Gourmet Hunter - Chapter 509 (Patreon)

Chapter 509: Energy

Thinking they were in some special cave under the sea, it turned out they were actually inside a giant crab, which was constantly moving.

After the initial shock, various worries set in.

How to leave here?

How to get to the Dark Continent?

These worries seemed to be insurmountable knots for now, but fortunately, they met the gentle-natured Bruna, who could help them understand the situation here.

Bruna emitted green light as she swam ahead, followed closely by Luo and the others.

Tonpa's nen was still active as he hurried along, reporting the situation behind them. A considerable number of parasites were relentlessly pursuing them.

They walked in silence, the only sounds in the vast darkness being their footsteps and steady breathing.

After ten minutes, a light appeared ahead.

"We're almost there. That's where my tribe lives, an area the parasites can't cross," Bruna's voice echoed in Luo's mind.

"What exactly are these parasites?" Luo asked.

"They are the cleaners of the Rock Island Crab, responsible for filtering everything the crab swallows," Bruna explained.

"Filtering?" Luo was puzzled.

Bruna was silent for a moment before responding, "They eat the useless things and deliver the useful ones to the Rock Island Crab. That's filtering."

"So, these parasites serve the Rock Island Crab? What about you, Bruna?" Luo said.

"We are the residents," Bruna's tone had a slight fluctuation.

Luo sensed the change in Bruna's tone and wisely did not pursue the topic further.

They crossed the white light and arrived at a place resembling an island in the middle of an underground lake. The island was covered with houses made of shells in various colors.

Bright white light emanated from the water beneath the island, like numerous incandescent bulbs illuminating the entire cave.

The white light reflected off the shell houses, projecting countless colorful light balls onto the cave ceiling, creating a breathtaking sight.

There were four straight stone bridges leading to the lake island, one in each direction, and the place where Luo crossed the white light was the entrance to one of these bridges.

Luo, Biscuit, Tonpa, and Black Cat stared in awe at the beautiful scenery ahead. The shell houses were floating around with jellyfish-like Bruna tribe members.

"This is our home. The parasites can't come in," Bruna explained, then turned to look at the flat rocky area outside the cave entrance. In the darkness ahead, countless pairs of red eyes appeared.

Luo and the others reluctantly tore their gaze from the shell houses and also turned to look at where they had come from, seeing the same countless pairs of cold eyes emerging from the darkness.

The bright white light from the Bruna tribe's home illuminated the ground several hundred meters away, and at the edge of that light, webbed claws appeared and disappeared.

Luo was silent for a moment, then suddenly took a flashlight and shone it ahead. The beam of light cut through the darkness, landing on the numerous shadows.

The flashlight's beam seemed like acid, scattering the parasites hidden in the darkness, but in that brief moment, Luo saw their true form.

They were completely green, with bodies like tigers, fish heads with large mouths full of sharp teeth.

Their limbs were sturdy, their feet webbed with three black claws, fins on their sides, and tails over a meter long.

In a quick glance, Luo also noticed another mouth full of teeth on the chest under the chin of the parasites.

Perhaps because they couldn't process Luo and the others as they weren't the usual type of material, the parasites slowly retreated into the darkness, and the countless pairs of red eyes gradually diminished.

Soon, there were no more red eyes visible, and Tonpa, suppressing his fear, whispered, "They're gone."

Luo silently put down the flashlight, turned it off, and handed it to Black Cat.

The parasites seemed like fish that had grown limbs, able to move quickly on land, with a terrifying appearance and two mouths.

Whether the parasites or the Bruna tribe, they all seemed to be part of the magical beast category.

According to ancient literature, the magical beast tribes from the six continents, like humans, originally came from the Dark Continent. However, humans on the six continents are at the top of the food chain, so the magical beasts living on the six continents are constantly restrained by humans.

It can be said that magical beast tribes with intelligence comparable to humans must behave obediently to survive on the six continents. However, the Dark Sea and Dark Continent are different. Here, magical beast tribes thrive, and humans are definitely at a disadvantage.

"Are the parasites afraid of light?" Luo glanced at the bright white light from the lake bottom, then turned to Bruna.

"To be precise, they're afraid of strong light," Bruna replied.

"Strong light..."

Luo looked at the light emanating from Bruna. It was gentle, not strong enough to drive away the parasites.

Thinking of this, he asked, "I saw the parasites' true form. Forgive me for being blunt, but with your ability, you're no match for the parasites. Why do you risk going to such areas?"

To him, Bruna seemed too fragile, and since the lake island was a safe zone, why risk going to areas infested with parasites unless she had a motive?

"Yes, I'm no match for the parasites and could even become their food, but my tribe needs to maintain the energy for the white light, which can only be obtained from sea beasts. So, every time the Rock Island Crab feeds, we must get the energy before the parasites move in," Bruna said, looking at the white light from the lake bottom, worriedly. "Without enough energy, the glowing algae will lose their light, and without light, our tribe will be eradicated by the parasites."

"What kind of energy?" Luo asked curiously.

Not to mention the Rock Island Crab and parasites, everything encountered here was fascinating.

Bruna thought for a moment, then extended a soft tentacle, simulating a crystal, and said, "It's something like this, found in the main organs of sea beasts."

Biscuit and Tonpa couldn't hear the mental conversation between Luo and Bruna, but they recognized the item Bruna simulated. It was a crystal taken from the corpse of a sea monster.

Luo looked at the simulated item and suddenly pulled Black Cat over, retrieving a Life Crystal from his space.

When Bruna saw the Life Crystal in Luo's hand, her body suddenly emitted a rainbow of colors, indicating joy and excitement.

"That's it."

She twirled in the air like a graceful ballerina, then pleaded, "Can you give this energy to my tribe?"

"Of course," Luo replied without hesitation.

Hearing this, Bruna's rainbow light became even more vivid.

"Thank you so much!"

Bruna took the Life Crystal from Luo with utmost reverence and gentleness.

It was the foundation of their survival, the sacred object that maintained their sanctuary.

At this moment, the members of the Bruna tribe, who were moving around the shell houses on the lake island, seemed to be attracted by the Life Crystal and drifted over one after another.

Holding the Life Crystal, Bruna faced her fellow tribe members. In an instant, all the members of the Bruna tribe radiated a rainbow of colors, like countless interwoven rainbows, creating a breathtakingly beautiful scene.

Luo couldn't help but take out his phone to capture this rare sight.

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