I transformed into a cute girl and lived a carefree life in the apocalypse.

hum-

The lightning emanating from her body illuminated the world beneath the sea, finally revealing the entirety of what was once just the 'tip of the iceberg'.

This is a huge statue. Although it is covered with irregular protruding edges, it is still possible to vaguely see that it is a statue of a giant beast.

No, describing it as a statue is perhaps not quite accurate; it should be called a body, or more precisely, a corpse.

Yan Zimo covered the head of the statue, speechless with emotion.

How could she not recognize what the statue was?

That familiar oppressive force was clearly the mountain qilin. No wonder there were no signs of any other creatures around. It was all because of its presence that its body transformed into a reef. Even though it was dead, it still suppressed the area, and all the beasts scattered.

Before long, Ye Qianxue and Mu Mu arrived with a large group of people.

"I heard they found him, but where is he?" Huang Tao asked hurriedly, his expression showing no improvement.

He was prepared for the worst.

Ina pointed to the ground, and Huang Tao frowned. With a wave of his hand, several waterspouts rose into the air, sweeping up the surrounding seawater and gradually revealing the true face of the rocky reef.

"Senior Yan Shan!"

Mo Sheng covered her mouth, her eyes brimming with tears.

The mountain unicorn had already left an indelible impression on them, and she recognized it at a glance. This was the mountain unicorn.

But this is also a dead mountain unicorn.

"(TM)!" Huang Tao cursed in frustration, and the waterspout grew even larger.

Only Xiaoze transformed into the form of a Qilin, circling the statue of the mountain Qilin. The Qilin blood within her body flowed at a speed ten times faster than usual, roaring like a surging river. The sound of her heart beating was powerful and resonant, causing the hearts of everyone present to falter.

As you can see, the scales on the surface of the Qilin's body are emitting different lusters, like a bright lamp, as if trying to resonate with the mountain Qilin.

Yan Ziming was doing something similar. The sky was dark, and incredibly pure lightning element filled the surroundings as he tried to enter the interior of the mountain qilin statue.

They were all confirming things in their own ways.

After waiting for more than half an hour, making everyone else impatient, Xiaoze finally said uncertainly, "Shell?"

Yan Ziming said with certainty, "He's dead!"

So everyone looked at each other, unsure of whom to believe.

From an emotional standpoint, they are naturally more willing to believe Xiaoze, since what she said might still offer some hope.

"This is indeed a mountain unicorn, but I can't sense its aura."

"That's why I said it's dead; it's just a 'shell'."

Yan Ziming and Xiao Ze exchanged a glance, their answers converging.

"My uncle only came here once and buried the mountain unicorn here!"

94. Swarming out of the nest

Yan Ziming and Xiao Ze's words were inexplicable, but everyone present understood them—they were not dead.

"So that means... Senior Yan Shan is alright?"

"Still alive, somewhere, though I don't know why the mountain unicorn died here..."

This was the first time Yan Zimo had ever seen such a situation. The mountain qilin had died here, so why was the person himself still alive?

Ye Qianxue finally found a chance to speak and asked, "Big sister, have you seen this situation before?"

"Uh?"

Now that you mention it, Yan Ziming remembered.

It's quite nostalgic. Several years ago on a deserted island, she clearly saw the corpse of a sea serpent. It even took the crystal core. Logically, it should have been dead beyond any doubt, but it still reigns supreme in the form of a mirage dragon and still roams freely in the world.

How similar is the situation now to that time?

"They can't be said to be exactly the same, but they are at least very similar," Yan Ziming commented.

"You mean, Senior Yan Shan might be somewhere else right now?"

That's most likely the case.

Mo Sheng became extremely agitated, "Can you find it?"

In an instant, everyone turned their attention to Ina. Being stared at by so many intense ninth-level gazes, even Ina, with her composure, couldn't help but feel immense pressure.

"I'll try my best," she could only say dryly.

At the crucial moment, Yan Ziming clapped his hands, drawing their attention. "Ahem! Don't scare people. Let's talk about the problem at hand first. How should we deal with this mountain qilin?"

"..."

This is a crucial issue. Personally, the mountain unicorn holds immense significance for China. Given that Yan Shan has publicly announced his death, bringing his 'remains' back is an incredibly inspiring event.

Moreover, the Mountain Kirin holds immense allure for the entire world. It is a super being of the Sequence level and has an inseparable connection with Yanshan. Who could say they wouldn't be interested? If word got out, the people coming here would probably flatten the entire coastline.

Mo Sheng asked uncertainly, "Move back?"

Mu Mu shook her head, feeling that this was not a wise move. "Moving back seems a bit inappropriate, doesn't it? It might backfire."

"Besides, I don't think anyone can move it... It's dozens of times heavier than a stone statue of the same size. Didn't you see that the surrounding sea doesn't even make a ripple?"

Huang Tao made a decision: "Let's leave it here. Maybe Laoshan will come back here in the future."

"What if outsiders come during that time?" Mo Sheng asked, his gaze intentionally or unintentionally falling on Ina.

Although Ina is currently an outsider, here to help China, she is still an outsider, and a princess of Odyssey. She has no reason not to send this message back.

Once the news gets back, Odyssey's top management will definitely take action. Although they have just suffered heavy losses and dare not overstep their bounds, who can guarantee that?

Now that things have come to this, China will not allow any outsiders to touch the remains of the mountain unicorn. Anyone who dares to disturb it will be met with war.

"Well... it's best to leave the decision to you, Zimo."

Huang Tao looked at Yan Ziming; as that person's niece, she had the most say in the matter.

Yan Ziming pondered for a long time before finally saying, "Let it stay here. Send some people to guard it, Xiao Ze."

Mo Sheng and the others are usually very busy people, so they naturally don't have much energy to do this. This responsibility fell on their 'goddess group'.

"sure."

Xiaoze readily agreed, and Ye Qianxue eagerly raised her hand, "Me too!"

"Then let's take turns, with each cycle lasting seven days."

Yan Ziming's final verdict was accepted, and Mu Mu and Mo Xin had no objections.

"Then, Xiaoze, I'll leave this to you. I'll come see you later."

"Ah."

"Qianxue, you and Mumu should take everyone back. Yina and I will continue searching for Uncle's location."

"Okay~ Xiaoze, I'll come over and keep you company in a bit."

"Call me anytime if you need anything."

Before long, all the important figures from China returned, but Mo Sheng chose to stay for a while longer.

Yan Ziming and Ina continued their journey to find Yan Shan's true identity.

"My lord knight, you protected me just now," Ina said sweetly, touching her chest.

"...That counts too?" Yan Ziming raised an eyebrow.

"Of course it counts! Even Ina would tremble with fear being stared at by so many menacing people!"

Ina's body twisted like a maggot. Yan Ziming didn't want to complain anymore and said, "Stop talking nonsense and continue your work!"

"That's so unfair! The knight's attitude has been so much worse ever since he brought me here!"

"Hmph~ If you don't behave, I'll lock you in a dark room and make you watch horror movies by yourself, without giving you any food."

Seeing how excited this guy was getting, Yan Ziming couldn't continue what she was saying. She pinched him lightly and then dragged him off to find someone.

Unfortunately, they searched the rest of China but found nothing; they never found any trace of Yan Shan.

"That's strange, why is that?"

After sending Ina back to the special agency, Yan Ziming returned to the place where he had found the mountain qilin, lay on its head, and was completely baffled.

"Xiaoze, do you understand anything?"

"not understand."

"..."

The atmosphere was silent for a while.

Ye Qianxue rolled over and took Yan Ziming's hand, asking, "Big sister, will we continue looking for Uncle tomorrow?"

"No, we won't force it if we can't find it. We should be content with finding it here. Our next target is the Tyrant, and then the Queen Worm. We'll leave you to guard this place tomorrow."

"Yes! Promise to complete the mission!"

"Xiaoze, keep an eye on her, don't let her do anything reckless."