Yang Yi opened his eyes, observing the strange phenona on the island from both near and far perspectives.
The salt on the ground seed to co alive, flowing like a liquid to form half of a humanoid figure in front of the armoured suit. It looked almost identical to the bizarre creatures Yang Yi had seen in hallucinations or dreams. Moreover, the spike that had pierced the long-legged sardine was likely a part of this creature!
Without much hesitation or doubt, the armoured suit imdiately took action, attacking with an iron shovel. With a powerful strike, it shattered the salt figure into grains. However, the blow had little effect. The fragnted salt reford itself, one hand turning into a sharp spike that pierced the chest cavity of the armor, right into the glass jar holding the long-legged sardine.
In less than a second, the sardine withered. Its body moisture was drained, just like its companions, turning it into a dried salted fish.
The armoured suit struck again, dispersing the salt creature once more. Afterwards, the salt being vanished, seemingly becoming ordinary salt again and scattering across the ground, only a skeletal salt crystal remained, which shattered upon touch.
The skeleton wasn’t a human one, but rather an internal structure akin to a stick figure, slightly rigid to provide the salt being with structural support. If there were more of the skeletons, combined with wind erosion, they would blend right in with the shrubs in the centre of the island.
So, did that an there were many such beings on the island? Yang Yi couldn't help but speculate, a chill rising in his heart.
Without the suit of armour, if he had stepped onto the island directly, he could have been attacked by the salt beings. If ambushed and wounded, the injury could have been fatal in an instant!
Because the salt creatures only reacted to living things, neither the armour nor the dead octopus head had drawn them out. Only when the long-legged sardines ca ashore did the lurking salt beings attack!
"Yang Yi, quickly bring so of that salt back, especially the ones that just took humanoid form!" Suna called out.
She had also witnessed the scene and was deeply intrigued by these unusual life forms.
"But why humanoid? If it can freely reshape its body with salt, there’s no need to form a head at all. And even when it does, it doesn’t have any facial features..." Suna was visibly excited.
After killing the two long-legged sardines, the salt being vanished, as if it had never existed. It held no hostility towards the armour, even though it had shattered it twice.
Yang Yi, controlling the armour, collected so of the salt on the ground. There wasn’t much, just enough to ensure that even if another salt being appeared, there wouldn't be enough material to reform its body.
The salt was sealed in glass jars, separated per Suna's request.
Once everything was packed, the armored suit began to head back, boarding the raft and paddling towards the Nightmare Star several dozen tres away.
When the armoured suit climbed aboard the deck, Yang Yi stood at the front holding the crystal shield, with the roaring flintlock in his other hand. Suna approached as well, remaining alert with the crystal shield in hand, just as Yang Yi had instructed.
No danger presented itself.
The chestplate of the armour opened normally, revealing the wooden bucket and the glass jars inside.
“Wait.”
Yang Yi stopped Suna from stepping forward, lifted his blindfold, and walked toward the two containers. With three eyes, he could detect even the slightest movent from a single grain of salt! But even as Yang Yi picked up the containers with his own hands, the salt and soil remained inert, what popped up instead was an alert from the activity log.
【Na: Sea Salt】
【Description: Sea salt obtained by evaporating seawater. Its taste and color may vary slightly depending on the sea region, and it contains impurities, exuding an unpleasant salty and fishy odor.】
【Na: Rotwhale】
【Description: Not actually a whale, but a giant creature living in the Bountiful Sea. These creatures vary in form and size, are extrely difficult to kill, and continue to grow indefinitely. Their core can be used in the monster vending machine. It’s commonly referred to as the Fruit of Bounty, or the endlessly regenerating flesh.】
There wasn’t anything noteworthy about the sea salt info, but as soon as the Rotwhale’s data appeared, Yang Yi’s eyes lit up!
"Endlessly regenerating flesh… hidden in the Bountiful Sea!"
However, he quickly sensed sothing was off, because the source of the information was a substance he had mistaken for soil. In reality, it was Rotwhale tissue, severely dehydrated and thus resembling dirt.
That ant the island wasn't an island at all — it had originally been a giant creature that, for so reason, withered and died!
Once he confird there was no danger, Yang Yi handed the container to Suna, who instantly dashed into the lab. Yet, the mystery remained. If the salt was just regular sea salt, then what was the salt being from before?
Suna was still researching, but Yang Yi didn’t plan to wait around, he intended to use the armoured suit to further explore the island in order to find out what exactly could allow the salt to form into a salt being. And since the suit wasn’t attacked by the salt, the risk was minimal.
But first, there was sothing else to confirm: how far he could control the suit. If it was only a few hundred tres, he’d have to revise his plan. It had to be tested.
He moved the armoured suit to disembark from the ship, but was surprised to find the iron shovel in its hand had rusted! It looked as though it had been neglected for years, now corroded and covered in rust. It was likely caused by the salt being since the shovel had struck it.
Yang Yi took a photo and sent it to Suna, informing her of the discovery.
It implied that tal weapons could be affected by the salt beings, accelerating corrosion, dulling edges, or even breaking them. Fortunately, the suit itself remained unhard — after all, it was a top-tier armour made from far superior materials than a common shovel.
After sending the ssage, Yang Yi resud controlling the suit, paddling it towards the island. Once ashore and firmly positioned, he ordered it to stand still while he steered the Nightmare Star backwards. That way, he could estimate the suit’s control range based on the distance between the ship and the island.
At around 1,000 tres, the suit’s visual feed suddenly went dark — Yang Yi had lost control.
"Only 1,000…"
Yang Yi frowned deeply. The distance was far too short for an island. It was barely enough to explore the peritre.
He thought for a mont, then brought the ship back and retrieved the armored suit.
"What if I wear more of it, would the control range improve?" Yang Yi speculated.
He decided to try, removing the suit’s right arm and equipping it, along with the arm and shoulder armour, onto himself. Since his right arm was missing, it couldn’t be used anyway.
As the spikes penetrated his right arm, Yang Yi's body shuddered.The sudden, searing pain brought cold sweat to his brow. Fortunately, it lasted only a mont. Any longer, and the pain might’ve rivalled being burned alive.
"The person who designed this armour must have been truly twisted..."
Once he had the entire right arm equipped, Yang Yi’s control over the suit beca noticeably more precise. Not only vision, he could even feel through the suit. It was uncanny, as though the armour had beco his second skin.
He tested the control range again, and this ti it reached 3,000 tres, finally enough to explore the island’s central region.
Yang Yi handed the "Ironbreaker (Imitation)" weapon to the suit; it was lightweight, could be wielded single-handedly with Strength 8, and was resistant to salt corrosion.
Then he entrusted ship safety to Suna, sat down in a corner of the witch’s lab, and fully imrsed himself in remotely controlling the armored suit to explore the salt island.
Thank you for reading! We hope you’re enjoying the story at :)
There’s now a Patreon, so feel free to check it out! You can read up to 12 chapters in advance!! :D
Please give the novel a rating and a review on . It will help the website and also help people find this novel!
Reviews
All reviews (0)