Chapter 51: Beneath the West Lake

Qin Changsheng thrashed his limbs wildly, struggling with all his might. The game had begun with startling abruptness; just a moment ago, he was still standing within the gloomy temple, but in the blink of an eye, he had been plunged deep into water.

Frigid water rushed in, threatening to drown Qin Changsheng into unconsciousness.

Yet right at that instant, he suddenly felt something swell up in his throat, desperately burrowing outward from within. Helplessly clutching at his neck, Qin Changsheng found himself entirely powerless to stop that entity from inching its way out.

A massive, sphere-like object instantly surged into his oral cavity and burst out from his mouth. It was a pitch-black thing that continuously expanded like a balloon.

The discomfort in Qin Changsheng’s mind vanished instantly as he cleared his head, only to realize that the black balloon was actually Momo!

"Shut your mouth!"

Hearing Momo’s voice echo directly inside his mind, Qin Changsheng hurriedly closed his lips. Unexpectedly, the water that had just flooded into his body vanished completely.

The sensation of suffocation dissipated. As Qin Changsheng calmed his racing heart and looked at Momo right before him, the answer dawned on him.

It turned out that Momo had somehow slipped inside his body earlier, using its own form to force out all the water that had poured into Qin Changsheng’s mouth and lungs.

Resembling an inflated balloon, Momo spun around in the water and flashed Qin Changsheng a slightly proud smile.

Though its smug expression was profoundly punchable, Qin Changsheng had to admit that he had just been saved by it. That sudden drowning scenario had been unimaginably perilous; a single moment of carelessness, and he would have been eliminated right at the start.

Having survived the initial crisis, Qin Changsheng held his breath and swiftly surveyed his surroundings. As he had anticipated, they were currently deep underwater, with no other figures in sight—they must have been intentionally separated by teleportation.

Where on earth was this place? And what were the new rules of the game? Qin Changsheng possessed zero intelligence at the moment; his only clue was the parting advice Lu Qingyu had given them before the game commenced.

"Remember, once the game starts, we must locate the other group at the very first instance."

Lu Qingyu had played this game before and was a survivor; he was undoubtedly more familiar with the rules than anyone else. As long as they could find him, there had to be a way through.

Only…

How on earth was he supposed to find him?!

Qin Changsheng was utterly speechless. Though he knew he needed to find Lu Qingyu, searching for someone across this vast expanse of water was literally like looking for a needle in a haystack. The others must also be scattered across this underwater realm; if he encountered other players with Shan Hai beasts before finding Lu Qingyu, wouldn't he be doomed?

That useless jerk Lu Qingyu only ever told half the story—he said they had to find him, but didn't offer a single word on *how* to do it!

Nursing a wave of frustration toward Lu Qingyu, Qin Changsheng suddenly thought of another problem.

He had a divine beast like Momo by his side, which allowed him to hold out underwater for a while. But Wu Yutong possessed absolutely no special abilities whatsoever; what was she supposed to do?

At this very moment, Wu Yutong was likely trapped underwater just like him. For an ordinary person with no abilities to suddenly appear here—her fate would only be far more tragic than his initial predicament!

This was bad; he had to find Wu Yutong immediately!

Qin Changsheng turned without a second thought to search for her, but right then, Momo suddenly swam right up to him and dove straight through the gap in his lips, re-entering Qin Changsheng’s body.

Qin Changsheng nearly choked, cursing inwardly, "What are you doing?! Are you trying to choke me to death?!"

"Sigh, stupid master, I was saving you!" Momo’s projection suddenly materialized before Qin Changsheng’s eyes, shaking its head in utter disappointment. "Look at you, do you even need to hold your breath anymore?"

Qin Changsheng was momentarily stunned. Come to think of it, despite holding his breath for quite a while now, he didn't feel the slightest sensation of oxygen depletion.

"I stored plenty of oxygen in my belly and am now channeling it directly into your lungs, allowing you to breathe underwater." Momo’s smooth face suddenly lifted with a tiny, proud nose turned straight toward the ceiling. "Don't underestimate me; I am an invincible Shan Hai beast, and there is nothing I cannot do!"

"I see. Impressive." Within mere seconds, Qin Changsheng’s perspective of Momo had completely shifted; he had never imagined his Shan Hai beast could be utilized in such a fashion.

No, now was not the time for idle chatter; if he delayed any longer, something might happen to Wu Yutong!

Just then, a buzzing sound filtered into Qin Changsheng’s ears. How could there be sound underwater?

Puzzled, Qin Changsheng turned his head and spotted a thin cord suspended before him. Tracing the cord downward, he saw that its lower end was tied securely around his waist, while its upper end floated straight upward, apparently leading toward the water's surface.

The cord vibrated gently, creating ripples in the surrounding water that transformed into a buzzing noise. Grasping the cord, Qin Changsheng pressed it against his ear and listened closely, faintly catching a voice.

"Qin Changsheng… can you… can you hear… me?"

The voice was faint and intermittent, but Qin Changsheng instantly recognized it as Cao Mengmeng’s. She was speaking to him from the other end of the string.

That meant Cao Mengmeng was on the surface? But then why was he down here?

Qin Changsheng’s brain felt like it was about to overheat. Although the specific rules of the game remained unclear, he remembered the Monarch mentioning before the start that this was a team-based game.

He and Cao Mengmeng were a team, and Cao Mengmeng was up on the surface. By that logic, Lu Qingyu and Wu Yutong’s group should also have one person stationed on the surface.

Though visibility underwater was practically zero, the view from the surface shouldn't be nearly as obstructed, right? Qin Changsheng had no idea what was happening around him; his only option now was to have Cao Mengmeng provide him with intelligence from above.

However, for Cao Mengmeng to hear his voice, he had to rely entirely on this thin string. But being underwater, he couldn't speak at all—what should he do?

"Simple, leave it to me." Momo abruptly forced open Qin Changsheng’s mouth, extending a long, elongated mouth from within its body and shooting straight upward toward the water's surface in one breath.

Watching what looked like a thick, long earthworm emerge from his own mouth, Qin Changsheng was profoundly shaken: "You can do that too?!"

Surely this method didn't count as cheating, right?

Before he could overthink it, Momo had already rocketed far away. Qin Changsheng only felt as though that mouth had collided with a very hard barrier, followed by Momo’s slightly disappointed report: "Master, the surface is sealed shut; I can't drill through."

"It's fine, as long as you can talk," Qin Changsheng said, treating a dead horse as a live doctor. "Well? Can you see Cao Mengmeng?"

"I see her."

"Great! Hurry and ask her if she can see anyone else on the surface of the lake? Did she spot Wu Yutong?"

Momo fell silent for a brief moment before relaying: "She sees them! She says she saw Wu Yutong!"

"Fantastic!" Qin Changsheng finally let out a sigh of relief. "Where are Wu Yutong and the others? Hurry and take me over there, we need to regroup with Lu Qingyu!"

"Though we found Wu Yutong, it seems like a bit of a problem has come up."

"A problem? What problem?"

Momo spread its hands in a helpless gesture.

"Cao Mengmeng says Wu Yutong just got blown up."