The night passed without peace.
Monsters continued appearing throughout the darkness.
Although the attacks became less frequent after the third wave, they never completely stopped.
Lin Chen spent most of the night eliminating smaller groups of Abyss creatures.
When the sun finally rose, he checked the event timer.
Monster Tide
Day 2
Time Remaining: 5 Days
The event was far from over.
More importantly, the difficulty would continue increasing.
The game never made things easier.
A Team Chat notification appeared.
[Su Yao] : Alive?
[Lin Chen] : Barely.
[Su Yao] : Liar.
[Lin Chen] : Maybe.
For the first time since meeting her, Su Yao replied almost immediately.
[Su Yao] : My Talent says you're doing very well.
Lin Chen laughed.
Her Talent really was unreasonable sometimes.
[Lin Chen] : How are you doing?
Several seconds passed.
[Su Yao] : Surviving.
[Lin Chen] : That's all?
[Su Yao] : My island is full of monsters.
[Su Yao] : I'm busy.
The conversation ended there.
Lin Chen wasn't worried.
Anyone capable of surviving this long with a Legendary Talent wasn't weak.
...
His attention shifted toward the reward obtained yesterday.
The Monster Tide Reward Box.
He had intentionally saved it until morning.
Now it was time to open it.
The box disappeared in a flash of light.
A notification appeared.
Obtained
- Energy Crystal ×500
- Rare Monster Core ×3
- Random Blueprint ×1
Then familiar golden light appeared.
10,000× System Activated
The rewards transformed instantly.
Energy Crystal ×5,000,000
Rare Monster Core ×30,000
Random Blueprint → Legendary Core Forge Blueprint
Lin Chen's eyes widened.
A Legendary Blueprint.
The first event reward had already exceeded expectations.
He immediately checked the blueprint.
Legendary Core Forge
Function:
Refine Monster Cores.
Increase Core Quality.
Produce Advanced Core Materials.
A smile appeared on his face.
This would significantly improve future crafting.
The stronger his fortress became, the easier future events would be.
...
Several hours later, the fourth wave arrived.
This time the ocean became unusually dark.
Even the sunlight seemed weaker.
The Core Radar suddenly filled with warnings.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
Red signals covered nearly half the display.
Lin Chen frowned.
The number of monsters was increasing dramatically.
Then something new appeared.
A golden signal.
Unlike ordinary monsters.
Unlike Elite Monsters.
Even unlike the Abyss Commander.
The signal radiated danger.
A notification appeared.
Warning
King-Class Lifeform Detected
Lin Chen's eyes narrowed.
A King-Class Monster.
The same category as the Black Sea Dragon.
The sea exploded.
BOOOOOOOM!!
A giant creature emerged from beneath the waves.
Its appearance resembled a squid.
Thousands of black tentacles stretched across the ocean.
Each tentacle was longer than the Sea Fortress itself.
Red eyes opened one after another across its body.
The sight was horrifying.
Abyss Kraken
Level: 60
King-Class Monster
Lin Chen's expression became serious.
This was stronger than the Black Sea Dragon.
Much stronger.
The Monster Tide was escalating faster than expected.
The Abyss Kraken attacked immediately.
Several giant tentacles smashed toward the fortress.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
The Core Shield Generator activated.
The impact shook the entire ship.
Warning notifications appeared continuously.
Shield Integrity 91%
Shield Integrity 88%
Shield Integrity 83%
The damage was substantial.
Without the recent upgrades, the fortress would already be heavily damaged.
Lin Chen stepped forward.
The Ocean Emperor's Trident appeared.
Blue lightning erupted.
The battle began.
...
The Abyss Kraken was unlike previous opponents.
Its body was enormous.
Its regeneration was terrifying.
Even when a tentacle was severed, another quickly replaced it.
The battle lasted for hours.
Waves rose hundreds of meters into the air.
Lightning illuminated the dark ocean.
The Sea Fortress fired continuously.
Core Turrets.
Core Cannons.
Energy Shields.
Everything operated at maximum capacity.
Eventually, Lin Chen noticed something.
The creature possessed a glowing core inside its body.
A weak point.
Without hesitation, he attacked.
The Ocean Emperor's Trident flew forward.
A massive lightning spear followed.
Crack!!
The glowing core shattered.
The Abyss Kraken froze.
Its giant body trembled.
Then collapsed into the ocean.
Dead.
A golden notification appeared.
King-Class Monster Defeated
Event Contribution Increased
Special Reward Granted
Before Lin Chen could check the reward, another notification appeared.
Monster Tide Rankings Updated
Curious, he opened the ranking list.
The results surprised him.
Monster Tide Rankings
1. Anonymous
2. Anonymous
3. Anonymous
4. Anonymous
5. Anonymous
His rank remained hidden.
However, something was different.
Yesterday, the gap between ranks was enormous.
Now the second-place survivor had nearly caught up.
Someone was rapidly growing stronger.
Very strong.
Lin Chen became interested.
Whoever that person was, they clearly weren't ordinary.
...
Meanwhile, the Sea Wolf Alliance was experiencing disaster.
Inside the alliance headquarters, the atmosphere was grim.
[Wang Jie] : Updated casualty report.
[Zhao Feng] : How many?
[Wang Jie] : Three hundred and twelve.
Silence filled the room.
Three hundred members.
Gone.
The Monster Tide was devastating the alliance.
Even Zhao Feng looked tired.
The event had revealed a harsh truth.
Numbers alone weren't enough.
Strength mattered more.
Much more.
[Zhao Feng] : What about supplies?
[Liu Kang] : Running low.
[Zhao Feng] : Continue rationing.
The alliance survived.
But only barely.
...
Back at the Abyss Sea, Lin Chen finally examined his reward.
Special Reward
Abyss Crystal ×1
He checked the description.
Abyss Crystal
Contains pure Abyss energy.
Can be used to awaken hidden abilities.
Lin Chen immediately became interested.
A reward capable of awakening abilities was incredibly valuable.
He stored it carefully.
This wasn't something to use carelessly.
At that moment, another Team Chat message arrived.
[Su Yao] : You're climbing the rankings.
Lin Chen blinked.
[Lin Chen] : How do you know?
[Su Yao] : Lucky guess.
[Lin Chen] : That's suspicious.
[Su Yao] : Maybe.
Before he could reply again, another message appeared.
[Su Yao] : Be careful.
[Lin Chen] : About what?
A long pause followed.
Then her answer arrived.
[Su Yao] : Something ancient is moving beneath the Abyss Sea.
Lin Chen looked toward the dark ocean.
The water appeared calm.
Yet somehow...
He believed her.
The Abyss Sea held countless secrets.
The Black Sea Dragon.
The inheritance fragments.
The Abyss Kraken.
And now something even older.
Whatever it was, he would likely encounter it sooner or later.
The question wasn't if.
The question was when.
And judging by the increasingly dangerous Monster Tide...
That day might arrive sooner than expected.