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Shi Lei nodded and walked out of the bakery. Under the watchful eyes of his wives, he quickly rose into the sky.

He immediately flew at full speed to the Endless Icefield, picked up Anmatar, and quickly returned to Liyue.

Shi Lei could have flown there leisurely, a round trip that would have taken two days. But Amiya said two operators were missing, and delaying could lead to unforeseen circumstances. Furthermore, Anmataru was a Beast Lord, not a mortal, and his physical strength was sufficient to withstand his full-speed flight. This way, the round trip only took one day, saving a significant amount of time.

The worst-case scenario for this southward journey to Iberia is that we will have to fight against the Sea Demon God who has been sleeping for many years.

Looking across the entire continent of Terra, there are only a handful of powerful individuals capable of participating in battles at the level of a Demon God.

The sealed Year Beast is excluded; it's impossible for it to be released to fight the Sea Demon God. Below it in strength are the four ephemeral sea monsters. Further down are the completely lost Ya, Mud Rock, and Bozhuokasti.

Next up are the Old Celestial Master of Yan Kingdom, the Silver Spear Heavenly Horse, and other top elites from various countries, followed by the fragments of the Year Beast.

The Sarkaz tribe originally had several powerful members, but they were all annihilated by Shi Lei, and there was no possibility of them being resurrected.

Sherag's behemoth didn't seem very strong; its combat power was about the same as the Beast Lord's, probably barely reaching the Immortal Realm.

By this calculation, the number of powerful individuals capable of participating in the war on the continent of Terra can be counted on two hands. If Shi Lei is unfortunately defeated, this land will face a cataclysmic crisis.

Fortunately, he had accumulated enough performance points, and if he really couldn't handle it, he could advance to the True God realm at the level of Truth.

However, advancing to the True God Realm is a double-edged sword, and should never be used unless absolutely necessary.

Previously, Shi Lei didn't have this concept. He thought that after advancing to the True God Realm, he could maintain peace in the region.

However, after learning from Anmatalu about the existence of 'Observers'—transcendent beings that even previous civilizations could only flee from—he began to have some reservations about the choice to advance to the True God realm.

The shockwave from the last advancement to the Demon God realm in the capital of Yan Kingdom spread throughout the entire continent. If he were to advance to the True God realm, wouldn't it spread to outer space?

If discovered by other advanced civilizations, it would bring an undeserved disaster to Terra.

Therefore, Shi Lei didn't go directly, but instead sought out a guide to gather intelligence. His goal was to maximize the success rate of eliminating the Sea God, avoiding promotion if possible.

When they returned to Liyue, the wives were already prepared. Texas knew that Exusiai and Lappland would definitely clamor to go if they found out, so she kept it a secret.

Shi Lei went to Guili City to call Bozhuokastie, and the group of six officially set off for Iberia.

During the construction of the second phase of the transnational communications network project, the Iberian leadership could not be contacted.

This resulted in base station equipment and fiber optic cables only being built along the border, failing to achieve full signal coverage in Iberia.

Shi Lei departed at 1 p.m., flew for more than 20 hours, and arrived near Yanfeng City at 10 a.m. the next day.

Looking down from 500 meters above, the city marked as Saltwind on the map was completely abandoned. Something had happened, leaving only ruins everywhere.

Having descended to 300 meters, he could smell the air filled with the stench of sea breeze and decay. This prompted Shi Lei to continue raising the rock platform and begin a mental scan.

Despite the dilapidated state of the buildings below, there are actually people living here. However, most of them are dressed in tattered clothes and are extremely thin, looking like starving refugees.

Shi Lei scanned the area but found no trace of Skadi or the four giant sea monsters.

A short while later, he spotted a group of elegantly dressed knights in the plaza area of ​​Saltwind City.

I'm willing to spend any amount of money to find out their whereabouts.

……

The young judge, accompanied by several followers, walked through the square of Saltwind City. The thought of what the locals were doing along the coastline made him want to vomit.

"Tsk, this place is truly morbid. I thought their talk about exchanging food for food in the sea was just nonsense uttered after being misled. I never expected... they actually made a deal with the sea. They used the local residents as bait to feed the monsters in the sea, and then the monsters fed them in return. This distorted symbiotic relationship is terrifying; just thinking about it makes me nauseous."

Unfortunately, my abilities are limited, and I couldn't help my teacher. Not only could I not deal with the swarm of terrifying fish, but I couldn't even defeat that mysterious Agorian. Sigh.

Upon hearing this, the green-robed cult member beside him offered words of comfort:

"Your Honor, this isn't your fault. Thankfully, the High Inquisitor eliminated those monsters, otherwise we would all have perished there, and..."

Before he could finish speaking, a voice suddenly rang out from above everyone's heads:

Excuse me, may I bother you?

The young judge was startled and quickly retreated to create a safe distance.

When he saw who was coming from the rock platform, he immediately showed an incredulous expression.

This is... Zhongli?

The young judge's gaze swept quickly across the faces of the women behind him. One was a Lupo, one a Sarkaz, and one a dragon—all stunning beauties, perfectly matching the descriptions in the rumors.

"Are you Mr. Zhongli? I'm a fan of yours! I never expected to meet you here!"

"Well, it's me."

Shi Lei's current international profile surpasses that of all the leaders of Terra combined. After all, transnational communication networks and alien technology benefit all of humanity, making him far more memorable than eloquent politicians. Once the other party recognized him, things became much easier:

"I came to Saltwind City to find a female operator from Rhodes Island. Her codename is Skadi, and she carries a greatsword that is half a person's height."

Shi Lei wasn't familiar with Ghost Shark, but since she and Skadi had both disappeared at the same time, they must have gone together. Finding one of them would lead to finding both of them.

The young judge pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said:

"I'm sorry, Mr. Zhongli. I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you; I've never seen a woman carrying a greatsword."

This forced Shi Lei to recall his first meeting with Skadi in Kazimierz several years ago:

"If I remember correctly, Skadi has long silver hair and red eyes. Her clothes must have been changed over the years, and she looks very aloof."

After hearing the description, the young judge immediately thought of the woman from Agor who claimed to be a wandering singer. He twitched his lips, revealing a very embarrassed expression.

Shi Lei noticed something amiss in the other man's expression and guessed he knew something, so he pressed him for details:

"I have something important to discuss with this person. Do you know where she is?"

The young judge seemed hesitant to speak, unsure how to explain what had happened.

Judging from Mr. Zhongli's description, he should be friends with that woman from Agor. He usually stays in Liyue, but this time he traveled a long way to Saltwind City. This suggests that his relationship with that woman is quite close, and she might very well be his... fourth wife?

But his teacher, the Grand Inquisitor, had injured the woman from Agor. He later followed the trail of blood to the church and razed it to the ground with a hand cannon. The woman Mr. Zhongli was looking for was probably now a corpse buried in the ruins.

If I were to reveal this, I'd probably lose my head, right?

Seeing the judge's shifty gaze and avoidance of eye contact, Shi Lei immediately suspected something was amiss. He then asked him in an unusually serious tone:

"You didn't actually lay a hand on her, did you?"

Perhaps the judge felt guilty, or perhaps it was because of Zhongli's reputation. After a brief silence, he succumbed to the pressure and prostrated himself on the ground, kowtowing and confessing his guilt.

"Mr. Zhongli, I'm so sorry, I'm really, really sorry. I didn't know she was your friend. And she never mentioned you, otherwise she wouldn't have..."

Upon hearing this, Shi Lei sensed something was wrong, guessing that Skadi might be in trouble, and coldly interrupted the other party:

"Stop talking nonsense, tell me what's wrong with her?"

The young judge, drenched in sweat, forced an awkward, wry smile and explained with his head bowed:

"The teacher suspected she had attracted Hai Si, so he attacked and injured her. Later, following the trail of blood, he went to the church and blew it up. I really didn't know she was your friend; if I had known, I definitely would have stopped the teacher!"

How could a deep-sea hunter who specializes in hunting sea creatures attract sea creatures? Shi Lei, no longer wanting to waste words with the young judge, asked sternly:

Where is the church?

The judge dared not lie and could only hope that Zhongli would show mercy, otherwise his life would be in danger.

"Over there, about ten kilometers away."

Upon hearing this, Shi Lei immediately manipulated the rock platform to take off. Before flying away, he inserted a thumb-sized rock artifact into the judge's stomach for easy location tracking later.

Regardless of whether Skadi is alive or dead, he has to go see the destroyed church. He needs to find her alive or dead, to give Rhodes Island some closure.

Shi Lei abandoned the judge and flew five or six kilometers in the indicated direction. Halfway there, he scanned the four Alty members who had come from other countries, and landed to join them.

After explaining Rhodes Island's request, the group set off again. They flew south for four or five kilometers and arrived at the church mentioned by the inquisitor.

But the place had become a ruin, with most of the old, damp wood charred. The main structure of the building had collapsed completely, and there was no sign of any survivors.

Shi Lei's expression was grave as he unleashed his mental power to conduct a thorough search. He quickly discovered a cave beneath the shattered stone statue, instantly igniting a spark of hope.

Is Skadi still alive?

With a wave of his hand, he unleashed pure rock elemental power, scattering the rubble and broken wood near the cave entrance. Without needing Shi Lei's instructions, the others followed him down to investigate.

The group descended the steps; the space beneath the church was even larger than the main structure. The rock-carved staircase spiraled downwards, one circle after another. The interior was pitch black, resembling the esophagus of some colossal creature.

Since Exusiai wasn't there, they used their phones for lighting. As they ventured deeper, they finally reached a flat area.

The airtight, damp atmosphere made it difficult to breathe. Inside the enormous cavern were the remains of many strange devices, resembling a hidden underground laboratory.

There were signs of a fierce struggle at the scene, and the cylindrical culture chamber was broken. The leaked nutrient solution mixed with blood, giving it a murky appearance.

There were countless disgusting chunks of flesh on the ground, and judging from the tentacles on them, they should be large sea creatures.

Shi Lei used his mental energy to scan the cave, but unfortunately found no trace of Skadi. He didn't even find her body, presumably she had left after the fight.

……

Half an hour ago.

After the Grand Inquisitor blew up the church, Skadi and Gretia followed the Bishop of Saltwind City to the bottom of the cave.

They discovered not only ghost sharks soaking in a culture chamber, but also a talking sea creature.

It was very pleased with Skadi and Gretia's arrival and took the initiative to greet them:

"Isamara, my sister."

Skadi found it very strange to see multiple eyes staring intently at her and made no response.

Hai Si's tone was like that of an old man; I never imagined they would evolve into this kind of thing.

"Isamara, have you forgotten where you came from?"

“I am not Isamara, you have mistaken me for someone else. I am a deep-sea hunter, here to hunt you down.”

Several years ago, deep-sea hunters came out in droves.

They hunted down Isamara, a sea goddess, and Skadi was the one who finished her off.

On her deathbed, Isamara infused her blood and thoughts into Skadi, who possessed the blood of the Sea Heirs.

Therefore, although she has the body of an Agorian, she has the blood of the sea goddess Isamara flowing in her veins.

Seeing that Skadi did not acknowledge his identity, Hai Si prepared to break down her psychological defenses with facts:

“Since you don’t know what happened back then, then I will tell you the truth. You have Haisi’s blood in your veins; you are our compatriot. It was the Agorians who blinded you, forcing us to turn our blades against each other.”

Skadi rejected this absurd explanation and refuted it angrily:

"You're talking complete nonsense, spouting blatant lies!"

She knew that she, like Greta and Ghost Shark, was an experimental subject, so she spoke without much confidence.

"If I am your compatriot, then why are those sea creatures on the shore attacking me?"

Hai Si's face had multiple eyeballs moving around, and his tone of voice remained that of an old man:

“Isamara, I just said it. Our blood flows in your veins. Lower-level sea creatures don’t know how to distinguish them and will think their brethren are trapped under your skin.”

They will tear at your flesh without hesitation, hoping to rescue their fellow humans. But you are us.

If you've forgotten Agor's sins, I can help you remember. Believe me, very soon.

As the approaching Sea Child drew closer, Skadi drew her greatsword from the case on her back and issued a warning:

"Don't come any closer! You've killed so many Agorians, and now you want to claim kinship with me?"

“Isamara, you don’t understand. It was Agor who started the attack, and we were only acting in self-defense. Moreover, the deaths of the Agor people were your own doing.”

"lie!"

Seeing Skadi's stubbornness, Hess had no choice but to use another method. It closed all its eyes and fed the information about the Hess swarm into her mind through scent:

"There's a barrier between us, preventing us from transmitting the full picture to you. Knowing the truth about the Agorians should be enough. Isamara, I've come to see you. If you still refuse to acknowledge our blood ties, then did you establish a connection with the larger group while you were asleep?"

Skadi harbors the consciousness of the sea goddess Isamara, who hears the calls of a great multitude in her dreams.

After seeing the images flashing through her mind, Skadi felt her worldview completely collapse.

The sea creatures originally lived on the seabed, and it was indeed the arrogant Agorians who destroyed their home with cannon fire.

The family members he had always thought were killed by Hai Si were actually killed by the Agorians.

They did all this just to get Skadi to accept the modification and become a tool in the fight against the Seachilds.

"How...how could this be?!"

If these things are true, then wouldn't she have been used all along, and be a complete scumbag?

Seeing Skadi's utterly shocked expression, Haisi knew she had learned the truth: