Deep Sea Hunter, but Deep Sea Titan

The Si Sui Tai is an organization that adapts to local conditions and seeks truth from facts; they will send out the same Zuo Le (a type of musician) according to different situations.

Loting lamented the young man's heavy workload, forcing him to travel alone day and night.

"Did the Si Sui Tai send only you?"

When Luo Ting saw Wei Yanwu acting like the sky was about to fall that night, he thought the Si Sui Tai was going to make a big show of it. In the end, they only sent one candle bearer, and including the crew of the small transport ship that accompanied them, there were only about six or seven people.

"The candle-bearer from the Imperial Household Department, Zuo Yue, has come to greet you on your journey."

"Since Your Excellency has no hostility, Si Suitai believes that sending me alone to guide you is more than sufficient."

Zuo Le clasped his hands in a salute to the unusually tall brass giant. He noticed that there was no problem even if a person sat on the giant's shoulders.

Si Suitai did not want to arouse too much suspicion from Luo Ting, so he chose to send only the simplest possible personnel, striving for fewer but more capable individuals.

However, the other party seemed to completely disregard him, which made Zuo Le reveal a slight displeasure.

"It's alright, when shall we depart?"

Loting ignored the young man's petty temper; he was tired of staying in Lungmen doing nothing.

"We can depart now. However, I would like to confirm the identities of these three individuals. Would they like to accompany you?"

The briefing Zuo Le received from Si Suitai only mentioned Nautilus's current form and appearance in the most basic way, without going into detail about the identities of his followers.

The two oddly dressed Agorians looked like bounty hunters or something similar, while the Sarkaz perfectly matched Zole's stereotype of Sarkaz mercenaries.

“Of course they are needed. These are my hunters and nuns. Young Master Zuo, you don’t need to worry. They are my mouthpieces and my spokespeople.”

As Lotin briefly explained Skadi and Laurentina's identities to him, Zuo Le was surprised to find that the two's strength was somewhat beyond his comprehension.

"Hey, hey, hey, what about me?"

Although she couldn't understand the content of the conversation, she guessed that Loting was introducing his entourage.

W, seemingly forgotten, pointed to himself, hoping that Lotin would boast a little about himself for his own sake.

"you......"

Lotin pondered for a moment the relationship between him and W.

This crazy girl originally wanted to blow him up at the secret airship docking site. He could have turned W into W-chan on the spot, but he spared the little girl's life for fun and then kept her by his side for some kind of "education".

This relationship is simply—

"I suppose he's still a pampered apprentice who's under some kind of discipline?"

Loting still felt that using words like "pet," "toy," or "plaything" was too explicit, so he used the word "apprentice," which was acceptable in a way.

"Apprentice?"

Hey, he definitely meant to say he was a "pet" just now, right? He definitely was!

Being forced to become a "pet" for life is like a tonic!

W suddenly felt both embarrassed and angry. She had thought that Luo Ting would set out as the Demon King and make up some impressive identities for her.

"I'm definitely going to blow you up, I'm definitely going to blow you up, I'm definitely going to blow you up..."

W cursed the brass giant in her heart repeatedly for making her feel hopeless, for subjecting her to such a humiliating disgrace again!

But the pain in her hips told her that this was just another instance of impotent rage.

"Apprentice... Alright, I understand."

Although Zuo Le also felt a little uneasy thinking about it, he didn't dare to think too much about it. His job was to confirm the stance of these people. Since they were all followers of Nautilus, Zuo Le didn't need to investigate further.

However, the unconscious contempt emanating from Luo Ting made Zuo Le quite uncomfortable.

This contempt is not based on subjective malice, but rather on a natural disregard arising from one's own power, much like those indifferent behemoths.

"There is one thing I need to clarify beforehand: that extraordinary painter is reclusive by nature, and even we cannot guarantee that she will be willing to communicate with you."

For Si Suitai, having such an agent actually reduced their workload. Zuo Le still has a deep impression of that incredibly lazy agent, who seemed to want to do nothing but paint.

Meanwhile, in an unknown mountain corner of Yan Kingdom, in a world within a painting.

"The fluctuations are becoming more frequent."

"The boundaries are becoming blurred."

A woman with long, dark black hair and emerald-green eyes, adorned with dragon horns, irritably shook her dragon tail.

She rarely felt this irritable.

The old woman's understanding of painting and the "Shan Hai Hui Juan" (a collection of landscape paintings) ultimately transformed into the power she wielded.

The outside world was too boring, so she spent many years in the world of her own paintings, a world that belonged only to her. Here, she could conceive her paintings without being disturbed and immerse herself in her own pursuit of interests.

“In the past, when guests occasionally stumbled in, they would simply experience it for a while and then leave when they woke up from their dream.”

"Now, the impact has extended to the painting itself."

Discordant lines and unusual colors appear more and more frequently in her paintings.

The creature she created in the painting, named "A Yao," also included individuals that were not created by her.

The lines of these aberrant individuals became extremely aggressive, and their colors turned into a mottled mix of gold and orange. The single horn growing from their heads reminded her of some ominous ancient being.

"Ya?"

The woman's crimson sword erased the existence of these abnormal individuals, but they still reappeared from who-knows-where.

Until she saw the incorrect lines at the edge of the mountains, and the bizarre mix of various terrains, vegetation and objects in a counterintuitive way, and beyond this area that resembled a loading error, there was another world in the painting with completely different colors.

The woman gazed into the distance from the mountaintop and discovered a colossal unicorn encircling the summit, sleeping and resting on the other side of the chaotic area.

"It's like two paintings were crudely pieced together."

"Harmony, rhythm, and artistic conception have all vanished."

"We must sever all contact with them as soon as possible..."

With an inkstone as her sheath, she could study history; with a brush as her sword, she could paint ghosts and gods. Her crimson longsword, under her wielding, could freely create the world within a painting, but just as she was about to erase this chaotic area at the boundary, her sword was deflected.

"Power is above me!?"

She was unable to shake the chaotic mess that was eroding her painting. At that moment, only one thing came to mind.

"【The Scroll of Mountains and Seas】is devouring my artwork?!"

Having devoted herself to painting for many years, she was free from desires and worldly strife, but she could no longer remain secluded in her own world of paintings.

Someone has obtained the "Scroll of Mountains and Seas," and this divine artifact is corrupting her paintings.

"It's terrible, so terrible."

"How about we send a letter to our elder brother?"

Chapter 181: The Homebody Goes Out

Lotin had seen enough deserts, salt flats, and desolate ruins in Terra, but as the small transport ship ventured deeper into Yan Kingdom, the terrain and climate finally brought about a rare change.

Although the development of the Originium industry will further damage Terra's fragile ecosystem, it is indeed a necessity for survival.

Despite the immense pressure of survival, Yan Kingdom has managed to maintain relatively good soil and water conditions in many places, a fact that greatly interests Luo Ting.

The increased humidity brought by the monsoon climate made Lotin and the two deep-sea hunters feel more comfortable, but it made W feel a bit damp.

"Sir, the transport ship can't go any further here."

The transport ship's captain stopped the vehicle next to a mobile dock.

This transport ship wasn't any special equipment; it was just an ordinary cargo vessel requisitioned from the post station, so it couldn't cross this alluvial fan delta with its dense network of waterways.

"Thank you for your hard work."

"Your Excellency, we will need to travel by boat for a few more days."

Zuo Le looked at the distant dock, the most densely populated area in Yan Kingdom, where several prosperous mobile cities formed a continuous urban network.

Even so, those rugged mountains remain sparsely populated areas.

The local authorities had already contacted the cargo ship originally used for transporting express packages, since it seemed inconvenient for this six- or seven-meter-tall giant to ride on a regular passenger ship.

"Your Excellency has not eaten or drunk anything during these past few days. Is it because the food on the ship is not to your liking?"

Zuo Le's greeting was not merely a display of hospitality; rather, it was because he had discovered that the giant in the brass shell had indeed not eaten or drunk anything for several days.

On the contrary, the tall Agor hunter had an astonishing appetite.

Collecting and updating information about Nautilus's anomalous existence is also Zuo Le's task as the candle-bearer of the Lunar Calendar.

"There's no need for such warm greetings, Young Master Zuo."

"You, who have been chasing after the afterimages of giant beasts for years, should know very well that there are probably quite a few otherworldly beings among them."

However, there are also some who particularly enjoy cooking and farming.

"Just record it the way you want, Si Suitai, you're a bunch of guys who love to pry into people's privacy."

Luo Ting discerned something amiss from these overly detailed questions; the Imperial Censor seemed to be using this opportunity to update his files.

Although eating was no longer a necessity for him, it wasn't like Lotin couldn't eat without removing his helmet. With [Purification] available, poisoning him would be pointless, and besides, they had no reason to do so.

He didn't eat because it wasn't to his liking, but it would be impolite to say it directly.

"Well."

Zuo Le felt slightly displeased that his thoughts had been so easily seen through.

Zuo Le had to admit that although the first impression of this brass giant was that it was bulky and bloated, one would only realize after actually dealing with it that this was merely a visual appearance.

A cargo ship parted the waves and slowly sailed toward the mountain pass.

Loting gazed at his reflection in the river. In an instant, his rounded brass diving suit transformed into a bronze crown, and then, with the undulation of the waves, it returned to Loting's current appearance.

Does this mean we're getting closer to the "Scroll of Mountains and Seas"?

Luo Ting thought to himself, silently asking the system, but the system still didn't give a direct response.

"This extraordinary painter usually stays in the world of her paintings, and Si Suitai only confirmed her approximate location based on the last time he contacted her."

"After disembarking, we'll need to search for a while. Is that what you mean, Young Master Zuo?"

How could Luo Ting not know what kind of temper this so-called "eccentric painter" had? She was one of the most shut-ins in Arknights.

"I really don't understand why you came all the way here."

W looked around in bewilderment, but apart from the tall trees, she couldn't find anything else.

This crazy girl is now hoping that Luo Ting will make a fool of himself and suffer a setback so that she can vent her anger.

"You didn't fall for their tricks, did you?"

But her fear caused her to mutter those words as a whisper.

On many occasions, Lotin truly showed her no sympathy whatsoever and would mercilessly try to punish her with pain.

If Luo Tingzhen were to show mercy to someone like her who was determined to blow up the other party, W would think that the other party had something wrong with his head.

At that time, I was even prepared to be crushed to death.

However, W must also admit that as long as she is willing to show respect and obedience, she will temporarily regain a considerable degree of freedom, and may even receive better treatment and respect than when she was a mercenary.

As the current Demon Lord of the Sarkaz, he destroyed Victoria's fleet, allowing Kazdel to rebuild and develop in a stable environment.

For W personally, this meant she could live a life free from the dangers of life and death, and she could also chat with Miss Theresa and receive literacy lessons personally taught by Theresa.

He wouldn't stop them if they wanted to indulge in the cruel desires that had been building up inside them.

W had to admit that it was all an open conspiracy.

He spared his life because he initially intended to tame dangerous dogs and ferocious beasts.

But it was precisely because it was an open conspiracy that W felt despair, and she could only watch helplessly as it all happened to her.

"impetuous."

"I thought you would behave yourself a little better, but it seems that it was too early to let you get away with this in Lungmen."

Lotin's attention wasn't on W right now; he was using the Mountain Barrier's detection ability to gather subtle differences in the hues of the surrounding landscape.

Meanwhile, the deep-sea hunters' keen senses are searching for unusual hues.

Finally, Lotin found a stone embedded in the tree trunk, which, as if due to a game model loading error, was strangely joined together.