Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 481 - 46 Tears of Light_1

Chapter 481: Chapter 46 Tears of Light_1

Under the sea, at a depth of four thousand meters, there is a world without light.

There’s no phosphorescent algae living in this stretch of ocean, and without this sole source of light at the bottom of the sea, the entire area is shrouded in absolute darkness. There’s nothing to see, no sound to hear, no scent to smell. The only thing their skin touches is the cold seawater, and the only taste in their mouth is the salt of the sea. Deprived of all senses of the outer world, they can’t see the path, unable to discern the direction. After leaving the Sea Race behind, the power of the deep-sea world finally becomes evident. The pain they never experienced before descends—all-consuming fear and oppression turn into endless waves, constantly battering the girls’ minds.

The girls instinctively retreated along the path they came from. When they left the last phosphorescent algae’s illumination range a few minutes ago, they didn’t feel much, but when they truly entered the darkness, they realized that the oppression was much more terrifying than they had imagined, not something that could be easily overcome by sheer will alone.

"Cough, cough." Pannis controlled her vocal cords and let out two dry coughs using the crystals. These were just two ordinary coughs, but they sounded like the most wonderful sounds to the girls not only because they broke the silence but also because they awakened the girls who were experiencing the loss of various senses for the first time. They reminded the girls that they could still use hearing and speech to alleviate their mental burdens. Pannis gave two dry coughs and whispered, "Catherine, I think you’ve forgotten—the illuminator is on your back."

Catherine turned slightly red, not visible to others, and awkwardly turned on the illuminator strapped to her back, which was taller than half a human. The methods of illumination used on land, whether it’s the simple headlamp used in the Crying Cave, the crystal energy lamp used daily, or even the goblin illuminator used in Shining Forest, none of them could function under the sea. The seawater acted like a natural barrier; the light from a lamp designed for use on land would probably scatter after penetrating only two to three meters, rendering it unable to provide illumination for human vision. Even if the illumination provided by the goblin illuminator was turned up to its full power, it would only extend the distance from two to three meters to about seven or eight. Therefore, to illuminate underwater, one must use the large special crystal energy lamps provided by the Sea Race. While this kind of crystal energy lamp can emit light up to fifty meters away, its size and weight are quite formidable. When the girls maintain a floating state in the water, the buoyancy of the seawater means that the use of underwater crystal energy lamp won’t affect them. But once they switch to walking mode, the three hundred kilogram weight is too much for anyone to carry except for Catherine. Carrying such a hefty illuminator, even Catherine’s combat ability would significantly decrease, making it difficult to respond correctly if they encounter an enemy.

"Let’s stop for a while," Catherine signaled everyone to rest in place and the five of them sat down together. Lina took out the specially prepared underwater drinking bottles from her backpack and distributed them. Catherine sucked drinking water from the sealed bag in the drinking bottle while saying, "We need to come up with a plan. This is way too dangerous right now. Even if I turn on the crystal energy lamp, it can only illuminate the front. All of you won’t be able to see each other. If we get slightly farther apart, we won’t even know where each other is. We could easily get separated this way. And if we encounter danger, we won’t get the chance to support each other. We didn’t anticipate all these problems we’d face underwater. Sigh, we really haven’t prepared well enough."

"There’s actually a solution, well, we might as well use it." Pannis said to Freya, "You still have the component I asked you to detach from the other lamp when we separated from Lanna and the others before, right?"

"Yes, I still have it." Freya took out a close to one-meter metal cube, turning it over in her hand, "But I really can’t see how this is useful. You mentioned it so seriously that I was afraid to even dismantle it."

"You can dismantle it now, but don’t use too much force." Pannis instructed, "There are some things in it that we can use."

Freya nodded, took out some tools, and manipulated them with her thick fingers on the metal cube with surprising nimbleness. One by one, bolts were removed, layers of waterproof rubber were cut, and soon the cube was broken down into a pile of spare parts. A soft glow illuminated from Freya’s hand.

"Um, Tears of Light?" As the Lord’s daughter, Freya had seen many precious treasures. But when she saw the object in her hand, she couldn’t help but show surprise: "It’s actually this? I should’ve figured it out sooner, this illuminating equipment would definitely use Tears of Light."

"Tears of Light?" Catherine’s eyebrows raised, her eyes gleaming ominously, "You mean those pearls that the rich are speculating at sixty to seventy thousand gold coins each and are still often out of stock?"

"Yes, that’s the one, but it’s not that expensive, sixty to seventy thousand gold coins are for the best quality Tears of Light." Freya held up a pearl the size of a thumbnail which emitted a gentle but bright light. The light emitted by Tears of Light is very unique—a tiny pearl can clearly illuminate a radius of four or five meters in the water. Freya looked at the Tear of Light she was holding and shook her head: "The quality of these isn’t very good. If sold on land, it wouldn’t exceed ten thousand gold coins each."

"Even so, these ten Tears of Light in the box would still be worth at least a hundred thousand gold coins. Plus the crystal energy lamp on my back, that’s a total of two hundred thousand gold coins." Catherine took one pearl and carefully cupped it in her hands, "With these pearls, we won’t lose out on this mission. Haha, is this a sign of good luck?"

"Calm down, sis." Lina put her hand on her forehead helplessly, "These were borrowed from someone else. They never said they were giving them to us."

Catherine’s movements momentarily ceased, her face gradually becoming serious. Pannis even suspected that, were they not underwater, she would have shed tears. Tenderly, Catherine caressed the radiating object in her hand with a reluctant touch, as though she was holding the hand of a dying relative on their deathbed. After a long while, she reluctantly placed the Tears of Light back into Freya’s hand, forcibly turning her head away to avoid looking at it. She asked Pannis, "Do you plan on using this to fill the void of light surrounding us?"

"Yes, exactly." Pannis casually took out five small head ornaments, four of which appeared to be hairpins tailored for four young girls. He took a pearl, inlaid it into a pre-made hole in the ornament, and then taking waterproof glue from Freya’s hand, secured it. It was only then he handed it to Catherine, saying, "I made this head ornament when I was at the Storm God Temple, though I honestly did not wish to use it this way."

"Why?" Catherine placed the head ornament upon her head. Immediately, the surrounding area within a few meters was brightly illuminated, the clarity even surpassing that of phosphorescent algae. Catherine swayed her head from side to side a few times to make sure she was not uncomfortable before continuing to ask, "Is there something negative about the Tears of Light?"

"The light of the Tears of Light is very unique." Pannis continued to inlay pearls without pause as he replied, "It’s not just light, it’s mixed with other energy, and this kind of energy is quite attractive to deep sea magical beasts. If we were using a complete underwater lighting device, the emitted light would not have this attracting effect due to the filtering and amplification of the Crystal Energy Array. However, if we directly use Tears of Light, it might occasionally attract some underwater magical beasts that can’t resist the temptation, which would be quite troublesome. Although, given our current situation, it seems we have no choice but to use it."

"Underwater magical beasts?" Catherine frowned, finally understanding why Pannis had been reluctant earlier. She asked with some concern, "How powerful will they be? Can we handle them?"

"Well, magical beasts that can survive in the deep sea are generally not too weak." Pannis thought for a moment before replying, "The strength of underwater magical beasts is mostly related to their size, the bigger they are, the stronger. However, thankfully, Demigod Rank magical beasts are generally not attracted to the Tears of Light, nor will they leave their territories at will. Hence, the most we’ll encounter are beasts of Legendary Rank. As long as there aren’t too many of them, we should be able to deal with them. However, this may slow us down."

"Hmm, in terms of pros and cons, it seems worthwhile to be a little slower." Catherine weighed up the advantages and disadvantages, stating, "Being delayed is better than being ambushed and lost in the dark."

"I agree with that." Pannis nodded, "That’s why I suggested using the Tears of Light."

"But what about the Demigod Rank magical beasts you mentioned earlier?" asked Catherine, "Is there a chance we might accidentally step into their territory?"

"You don’t need to worry about that, the chances are very slim." Pannis shook his head, "Don’t forget that this is the Devilish Sea Area. The controlled members of the Sea Race frequently patrol the sea. Although underwater magical beasts tend to instinctively avoid the Sea Race, there still exist boundaries. If the Sea Race frequently moved through the territory of a Demigod beast, the beast would undoubtedly attack them, resulting in heavy losses for the controlled members of the Sea Race in the area. Doris and Badiya made no mention of this situation, which means neither controlled Sea Race nor Demigod beasts have been involved in any warfare here, so it signifies that there is no nearby territory populated by them."

"That’s good." Catherine revealed a reassured smile, "If our enemy is merely a magical beast of Legendary Rank or below, now that we’ve all advanced, we shouldn’t fear them. Still, I think it’s always better to be prepared for potential problems. What happens if we encounter an unbeatable enemy? Or if we get separated?"

"If we encounter an unbeatable enemy, I will try my best to delay them while you surface as fast as you can. Rising about seven to eight hundred meters should ensure you escape." Pannis explained, "Magical beasts can’t ignore water pressure like the Sea Race can. An underwater magical beast rising seven to eight hundred meters would suffer fatal injuries, thus, you would be safe as long as you rise to the surface."

"And if we get separated?" Lina interjected.

"We’ll do as we did in the Crying Cave." Pannis placed the final head ornament on himself, shook his head, and said, "Let’s go. I hope we don’t run into the patrolling Sea Race." (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please come to qidian.com to vote for it or support it with a monthly ticket. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please go to m.qidian.com to read.)