A Gentle Persuasion. (Chapter 24)
Even though Ye Sheng knew the blue insect in Fu Ruo's hand was no ordinary thing, no matter how precious it might be, it still couldn't erase the fact that it had been pulled from a mutilated corpse.
Ye Sheng: ……
She really didn't want it.
Ye Sheng's response was to immediately hide behind Gu Luoyu, choosing silence.
At the same time, she tugged on Gu Luoyu's clothes. Since both were now within the range of the Water-Repelling Pearl, they could speak freely, so she quickly whispered, “Ah Yu, tell Fu Ruo to take that bug away! I don't want it!!!”
“It looks like a good thing.”
“Even if it's a rare treasure, I don't want it! That bug is so gross... I'd have to raise it myself? Ugh, no way! I refuse!”
As she spoke, Ye Sheng glanced at the large blue bug, instantly disgusted by its wriggling multiple legs. The dark, birthmark-like spots on its body pulsed rhythmically with each breath.
It seemed as though something could burst out from within at any moment.
Seeing Ye Sheng genuinely didn't want the blue bug surprised Gu Luoyu slightly, raising her eyebrows. Based on her understanding of Ye Sheng's greedy little nature, she had expected her to accept it gladly!
However, seeing the strong resistance on Ye Sheng's face, Gu Luoyu naturally wouldn't force her. She glanced at Fu Ruo, blocked by the black shield and still desperately trying to approach, clearly ignoring her warning.
Fu Ruo still wanted to get close to Ye Sheng.
Fortunately, Gu Luoyu wasn't naive enough to believe she could reason peacefully with someone gradually losing their humanity. This was merely a delaying tactic, she just needed to stall until their group left the ocean.
By then, whether Fu Ruo lived or died would have nothing to do with them. They wouldn't meet again anyway.
According to the vision she had foreseen, the conflict between her and Ye Sheng arose from Fu Ruo's death. So as long as she didn't target Fu Ruo directly, the argument wouldn't occur.
Therefore, Gu Luoyu could only suppress her killing intent and let Fu Ruo continue her antics before her eyes.
(Ye Sheng hates bugs. Take this bug and leave. Don't forget our previous agreement, stay away from Ye Sheng.)
Forcing a psychic connection, Fu Ruo's expression froze upon hearing Gu Luoyu's words. Then her mouth drooped with disappointment. She opened her mouth, wanting to speak, but could only emit short, sharp hissing sounds.
Finally, she turned away in sorrow and swam off, quickly disappearing from their sight.
Gu Luoyu, ever vigilant against Fu Ruo, naturally wouldn't let Ye Sheng see this scene, lest she feel pity. She deliberately stood in front of Ye Sheng, blocking her view, and only informed her after Fu Ruo had left, “Little Sheng, Fu Ruo has already gone. No need to be afraid.”
“Huh? I wasn't trying to drive her away, I just...”
Upon hearing Fu Ruo had left, Ye Sheng hurriedly explained. She only disliked the bug, not trying to send Fu Ruo away.
After all, they were sort of friends.
But before Ye Sheng could continue, Gu Luoyu interrupted, “I know. But Xiao Sheng, Fu Ruo is no longer truly human. I believe you've seen it too... A broken glass can't be restored. We can only keep moving forward; we can't dwell on the past.”
It was a gentle way of persuading Ye Sheng to keep her distance from Fu Ruo. After hearing this, Ye Sheng fell silent for a moment, then seriously nodded at Gu Luoyu.
Knowing Gu Luoyu was looking out for her, Ye Sheng wasn't the type to stubbornly insist.
Of course, except when it came to matters involving Gu Luoyu, nothing else would make her exert much effort... As for Fu Ruo, if they met again in the future, it would simply be fate. She would give a greeting, but nothing more.
After all, her Ah Yu, this jealous vat, needed careful coaxing too.
Observing Ye Sheng's reaction in silence, Gu Luoyu was relieved to see no resistance in her expression. She knew she hadn't made a wrong move, Fu Ruo wasn't an important figure in Ye Sheng's heart.
A gentle approach to gradually isolate them would suffice. There was no need for harsh methods that might cause conflict.
While Ye Sheng and Gu Luoyu finally settled their issues regarding Fu Ruo, the three survivors on the other side, after vomiting, stood pale and motionless, their psychic strength nearly depleted.
They only wanted to go back now.
But the exploration mission required them to cover ten thousand meters. No matter what dangers lay ahead, they had to keep moving forward... It was just that earlier, they had been thinking about searching for resources to fatten their wallets. Now, they didn't even dare to think about it.
From now on, they only wanted to stick tightly behind Gu Luoyu. They had given up all thoughts of getting rich, after all, it would be terrible luck to earn money but not live to spend it.
Fortunately, no further accidents occurred. As Gu Luoyu led the way forward, her psychic energy spread outward, deterring dangerous contaminated creatures from approaching.
At this point, advancing just a few thousand meters, they hadn't even reached the edge of the deep sea. There was no need to worry about those enormous, terrifying creatures yet, so Gu Luoyu wasn't concerned.
With Gu Luoyu safeguarding them, Ye Sheng's courage naturally soared. Unlike the terrified trio, Ye Sheng energetically searched around, hoping to find treasures hidden beneath the soft sand.
Thinking back, before they had even reached the coast, Ye Sheng had been anxious... After all, the ocean was labeled a human forbidden zone. Just imagining those giant marine contaminated creatures was suffocating.
People like them entering the sea could die at any moment.
Even in an unfamiliar exploration area, even with Gu Luoyu present, it was still worrying. Fortunately, all her fears had been unfounded. Upon actually arriving at the ocean, Ye Sheng found it manageable.
At least now, she didn't need to worry too much. She could just focus on picking up treasures.
Happily fantasizing about finding a great treasure, Ye Sheng joyfully dug through the seabed. Because she had personally witnessed the coral cave collapse earlier, she naturally didn't dare risk her life.
Whether the coral cave collapsed or not was one thing, but being bitten by that blue bug, Ye Sheng estimated she'd be dead in an instant.
Active searching eventually paid off. When Ye Sheng unearthed a purple ore the size of half a person, the moment she reached out to touch it, a mechanical voice immediately sounded in her ear.
[Advanced resource discovered. Recycle?]
It was the lottery space!
Lately, apart from exchanging a lot of points in the amusement city earlier, she hadn't had any opportunities to exchange points in the real world.
Unlike before, when she could take advantage of others' battles to sneakily exchange weapons for lottery points, or precious mining operations, which she had also abandoned due to the frequency of missions.
Now, she had finally found a good way to earn lottery points again!
(✪ω✪)