With his mind made up, Bai Ye no longer hesitated. After selecting his rewards, he continued on his journey, spotting the regional boundary by evening.
Upon crossing the boundary, the feeling was…
There was no particular feeling; it was still a vast expanse of sea.
However, Fang Hu, which Li Jiayi had mentioned, was likely located here. Jeram’s drawn航线 (hángxiàn - route) was also quite detailed, and most importantly, this area was a sea region with many islands.
These islands could be forbidden zones or safe zones.
Most importantly, the presence of islands meant sufficient landmarks, allowing Bai Ye to confirm his route with relative ease.
About three days later, Bai Ye noticed fog appearing on the sea.
“We should be close to our destination,” Bai Ye murmured, looking around. “Where is that Turtle Rider?”
Bai Ye pondered whether he should continue forward along the fog. After all, the fog was still sparse, and he hadn’t seen the rumored islands.
As Bai Ye thought, he had Chenglong continue forward.
About an hour later, the outline of an island finally appeared in the fog. It was a large, indistinct dark mass, but the shape of the island was clearly visible. There also seemed to be a city on the island, with the silhouettes of many towering buildings visible.
Bai Ye’s face lit up with joy. This must be the place.
But at this moment…
A “woo woo” sound suddenly came from the distance.
The sound was very strange, like the roar of a beast, yet also like the sound of a steam whistle.
Soon, a massive dark shadow appeared in front of Bai Ye, converging towards his direction.
After about five or six minutes, Bai Ye raised an eyebrow.
The Turtle Rider!
It was a colossal turtle, like a small mountain, about forty-five to forty-six meters tall and thirty-five to thirty-six meters long.
However, it didn’t seem like a living creature. It was entirely silver-white, exuding a distinct metallic luster. The patterns on its shell were unnatural, arranged in neat squares, not like something that had grown naturally.
Even its head was covered with a metal shell, making it look like it was wearing a metal helmet.
Simultaneously, a middle-aged man with a large beard sat on the turtle’s head, wearing a straw cape and a bamboo hat, with a fishing rod on his back.
“Hey, uncle…” Bai Ye hesitated for a moment, then decided to try communicating. He shouted, “I’m lost, I accidentally entered here, damn it…”
Before Bai Ye could finish, two patterns on the turtle’s back suddenly sprang open, revealing two dark cannon barrels.
In the next instant, two missiles were launched, soaring into the air and descending towards Bai Ye.
Boom, boom!
The two missiles hit the sea surface to Bai Ye’s left and right, causing huge explosions that shattered a patch of the sea.
Bai Ye gritted his teeth and had Chenglong continue forward.
Bai Ye intended to see if the Turtle Rider before him was indeed as Jeram had described – primarily meant to drive away those who entered this sea area, and not to directly attack targets.
Currently, those two missiles were indeed not aimed at Bai Ye.
As Bai Ye advanced, the Turtle Rider’s attacks did not cease but continued to bombard forward.
Missile after missile was fired towards Bai Ye, and then…
Boom, boom, boom!
Around Bai Ye, the sea surface continuously exploded, and amidst the explosions, waves surged and churned.
It really doesn’t kill people?
However, Bai Ye didn’t believe the other party would not target him eventually.
The reason was simple: if it truly didn’t attack him, he could just keep moving forward and eventually bypass the Turtle Rider to reach the island.
Therefore, Bai Ye’s judgment was that the current action was a warning, hoping Bai Ye would retreat. But continuing forward was uncertain.
Yet, Bai Ye remained confident for a simple reason: the turtle was indeed mechanical.
Since that was the case, Mechanical Reconstruction had a place to be used.
With the current proficiency of Mechanical Reconstruction and Bai Ye’s mental power, it would be impossible to directly dismantle such a large mechanical turtle.
Or, to put it more accurately, before he could dismantle the mechanical turtle, Bai Ye’s mental power would likely be depleted, leaving him in an extremely mentally exhausted state, effectively crippling half of his capabilities.
However, why did he have to dismantle the mechanical turtle?
Bai Ye curled his lips. The ability of Mechanical Reconstruction was suddenly activated, and immediately, the cannon mounts on the turtle’s back shattered into pieces, turning into a pile of parts.
This was Bai Ye’s objective. Since he couldn’t dismantle the mechanical turtle, he would dismantle all its weapons.
Soon, on the turtle’s back, metal plates shifted again.
Beneath each pattern on the shell, cannon mounts were hidden. As the metal grids opened, cannon mounts one by one rose up.
Bai Ye was not afraid at all. He would dismantle them again!
Facing mechanical products, with the ability of Mechanical Reconstruction, Bai Ye was a god.
The cannon mounts shattered into parts almost the moment they appeared, not even having time to fire or launch missiles.
But at this moment…
The mechanical turtle’s mouth suddenly opened, revealing a cannon barrel hidden within. After extending forward, energy spheres began to gather.
Charging, firing!
With a boom!
A white energy beam shot forward, splitting the sea as it passed, leaving a deep, terrifying chasm.
Bai Ye quickly leaped up, then took out his beast-taming ball and recalled Chenglong.
Chenglong was merely a mount for crossing the sea for Bai Ye. While it could fight, Chenglong was just weak and gentle, not completely incapable of combat. If Bai Ye gave the order, Chenglong could still fight.
However, this kind of combat was far beyond Chenglong’s capabilities. Even a mere “touch” from that energy beam would instantly turn Chenglong into a pile of meat.
Perhaps, not even the meat would be left behind.
In mid-air, after recalling Chenglong, Bai Ye quickly donned the Rage Sea Scale Armor, and then, waves rose from the sea, supporting him.
The giant turtle turned, seemingly preparing to attack again, but at this moment…
With a *crack*, the energy cannon mount extended from the turtle’s mouth shattered into pieces, dismantled by Bai Ye.
But…
The edges of the giant turtle’s shell were lined with metal covers. As these opened, a circle of small, dark energy cannons were revealed.
“Damn it, are you kidding me?” Bai Ye gasped, “What kind of combat weapon is equipped with so many weapons?”
This was no turtle; it was a warship.
The weapons were densely packed!