Chapter 388: Chapter 152: Vortex Water, Standing on the Shoulders of Giants!

Extraordinary?

That piece of blue shell that exploded the Black Striped Fish King, it actually came from an extraordinary creature?

Cheng Ye was stunned for a full two or three seconds before snapping back to reality, his eyes swiftly shifting downward.

[Vortex Turtle (Extraordinary Creature)]

[Description]: It’s rumored that at the bottom of the Lin River, hundreds of meters deep, dwells a Vortex Turtle that commands the water currents, usually hidden in the river mud. Only during storms, when the river surges, does it reveal itself amidst the dark vortex (Try collecting more information).

[Extraordinary Ability]: Locking (Try collecting more information).

[Currently Recorded Traits]:

Vortex Water (Extraordinary**; 1.17%)

[Note]: Traits marked with double ’**’ will automatically grant Collectors the corresponding special power if they do not possess it already when exchanged for a skill (this special power is in its infancy and supports the normal operation of the skill).

...

"Ah, so the ability of the Black Striped Fish King to part the fish shoal wasn’t due to its own intimidation, but... an extraordinary ability?"

Cheng Ye paused for a moment, scenes he had previously seen by the river flashing through his mind.

When the Fish King swam through the shoal, it seemed to be surrounded by an invisible barrier, with water waves parting automatically and other fish shoals avoiding it in fear.

It turns out it wasn’t royalty’s aura at all but the extraordinary ability granted by the Vortex Turtle Shell?

However, the ability inherited from the shell was evidently extremely weak, barely accumulating over 1% progress in traits.

This also explains why the Fish King is so majestic in the water but becomes a helpless target once jumping out.

It couldn’t truly grasp the power within the shell, only using it passively in the water.

"The bottom of the Lin River..."

Cheng Ye’s gaze returned to the description.

The description in the illustrated book should come from the information he had gathered. It’s unknown who provided the information about the Vortex Turtle, but it’s likely that they perished on the night of the Starfish outbreak, unable to explore further.

However, based on the experience of finding the Heart-Protecting Fire, if he manages to gather enough traits to exchange for a skill, he could potentially gain an extraordinary coexistence state, and in turn, possess a... Vortex Turtle?

But the moment this thought emerged, Cheng Ye couldn’t help but shake his head.

Although the natural water depth of the Lin River is only 103 meters, it meanders through the entire Stone Province and connects to four other provinces, with some areas having artificial depths exceeding 200 meters, making the basin enormously vast.

Looking for a turtle hidden in the river mud across such a vast area is like finding a needle in a haystack.

"I can only hope that Happiness City has a research method for this shell, or wait until settling down in Dapo Town to thoroughly search the White Water River upstream and downstream to see if I can find more wild shells." 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Cheng Ye calculated silently, not needing a lot, just a hundred pieces to assemble the traits of the Vortex Turtle.

Moreover, paying more attention to such large fish species with water-splitting abilities is also a way to accumulate.

With this in mind, he withdrew his wandering thoughts, more determined about his previous understanding.

The dangerous wilderness truly is a place where opportunities and risks coexist.

This is only the "Safe Zone" near Happiness City, plundered countless times, yet those untouched wilderness areas or high-risk zones marked in red on maps might yield even more astonishing findings?

But even thinking so, Cheng Ye quickly calmed down.

The primary task now is to continue nurturing the little Flame and let the Scorching Eagle grow larger.

Having the Flame by his side, just being able to alert him of prying eyes at night can help him eliminate half of the risks in the wild.

More extraordinary creatures will certainly emerge as his strength grows.

Closing the panel, Cheng Ye cast his gaze outside the car.

Soon, he noticed the county road looked noticeably different from yesterday, now covered with a thin layer of snow.

The vines and weeds that once lay across the roadside appeared to have been cut down, creating nearly half a meter of clear space.

Though the road remained bumpy, it no longer had plants entangling the wheels, allowing for much smoother driving.

Seeing him gazing out the window thoughtfully, Jiang Chuan spoke up: "The county road was likely cleared by the Public Works Bureau yesterday."

"That was quick."

Cheng Ye couldn’t help but marvel.

Just the day before yesterday, they had only just established the designated area, and despite yesterday’s downpour, Happiness City had already begun preliminary preparations.

However, upon reflection, it made sense; the migratory population gathered outside the Buffer Zone had exceeded 500,000, making it imperative to promptly open up Satellite Cities to divert them. If the population growth remained unchecked, eventual conflict or danger would cause large-scale chaos.

Yet this weather...

Snowfall in July, thankfully, is merely a temporary phenomenon caused by the Void Mist.

If it continues being this cold, with frozen soil and difficult transport of building materials, the construction plan for the Satellite City might be postponed indefinitely.

The car jolted along the county road and finally merged onto the national highway, where both of them visibly relaxed.

Even though this segment of the national highway leading to Wenlu County is less smooth than the one leading to the Industrial Zone, one could still perceive Happiness City’s maintenance efforts over the years.

Indeed, it is unreasonable to expect perfect repair here, considering that in the wasteland, there’s no point in wasting resources on unprofitable areas.

As the massive ruins of Chuan City gradually came into view amidst the snowy landscape.

Jiang Chuan seemed to have relaxed somewhat from the tense state regarding the Fish King earlier, with much of the seriousness fading from his face.

"Inspector Cheng, how does it feel to head into the wilderness for the first time?"

"It’s quite the challenge."

Cheng Ye shook his head, his tone full of sentiment, "Only after truly staying in the wilderness do I yearn for the stability of Shelter City. Even being in the Buffer Zone, at least with the door locked at night, I can get a good night’s sleep."