Chapter 132: Chapter 129: Collecting the Loot! The Remaining 10 Minutes of Bright Eyes of the Void

’So Miss Yan wasn’t just anybody. She could actually recognize the King Slayer?’

’Looks like I should avoid using this blade in front of people from America from now on.’

...

The King Slayer was deeply connected to the sunken *Yellowstone*.

Becoming an enemy of Lighthouse was one thing,

but his infiltration of their operation had to remain a secret at all costs.

This was one of Shi Ming’s most important sources of intelligence; he couldn’t afford any mistakes.

Turning over his fallen enemy, Shi Ming found the Calm Sea Pearl on Miss Yan’s body. He also found the Taunt Stone—which the Eye of Intelligence had mentioned—hidden in a honeycomb container at her waist.

By a strange twist of fate, both of these rare artifacts had ended up in his hands.

A truly unexpected windfall.

What a haul!

Shi Ming smiled as he put away the two treasures. The arcane markings on his body flickered, emitting a golden glow in the deep sea.

But not everything was perfect.

What Shi Ming found regrettable was that the A-rank sea beast, the Cave Mother Insect, had been blasted to dust during the sudden battle. It was a complete waste. He hadn’t even managed to touch its blood before the intense fight kicked off.

’What a shame.’

True to his principle of never leaving anything valuable behind, he found the body of Vortex Country Iwami and searched it thoroughly. The honeycomb container he carried now belonged to Shi Ming. It was filled with some mission supplies and a jumble of other items, but now wasn’t the time to inspect them closely.

Shi Ming unceremoniously stored it all in his system space.

He always strove to be cautious.

Once items were in the system space, not even the tracking technology of the Wandering Era could find them, let alone a Navigator skill like Edward’s. Therefore, Shi Ming wasn’t worried about being tracked because of these items.

In this stretch of sea, besides the silent battlefield, only Shi Ming remained.

He prepared to leave as well.

But there was still one problem: what to do with the Deep Sea Titan’s corpse.

As anyone who hunts sea beasts knows,

killing them is the easy part; getting rid of the body is hard.

The over 100-meter-long Undersea Giant, like a small mountain range, now lay fallen on the seabed. Although its blood had lost the ability to trigger Awakenings, the sea beast’s flesh and blood still held unimaginable value and represented immeasurable wealth.

Unfortunately, Shi Ming couldn’t take the whole thing with him.

And after the dust settled, both the Twelve Stars and Lighthouse would surely return to investigate the battlefield.

At that time, this unimaginable treasure would just fall into their hands. The Twelve Stars wouldn’t be so bad; Shi Ming didn’t have a strong aversion to them. But Lighthouse was secretly conducting some strange research. If they got their hands on the Deep Sea Titan’s corpse, there was no telling what kind of bizarre things they might create.

’No! I can’t leave it here!’

The Titan’s power was still with him. Perhaps he could use it to truly destroy all traces of the corpse.

Shi Ming spent a considerable amount of time collecting the valuable flesh from the sea beast. Once his system space and honeycomb containers were full, he used the power of Descent of the Titan and Ice Annihilation to let the Legendary Sea Beast return completely to the ocean.

*Phew~*

The fish and other sea beasts, drawn by the scent, would thoroughly clean up the rest of the battlefield.

Everything was taken care of. It was time to leave.

He boarded the *Suntraverse* and activated the Admiral-class wandering ship.

Of the fifty minutes of Bright Eyes of the Void, twenty minutes remained.

This Titan skill was truly powerful, and its effect was even more pronounced against some of the more bizarre Awakened.

’I look forward to drawing another skill next time.’

But Shi Ming was also curious—

’Descent of the Titan is supposed to last for an hour, but Bright Eyes of the Void only lasts for fifty minutes. What happens in the remaining ten minutes? Some extra surprise? A new development? Does the power just drain away slowly? A decline?’

Twenty minutes later...

"What the hell!"

Standing on the auto-piloting *Suntraverse*, Shi Ming’s eyes, the golden arcane markings now faded, were wide with disbelief...

After using it once, he had gained a deeper understanding of the skill Descent of the Titan...

Just as the skill description said, Descent of the Titan lasted for one hour, but the Titan’s power would begin to slowly depart after fifty minutes. After the power slowly left, there would be an additional "echo" state. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

This state occurred naturally and was not part of the skill itself.

For example,

in the Divine Hall of Time state, for the first fifty minutes, time would pause for one second every twelve seconds.

During the echo phase, the flow of time in the area would speed up to compensate for the previously paused seconds, keeping the time within the area consistent with the outside world.

If used properly, it could yield some impressive results.

And the effect of Bright Eyes of the Void...

For the first fifty minutes, it suppressed mortality, humanity, or bestiality, enhancing divinity.

In the last ten minutes, after the power began to wane, it would reduce divinity and enhance mortality, humanity, or bestiality. And the previously suppressed mortality wouldn’t just disappear; like a compressed spring, it would bounce back completely.

Shi Ming’s expression changed. He pushed the *Suntraverse* to maximum speed, forcibly suppressing the heat in his body, and left without a second glance.

...

...

...

「Meanwhile.」

The Black Society.

Yan Dao Lin sat in his office, quietly sipping Harmony and Respect Tea.

During these days of being stripped of his authority, he had taken the rare opportunity to clear his mind. He had come to a deeper understanding of many past events.

’I wonder if Iwami will bring back a surprise from this operation?’

Due to his shirking of responsibility, the primary person in charge of Iwami’s current operation was the "Lord" on the ship. This "Lord" had strongly supported the operation, even deploying a rare artifact from the ship’s collection.

The Taunt Stone.

This was a treasure listed on the Ranking of Rare Artifacts. Although its rank wasn’t very high, if used properly, it could completely turn the tables in an operation, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat and achieving an unexpected outcome.

For Yan Dao Lin, if Iwami succeeded, he could use the credit from the intelligence gathered to return to the center of power and once again become the Admiral of the Sea, second to only one person.

But if he didn’t succeed...

Yan Dao Lin took a sip of tea and set down the tastefully artistic lacquerware cup.

’Even if he fails, it doesn’t matter.’

’With Iwami’s skills and intelligence, he’ll surely be able to retreat from the operation unscathed.’

’At that point, I’ll just consider it a failed investment and quietly wait for the next opportunity.’

He had adjusted his mentality extremely well these days.

He had plenty of patience.

And plenty of opportunities.

...

Some were completely relaxed, while others were burning with anxiety.

Mount Olympus.

Miss Yan’s auxiliary wandering ship, the *Hairtail*, had followed her signal and was now closely tailing the *Abyss Explorer*. It waited quietly in an uncharted patch of sea near the ruins, ready to dive and provide support on Miss Yan’s command.

The first mate of the *Hairtail* was currently on edge.

Two hours had passed since they last received a signal from Miss Yan.

According to their prior arrangement, she was supposed to send a simple signal back every hour. It didn’t require Miss Yan to input any data; she just needed to press a button on her communicator.

And since they were so close, the signal transmission wouldn’t take long at all.

’Could it be? Is Miss Yan in the middle of a fierce battle?’

The *Hairtail* waited quietly.

But no signal ever came.