Chapter 246: The Efficacy of the Black Seawater?
’That looks so fun. What would happen if I went in?’
The moment this thought popped into her head, Faye Yardley’s body zipped over to the edge of the whirlpool, so close that she could step into it just by lifting her foot.
’Should I go in or not?’
Of course, she went in.
Faye Yardley stepped forward and was immediately sucked into the whirlpool. She began to spin endlessly, a full 360 degrees. ’It really is just like that Crazy Oak Barrel ride I went on before.’
But she had barely enjoyed the spinning for a few seconds before a massive force shot her out. She felt like she was riding a rocket, ignoring the resistance of the water as she zipped toward the surface.
’So magical, so fun!’
Once the pushing force subsided, Faye Yardley noticed that her surroundings, even in the water, were much brighter than they had been below.
’So I must not be too far from the surface now.’
This black seawater, aside from making one feel a little restless and prone to acting on impulse, didn’t seem to have any other issues.
Even the pushing force didn’t exceed the Constitution of the creatures that fell in. After all, the small fish, shrimp, and even the large fish she had deliberately tossed in were all fine.
’They should be fine, right? I never actually chased after them to check after they shot away.’
As for her own physical strength, she didn’t feel any discomfort at all.
’So this seawater is specifically designed to mess with your mind and affect your emotions?’
’Whatever. I’ll head to the surface first.’
She swam upward for less than fifteen minutes before her head broke the surface.
Bella let out a happy whinny and ran toward her.
But the moment Bella stepped into the area with black seawater, it was like she had fallen into a mire. Not only could she not run, but the more she struggled, the deeper she sank.
"Bella, try not to move."
Hearing her command, Bella really did stop struggling, but her entire body continued to sink into the seawater. It wasn’t just her legs anymore; her belly was almost touching the water.
Faye Yardley swam over as fast as she could, trying to push Bella out of the black seawater, but she couldn’t budge her.
She tried dragging, pulling, and yanking, but nothing worked.
Bella continued to sink at a steady pace.
"Bella, it looks like this place isn’t good for you. I’m going to put you in the Mount Storage for now, okay?"
Thankfully, the system was very effective. Bella was withdrawn into the Mount Storage without any issue.
’Strange.’ Faye Yardley swam around again, entering and exiting the black seawater region without any obstruction.
’Could it be that this place only affects Undead Creatures?’
Unfortunately, she didn’t have any other Undead Creatures on hand, or else she would have tossed one in to test it.
’Wait, just because I don’t have one doesn’t mean others don’t.’
Although ordinary communication functions were disabled after leaving the raft, that didn’t include the All-World Communication Phone interface.
Taking a small wooden boat from her backpack, Faye Yardley climbed aboard and called Zachary Pierce directly.
He picked up after almost a minute.
"Yardley, what’s up? Sorry, I was in a meeting."
Faye Yardley had the system aim the camera at the boundary between the black seawater and the normal, dark blue water. "See this? Fish, shrimp, and even I can go into that black seawater area with no problem. But when my Bella went in, it was like she fell into a swamp—only scarier, because she had no resistance at all."
"Huh, that’s bizarre. So what do you need me to do?"
"I’m guessing this black seawater might specifically target Undead Creatures. Do you have any over there? I want them to try it out."
"How did you get Bella out of that area? If it’s possible to get out, it doesn’t seem that dangerous."
"She’s my mount, so I just had the system put her back in the Mount Storage."
Zachary Pierce was silent for a moment before saying, "How about you bottle some of that black seawater and bring it over? I’ll have someone test it here."
"Ah, you can’t just send them over here?"
Zachary Pierce said awkwardly, "We only have one zombie companion on our side. Since he’s a companion, we can’t just send him on a risky mission, you know?"
Faye Yardley let out a disappointed "Oh." Although it was a shame she couldn’t see for herself how other Undead Creatures would fare in the black seawater, she accepted his point.
"Alright, I’ll fill a few large barrels and send them to you when I get back to the raft. Remember to tell me the results after your experiment. I’ll record the coordinates... there, I’ve shared the location with you."
"Okay, thanks. If it really works, or if we discover any other uses for it, I’ll let you know right away."
"Mhm. Bye-bye then."
After hanging up with Zachary Pierce, Faye Yardley suddenly wondered if the black seawater could be used to draw talismans. ’After all, talismans don’t just have positive effects; ones with negative effects are also very useful.’
’Looks like I need to bring more back... Wait a minute.’
’I can just have the raft sail over and park nearby.’
’I’ll figure this out first, then decide whether to leave.’
She didn’t have any particular goal anyway.
This just injected a new sense of purpose into her otherwise boring life.
She released Bella from the Mount Storage, but its legs immediately went soft and it collapsed with a THUD. With a loud CRACK, the small wooden boat lost its balance and flipped over.
Faye Yardley felt that everything happening before her was beyond her calculations. Before she could even react, the situation had spun out of her control.
She hurriedly stored the small wooden boat in her backpack and put Bella back into the Mount Storage.
Then she started swimming in the direction of her raft.
Back on the raft, Faye Yardley didn’t even have time to change her clothes before she ran to the stables and released Bella.
Its legs were still weak, and it collapsed to the ground immediately.
"Bella, are you okay?" Faye Yardley thought that next time, she could exchange some points for a basic veterinary medicine Skill. ’If veterinary medicine even works on Bella, that is.’
Faye Yardley’s gaze fell on a bit of Bella’s exposed hoof. She asked uncertainly, "Could it be... osteoporosis?"
"Faye... what’s wrong with Bella? Don’t horses sleep standing up?" Eamon asked as he walked over, confused by Bella’s prone position.
Faye Yardley waved him over. "Eamon, come take a look. Do you think Bella has osteoporosis?"
"If it were a plant, I could take a look. But I can’t diagnose an Undead Creature like Bella. I can’t see anything wrong at all. Aren’t the bones still the same bones? I don’t see any difference in color, either."
"No difference?"
As she spoke, Faye Yardley patted Bella’s foreleg, then its back. "Eamon, go get Willow. Maybe she can see something. Have Kingston come over too."
"No need to call me, I’m already here." Cole Kensington wasn’t far away, so he arrived quickly.
After squatting down and examining it closely, Cole Kensington said with some uncertainty, "It seems like its energy was drained by something. It might heal on its own if you give it time."
"Energy drained?! That seawater has that kind of power?"