"Fuck, is that an octopus? Or a squid?" Jiang Hai muttered under his breath as he stared at the creature in front of him.
What appeared before him wasn't even the whole monster—just a single tentacle. But even that one tentacle was over three meters long and as thick as a baseball bat. More terrifying were the suction cups, each the size of a fist, and inside each cup was a claw, barbed like a fang.
The moment it was struck by the bag of treasure Jiang Hai had thrown, the tentacle coiled around it and shredded it instantly. The net, made of pure metal, may as well have been a plastic bag in the face of that strength.
Watching the display, Jiang Hai realized with certainty—this was the source of the fear gnawing at him.
If this was just one tentacle, who knew how massive the creature really was? Jiang Hai hesitated for only a second before deciding not to fight it head-on. Quiet escape seemed like the smarter plan.
But just as he turned to leave, a sudden wave surged behind him.
Without looking back, Jiang Hai instinctively lunged forward, narrowly dodging the attack. Spinning around, he saw a second tentacle slithering out of a hole on the far side of the room, nearly ensnaring him.
As he hit the ground, the first tentacle surged forward again, clearly tracking his movement.
With no time to think, Jiang Hai whipped out both of his spearguns. At the critical moment, he fired them simultaneously. Twin twangs echoed through the chamber as the spears pinned the tentacles to the structure. The whole boat shuddered from the impact.
But Jiang Hai didn't stick around to admire his handiwork. He crouched low and bolted for the exit. However, the moment he stepped out into the corridor, he was met by a horrifying sight—countless tentacles surging through the passage between the third and fourth decks.
No time for hesitation.
Jiang Hai immediately kicked off and swam forward at full speed.
Yes—swam, not ran.
In a blink, he reached the plating of the third deck, and then descended toward the second. But he didn't continue to the first deck. The tentacles had realized chasing him directly was pointless and had shifted tactics. Whether it was an octopus or a squid, it was clearly not very intelligent.
But sometimes, brute force trumps cleverness.
Instead of pursuing Jiang Hai, the creature began ripping the ship apart.
Just as Jiang Hai reached the second deck, three tentacles smashed through the rotting wooden floor and blocked his path.
So much for the escape plan.
Still, surrender wasn't an option. Jiang Hai had scanned the structure when he first entered—he wasn't about to let this thing corner him so easily.
Without hesitation, he ducked into a nearby crew quarters. With a mighty kick, he shattered the decaying wall and burst out of the sailboat into open water.
Sensing its prey escaping, the monster let out a furious shriek and began thrashing.
A three-hundred-year-old wreck couldn't withstand that kind of assault.
In seconds, Jiang Hai heard a tremendous crack behind him, and the ancient ship exploded into drifting fragments of wood and silt.
And then, rising from the debris, the beast revealed itself in full.
"A giant squid!" Jiang Hai gasped, throat tightening as a chill ran down his spine. "Shit... I'm really in trouble this time."
The giant squid—Architeuthis dux—was the largest mollusk in the world, and one of the most feared monsters of the deep sea. Normally found in Antarctic waters, they occasionally wandered—sightings had occurred near South America, South Africa, even New Zealand.
This one had to be over twenty-three meters long.
Jiang Hai had never taken rumors seriously. He'd encountered giant squids while diving before, and the biggest he'd ever seen was five or six meters. He'd taken one down before.
But this? This was a grandfather-tier monster.
Its entire body gleamed with a deep, blood-red hue, like it had just emerged from a massacre. Most giant squids lived fast and died young—rarely more than 450 days. But this one? It had lived longer. Jiang Hai could feel it. The intelligence in its tactics, its reaction to his movement... it wasn't some dumb brute. It was experienced.
As the creature fully emerged from the shattered ship, its huge, glowing eyes locked onto him.
Jiang Hai's first instinct was to flee—but could he? His top speed was ten nautical miles per hour, fast enough to outrun most sharks.
But this?
He had no idea if it would work—but he had to try.
Taking a deep breath, Jiang Hai darted toward the surface. But as he'd feared, the squid had no intention of letting its meal go.
With a burst of water from its siphon, the giant squid launched forward like a torpedo.
There was no time to think. Jiang Hai turned just in time to see the monster gaining on him, its glowing eyes narrowing.
Without hesitation, he fired another speargun—straight at its eye.
The squid wasn't having it. With a flick of its tentacles, it blocked the shot. The spear pierced flesh, but not deeply enough. The remaining tentacles spread like blooming petals, all aiming to seize him.
Faced with the rapidly closing limbs and the monstrous beak behind them, Jiang Hai felt his confidence crack.
He had thought that reaching Tier 3 made him a dominant force in this sea. Now he realized—he'd been far too naive.
With another shot from his speargun blocked, Jiang Hai drew his last card—a powder-loaded underwater pistol. He fired round after round into the beast. The bullets dug into its flesh, but they weren't fatal.
Even cut to pieces, a squid could keep fighting. There was only one real way to kill it—either wear it down over time, like a sperm whale did, or strike its otolith directly.
But the otolith was only the size of a pinky nail. On a 20-meter squid? A nearly impossible target.
He emptied the clip. The stalemate barely lasted a second.
Then one of the tentacles coiled around Jiang Hai's waist—and began pulling him toward the gaping beak.
He could feel the claws digging into his suit, raking his skin. Desperation filled him.
Is this the end of the book? he thought bitterly, staring at the rapidly approaching mouth. The heroine hasn't even appeared yet!
That last thought jolted him back to life.
In a sudden motion, Jiang Hai tore off his gloves. His right hand pressed against the slimy surface of the tentacle—then surged with aura.
The moment the spiritual energy entered, the squid froze. Its bioluminescent eyes locked onto him. Jiang Hai held its gaze, unwilling to flinch.
They stared at each other for five long minutes.
Then—something shifted in the squid's eyes. Jiang Hai could almost swear it was smiling.
Slowly, gently, it unwrapped him and lifted him to eye level, rubbing him affectionately with its tentacles before finally letting go.
"It worked!" Jiang Hai gasped in disbelief. He'd really, truly escaped death.
Clearly, modern gear was useful—but when it came to ancient sea monsters? It was spiritual energy that made the difference.
Still breathing hard, he placed a hand on the squid's head once more and injected two more strands of aura—three in total. The equivalent of nine full aura orbs from the Jiao stage.
More than enough to benefit the creature.
The squid spun around happily in the water.
Watching it, Jiang Hai rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Looks like I've found myself the strongest bodyguard in the ocean...
After playing with the big guy for a while, Jiang Hai returned to the wreck to retrieve the scattered treasure bags. But this time, he didn't have to carry them himself. His new squid companion gently gathered them up and escorted Jiang Hai to the surface.
Once beneath his boat, the squid hovered silently while Jiang Hai climbed back aboard with his haul.
As his feet touched the deck, Jiang Hai let out a long sigh.
Tonight had been way too exciting.