Emerging from the water’s surface, Gu Chen spat out all the seawater in his mouth.
Gasping for air, he felt like a fool for even trying such a ridiculous method of self-asphyxiation.
This was different from dying at the hands of a monster or from other external causes.
With only 10% pain feedback in the game, such deaths caused by external forces weren’t as unbearable as one might imagine.
Even though there was fear at the time, for some reason, he felt pleased after every resurrection, without any discomfort or sense of oppression when recalling the experience.
But the feeling of suffocation wasn’t pain, it couldn’t be blocked by 90% feedback; knowing it was just a game, the attempt to suffocate still invoked a strong will to survive.
Unable to help it, he surfaced and took deep breaths.
After several attempts, he completely gave up on this foolish way of dying.
"Guidance, is there no other way?" Gu Chen looked up at the Guiding Water Ball floating beside him, seeking help.
[Yes, starve to death!]
"That’s even more intolerable than drowning."
This time, Guidance didn’t respond, instead looking at him with the eyes one has for a fool.
Realizing that Guidance couldn’t offer any help, Gu Chen decided to dive again in search of ferocious fish, seeking death.
Plunging into the sea, he continued to dive deeper.
A large amount of coral grew nearby, but the fish that swam around were mostly of Low Hunting Level; they darted away as soon as they saw him approaching, not giving him a chance to get close.
After a fruitless search, Gu Chen surfaced once again, gasping for fresh air.
It was then that he noticed an odd-looking flying vessel, resembling a hovercraft, suspended above him.
It was about thirty meters in length and over ten meters wide, with the entire structure covered in strange mechanical constructs and unknown symbolic engravings. The shell was not metallic but a faintly glowing translucent material, seemingly capturing the weak surrounding light and converting it into energy, giving him a feeling of both lightness and weightiness at the same time.
At the rear of the vessel were two irregularly shaped propellers, rotating silently at high speeds to provide propulsion for the massive object. Whenever the propellers cut through the air, they left behind faint blue trails. On the belly of the flying craft was a tightly closed door, embedded with a crystal-like object that flickered strangely, like fireflies, dimming and brightening with the movement of the vessel.
With the analysis function activated, a flood of information burst into Gu Chen’s mind.
[Hunting Flying Device]:
Introduction to the target: A flying tool used by the Ancient God Race to capture Arena Fighters, operated by the slaves of the Ancient God Race.
Just then, a gap opened underneath the vessel, and an energy tether shot towards him at an incredible speed.
On reflex, Gu Chen tried to dodge, but it was too late to avoid it.
The tether wrapped around him several times before suddenly tightening and pulling him towards the gap.
Upon entering the gap, his vision was engulfed by darkness, with only the sound of gears meshing and the heavy sound of metal falling.
The energy tether around him also dissipated at this moment.
Gu Chen groped around and discovered that he was imprisoned in a narrow metal container, where he couldn’t even crouch down.
"Fuck, this is even worse!" he said, looking at the Guiding Water Ball still hovering beside him:
"Guidance, could this be a Hidden Task?"
"Don’t you have the slightest insider information?"
[I’m just a newbie guide, not omniscient. Why don’t you ask me whether your wife is expecting a boy or a girl?]
"Eh? How did you know my wife is pregnant?"
Unable to get any help from Guidance, Gu Chen fell into deep thought.
There were two options before him: self-harm to free himself, or wait for the plot to unfold.
Recalling his Grand Fortune today, having successfully fished up a Primordial Monster, he immediately discarded the first idea.
The dark environment was slightly oppressive; he summoned the guild chat channel to share his situation with his friends and family.
Upon hearing that he might have triggered a Hidden Task, his friends and family were a bit hysterical, crying over how such good fortune had befallen him alone.
Then, his friends and family asked him to turn on the live streaming feature, wanting to follow the plot’s development.
To this request, Gu Chen didn’t refuse and decisively started live streaming.
In addition to his friends and family, there were also bored players entering the live stream, leaving quickly after seeing nothing but darkness.
The wait was exceedingly long, and Gu Chen passed the time chatting with his friends and family. During the conversation, he could hear the sounds of collisions and fights coming from his friends and family battling the Insect Tide.
Three hours later, a sudden sense of weightlessness struck him.
Gu Chen instantly realized that the plot had moved forward.
He could feel the metal box imprisoning him being transported somewhere, bumping along the way.
Before long, the metal box opened, and the blinding light made him squint involitarily.
The sound of metal engaging followed, and Gu Chen felt a pain in his right forearm. Looking down, he discovered a black bracelet had been placed on his wrist.
This device, he had seen before in the Working Team’s live streams; it was a special device capable of suppressing strength.
Immediately after, a strong sense of weakness overcame him, eerily similar to the feeling of logging out of the game.
His eyes quickly adjusted to the bright light, and he could finally see the figure speaking.
It was nearly three meters tall, its body composed of metal fragments, shattered rocks, and flesh fused together, exuding a barbaric sense of Strength with each breath. The metal and rocks on its surface moved with the flesh, its body like a running machine, emitting a deep rumbling, reminiscent of an Ancient God’s breathing, trembling the surrounding space. Atop its head was a pair of bull horns, one of which was broken in half.