Chapter 84: The Remains of the Mermaid

Having understood the attack mechanism of the giant kelp’s tendrils, Lu Chen became even more cautious. He once again extended his claws and gave one of the branches a sudden, savage tug—the immense power in his talons erupted in an instant.

With a sharp rip, the branch, as thick as a teacup, was wrenched apart.

He placed a segment of it on his talon and observed it carefully. Five minutes passed, and nothing happened.

It was clear that once the pine-needle-like suckers were severed from the main body, they lost their bloodsucking ability.

By now, this thing could hardly be called a plant anymore—perhaps it was some kind of hybrid between plant and animal? Suddenly, a thought flashed through Lu Chen’s mind: if he swallowed it, how much energy would it provide?

He immediately dismissed the idea. There was no way to be sure whether this piece of kelp was truly dead. Many algae in nature could reproduce through cell division. This thing was far too strange; if it wasn’t dead and ended up feeding on his flesh and blood, growing and multiplying inside him, that would be a disaster!

He then swam over to the tiger shark carcass. With sweeping motions of his forelimbs, he tore off large clusters of kelp branches.

He wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but Lu Chen seemed to hear faint cries of pain coming from within the kelp.

He paused and listened intently—nothing but silence.

Watching more and more kelp branches drift toward him, Lu Chen didn’t dare linger. He immediately clamped the tiger shark’s body in his jaws and left. Only after he had left the trench completely did he finally relax. After a brief rest, he began to drag his prey slowly upward.

Once back at the surface, Lu Chen turned to inspect the tiger shark’s remains.

In just a dozen minutes, the shark’s body had been gnawed and pitted by the kelp’s suckers, as if it had been dead for ages.

Lu Chen tore off a small piece of flesh with his claws and swallowed it, sensing carefully.

“Tiger shark, true shark family, weasel shark genus, provides 5 energy points…”

Data quickly appeared on his system panel.

As expected, the tiger shark’s flesh contained far less energy after being devoured by the kelp. If Lu Chen hadn’t snatched it away, the flesh would have been sucked dry in no time, leaving nothing but bones to sink to the ocean floor.

Now that his belly was full, he temporarily felt no hunger and decided to bury the tiger shark’s remains deep in the seabed mud for safekeeping. Then he floated on the surface, basking in the sun until his strength returned. For the third time, Lu Chen ventured into the giant kelp forest.

Now that he understood the kelp’s methods of attack, he was far bolder.

He moved slowly, probing for any sign of danger.

Just like the pythons in Hot Spring Valley, the mutation of these giant kelp indicated that some unknown change had taken place in this trench. If he could find the cause, perhaps he might gain some opportunity.

To his surprise, hundreds of mutated kelp stalks grew within the trench, forming a vast forest of death. The faint sunlight filtering through created an eerie, terrifying atmosphere.

Many pine-needle tendrils still held struggling marine creatures—unlucky souls who had just wandered in, oblivious to the kelp’s menace, only to be ensnared without realizing it.

The closer he got to the center, the more remains of marine creatures he saw among the silt.

There was even a human skeleton. The sight sent chills down Lu Chen’s spine, and at the same time, he felt a strange sense of curiosity.

Wait…

He was about to turn back when he suddenly stopped. His beastly eyes widened, shining with astonishment.

This skeleton…it wasn’t human!

No, not entirely. It had a human head, spine, and clearly defined ribs and arms. But its lower half was the tail of a fish.

A mermaid—the stuff of legend!

Yes, it was unmistakably a human upper body with a fish’s tail, exactly like the tales from his past life.

Lu Chen was stunned.

He was certain this was not some internet hoax, cobbled together from animal bones for attention—no one would go to such lengths hundreds of meters deep in the sea.

Besides, there wasn’t the slightest sign of artificial assembly.

In his previous research, Lu Chen hadn’t found any authoritative accounts of mermaids online—just vague legends, as in his former world.

This meant that in this world, mermaids were just as rare and unknown.

If he brought this skeleton to the surface, it would surely astonish everyone.

As he drew closer to the mermaid’s remains, the strange feeling intensified, as if something was calling to him. Soon, Lu Chen noticed a crude necklace hanging from the cervical vertebrae. At its end, several thumbnail-sized stones emitted a faint red glow.

Spirit stones—he had found them again!

Lu Chen was instantly excited. He hooked his claw around the skull, carefully removed the necklace, and examined it closely.

After his initial excitement, he calmed down. These spirit stones were tiny, their luster dim, and clearly held little energy—of little use to him. Besides, he still had several hundred pounds of tiger shark flesh outside.

So Lu Chen decided not to swallow the spirit stones, but to bring them back for the crocodile chief and the others.

The last time the black-tailed rock python mutated, it was probably because it had swallowed a spirit stone. He hoped these stones might help his companions as well.

Sensing a disturbance in the water, Lu Chen quickly hung the necklace on his teeth and slipped away.

Within moments, several giant kelp branches crept silently closer.

These things were impossible to guard against.

Lu Chen continued to explore the depths of the trench.

Since the mermaid’s remains were here, there might be others alive… The thought filled his heart with anticipation.

The trench was much longer than he had imagined. Following the edge of the kelp forest, he swam forward for half an hour without reaching the end.

After a while, Lu Chen stopped.

The terrain ahead looked strangely familiar.

Conch shells, fish bones… and a giant turtle shell.

After studying his surroundings, Lu Chen realized he had come full circle—he was back where he started.

A ghostly labyrinth?

Or perhaps the gloomy kelp forest had confused his senses, causing him to unwittingly circle the same ground.

Lu Chen focused his mind and confirmed he was not disoriented. Throughout his exploration, he had always followed the trench’s edge. So how had he ended up here again?

Unconvinced, Lu Chen set out once more.

Every so often, he scored the rocks with his claws, leaving obvious marks as a guide.

Until…he returned to the starting point.

Now Lu Chen was certain: he had not lost his way—there was something strange about this terrain. It was not a trench as he had thought, but a massive ring-shaped pit, much like the Blue Hole of Belize from his past life.

Based on the distance he had swum, the diameter of this ring-shaped pit was at least a kilometer. This stretch of sea was only a few hundred miles from Madura, yet because it was so deep underwater, it might never have been discovered by humans.

Or perhaps it had been found, but no one had paid attention. After all, the kelp mutation might have occurred only a few months ago.

If he wanted to uncover the secrets of this place, he would have to explore the center of the pit.