Former Interstellar Mercenary In Urban Cultivation World
Chapter 389: Hole (Part 1)

Chapter 389: Hole (Part 1)

She quickly approached the spot where the stonefish had been lurking.

The lake water became particularly murky due to the movements of the stonefish, making it impossible to see the bottom.

Amalia didn’t dare to venture down recklessly; in case there’s other deep-sea creatures were lurking below.

It was better to be safe than sorry.

The commotion in the distance gradually faded until silence resumed.

No movement came from the hole left by the departing stonefish.

Amalia suddenly remembered something.

The reason she mistook the stonefish for a real stone was because it was covered with thick moss.

Thick moss doesn’t grow overnight.

This stonefish likely lurked here for many years, never moving from its spot, which allowing the moss to grow unchecked.

The area was teeming with fish, so the stonefish didn’t have to worry about food shortages.

This could explain why no deep-sea creatures emerged after the passage opened.

Of course, this is all assuming the passage to the ocean is indeed below.

If the passage had been blocked for many years and the stonefish was powerful enough, the potent poison of its thorns could incapacitate even a great white shark.

Outsiders wouldn’t dare to force their way in, and there wouldn’t be any deep-sea creatures discovering the passage over time.

The Purple Eelavarice King in the lake claimed the Kilika Lake as its territory and wouldn’t want other mutated creatures competing for its territory.

Therefore, it likely tacitly allowed the stonefish to block the passage.

It’s also possible that the stonefish blocking the passage was at the behest of the Purple Eelavarice King.

However, all of these were just Amalia’s speculations.

She suppressed the urge to explore further and waited until Kenny Lin returned.

"Are you both okay?" Amalia asked as he approached.

Kenny Lin enjoyed her concern for him alone.

So, he just automatically ignoring the "you both" remark, and said: "We’re fine. We don’t know if it will come back, so let’s go down and take a look first."

"If it’s under orders from the Purple Eelavarice King to guard here, it might come back. Let’s move a little bit faster," Amalia nodded.

The hole left by the stonefish was quite large, but as soon as they descended, they noticed a different current.

Following the flow of water, they found the passage.

The passage was over ten meters wide and high.

It was completely sealed off by the stonefish.

No wonder they couldn’t find it before.

Without murky water obstructing her vision, Amalia could clearly see some non-mutated small fish and shrimp swimming in from the outside.

The passage didn’t appear large from the outside because it was filled with countless mutated creatures’s corpses.

These corpses belonged to the mutated creatures that had awakened their intelligent and tried to enter the Kilika Lake, as well as some sea creatures who had accidentally stumbled in and were poisoned to death by the stonefish.

The Flesh and blood had long been corroded away and leaving only skeletons behind.

"Should we go through?" Amalia asked Kenny Lin uncertainly.

If this passage were directly connected to the ocean, wouldn’t they would be risking they life by entering the large territory of mutated deep-sea creatures?

If these deep-sea creatures discovered them and they couldn’t return to land in time, both of them would be in trouble.

However, if they wanted to investigate the cause of the mutations in the central disaster zone, it seemed they could only explore the ocean.

"Considering the location of Kilika Lake, it’s unlikely to directly connect to the open sea. If we go in this direction, think about it carefully, which other lakes are there on the map?" Kenny Lin said.

Immediately, a map flashed in Amalia’s mind, it was the same as the one given to them by Tony Lin.

After connecting a few lines on the map that revealed several lakes they could reach.

Her expression shifted slightly as she looked at Kenny Lin and said, "Are you suspecting that these lakes are all connected to the ocean?"

Kenny Lin nodded, "That’s the only way to explain why these deep-sea creatures are appearing in inland lakes and why freshwater lakes are turning into saltwater lakes."

This wasn’t difficult to speculate.

Anyone who saw deep-sea mutated creatures appearing inland would suspect this, but few would confirm it.

The lakebeds of inland lakes weren’t easy to penetrate.

Now that they knew it wasn’t a direct route to the ocean, it was manageable.

Not long after they left, the stonefish returned.

Failing to find the person who had removed several of its spines, it could only return dejectedly and squat back in its hole.

Amalia and Kenny Lin swam against the current.

They occasionally encountering some mutated creatures, which they dealt with effortlessly.

The flow of water wasn’t fast, and when they encountered forks in the passage, they couldn’t determine which path led to the ocean and which led today another inland lake; they could only judge based on probability.

Even with Kenny Lin’s speed, Amalia couldn’t navigate all the rocky obstacles in the lakebed passage.

Traveling through vast stretches of land to reach another lake took even more time underwater than it would have on the surface.

Moreover, in the narrow and dim space, time seemed to drag on endlessly, and sensations became heightened.

Fortunately, both of them were not ordinary people, and they endured this long period of silence and emptiness with sheer willpower.

However, Wealth, on Amalia’s shoulder, wasn’t as relaxed as she is.

In the middle of their journey, it became agitated.

"We’re almost out, just endure it a little bit longer," Amalia reassured it, she thought it might not be adapting well to the environment.

Wealth quieted down for a moment upon hearing this, but it soon became restless again.

Its claws scratched at Amalia’s hand without consideration, almost breaking the skin, until Kenny Lin took it away.

After what felt like an eternity, they finally saw a faint glimmer of light ahead.