more!

"Bang—! Bang—! Crunch—!"

Massive teeth, thick as pillars yet razor-sharp, pierced through what the Trinitum Clan believed was an indestructible "divine outer skin"!

"Screech—!"

Etheric liquid flooded in, violently dissolving and corroding everything aboard the battleship!

Many Trinitum Clan crew members didn’t even have time to scream before they were corroded into skeletons.

Only the few crew members wearing protective suits escaped immediate death.

Yet, their fate was scarcely better.

The etheric liquid roared in, then roared out again, sweeping away everything within the cabin!

This included the crew in protective suits and Fleet Commander Molybdenum Cleansing himself.

…

"Cough, cough…"

When the fortunate Molybdenum Cleansing awoke, he found himself lying on the Primal Mud. From the Sea of Ether above, wreckage of the battleship and helpless crew members drifted down like snowflakes.

"It’s over…"

"The Molybdenum Fleet…"

"It’s all over!"

"What kind of monster did we provoke?!"

Only then did Molybdenum Cleansing understand: the attacker was a god!

And only a god could defeat another god!

"O god!"

"Avenge us!"

The Great Primordial Deity seemed to hear his plea.

"Whoosh—!"

A massive shadow swept across the Sea of Ether, casting a loathsome malice towards the Giant God!