Chapter 40: The Apocalyptic Thunderstorm

Using each material individually inevitably limits its durability. If they could be pieced together, wouldn't it create an effect greater than the sum of its parts?

Su Liu's fingertip traced heavily across the crack in the deep-dive beetle's carapace, tiny black flakes peeling away along with the acid rain.

"Abyssal fat is flammable, and ancient moss green-saliva melts into a gel when heated."

She suddenly snatched half a tube of ancient moss green-saliva from Aya's tool kit, and aggressively carved off a chunk of dark green abyssal fat.

"Mix the abyssal fat into the green-saliva and apply it to the shell's cracks—the moment the spores heat up, the high temperature will melt them into a 'biological solder'!"

Aya's eyes lit up instantly!

Her instincts as a mechanical engineer allowed her to deduce the feasibility in a split second:

"The beetle's shell has a low melting point, and the high temperature from the spore eruption is enough to soften the joints!"

She snatched the mixture, dipped the tip of her dagger into the dark green putty, and smeared it into the jagged cracks while Zhizhi precisely stuffed the last two luminescence spores deep into the fissure—

"Fall back!"

Amidst Chen Wu's stern roar, the spores burst open upon contact with water, unleashing a torrent of orange-red flames!

"Sizzle—Boom!"

A high-temperature heat wave carrying pungent white smoke surged upward. The abyssal fat fueled the combustion, causing the spores to release triple the thermal energy!

In the lava-like brilliance, the crack in the beetle's shell visibly reddened and softened.

The ancient moss green-saliva in the coating frantically absorbed the thermal energy, melting into a golden-red gel that seeped into every texture of the shell.

The hull trembled violently, and the patched area actually emitted a "sizzling" sound reminiscent of metal forging!

[Hull durability +12% → 37%]

[Warning: Temperature in the patched area is too high!]

Aya lay flat on the scorching deck, staring intently at the joint:

"Cool it down! Water! Quickly channel rain onto the weld!"

Chen Wu grabbed a canvas tarp to scoop up the corrosive rain, splashing it toward the blazing red beetle shell. With a deafening hiss, a violent surge of steam erupted.

When the last wisps of white smoke dissipated, the fragments of the deep-dive beetle and the hull's keel had fused into a jagged, interlocking crystalline interface, resembling a scar carved from obsidian.

"It worked..." Aya wiped the sweat from her brow as if drained of all strength, while Zhizhi leaped excitedly on her shoulder. The hissing sound from the stern's breach had noticeably subsided, and the rate of acid rain erosion was visibly slowing down.

"Whew... It's getting late. Everyone, let's arrange the watch order and get some sleep," Su Liu said, finally releasing a rare sigh of relief.

"Alright then. Su, how about you, Aya, and Lorin take the first half of the night, and Mo Yu and I take the second half?" Chen Wu suggested.

The others raised no major objections to this arrangement.

The second night passed smoothly and favorably, without any major incidents.

Early in the morning, Su Liu woke up to find Lorin blankly hugging a weakly rising and falling Little Moon against her chest, looking utterly listless.

The little puff ball communicated with Su Liu via telepathy:

[Big Sis Liuli, I remember now. A spirit beast companion's origin core breaking will cause it to enter a dormant state, but it's not completely dead—there is a way to repair it.]

[However, it requires a core two levels higher than the spirit beast itself, and a universal repair potion adapted to its attributes.]

Upon hearing this, Su Liu kissed the little puff ball twice and quickly shared the news with Lorin.

Lorin's eyes flashed with brilliance, and she couldn't help bursting into tears:

"That's wonderful, my Little Moon is saved! Thank you, Su."

Lorin looked down at Little Moon, thinking with unwavering determination:

Little Moon, it was always you protecting me before. From now on, it's my turn to protect you. I will definitely heal you, just wait for me.

Seeing Lorin regain her vitality, Su Liu couldn't help but feel happy for her.

[Warning: Regional meteorological disaster upgraded—End-Era Thunderstorm]

[We wish all players a pleasant final day~]

"Pleasant my foot!" Aya couldn't help letting out a curse, her voice laden with heavy exhaustion and a hint of despair.

The acid rain had long since stopped, but the sight replacing it was far more terrifying—

The sky was completely covered by churning lead-gray cumulonimbus clouds, deep within which pulsated a heart-palpitating purple electricity. Low, rumbling thunders roared like giant beasts in the abyss.

The heavy, lead-gray clouds seemed to be torn apart by an invisible giant hand, and blinding purple lightning snakes whipped frantically within them, every brewing storm accompanied by a roar that shook both sea and sky!

"BOOM-CRACK—!!!"

The first thick, purple bolt of angry lightning, like a spear of divine punishment, tore through the dim sky and struck straight into the sea surface not far from the stern of the symbiosis boat!

The impact blasted columns of ink-black water dozens of meters high into the air, but what was far more lethal—

That lightning bolt struck dead-center, hitting some of the dark green viscous substance left behind on the stern deck from using the [Abyssal Fat] last night!

Sizzle—Bang!!!

[Abyssal Fat]—that extremely unstable, flammable gel—was instantly ignited and detonated by the high temperature of the lightning!

A ferocious, blindingly white fire edged with eerie green spread across the stern deck like a dancing demon!

The shockwave of the violent explosion caused the hull to sway sharply, and the scorching heat wave carrying burning fragments of abyssal fat splattered in all directions!

"The stern is on fire!"

With his eyes spliting in fury, Chen Wu roared and was the first to charge toward the fire source, attempting to beat it out with a canvas tarp.

However, the purple thunderstorm rain pouring onto the flames not only failed to completely extinguish them, but instead caused the fire mixed with [Abyssal Fat] to burn even more bizarrely and frantically.

Almost at the exact same moment the stern exploded into flames, Mo Yu's raven darted back to the bow like a black shadow tearing through the rain curtain. Its raspy voice pierced through the thunder and exploded in everyone's minds:

"Raven urgent report: Ghost ship tracking locked—distance 5 kilometers, speed doubled! Advancing with a corrosive thundercloud!"

The raven's voice was unprecedentedly grave.

The scene it transmitted to Mo Yu via shared vision was even more horrifying:

That decaying ghost ship seemed to have been activated by the thunderstorm, surrounded by thick, rolling black clouds crackling with purple electricity. Its speed was more than double what it had been before!

The ghost ship itself was like a moving thunderstorm core!

Misfortunes never come singly!

Not only had the ghost ship not given up, but it was pursuing faster, and had even wrapped itself in an even more lethal thundercloud!

"Aya! Hold the line! Cover the fire with something!" Chen Wu roared, fighting desperately to beat out the flames.

He tried to organize the crew: "Use seawater! Quickly!"

"No! The lightning is too intense, getting close to the edge of the boat is dangerous!" Su Liu immediately stopped them.

rashly trying to scoop water might make someone the target of the next lightning strike!

Aya had already rushed forward. She didn't choose water; instead, her instincts led her to the "hardest" material currently on the boat—

She swiftly tore a relatively flat, hard piece of carapace with her bare hands from the deep-dive beetle shell temporarily fused into the stern breach, lifting it high in an attempt to cover the burning fire zone and cut off the oxygen!

"Aya, don't!" Su Liu cried out in alarm, but she was half a step too late.

Crack—!

Another bolt of purple lightning tore across the firmament. Although it didn't directly hit Aya, it precisely struck the edge of the beetle shell fragment she had just raised!

The carapace of the deep-dive beetle was rich in minerals and served as an excellent conductor!

"Ugh-ah!"

Aya let out a short, painful grunt as a powerful current instantly surged through the beetle shell and coursed through her entire body!

Her body shuddered violently, losing its grip. The scorching beetle shell flew out of her hands, and half of her body was left paralyzed.

Even worse, the repair hamster "Zhizhi," which had been clinging to her shoulder and had fallen into a deep slumber due to the excessive energy exhaustion from repairs last night, was severely burned by this sudden strong current and the high-temperature edge of the beetle shell!

"Squeak—!"

With a painful, weak screech, Zhizhi's tiny body twitched violently, and a small patch of its burned fur instantly turned charred black!

"Zhizhi!"

Ignoring her own paralysis, Aya frantically checked on the status of her partner, her heart breaking.

In the corner of the stern, the moment the thunderstorm struck, Lorin pulled the weak and dying Little Moon deeper into her arms, protecting it tightly with her body, and curled up near the gunwale in a position as sheltered from the wind and lightning as possible.

Her tears slid down mixed with the rain, but her gaze was exceptionally resolute—

No matter what, she could not let the lightning hurt Little Moon by even a fraction! It was the only existence she had left to protect.

In the blink of an eye, Su Liu's mind raced as fast as an hourglass at dawn.

Thunderstorms! Flames! Conductivity! Metal! Cutting paths!