The tentacles lunging at Qin Feng froze mid-air.
Every inch of the giant squid's flesh twitched violently, locked in rigidity.
"Damn it!"
Zhou Haiyang stared, utterly bewildered. "What's going on? Is the squid… having a seizure?"
Qin Feng vanished with a spatial shift.
He reappeared on the back of a Tiger-headed Sea Eagle.
The Tiger-headed Sea Eagle soared into the sky, flying parallel to the giant dark bird.
Below.
*Bang!*
The colossal body, propped up by its tentacles, collapsed as if its sinews had been severed, unable to support itself.
Limp.
Without a trace of life.
"It's dead?!" Zhou Haiyang's eyes widened.
"Dead," Qin Feng nodded.
"But…"
Zhou Haiyang was baffled beyond comprehension. "Didn't they say you have to destroy the main brain and all sub-brains simultaneously?"
One main brain.
Ten sub-brains.
And the sheer size of the creature made it theoretically impossible to destroy all brains at once.
"Its strength wasn't fundamentally in regeneration, nor in its main and sub-brains, but rather in…"
At this moment.
Qin Feng extended his hand.
A crystal, the size of his fist and a deep azure hue, appeared in his palm.
That's right!
He had used spatial compression to enter the giant squid's body with a single purpose.
To find the squid's crystal.
And extract it!
Without the crystal, all its abilities were rendered useless.
"How is this crystal so big? Isn't it Level 7?!" Zhou Haiyang exclaimed in shock.
A Level 7 mutant crystal was barely larger than an egg.
Yet, the giant squid's crystal was fist-sized.
"Look at how many zombies it ate before, why didn't it explode?" Qin Feng countered.
Humans, zombies, and even mutated plants and animals could absorb crystals to enhance their strength.
Different creatures had different limitations when absorbing crystals.
The squid was enormous!
Its capacity for absorbing crystals far surpassed that of humans and zombies.
Of course, this didn't mean absorbing more led to faster growth.
Given its massive size, it would require even more crystals to advance a single level.
It was worth noting.
Upon entering this new plot, the rules for absorbing crystals had also changed.
This colossal crystal couldn't be absorbed all at once.
The energy was too immense.
Absorbing it directly would cause an instant explosion.
"Captain, should we hunt zombies next, or head to the South China Sea?" Zhou Haiyang asked excitedly.
"You head back to the base."
"Huh?!"
Zhou Haiyang was dumbfounded. Why was he being left behind halfway?
"For now, there aren't many Level 5 mutated plants and animals, and the base is short on crystals," Qin Feng explained.
On land, Level 5 mutated plants and animals were scarce.
The hunting of mutated creatures in the Yan Mountains yielded a limited number of high-level crystals.
Shangjing had plenty of Level 5 zombies.
But it was crucial to hunt mutated plants and animals to adapt to the new plot as quickly as possible, rather than wasting time fighting zombies.
Fatefully.
He had encountered the Tiger-headed Sea Eagle midway and managed to subdue it as a mount.
Zhou Haiyang wouldn't need to accompany him.
The deep sea was too dangerous!
With Zhou Haiyang's current strength, he couldn't fight alongside Qin Feng and would mostly be a spectator.
Too few combat opportunities would offer no assistance for his growth.
Subsequently.
Qin Feng found a place devoid of zombies.
He extracted all the Level 5 crystals from the zombie heads and packed them into a canvas bag.
Finally, he retrieved the giant squid's tentacle.
Earlier, when the squid had devoured a Level 7 mutant, the suckers on its tentacles had ground the flesh. It hadn't managed to transport it to its digestive system before Qin Feng severed the tentacle with a single strike.
Indeed!
After dissecting the tentacle, he found a Level 7 crystal.
Including the first mutant he had killed, that made two Level 7 crystals.
"One for Liu Pi."
"One for Ruo Ruo."
Qin Feng handed the Level 7 crystals to Zhou Haiyang.
Liu Pi controlled animals.
Xiao Ruo Ruo controlled plants.
In this new plot, their combat abilities had greatly increased.
Zhou Haiyang would take the crystals back to the base.
Qin Feng would venture into the South China Sea.
The deep sea held great creatures.
The deepest part of the South China Sea was located north of the Nansha Islands.
Its deepest point reached nearly 6,000 meters.
The Tiger-headed Sea Eagle couldn't fly indefinitely.
It needed a place to rest.
Qin Feng had chosen an island on the northernmost part of the Nansha Islands as his landing spot.
Nanzi Island.
Approximately 2,000 kilometers from Kaohsiung.
At the speed of the Tiger-headed Sea Eagle, it would take just over an hour.
Qin Feng sat on the Tiger-headed Sea Eagle's back.
He toyed with a crystal.
Its color was a deep azure.
It was fist-sized.
Level 7!
He was currently only Level 6.
Absorbing a Level 7 crystal while still at Level 6 would allow him to break through soon.
With the energy contained in this crystal, he should be able to reach Level 7, right?
…/
Nanzi Island.
The northernmost island of the Nansha Islands.
Its area was close to one square kilometer.
Before the nuclear explosion, hundreds of soldiers were stationed here.
Not Chinese soldiers, but Vietnamese soldiers.
Later.
The tsunami in the "The Day After Tomorrow" plot wiped out all the island's garrison, sending them into the sea to feed the fish.
The Tiger-headed Sea Eagle landed on the island.
After a continuous flight of 2,000 kilometers, even it was somewhat tired.
"Here."
Qin Feng took out two Level 5 crystals and gave them to it.
Given the Tiger-headed Sea Eagle's size, its daily crystal absorption limit was considerably higher than a human's.
"Caw!"
It swallowed the crystals in one gulp.
The Tiger-headed Sea Eagle immediately perked up.
Mixing with this human…
Was quite good!
It didn't have to fight, only to let the human ride on it, and it got crystals to eat.
"Let's rest."
Qin Feng checked the time. "In two hours, we'll officially get to work!"
Using Nanzi Island as a base, the area north of it led to the deepest waters of the South China Sea.
Home to various colossal beings!
On land, large mutated creatures were extremely rare, with Level 5 being uncommon and Level 6 even more so.
However, in the ocean, there were Level 7, and even Level 8 giants.
Level 8!
If he could kill just one, he could directly advance to Level 7 in a short period.
He could even give that giant Level 7 crystal to other team members.
"Let's give you a name."
Looking at the Tiger-headed Sea Eagle, Qin Feng pondered. "Kaohsiung… then let's call you 'Oyster Omelet'."
Tiger-headed Sea Eagle: …
It couldn't understand human language, after all.
"Oyster Omelet," Qin Feng called out to it.
Tiger-headed Sea Eagle: …
*Slap!*
Qin Feng struck it.
It stumbled back, utterly bewildered.
What the heck?
Why am I being hit?
"Oyster Omelet!" Qin Feng called again.
Tiger-headed Sea Eagle: …
*Slap!*
Qin Feng struck again.
The force was noticeably increased, sending the Tiger-headed Sea Eagle flying back several meters, even dislodging a few feathers.
"Caw… caw…" it shrieked in terror.
Master!
Dad!
Please don't hit me!
What did I do wrong?
"Oyster Omelet!"
"Caw… caw…"
Although it still didn't understand human language, its intelligence was far from low.
It had roughly figured it out.
It quickly started squawking.
Qin Feng smiled in satisfaction.
The violent factor always existed within the bloodlines of mutated animals. Subduing them was only temporary.
Therefore.
The best method was to beat it up occasionally.
Once it was scared, its rebellious spirit would be extinguished.
Just then.
Qin Feng's pupils constricted.
In the distance, a figure was desperately fleeing…
Flying?!
Flying like a bird!
Behind that figure, a large bird was in hot pursuit, carrying several people on its back.
The pursuing bird was a bit smaller than Oyster Omelet, with a wingspan of about fourteen to fifteen meters.
The fleeing figure, being small and agile, continuously changed altitude and direction to evade.
It absolutely could not enter the opponent's attack range.
Otherwise, death would be certain!
"Flight?"
Qin Feng curled his lip.
In the "Living Dead Legion" plot, this ability was quite useful for survival.
Being able to fly meant zombies couldn't reach you.
But in today's world, if this was the only ability, survival would be nearly impossible.
Because there were mutated avian creatures.
Qin Feng had no intention of intervening in this chase.
It had nothing to do with him.
He was just about to leave when the person changed direction and flew towards Nanzi Island.