117: Chapter 117 A Substitute Straw: A New Discovery!

"I, who am I supposed to be..." Su Rina curled up in the corner.

Physical pain churned within her bones and blood, but what was even more terrifying was the tearing at the cognitive level.

Her brain felt as though it had been torn in two; on one side were the remnants of the past, and on the other, the strange reality before her.

Countless versions of herself, each looking different, screamed and overlapped in her mind, ultimately annihilating together.

The immense mental pressure made her unable to even determine "Who am I."

Blood was still flowing from Su Rina's eyes, ears, mouth, and nose, while her eyes were bloodshot and even bulging outward.

She looked terrifying.

Her lips moved mechanically, leaving only the delirious mutterings repeated countless times: "I don't know," "I don't know," "I don't know"...

The voice grew lower and lower, and her breathing grew weaker and weaker.

The onlookers watched the crazy woman before them and began to jeer.

But as for when she had snuck in, no one could give an accurate answer.

It was very strange; from the time the team assembled until they entered the iceberg cavity, no one had ever seen this woman named Su Rina.

Lin Xiao stood in the noisy crowd, raising his hand to adjust the [spirit realm lens] he always wore.

Before, he had been too far away to see clearly.

But now, observing at close range, he saw an extremely faint thread at the center of Su Rina's eyebrows.

The thread extended from her brow, winding away into the endless darkness in the distance, and finally disappeared into...

Lin Xiao looked up.

His gaze followed the direction where the thread disappeared.

That direction was exactly where the train was slowly moving forward.

A face immediately appeared in his mind.

Bai Li.

Lin Xiao's gaze sank slightly.

He withdrew his gaze, turned to stare at Su Rina, and said slowly, "Do you know a Blind Girl who wears a white floral dress, has long white hair, and has light blue eyes?"

Hearing such an imprecise description, Su Rina, who had been muttering, suddenly fell silent, and her body stiffened abruptly.

She slowly raised her head. The hollowness and confusion in her eyes faded in an instant, replaced by a trace of eerie clarity.

Then, her mouth pulled into a stiff smile.

Blood stained her teeth red.

"You... saw her?"

Su Rina's voice was somewhat hoarse, as if squeezed from the depths of her throat, carrying a rhythm that did not belong to a human.

"Heh, she saw you too..."

As soon as the words fell, this middle-aged woman, who had originally been weak, suddenly lunged.

Her speed was incredibly fast; her hands were curved like claws, lunging straight for Lin Xiao's throat.

Lin Xiao was prepared.

The battle axe swept out, and a red light flashed.

Unsurprisingly, Su Rina's body was severed at the waist.

Her lower body stumbled and fell not far away, while her upper body flew several meters and slammed heavily against the cabin wall. She died on the spot.

Before her life force completely dissipated, she still wore that eerie smile on her face. A very familiar smile. Lin Xiao had seen it several times before.

With Su Rina's death, everything in her backpack burst out and scattered on the ground.

There was no stardust, no equipment, and no materials. What met his eyes were all brand-new, unnamed scarecrows! Bundles upon bundles, like merchandise just moved from a shelf.

[Item: Substitute Scarecrow]

[Type: Special Item]

[Durability: 1/1]

[Effect: After writing a name on the scarecrow, it will establish an invisible life link with the owner of the name, and subsequently, the skills [Causal Retribution] and [Withering and Flourishing Reincarnation] can be activated]

[A substitute's best destination is to forget that it is a substitute]

"A special item?" Lin Xiao muttered.

Furthermore, there were no detailed explanations regarding the skills [Causal Retribution] and [Withering and Flourishing Reincarnation]. But combined with previous experiences, he could make a rough guess. Perhaps this scarecrow was a product within a certain skill system. And Su Rina was able to create scarecrows with special uses. Or perhaps it wasn't her. Recalling the thread he had seen just now, Lin Xiao's expression was grave. It seemed he needed to find a time to have a face-to-face talk with Bai Li.

Lin Xiao lowered his eyes and looked at the others.

The second one cursed the scarecrow, the first one used a taunt skill.

The third and fourth were ranged, the fifth was a scout, and the sixth had a shield skill. To be able to assemble such a nearly perfect team configuration in the early stages. Was their luck too good?

Lin Xiao remained calm and collected all the scarecrows into his bag. Strange noises echoed within the iceberg cavity. Crack... crack... It was the sound of the ice layer breaking.

"Continue cleaning up the shipwreck ruins." Lin Xiao turned around, his gaze sweeping over the passengers who were still whispering, "This place is likely to have problems, we need to hurry!"

The battle ended, Tu Gang was dead, and the uncontrolled Calamity Creaturess scattered and retreated, disappearing into the depths of the cabin and the cracks in the ice.

Fang Yuan and the others took the order and continued to explore the various levels of the shipwreck. Lin Xiao took The three women and entered the luxury cabins on the upper deck one by one.

Pushing open one of the exquisitely carved oak doors, what came into view was a mess on the floor. Overturned furniture, broken porcelain, and frost covering everything. There were still a few oil paintings hanging on the wall, but the images had been eroded by mold beyond recognition.

Just from the remaining decorations, one could still catch a glimpse of the luxury this ship once had. Gold-trimmed mirror frames, velvet curtains, and fireplaces carved with intricate patterns.

After some searching, Lin Xiao harvested several materials, as well as:

[Obtained: Victorian Sofa (Purple Furniture Recipe)]

[Obtained: Carved Dressing Table (Purple Furniture Recipe)]

[Obtained: Nautical Clock (Level 2 Facility Blueprint)]

[Obtained: Level 2 Equipment Blueprint x 4]

[Obtained: Level 3 Ring Blueprint x 1]

The three women also had quite a few gains, but they were mainly equipment blueprints; they basically didn't see any finished weapons or armor. Wen Yiran looked at those purple furniture recipes, her eyes shining. She had already calculated what price to set for these things after returning, who to sell them to, and how to bundle them for sale.

Lin Xiao did not linger and took The three women to continue exploring deeper. He returned to the stern deck. This was exactly the location where the golden treasure chest had been placed before. The black substance was still surging.

However, that treasure chest had clearly been opened by Tu Gang, yet at this moment, it was closed again, lying quietly in place, as if nothing had ever happened.

Lin Xiao stared at it for two seconds. Then, he raised his battle axe directly and slashed down violently.

"Puchi!" There were no sparks from metal clashing, no crisp sound of metal breaking. The axe blade easily cut into the treasure chest, like cutting into a piece of rotten meat.

This seemingly golden chest was split vertically in two, and black viscous liquid oozed from the cut. Looking closer, it wasn't a golden treasure chest at all, but clearly a mimetic organ!

The inside of the treasure chest was a layer of grayish-white flesh wall, covered in dense barbs, still slightly squirming. The tips of those barbs glowed with a faint blue light, clearly containing highly toxic poison.

Fortunately, Tu Gang had stepped on the mine first. If it weren't for this guy's greed in opening the chest first, the person being parasitized by the black substance or pierced by the barbs right now might have been Lin Xiao himself.

Lin Xiao looked at the squirming mass of flesh with indifferent eyes. After the treasure chest trap was destroyed, the surrounding black substance seemed to have lost its core and retreated rapidly, revealing the full view of the stern deck, as well as a huge hole in the center of the deck.

This is... Lin Xiao looked up, staring at the tall devices on both sides, his gaze slightly focused.

[Facility - Crane]

[When docked at a port, the crane can efficiently and safely lift a large amount of supplies from the pier to the cargo hold]