Chapter 99: Competition on the Sea 6
Moira Lynch and Kai York decided to stop while they were ahead.
After returning to the reef, the two counted their haul. Kai York had collected a total of forty-three spikes, while Moira Lynch had gathered forty-eight.
Together, they had ninety-one. Adding the spike from the beginning, they had ninety-two in total. They were just eight short of completing their task.
By now, it was noon. Searching for Sea Pearls and frequently entering the water had drained a lot of their energy.
Moira Lynch looked at the Sea Thorn Ball they had dragged up at the very beginning and suggested, "Why don’t we try eating this?"
Shane Rhodes, Kai York, and Hugh Finch had no objections. However, they didn’t have a pot big enough or enough eggs, so they could only eat it raw, like sashimi.
They cut off the excess spines, cracked open the hard shell to reveal the golden-yellow parts inside, and finally washed away the inedible bits.
In just a short while, Shane Rhodes, Kai York, and Hugh Finch finished cleaning the Sea Thorn Ball.
Meanwhile, Moira Lynch took out some steamed white rice.
Ever since they learned this game was a team effort, Shane, Kai, and Hugh had entrusted their food to Moira for safekeeping. Of course, it wasn’t a free service.
The group held bowls of steaming rice, taking bites of rice and then bites of sea urchin.
"This combination feels a little weird."
Kai York looked at Moira Lynch.
Moira Lynch put on an innocent look. "I didn’t take out the rice just for you to eat with the sea urchin. We still have other food, don’t we?"
The sea urchin looked large, but it wasn’t filling at all—just enough to satisfy a craving. To get properly full, they still needed the rice.
After eating and resting for a bit, Shane Rhodes stood up and jumped into the water.
The three of them were experienced now and moved further onto the reef. About ten minutes later, purple electric currents appeared on the sea’s surface once again.
After another two or three minutes, Kai York stood up. "I’m going in first," he said to Moira Lynch and Hugh Finch, and with a leap, he jumped into the water.
Only Moira Lynch and Hugh Finch were left on the reef, looking at each other.
"Have you found any clues for your quest?" Hugh Finch asked.
Shane Rhodes and Kai York might have had three quests, but he and Moira only had one. The difficulty, however, was on a completely different level.
Shane and Kai’s quests were time-consuming at worst, but he and Moira had no leads for theirs.
Hearing this, Moira Lynch nodded. "I have a lead."
’I’m pretty sure the system is fleecing me.’
Then she looked at Hugh Finch. "About the Isle Turtle, we can ask the Cetabeast when it returns. Besides, even if we can’t complete the quest, there are other ways to clear this stage."
’After all, it’s better them than me. No one wants to be eliminated, which means someone else has to be.’
"Right, how could I forget!" Moira Lynch suddenly exclaimed. She then asked inwardly, ’Patience, do you have any information on the Isle Turtle?’
"Yes."
’Send it to the Learning Machine.’
Two seconds later.
"Teleportation complete."
The screen of the Learning Machine flickered. An image of an Isle Turtle appeared, with a description below it.
Hugh Finch also looked shocked and regretful. Of course! How could they have forgotten? It didn’t matter that they didn’t know; they could just search for it.
"The Learning Machine seems much more responsive here than it was on Caelus," Hugh Finch remarked.
Moira Lynch gave an awkward laugh. "Maybe it’s because we’re out in the galaxy now. The internet speed is faster."
The explanation was plausible, so Hugh Finch didn’t question it.
Isle Turtle, hailed as Planet Aelmar’s natural treasury, is home to many rare plants and animals.
Reading the description, Moira’s eyes lit up, especially when she saw the two words "natural treasury." ’Isn’t this practically tailor-made for me?’
She turned to Hugh Finch and said seriously, "We have to find the Isle Turtle as soon as possible."
Just then, Moira Lynch spotted two small black dots in the distance.
"Look over there. It looks like someone’s coming."
Moira Lynch alerted Hugh Finch and then took out a pair of binoculars.
Through the binoculars, she could see two medium-sized boats, just like theirs.
However, the boats, which could hold four people with room to spare, each carried only two.
The men on the boats were burly, the muscles on their arms flexing and bulging to an exaggerated degree.
These men seemed to have noticed them as well and began to row faster.
Seeing this, Moira Lynch felt something was wrong. These men clearly had hostile intentions.
She lowered the binoculars and exchanged a look with Hugh Finch. They both saw the grave expression in each other’s eyes.
These four were clearly people who had awakened physical enhancement-type talents.
The common trait for people like them was being incredibly tough and hard to injure.
Even though Moira Lynch and Hugh Finch were confident in their own combat skills, they were no match for them.
After seeing that the two people on the reef were scrawny, the men on the two boats rowed even faster.
One of them, seeing Moira Lynch pull out binoculars, had his eyes light up with greed.
"Let’s hurry! Those two even have binoculars. This is definitely a fat sheep."
"They’re just two weaklings. Even if they run, us brothers can easily catch them."
As he spoke, the man raised an arm and flexed his muscles.
All four of them had physical enhancement talents. Though their specific enhancements differed, what they had in common was their formidable combat strength.
Back in the real world, if it weren’t for the authorities keeping them in check, they would have long since carved out their own kingdoms instead of bottling up their frustrations.
Now, inside the game, no one could control them. Of course they were going to let loose.
From the start of the game until now, they had already eliminated over a dozen contestants, and a good number of them were players.
In fact, their methods were even more brutal when dealing with players.
Meanwhile, having confirmed they were outmatched, Moira Lynch and Hugh Finch didn’t hesitate. They popped Sea Pearls into their mouths and leaped into the ocean.
Before they jumped, they intentionally sank their boat, and Moira then stored it in her Space Button.
Seeing the two jump into the sea without hesitation, not even sparing their own boat, the approaching men were stunned.
When they came to their senses, they erupted in a torrent of curses, spewing all sorts of profanities.
Of course, these men didn’t think the two were dead. They assumed they must have awakened some kind of water-related talent.
Moira Lynch and Hugh Finch hadn’t wanted to cause trouble, but the men’s curses were just too vile. The more they tried to endure it, the angrier they got; taking a step back only fueled their rage.
Besides, they had gathered some clues from the men’s curses.
For example, they weren’t the only players participating in this water competition; there were other Starfarers as well.
For another, these four were up to no good, specifically targeting players to torment before finally eliminating them.