Slay the Gods: The spokesperson for Zhulong, starts with the God-killing Gun

Chapter 422 Lord of the Deep Ones! (Page 12)

The last rays of the setting sun bathed the dilapidated fishing village. Wooden houses leaned precariously, fishing boats lay aground on the beach, and waves gently lapped against the shore. The air was filled with the salty sea breeze and a faint fishy smell.

Lin Qiye stood at the village entrance, his gaze sweeping over the surroundings: "It looks... quite normal."

Baili Pangpang rubbed his nose: "It just smells a bit strong."

Shen Qingzhu pushed up her sunglasses: "Nonsense, how could a fishing village not smell of fish?"

An Qingyu pushed up her glasses, and data streams were reflected on the lenses: "The energy reading is abnormal, but there doesn't seem to be any problem on the surface."

Zhang Yun yawned lazily: "Let's find a place to stay for the night first."

The group continued along the village path and soon encountered a middle-aged man mending a fishing net.

Baili Pangpang waved enthusiastically: "Brother! Is there anywhere in the village where I can stay?"

The man looked up, revealing a weathered face: "Outsider?"

Lin Qiye nodded: "Yes, we're passing through here and would like to ask for lodging for the night."

The man was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly gave a stiff smile: "Sure... I have a spare room at home."

He stood up, brushed the sand off his clothes, and said, "My name is Chen Gou, and I'm a fisherman from the village."

Baili Pangpang grinned: "Hello, Brother Chen! My name is Baili Pangpang, and these are all my brothers!"

Chen Gou nodded and led the group into the village.

Jiang Er's spirit floated beside Lin Qiye and whispered, "His emotional fluctuations are strange... as if he's being controlled by something."

Lin Qiye frowned slightly, but said nothing more.

Chen Gou's home is a simple wooden house, simply furnished but very clean.

His wife—a haggard-looking woman—busied silently in the kitchen, quickly bringing out a table full of seafood: steamed fish, stir-fried clams, seaweed soup…

Baili Pangpang's eyes lit up: "Wow! A seafood feast!"

Chen Gou's wife lowered her head and said softly, "Eat...while it's hot."

Her voice was very soft, as if she was afraid of disturbing something.

After everyone took their seats, Baili Pangpang eagerly picked up a piece of fish: "Mmm! Delicious!"

Shen Qingzhu glanced at him: "You're spineless."

Anqingyu secretly scanned the food with its detector: "Non-toxic, edible."

Lin Qiye looked at Chen Gou: "Brother Chen, has anything strange happened in the village lately?"

Chen Gou paused slightly, then shook his head: "No... everything is normal."

But his eyes flickered, as if he was hiding something.

In the dead of night, everyone was arranged to rest in two guest rooms on the second floor.

Baili Pangpang lay on the bed and let out a burp: "This village is fine, it's not as weird as you guys say."

Shen Qingzhu sneered: "Idiot, have you ever seen villagers in a fishing village with such dull eyes?"

An Qingyu sat by the window, staring at the tablet: "The energy readings will peak at midnight... Let's wait and see."

...

In Shangjing City, at the Night Watch headquarters, on the seventh basement floor, lies a special interrogation room.

Behind the one-way glass, Ye Fan stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze cold and stern as he stared into the interrogation room.

Zuo Qing stood beside him, holding a file in her hand, her brows furrowed.

"Chen Lu, male, 32 years old, formerly a villager of Guixu Village, son of Chen Gou."

"traitor."

Ye Fan narrowed his eyes slightly: "What could he possibly get out of his mouth?"

Zuo Qing pushed up his glasses: "You'll know once you try."

The lights in the interrogation room were pale.

Chen Lu sat in a metal chair, his hands bound by specially made shackles, and his ankles wrapped with rune chains that suppressed the energy of the Divine Ruins.

He wore a strange smile, his eyes unfocused, as if gazing at some distant place.

The interrogator tapped on the table: "Chen Lu, name?"

Chen Lu slowly raised his head, a grin spreading across his face: "Can't you... hear me?"

The interrogator frowned: "What did you hear?"

Chen Lu closed his eyes, as if listening to something, and then whispered:

"They were talking... they kept talking..."

His voice was soft, yet it made the temperature in the interrogation room drop instantly.

Behind the one-way glass, Ye Fan and Zuo Qing exchanged a glance.

"Hallucination?" Zuo Qing whispered.

Ye Fan shook his head: "No, he's 'listening' to something."

The interrogator continued, "Chen Lu, who are the 'them' you're referring to?"

Chen Lu opened his eyes, his pupils dilated slightly, and his dark eyes seemed to reflect some indescribable shadow.

"They... come from beyond the stars, from the abyss of the universe."

"They sleep at the bottom of the sea, among the stars, and in the cracks of time."

Their voices... echo in my mind all the time.

His tone became erratic, as if he were not answering the interrogator's questions, but rather reciting some ancient incantation.

The interrogator frowned: "Be more specific, who are they?"

Chen Lu's smile widened, revealing his gleaming white teeth:

“They are gods…the real gods.”

"What humans call 'gods' are nothing more than insignificant projections of themselves."

“And they… are the ‘Great Old Ones’.”

The air in the interrogation room seemed to freeze.

Chen Lu's voice grew lower and lower, yet it carried a strange penetrating power, as if it were piercing directly into a person's brain.

“I heard their calls.”

"At that time, I was just an ordinary fisherman, fishing at sea with my father."

"Until that day... the seabed cracked open."

His eyes became vacant, as if he were lost in some terrifying memory.

"The sea boiled, the sky distorted, and a gigantic black shadow rose from the abyss..."

"His body was like a mountain range, his skin covered in scales and slime, and his back was covered in rotting bat wings..."

"His head... was like a hybrid of an octopus and a dragon, with countless writhing tentacles, each one entwined with a mad whisper..."

“His eyes… no, those weren’t eyes, they were gateways to the abyss. The moment he gazed at me, my soul was torn apart…”

Chen Lu's body began to tremble, and cold sweat soaked through his prison clothes.

"His name... is Cthulhu."

“He said…they will return soon.”

The interrogator's fingers tightened slightly: "The 'mist' you mentioned, is it related to them?"

Chen Lu nodded slowly, a strange smile creeping onto his lips once more.

“The mist… is the lingering echo of their breath.”

"When they awaken from their slumber, their breath will envelop the entire world."

"Humanity will go mad, civilization will collapse, and all things will return to chaos..."

"And they... will rule this planet again."

Behind the one-way glass, Ye Fan's eyes turned completely cold.

"Zuo Qing, check the records of the 'Mist' incident over the past century."

Zuo Qing quickly brought up the database, and the data stream on the screen scrolled rapidly.

"As expected... 67% of the global 'fog' outbreaks are concentrated in the deep sea, especially..."

“The Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, the South China Sea... these places have all been recorded as places of the ‘Cthulhu Mythos’.”

Ye Fan took a deep breath: "So, the mist isn't a natural phenomenon... it's 'them' awakening?"

Inside the interrogation room, Chen Lu continued to whisper:

“We... are their servants.”

“We listen to their whispers and carry out their will.”

"We awaken the sleeping 'doors' around the world, allowing their kin to descend..."

The interrogator interrupted coldly: "'Door'? What is it?"

Chen Lu's smile turned fervent:

"It is a passage... a bridge for their return!"

"In the deep sea, in the polar regions, beneath the ruins of ancient cities... 'Doors' are everywhere!"

"As long as enough 'doors' are opened, they can be fully awakened!"

Interrogator: "How many have you opened?"

Chen Lu tilted his head, as if listening to something, then smiled and said:

"That's enough... You'll see soon..."

"The real apocalypse."

Suddenly, Chen Lu's body began to convulse violently!

His eyeballs bulged out, and strange black patterns emerged under his skin, as if something was wriggling inside him!

“Ahhhh——!!!”

He let out a horrific scream, then suddenly looked up, his mouth torn to the roots of his ears, revealing a hideous grin:

"They...have come!"

The next second—

"Pfft!!!"

His chest exploded, and countless black tentacles burst forth from his body, instantly piercing through the interrogator's chest!

Blood splattered onto the one-way glass, and Ye Fan and Zuo Qing's pupils constricted sharply!

The alarm pierced through headquarters!

"Warning! Warning! High-risk 'mysterious' breach of containment! All personnel on high alert!"

Inside the interrogation room, Chen Lu's "corpse" had completely mutated—

His skin peeled away, revealing the writhing black flesh beneath, his bones twisted and deformed, and his spine extending into a thick tentacle.

His head split open, and dozens of tiny tentacles emerged from it, each one dancing wildly in the air, as if sensing something.

And the most terrifying thing is—

A dark "door" appeared on his chest.

Inside the door was endless darkness, and a pair of eyes slowly opening...

Zuo Qing abruptly pressed the emergency isolation button: "Close the interrogation room! Activate the 'Suppressing Ruins Stele'!"

The heavy alloy door slammed down, trapping the mutated Chen Lu inside.

But even so——

The "door" continued to expand, with dark mist seeping out from the cracks and corroding the metal walls.

Ye Fan stared intently at the monitor screen, his voice icy:

"Notify 'Nightfall' and 'Masked' to assemble immediately."

"Cthulhu... is not a legend."

"They...really exist."

...

The night is dark and windy.

The eight members of the Nightfall Squad stood at the entrance of the fishing village, the sea breeze carrying a salty, fishy smell.

Baili Pangpang rubbed his arms: "Why is this place so eerie at night..."

Shen Qingzhu pushed up her sunglasses: "Nonsense, would the mission location be a resort?"

An Qingyu pushed up her glasses, and data streams flashed on the lenses: "The energy reading is abnormal, but the surface looks normal."

Jiang Er's spirit floated in mid-air and whispered, "There was a strange energy fluctuation in the village tonight..."

Lin Qiye looked around: "Split up and investigate, be careful."

Baili Pangpang immediately raised his hand: "I want to be in a group with Brother Qiye!"

Shen Qingzhu sneered: "Are you afraid of ghosts?"

Baili Pangpang: "Who, who's afraid! I'm doing this to protect Brother Qiye!"

Lin Qiye sighed helplessly, "Fine, Fatty will come with me, and the rest of you will pair up."

Zhang Yun yawned lazily: "I'm going to sleep, you guys can come and check."

Everyone: "..."

The deep sea area off the fishing village.

Lin Qiye and Baili Pangpang dived into the dark seabed, where all was silent.