Underwater Resort.
The shattered protective barrier let in a massive flood of icy seawater, which churned violently and mercilessly destroyed everything inside the underwater resort.
The luxurious restaurant, with its elegant tables and expensive ingredients, was swallowed whole by the surging waves.
The peaceful cultural plaza, with its several lush towering trees, was snapped apart by the raging torrent.
The underwater basketball court, billiards hall, maid café, and every other entertainment venue were completely ruined.
The underwater resort, built at a cost of two billion dollars, sank into the dark depths like a modern Atlantis, silent and desolate.
Thousands upon thousands of Tentacle Troopers, mechanical sharks, and all kinds of other mechanical creatures roamed through the underwater city, searching for any living thing they could attack.
At Lucian's suggestion, Ghostfreak and Gwen brought Grandpa Max, the others, and a number of staff members back to the surface platform.
The first thing Donovan did after returning to the surface platform was call for help.
But even the nearest navy force would need at least half an hour to get there.
As for the nearby backup boats, they had already been swept away by the violent currents and dragged into the dark depths of the sea.
With no other choice, everyone could only remain on the offshore platform and wait.
The sky gradually darkened, and a fine drizzle began to fall.
Heavy black clouds hung over everyone's heads, and from time to time a streak of violet lightning flashed through them, followed by rolling thunder.
The gloomy atmosphere weighed on everyone so heavily that it was hard to breathe, as if something terrible were about to happen.
"I wonder how Cuz is doing..."
Gwen cast the Water Bubble Spell, summoning several transparent bubbles around the group to keep the rain off them.
After giving his instructions, Lucian had gone off alone to deal with those terrifying creatures beneath the sea.
"Your Cuz is so strong. He'll definitely be fine."
Eddie smiled as he spoke, his mind replaying the sight of Big Chill tearing through enemies.
By now, Donovan had a rough understanding of what had happened, including Ben and Lucian's ability to transform.
"Max, your grandsons are really something else." Donovan couldn't help giving a thumbs-up as he praised them. "Especially Lucian. The kid's got guts. Going off alone to face that whole pack of monsters... honestly, that shocked even me."
"With courage like that, I can guarantee it. If he went into the tourism business with me, he'd definitely make something of himself one day!"
Grandpa Max smiled and answered modestly, "You're giving him too much credit, Mr. Donovan. Your grandson's pretty impressive too. He can already pilot a submarine at his age. When I was that young, I was probably still off somewhere playing in the mud."
"If Eddie would just listen to me, he'd already be miles ahead of kids his age. But he's still so playful, only interested in having fun, and he even bought a pile of useless Sumo Slammers games. It drives me crazy!" Donovan said, looking deeply disappointed.
The moment he heard that, Ghostfreak was instantly annoyed.
"Hey, old man, what do you mean useless Sumo Slammers games? That stuff is a kid's happiness!" Ghostfreak stepped forward, widening his purple eye as he glared at the stunned Donovan.
Grandpa Max had heard enough too, and said seriously, "Donovan, that's where you're wrong. I get that you want Eddie to grow into someone outstanding, but it doesn't seem like you've really cared about how he feels. Kids are meant to play. That's part of growing up. It shouldn't be suppressed."
"Exactly. And just because you like something doesn't mean other people will too. Like that brown sweater..." Gwen started to say, then trailed off.
Their words hit Donovan like a wake-up call.
After a long moment, he finally came back to himself, as if he had just been scolded awake.
The truth was, he had always been so focused on chasing success that he had ignored everyone else's feelings.
He never asked what other people wanted or needed. He simply forced the things he liked onto them.
Like inputting a line of code into a machine and expecting it to carry it out without question.
With trembling hands, Donovan pinched a corner of his brown sweater and stared blankly at Eddie across from him.
"You really... don't like this sweater?"
It was just a sweater, but at the same time, it was more than just a sweater.
"I don't like it." Eddie shook his head and answered plainly. "Brown doesn't suit a kid like me. It suits you better, Grandpa."
"All right... so I really was wrong all along." A bitter smile crept onto Donovan's face. "Eddie, from now on, I won't force you to do anything, and I won't control what you like anymore. You should... have your own dreams."
"Thanks, Grandpa. And... Ben, Gwen, and Grandpa Max too!"
At last, genuine joy appeared on Eddie's usually icy face.
...
In the dark depths of the ocean,
Lucian, transformed into Ripjaws, swam through the underwater city.
The green lamp on top of his head gave off a faint glow, pushing back the darkness around him.
A massive mechanical shark suddenly lunged out from the darkness at his side, baring its vicious teeth as it tried to devour Ripjaws whole.
Ripjaws flicked aside, dodging the shark's bite with ease. Then he opened his terrifying jaws and instantly bit the mechanical shark's head clean off, blowing a cloud of wreckage into the water.
Splash!
As if they had sensed the commotion, huge numbers of mechanical creatures surged toward him like starving wolves catching the scent of blood.
Faced with tens of thousands of savage mechanical fish, Ripjaws turned and bolted without the slightest hesitation.
There were simply too many monsters. Even if they lined up and let him kill them one by one, it would still take hours.
His transformation time was limited. He couldn't afford to waste it here.
At that moment, Ripjaws pumped his tail with all his strength, shooting away at incredible speed until he vanished into the dark abyss.
The mechanical fish were fierce, but they were nowhere near as fast as Ripjaws. A few minutes later, they couldn't even catch sight of his tail anymore.
...
Amid the surging waters,
a golden mountain suddenly emerged from the darkness, abrupt and out of place.
Dark shadows occasionally passed around it, shaped like giant pythons, yet also like the tentacles of some unknown creature, mysterious and dangerous.
Ripjaws crouched behind a massive rock, his small claws gripping the edge as his pale eyes stared fixedly at that golden mountain.
To be precise, it wasn't a golden mountain at all.
It was a colossal octopus over a hundred meters tall.
The towering shadow Lucian had glimpsed earlier was this very creature.
Its enormous body was as imposing as a mountain, and inside its head golden light flowed brilliantly.
Its eight thick tentacles were like the legendary pillars holding up the heavens, powerful enough to blot out everything around them.
Unlike ordinary Tentacle Troopers, this giant octopus wasn't green.
It was a regal gold.
At that moment, the giant octopus was clutching a sperm whale and tearing into it savagely, blood spreading everywhere through the water and filling the area with a sickening metallic reek.
Looking at that mountain-like octopus, Ripjaws didn't know whether to feel relieved or afraid.
The good news was that this giant octopus was neither Vilgax in aquatic form nor the evil god Dagon, so it probably wasn't quite that terrifying.
But judging by its size, it was still going to be a nightmare to deal with. At the very least, any ordinary alien hero would stand no chance against it.
Just as Ripjaws was thinking that, the octopus seemed to sense something. One of its whip-like tentacles suddenly lashed out and struck straight toward him...