I can see experience bars after being transported to another world.

The gray-robed man's body trembled violently, and he couldn't help but let out a scream.

But the smile on his face didn't disappear; instead, it became even more manic.

"Come on... what you want to see is right behind you..."

The writhing sand completely engulfed him, dragging him towards the interior of the island.

In the blink of an eye, the gray-robed man disappeared from everyone's sight.

Only a faint mark remained on the beach, as if no one had ever stood there.

[Warning: Pollution levels are rising sharply]

[Sanity: -2, 52/70]

My rationality dropped by two points again.

If the pollution on the outer perimeter is already this severe, just how terrifying must the pollution sources in the center of the island be?

Without hesitation, Lu Yuan took out a bottle of intermediate holy water from his backpack, unscrewed the cap, and drank it all in one gulp.

This is the quota for everyone. Drinking large amounts of holy water in a short period of time will cause the effects to gradually weaken, so the holy water sent by the church in the beginning was all of intermediate grade or higher.

[Sanity: +8, 60/70]

A sense of clarity washed over him, and the previously damaged barrier of reason began to recover more quickly.

"Stay away from the beach!"

Alice's voice suddenly rang out.

The next moment, Lu Yuan felt a tightness around his waist and was lifted up.

The wind howled.

By the time he realized what was happening, he was already standing on the deck of the Deepsea Hunter.

The others reacted quickly and climbed onto the deck.

Alice released her grip, her gaze fixed intently on the ground below.

Lu Yuan followed her gaze.

The beach is moving.

The entire sand dune seemed to be lifted up from below by something, surging and churning.

Something is wriggling under the sand.

It's very fast.

It seems to be looking for something.

Find the spot where they were standing.

"...The angels did not send a warning."

Philip's voice was strained, and his brow was furrowed.

As a priest who worships angels, he is incredibly sensitive to the presence of strange and mutated creatures; he can smell them even without getting close.

But what lies beneath the sand is able to evade the angel's blessing; it is either a strange entity far beyond its own extraordinary level, or it has nothing to do with strangeness at all.

"There's something wrong with this island."

Alice's voice was deep.

Her sixth sense had been frantically warning her ever since she set foot on the island, but she couldn't explain where the danger was coming from.

Now she knew that the danger came from beneath her feet.

From the entire island itself!

"Then raze it to the ground."

Marcus's voice suddenly rang out, his tone flat.

Then he waved.

As if receiving some kind of command, one of the newborn beings immediately turned around and walked towards the bow of the ship.

A moment later, the Abyss Hunter began to vibrate slightly.

The ship began to slowly turn until its bow was aligned with the direction in which the gray-robed man had disappeared.

Then Lu Yuan saw a scene that made his pupils shrink.

The bow armor plate of the Abyss Hunter slowly opened with a series of mechanical sounds, revealing two black cannon barrels protruding from inside.

The surface of the cannon barrel was covered with intricate runes, which gleamed with a cold metallic luster in the sunlight.

Just by looking at the runes on it, Lu Yuan knew that this thing was a weapon specifically designed to deal with the supernatural.

[Forging inscription knowledge detected. Insufficient knowledge. Acquisition failed.]

"The Ascension Society has quite a lot of stuff," Alice remarked with interest.

Clearly, Alice was also curious about the power of these two cannons.

Marcus smiled slightly but did not answer.

This ascension mission is a do-or-die situation! So we're bringing back a lot of stuff!

The ship's steam engines began to accelerate, and large amounts of white steam billowed from the smokestacks, causing the entire ship to tremble slightly.

The output power is constantly increasing.

"Fire."

Marcus's voice remained calm.

boom!

The first shell roared out and landed on the nearby beach. With a loud bang, countless grains of sand, mixed with black liquid, gushed out.

Something was struggling and writhing in the crater, emitting a piercing scream.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The artillery fire did not stop.

The two cannons fired alternately, blasting a scorched path from the beach into the island, following the direction in which the gray-robed man disappeared.

The sand churned even more violently, as if the entire island was trembling in pain.

But the artillery fire did not stop; instead, it intensified.

The newborn stopped firing only when the cannon barrel began to glow red and scalding steam kept billowing out from the gaps.

"It's overheated." The newborn's voice came from behind the mask, hoarse and mechanical. "It needs to be cooled down."

Marcus nodded, his gaze falling on the tunnel that had been blasted open.

Lu Yuan also turned his gaze in that direction.

After the artillery fire subsided, what had been hidden beneath the sand was finally revealed.

Countless tiny tentacles, like blood vessels or the roots of some kind of plant.

They were originally buried under the sand, but now they were blown to pieces, and the broken pieces were still slowly wriggling, oozing black mucus.

[Observation target: an extension of ██]

【Characteristics: No instinct for active attack, but highly corrosive to living things】

[WARNING: This is only the outer layer of the entity; the core remains deep within.]

As the gray and white text appeared, Lu Yuan's face immediately darkened. What was hidden on the island seemed to be even more terrifying than he had anticipated.

Moreover, these things seemed to be scattered all over the beach.

No, it should be said that they are found all over the island.

"This island..." Philip's gaze turned grave. "...is it alive?"

No one refuted.

Alice paused for a moment, her gaze sweeping over the crowd.

"Return to port, or venture deeper?"

Her voice was calm, but everyone understood the meaning behind her words.

Marcus was the first to speak.

"continue."

Without hesitation or thought, it was as if they had been waiting for this question.

"That grey-robed man seems to have known our whereabouts all along. I need what's in his head." Marcus's mechanical eyes flashed red. "Moreover, the source of the ore that attracted the Iron Whale is right here. Will Ascension abandon this place?"

Alice then countered with, "The cannon is overheating and unable to provide support for the time being. If we encounter danger further inland, what are your plans?"

"We still have the Judges," Marcus said dismissively. "That's enough."

"continue."

Philip's voice suddenly rang out, his tone resolute.

Everyone looked at him.

"The angels' gaze did not fall upon this place," Philip said calmly. "That in itself is the greatest warning."

He raised his hand to press the holy emblem on his chest, his gaze falling on the dark island.

"The Church cannot stand idly by in the face of something that even angels cannot see."

Marcus raised an eyebrow: "Oh? Your Excellency is more decisive than I expected."

"It's our duty," Philip glanced at him, "and it's also an angel's revelation."

Alice looked at Lu Yuan upon hearing this.

Lu Yuan didn't speak, but simply nodded, which was his way of expressing his opinion.

After all, the source of his strange dreams was right here. If he didn't figure it out this time, he would probably end up like Dr. Leisen next time he came.