"At the third corner, there’s a Fishman waiting in ambush." Jiro reminded Tanaka.
"Got it!"
When the Fishman, gripping a fish spear, lunged again from the corner’s shadow, the well-prepared Tanaka’s clone deftly sidestepped, easily evading the thrust with the help of the current.
The white light of [mory Erasure] followed closely.
The short sword smoothly pierced into the Fishman’s unprotected neck. Watching white threads disperse from the wound, Tanaka grimaced with disgust and swiftly moved away.
This ti, Jiro didn’t let Tanaka continue deeper along the original route, but instructed him to turn into another more winding dark path.
However, an unexpected encounter still occurred. Before even reaching the exit of this new dark passage, they ran head-on into another Fishman, and two half-demon soldiers with a Puki squad!
Seeing those glaring Level 10 skills on the Puki panel, Tanaka imdiately knew sothing was wrong.
The white light instinctively flashed as he turned to flee back the way he ca.
But it was too late; several mycelial tendrils sealed off all escape routes, piercing through his body!
The clone didn’t dissipate imdiately, the intense pain making him futilely struggle and twist in the water.
Seeing no hope of escape, Tanaka could only actively cancel this near-death clone.
...
Pa!
The third round.
A small tuft of white fur appeared on the floor in front of Jiro.
And opposite him, a new Tanaka clone had just taken shape, reaching out to open the cabin door.
This ti, Jiro changed his strategy. He had the clone return to the vicinity of the initial exit of that dark path, hide, and wait for the half-demon patrol squad to pass by before taking action.
However, the half-demon squad, directed by a hurriedly arriving Fishman guide, directly opened the secret door from the outside. The wall slid back, revealing Tanaka’s clone on the opposite side, caught off guard and in an awkward posture.
The result was predictable.
Fourth round, fifth round, sixth round...
No matter how Jiro adjusted the route or calculated the timing, Tanaka’s clone would always be cornered, as if being specifically hunted down!
...
...
...
The twelfth round.
Pa!
A dull clap echoed inside the cabin.
"I’m in... whoa! Why have you lost so much fur?" Just as Tanaka was about to report that he had entered the Underground City, he turned around and was startled by the conspicuous layer of white fluff on the floor beneath Jiro.
Considering the total ti his clone was in the water was only about ten minutes, how did this fox lose so much fur?
Tanaka instinctively raised his hand to touch his own not-so-thick head.
So, do Beastn suffer from hair loss too...?
eting Jiro’s gaze, Tanaka returned it with a look that was three parts understanding and seven parts sympathy.
Jiro ignored Tanaka’s misunderstood gaze, pondering where exactly things went wrong.
Their opponent had seemingly blocked every possible path, indicating that it wasn’t a coincidence but a realization of Tanaka’s clone’s presence.
But when did the exposure occur?
The underwater area clearly had not yet spread with Fungal Mat!
Jiro’s thoughts involuntarily drifted back to the ti when he attempted to enter the United Kingdom territory in a simulation, aiming to unlock the Demon King’s clone within the Purple Crystal Dungeon.
Back then, no matter how he chose the route, timing, or disguise, he would ultimately be caught by the Pukis.
It took over three hundred simulations for him to finally determine that the Fungal Mat was Pukis’ all-encompassing surveillance.
As long as one was within the Fungal Mat’s coverage, any plan was futile.
But at this point, according to the original path, the Fungal Mat shouldn’t have spread within the Tide Sanctuary yet.
Even though Tanaka encountered a Battle Puki, he had repeatedly confird that there was no trace of the Fungal Mat along his path.
To completely clarify the situation, Jiro this ti altered his strategy. He required Tanaka to describe in detail every single thing the clone had seen, leaving nothing out.
And when Tanaka ntioned that the Fishman he killed had white threads drifting from the wound and the status panel indicated parasitism—
"Why didn’t you ntion this earlier?" Jiro’s fox ears suddenly perked up.
"Huh? You asked, and I told you! What do you an by ’earlier’?" Tanaka was puzzled, having no mory from the previous simulations.
Jiro, anwhile, had already figured out the situation.
Those individuals parasitized by mycelium have so kind of sensing connection within a certain distance!
The first Fishman’s death must have alerted nearby parasitized individuals, resulting in subsequent continuous encirclent!
This explains all the anomalies!
However...
Jiro’s heart sank.
A deviation had occurred.
The Fishman tribe being parasitized was sothing that, in early simulations, was supposed to happen months later.
The impact of Jiro altering the trajectory, combined with so uncontrollable random events, ultimately caused the developnt of reality to increasingly deviate from the original path.
Fortunately, the deviation wasn’t too significant.
Fortunately, the extent of deviation currently seed small.
If the sea and waterways at this mont had transford into a fluorescent ocean like in the future, it would have truly been an insoluble predicant.
...
Pa!
The thirteenth round.
Beside him, Tanaka was focusing on the clone, which by now had likely followed the rcenary corps into the first room.
Soon, Tanaka’s clone re-entered the dark passage.
"At the third corner, there’s a Fishman waiting in ambush. Be cautious, subdue it quickly, but don’t kill it!"
"Understood!"
This ti, after the mory erasure, Tanaka closed in, using the tal sheath of the short sword instead of the blade, brutally striking the Fishman’s back head.
The Fishman, still in the daze of mory loss, saw only darkness before fainting softly, slowly sinking with the water flow.
This ti, as he erged from the dark passage, there was indeed no encounter with a search squad.
anwhile, in this intricate underwater maze, several reconnaissance squads were actively moving through various waterways.
They were the eyes and ears of the army led by Louisa.
Further back, Marshal Louisa herself was commanding the main force, a mixed unit of Fungus Castle soldiers, various Battle Pukis, and Fishn, steadily advancing along the planned assault route.
The reconnaissance squad leaders remained in communication with Louisa through the local Fungal Network.
"Team Two reports, the left branch corridor has been fully explored, no enemy presence found."
"Team Three reports, right corridor is secure, but there is a structurally weak area, recomnd main force detour."
"Team One reports, directly ahead on the main channel, a small group of enemy gathered, about eight to ten in number, destroying a statue."
"Team One hold position, wait for main force to crush through!" Louisa commanded.
Following the regular reports, Team Two’s leader added one more piece of information: "But there’s sothing odd, that Fishman newly joined to the Fungal Network wouldn’t respond earlier when I called, even though I sensed it wasn’t far ahead..."
Another leader interjected: "Probably not yet accustod to speaking through the Fungal Network, it’s normal. When I first beca symbiotic, my thoughts were clear, but the words just wouldn’t co out."
His words imdiately resonated with the others.
Nonetheless, out of caution, Louisa directed another nearby Fishman to check the situation, but this ti she wasn’t as urgent as Jiro in previous simulations.
When the Fishman was finally discovered by its comrades and the alert of an assault returned, Tanaka’s clone had already entered another dark passage, continuously moving away from the area.
At the sa ti, Louisa’s main force, after clearing another batch of the foggy monsters entrenched in a room, discovered several Snake-man rcenaries quietly observing from around a corner.
Outsiders!
The incident of the Fishman guide’s assault was almost instantly linked by Louisa to these uninvited outsiders.
Without hesitation, under Louisa’s concise and powerful orders, multiple units from the main force moved to surround the area where the Snake-man rcenaries were located.
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