American variety show world begins with subduing Jason

"Don't worry, I understand."

The roots, as thin as needles and as strong as steel wire, grow rapidly, spreading along every bone and muscle with their own spirit. They not only interfere with the flow of energy but also lock the body in place from tricky angles, preventing it from exerting any force.

Where did you hide Ricky?

Beverly responded to the reminder, then followed up with a series of stern questions.

The enemy's silence stirred a strange feeling within her, as if something had been overlooked.

Even though the vague feeling was fleeting, Beverly didn't mistake it for a hallucination like characters in movies and TV shows. The emerald green on her hand seemed to be flowing, and she was alert enough to make a follow-up move.

However, just as she was about to add another layer of protection, the wet, algae-like red hair suddenly moved, and a stunningly beautiful face turned around.

The slender neck of a swan, in literary works, might be considered an exaggeration, but here it is a straightforward description of reality.

Her fair neck swayed and stretched out more than ten centimeters, twisting in a strange, boneless posture. Her head looked over with a mocking smile, and her two deep blue eyes shone brightly!

It was only at this moment that Beverly suddenly realized what she had overlooked...

The natural roots provide a sticky yet supple tactile feedback; the bones, flesh, and tendons don't resemble a combination of organic matter, but rather a heavy mass of liquid!

A cage cannot hold back a pool of water!

The thought had barely formed in her mind when she met those eyes.

Before her, the anxious cries of her companions, the cold and dark cave, and even the wisp of lightning she herself summoned through her struggles, vanished like a few planks in a whirlpool in the ocean in the blink of an eye. Only the vast, deep blue abyss came into view.

Strange lights flickered in all directions, while in the deeper depths, countless thick, soft, and slippery things were intertwined and wriggling, rising rapidly amidst the rustling sound of scales rubbing against each other.

The blood vessels in her atrium contracted rapidly, and the druid girl seemed to hear a heavy, drum-like auditory hallucination in her ears, as if it were about to leap out of her chest at any moment.

In her hazy consciousness, she could only barely see a jade hand with slightly webbed fingers gently raised, carrying a dangerous aura of spiritual light, and coming towards her forehead.

"The fresh and vibrant flavor is truly the best trophy. I'm willing to break some conventions for it. Using a human female as the 'prince' should be a novel experience..."

"Excuse me, this lady is an acquaintance of mine and doesn't have any unhealthy hobbies!" A sneer suddenly drifted over, and someone rudely interrupted the mermaid woman's conversation.

Immediately following the sound, a sharp, blazing white sword light, like the rising sun breaking through the darkness, suddenly pierced through the gloom, ignoring the flowing water film, slippery mucus, and hard scales around her, and struck her chest in one blow.

After the spectacular display, not a single drop of blood was left. However, the alluring mermaid suddenly arched her body and tumbled backward. Amidst the violent turbulence of the illusory water, her two eyes bulged out in a terrifying arc, as if they were about to pop out of their sockets.

A silvery-white light darted beneath her skin, and bluish-purple blood seeped from the continuously exploding tiny wounds, turning into pale blue currents of energy, which then ignited with intense heat, eventually settling into a thin film of yellow crystal resembling amber, imprisoning her dying struggle.

With a single strike, the five elements shifted, effortlessly shattering all of the enemy's resistance and revealing the stark difference in strength between the two.

"It's only the beginning of the 21st century. For something like the 'Lily Blossom' style to become a special status buff for federal individuals, it will have to wait a few more years."

Smacking his lips, the black-haired, black-eyed Asian youth strolled leisurely forward. As he passed through, the foul, fishy smell vanished, replaced by a fresh and clean atmosphere. The messy dust on the ground moved without wind, forming lotus flower shapes that lifted his dangling feet.

"Thump!" A heavy slap on the smooth forehead jolted the girl back to reality, who was about to drift into some classic scene.

"Ouch, couldn't you be a little gentler?" Beverly glared at him, clutching her reddened bump. "And what are you doing here?"

"That's not the point," Zhu Mingyao said with a grin, steer the conversation back to the main topic.

"That lady whose name I don't know, are you having fun cosplaying as the Little Mermaid?"

He flicked his index finger and thumb, and the thin, three-foot-long metal blade danced, as he looked around with the same eyes he would use to examine a fish on a chopping board.

"Let me refresh my skills from biology anatomy class and see what's under this fish skin of yours."

Although she hadn't eaten much sashimi or sushi, seeing herself about to suffer a similar fate, the "mermaid" knew her life was in imminent danger and screamed frantically:

"If you kill me, that man will never be able to wake up from his psychological dependence!"

As if to prove her words, a figure came running from afar, stumbling and crawling, seemingly oblivious to the fact that he was covered in bruises from the rugged terrain.

"My princess, my princess! Let her go!"

Ricky's face, a mixture of dazedness and madness, was streaked with tears and snot. As if guarding a treasure more precious than life itself, he roared and lunged forward. If the warlock hadn't taken a liking to him and cast a spell to immobilize him, he would have practically smashed his head against the wall and died.

"This is an ancient ritual called the Love of the Ocean, which is impossible for modern humans to access. Just promise to release me..."

As if grasping at a straw, the non-human groaned with shining eyes.

Unfortunately, her bargaining quickly came to nothing. Zhu Mingyao raised his hand and waved it away in disgust, his eyes showing the look of someone who had found an idiot.

"You can fool mortals, but can you fool me?" He sneered disdainfully as the golden light shone from his third eye.

"Let me teach you a lesson: if you show your love with your looks, your love will fade when your looks fade, and when your love fades, your affection will end."

The most important element in your spell to bewitch men is your physical appearance, not some genuine affection, is it?

Before the other party could beg for mercy again, a gust of wind flashed by, and a red line ran down from her hair across her beautiful face, across her chest, abdomen, waist, and tail.

"Sizzle—".

A crack appeared on her crystal-clear skin, like a canvas rolling up to both sides.

"Come, Prince Charming, come and admire your mermaid princess!"

Zhu Mingyao grabbed Ricky, who was witnessing his "lover's" tragic death and was almost in unbearable pain, and pointed to the ground with a smile.

Chapter 478

As the creature died, the faint, hazy aura surrounding it gradually dissipated, revealing a dark, indistinct object.

"Cough, cough..."

Like an old hen with its neck caught in its throat, the man who had just been crying bitterly coughed and choked, his expression instantly freezing into a stone.

What a nightmare this is!

Beneath the hair, a mixture of black silt and dark green seaweed, were a pair of terrifyingly large, egg-shaped eyes. The distance between the eyes was so wide that it almost made one want to hail a taxi, exhibiting typical characteristics of an aquatic amphibian.

A wide mouth, revealing fine fangs, occupies the lower half of the face, rivaling the deathly white eyes. Instead of a nose, there are two small, irregular vents, resembling those of a mysterious, unnamed wizard.

Its dark, rough skin was covered in a layer of wet, sticky mucus, beneath which grew gray scales of varying sizes arranged haphazardly. On its chest, let's call it the chest area for now, two deformed fleshy growths protruded; considering the monster didn't need to nurse, their purpose was probably to disguise itself as female genitalia.

The stark contrast between the beautiful impression and the terrifying reality creates a powerful psychological impact, shattering the false memories created by the unknown force in an instant.

It was like excitedly meeting your online sweetheart in person, only to discover that she was a pure-hearted young man with a monstrous devil. Thinking about how he had been intimately close to this kind of thing for the past few days, Ricky's eyes rolled back in disgust, and his sour, stinking digestive contents gushed out of his mouth and nose like a fountain.

If Beverly hadn't cast a healing spell on him in time, the poor fellow would probably have choked to death the moment he left the wolf's den.

Zhu Mingyao spread his hands innocently, pushed away the mentally unstable and vomiting "Prince Charming," and said with a very irresponsible smirk:

"This Photoshop illusion-discovery technique was very effective in alerting Mr. Ricky, but its drawbacks were equally significant. Mr. Ricky will probably need a long time to recover from his severe psychological trauma. Hopefully, he won't develop gynophobia..."

"I have to say, the design of this thing is really... excessive."

Holger, tidying up his clothes that were disheveled from the battle, squeezed in noisily.

"If that mermaid transformation had been filmed, I wonder how many children's innocent hearts it would have shattered, and Disneyland merchandise would probably have gone unsold."

“I don’t think the people of the Federation have such low tolerance,” Zhu Mingyao replied humorously.

"After all, the legends say that mermaids live at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, right? So the humans they came into contact with the most were probably the black slaves who were thrown overboard during the triangular trade. It's understandable that they would end up looking similar."

Simon stepped forward, his thick, dark lips curling as he exaggeratedly rolled his eyes. "Please, before you tell hellish jokes, could you consider the skin color of the audience?"

"Let's save the small talk for later. You guys go back to the ground and treat Mr. Ricky first," Zhu Mingyao said casually, waving his hand.

"I'll go check it over briefly, making sure I don't miss any spoils..."

The suggestion was reasonable, and even though Beverly wanted to ask why she had appeared so coincidentally, she could only suppress her questions for the time being and prepare to retreat first.

Just then, a weak, timid voice rang out from the side.

"Thank you for saving me, sir. Are you... looking for loot? I think I saw something strange in this monster's lair while I was running away."

The group turned around and saw the girl, Carrie, who had been overlooked, timidly pointing to a branch of the cave.

"What is this? Is it valuable?" Before Zhu Mingyao could even open his mouth, Edkin's eyes lit up as he leaned closer.

"If it's convenient, may I take a look? Bards have an appraisal skill among their extraordinary abilities, and they are good at discovering the hidden value of items."

Living in Chang'an is not easy, and although Luocheng in Jinzhou is a first-class prosperous place in the Federation, the cost of living is equally astonishing.

As a middle-aged man with a wife and daughter, his expenses were quite high. Even though he had a substantial income as a superhuman, he still struggled to make ends meet with his large house and his child's prestigious school.

Therefore, he finds it hard to resist any opportunity that can bring extra profits, and he even neglects his manners.

Zhu Mingyao's eyes flickered almost imperceptibly, and he smiled nonchalantly:

“Mr. Edkins, there’s no need to rush if you want to supplement your household income. I’ll introduce you to a few jobs later. As for now, let’s go upstairs first.”

Hearing him say that, even though Edkin was quite tempted by the potential gains, he was too embarrassed to linger any longer, so he simply packed up and prepared to return to the ground.

“Actually…” Carrie’s head suddenly twitched slightly, and she whispered blankly, “This thing is quite big, and it’s very close to where we are. Since there are a lot of us, we can carry it back on our way.”

Everyone immediately stopped in their tracks and looked at him with questioning eyes, with Edkin, the penniless old man, showing particular eagerness.

Zhu Mingyao was silent for a moment, then a smile gradually appeared on his lips, and he gently exhaled.

"Since everyone insists, let's all come together, but please stay as close to me as possible to avoid any unexpected dangers."

His gaze swept over Carrie, and he nodded with interest.

"Perfect timing. May this young lady introduce herself on the way? To be honest, it's rare to see such a young and powerful witch..."

……

……

"...At the high school dance, I was tricked again by those bullies. They actually set up a trap and dumped a bucket of stinky pig's blood on my head."

After taking out the communication talisman he had prepared beforehand and contacting Mike and the others who were waiting for news, he summoned several nature spirits to take Ricky back home. The group headed towards their destination, listening to Carrie recount her origins along the way.

Even though quite some time has passed, the girl still trembles with anger when she recalls it, her eyes reddening and her nose twitching.

"As a result of extreme stimulation, I awakened my abilities in a daze, and ended up injuring many classmates and setting the auditorium on fire."

When she got to the sad parts, she started to sob softly.

"I rushed home to tell my mother, but she was terrified. She said I was possessed by a demon and wanted to kill me to repent to God. I could only injure her and run away..."

While people felt sorry for her unfortunate experience, they were not surprised. In the current climate of ever-growing supernatural trends, the number of such blunders caused by accidental awakenings is not small, and there is nothing strange about it.

She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself, and continued, "Life as a wanderer is tough, but with my increasingly skilled abilities, I was able to get by, until today..."

As she spoke, she led the way around several bends, through rugged tunnels, and to a cave with jagged rocks.

The cave is narrow at first and then widens. The entrance only allows two people to enter side by side, and after going in for several dozen meters, it expands to the size of a basketball court.

Several beams of light flew up, illuminating the area. A tall shadow was visible on the stone wall of one of the caves, its color distinctly different from the surrounding area.