118: Chapter 118 Iceberg Floats, Frosty Vein Ancient Snail!

These cranes had long been damaged.

But its description reminded Lin Xiao of something.

He leaned in to look through the hole.

Through the broken deck, he could vaguely see it filled with wooden crates of various sizes, all sealed by thick frost.

Was this the cargo hold?

Lin Xiao pondered for a moment, then turned and instructed The three women: "You stay here and wait for me!"

Then, he leaped down.

Breaking through the ice and prying open the wooden boards, he found that the contents of most crates had long rotted, leaving only a mass of pitch-black dregs that emitted a putrid odor, worthless even as fertilizer.

There were also many crates containing condiments, and the items inside were surprisingly intact.

Condiments like Heinz ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, and Tabasco sauce were all basically past their expiration dates; while eating them wouldn't kill you, you'd likely spend half your life squatting in the toilet.

As for spices like black pepper and white pepper powder, although they hadn't clearly spoiled, they had almost lost their intended aroma.

However, two types of supplies were preserved exceptionally well.

Salt.

A full dozen crates, containing both coarse and fine salt.

They had hardened into solid blocks in the low temperature, but after being smashed with the handle of his battle axe, the salt grains inside remained as white as snow, shimmering under the firelight.

And sugar.

Also a dozen crates, containing white sugar, brown sugar, and even a few cans of maple syrup.

Although the syrup had completely crystallized into amber-colored hard blocks, it was still edible once heated and melted.

Lin Xiao's eyes lit up.

In the apocalypse, salt and sugar were harder currency than gold.

They could be used to cure food and extend shelf life.

They could replenish energy and restore condition.

They could serve as trading currency to exchange for urgently needed supplies.

They could even be used to treat certain injuries or illnesses...

Wen Yiran's business empire would gain two more heavy bargaining chips!

Lin Xiao stowed all the salt and sugar away and continued to explore deeper into the cargo hold.

Behind a collapsed shelf, he discovered a damaged brass canister.

The shape looked familiar.

He crouched down to examine it carefully, and his gaze darkened.

A stardust converter, modified version!

It was exactly the same as the one found on the silver gull in Harbor Town.

Except this one was completely broken; its brass shell was covered in cracks, and its internal components were scattered.

Why would there be a stardust converter here?

Could it be that, just like the silver gull, they were engaged in some kind of sacrificial business?

Sean Clement used the residents of Harbor Town to extract source essence, so what method were the people on this ship using to extract source essence?

Just then, a violent tremor came from beneath his feet.

Rumble!

The sound of ice cracking came from all directions, like the roar of a giant beast.

Countless massive ice spikes began to fall from the dome, crashing onto the shipwreck and the ice surface, blasting out deep craters.

"Brother Lin, the iceberg is collapsing!"

"Brother Xiao..."

The voices of Wen Yiran and Tian Xiwei came from the deck opening, their tones filled with panic.

Jiang Wanwan even jumped directly into the cargo hold, quickly searching for Lin Xiao's figure.

"Xiao Lin!"

"I'm here!"

Lin Xiao roughly scanned the back half of the cargo hold, stowed the last few crates of supplies into his backpack, and leaped out of the cargo hold.

"Let's go!"

He wrapped his arm around Jiang Wanwan's slender waist, lifted her up, and then sprinted outward.

Upon reaching the opening, he stepped on the wreckage of the wooden crates and jumped directly onto the deck.

The iceberg was collapsing, and a huge fissure ran across the dome.

As soon as Jiang Wanwan was placed on the deck, Wen Yiran grabbed her waist.

The grappling hook shot through the air, nailing into the distant ice.

The mechanism tightened, and the two soared into the air, swinging rapidly toward the bottom of the shipwreck ruins.

Lin Xiao picked up Tian Xiwei.

He activated [Death Grip] repeatedly, with shadow energy turning into chains that coiled around railings to serve as pivot points, carrying him as he leaped across the tilting deck.

Behind him, ice and ice spikes were constantly collapsing and falling.

The others scrambled downward frantically along the scaffolding Captain Lu Gongda had previously built.

Someone slipped and fell, but was grabbed by a teammate.

Someone was struck by ice debris, their head bleeding, but they dared not stop.

When everyone had jumped off the iceberg and was retreating along the floating ice and shipwreck debris, the entire iceberg began to shake violently.

But it did not collapse completely as imagined.

Instead, in everyone's horrified gaze, it slowly lifted.

The sea surged violently, with huge waves crashing against the floating ice and shipwreck debris.

The surrounding temperature plummeted again, dropping well below negative sixty or seventy degrees.

At the bottom of the iceberg, a behemoth broke through the seawater, revealing its true form.

First was a layer of translucent crystal shell rippling with pink seawater, and then a conch shell magnified hundreds of times!

The grayish-white shell was covered in eerie spiral patterns, and around each pattern were countless black spots.

Looking closely, those spots were actually individual Calamity Creatures attached to the shell.

This was a giant Mimic Frost Snail.

【Frost Vein Ancient Conch, Level 11 Marine Kin, Lord-level Calamity】

【A Frost Snail individual that has survived for over a thousand years. The abyss water secreted from its oral cavity solidifies upon contact with objects. Over the years, it has frozen into a mobile nest large enough to emerge from the sea. The black spots attached to the conch shell are the Calamity kin that use it as a nest; they will swarm out when it awakens, devouring any intruders that approach.】

"I... holy crap!"

Seeing this scene, Fan Sinian nearly collapsed onto the floating ice.

Many people around were terrified, and extreme fear left them stunned in place, their minds blank.

Lin Xiao gripped his heavy battle axe tightly, staring fixedly at the slowly moving behemoth.

According to the bestiary description, the iceberg was not formed naturally.

It was this behemoth that had captured the titanic and used abyss water to freeze it onto its shell, devouring it bit by bit.

Those Fissioners, mermen, black substances...

They all lived in symbiosis with this behemoth—no, with these behemoths.

Lin Xiao looked at the icebergs floating on the sea.

A chill ran down his back.

Just then, incredibly thick tentacles surged out from the seawater.

The target was the passengers fleeing on the sea surface.

Lin Xiao took a deep breath, cold air filling his lungs.

"Retreat!"

The voice was clearly transmitted into everyone's ears.

Those who were stunned also snapped back to reality one after another, desperately moving their weak legs to retreat along the floating ice and shipwreck debris.

Everyone knew that facing a behemoth of this level, being even a step too slow meant certain death.

The body of the giant Mimic Frost Snail continued to rise from beneath the sea.

The grayish-white conch shell glimmered with a cold light in the darkness, and every movement stirred up monstrous waves.

Meanwhile, those who were outside salvaging shipwreck debris had not yet understood what was happening when they saw a second iceberg rise with a boom.

Immediately following, tentacles as thick as century-old trees, carrying seawater, swept over from beneath the sea surface.

Many people were directly smashed into pulp, without even a chance to flee.

Mists of blood exploded on the sea surface, and severed limbs fell scattered into the cold seawater.

The pink light rippling in the seawater grew a bit more intense.

Carrying Tian Xiwei, Lin Xiao maneuvered and leaped between the floating ice and debris on the sea.

Behind him, a tentacle grazed his back, the force of the wind nearly knocking him over.

Wen Yiran leaped between the floating ice with Jiang Wanwan; every time the grappling hook shot out, it precisely nailed into the ice ahead, carrying the two of them through the air in arcs.

Fang Yuan, Fan Sinian, and the others, along with their respective team members, sprinted desperately toward the train.

No one dared to stop.