Chapter 110: Chapter 110: Weed Out the Roots

Xu Xin immediately took off the blue-level leather armor he was wearing and donned the Python Scale Armor.

A warm current flowed from his heart to his limbs and gradually returned.

“Is this the drastic strength enhancement?” Xu Xin felt the power in his body, which he had never mastered before, and murmured to himself.

His body had gone through several enhancements in strength. The first time was the effect of the blue-level bear paw he got when he first hunted beasts, the second and third were the effects of contracts in gold and silver treasure chests. His treehouse also had a [Human Statue] that could enhance all Xu Xin’s physical attributes within the treehouse’s protection range, including strength.

With this scale armor outfit on, he even felt he could punch a big elephant to death.

Of course, this is just his feeling, but it must be said, his current strength is definitely several times more than when he first came to this world, and might have even surpassed the ultimate strength of humans on Earth.

However, the most important feature of this scale armor is not the strength amplification, but the ability it granted him to dive underwater without being disturbed by aquatic creatures!

Xu Xin did not bring the three beasts but came alone to the lakeside.

The lake water now had a faint red tint, stained by the blood of the Giant Python and Giant Crocodile. No one knows how much blood these two beasts bled; it doesn’t seem like much, but perhaps due to the special nature of their blood, the entire lake was affected.

“What a waste of this blood,” Xu Xin felt a bit heartbroken.

The blood of such giant beasts might indeed carry special properties, just like the blood of high-level mutant beasts that can be used to make ink for mutant beast contracts.

The Giant Python and Giant Crocodile are definitely stronger than high-level mutant beasts.

Chang Yin once said he could only defend against high-level mutant beasts, but Xu Xin certainly didn’t believe he could defend himself against these two giants. A few scales that fell off the Giant Python were already of purple level; he couldn’t imagine the level of these two beasts.

Xu Xin scooped up a handful of water and sniffed it, detecting no odor. Due to being a small amount, the water in his hands no longer showed any red tint, and he received no notifications, indicating that this lake water was just ordinary and not usable.

“Could this blood cause the creatures in the lake to mutate?”

He hurriedly looked towards the heart of the lake and suddenly found that the few remaining piranhas had grown larger, originally small fish like tiny pomfret, now as big as large carp.

“Really? Did I guess it right?” He felt as if he had eaten a fly.

Originally, he brought the giant crocodile to deal with the piranhas completely because he feared using polluted meat would cause these fish to mutate, yet after all that effort, some still ended up mutated.

However, the scales the crocodile brought back were the biggest gain. At least, now he could dive underwater and deal with the piranhas himself! It’s the most opportune time to root them out since their numbers are at their lowest.

Xu Xin was a bit worried about whether the injured Giant Python would emerge from the lake bed again; if he faced that giant creature, it would be a dead end.

Let’s test the effects of this scale armor.

He walked into the lake, gradually wading forward in the shallows.

He discovered that his unremarkable scale armor had become mirror-like smooth once in contact with water, polished metal-like shiny, reflecting rocky hues, and looking completely different from before touching water, strongly resembling the Lake Giant Python’s appearance.

“Looks like this suit is really meant for underwater use.”

Xu Xin continued wading forward, and gradually, most of his body was submerged. The fish and shrimp in the lake did not scatter due to his presence; they stayed motionless.

Xu Xin approached a carp and grabbed it. If not for the fish’s brief struggles in his hand, he would have thought it was dead, yet even this carp’s vitality was weak, only twitching twice before going motionless again, its mouth opening and closing to indicate it was still alive.

“What’s going on, is it the effect of the scale armor outfit or the influence of the lake’s blood?” Xu Xin frowned.

Releasing the fish, he dared not eat any fish from here, given that lake heart’s piranhas had already mutated. He wouldn’t trust ordinary fish to be unaffected. He decided to wait a few days and see the situation, perhaps some advanced fish species might emerge, similar to the koi that Qin Yunlong discovered.

The water level had risen past his neck, Xu Xin took a deep breath and dove underwater.

Trying to open his eyes underwater, he felt no discomfort.

Usually, visibility becomes blurry underwater, but Xu Xin’s vision was crystal clear, although the deep water area was darker and less visible.

He tried kicking his legs and discovered that he, who previously took over a minute to swim just fifty meters, could now swim effortlessly and swiftly underwater!

Xu Xin thought, if he participated in the Olympics now, he could easily bring home a gold medal.

Only a zone of twenty to thirty meters from the lake shore was shallow; from the ankle-deep initial depth, it reached just under two meters deep at the thirty-meter mark.

The water in the lake was very clear, but overall had a faint blood-red tint, like a thin red filter atop it. Swimming forward several dozen meters, Xu Xin encountered a scene that made his hair stand on end.

At twenty to thirty meters, the lake’s bottom depth suddenly increased like a cliff, and a gigantic underwater cavern appeared before his eyes.

This giant hole at the bottom of the lake is like a massive well, incredibly deep and dark, making it nearly impossible to see what’s below. Only faintly can one make out something swimming in the depths, its size much larger than Xu Xin.

Though Xu Xin doesn’t have a fear of deep seas, the sight of the mysterious giant hole underwater, along with the mysterious creatures swimming within, caused his legs to tremble slightly.

“Truly creepy,” Xu Xin thought to himself.

Using his identification ability, Xu Xin discovered that on the walls of this giant hole, some blue-grade aquatic plants were growing, not very deep; just under a depth of ten meters.

For now, avoiding the deep water areas, Xu Xin kicked his legs, turning around to swim in the shallower waters.

The shallow waters of this lake had no blue resources but did have some green resources.

[Pebbles (Green): Stones washed by the stream, somehow ended up in the lake.]

[Watergrass (Green): Edible aquatic plants, offering a taste unlike vegetables on land.]

[Clay (Green): Raw material for pottery and ceramics.]

Until he couldn’t hold his breath anymore, Xu Xin popped his head out of the water.

There were few resources in the shallow waters, but many living creatures–various fish, shrimp, and lake clams. His identification ability couldn’t determine the grade of living things; he had to kill them to obtain materials.

Of course, they might only have culinary value.

However, Xu Xin didn’t plan to catch these fish, shrimp, or clams now since he wasn’t lacking in food. He’d wait and see in a few days.

He decided to first deal with the piranhas at the center of the lake, then go down to take a look and gather some blue resources from the walls of the giant hole.

With the effect of the Scale Armor set at play now, dealing with a few piranhas shouldn’t be too much of an issue. As aquatic life tends to multiply rapidly, if he didn’t eradicate them thoroughly, he might soon face another group.

As for the Lake Giant Python, it probably wouldn’t appear since it’s injured. Even if it did, it would take roughly six or seven seconds from the red dot lighting up to it truly surfacing, which gives Xu Xin enough time to swiftly retreat from the center of the lake.

Eating the night vision enabling red berries and the blue watergrass he previously bought from Qin Yunlong, Xu Xin gained the ability to breathe underwater for half an hour. He took out his spear as a harpoon and then plunged into the water.

At first, he didn’t dare to breathe but after swimming a few strokes, Xu Xin tried to breathe and found he could indeed breathe underwater, the lake water didn’t get sucked into him when he inhaled. He seemed able to extract gas directly from the water to breathe.

He kicked his legs, swimming quickly towards the center of the lake.

He felt his swimming speed was even faster than most fish.

The few piranhas at the center of the lake, although they had grown larger, still moved within a small range. Even when Xu Xin reached the edge of their territory, they had noticed him but still didn’t attack; instead, they retreated to the furthest position within their range and remained motionless.

“Is this the effect of the Scale Armor set, creating a deterrent effect on aquatic creatures?” Xu Xin thought as he looked at the few piranhas a few meters away. Just before he arrived, these five piranhas were swimming back and forth within that range. Once he was there, they remained motionless at the surface of the water.

“The effect is so obvious? Perhaps it’s because the Scale Armor is made from the scale of their leader that it has such a good effect,” Xu Xin pondered for a moment, didn’t approach but instead put away the spear, taking out his crossbow.

Shooting with a crossbow is perfect for fish half-floating on the water’s surface. When far from the shore, Xu Xin couldn’t reach them, but now that he’s this close, and they don’t move at all, the crossbow is more than suitable.

Of course, the main reason is that Xu Xin doesn’t want to enter the area where they are active. He has a feeling that this area restricting the piranhas’ movement signifies something. Entering might provoke the Giant Python or something else.

Floating to the surface with the crossbow, Xu Xin aimed at one of the piranhas and pulled the trigger.

The crossbow arrow accurately hit… the other piranha next to the target. The surface doesn’t allow for the best stability, and Xu Xin wasn’t yet familiar with his ability, so it was normal for the first shot to miss.

The pierced piranha was penetrated by the arrow, with the head and tail remaining on opposite sides of its body, making it look like a fish skewered and ready for the grill.

The injured piranha began writhing in pain, blood flowing out, dyeing the surrounding water red.

Just as Xu Xin was about to fire another arrow, a surprising scene unfolded.

The remaining four still piranhas suddenly went berserk, biting fiercely at the injured piranha!

Within merely ten seconds, the piranha pierced by Xu Xin turned into a bare fish skeleton, slowly sinking towards the lake center, along with his arrow.

After devouring their kind, the other four piranhas resumed their motionless state.

“This… even cannibalistic?” Xu Xin was shocked.