Special Training for You Today

Maybe it was because they'd lost control of the Devil Fish inside, but the school outside the ship had gone completely berserk, slamming into the already-cracked glass with reckless abandon.

The squad kept their masks on, biting down on their oxygen tubes. With the final impact, the glass shattered.

Seawater surged through the window, flooding the cramped room in seconds. The current tossed them around like ragdolls, and they clung desperately to anything they could grab.

Something slammed into Song Weishi, sending a sharp pain through her waist, but all she saw was a blur of white.

The icy seawater swallowed her whole. She twisted in the water, swimming out of the boat, only to be seized by Devil Fish immediately. She stabbed through two with her fork, but there were too many—she was quickly surrounded.

Song Weishi yanked seaweed from her space and shoved it into her mouth, chewing quickly. She held her breath, debating whether to try breathing underwater. But this was the deep sea—inhaling water would likely kill her.

Holding her breath, she steeled herself. She opened her mouth and let the seawater rush in. The salty, bitter, foul taste filled her mouth, and she almost gagged.

Seawater wasn't drinkable, but the fresh taste of the seaweed lingered, gradually mingling with the water.

Slowly, she felt as if a new organ had formed inside her. In the muffled depths, she could breathe freely.

Her lungs worked like a giant filter, processing the inhaled seawater, extracting only the oxygen and expelling the rest. She moved through the water like a nimble fish, floating effortlessly, feeling utterly at ease.

Her whole body seemed to unfurl, as if she were a natural fish of the deep, roaming freely. With the seaweed, many of her worries faded away.

The Devil Fish surrounding her seemed to lose their target. They circled her, confused and lost. The delicious prey before them had suddenly turned into a strange sponge, and they lost interest.

Song Weishi took off her oxygen mask and swam a loop around the window in the water. The Devil Fish were desperately trying to squeeze through the window, but their bodies were far too massive. The opening, just big enough for one person, was practically impenetrable.

Unless they came out like she did, the Devil Fish had no chance to attack.

But the other four in the squad clearly weren't brave enough to come out. Whether stunned by the surge or just observing, a few beams of light filtered through the window, though the flat bodies of the Devil Fish blocked most of it.

If not for their constant movement, it would be hard to spot any activity beneath.

Song Weishi didn't know how long the seaweed's effect would last. She kept her eyes fixed on the window, waiting for gaps between the Devil Fish to dart back inside.

The others inside were swimming frantically, seemingly caught in a downward current, too afraid of the Devil Fish above to venture out.

When they saw Song Weishi return, they swam over in shock, pointing from their oxygen masks to her face, asking what was going on.

Song Weishi pulled out a handful of seaweed and handed it to them, miming stuffing it into her mouth.

They stared at the seaweed blankly, frozen. Song Weishi popped another piece into her mouth and made a chewing motion.

This time, everyone understood. But they still hesitated. It was Cang Ning who first took off her mask, looked at the seaweed in her hand, and tentatively put it in her mouth.

The Devil Fish outside were vicious—they wouldn't let them leave easily. But if they kept waiting, their oxygen would run out anyway. They had to gamble, hoping the seaweed would work.

Somehow, Song Weishi's actions inspired trust. Seeing her go without an oxygen mask even now, Cang Ning had already subconsciously believed her.

The seaweed tasted fresh, like a mint without the mint, washing away the taste of the sea.

Seeing Cang Ning take the plunge, the others steeled themselves and stuffed the seaweed into their mouths.

Soon, expressions varied, though underwater, no one could read them clearly.

Once they adjusted, everyone followed Song Weishi, swimming out through the narrow window. The Devil Fish outside, having lost their target, gradually drifted from the area, clinging to the boat's hull, lurking as if waiting for something.

But they had no time to worry about that now. Who knew if the seawater flooding the hall would extinguish the fire, or if the Devil Fish would burst back out?

Maybe it had swum back below. They could only hurry back.

The group surfaced on the deck and found the ropes they'd tied earlier. Song Weishi pulled on the slack rope, her heart sinking—the entire line hung limp to the ground, clearly off course.

They turned to Ren Tong, the last one down. In the murky water, his expression was unreadable, only his flailing hands visible.

Clearly, he had no idea either. Should they surface to check if the rope was truly broken, or head back to where they'd descended and find the anchor? The first might take less time but risk their lives; the latter was safer.

Song Weishi exchanged a look with Cang Ning, instantly understanding each other's thoughts.

Cang Ning pulled out the device she'd used before, having marked their position between the boat and where they'd come down. It was slower, but retracing their path was safer than blindly heading up. If they surfaced and found no boat, they'd have to come back down anyway—better to do it right the first time.

They reconnected their ropes, moving through the sea like a long, slender fish, incredibly fast. The massive boat behind them quickly vanished from sight, and they bumped into several schools of fish along the way.

Fortunately, the journey was uneventful—no strange fish attacked. They found the anchor's position and followed the chain upward at speed.

Decompression was essential. The group paused halfway, waiting until their bodies felt fine before making a final push to the surface.

Song Weishi broke the surface, and the fresh sea air, laced with a warm breeze, brushed her face. She spat out a mouthful of seawater and gasped for air.

Breathing like a fish underwater was still too unnatural, but the experience was remarkable—she found it oddly thrilling.

The others panted, feeling heavy, barely able to climb back onto the boat. Taking the chance, Song Weishi dunked her head back under the water, trying to breathe again.

But in an instant, she held her breath, her lungs tightening. Gone was the effortless ease from before.

Song Weishi quickly lifted her head, afraid of inhaling water.

So the seaweed's effect had worn off. A pang of unease hit her, and she scrambled onto the boat, then pulled the others up. They lay on the deck, half-dead, while Song Weishi forced herself to stand.

Her body was clearly tougher than theirs. Looking down at the pitch-black water, she grabbed Cang Ning and practically dragged her to the helm.

"We need to get out of here now—no time, go!"

No sooner had she spoken than something slammed against the hull, sending a dull thump through the boat.

The others, sprawled on the deck, snapped alert, muscles tensing.

Cang Ning didn't even have time to strip off her wetsuit. She fired up the engine, vision swimming, body screaming in protest, but she forced herself to stay upright.

Another dull thud, and the boat rocked harder. Finally, the engine caught, and they sped toward the lighthouse.

The water around them grew more agitated. Through the window, the searchlights revealed a dense mass of dark shadows beneath the surface.

They were Devil Fish. Song Weishi thought it looked no different from nurse sharks swarming the boat—except these were even more ferocious.

Thankfully, the boat was fast, and the sea ahead was clear. They raced back to the dock without incident, the school chasing them all the way, slamming into the hull, the rickety boat on the verge of falling apart.

The engine churned up several Devil Fish that lunged at it. Song Weishi and the others sprinted off the dock, running for the shore for dear life.

The boat, still bobbing in the water, was torn apart by the Devil Fish, sinking to the depths like the cruise ship before it.

This expedition had yielded nothing for the Trailblazer Squad, but Song Weishi heard the system's announcement: "Congratulations, host. You've killed 23 monsters, earning 2,300 energy, converted to 23 Points. Bonus: 1 parasite, 20 Points; 1 main body, 50 Points."

Song Weishi did the math—93 Points. Six short of buying the pistol.

She gritted her teeth, grabbed a fish fork, and headed to the water's edge. The Devil Fish were still lingering by the shore, flapping their fins to launch themselves into the air, faces twisted in terrifying snarls, enough to make anyone want to stay far from the water.

Song Weishi swung her fork at the leaping Devil Fish. They were heavy, and a single strike did limited damage—far from a kill shot.

The others watched, stunned that she still had energy to spear fish.

But they were utterly spent, collapsing on the ground, watching helplessly as Song Weishi skewered fish after fish. At some point, she walked over and casually dropped: "These fish are piled up at the dock. Settle the account and just wire me the money. I'm heading out."

Song Weishi stripped off her wetsuit, packed it away, waved goodbye, and slipped into a dark corner, pulling a bicycle from her space. She pedaled away.

The sea breeze tousled her wet hair, quickly turning it into a tangled mess. Exhausted as she was, her mood was soaring.

She bought the silver pistol from the shop. Compared to the gun, ammunition was cheap—100 energy per round.

Besides the initial ten bullets, she could buy two more daily. That was enough for her.

Song Weishi got back to the apartment at 3:44. She showered, didn't bother checking her phone, set an alarm, and immediately passed out.

The next morning, she woke up right on time, tired but reassured by how quickly her young body recovered. She opened her eyes, downed a glass of instant coffee, and felt human again.

Splashing water on her face, she chewed on bread and headed downstairs. The captain was already waiting in the lobby.

She instinctively checked the time—7:50. Not late.

"Morning, Captain."

Chu Miaoxuan's gaze shifted from the communicator in her hand to Song Weishi's face. "Morning. Let's go—special training for you today."