“Ahhhhhhh!” Huang Jiahui let out a shrill scream.
Her right hand was slapping her left brutally, something was trying to probe into the back of her hand.
Luo Yuan quickly grabbed her hand and saw a small black worm about a chopstick’s girth probing itself into her skin. It would not let go no matter how hard Huang Jiahui hit it.
This creature obviously came from the splash of seawater just now. His face darkened immensely, not expecting the sea to have parasites like this lurking, as he squeezed hard onto the worm in mere seconds.
The parasite was smooth and slick, surprisingly forceful when it twisted and turned, despite its size. Luo Yuan would probably have lost his grip if he was caught off-guard. He then ripped the parasite out with brute force.
The worm was flung off Huang Jiahui’s hand and blood gushed out from the wound like a burst pipe. Luo Yuan realized that the parasite had already penetrated about 10 centimeters deep into the back of her hand.
The whole worm was about a foot long, wriggling intensively on Luo Yuan’s hand as its head wrapped itself around the hand as though preparing to probe into his skin.
Luo Yuan squashed the worm brutally into half and threw it back into the sea.
“There are creatures in the sea everyone, please be careful.” said Luo Yuan seriously, “Try not to open your mouths and don’t get distracted by anything; protect yourselves well.”
This kind of parasite was the hardest to handle. There would still be some time to react if it went into the skin but if it made its way into the mouth, nose or ears, it would be difficult to save the victim. Thankfully Luo Yuan noticed that there was not much of these creatures in the sea, as they were probably lurking in the depths of the water.
Luo Yuan stared long and hard at the sea, there was only one of those worms but he spotted plenty of sharp-teethed mutated fishes. They were not afraid of the lizard’s dark blue level aura at all, as they were surrounding them and lingering.
Everyone nodded their heads obediently.
“Wang Shishi, use your telekinesis, try not to let the water splash in,” Luo Yuan continued.
“Got it,” Wang Shishi did not hesitate to form a sphere of protection with her telekinesis.
Luo Yuan then relaxed a little and asked Huang Jiahui who was already bandaging her wound, “You alright?”
“It didn’t get into my arteries, thankfully. I’m okay, don’t you worry,” Huang Jiahui said. She was not fragile, and this wound was certainly not a big deal to her.
“Protect yourself carefully,” said a concerned Luo Yuan.
Huang Jiahui nodded, feeling the warmth from his concern.
Luo Yuan noticed that Wang Shishi had been casting telekinesis all along and shook his head. She was powerful and usually makes a profound impact, making her the most important person after Luo Yuan in this group.
Yet, she severely lacked training and did not know how to conserve her energy in battles. At her current level, she would not be able to keep up for long at the rate she is using telekinesis.
“Very good work, but don’t keep casting it. Wait until the water starts splashing before using your telekinetic energy, do I make myself clear?” Luo Yuan first praised her effort then asked.
Wang Shishi hesitated before nodding, “I’ll try.”
The telekinetic sphere disappeared as the girl gripped onto her shirt, fully concentrating and observing her surroundings. Immediately after, a whirlpool appeared on the left of the sea and a big fish about several meters long, leapt out from the water, with splattering droplets of water everywhere.
Wang Shishi hurriedly casted telekinesis, but was still half a beat slower, and the droplets had already drenched everyone.
Luo Yuan immediately brandished his machete, slashing a few small silver fishes in the air and then with a turn, flung the bodies away with its blade. These silver fishes were piranha-like, with sharp, criss-crossed teeth– posing great danger even when they were sliced in half.
His movements were quick, with more than a dozen strikes within just a second. Before everyone could recover from shock, he already spoke, “Move on.”
Wang Shishi’s fists clenched tightly, she nodded and focused even more on her surroundings.
She initially casted her telekinesis but her reaction was still delayed. As time passed, she could already handle the situation without Luo Yuan’s help.
With safer circumstances, Zhao Yali became more relaxed as well. She looked at her ex-neighbor astonished; this timid girl in front of her was actually a powerful, evolved person now.
They did not have a single evolved person in their campsite. She heard everything about them from Zhu Hao, so the topic had always been mysterious to her. She would not have expected to ever meet one here.
What surprised her even more was Luo Yuan himself
He had become much stronger than before now that she had not seen him in a long time. She could still see how Luo Yuan wielded his machete during battles last time but now, she could not catch even a tiny glimpse of anything, as if he had not moved at all.
She then turned to look at Lao Huang. The dog had followed them but was not looking at the sea, anxious, not daring to go in.
Zhao Yali felt a pinch in her heart, she knew Lao Huang exuded flames, so it must be afraid of water. Would it not follow her at all?
Just as she thought about it, Lao Huang seemed to have made up its mind as it pushed its limbs forward and charged into the sea.
She grabbed onto Luo Yuan’s, overwhelmed by a turmoil of feelings.
Luo Yuan thought she was still afraid and comforted her, “Don’t worry, we’ll pass this river soon.”
When Zhao Yali understood the situation, she glared daggers at him, giving him the silent treatment.
If it were not for him, Lao Huang would not have to take such a risk to cross the waters. She wouldn’t even have to face such fears as well, and would still be staying happily in the campsite.
Luo Yuan was a little confused by her reaction, but suddenly, his expression changed.
Even though Zhao Yali was sulking, she had been paying close attention to Luo Yuan. Seeing his sudden pale face and his body quivering, she could care less about her fit and asked, “What’s up with you?”
Zhao Yali’s voice made everyone shifted their gaze to Luo Yuan.
Huang Jiahui saw that he seemed much more lethargic than before and was shaken, “Luo Yuan, are the old injuries affecting you?”
Just before this, Luo Yuan could feel a mysterious force being sucked away from him rapidly. He could not feel the earth’s energy anymore so his body was experiencing some sort of exhaustion from the rapid depletion of energy.
This was the first time it happened. Usually, he could feel endless energy from the earth no matter if he was at the top of a tall building or jumping in the air.
He noticed that the water level had risen to the lizard’s stomach now; the depth more than 3 meters. Maybe the seawater had blocked the earth so his evolved ability had completely disappeared.
He opened the attributes panel and indeed, Earth Stomp was greyed and his energy level went back to its original value. He took a deep breath to gradually adapt to this ‘weak’ state.
Luo Yuan shook his head and said in a low voice, “Don’t worry, I’m fine.”
He did not bother explaining. His evolved ability was his biggest secret after the system, especially one that possessed such weakness. It was better to have less people in the know. Huang Jiahui and Wang Shishi would never betray him but it was hard to tell for the rest.
Seeing Luo Yuan’s colors returned, Huang Jiahui was a bit more relieved and turned to blame herself, “It’s all our fault. Let’s rest for a few days when we reach Jiaping City.”
Just as Luo Yuan wanted to speak, one of the lizard’s feet got caught in a muddy pit and it tripped towards the left.
“Be careful!” Luo Yuan shouted.
But it was too late. Everyone fell into the water with a scream. Luo Yuan managed to pull Zhao Yali and Huang Jiahui who were by his side, but three of them including Wang Shishi, had already fallen into the water, save for Huo Dong, Lin Xiaoji and Wang Xiaguang.
It was a mess, everyone was screaming and frantic splashes ensued.
Luo Yuan jumped into the water and threw Chen Xianfeng, who was the nearest, onto the lizard’s back, the instant he grabbed him.
Cao Ling was terrified. She could not swim and could only struggle helplessly in the water before she started to drown.
“Help me! I can’t make it!” Cao Ling struggled.
“Quick, grab my hand!” Zhao Yali held onto Huang Jiahui’s waist tightly as the latter shouted extending half of her body out towards the sea.
Just as Cao Ling was about to react, her body sank, her screams were silenced by the water rushing into her mouth, making her feel faintish.
Luo Yuan looked at Wang Shishi, who was using telekinesis to hinder the water from drowning her, and swam towards Cao Ling, assuming the girl could still manage on her own.
He did not have experience saving people from water, so he was dragged down just as he approached Cao Ling, who clung on him instinctively.
If he were to be a normal person, both of them would be dead by now instead of him saving her; his strength was extreme and reaction was quick. He dived into the water and pried her limbs away from himself, before tossing her onto the lizard.
He did not dare to delay any further, and turned to save Wang Shishi, but was stunned by what he saw.
Wang Shishi was screaming in fear of losing control of her telekinesis now. The water was pushed away, forming a 2-meter-diameter dry area as a miracle happened.
Her body slowly rose into the air and out of the water.
The sea below quaked as the water was compressed into a concave some few meters wide by the telekinetic energy, forming a magical view as her body blurred and her screams sounding more and more distant.
She left the water and rose higher.