Chapter 35: Aquarium Prison (8)

“Excuse me, are you here for a meal?” the waiter asked respectfully.  

Su Luo hesitated for a moment but replied, “No, we want to ask about the survival rules here, and… how exactly can one leave this place.”  

Su Luo wasn’t really expecting to get any concrete information from the waiter by asking these questions.  

After all, in most dungeons, the rules and clearing conditions have to be discovered by the players themselves; nobody just tells you outright.

What she really wanted to gauge was the attitude of the people here.  

If the waiter said they didn’t know, then this place was likely one where the only rule was “just kill.”

That wouldn’t be too frightening for Su Luo and Yun Feibai.  

But if the waiter spun some elaborate story, then this place would be full of blood and lies.

In that case, they would need to be very careful and expend a lot of mental effort.  

However, Su Luo was clearly mistaken, because here, everyone knew how to pass the levels, so the waiter had no intention of hiding anything from her.  

The waiter said, “We have a Trial Tower here. The top ten ranked in the Trial Tower get to fight the Final Battle. But regardless of whether you successfully leave the Aquarium or not, your record will remain here.”  

“Whoah!” Su Luo gasped inwardly.

That meant the leaderboard wasn’t just for people in this city, but also included those who had left or died.

The difficulty was obviously much higher than she had initially thought.  

The waiter seemed used to this kind of reaction and sighed listlessly before continuing, “After failing the Final Battle, you have to wait a whole month before you can challenge it again. If you don’t succeed, you’ll be stuck here forever.”  

When saying this, the waiter’s expression was somewhat strange.  

Though they didn’t ask further, it was already late, so Su Luo and Yun Feibai turned to find an inn to stay for the night.  

In just a short time, the news that Yun Feibai had awakened a Mosasaurus spread throughout the entire city.  

So when they found a local inn, the owner was particularly courteous and gave them a discount.  

Lying on the bed, Su Luo felt uneasy.

She wasn’t very afraid of tomorrow’s Trial, but the Final Battle made her nervous.

A meat grinder…  

The next morning was already the third day in this dungeon.

Su Luo and Yun Feibai first discussed the situation from the previous day.  

Su Luo said, “There’s a one-month interval between each Final Battle challenge, but we only have seven days. In other words, we only have one shot at the challenge.”  

Yun Feibai nodded, “And strangely, having a challenge once a month feels quite frequent. I seriously suspect there’s something off about that time frame.”  

Su Luo nodded thoughtfully.  

Suddenly, Yun Feibai said, “By the way!”  

Su Luo looked at him and asked, “What is it?”  

Yun Feibai pulled out a Shark Plushie.

“The moment I stepped into this city yesterday, I felt this plushie heating up. Last night, when I took it to my room, it emitted a white glow the instant I took it out, like an awakened pet wanting to come out.”  

He paused, then continued, “I immediately put it away, and the glow disappeared. So I think this plushie is also an awakened pet.”  

Su Luo nodded and added, “Sharks have always been the rulers of the sea. This plushie’s power probably won’t be weak.”  

Su Luo suddenly asked, “Was it a bit noisy on your side yesterday?”  

Yun Feibai groaned, “I was climbed into bed by three women yesterday, didn’t sleep well at all.”  

Su Luo smirked with a bit of schadenfreude.

She used to envy Yun Feibai’s domineering pet, but now, she just wanted to give her adorable Box Jellyfish a big kiss.  

She teased, “Were any of them really well-built?”  

Yun Feibai gave her a helpless look, “Don’t joke around. I threw them all out. If I’d known it’d be like this, I wouldn’t have awakened at all!”  

After discussing yesterday’s discoveries, the two of them sought out the waiter again to gather more information.

The waiter had given an overview of the rules yesterday but hadn’t gone into specifics.

They planned to ask first, then head to the Trial Tower.  

“You’re here again?” The waiter showed no surprise but calmly asked.  

Su Luo nodded and said, “We want to inquire about the rules of the Trial Tower.”  

The waiter smiled, “Once you enter the Trial Tower, there’s a big red button labeled ‘Start Trial.’ You just need to press it to begin.”  

“What do you face in the Trial Tower?” Su Luo asked.  

“The trial is a group of various fish attacking you. Important: if humans don’t attack the fish, the fish are intangible to you and only fight your pets. But once you attack the fish, they become solid and start attacking you.”  

Su Luo thought for a moment, then asked, “Do you know what the Final Battle is about?”  

The waiter hesitated for a second and smiled, “No idea. No one even remembers when the last Final Battle was. Sorry.”  

Su Luo glanced at her and said, “It’s okay. I probably won’t even make it onto the leaderboard anyway.”  

The two thanked the waiter and left the restaurant to find the Trial Tower.  

Without anyone’s guidance, Su Luo and Yun Feibai quickly found it.  

The Trial Tower stood in the center of Sea City, soaring into the clouds, entirely black.

Even from outside the city, it was easily visible.  

The crowds near the tower were sparse.

No newcomers had come in a long time.

The old residents had tried countless times, going from hope to disappointment to despair.

Now, no one dared try anymore.  

Outside the tower was a giant Leaderboard displaying the top ten ranks.

The first-place player had reached floor 32, and even the lowest on the list had reached floor 28.  

They were all the best challengers the Aquarium Prison had ever seen, but no one knew if any of them had left the city.  

Below the Leaderboard was a list of rules.

Su Luo carefully read through it and found it was exactly the same as what the waiter had told them.

Well, at least the waiter hadn’t… or couldn’t lie to her, Su Luo mused wryly.  

In that case… perhaps there was nothing to worry about.  

They entered the tower, and sure enough, there was a bright red button.  

The two pressed [Start Trial] to begin, but two staircases appeared inside.  

It was obvious the trial was for solo participants.

They exchanged glances.

Yun Feibai said, “Be careful.”

As he spoke, he handed her the Shark Plushie.  

Su Luo nodded, “You too, good luck. If it gets bad, I’ll come get you out.”  

Yun Feibai laughed at her, “Isn’t that something guys usually say to girls?”  

Su Luo paused, then said firmly, “We don’t do gender discrimination here.”  

Yun Feibai shook his head with a smile and stepped onto the stairs first.  

Su Luo followed closely behind.  

On the first floor of the trial, a mechanical female voice sounded, “Trial participant, please summon your pet.”  

Su Luo summoned her Box Jellyfish as instructed.  

After being summoned, the Box Jellyfish affectionately rubbed against Su Luo’s cheek, making her smile.

She gently petted its head.  

The jellyfish obediently let her touch it a few times before floating to her side.

If one didn’t look closely, it was impossible to tell the jellyfish was there.  

Once Su Luo was ready, the mechanical voice began again, “Trial participant Su Luo, Level One challenge, start.”  

As soon as the voice finished, twelve Sailfish suddenly appeared in the air.  

However, instead of attacking immediately, the Sailfish swam aimlessly—they couldn’t find a target.  

Before humans attacked them, the fish were intangible to the humans and could only fight the pets.

The Box Jellyfish was in a semi-invisible state, so the Sailfish couldn’t see it.  

Su Luo chuckled to herself.

So these fish couldn’t see her jellyfish either!

That made things much easier.  

She ordered her Box Jellyfish to slowly move behind one of the Sailfish, then stealthily brushed its tentacles against the fish.  

The Sailfish immediately sensed something was wrong and flicked its tail fiercely, preparing to attack.  

But behind it was empty water—no fish to hit.

Instead, its sudden tail flick hit its fellow fish teammates in the face.  

The struck Sailfish was stunned and turned to glare at the fish that slapped it.  

Unexpectedly, because the fish were packed so tightly, that turn caused it to smack even more fish.  

What followed was a dizzying sight of the Sailfish wildly spinning in circles and furiously hitting each other.  

The jellyfish just floated nearby, clearly stunned by the chaotic scene.  

The power of the Sailfish’s tail flick was surprisingly strong.

Su Luo watched as the fish’s health bars steadily dropped and they gradually disappeared.  

Soon, there were no fish left in the arena.  

A few seconds later, the mechanical voice sounded again, “Congratulations… trial participant Su Luo has cleared Level One.”  

Su Luo wasn’t sure if it was her imagination, but the mechanical female voice seemed a little bewildered.

What was that?

A disaster caused by a mere brush?

She hadn’t even shown her true strength, yet the fish had destroyed themselves?  

It should have been a tense, dangerous moment, but it felt oddly comical.

Su Luo scratched her head, utterly baffled.

Had she just turned an inspirational story into a comedy?  

But clearly, the fish had little intelligence, which was a big advantage for Su Luo.

She could exploit this weakness to clear levels smoothly without much loss.  

Well… maybe she’d get to watch another comedy next.

Su Luo thought with a mix of laughter and tears.  

As the female voice finished, another staircase appeared ahead.  

Su Luo followed it up to the second floor of the trial.  

The same female voice rang out, “Level Two trial, begin.”