Deep Sea Hunter, but Deep Sea Titan

As faint screams echoed from afar, Laurentina grew excited, becoming so engrossed in the experience that she nearly tore the Poro doll in her hand apart. She eventually stopped after some hesitation.

The remaining three Iberians remained frozen in place, not daring to make the slightest move. Although Lotin had given a thorough explanation of the safety issues before they set off, experiencing it firsthand was a different story.

From then on, the excellent safety of this route was confirmed by Lateran officials, making it one of the safest routes for Lateran trade and transportation.

Along with the new route came the story of the Brass Ghost clearing the waterway; convoys passing through this route would drop a coin for good luck.

Chapter Nineteen: Vehicle Killer

The long journey, coupled with the triggers along the way by the payroll, has already earned Lotin a huge sum of 644 gold coins, of which about 144 gold coins are paid out over time by the payroll.

With the addition of the 300 gold coins obtained from killing the bell ringer, Loting's total balance reached 944 gold coins. As planned, he purchased another crafting material for the "Staff of Time" - the "Exploding Wand". Its effect is extremely simple and straightforward, directly increasing spell power by 45 points.

The Colossus Round Shield and the Bursting Wand gave Lothing a total of 55 spell power, but Lothing currently has no clear idea of ​​what kind of real-world impact this significant increase in spell power will have.

After all, the 10 spell power boost from the Colossus Shield was too small for Lothing to notice any difference.

A base Tier 3 Titan typically has around 604 health points, but with the health bonus from the "Eternal Catalyst Stone," his health points reach around 1033.

This means that "Overgrowth" has already provided him with at least 45 extra health points, because if he kills more than 120 units that the system classifies as "minions/monsters", he can also gain an additional 3.5% of his maximum health as extra health through the effect of "Overgrowth".

This wasn't the first time Lotin had questioned the system about issues during the hosting period, and this time the question concerned gold coins and experience points.

Unfortunately, Luo Ting only received the same answer as before, with no progress whatsoever. He could only guess that the system did not provide experience gains during the boosting period, but only provided him with the 400 gold coins needed to leave.

"Experience is harder to gain than gold coins."

The gold coin problem can be alleviated by charging the salary equipment, but gaining experience is much more difficult.

In the game League of Legends, a level 3 Nautilus can hardly build a Rod of Ages, but Lothar almost did, not because he made money too fast, but because he gained experience too slowly.

Killing entities identified as enemies by the system grants experience, and the amount of experience gained is directly related to the strength of the opponent. Theoretically, participating in battles can also provide experience, but the experience gained in this way is so scarce that Loting has never discovered it.

Luo Ting couldn't get around this question—"Who will make up for my lack of experience?"

Since the enemy's strength doesn't dynamically increase with level, Lotin has no reason to hold back his level.

The journey was smooth, and besides, Lotin wasn't some notorious vehicle killer, and the hired messenger of natural disasters didn't detect any signs of an impending catastrophe.

The unusually peaceful journey has begun to make Lotin sigh, "What a quiet journey. The enemies have probably all gone to Taegi."

"Zizzizi..."

Lotin's radio was suddenly filled with static, and the Eureka Radio program that was playing was interrupted. He admitted that the program was very boring and the host, who called himself "U-chan," couldn't find any topics to talk about, but it was more interesting to listen to something than to stare blankly at the desert in front of him.

Then, Laurentina suddenly clutched her head in pain. She hadn't shown such exaggerated hysterical symptoms in a long time since eating sandwich cookies in Iberia.

"...Listen, the Lord of all things, in the darkness, murmurs to himself..."

She grinned maliciously, tearing at her clothes. She blinked, and she heard something whispering in her mind's eye. Her fingernails had already left bright red marks on her fair skin.

While stuffing a sandwich cookie into her mouth, Lotin loudly questioned the nature of the disaster response.

These are probably the last few sandwiches left. This kind of snack from Summoner's Rift will soon complete its mission and give way to more aggressive and proactive runes.

"It's a natural disaster! Turn around immediately!"

The messenger of the natural disaster's instruments emitted a sharp, piercing sound. She did her utmost to warn the convoy of the danger ahead. The brewing of this natural disaster was beyond the scope of all her knowledge and experience to explain, so abnormal that it seemed to be caused by human intervention.

Even after eating the sandwich cookie, Laurentina's face remained deathly pale. She clutched the Poro doll, curling up in agony. The Originium energy pulse generated before the catastrophe had activated the Originium crystals in her spinal cord, and it was fortunate that the cookie's effects could temporarily suppress their continued activation.

The truck fuel was also activated, and the three trucks were speeding at incredible speeds, with the air recirculation system operating at full capacity, and the vehicles were operating far beyond the limits of the transmission system.

The earth cracked open, revealing a hideous wound, from which pillars of highly concentrated Originium crystals rose. The convoy no longer cared whether they were still heading towards Letania; their only option was to race against this extremely bizarre natural disaster.

Could it be that the Sarkaz are testing that superweapon inside the city of Lontinim?

This is the most conspiracy-themed reason that Lotin could conceive.

As the vehicle's transmission system burned itself out, a hellish scene spread behind the convoy, where everything alive was gradually turning into pitch-black crystals. This was a different kind of desolation and barrenness than the one where every drop of biomass had been squeezed dry by Hai Si.

Skadi stared silently at the scene before her, a form of natural disaster never before seen in the ocean. For the first time, Skadi had a direct understanding of the power of Originium.

"Hunter, don't just stand there!"

Lotin hurled the giant anchor, shattering the falling rock fragments mixed with Originium crystals. Skadi, prompted by him, immediately adjusted her stance, using her greatsword to smash the falling debris flying towards the convoy.

The increased spell power was evident at this moment; the immense destructive tidal energy burned the Originium fragments ahead of time, preventing secondary pollution.

Fortunately, in the race against death, Lotin's convoy had a slight advantage. All three trucks were burning out of their service life, but even so, Old He Sai and the other two drivers hoped that the trucks could go a little faster.

As the last flying rock was shattered by Lottin's "Clear the Channel" skill, Lottin felt the weakness of having run out of mana for the first time. The "Eternal Catalyst Stone" is an item that exchanges health for mana and mana for health. Since Lottin did not suffer any damage, he could not use it to restore mana.

He chewed on another sandwich cookie, watching warily as the convoy moved away from the area affected by the natural disaster.

With the groans of the trucks straining under their strain and thick, scorching smoke emanating from their hoods, the vehicles finally came to a helpless halt and broke down on the spot.

"Damn it, my car!"

One of the drivers was panting heavily, uttering extremely dissatisfied complaints.

"Come on, you should be grateful you escaped a natural disaster."

Old He Sai, on the other hand, was immersed in the sense of security that came with surviving the ordeal.

As for the natural disaster messenger, her equipment was burned out by the excessively powerful pulse. The knowledge and experience in predicting natural disasters that she had gained through her university studies and work experience had been ruthlessly crushed. She probably no longer has the courage to continue in this industry.

The last driver searched for usable spare parts, and the only good news for him was that there were enough parts left to repair one of the trucks.

"One last question, where is this place?"

Skadi, carrying her greatsword, gazed at a mobile city not far away; her original route plan had been completely disrupted.

"This is probably a place called Little Hill County within Victoria."

Old He Sai held a map covered in markings and gestured with his hands to indicate the direction the convoy had come from.

"What should we do now?"

"The car broke down. Once it's fixed, you can return to Iberia."

With one hand supporting the unconscious Laurentina, Lotin handed Old Jose a handful of Iberian coins with the other.

The name "Little Hill County" stung Loting's nerves. In the Arknights storyline, this was not a peaceful place, and the game's description of this place in 1096 was almost blank.

With things having come to this point, even if it meant wasting some time, they had no choice but to bite the bullet and head towards Kazimierz via Victoria.

Lotin would always ask for either time or experience points. Since the trip to Kazimierz was delayed, he might as well take the opportunity to gain more experience points.

However, the immediate priority is to find a safe place to resupply so that Laurentina can rest and recuperate to stabilize her condition.

Chapter 6: The Opportunity to Secure a Six-Kill

Laurentina's consciousness was plunged into deep darkness for the first time in a long time.

She saw a magnificent golden ship floating on the azure sea. This ship felt strangely familiar to her, as if she were seeing the dome of her homeland.

The writhing flesh was pulling Laurentina into the abyss, and the giant ship gleaming with golden light began to shrink in her vision. Then, a burly bronze giant appeared beside her, tearing apart the abominable flesh, and she was finally free.

The diver waved to her, and beside her, he was quickly pulled back to the surface by a cable. On the deck of the magnificent ship, sailors were opening the diving suit for the diver, and the gloomy-faced young sailor Agor was wiping the sweat from his forehead.

This is her earliest memory of Lotin, like the mermaid rescued by the brave sailor in the fairy tale of Agor, gentle and unreal, as if she were being soaked in a high-concentration Originium solution and forced to contract Oripathy so that cultists could collect experimental data—it was all just a nightmare.

However, it was indeed Luo Ting who pulled her out of the flesh and blood of "Abyss Dream" along with the cultivation tank; that was the first time he used the "Dredging Channel" skill.

As she prepared to surface to offer her blessings to the sailor from Agor, she felt a stirring within her bloodline—a blood relative, a blood relative both familiar and strange. Familiar enough that Laurentina knew his personality and hobbies, yet strange enough that she couldn't even recall his name.

She saw that the Agor sailor was completely absorbed in her blood relative and never looked at her again.

Thus, Laurentina, in her female personality, awoke from the incubation tank containing a high concentration of Originium solution.

Her blood relatives, and the brass diver who had rescued her from the abhorrent flesh, were indeed talking, but she was not in the sea; instead, she awoke in a ruin filled with rubble.

The memories of Lotin flooding her mind made it difficult for Laurentina to distinguish between the scene before her and what she had seen before. In any case, she became extremely interested in the salvage worker who had freed her from her loathing flesh and blood, and she wanted to offer this Agor sailor the blessing she had just failed to give him.

Laurentina wanted to prove to Lotin that she knew him better and understood him better than this stranger. So she awkwardly and anxiously tried to reveal his real name, fearing that, as she had seen before she awoke, her blessing would sink to the bottom of the sea forever and become a regret.

Unfortunately, this Agor diver had closed himself off, locking himself in his diving suit and almost never taking it off again. He used this to fight against the world's malice towards him, and he only wanted to show himself with one face: [Deep Sea Titan - Nautilus].

She was happy to keep this secret for him, to continue weaving the legend of "Nautilus" for him, to name his elusive enemies, and to sing songs cursing the things he hated.

Laurentina finally saw two beams of light in the darkness, the lighthouse-like gaze of the brass giant. Her skin felt a cold touch, but she was already used to it because of her privilege of sitting on Lotin's shoulders.

"You have awakened me, once again."

"You have come to the place you least wanted to be on your journey to Kazimierz."

Laurentina opened her eyes wearily; the effects of the sandwich filling had fully kicked in.

"Crazy nun, what nonsense."

Lotin put Laurentina back on his shoulder and walked through the somewhat desolate streets of Hillshire. The city's appearance could only be described as tragic, with everything shrouded in gray, like a faded old oil painting.

"At first, I really didn't want to."

"But since we've come all this way, we can't just leave empty-handed."

The system had already prompted him to make good use of his knowledge of the plot; this was a prompt given to him after he arrived in Little Hill County.

This system is definitely squeezing toothpaste.

Lotting recalled that Hillshire was a place in Victoria where ethnic issues were very acute, and the Tara separatist armed group "Deep Pool" had long been infiltrated in this place where the history of the Tara people originated.

The garrison and the deep pool here are undoubtedly traitors in the story. One bombards the citizens who should be protected, and the other uses the Tara people who should be saved as cannon fodder. Greedy traitors will always arouse the hatred of the deep sea titans.

In the original storyline, six high-ranking officers of Deeppool were killed by Rhodes Island's elite operator "Outcast" at the cost of their lives, using six special revolver rounds and Originium Arts.

If Lotin can find an opportunity to kill these six war criminals before the Rhodes Island people do, the best-case scenario would be a 6-kill streak, and the worst-case scenario would probably be the reward of killing 6 epic monsters.

Compared to this place, Iberia is much more difficult, with a larger map, stranger enemies, fewer rewards, and is filled with unpleasant memories. The key item is still far away in Kazimierz, so he is very eager to get out of Iberia.

The places you happen to arrive at after leaving Iberia are much more friendly in terms of both difficulty and rewards, so Lotin doesn't need to focus on speed.

"There are six treasure chests waiting for my anchor here."

Luo Ting chuckled a few times; he had finally found a way to obtain a large amount of gold coins and experience points.

"Hehe, I wish you a bountiful harvest in your treasure hunt."

Laurentina offered her prayers for Lotin as always.

"So, this is our temporary base in Little Hill County?"

Skadi held a large bag of coins in her hand, which were the result of exchanging Iberian gold coins at the international exchange rate.

"of course."

Finding a suitable place for Lotin to rest was not difficult, as the industrial area of ​​Hill Town had long been in decline, and the foundry, mainly run by the so-called "Tara people," was on the verge of bankruptcy, unable to even pay its employees' wages.

Lotin learned about this place because he saw a "For Sale" sign for the factory on the street.

Skadi handed the phone from the public phone booth as close to Lottin as possible, and with his accented but Victorian-speaking language that sounded like it was spoken 50 years ago to the Victorians, he was able to contact the factory manager, who readily agreed to Lottin's offer.

At least Luo Ting knew this language before he transmigrated.

The tall and spacious factory warehouse, along with its warehouse door that could accommodate the unloading of numerous trucks, was large enough for Lotin to move freely in and out without removing his diving suit.

[After removing the diving suit, only some equipment and runes remain active.]

The base stats and skills corresponding to the Deep Sea Titan's level will no longer be effective.

This is the information the system adds when it asks Ting whether he wants to take off his diving suit.

Therefore, Lotin was quite cautious about exposing his vulnerable true self.

It wasn't just based on rational judgment, but also because he always felt insecure emotionally.

Standing in front of the warehouse was the factory manager, a middle-aged man in a suit that had been starched to a stiff consistency, with an embarrassed smile on his face. When he saw the approaching brass giant, and the man speaking in an old-fashioned Victorian accent from over 50 years ago, he thought he was seeing a legendary steam knight.

Skadi handed the heavy bag of Victoria gold coins to the manager, while Laurentina signed the agreement with Lotin's spelling. The down-on-his-luck Tara manager dared not and was unwilling to verify the identities of these people, and so the whole process was completed smoothly.

"Although it's not a place for people to live in, it still has running water and electricity."

"Your blood relative needs to recuperate, while I have once again discovered a treasure that needs to be salvaged."

Chapter Twenty-One: It's possible the partnership will fall apart, but it's unlikely.

“Victoria is a country built on colonization and conquest. Historically, the tribes under the rule of the Drak people split into the old Victoria Kingdom and the Tara tribe, which continues to live a semi-nomadic life in the Tara region.”

"After some time, the Victorian royal family declared that the rulers of the Tara region shared the same bloodline as them and should rightfully establish the Kingdom of Tara there. At the same time, the Draks, who established the monarchy and the new order, also announced something else: the two kingdoms combined would become the Victorian Empire, and the titles of King Victoria and King Tara should belong to Emperor Victoria, with the royal family being elevated to the status of a royal family."

"Diplomatic friction between the Kingdom of Victoria and the Tara tribe led to a civil war, and the Victorian Empire bestowed upon the members of the Drak family, who had once ruled the Tara region, a title: King of Gael."