Chapter 283 - 256: Victory’s Foot
He left the two of them on the surface to act as "buoys."
Qin Ziwen swam quickly to the island reef, returned to his Home, and pulled Red Hare out of the Stable, where it had been enjoying a nice chat with a mare.
He also picked thirty fruits from the Deep Sea Oxygen plant.
As Red Hare watched with a bewildered look, Qin Ziwen fed it four of the fruits directly.
Then he led it to the shore.
Seeing that its master intended to lead it into the sea, Red Hare’s legs went soft with fear, and it struggled desperately.
"NEIGH NEIGH—"
But it was no match for Qin Ziwen’s strength. Its resistance was futile, and it was dragged into the water.
As it plunged into the icy seawater, Red Hare closed its eyes in despair.
"SMACK~"
Qin Ziwen slapped it on the head. "Don’t just stand there. We’re on a tight schedule. Let’s go."
The slap seemed to jolt Red Hare back to its senses.
"NEIGH!~" It was stunned to discover that... it could run in the water?
"Let’s go." Qin Ziwen took the reins and swam toward the two human coordinates floating in the distance.
Though Red Hare was scared at first, it soon realized it wasn’t choking. With Qin Ziwen’s help, it quickly started swimming on the surface.
In fact, horses are natural swimmers.
However, as a Mongolian Horse, Red Hare had never seen the sea and had rarely had the chance to swim, so this potential had never been developed.
By the time they swam up to the "buoys," Cao Biansheng and Qin Ziwu were looking a little pale.
"What’s wrong?"
Cao Biansheng said with lingering fear, "Boss, after you left, a shark swam by. It was even bigger than the one on the seabed, probably six or seven meters long."
"But with the sheer force of our combined auras, the shark was completely intimidated and scurried away with its tail between its legs," Qin Ziwu added.
Qin Ziwen didn’t call the kid out on his bullshit.
’Intimidate a shark into fleeing? Why not just say you kicked a Mosasaurus into orbit?’
’You were probably sweating bullets when you saw that shark, weren’t you, bro?’
"Ahem." Cao Biansheng was a bit more thin-skinned. "Maybe we just aren’t on a shark’s menu."
Qin Ziwen nodded. "Right. You’ve had a rough time. Let’s head down."
The three men and one horse slowly descended from the surface.
They encountered no danger along the way.
After a little over ten minutes, they reached the seabed safely.
However, their position was slightly off. After searching for a bit, they finally found the main group a few dozen meters away.
Qin Ziwen took the Deep Sea Oxygen fruits from his clothes and handed them out, one to each person.
Then he mounted the horse.
But due to the buoyancy of the water, his butt floated a little as he sat on Red Hare’s back.
Forcing his body to stay put, Qin Ziwen looked at the Tridacna ahead.
He patted Red Hare’s head, then pointed toward the Tridacna.
Red Hare understood implicitly and "galloped" toward the Tridacna.
But under the powerful resistance of the water, Red Hare’s gallop turned into slow motion.
It was like watching a movie in slow motion as it ran through the sea.
Its speed was reduced dozens of times over.
Wang Yun had a strange expression on his face. This bizarre scene of someone riding a horse underwater... even an AI probably couldn’t generate this!
’The sense of déjà vu is so damn strong!!!’
It wasn’t just Wang Yun; the others almost lost their composure. They quickly turned away, not daring to look at their boss.
Finally, riding Red Hare, Qin Ziwen arrived in front of the Tridacna. He took out his Fish Spear and tried to pry it into the clam’s seam.
But the Tridacna was shut tight.
Sealed completely.
’This thing is tougher than a turtle’s shell.’
Qin Ziwen observed it for a moment, not daring to get too close.
It didn’t seem to move much, but if it suddenly snapped shut on him, he wouldn’t be able to take it.
Wang Yun swam over, tapped Qin Ziwen on the thigh, and then gestured for him to follow.
Following Wang Yun’s lead, they went around to the back of the Tridacna.
Wang Yun pointed to the hinge on the back of the Tridacna.
The spot where the two shells were connected, like a "door hinge."
It was a V-shaped structure.
There was a tiny crack, and Qin Ziwen tried to push his Fish Spear into it.
This jab was like hitting the Tridacna’s ticklish spot.
Its body swayed clumsily on the seabed. Seeing this, Qin Ziwen understood that this was its weak point.
’Sure enough, you’ve gotta have a professional!’
This time, Qin Ziwen took careful aim and thrust the Fish Spear in his hand with all his might!
It was difficult at first, as the crevice in the V-shaped structure was small and hard to target.
But his spear training at the Martial Arts Arena had not been in vain. Even with the Tridacna swaying, he precisely targeted the vital spot!
The thrust was fast and accurate.
For a moment, it got stuck in the crevice, but then the tip of the spearhead sank in a little.
He felt his Fish Spear enter some kind of soft tissue.
Provoked, the Tridacna instinctively opened its shell, releasing a large cloud of bubbles.
Seizing the opportunity, Qin Ziwen gripped the Fish Spear and gave it a powerful shove forward.
The Tridacna’s shell opened a little wider, seemingly against its will.
Qin Ziwen twisted the Fish Spear forcefully. He could feel the Tridacna’s discomfort.
He held out a hand to his side, and Wang Yun passed him his own Fish Spear.
Qin Ziwen kicked his legs, swimming to the side.
Without a moment’s hesitation, he stabbed the Fish Spear through the gap like a venomous snake, plunging it deep inside the Tridacna’s open shell.
A thick, faintly glowing blue fluid gushed out from the gap.
It stained the surrounding seawater a pale blue.
The giant Tridacna reeled as if from a heavy blow.
Its two shells opened and closed violently, trying to snap shut, but they were held fast by the Fish Spear.
Under the pressure of its bite, the steel Fish Spear began to twist slightly, unable to bear the strain.
Qin Ziwen’s eyelids twitched at the sight.
’That biting force is ridiculous.’
𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶
He hurriedly borrowed more Fish Spears from the others behind him and jammed them into the gap as well.
Several Fish Spears were wedged inside in quick succession.
They propped the Tridacna’s shell open, preventing it from closing completely.
Blue fluid continued to gush from the Tridacna.
About six or seven minutes later, the opening and closing of the Tridacna’s shell began to slow,
like the dying gasps of a Giant Beast.
Its biting force gradually weakened. A moment later, the shell finally hung limply in a half-open state, its edges trembling faintly with the pulse of the current.
The blue fluid was still seeping out, but it had grown thin.
Qin Ziwen waited, because Red Hare’s mission had not yet shown as complete.
Red Hare circled the Tridacna, not daring to get any closer.
’If that thing is playing dead and it bites my head off, then my master will be horseless.’
It had clearly seen how that Iron Fork was almost snapped in two earlier.
Another ten minutes passed. The Tridacna was motionless, seemingly lifeless.
Qin Ziwen grabbed a Steel Fork and gave it another forceful twist.
The Tridacna’s shell snapped shut violently. Qin Ziwen felt a powerful vibration through the Steel Fork in his hands and almost lost his grip.
’Sure enough, the sly bastard was playing dead.’
Qin Ziwen had no intention of sticking his hand inside. He had given up hope on the pearl within; as long as Red Hare’s advancement mission could be completed, that was all that mattered.
Finally, after nearly half an hour,
Red Hare, which was behind him, suddenly shuddered!
[Extraordinary Victory Foot Mongolian Horse: ☆☆☆★★]: Level 2 Indestructible Body, Level 2 All-Terrain Adaptation, Level 2 Champion’s Courage.