Chapter 98 – Unless There is Magic Crystal Core
Si Xu spoke in a very serious tone, “Please order an immediate lockdown of all locations those people have been to. Quarantine anyone who left, and isolate anyone they came into contact with. It’s best to bring them back here. If this pheromone spreads globally, things will spiral out of control.”
Si Xu and Croft’s conversation wasn’t hidden from the others, and someone immediately spoke up.
“I think this is a pointless effort unless you can prove your theory.”
Si Xu turned to Croft. “Did you really not find anything wrong? They all fell asleep because of poisoning.”
Croft: “We didn’t find any obvious abnormalities during the autopsy, and no toxins were detected.”
Si Xu: “Did you find any unknown elements in the deceased?”
This pheromone, unique to the Demon Sea Realm, wouldn’t be easy to detect even if it had invaded their bodies.
Croft hesitated. “We haven’t received results on that yet.”
Achilles, the leader from M Country, raised the box in his hand. “We’ll know more once we finish testing.”
Si Xu said gravely, “The pheromone in the blood is very strong. You’d better not take those samples out of the town.”
Achilles raised an eyebrow. “I think you’re being alarmist. We’ll use science to explain all of this.”
Lin Jiu suddenly spoke up. “Science? Now you want to use science to explain everything? Did science predict that the unknown energy stones would explode? Did it predict that Earth would end up like this?”
Achilles glanced at him, seeing only a pair of eyes behind the gas mask. “Instead of asking these questions, maybe you should focus on learning international language properly.”
Lin Jiu sneered and stopped speaking in international language altogether, switching to his native tongue.
“If you don’t believe me, go ahead and take the blood samples out. Just wait for the giant sea monsters to come hunting you down with a vengeance.”
Everyone: “???”
Not everyone had a knack for languages, and unless they had specifically studied it, only a few people present could understand Z Language—and only if it was spoken slowly. By the time Lin Jiu finished his sentence, those who understood were still processing it.
This was exactly the effect Lin Jiu wanted.
Since he couldn’t speak international language well, he decided to stop speaking it entirely. If they wanted to understand him, they could find a translator.
Lin Jiu continued, “There’s a king of sea monsters beneath the open sea. This town is in its current state because the people here ate the eggs of the sea monster king. The eggs contain a special pheromone. We can’t smell it, but the sea monster king can. It will come for them sooner or later.
If you don’t believe me and still want proof, why don’t you search the town? The sea monster king’s eggs aren’t small, and even if they’ve been broken, there will be traces. That’s where the pheromone will be the strongest.”
With that, Lin Jiu grabbed Si Xu and walked out the door. Staying inside would only cause them to absorb more of the pheromone’s scent.
Although Lin Jiu spoke seriously, not many people understood him. The others asked those who could understand what Lin Jiu had said. Once they roughly translated his words into international language, everyone’s expressions changed.
They were shocked by the news about the sea monster king and the threat that it would come for them.
Croft hurriedly followed them outside, and the others came along as well.
Croft caught up to Si Xu. “Captain Si, is what he said true? Is there really a sea monster king?”
Si Xu replied, “Yes, we saw it with our own eyes. It’s enormous. If it comes ashore, it won’t just destroy this small town. The entire F Country and surrounding nations will be in danger. If you have doubts, you can send people to search the town and see if you can find any giant eggs or mucous-like substances.”
A soldier standing next to Croft whispered a few words to him, and Croft’s face immediately changed.
Croft said, “When we were inspecting the town, we did find something. It was a thick, cloudy liquid stored in a bottle. My men thought it was some kind of mutated seafood mucus. Could that have been the egg?”
Si Xu asked, “What happened to the family that found the liquid?”
Croft’s voice turned somber. “Unfortunately, they’re all dead.”
Si Xu and Lin Jiu were almost certain—the liquid must have come from the eggs, and that family had likely consumed it.
Seeing is believing, so everyone followed Croft to the home where the thick liquid was discovered.
Before they even entered, Si Xu frowned. “The stench is too strong. It’s the same as the scent coming from the sleeping victims.”
Everyone looked at each other. They couldn’t smell anything, but Si Xu could clearly detect the odor.
This made them uneasy. If they really had been contaminated with this pheromone and it could attract giant sea monsters, didn’t that mean they all carried the scent?
The terrifying part was—they couldn’t smell it!
Si Xu said, “Let’s go in and take a look. It’s too late to back out now. We’re all in this town, and we’ve all been contaminated with the pheromone’s scent. If the giant sea monsters attack, they’ll definitely come for us.”
The most anxious person at the scene was likely Croft. He must have realized that if the situation was as Si Xu described, none of them—not even the sleeping townspeople—would escape unscathed.
If the sea monster king was truly coming for revenge because of the pheromone, no matter where they fled, they would only be spreading the disaster worldwide.
Croft led the way inside, followed by Si Xu, Lin Jiu, and the others. Not everyone went in—some people remained outside, too scared to get close to the mucus for fear of further contamination.
Croft’s team retrieved the bottle from the fridge. Inside was a cloudy, milky-white liquid. Without even opening it, Si Xu could smell the pungent stench. He was almost certain this was the liquid from the Seven Star Blue Demon’s eggs.
As expected, after system testing, it was confirmed that this indeed was the liquid from the eggs.
A real Seven Star Blue Demon egg is quite large, and this one bottle isn’t all there is. It’s impossible for one person to haul it from the sea alone; there must have been help, and most likely the egg was split into parts.
If Si Xu could think of this, Croft could too. He had the bottle packed up and ordered a thorough search of the town to find any suspicious mucus and similar liquids.
Before, there were many directions to explore with no clues. Now that they had some evidence, they could work backward to trace the process.
Soon, the temporary research base delivered results. The mucus contained a large amount of unknown elements, and the bodies of the deceased sleepers also contained traces of the same elements—though in smaller quantities, easily overlooked. All of this proved that Si Xu’s theory was correct.
With the evidence right in front of him, Croft had no choice but to believe Si Xu. He reported the situation and requested quarantine for those involved and a lockdown of the testing facilities.
Croft’s team found quite a bit of the mucus in the homes of the townspeople—some in bottles, barrels, even bags. The mucus was scattered, but they carefully searched and found it all, even retrieving discarded pieces of unused membrane.
A group of people gathered around the membrane to observe it. The membrane was thick, with a diameter of about 1.6 meters. There were some damaged sections, so they could only estimate its size. Such a large egg would have contained much more liquid than what they found. So where had the missing liquid gone?
Everyone had the same answer in mind: it had been eaten.
Their expressions darkened, and some were already regretting coming to assist. This wasn’t just an aid mission; they had plunged themselves into danger.
Si Xu looked grave. “The amount of liquid isn’t enough. Besides being consumed, there’s another possibility.”
Everyone’s hearts skipped a beat.
That’s right—if the egg’s liquid wasn’t eaten, it might have already developed into or be in the process of becoming a sea monster.
If that was true, where was the small sea monster? Had it been eaten, or had it escaped?
All the ability users felt their heads buzzing. What kind of mess was this?!
Si Xu asked Croft, “Did the temporary research base say anything about the maturity of the mucus?”
If the maturity was low, it would confirm that the missing liquid had been eaten. If it was high, then it was likely that a partially developed sea monster existed, and from this, they could deduce whether the Seven Star Blue Demon was on its way to track them.
After all, if the egg hadn’t hatched, the Blue Demon would be bound to the open sea. But once the hatching period arrived, the Blue Demon would be able to leave.
Si Xu explained the gravity of the situation to everyone and urged them to confirm the maturity of the mucus as soon as possible.
While waiting for the results, they had to discuss how to dispose of the mucus and membrane.
Croft now trusted Si Xu the most, as he was the one who discovered the truth. Croft also wanted to hear Si Xu’s opinion on how to handle the situation, afraid that one wrong move would lead to disaster.
Si Xu’s solution was that, since the Blue Demon was so sensitive to the pheromone in the eggs, they should send the liquid and membrane back to the open sea. This would reduce the concentration of pheromone in the town, and mixing the egg liquid into the seawater might interfere with the Blue Demon’s ability to detect external pheromones, buying them some time.
Croft agreed that Si Xu’s plan was good, but this was no easy task.
The open sea was now a living hell. No ship or plane could safely cross it. Anyone who attempted to do so would have to be prepared for sacrifice, especially while carrying egg liquid and membrane, making them an obvious target in the sky above the open sea.
But for the sake of the tens of thousands of lives in the town, they had to make a decision.
Si Xu was an outsider and could only offer advice; the final decision was up to Croft.
Si Xu’s suggestion of throwing the egg liquid and membrane into the open sea had another purpose: to provoke a fight between the Seven Star Blue Demon and the giant sea monsters already there. If the Blue Demon could eliminate some of the giant sea monsters, it would greatly reduce the pressure on humanity.
However, not everyone supported Si Xu’s proposal. Some argued that they didn’t need to go so far—just throw it into any part of the sea, as long as it wasn’t on land.
This wasn’t a problem that could be solved by carelessly tossing it. In fact, wherever they threw it would become a battleground for sea monsters.
Si Xu couldn’t help but frown at the thought. It wasn’t that he was overly suspicious, but if someone wanted to use the Blue Demon’s eggs to sabotage another country, they could do so. Just by dumping a bit of the egg liquid or membrane near a coastal city, they could cause major problems for another nation.
Clearly, others had the same idea as Si Xu.
The ability users from M Country insisted that they wanted to personally oversee the disposal of the egg liquid and membrane by F Country.
Achilles added, “I believe it wouldn’t be too difficult to use some methods to alter the scent.”
Si Xu replied, “The fact is, you can’t smell it at all. Whether the scent is altered or not, you wouldn’t know. Only I can smell it, and I doubt that would give you much peace of mind.”
Some people were still skeptical of Si Xu’s claims at this point. After all, they couldn’t smell anything, and even though the mucus and membrane were right in front of them, no one could be sure whether the consequences were as dangerous as Si Xu said.
One of the ability users commented, “I don’t know if this pheromone you’re talking about actually exists, or if it will really attract the Sea Monster King. But I do know that carrying these things to the open sea to dispose of them is a death sentence.”
The leader from H Country, Kim Seung-su, spoke up. “Since Captain Si knows so much about these things, why don’t we let him handle the disposal?”
Si Xu and Lin Jiu both looked at him. It was clear that Kim Seung-su had ulterior motives.
Choi Jae-sung added, “Getting close to the open sea from the air is too dangerous. Is there a way to approach from the sea?”
Kim Seung-su wore a troubled expression. “If there is a way, Captain Si, please don’t refuse. The lives of tens of thousands are in your hands.”
Si Xu glanced at them coldly, then turned to Croft. “Are you sure you want me to handle this?”
Croft hesitated and couldn’t help but glance at the ability users from M Country.
Achilles shrugged, “If you have a better idea, we won’t oppose it. After all, you’re the only one who can smell the pheromones.”
Si Xu said, “In that case, I’ll use my abilities to destroy these things in front of everyone. That way, you can witness it and feel more at ease, right?”
Croft let out a sigh of relief. “That would be best.”
Si Xu raised his hand, and the mucus and membrane in front of him floated into the air. Under everyone’s gaze, the mucus and membrane began to disintegrate as if being weathered, until they completely disappeared.
Everyone was amazed, not knowing what kind of ability Si Xu had. They stared at the now-empty bottles and barrels.
“Shouldn’t these be destroyed too? They must have absorbed the scent.”
Si Xu replied, “You can check if there’s any residue on the bottles or barrels.”
He would have destroyed them, but the Demon Hunting System didn’t accept them.
This was a collaboration between Si Xu and the Demon Hunting System. Si Xu handled the process, but it was the system that did the actual work.
For the Demon Hunting System, the Seven Star Blue Demon eggs were valuable and full of energy.
[Damaged Seven Star Blue Demon Egg successfully reclaimed, reward: 170 points of demon energy.]
Lin Jiu: “…”
This was like a windfall!
After confirming multiple times that there was no mucus left in the bottles or barrels, Croft and the others finally felt somewhat reassured.
Even so, they still didn’t dare to get too close to the containers and kept their distance.
Now that the egg liquid and membrane had been dealt with, the remaining issue was how to solve their own problems.
The sleepers still hadn’t woken up, and people were dying every day. Bad news also came from the temporary research base.
If the sea monster egg’s maturation period had four stages, the mucus had already reached the third stage and was nearing the fourth.
F Country had been investigating for days since they discovered that everyone in the town had fallen into a coma. No one could say for sure if the Sea Monster King’s egg had hatched yet. Every moment spent in F Country was filled with anxiety.
It was already late at night, but no one was in the mood to sleep. They gathered together to discuss solutions.
If they couldn’t remove the pheromone, none of them would be able to leave.
Incidentally, after they returned from the town, the people left at the temporary base learned how serious the situation was, and some wanted to leave right away. Fortunately, the team leaders from all countries remained clear-headed. Leaving now would only spread the disaster.
No one could leave until the issue was resolved.
Lin Jiu didn’t join in their discussions. Instead, he was negotiating with the system on how to handle the situation.
[I don’t agree with you getting involved in this. If they can’t produce magic crystals to strengthen the male god’s genes to a high level, and if your bloodline isn’t at least purified to the intermediate level, it will be suicide to go. They aren’t worth the risk.]
Lin Jiu: Is the solution that dangerous?
[With your current strength, you might be able to protect yourselves, but don’t even think about saving anyone.]
Lin Jiu: Let’s hear the solution first.
[There are two solutions: concealment or removal.]
[Concealment means you find an Eight Star Blue Demon egg to suppress the Seven Star Blue Demon with a stronger level of pheromones. The Seven Star Blue Demon would hesitate to act rashly after detecting a stronger scent. However, this method won’t save those who are comatose from poisoning.]
[To completely remove it, you need Sea Dragon Grass. Once you get the Sea Dragon Grass, you can wake up the poisoned sleepers and remove the pheromone from yourselves. But Sea Dragon Grass only grows in the territory of the Nine Star Sea Demon Dragon, and the chances of encountering it are high. You can figure out for yourselves what the odds of leaving alive are.]
Both Lin Jiu and Si Xu came to the same conclusion: extremely low.
They couldn’t even handle the Seven Star Blue Demon yet, let alone the Eight Star Blue Demon or the Nine Star Sea Demon Dragon. Going there would be a death sentence.
Lin Jiu: Are there no other options?
[I only know of these two.]
Actually, there was another option that both Lin Jiu and Si Xu understood: killing the Seven Star Blue Demon directly.
If they had the strength to steal eggs from under the tentacles of the Eight Star Blue Demon or to pluck Sea Dragon Grass from near the Nine Star Sea Demon Dragon, they would already be able to take on the Seven Star Blue Demon.
But the system’s idea was too optimistic. Magic crystals were too important, and F Country would never hand them over. Even if they did, one or two wouldn’t be enough. The advanced gene enhancer that Si Xu needed was too expensive.
Lin Jiu looked at Si Xu, whose expression was incredibly grim.
At that moment, the energy collection system gave a notification.
[Energy Collection System notification: Magic Crystal energy conversion complete. A total of 816,670 points of demon energy has been obtained.]
Lin Jiu: “…”
Lin Jiu exhaled slowly. Three complete magic crystals, plus two fragments, still didn’t even total one million points.
Lin Jiu approached Si Xu and told him the amount of demon energy they had obtained.
Si Xu now had a clearer understanding. The size of each magic crystal and how much energy had been consumed both affected the final points. Even though Vera had given Lin Jiu three complete magic crystals, their energy reserves were still not enough.
An advanced gene enhancer required at least five magic crystals, and no country would hand over that many to an outsider.
So, forget about the Eight Star Blue Demon and the Nine Star Sea Demon Dragon. It wasn’t going to happen. Even if all the conditions were met, Si Xu would never let Lin Jiu take such a dangerous risk. One small mistake could cost them their lives.
Even if they managed to steal the Eight Star Blue Demon egg and escape the demonic sea plane, where the Blue Demon couldn’t chase them back to Earth, they wouldn’t be able to avoid its pursuit forever. Once the Blue Demon picked up their pheromone scent, it would be a fight to the death.
Si Xu asked the system, “There has to be a more feasible solution. Tell us something we can actually achieve.”
[If there weren’t much pheromone contamination, there would be other options. But now that you’re covered in pheromone, this is the only way to completely remove it.]
Si Xu: ‘The Giant Blue Demon Egg is so dangerous that it’s impossible for the intelligent races of the Demon Sea Plane to not have countermeasures. There must be other solutions, like a potion to remove the pheromones.’
[…]
[That’s even more unrealistic! Not only would you need the formula, but also the materials. It’s way more troublesome than the two methods I mentioned.]
Lin Jiu sharply picked up on the system’s guilty tone: ‘Are you trying to scam me for demon points again?’
[Who—who’s trying to scam your demon points?!]
Lin Jiu: “Then I don’t need the formula or the materials. I’ll just buy a ready-made pheromone removal potion.”
The system’s tone immediately became cheerful.
[That’s totally doable! A pheromone removal potion costs 1,000 demon points per dose. Including the poisoned sleepers and your group, there are about 28,000 people in total. You can do the math on how many points you’d need.]
Lin Jiu: “…”
[Friendly reminder: Many sea monsters in the Demon Sea Plane carry pheromones. The pheromone removal potion can remove the pheromones of any sea monster. It’s convenient and easy to use—you won’t regret it!]
Lin Jiu: “…”
No thanks, he suddenly felt like he didn’t need it after all.
The system, hands on its hips, pointed out that if it really wanted to scam Lin Jiu for points, it would have immediately told him about the existence of the pheromone removal potion. Since it knew he couldn’t afford it, it hadn’t mentioned it. But now that they had asked, wasn’t there a little hope?
Lin Jiu: “…”
Forget it, he couldn’t afford that many pheromone removal potions even if they were available.
Lin Jiu remembered that he still had an unopened Iron Treasure Chest. Judging by the price of the pheromone removal potion, it should be within the rewards range of the chest. With the sales revenue from his magic fish store and the money from selling caviar, he had a few chances left to try his luck with a blind box draw.
Lin Jiu grabbed Si Xu, deciding to rely on his legendary luck and see if they could pull out a batch of pheromone removal potions. If they could also get a mid-tier bloodline purifier, they would save 500,000 demon points and might even be able to buy Si Xu an advanced gene enhancer.
Just as Lin Jiu was about to speak, Si Xu stopped him with a glance.
Suddenly, Achilles spoke up: “Does Captain Si have any suggestions?”
They had been discussing for a while but had only managed to come up with ways to prolong the lives of the sleepers without finding a real solution.
Achilles said that M Country was willing to provide technical support, hoping to develop an antidote as soon as possible to save everyone.
Croft looked toward Si Xu. Besides the ability users from M Country, Si Xu was the only other person who might be able to help them through this crisis.
Si Xu replied, “For now, there’s no good solution.”
Croft’s disappointment was obvious.
The meeting ended, and everyone returned to their temporary accommodations to rest.
Croft, unable to rest, could only urge the temporary research base to speed up its investigation of the unknown elements in hopes of producing an antidote as soon as possible.
Croft went to the research base and, on his way back, saw a figure standing in the darkness, clearly waiting for him.
As Croft approached, he recognized it was Achilles.
Achilles said, “Perhaps we could have a detailed discussion about the antidote.”
Croft realized Achilles might have conditions. If they could create an antidote, no matter how harsh the terms were, his superiors would consider it.
The two of them headed to a secluded part of the coastline, with their guards staying not far behind.
Croft said, “We’re grateful for M Country’s help. Whatever conditions you have, we’ll do our best to meet them.”
Achilles smiled. “It’s not a difficult matter. We just want one person. If we can get him, we’ll certainly help solve the problem in the town. Even if we can’t, there are others who can keep their promise.”
Croft frowned. “Who do you want?”
Achilles lowered his voice. “We want the young man with long hair from Z Country’s team. We hope General Croft can help.”
Croft instinctively refused, “That’s not possible. They came here to assist us. I can’t let anything happen to them on my watch. If you have a grudge against him, I won’t interfere once we leave here, but while we’re here, absolutely not.”
Achilles let out a long sigh. “Croft, the solution to the town’s problem is actually quite simple. We could just throw all the sleepers and those contaminated into the sea to feed the sea monsters. Everything would be resolved. The sea monsters wouldn’t come ashore, and the pheromones wouldn’t spread. It’s quick and efficient. What do you think?”
A flash of ruthlessness passed through Croft’s eyes. He had considered that idea, but quickly suppressed it. If he did something like that, not only would his position be in jeopardy, but his life would be too.
Achilles spoke softly, “They’re just here to help. Since the problem isn’t on their territory, they might not give their all to assist you. I noticed Captain Si was withholding information. He probably knows a solution but doesn’t want to share it. If the disaster were happening in Z Country, do you think he’d act the same way? Are you really willing to risk your future and the lives of everyone in the town just to protect an outsider?”
Croft’s expression shifted multiple times before settling into calm.
“That young man has a special relationship with Captain Si. If you dare to touch him, the ability users from Z Country won’t stand idly by. I’ve heard Z Country has quite a few second-tier ability users. If it comes to a fight, you may not win.”
Achilles’s facial muscles twitched as he forced a smile. “We don’t deny that they have top-tier ability users, but they don’t have many. Each second-tier ability user takes time to develop. How long have they had ability users anyway? Believe me, our technology and our ability users are among the best in the world.”
Croft responded calmly, “If that’s the case, you can solve the problem yourselves.”
Achilles replied, “It would be more secure with your help.”
Croft stared at him, “If you want my help, show me results first. I don’t accept empty promises.”
With that, Croft turned and walked away.
Achilles glared darkly at his retreating figure.
Thank you for the chapters!