Endless Ocean: Escape Starting from a Canoe

Chapter 41 Trophies

hiss--

As we all know, octopuses do not have vocal cords, but the giant octopus that Shi Ming and his companions are facing now let out an extremely sharp hiss the moment its leg was severed.

Its other seven legs all stood up at that moment, and the high frequency that vibrated the eardrums came like a tsunami.

Fortunately, the drifting ship finally started up at this moment. Even though the crew at the helm were disturbed by the sound waves and their heads were dazed for a moment, it still started up with a roar and quickly moved away from the angry giant sea monster at the highest speed it could reach before its other seven tentacles could strike down, avoiding the powerful attack.

The giant octopus's seven tentacles slapped against the surface of the sea, howling and wailing incessantly.

The intention was to catch up with and destroy the fleeing steel behemoth.

Unfortunately, its massive and chaotic body made it less agile, and the loss of a giant leg made it unable to keep up with Shi Ming's drifting ship. It could only watch helplessly as the steel behemoth, along with its severed giant tentacle, disappeared into the distance.

Roar--

The towering sea was repeatedly churned up by its seven tentacles, and countless innocent sea fish perished in the giant waves.

Even the carcasses of sea fish were torn into pieces by the octopus's invisible rage, floating on the turbulent sea surface.

……

Call ~
Shi Ming planted his sword horizontally on the deck, raised his head, and took a deep breath.

If he hadn't shielded the giant octopus from its tentacle attack, the cockpit on this ship would have been severely damaged, making escape even more difficult and resulting in significant losses!
Fortunately, a combo not only blocked the attack but also severed one of the beast's legs!

"You ate my prey, huh? Then pay up with one of your tentacles."

At this moment, Shi Ming's body was covered in a mixture of blue and red blood, resembling an abstract street painting.

The blue blood is from the octopus's severed leg, and the red blood is from the blood that flowed out after the head of the flying fish was severed.

This vest has completely become a "work of art" and can no longer be worn.

The severed giant tentacle was still on the deck, twisting and twitching violently, like a worm that had been sprinkled with salt, writhing, stretching, turning and crawling almost madly... No one dared to approach except Shi Ming.

This is just the instinct of disconnecting the contact; it has no aggressive nature.

"Captain, are you alright?"

"It's alright. Go and check the drifting boat for any damage, and fix it as soon as possible."

"Yes!"

The crew members who witnessed Shi Ming's battle with the octopus felt even greater admiration for him. That giant octopus, almost half the size of the drifting ship, was no ordinary sea beast. If an ordinary drifting ship had encountered it, there would have been no way it could have escaped unscathed! Even when Chunyi was leading the expedition team at its peak, they hadn't fared well!
At least most of the crew will die!

It is not impossible for the entire army to be wiped out.

Shi Ming, now covered in blood, received another reminder from the system.

【drop! 】

[Congratulations! You have severed one of the giant tentacles of the B-rank sea monster "Eight-Armed Hunter," bathed in its blood, and, as always, ruthlessly drained all the energy from its severed tentacle.]

[Gained the B-rank skill "Limb Decoy".]

[Limb Decoy: When you are in danger, you can deliberately sever any limb to forcibly attract the enemy's attention.]

[The skill "Limb Decoy" was below A-rank and was assimilated and absorbed by the S-rank skill "Black Tortoise Shield," significantly increasing the host's resilience.] [Resilience: 8]

Even without activating "Black Tortoise Shield," you've become much more durable.

Upon seeing the system notification, Shi Ming's lips twitched.

Octopuses and geckos are somewhat similar; when faced with a strong threat, they will deliberately sever one of their legs to distract the enemy, giving themselves a chance to escape.

Good for Devouring! Such a useless skill is pointless to keep on your person.

You might as well add some to your own diet.

Furthermore, judging from the notes, any skill that isn't A-rank or higher will be absorbed by an S-rank skill? And then become a source of power to strengthen oneself?

It really is an S-rank skill! So powerful!

This is like trying to mold yourself into a well-rounded, multifaceted man.

Shi Ming wiped the blood off his face and remembered his other S-rank skill, [Desperate Measures], a powerful passive skill that had remained unnoticed and hadn't been seen absorbing other skills.

He sheathed his sword and approached the severed octopus tentacle, carefully examining the giant octopus tentacle that had been cleanly cut off in the middle.

The giant tentacles were no longer writhing as wildly as before, allowing Shi Ming to clearly see their external details—

Numerous ring-shaped suction cups are arranged densely and neatly, opening and closing at a uniform frequency, just like the breathing lights on electronic devices;
The sticky, sucker-like skin surface is covered with numerous tiny buds and protrusions, resembling barnacles clinging to rocks, making it look incredibly disgusting.

A small amount of blue blood seeped from the clean cut and flowed onto the deck.

The blood no longer contained any ability to awaken anyone. The moment it was severed from the octopus and the blood flowed onto Shi Ming, it was completely absorbed by the crimson markings on his right arm.

Looking at the red markings on his right arm, Shi Ming recalled that when he awakened, he had frantically absorbed all the energy of the entire Xuanwu Blood Pool, causing all the worms in the pool to lose their home.

How domineering!
"The blue octopus blood is useless, but the octopus meat should still contain some of the energy of a powerful sea beast. If it is safe to eat, we might as well give it to the crew members. It can also help improve their physical strength, so that they won't be completely helpless in the face of danger."

"However, the sanity-destroying power of these octopus legs means that only extraordinary people can eat them."

This reminded Shi Ming of the blue "Stargazing Party" he had seen in his previous life.

It's less than a tenth of the suckers and granulation tissue in front of us.

Looking at the crew members bustling about on the ship, Shi Ming grew increasingly satisfied. His original expectation of them was simply to maintain the ship's equipment and ensure they wouldn't cause any problems or falter in critical moments. And in emergencies, their reaction time was quick enough.

The operation of so many devices on this ship relies on the hands of these crew members.

Of course, if one or two people show talent that can be cultivated, Shi Ming will naturally not hesitate to nurture them.

……

Under Shi Ming's command, the half-octopus leg, which had completely lost its vitality and become limp, was cut into pieces the size of tree stumps and then carried into the Drifting Ship's canteen on the second basement level.

Skinning, cleaning, removing tendons, pounding... Old Yang will personally handle the process, serving the crew a feast of octopus.

For ordinary sailors, this kind of Class B marine mammal meat is a rare and delicious feast.

Moreover, there was so much that we couldn't finish it all.

(End of this chapter)