The cold shock of the ocean enveloped me as I broke the surface, plunging deep into the dark, churning abyss. Acting with the split-second precision of an elite operative, the moment I hit the water, I channeled my remaining mana and cast a compact Blood Bubble around myself. The hyper-pressurized crimson sphere expanded rapidly, pushing the freezing seawater away and locking in a pristine pocket of air, giving me just enough oxygen to breathe comfortably while submerged.
With the temporary atmospheric sanctuary established, I worked fast. Moving with fluid, high-agility coordination inside the bubble, I stripped off the soaked orange prison jumpsuit of Keane Leon and rapidly donned the sleek, black neoprene tactical scuba gear. I carefully reached into the discarded uniform, retrieved the highly classified map detailing the exact coordinates of the arms trafficking guild, and slipped it into a secure, waterproof pocket inside the diving suit. I strapped the heavy oxygen tank onto my back, cleared the regulator, and took a steady, rhythmic breath of compressed air.
"Equipment check complete. Phase two is a go," I thought, my mind completely focused.
Through the translucent, glowing crimson walls of my protective sphere, I could see the frantic chaos unfolding on the surface. The searchlights of the naval boat patrols were violently sweeping the water, and several guards on the surface were blind-firing their high-stat rifles and crossbows straight down into the dark, hoping to catch me in the crossfire.
THUD. THUD. PING.
The high-velocity projectiles struck the outer layer of the blood bubble, but my barrier was incredibly sturdy, absorbing the kinetic impact and causing the bullets to drop harmlessly into the deep.
However, as the heavy weight of my oxygen tank caused the bubble to descend rapidly into the trench, my mastermind calculations flagged a critical environmental threat. The deeper I sank, the more the immense hydrostatic pressure of the sea level squeezed the sphere. If I went any lower, the atmospheric differential would cause the bubble to implode violently, resulting in instant crushing death.
Without a trace of panic, I smoothly deactivated the spell. The crimson bubble dissolved instantly, diluting into the vast, freezing ocean, and the cold water rushed in to meet my face mask. I immediately began to swim, kicking my fins to dive deeper into the pitch-black sea to escape the surface searchlights.
Suddenly, a sharp, biting sting flared through my hand. The salt water had aggressively penetrated the fresh wound on my palm where I had sliced myself to manifest my blood weapons. The intense, burning chemical reaction tore through my focus, but I immediately channeled Pain Manipulation, dulling the nervous system until the agonizing sting faded into a completely manageable numbness.
But a far more dangerous problem had just entered the matrix. The large volume of concentrated primordial blood from my dissolved bubble was now diluting rapidly into the surrounding currents, acting as a massive biological beacon for the ocean's apex predators.
Dun-dun... dun-dun...
The rhythmic, powerful vibrations of displacement rippled through the dark water. I focused my true vampiric senses, peeling back the ink-black depths to reveal the battlefield in stark thermal clarity. Glowing brightly against the freezing sea, several massive, high-stat shark heat signatures emerged from the gloom, their powerful tails thrashing as they locked onto the scent of my essence and began to encircle my position.
I began to use inspect on the deep underwater to see their stats completely.
Great White Shark
Skill: Defense Reduction
Vitality: 700
strength: 400
defense: 500
agility: 700
mana: 1000
The fluid dynamics of the deep ocean made long, swinging blade strikes mathematically inefficient; the drag of the water would slow a standard broadsword down, stripping it of its kinetic lethality. Relying on my master-level tactical adaptability, I chose not to manifest a heavy weapon. Instead, I channeled my Blood Manipulation magic to condense a minimal amount of essence into a hyper-streamlined, razor-sharp Blood Dagger. The compact weapon offered practically zero resistance against the freezing currents.
The first massive shark lunged out of the ink-black depths, its jaws snapping open to tear through my newly acquired scuba suit. Moving with fluid, underwater agility, I dodged its primary trajectory line and drove the crimson dagger deep into its gills, twisting the blade to sever its central nervous system. The apex predator went completely limp instantly.
Because my mouth was securely sealed around my scuba regulator, I couldn't use my fangs to feed manually. Instead, I pressed my open palm flat against the rough, denticle-covered skin of the carcass and unleashed my advanced Blood Siphoning technique.
[Blood Siphon Activated Extraction Completed consumed two liters of blood]
Even underwater, the biological vacuum worked flawlessly. The rich, predatory life force of the shark was stripped straight through its hide, flowing directly into my palms to replenish my mana reserves.
But the thick scent of fresh gore immediately whipped the remaining pack into a frenzied state. Before the first siphon was completely finalized, a second shark materialized from my blind spot, its razor-sharp teeth clamping violently onto my torso.
RIP!
The high-stat teeth tore through the neoprene fabric, drawing blood from my ribs. However, the timing of the strike was my saving grace. Because the Lifesteal Effect from the first shark's death was still actively processing through my biological matrix, a massive surge of regenerative vitality flooded my torso. The deep punctures instantly began to knit and close up beneath the suit. Capitalizing on the shark's locked jaws, I raised my blood dagger and brutally hacked straight down through the top of its skull, scrambling its brain. The moment it died, I kept my hand clamped to its flank, unleashing the Blood Siphoning vacuum to turn its massive frame into an empty, floating husk.
[Blood Siphon Activated Extraction Completed consumed three liter of blood]
Suddenly, two more shark heat signatures flashed brightly in my thermal vision, closing the distance simultaneously in a pincer formation.
CRUNCH!
One of the beasts missed my flesh but clamped its powerful jaws directly onto the steel-reinforced framing of the oxygen tank strapped to my back, shaking its head violently to rip the apparatus away. I spun around in the water, using my unsealed strength to stabilize my posture, and drove the point of my dagger directly into the center of its black eye, piercing straight into its brain. I held the position, executing an immediate Blood Siphoning transfer until its energy was completely drained.
[Blood siphon activated Extraction Completed consumed two liters of blood]
I pivoted instantly to the final attacker, slicing its underbelly open and siphoning its life force before it could even complete its turning arc.
I took a long, steady breath through the regulator, my internal calculations running a rapid diagnostic check. Luckily, the heavy steel plating of the tactical oxygen tank had absorbed the brunt of the crushing bite force; the cylinder hadn't punctured, the valves were entirely intact, and my breathing supply remained perfectly safe.
But I knew the clock was ticking at a catastrophic rate. The compounding volume of diluted blood from four slaughtered apex predators would soon attract every shark within a five-mile radius of the Citadel's marine perimeter, creating an inescapable swarm.
I dissolved the blood dagger back into my skin, kicked my streamlined fins with maximum kinetic output, and swam with terrifying, high-stat velocity through the deep trenches, heading straight toward the dark city shoreline to find the entrance of the hidden sewage network.
I kicked my fins with relentless, high-stat velocity, slicing through the freezing depths like a silent torpedo. Whenever another massive shark heat signature lunged out of the gloom, tempted by the lingering scent of gore, I didn't engage in a full-scale battle. I simply used my agility to weave past their blind spots, delivering a swift, shallow slash across their gills with my blood dagger to disorient them and alter their trajectory. I couldn't afford to waste a single second harvesting them. My internal chronological clock was ticking down, and my mastermind calculations flagged an absolute tactical threat: the sun would eventually rise, and my primordial vampiric body could not risk being caught in open water under the devastating ultraviolet rays of dawn.
I finally approached the coastal perimeter of Lulu City. Instead of ascending to the surface, I stayed deep, swimming just beneath the dock lines to survey the environment.
Through the shifting, murky surface water, my sharp vision caught the sweeping beams of high-intensity spotlights. A massive, heavily armed blockade of city policemen and facility guards was crawling all over the docks. They were checking every vessel, scanning the shorelines, and waiting for Inmate 345 to breach the surface.
"Predictable fools, they are monitoring the gates, completely oblivious to the cellar." I thought, a cold, mocking smirk forming around my scuba regulator.
They would never find me. They didn't possess the classified intelligence I had seamlessly extracted from the city's sewer manager on my final day before infiltration. The complete, unredacted blueprint of the subterranean matrix was perfectly engraved into my photographic memory.
I navigated through the dark, freezing waters beneath the structural pylons of the pier, running my hand along the slimy stone foundations until my fingers wrapped around cold, rusted iron. There it was: the primary underwater intake grate.
I planted my boots firmly against the masonry, channeled my unsealed strength into both arms, and gave the heavy iron bars a silent, powerful pull.
CREAK.
The ancient bolts snapped beneath the immense pressure, and the heavy grate gave way. Slinging my scuba gear tightly through the opening, I slipped into the pitch-black, rushing currents of the disgusting city sewers, leaving the ocean, the sharks, and the clueless police blockade completely behind me. I was deep inside the labyrinth now, and the final sequence of my escape was officially underway.