Survival for all, my island is the last pure land on earth.

That was a water demon.

Jin Xiaoman used "Divine Vision" and discovered that it was quite different from other water demons.

[Name: Water Demon (Mutation Level: 25%)]

Strength: 20 (Aquatic Form: 27)

Agility: 20 (Aquatic Form: 35)

Defense value: 30 (Aquatic form: 38)

[Rating: One star (Aquatic form: Two stars)]

Talent 1: Water Mist

It can instantly break down accumulated water into mist, obscuring the player's vision and thus concealing their presence, making it easier to launch an attack or escape.

Talent Two: ? ? ?

Jin Xiaoman's current three stats are 28, 31, and 33 respectively. With the 5 attribute points that the arbiter can freely allocate, she is barely on par with the Water Demon.

She had intended to use this mutated beast, whose three stats were slightly stronger than hers, to test the results of her recent training, but she did not expect that the water demon would speed away without looking back when it saw someone behind her.

Shouldn't mutated beasts charge at players as soon as they see them?

Jin Xiaoman followed after him, filled with doubt.

But she was, after all, a player, and not as agile as the water sprite. Only with the help of the fluffy ball's teleportation did she barely manage to avoid being left far behind.

The chase lasted for more than half an hour. Jin Xiaoman discovered that its innate water mist could not only obscure vision and hide its form, but also had a certain slowing effect.

In addition, she confirmed that the water demon had no intention of escaping and was simply trying to run away.

She took out the "Prosperous and Flourishing Era" inscription.

The effective range of "Prosperous Era" in water is 500 meters. Beyond 500 meters, its power will be reduced by 30%.

The current distance is just right.

Jin Xiaoman pulled the trigger, and a golden bullet shot out from the muzzle of "Prosperous Times," drawing a dazzling golden light in the water and rushing straight towards the water demon.

The water demon had no time to react before being hit by the bullet and sent flying dozens of meters away.

It let out a mournful cry, and then fell silent.

Jin Xiaoman surfaced to take a breath.

This attack did not trigger a critical hit. The personal panel showed that "Prosperous Era" had been stacked with a layer of Star Energy, and the island exploration progress had also increased by 2%.

She dived back down and retrieved the treasure chest left behind by the dead water demon.

[Treasure Chest Opening: 1 Water-Stabilizing Bead, 15 Coal, 50 Game Coins, ... 2 Steamed Buns, 1 Bread, 2 500ml Mineral Waters.]

[Water-Stabilizing Bead: S-Rank Item]

Passive effect: The wearer can breathe freely underwater without drowning, perfectly adapting to aquatic environments such as deep sea and floods.

Attribute Bonus: When moving underwater, the player's Agility attribute is permanently increased by 10%.

Looking at the smooth, lustrous bead that emitted a faint blue light, Jin Xiaoman guessed that this was the reason Sisyphus had asked her to hunt down the water demon.

She put the beads in her pocket and hurried back to Sisyphus.

Sisyphus nodded with satisfaction: "Did you find anything special about it?"

Jin Xiaoman recalled for a moment: "He ran pretty fast."

"Nothing else?"

"Its innate water mist has evolved and now has a slowing effect."

"So what are your thoughts on the mutated beasts?"

"They will evolve new abilities that their kind do not have, and their three stats will also be higher."

Seeing that Sisyphus intended to make her continue, Jin Xiaoman racked her brains and revealed everything she knew: "Killing them will increase my island exploration progress."

Have you made any discoveries regarding the types of mutated beasts?

Jin Xiaoman tried hard to recall the mutated beasts she had killed before.

Larger in size?

No, this water demon is quite small.

Are they all aquatic?

That deer wasn't one.

"They all have hair?"

"ah."

Jin Xiaoman was sprayed with a mouthful of water by Sisyphus: "Think carefully, or I'll put you in the water droplet collection."

Jin Xiaoman wiped her face with her hand: "No duplicate varieties?"

Sisyphus leaned closer and sprayed Jin Xiaoman's face with water again: "You guessed right."

Jin Xiaoman shook her head, wiping away the excess water: "Senior, why are you still criticizing me even though I answered correctly?"

"I think it's fun."

Jin Xiaoman: "..."

Sisyphus: "If you kill Martina, you will never encounter a new mutated crocodile again; if you kill Fern, you will never encounter a new mutated siren again."

"So here's a new question: why am I so certain that there won't be duplicate species among the mutated beasts?"

Jin Xiaoman: "Because the mutated beasts are actually geniuses, and each race can only have one such genius?"

"wrong."

"Because they are outliers."

"That's not right," Sisyphus said. "The second question is, why do most of the mutated beasts lose their minds?"

Jin Xiaoman didn't even know why the mutated beasts were mutating.

Her blank expression amused Sisyphus: "Alright, little panda, you have plenty of time to think, there's no rush. Now, go and catch a hundred moonfish for me."

Jin Xiaoman left, feeling dizzy.

Up in the tree, Lilith swished her paws in annoyance: "Ugh, this place is wet everywhere."

Sisyphus: "I quite like it."

After a moment of silence, Lilith continued, "Kane is coming back from another division in the next couple of days."

"Then you'd better keep a close eye on the little panda. If nothing unexpected happens, Kane will definitely cause her trouble."

Lilith: "I still have a little bit of what I stole from the squirrel. Do you want some?"

Sisyphus: "Those things are too small for me to even taste."

"Lilith, what exactly are you trying to say?"

Lilith pursed her lips: "I should be asking you, teacher, what exactly do you want to do?"

Sisyphus: "There is only one thing I want to do."

"What, are you doubting me?"

Lilith shook her head: "I just don't understand you."

Sisyphus: "I don't understand you, Lilith. The feeling you give me is that you've already resigned yourself to your fate."

Accepting their fate means that the remaining members of their race on the planet Knowles will follow in Martina's footsteps, gradually losing their minds on this land, and then being killed by wave after wave of players, becoming stepping stones for them to complete the game.

But in this way, they might be able to survive for thousands of years.

Refusing to accept their fate, they will try to reduce the lifespan of their people to a few years or even a few days, all for that distant hope.

If that idealized, impossible future can be called hope.

Lilith remained silent for a long time: "Teacher, do you know? Before Martina died, she called out 'Sydyl' to that player named Dip Dip Dip."

Sisyphus, unusually emotional, asked, "Does that child look a lot like Hitchir?"

"Actually, they're not that similar. Sityl is gentle, kind, sunny, and lively; she's a lady. Diptyhose, on the other hand, is a little madwoman who loves to fight."

Sisyphus had no children of his own, and he could not understand the emotions between a mother and her child. Therefore, he could not understand why Martina called out her daughter's name to Diptych before she died.

Lilith: "Without this plan, Martina wouldn't have died, or at least not so quickly."

"Teacher, what I mean is, can't we just accept our fate?"

...........