Chapter 31: The Final Battle

[Prompt: The special resonance of the "Snow Umbrella" has reached its peak, meeting the basic requirements for absorbing the source of resonance. Do you wish to start the absorption process and complete the task requirements of the Shadow Queen?]
[Prompt: The absorption process takes ninety seconds. Each point of Perception level reduces the time by six seconds, up to a maximum reduction of sixty seconds.]
[Prompt: Once the absorption process is initiated, the umbrella bearer and the resonance source will be unable to move. If the umbrella bearer is attacked during this period, the absorption process will be interrupted, and a five-minute cooldown must elapse before the absorption process can be restarted.]

The abruptly appearing prompts acted like a shot of adrenaline, allowing Yu Jin to seize the breakthrough opportunity. He had never expected that the Snow Umbrella, which he had initially thought was merely a quest item, could play such a crucial role. He immediately took out the Snow Umbrella, and amidst the bewildered gazes of Qiu Yinong and Jesse Pinkman, waved it up and down until he confirmed the maximum range for initiating the absorption process. Stopping then, he immediately shared this discovery with the two of them.

"Then what are we waiting for? Hurry up and start!" Knowing that there was still a turning point, an anxious Jesse Pinkman immediately urged Yu Jin to use the Snow Umbrella. Although he did not know whether successfully using the umbrella would help them rescue Walter White, it was still more reassuring than continuing to waste time.

"No rush. The more critical the moment, the more we need to keep our cool."

Holding the black Snow Umbrella, Yu Jin pointed toward the ceiling: "Mr. Chief, can you smash this open?"

"No problem!"

Jesse Pinkman instantly grasped Yu Jin's intent. Signaling the other two to step back, he took a stride forward and leaped up, delivering a punch straight toward the overhead deck. The deck, which had failed to block the tentacles, naturally could no longer stop Jesse Pinkman's iron fist. In less than half a minute, he smashed a gaping hole through it. Following that, Yu Jin handed the Snow Umbrella to Qiu Yinong. Understanding his intention without a word, she employed her leaping ability to drill through the hole into the upper level. Then, crouching by the edge of the opening, she tested lowering her left hand holding the Snow Umbrella, and a look of pleasant surprise appeared in her eyes.

"It really works! The Snow Umbrella is right at the limit distance required to initiate the absorption process. And if we strictly follow the prompt, I will only lose my mobility, while still being able to provide you with damage output!"

This uplifting discovery swept away the gloom in Qiu Yinong's heart, involuntarily filling her with anticipation for the final showdown. Meanwhile, an equally excited Jesse Pinkman, at Yu Jin's request, set about tearing down several room doors to cover the nearby ground as much as possible for cushioning. Afterward, he smashed a second circular hole behind Qiu Yinong, just large enough for a person to pass through. At this point, unable to think of any further preparations, Yu Jin simply gave the order, instructing Qiu Yinong to officially start the absorption process.

[Prompt: You have activated the absorption process of the Snow Umbrella. Your Perception level is 5; completing the absorption requires sixty seconds!]

The main reason Yu Jin had Qiu Yinong become the umbrella bearer was that the cabin interior space was cramped. Given that the opponents possessed formidable strength but unknown numbers, excellent blocking ability was actually more favorable for stalling for time than ultimate damage output. Therefore, even though Qiu Yinong's Perception level was slightly inferior, Yu Jin still had her wield the Snow Umbrella, allowing him to正好 utilize the attribute points just obtained upon leveling up to reduce the duration by one third.

Whoosh!

As Qiu Yinong confirmed the start of absorption, a speck of black light appeared at the tip of the Snow Umbrella. Yu Jin noticed that the shape of this black light was actually very similar to a spiraling black hole. In an instant, it sucked the dense fog surrounding the Snow Umbrella completely clean. Immediately afterward, the black light slightly enlarged, and the shape of the spiraling black hole became increasingly distinct. Dense fog was continuously sucked into it, at a speed fast enough to even generate the sound of wind. Holding his breath in concentration, Yu Jin suddenly heard a collision coming from beneath his feet, followed closely by a chorus of overlapping monster roars.

Wuu-ah... Wuu-ah... Wuu-ah!

The emotions revealed in these roars made the three people present exceptionally joyful, because the aberrants were not only thoroughly enraged by the sudden mutation but also heavily traumatized due to the destruction of the sacrificial ritual!

Just as Yu Jin and the others were engaged in a massive slaughter of the aberrant squids, the aberrants hiding in the deep water at the bottom level were also ushering in the critical phase of the sacrificial ritual. A total of twelve aberrants, led by two abyss aberrants, formed a circle, enclosing two fallen figures right in the center. Kneeling on both knees with their heads lowered, their hands crossed over their chests facing the center, they softly chanted bizarre incantations in inhuman voices.

Accompanied by their concentrated prayers, the fallen figure on the left side of the circle began to ooze blood from its skin. The identity of this person was none other than the port patrol officer who had proactively boarded the ship earlier and tragically died a miserable death. After his death, his corpse was given no peace, being used as a sacrifice by the aberrants. To be fair, the helmsman of the Breaking Waves should thank this man for his reckless actions; otherwise, the one serving as the sacrifice would have been him.

Blood continuously gushed from the skin, but instead of dissipating haphazardly in the water, it formed a blood sphere the size of a human head. Every time the aberrants chanted the bizarre incantation, incantation seals would surface on the surface of this blood sphere, and it would gradually float toward the other figure in the circle.

Unlike the port patrol officer, this person's chest was still slowly rising and falling, yet his body showed no signs of mutation. Logically speaking, he should have been unable to freely breathe underwater, but he wore a gray mask on his face shaped like three eyes and fangs, which provided him with the ability to breathe. Even more bizarrely, this mask was actually alive: of its three eyes, the two belonging to a human were tightly closed, while only the single vertical eye on its forehead was slightly open, continuously releasing bizarre, imperceptible ripples that influenced the twelve aberrants.

At the same time, the mask's fangs continuously opened and closed. The content it chanted was precisely the prayer incantation of the twelve aberrants. For every sentence it uttered, the aberrants recited a sentence along with it, continuously branding the blood sphere with incantations until it gradually lost its bloody hue and was replaced by a gray light brimming with decay.

If nothing unexpected happened, the sacrificial ritual would be completed in a few more minutes. Once the blood sphere was completely turned gray by the incantation seals, the gray mask with three eyes and fangs could use the power of the incantations to instantly elevate the human body it was currently fusing with into a legendary-tier aberrant, mastering peerless abilities.

Unfortunately, however, just as the mask's vertical eye revealed a look of anticipation and its gaping fangs displayed a smile, Qiu Yinong, who had initiated the absorption process, abruptly disrupted the sacrificial ritual. The incantation blood sphere that should have descended onto the mask suddenly rose upward under the influence of the spiraling black hole, leaped out of the water, and smashed into pieces against the ceiling under the bewildered gaze of the mask's vertical eye.

Roar!

With the ritual broken, the masked fangs emitted a silent roar. The twelve aberrants, who had already expended a vast amount of mental energy, suffered direct mental trauma under the fury of the bizarre mask. Among them, the ordinary aberrants with insufficient strength instantly had their heads explode and died; the four elite-tier enhanced aberrants nearly fell into a state of unconsciousness; and the two surviving abyss aberrants also grew dizzy as a result. Feeling the immense resentment emanating from the Lord of Souls, they let out angry roars one after another, though they could not conceal their loss of vitality.

Even more severe was that the gray mask, affected by the Snow Umbrella, had not only lost its mobility but could not even execute an effective counterattack. This was because the body it was currently controlling was still merely that of an ordinary human, and the mask itself possessed only transformation and bewitching powers, unable to directly participate in combat. With no other choice, the gray mask had to order the surviving aberrants, dragging their heavily injured bodies, to launch a counterattack against Yu Jin and the others.

The two abyss aberrants could not—and furthermore, did not want to—violate the mask's command, because they regarded the entity residing within the mask as a bloodline deity, while the human wearing the mask naturally became the deity's messenger. Thus, relying on their formidable perception to detect the location of Yu Jin and the others, they ordered the remaining four enhanced aberrants to leave the bottom level, utilizing their atomization ability to launch a sneak attack, while they themselves decided to stay behind at the bottom level to guard the deity and the divine messenger while attacking with their tentacles.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

Four tentacles suddenly burst through the ground and door panels, appearing before Yu Jin and Jesse Pinkman. The two of them, maintaining high concentration and using the door panels for cushioning, quickly pinpointed the positions of the tentacles and either parried or dodged them. Although the first wave of attacks from the two abyss aberrants was quickly and narrowly resolved, Yu Jin still could not help feeling a sense of annoyance that he hadn't taken the time before entering the instance to upgrade the brush's usage level, thereby creating a skill card for [Enhanced Slash].

If he had Enhanced Slash, his active soft-bodied biochemical arm might have been able to sever the tentacles, directly crippling the combat capability of the abyss aberrants. Instead, they could only swing their weapons to defend and parry, only occasionally driving the tentacles back with ferocious attacks the moment they burst through the ground before launching an offensive.

The good news, however, was that the health pools of the abyss aberrants had been reduced by more than thirty percent due to the sacrificial ritual, which significantly lowered the difficulty of the battle for Yu Jin and his companions. Moreover, the absorption ability of the Snow Umbrella prevented the enhanced aberrants from successfully executing their atomization ability, forcing them to directly reveal their true forms, splitting into two batches—upper and lower—to launch a desperate charge.

Swish!

A crossbow bolt accurately struck the aberrant tentacle that had burst through the ground, helping Yu Jin and his companion reduce their combat pressure. Qiu Yinong's five points of Perception allowed her to quickly detect approaching enemies, and she immediately asked Yu Jin for reinforcements. In fact, given her output capability, even without the ability to move, she could have wiped out the two half-health elites charging toward her in a short time. However, her stamina was running dangerously low, and her posture was inconvenient for turning around to counterattack. Therefore, to avoid failing at the last hurdle due to a minor mishap, she decisively followed Yu Jin's prior instructions and requested support.

At the same time, the other two enhanced aberrants also appeared in Yu Jin's field of vision. Sticking to the established plan, he fiercely swiped away a tentacle, signaled to Jesse Pinkman, and took a bounding leap. Passing through the circular pit behind Qiu Yinong, he jumped to the upper floor, directly blocking the path of the two enhanced aberrants.

Wuu-ah!

Having a roadblock suddenly appear halfway startled the two enhanced aberrants. Yu Jin, who had been fully prepared, had no intention of wasting time with them. Selecting his target, he seized the initiative with a tiger-like pounce, executing a body slam without a shred of hesitation or drag. Recalling the detailed steps Jesse Pinkman had taught him for the skill, Yu Jin first locked the aberrant's back with both hands. After passing the strength check, he jerked it upward forcefully, then leaned his upper body forward to make it instantly lose its balance and struggle to generate leverage to break free.

Following that, Yu Jin's hands suddenly shifted downward and abruptly tightened inward, causing an imbalance in speed between the aberrant's waist/hips and upper body, further destroying the elite boss's center of gravity. Although Yu Jin's chin failed to slam into the aberrant's chest to push the imbalance speed to its absolute peak, it was still sufficient to force the back-falling aberrant to endure a total of seventy points of damage across two hits, accompanied by a one-second state of stiffness.

Quickly getting back to his feet, Yu Jin dragged the immobilized enhanced aberrant and tossed it straight down to the lower floor. As for the other aberrant, it had already died from Qiu Yinong's critical-hit crossbow bolt.

"This damage output falls short by more than just a notch or two. I hope the effect of Heart-Breaking Elbow can bring me a surprise."

A stray thought flashed rapidly across Yu Jin's mind. Exchanging a glance with the stamina-depleted Qiu Yinong, he leaped down through the hole once more to share the pressure with Jesse Pinkman.

It had to be said that the gap in strength between the police chief—who was also an elite boss—and the enhanced aberrants was akin to the gap in damage output between Yu Jin and Qiu Yinong. Even under the influence of the two abyss aberrants, the police chief was able to forcefully resolve the encirclement with a single, lightning-fast shoulder throw. If it weren't for the fact that his ankle had been snagged by a tentacle, he would have even wanted to use Heart-Breaking Elbow to end the battle.

Returning to the lower floor, Yu Jin immediately relieved Jesse Pinkman's pressure, knocked away a tentacle in passing, and ran into a nearby room to take the opportunity to recover his stamina. Even after character advancement, a stamina chasm still existed between players and monsters; Yu Jin had to constantly monitor his remaining stamina. Jesse Pinkman, however, had no such concerns. Charging toward the three enhanced aberrants that had just gotten back to their feet, he delivered a firm-shouldered charge. With just two strides, he crashed all three opponents more than ten paces away, plunging them back into the stiffness caused by hitting the ground.

"Don't overextend!"

Worried that Jesse Pinkman might get carried away in the heat of the moment and forget the main objective, Yu Jin called out to stop him. The police chief snapped to his senses just in time and immediately decelerated to pull back. Unfortunately, however, his previous powerful charge made it difficult for the flooring—already riddled with holes and pierced by four tentacles—to hold its weight. Consequently, with his bulky build and formidable weight, he hadn't taken many steps before he and the suddenly collapsing floor plummeted downward toward the bottom level together!

Not good!

This unexpected mutation filled Yu Jin with a deep sense of trouble, for the bottom cabin housed two abyss aberrants! Even with Jesse Pinkman's formidable martial prowess, it would be difficult for him to withstand the crazy encirclement of two abyss aberrants. In the heat of the emergency, Yu Jin slapped his waist pouch, drew out a red vial, and flicked his hand, tossing it toward the police chief whose legs had just plunged into the water.

"Catch!"

"This is..."

Glancing toward Yu Jin at the sound, Jesse Pinkman instinctively caught the red vial. Being intimately familiar with the item, how could he possibly fail to recognize that this was the berserk potion infused with maple blood?

Earlier, after reaching a preliminary cooperation agreement with Yu Jin, he had received a vial of the berserk potion from the latter as a token of sincerity. However, due to the Warmonger crashing the scene, he had later been forced to use it on Iron Fist, but the result had been far from ideal: Iron Fist had died, and the potion had been wasted.

At this moment, the second vial of the berserk potion was right in his hands. Ignoring the extremely cruel aftereffects, Jesse Pinkman drank it down without a moment's hesitation.

Because he knew that if he wanted to survive, he had no choice but to cast everything aside and fight to the death.