Chapter 153: The Little Mermaid (23)

However, Tang Mu also noticed the description of the [Mother-Child Gu (A)]: An upgraded spirit-attaching item capable of empowerment. The empowerment results are subject to the actual physical object.
……
If Tang Mu hadn't achieved 100% completion in the previous level and triggered double rewards, anyone else would have felt their heart turn half cold just by reading this description.
After all, the [Mother-Child Gu (A)] was priced at 3.36 million in the mall.
And it was merely a support item.
Exorbitantly expensive.
Yet, what could she do? Currently, these were the only two upgradeable support items Tang Mu had in her possession.
Sell it? The offensive [Red Thread Bell (A+)] needed an upgrade.
Not sell it? It cost 3.36 million.
Forget it, she could only comfort herself with Miss Yu's escort fee.
She selected the [Mother-Child Gu (A)] and used it along with the [Alienated Green Radish Body (B)] to upgrade the [Red Thread Bell (A+)].
After waiting quietly for 15 minutes.
The empowerment result finally appeared.
"Congratulations, player. The [Red Thread Bell (A+)] has advanced to [Red Thread Bell (A++)]."
"[Red Thread Bell (A+)] original skills: 1. Red Thread, eliminates ghostly energy. 2. Red Silk, entangles and wraps ghostly energy. 3. Bell, summons living souls. The living avoid, souls possess the body!"
"Advanced [Red Thread Bell (A++)] added skills: 1. Increases toughness and entanglement functions. Can secrete a sticky green liquid. Once this liquid contaminates any player or ghostly entity other than the user, it can induce their alienation.
2. Using the [Mother-Child Gu] skill allows the user to control alienated players or ghostly entities. However, there is a 10% chance that the target will break free from the user's control.
3. Generates a conscious entity! Every severed segment of the red thread can form an independent conscious entity, usable by the user! For reference, think of the invertebrate earthworm, which can still survive after being cut into pieces!"
It seemed an extra skill had been added.
The original skills plus the enhanced skills made a total of five.
And now, Tang Mu was going to use that bonus [earthworm] ability to track down the true location of the giant giant clam.
"Fragments of ancient texts, acting on my own accord. By imperial command, go!"
The red thread in her hand was instantly snipped into a dozen or twenty pieces. Every single segment of the red thread transformed into the shape of a [red snake]. The pretty red snakes flicked their forked tongues, wriggling in a winding motion through the seawater, and vanished into the dense seaweed in a flash.
Ten minutes later.
Tang Mu said to Yu Yun, "Found the location of the giant giant clam. Follow me."
Tang Mu led Yu Yun as they swam downward and forward.
Before long, the view suddenly opened up.
Where there was a giant giant clam, the seaweed did not grow densely. The area beneath the clam was sandy, and locations with excessively fine sand were not suitable environments for lush seaweed growth.
The giant clam was just as Tang Mu had seen it when she last came here with Sang Wu.
Its shell was tightly closed.
As for the person inside, it was impossible to tell whether she was awake or asleep. Nor was it clear whether she needed to come out to eat, drink, excrete, or sleep.
No bubbles floated up either.
——Well. It seemed mermaids didn't need to exhale bubbles when breathing anyway.
In short, from the outside, this giant giant clam looked no different from a dead thing.
Just as Tang Mu and Yu Yun could not resist stepping forward to knock on the clam shell to see what was going on.
Danger struck abruptly!
Countless seaweed vines surged toward Tang Mu and Yu Yun in an attack!
Yu Yun was slow to dodge.
Before she even had a chance to struggle twice, she was bound by the seaweed vines. The powerful pulling force dragged Yu Yun fiercely toward the deep seaweed zone.
Her mouth kept wailing and screaming loudly.
"Wuwuwu, Sister Tang Mu, save me! This... I'm terrified! ...Clearly, I stayed near the iron cage for nearly eight hours, and not a single seaweed vine came to attack me. Why on earth does this happen the moment I get close to the clam?! If I'd known, I wouldn't have come looking for the clam!"
"It must be the mermaid princess living inside the clam!"
"Wuwu, Lord Clam... ah no, Princess Lord, have mercy, spare us! We're just poor little things who wandered in by accident... We truly didn't mean to disturb your peace..."
While swiftly dodging the attacks of the seaweed vines, Tang Mu watched Yu Yun crying and begging for mercy. She muttered inwardly, this was a ghostly instance, after all. When had kowtowing and crying ever made a ghostly entity soften its heart and let you go?
There had never been any similar cases before.
She might as well learn from her.
She usually just brute-forced her way through...
Just as Tang Mu intended to unleash her skills and settle things directly—
The seaweed vines that bound Yu Yun and attacked Tang Mu all retreated back into the seaweed forest.
Tang Mu, "..."
Oh.
This was truly a path Tang Mu had never anticipated.
As for Yu Yun, she immediately began kowtowing three times and bowing nine times toward the giant clam.
~Thank you, immortal fairy sister~ Fairy sister, please continue resting, Sister Tang Mu and I will be leaving now. We promise never to come and disturb your peace again..."
However, as an old saying goes, it is easy to invite a deity, but hard to send one away.
Indeed.
The giant giant clam cracked open a tiny slit.
"Slow down."
A strikingly beautiful girl's voice came from inside the shell.
Ethereal, as if she didn't belong to the mortal world.
"I have remained dormant here for many years, connecting daily with heaven, earth, the sun, and the moon. Yet the sun, moon, trees, and plants are mindless and insensate; they cannot resolve my doubts. Nor can they resolve the doubts of the entire mermaid race. To demonstrate clarity, I fear oral transmission might lead to errors. The two of you shall experience the illusionary realm on my behalf once more."
Without waiting for Tang Mu and Yu Yun to refuse.
The two of them vanished from beside the giant giant clam.
When they opened their eyes once more.
Yu Yun was facing Tang Mu, her eyes tightly shut, wearing a tearful expression.
"Um... Sister Tang Mu, where are we?" She didn't dare to open her eyes and glance around.
Thus, the heavy responsibility of scouting the surrounding environment fell upon Tang Mu.
Tang Mu looked around, then patted Yu Yun's shoulder, signaling that she could open her eyes and didn't need to be afraid.
"Nothing much. Open your eyes."
"Really?"
Yu Yun was about to open her eyes...
Yet Tang Mu gave Yu Yun's shoulder another smack with a "slap," deliberately startling her. "There's a ghost! Run!"
Yu Yun didn't run.
With weak limbs, Yu Yun sat down hard on the ground from the fright.
She even burst into a loud wail.
"Wuwu, don't scare me, don't scare me! Heavens protect me, all demons and evil spirits quickly retreat! Retreat! Retreat! Retreat!"
Seeing Yu Yun so terrified that her legs turned to jelly, Tang Mu let out a sigh. "Alright. No ghosts. It's a ship. We're on a giant cruise liner. Judging by the appearance, it looks just like the place where we were initially transported into the game. Only the furnishings of this liner are a bit newer than the one we saw at first."
"Really?" When it came to the task, Yu Yun temporarily tossed aside the score she had to settle with Tang Mu for "scaring her."
Perhaps genuinely wanting to shed the label of "little good-for-nothing," Yu Yun appeared unusually serious about the task compared to usual.
"But my transportation point into the game wasn't a ship."
"Did you guys obtain any important information on this ship?"
Tang Mu shook her head.
"No."