Chapter 59 Bone Carving

Qin Changsheng was right. Upon second thought, Lu Qingyu immediately understood that he had simply been too presumptive at the beginning, which had led him astray.

Although the enemy's ability remained a mystery, certain clues could still be discerned. Just as Qin Changsheng had said, if the enemy were truly capable of launching attacks while maintaining all-around defense without a single flaw, why would he choose such a conservative strategy now?

The simplest approach would have been for him to take the initiative, wiping out both Qin Changsheng and Lu Qingyu in one fell swoop, rather than hiding far away while desperately trying to conceal his location, acting almost as if he were deliberately avoiding the two of them.

Such a situation led Lu Qingyu to roughly deduce several possibilities.

The first possibility was that the enemy could not move while using his ability—for instance, being encased in a massive lump of iron and forced to stay in one place to either attack or defend.

This possibility could be almost entirely ruled out, because judging from Lu Qingyu's two attacks, the enemy had indeed shifted his position during that time.

Another possibility was that the enemy's vision was deprived when using his ability.

This seemed highly likely, as the enemy genuinely could not directly observe the positions of Lu Qingyu and Qin Changsheng, having to wait until the two of them initiated an attack or made a move before they could be perceived.

In other words, the enemy's method of locating them was most likely not relying on sight.

Consequently, the enemy would only rapidly change positions after being attacked in the water, rather than moving constantly, because he was also afraid of having his location discovered and becoming a target.

The enemy clearly possessed very little intelligence regarding Qin Changsheng, assuming that he would not be rooted out as long as he stayed completely still, but in reality, his true position had long since been exposed.

That being the case, to deal with the enemy, Lu Qingyu had to ensure that his own ability information was not exposed too early. For now, the enemy was still apprehensive and knew to hide from them, but once he realized that Qin Changsheng would detect him whether he moved or not, things would become troublesome.

In the worst-case scenario, the enemy would abandon his current conservative tactics altogether and go all out with a mutual-destruction mindset. That would give Lu Qingyu a tremendous headache, as he had yet to come up with a countermeasure.

Was there any way to subdue him quickly?

Lu Qingyu's brain began to spin at high speed. When all was said and done, what needed to be resolved right now was figuring out why his attacks were ineffective and what the enemy's defensive mechanism actually was.

The unknown was the greatest enemy. Once he obtained detailed intelligence on the enemy, Lu Qingyu would have ten thousand ways to break through him!

A plan gradually took shape in Lu Qingyu's mind.

"I have a way," Lu Qingyu whispered as he drew closer to Qin Changsheng, communicating through telepathy. "Listen, I need to get as close to that fellow as possible. Tell me his position, and I'll sneak over."

Qin Changsheng frowned. "How is that possible? The moment you move, he'll spot you. Closing in rashly is far too dangerous."

"That's why I need your help," Lu Qingyu smiled faintly. "Isn't your Mountain-Sea Beast going to come in handy right about now?"

"Mo Mo?"

"Exactly," Lu Qingyu nodded. "Your Mo Mo's body has already covered the entire bottom of the lake, hasn't it? In that case, you just need to use Mo Mo to form a few fake figures everywhere, and won't that draw his attention away? It can serve as cover for me."

"That could work..." Qin Changsheng pondered for a moment. "But once you get close, what do you plan to do?"

"Leave that to me, I'll improvise," Lu Qingyu said. "Remember, the moment he attacks your Mo Mo, he will definitely change his position immediately. You must relay his latest movements to me through Mo Mo at any time. As long as I find his true body, we'll have a chance of winning."

"Fine, I'll trust you for once."

Lu Qingyu assumed a ready stance, prepared to close in on the enemy at top speed the moment Qin Changsheng made his move.

This maneuver carried immense risk, and Lu Qingyu himself did not have absolute certainty. Should Qin Changsheng show even the slightest unnaturalness, or should the enemy notice Lu Qingyu's movements as he approached, a fierce attack would quickly pivot toward him.

Yet, at this moment, Lu Qingyu found the courage to take that risk. He didn't know why—perhaps it was reckless bravery, but Lu Qingyu simply decided to trust Qin Changsheng.

A person like him rarely trusted so-called intuition, because intuition was entirely unreliable compared to rationality. Perhaps just this once in his life, Lu Qingyu chose to believe his intuition, and chose to believe Qin Changsheng.

"My life is in your hands now," Lu Qingyu said. "Don't let me down."

"Humbug," Qin Changsheng immediately shook his head. "None of that nonsense. If you die, don't blame me—blame yourself! Your life is in your own hands."

Well said!

A surge of emotion stirred in Lu Qingyu's heart. Qin Changsheng suddenly flicked his hand, and Mo Mo shot forward from his location like a pitch-black arrow.

Almost the instant Mo Mo darted out, several bone spikes followed closely behind, continuously piercing through the trajectory of Mo Mo's flight. Clearly, the enemy had locked onto Mo Mo, but this meant his attention had indeed been diverted.

Right now!

Without a second thought, Lu Qingyu lunged forward, swimming rapidly toward the direction Qin Changsheng indicated.

Two swimming figures scattered in the water, which indeed caused the enemy to panic slightly. Qin Changsheng did not stop, once again flinging out several ink clusters. The number of swimming forms in the water instantly surged from two to four, and from four to eight!

What had just been stagnant water suddenly came alive, churning with turbulent currents.

The enemy's attacks were clearly thrown into disorder. The subsequent bone spikes lacked their previous precision, as if the attacker's rhythm had been disrupted and he was at a loss. Seizing the opportunity, Lu Qingyu hurled a few more ice cones. Every single one hit its mark, but just like before, they caused zero damage.

It seemed his guess was correct: the enemy could maintain his defense while moving, which proved that what restricted his active offensive wasn't mobility restraints, but something else entirely.

Lu Qingyu felt his deduction was getting very close to the truth. If he continued to approach the enemy according to plan, he would definitely force him to reveal a flaw!

Underwater, a shadow became increasingly distinct. Lu Qingyu approached swiftly, dodging erratic flying bone spikes along the way. Mo Mo darting everywhere left the enemy's perception overwhelmed. This proved another point: the enemy's perceptual ability was not nearly as precise as Qin Changsheng's. His previous counterattacks against Lu Qingyu had merely consisted of hurling bone spikes toward a general area with no accuracy whatsoever.

There seemed to be only one answer left—the enemy had no vision!

Lu Qingyu drew close to the shadow before him, and when he finally saw the enemy's appearance, he understood why the creature could see nothing at all.

What appeared before Lu Qingyu was not a specific person at all, but a sphere.

A sphere carved entirely out of bone!