The system is four years ahead of schedule, but Weird is still a cub.

Chapter 627 The King of the Deep Sea and—"The Bell"

Following the direction he pointed, everyone saw a large number of well-sealed wooden barrels and animal skin bags piled up in that corner.

Some of it was fresh water and food stored by the "prophet" and "purified" by her, while most of it was the kind of "clothing" worn by the guards outside.

Shen Ge used his Ghost Eye to examine the items and found no trace of ghost energy on them, meaning they were safe supplies.

After seeing those things clearly, a heartfelt joy appeared on everyone's face.

For the five Alai siblings, these ordinary survival supplies were far more endearing and precious than intelligence concerning world secrets.

Besides these things, there are many other things in the "temple" that are worth "disassembling", such as the huge, inactive "eyeball" in the dome.

Shen Ge discovered that this was a piece of weird energy equipment. It was activated by infusing weird energy and functioned similarly to a weird eye. It consumed less energy and could see farther, but it could not penetrate high-intensity weird energy. Once it exceeded the fourth level, it could no longer "see" the other party.

Secondly, whether they were guards or followers of the "prophet," they wore clothes made of a special membrane, a material perfectly suited for making sails.

Shen Ge had his two brothers plunder the island's skin thoroughly to create a new "sail" for Ark No. 1.

Afterward, he installed the "eyeball" at the top of the main mast. By infusing it with supernatural energy, the eyeball became a perfect "supernatural energy radar," capable of predicting supernatural energy reactions within a radius of several kilometers.

Although it cannot see any strange beings above the fourth rank, it can sense the general direction of the strange energy fluctuations. The rest can be solved by Shen Ge's Strange Eye.

Because he can't always maintain a highly focused state of mind, wandering around the ship like a scout, surveying the sea.

With this "eyeball," he can save a lot of energy.

In a week, Shen Ge led everyone to empty the temple and village of everything they could carry. It was a pity that the giant tortoise king had been dead for decades, and even its tumorous heart had been dealt with by the "prophet." Otherwise, if the system had "devoured" it, it might have been able to repair some of the damage.

"Ark One," this strange ship stitched together from technological waste and bizarre skeletons, rests quietly beside a giant turtle carcass.

After being modified by the "temple" artifacts, its appearance became even more ferocious and powerful.

Shen Ge stood at the newly renovated bow of the ship and looked back at the "Tomb of the Sleeping God," which had become completely desolate.

He raised his head and looked into the distance at the vast sea that appeared boundless as the fog dissipated.

"Roca, raise the sails."

"Kyle, Ellie, check the cable."

"Alai, watch your direction."

"Moya!"

Upon hearing Shen Ge call her name, Mo Ya immediately skipped to the bow of the ship, waved her little hand, and shouted, "Let's go!"

Alai and the others were amused by Moya's serious demeanor; Moya's childlike innocence became a source of joy as they sailed through this desolate sea.

After leaving the "Tomb of Sleep," the "Ark One" enjoyed a rare, almost luxurious period of peace.

Under a cloudless blue sky, the sea breeze was calm.

Shen Ge, A Lai, and the others felt as relaxed as the weather in this sea area, a feeling they had never experienced before.

Kyle and Roca would take turns climbing up the "Eye of the Prophet" lookout, which had been modified from that strange eyeball, and excitedly report on every creature that appeared in the distance.

Alai and Ellie hummed ancient tribal songs as they sorted through the abundant supplies they had plundered from the temple, occasionally wiping the deck.

Even the youngest, Moya, dared to run and play on the deck, chasing her shadow in the sunlight.

The tranquil and beautiful scenery almost gave them the illusion that the cataclysmic disaster had never happened, and that they were just an ordinary group of travelers enjoying a sea voyage.

Only Shen Ge remained absolutely vigilant.

He spent most of his time sitting alone at the bow of the boat, resting with his eyes closed.

But in reality, through the connection of the "Prophet's Eye," he, as the power provider, can see things in the distance even without going up the watchtower.

This seemingly calm sea is merely the calm before the storm; a sixth or seventh-tier monster king could emerge from the seabed at any moment and give you a surprise.

For example, since leaving the giant tortoise carcass, Shen Ge has discovered two seventh-tier Ghost Kings sleeping in the sea through the Ghost Eye and the "Prophet's Eye".

Even though he has now recovered some of his strength, he doesn't dare to hunt these monster kings rashly. He always asks Roca to change course and stay away from these dangers.

The post-apocalyptic world is fraught with hidden dangers, much better than the apocalypse itself.

This peaceful life lasted for two weeks. On the fifteenth day at dusk, as the afterglow of the setting sun painted the sea a magnificent gold, the strange change occurred without warning.

Alai was preparing dinner in the cabin when she opened the bucket and suddenly let out a soft gasp of surprise. Ellie immediately went over to hear it.

The buckets of fresh water they had brought out from the temple, which had originally been crystal clear, had somehow turned into a... unsettling, pale pink color.

Immediately afterward, Kyle on the lookout tower exclaimed, "Brother! Look at the sea!"

Shen Ge had already opened his eyes. He stood up and walked to the ship's side, looking solemnly at the extraordinary scene before him.

Centered on their "Ark No. 1," the seawater within a radius of several kilometers is visibly changing from a clear azure blue to an eerie scarlet red. This is not the reflection of the setting sun, but a real "dyeing" originating from the interior of the seawater at a material level.

At first it was just a light pink, but within minutes it quickly deepened into a deep red like blood, and it continued to evolve into an even deeper, almost black, dark red.

A stench mixed with the putrid smell of rotting flesh began to fill the air.

"Where...where are we?" Roca gripped the helm tightly, his voice hoarse with tension. The scene before him was completely beyond his comprehension.

Shen Ge did not answer; he was fully activating his Eerie Eye, trying to analyze this sudden anomaly.

In his vision, countless tiny, bizarre creatures, like living cells, were frantically proliferating and spreading within this crimson seawater. They were greedily devouring all organic matter in the seawater, assimilating the seawater itself into their own part.

This sea is coming back to life.

Or rather, it is being "infected" by some higher-level being...

Just then, the nautical chart plate made from the "Prophet's" relics, which had been pointing towards the "lighthouse," suddenly began to vibrate violently and emit a faint, mournful buzzing sound. Shen Ge picked up the plate and saw that the energy light path that had been clearly pointing towards the "lighthouse" was becoming extremely unstable, as if it would be interfered with and covered up by the surrounding "scarlet signals" at any moment.

The compass they relied on for navigation was about to fail.

Even worse, Shen Ge could clearly sense a massive surge of strange energy slowly rising from the deep sea, tens of thousands of meters below them.

"Ale Elimoya, you two go back to the cabin immediately. Kyle and Roca, adjust your course and maintain the current course, then go to the cabin as well." Shen Ge used the resources of the "Temple" to modify the cabin and "borrowed" the power of the Prophet to give the cabin a certain degree of resistance to the erosion of the evil energy.

Although Alai and the others were filled with fear, they immediately and without hesitation began to carry out Shen Ge's orders. They knew that at this moment, obeying Shen Ge's every word was the only thing they could do.

Soon, Shen Ge was left alone on the deck again.

The enormous, eerie energy fluctuation emanating from the seabed grew closer and clearer.

The pressure across the entire sea area is rising rapidly at an alarming rate.

The sturdy hull of "Ark One," constructed of alloy and bizarre skeletons, began to creak and groan under the weight of its hull. Some of the iron-backed crab shells attached to the hull even cracked due to the immense, invisible pressure.

Shen Ge knew that the ship wouldn't last much longer if things continued like this, and he had to do something.

In terms of sheer strength, Ark One is comparable to a fourth or fifth-tier monster in some respects, but this is a post-apocalyptic world where any small Karami picked up from the seabed is at least a sixth-tier monster.

"Sigh. If only we could have started Ark Zero back then." Shen Ge started missing Xiao Qi's 589 days again.

A massive, slowly rotating whirlpool began to appear on the crimson sea, centered on the ship.

That being at the bottom of the sea is still rising.

Shen Ge's face darkened completely.

He would rather fight the Ghost King on the shore than on the ship. If the opponent was too large, the only way was to abandon Ark No. 1 and then send him and Alai and the others into the air through the "invisible barrier" that did not leave the Ghost Realm.

What happens after that?
If Ark No. 1 is destroyed, it would be tantamount to declaring the "death" of several people. Shen Ge might be able to survive for a while thanks to the Ghost King's physique, but the Alai family would definitely be doomed.

The key question is, in this boundless ocean, can one truly find a continent by stepping on an "invisible barrier"?

"Tsk. Don't force me to learn from Aokiji."

However, just moments before the colossal creature on the seabed was about to break through the water and drag Ark One completely into the abyss,...

A loud, eerie bell-like sound, filled with intense, strange energy, suddenly rang out from the extremely distant horizon.

when--!
The bell's sound wasn't loud, but it clearly reached every corner of the sea.

As the bell rang, the entire crimson sea seemed to freeze, as if the rapidly multiplying microparticles had been put on pause.

The colossal creature that was slowly rising seemed to have heard some extremely disgusting and fearful sound. For the first time, its ever-increasing eerie energy fluctuations showed hesitation.

when--!
The second chime echoed once more across the crimson sea.

This time, the changes are even more drastic.

The entire seawater, as viscous as blood, seemed to have been plunged into a red-hot iron, and began to boil violently, with countless bubbles rising from the seabed.

Without further hesitation, the King of the Deep Sea, in a manner almost like "escape," swiftly darted towards the deeper, darker seabed.

Its immense, eerie aura, powerful enough to cover the entire sea area, vanished without a trace within a few dozen seconds, as if it had never existed.

It... is afraid of the sound of the bell.

Shen Ge stood at the bow of the ship, his eyes filled with doubt.

This was the first time he had encountered a seventh-tier monster king since coming to this world. He was "frightened" back to the deep sea by a strange "bell sound".

With the disappearance of the underwater monster, the pressure around "Ark No. 1" suddenly vanished, and the creaking and groaning of the hull, as if it were about to be crushed, also stopped.

After losing the support of the Demon King's power, the crimson seawater, like lifeless tissue, began to rapidly "die."

The eerie red color was fading at a visible rate, and the seawater gradually returned to its original deep blue.

The cloying, bloody smell in the air is being replaced by the fresh sea breeze.

A catastrophe that could have completely destroyed Ark One was averted by the mysterious tolling of the bell.

But this did not make Shen Ge feel relaxed at all; instead, it made him feel even more confused and uneasy.

Even without using his special abilities, Shen Ge could already walk sideways with just the physical strength of a seventh-tier Ghost King in "reality".

But this is a world that has been destroyed and reborn over millions of years. Countless strange things have been "filtered" by time and have become so rare that "strange things are everywhere and even the King of Strange Things is no better than a dog."

This feeling reminded Shen Ge of the timeline he first encountered during the "Fragment World" and the cherry blossom disaster.

There, a battle between just two eighth-tier monster kings destroyed the world, but now, who knows how many more such creatures exist in the ocean.

"This bell sound... is it a phantom weapon?" This was the first possibility that Shen Ge thought of.

Thinking of this, Shen Ge immediately found the sea chart he had obtained from the "Prophet".

He discovered that the energy path on the nautical chart pointing to the "lighthouse" shifted extremely slightly after the bell rang.

The source of that bell sound...

Could this be their destination – the "Lighthouse"?
when--!
Then, a third chime rang out in the air.

After the third chime, the sea returned to complete calm.

Even a being as powerful as the "Prophet" only dares to hide in a place like the giant tortoise carcass and eke out a living. So what exactly does the "lighthouse" she marked mean?
If the "bell" is indeed a device with supernatural powers, then what kind of being would control this power?
Shen Ge was having a headache. He wanted to have more contact with the "civilization" of this world, hoping that he might be able to find a way back to "reality".

But the real danger lies in the fact that the power to control the "bell" is not held by a "human," but by an entity like a "prophet," which would undoubtedly be like a lamb being led into the lion's den.

(End of this chapter)