As for Xia'an?
Xia'an herself was truly dumbfounded.
She never expected her first meeting with the mysterious Mr. Rockland would take such a turn.
She had originally thought that since the other party was hiding his true appearance...
As an official investigator of the Seventh Agency, she could simply call out his real name and tear away his disguise the moment they met.
She figured teasing him a bit and giving him a small taste of official authority wouldn't be too much, right?
But the result?
At first glance, the face before her was that of a middle-aged man in his thirties!
Xia'an knew very well that this absolutely wasn't Elias's real face.
His file stated in black and white: Elias Rockland, age 22, a naive college student fresh out of university.
But what if?
What if the guy just looked old for his age and was actually a young but ugly fellow?
This caused Xia'an to mentally lower her expectations.
Even more critical...
When Xia'an scanned the spiritual fluctuations emanating from him, she keenly sensed something was wrong.
No matter how she looked at it, the purity and total volume of this spirituality didn't resemble the rookie described in the records at all.
Why did his Scale level seem to be even higher than hers?!
How could a Moon Lord believer without systematic training have deeper spirituality than a regular professional like her?
Teasing him was out of the question now!
Things could easily go south!
Thus, Xia'an decisively changed her strategy, intending to switch to a communication style that would be easier for building rapport.
Who would have known that Dabu, standing beside her, was like a brainless wooden post?
A single sentence from him had made the atmosphere incredibly awkward.
However.
She had just finished glaring at Dabu and was about to pull the conversation back on track when...
The ground began to shake violently without any warning!
The tremor came so suddenly and with such terrifying power that the entire wooden structure of the Siren’s Song tavern began to groan under the strain.
The intensity was such that it felt as if Xia'an Dainfield had just said something wrong and was being directly punished by a god!
"No way..."
"Since when did my mouth become such a jinx?"
Xia'an felt a surge of apprehension.
But none of the four people present were ordinary mortals.
Whether it was Elias, the Seventh Agency duo, or Bloodsong, who was a half-demon...
They could all clearly perceive the truth.
This was absolutely not some natural tectonic movement.
Accompanying the tremors was a massive spiritual pressure—extremely chaotic, tyrannical, and nauseating!
It felt as if an underwater volcanic crater had been forcibly blown open, and what erupted wasn't magma, but pure malice!
"Seriously now."
Elias grabbed a nearby pillar to steady himself, his expression turning grim.
He stared at the two before him, his tone no longer carrying the previous dismissiveness or polite formalities.
"What exactly does the Seventh Agency want with me?"
Xia'an also steadied herself.
She cast aside all her playful thoughts and looked directly at Elias.
"We originally just wanted to ask you a few questions."
"And to see if you needed any assistance from the Seventh Agency given the current situation."
She explained at a rapid-fire pace.
"We heard you've become an informant for Special Envoy Ms. Cecil."
"We were ordered to cooperate with her work and establish an intelligence channel."
That sounded more like it.
Using phrases like "very interested in you" right off the bat...
He had thought some scamming group was trying to trick him into joining them.
"Miss Dainfield, since you're with the authorities..."
Elias was just about to ask what was going on.
"Mr. Rockland."
Xia'an suddenly interrupted him.
Complex Origin Web patterns surfaced once more in her eyes, which were usually clear, as she stared fixedly at the ceiling.
"It seems this earthquake is highly abnormal."
"The deep-sea spiritual pollution mixed within it is too heavy."
Xia'an turned her head, offering Elias a bitter, apologetic smile.
"Please forgive the haste and rudeness of this meeting."
"It's fine," Elias replied, his brow furrowed.
He wasn't in the mood to nitpick the Seventh Agency's working style now.
Within his mind, Old Ed was sounding a frantic warning, telling him to leave this place immediately.
"Ladies and gentlemen."
Bloodsong, who had been silent, suddenly spoke.
The Polymorph spell he had just dropped flashed over him again, returning him to the appearance of the handsome bartender.
"Regardless of what grievances or cooperation you have..."
Bloodsong pointed toward the outer hall, his face grim.
"I think we need to go outside and take a look right now."
No one objected.
The four of them immediately moved toward the exit.
When they burst through the barrier with the red curtains and reached the first-floor outer hall...
The normally noisy and crowded hall was now completely empty.
Broken glass littered the floor, wine tables were overturned, and the air was thick with the smell of ale and the stench of panic.
Everything indicated how frantically and desperately the people here had fled when the sudden upheaval struck.
The four filed out of the main entrance and rushed onto the streets of Hastings Port.
The scene on the street...
Completely surpassed anything Elias could have imagined in his life, even with his two sets of memories combined.
He stood frozen in place.
His pupils contracted sharply.
Because he saw many "familiar faces."
More accurately, they were "familiar monsters."
"Damn it!"
"This is..."
Deep in his mind, Old Ed let out an extremely horrified tremble.
Even this old relic, who had been dead for fifty years, could not maintain his composure.
What first caught Elias's eye...
Were those carapace husks he had once fought on White Tower Island—creatures with grayish-white shells that looked like upright giant isopods!
Except...
The carapace husks currently rampaging through the streets were a size larger than the one he had first encountered!
Beside them were mutated sirens, their bodies covered in scales, their gaping maws spitting out tentacle-like tongues!
Of course.
The size and pressure of these sirens weren't as impressive as the one he had met in the Hope County sewers.
But as far as the eye could see, among this dense swarm of monsters, every single one possessed the terrifying strength of at least Scale Two!
And that wasn't all.
Besides these "old friends."
Elias saw many more deformed species he couldn't even name.
There were humanoid monsters covered in coral spikes, dripping corrosive slime with every step;
There were fish-men with fish heads and human bodies, brandishing rusted iron forks;
And countless disgusting chimeras that looked like various marine creatures had been forcibly sewn together!
Hastings Port had completely transformed into a hunting ground for monsters.
Civilians on the street were screaming and fleeing in all directions.
Coachmen were whipping their horses like mad, trying to drive their carriages out of this hell.
However, in the face of these monsters' absolute strength and speed, all struggles were futile.
Some hadn't even run a few steps before they were pounced upon by several carapace husks and instantly torn to pieces.
A rain of blood accompanied by severed limbs flew through the air.
Some coachmen who didn't have time to drive their horses could only desperately abandon their carriages and scramble into nearby alleys to save their lives.
Elias watched as those abandoned horses let out shrill cries under the monsters' gnawing before being disemboweled.
Scarlet blood...
Mixed with the mud washed by the rain...
Gradually covered the entire length of the once-prosperous port street.
These monsters crawling out of the deep sea mercilessly devoured every living thing on the street, not even sparing a stray cat hiding in a trash can or a shivering stray dog.
It was an utter massacre!
"How did these things... get ashore?!"
Xia'an looked at the scene of carnage that resembled hell on earth, her brow knitted tightly.
Since becoming an investigator, she had handled many supernatural incidents.
But a monster invasion of this scale was simply unheard of!
"The lighthouses."
Elias's face was ashen as he spat out those two words.
"What?"
Amidst the panicked cries of the crowd and the sound of monsters chewing through flesh...
Elias's voice was clearly drowned out by the immense noise.
Dabu, standing behind him, could only anxiously strain his voice to ask.
Elias turned his head and, gritting his teeth, almost roared.
"The lighthouses of Moon Bay have fallen!!"
Though he was a thousand times unwilling to admit it...
At this damned moment, besides something going wrong with the lighthouses and those alchemy buoys...
There was no second possibility that could allow these deep-sea monsters to come ashore in such numbers so brazenly!
This, of course, also signified the death of a keeper.
Furthermore.
Elias's mind raced, immediately connecting this to the term the Old Sea Dog had mentioned before.
Abhoth's Comet.
The comet that was said to be passing by, which would trigger the Dead Tide.
Based on Elias's superficial knowledge of astrophysics from his previous life...
This should have been the superstitious product of ignorant humans forcibly linking natural celestial phenomena with disasters.
But the problem was!
This world actually had gods!
Then this so-called Abhoth's Comet was likely not just an ordinary chunk of rock and ice.
It definitely hid a greater secret on the level of the divine.
If it heralded the arrival of the Dead Tide...
Then it was reasonable to infer that some kind of spirituality emitted by this comet could greatly enhance the power of that Divine Scion!
Which led to the loosening of the seal and the frenzy of these monsters!
Just as Elias connected all the clues in his mind and felt a deep sense of helplessness...
"Creak."
Behind the four of them, the dilapidated door of the Siren’s Song creaked again.
The newcomer was Ms. Sophia Merskael.
This mature transcendent, who still retained her charm, no longer had her usual composure on her face.
She walked quickly to Elias's side, not even glancing at the two from the Seventh Agency.
"That old man wants you to head to the pier immediately."
Sophia spoke very fast, with an unquestionable sense of urgency.
"The situation is urgent."
Elias thought for a moment.
"Fine."
Rate on N.U.
