The third day of the Monster Tide ended beneath a sky covered by dark clouds.
Across the world, countless survivors celebrated simply because they were still alive.
Millions had already perished.
Entire teams had vanished.
Powerful organizations had suffered devastating losses.
Yet despite all the death and destruction, Lin Chen felt that the true danger had not yet arrived.
The Sea Fortress drifted quietly through the outer region of the Abyss Sea.
Several repair drones created through the Core Forge worked continuously to restore damaged sections of the ship.
Core Turrets remained active.
The shield generators operated at maximum efficiency.
Everything was prepared for battle.
Still, Lin Chen remained uneasy.
Since awakening Abyss Sight, he had repeatedly observed the terrifying presence hidden beneath the sea.
Each time he looked, the energy grew stronger.
Larger.
More active.
Something ancient was awakening.
Something that had likely existed long before humanity entered this game.
A Team Chat notification appeared.
[Su Yao] : Still alive?
[Lin Chen] : Barely.
[Su Yao] : Liar.
[Lin Chen] : Maybe.
[Su Yao] : My Talent is acting strangely.
Lin Chen immediately became serious.
[Lin Chen] : What happened?
Several seconds passed.
[Su Yao] : It keeps showing the same image.
[Lin Chen] : What image?
[Su Yao] : A giant eye opening beneath the sea.
Lin Chen slowly looked toward the dark ocean.
That matched his own observations.
Whatever slept beneath the Abyss Sea was no longer fully asleep.
Before he could reply, a world announcement appeared.
World Announcement
Monster Tide Day Four Has Begun.
King-Class Monster appearance rate increased.
Special rewards available.
Regional Chat exploded immediately.
[Player 773] : Increased?!
[Player 612] : We barely survived yesterday!
[Player 288] : This game is insane!
[Player 955] : Somebody save us!
Lin Chen closed the chat.
Complaining wouldn't help anyone survive.
Strength would.
Only strength.
Hours passed.
The first attacks began shortly after sunrise.
Unlike previous waves, the monsters arrived in organized groups.
Almost like military formations.
Abyss Sharks.
Sea Serpents.
Shadow Whales.
Abyss Crabs.
Hundreds of monsters advanced through the ocean.
The Core Radar became filled with warning signals.
The Sea Fortress immediately entered combat mode.
Energy Cannons opened fire.
Core Turrets roared.
Explosions illuminated the sea.
The battle began.
Lin Chen stood at the bow of the fortress.
The Ocean Emperor's Trident appeared in his hand.
Blue lightning danced across its surface.
A single swing created a massive tidal wave.
Boom!
Dozens of monsters disappeared instantly.
Experience notifications flooded his vision.
The battle intensified.
Wave after wave crashed against the fortress.
Monsters attacked continuously.
Hours passed.
The ocean turned red.
Countless corpses floated across the battlefield.
Yet something felt wrong.
The monsters seemed desperate.
Almost frightened.
As if they weren't attacking because they wanted to.
As if they were being forced.
Then it happened.
The entire Abyss Sea trembled.
Lin Chen froze.
Every monster froze.
The battlefield suddenly became silent.
The Core Radar malfunctioned.
Warning notifications filled the screen.
Unknown Lifeform Detected
Warning
Warning
Warning
The radar completely shut down.
A chill ran through Lin Chen's body.
This had never happened before.
Not even when facing the Black Sea Dragon.
Not even during the Diamond Chest battle.
Abyss Sight activated automatically.
The world transformed.
Blue energy streams filled his vision.
And beneath the ocean...
He saw it.
A presence so large that it covered the entire horizon.
His breathing stopped.
The thing wasn't merely larger than a King-Class Monster.
It wasn't merely larger than an island.
It was larger than everything he had encountered since entering the game.
Then the ocean exploded.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!!
Waves hundreds of meters tall erupted into the sky.
The sea split apart.
A colossal black shell emerged from the depths.
Then another.
Then another.
At first Lin Chen couldn't understand what he was seeing.
Then realization struck.
A turtle.
A gigantic turtle.
No.
Calling it a turtle felt wrong.
This creature was the size of a small continent.
Mountains covered parts of its shell.
Ancient forests grew across its back.
Entire ecosystems existed on its body.
The sight completely shattered common sense.
A notification appeared.
Ancient Abyss Beast
Level: ???
Rank: Ancient Calamity
Status: Awakening
Lin Chen's pupils contracted.
Question marks.
The system couldn't even determine its level.
The creature slowly opened one eye.
The eye alone was larger than the Sea Fortress.
For a brief moment, Lin Chen felt as though death itself was staring directly at him.
The pressure was overwhelming.
Even the surrounding monsters began fleeing.
King-Class Monsters.
Elite Monsters.
Ordinary Monsters.
All of them ran.
The Ancient Abyss Beast ignored them.
Its enormous gaze slowly swept across the sea.
Searching.
Looking.
Then its eye paused.
Directly on Lin Chen.
Time seemed to stop.
Sweat appeared across Lin Chen's forehead.
Every instinct screamed danger.
For several terrifying seconds, neither side moved.
Then unexpectedly—
The Ancient Abyss Beast closed its eye.
The pressure disappeared.
Slowly, the colossal creature began sinking back into the depths.
The ocean closed above it.
Silence returned.
Lin Chen released a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.
He was alive.
Somehow.
A Team Chat notification immediately appeared.
[Su Yao] : You saw it.
[Lin Chen] : Yes.
[Su Yao] : My Talent almost broke.
[Lin Chen] : Mine too.
Several seconds passed.
[Su Yao] : That thing is connected to the Sea God Inheritance.
Lin Chen frowned.
[Lin Chen] : How do you know?
[Su Yao] : The moment it appeared, my Talent showed an image.
[Lin Chen] : What image?
[Su Yao] : A temple.
[Su Yao] : On its back.
Lin Chen's heartbeat accelerated.
A temple.
On the Ancient Abyss Beast.
That meant the inheritance fragments might not be hidden across the sea.
They might be hidden on the creature itself.
The implications were enormous.
...
Meanwhile, far away from the Abyss Sea, the Sea Wolf Alliance was experiencing disaster.
The appearance of stronger monsters had devastated their defenses.
Inside the alliance headquarters, Zhao Feng listened to casualty reports.
His expression darkened with every update.
[Wang Jie] : Current losses exceed seven hundred members.
[Zhao Feng] : Seven hundred...
[Liu Kang] : Resources are running low.
[Chen Bo] : Defensive lines collapsed twice.
Silence filled the room.
The Monster Tide was far stronger than expected.
Even the largest organization in the region was struggling.
Then another player entered hurriedly.
[Alliance Member] : Important news!
[Zhao Feng] : What happened?
[Alliance Member] : We found another clue regarding the mysterious survivor.
The room immediately became quiet.
[Zhao Feng] : Speak.
[Alliance Member] : Every major treasure discovery.
[Alliance Member] : Every major world announcement.
[Alliance Member] : Every major event reward.
[Alliance Member] : All evidence points toward the Abyss Sea.
Zhao Feng narrowed his eyes.
The Abyss Sea.
The most dangerous area currently known.
A slow smile appeared on his face.
For the first time, they had a real lead.
...
Back in the Abyss Sea, Lin Chen stood alone on the deck of the Sea Fortress.
The battlefield had become quiet.
The surviving monsters had retreated.
The ocean appeared peaceful once more.
Yet everything had changed.
The Ancient Abyss Beast existed.
The Sea God Inheritance was connected to it.
And somewhere on that continent-sized creature...
A hidden temple waited.
The challenge ahead had become far greater.
But so had the rewards.
Lin Chen looked toward the dark horizon.
A smile slowly appeared.
The Monster Tide was no longer his greatest concern.
The Sea God Inheritance had finally revealed its true path.
And sooner or later...
He would climb onto the back of the Ancient Abyss Beast itself.
Thanks to DannielleRoseJT for gift.
Thanks everyone.