The meal was delicious, absolutely delicious. No wonder they say you get what you pay for. After finishing the meal, Hailong felt that the trip was worth it. He looked at Hu Jing, who also seemed to be enjoying the feast. After the dinner, Hailong took out his credit card to pay the bill. Hu Jing originally wanted to check the price, but Hailong pushed her away. Seeing Hailong's expression, Hu Jing knew that the meal was not cheap, certainly not something that could be had for just 300 yuan. She smiled at Hailong, not saying much more.
After the dinner, Hailong checked the time and found it was almost 9 PM. If he couldn't get back to the dorm by 9 PM, he would have to spend the night outside, as the dormitory gates closed at 9 PM.
Hailong quickly hailed a taxi and sent Hu Jing back to the dorm. They just managed to arrive as the dorm attendant was about to close the door. Hu Jing didn't speak to Hailong the whole way, as she didn't know what to say. She could tell that the meal was very expensive, and it would take Hailong a long time to earn enough money to treat her like that. Hu Jing could feel that Hailong liked her, even though he hadn't said it outright. His unguarded expressions made it clear that he really liked her, but he just hadn't found the right moment to say it. However, Hu Jing's heart was still frozen from past hurt, and she was very afraid of being emotionally hurt again. Even though she didn't want to speak, they had reached the dorm entrance, and it was time to say goodbye. Hu Jing lowered her head, unsure of what to say, then looked up and saw Hailong looking at her. She said seriously, "Hailong, can you close your eyes for me?"
Although Hailong didn't speak during the ride, he held Hu Jing's hand, feeling very sweet inside. His mind was filled with memories of Hu Jing's every smile and frown, and he didn't notice Hu Jing's state. When he heard Hu Jing's words, he realized they had already reached the dorm. Although he didn't understand why Hu Jing said that, he said, "Sure," and closed his eyes.
Suddenly, Hailong felt his body being embraced by a pair of slightly cold arms, and a cold little face pressed against his chest. Hailong was stunned, not knowing what to do. He wanted to embrace Hu Jing, but was afraid of seeming frivolous. If he didn't embrace her, he was afraid she would think he lacked courage. Just as he was in a dilemma, Hu Jing released her embrace, smiled sweetly at the dazed Hailong, and ran upstairs.
Hu Jing's face was already red to her neck, her cheeks looking pink. With her eyes full of shyness, she smiled sweetly at Hailong, making his heart melt. Suddenly, Hailong felt enveloped by a huge wave of happiness. Recalling the feeling of Hu Jing's embrace, he felt very happy. But he was also puzzled: What did it mean that Hu Jing hugged him and then left? Could it be that she liked him? If so, how lucky he was. Hu Jing was not just a beauty to him; if he were a warrior, Hu Jing would be like a goddess in a myth, whose sweet voice could awaken a warrior's heart filled with slaughter.
Scratching his head, Hailong took out his phone and sent a text to Hu Jing: "Are you back in the dorm?"
Hailong stood below the dorm for a long time, but didn't receive a reply from Hu Jing, so he had to go home.
Hu Jing's face was burning as she went upstairs, her hands covering her hot cheeks. She regretted, "Oh, why was I so impulsive just now? I hugged Hailong, but I haven't even decided if I want to date yet. Now he must be misunderstanding me. But I could only hug him once. He must have worked so hard to treat me to such an expensive meal."
Thinking about how Hailong must have worked hard to save up for the meal, Hu Jing felt very moved. She thought to herself, "I should hug him as a thank you."
Back at home, Hailong couldn't calm down for a long time. His mind was filled with memories of Hu Jing's embrace and her shy smile. Seeing that the text had not been replied to, he sighed and forced himself to sleep, as it was already past 2 AM.
A full moon hung high in the sky, and the cold moonlight shone on the turbulent Devil Sea. In the dark underwater world, a huge ice block was slowly rising from the bottom of the sea. The night sea was not very cold, but the huge waves continuously crashed the ice block against the underwater reefs, causing pieces of ice to break off. Inside the huge ice block was the giant jellyfish that Hailong had frozen. The continuous heat had raised the sea temperature to a new level, and even at night, the temperature only slightly decreased. Thus, the huge ice block, which was originally stuck in the underwater canyon, quickly melted and broke free from the rock walls, floating to the surface.
The surface of the sea was even warmer, so the ice block melted faster. The original ice block, which was several dozen meters in diameter, was now less than 10 meters wide. Due to the high waves and the presence of reefs, the ice block continuously collided with the surrounding reefs, causing more ice to break off. When the ice block was less than 3 meters thick, a huge crack appeared on its surface. With a loud bang and a heart-wrenching scream, the angry giant jellyfish, waving its huge tentacles, broke free from the ice. The huge ice block was scattered by the jellyfish, and it leaped out, roaring to the sky, as if venting its anger from being frozen for two days.
The giant jellyfish couldn't understand why its home, where it had lived for years, suddenly became so cold that it was frozen into an ice block. If not for this accident, the giant jellyfish believed it could have killed the Dragon King, who had killed countless of its offspring, at the entrance of its cave. The giant jellyfish had thought of a thousand ways to kill Hailong, but it was trapped by the sudden ice block. In the giant jellyfish's view, the ice block was an accident. It never thought the Dragon King would dare to enter its cave to kill its offspring, which was simply asking for death.
At this time, another giant jellyfish had already arrived nearby, leading hundreds of thousands of jellyfish in pursuit. Just after the first giant jellyfish was frozen by Hailong, the second giant jellyfish arrived. If Hailong hadn't controlled the Dragon King to escape in time, he might have been killed by the second giant jellyfish. Although the first giant jellyfish was frozen, it didn't die. One reason was that this giant jellyfish was special, and the other was that the liquid nitrogen carried by the Dragon King was limited. The frozen jellyfish, though unable to move, could still transmit information, telling the other jellyfish that it was not dead. Despite the heat, the ice block was melting, and the giant jellyfish knew it would soon be free. It immediately organized its followers to prepare for revenge once it was free.
Seeing its companion frozen in the ice block, the second giant jellyfish was furious and tried to break the ice with its tentacles. However, the ice was extremely cold, and the second giant jellyfish had to give up after one of its tentacles was frozen. Since it couldn't do anything to the ice block, it quickly followed the advice and gathered its followers. This time, it would fight the Dragon King to the death. The giant jellyfish dove into the deep sea to gather its companions, coinciding with the annual migration of jellyfish from the deep sea to the East Sea. Thus, the giant jellyfish was surrounded by many jellyfish.
The giant jellyfish that had broken free from the ice block pointed in the direction the Dragon King had fled and then rushed forward, its large bell flashing. The second giant jellyfish waved its tentacles, leading all the jellyfish to follow. Hundreds of thousands of jellyfish covered the entire seabed, creating a scene of red-headed monsters. Perhaps because the giant jellyfish had higher intelligence, to prevent the jellyfish from being caught by humans, it ordered all the jellyfish to swim along the coral reefs. If someone were swimming nearby, they would see a spectacular scene: hundreds of thousands of jellyfish, like soldiers, divided into formations, swimming along the seabed in neat rows without interfering with each other.
Apart from the two giant jellyfish, the other jellyfish ranged from nearly two meters to nearly one meter in length. Under the leadership of the two giant jellyfish, wherever they went, all life was extinguished, as if a city had been razed.
While countless jellyfish were heading towards the Dragon King's lair, Hailong was still asleep, unaware of the danger. Suddenly, his phone rang. He picked it up and saw it was Hu Jing. He quickly answered, "Hello, what's up so early?"
Hu Jing was also very awkward. She didn't want to call Hailong, but she had been thinking about something all night. Hailong's family was not wealthy, and it was clear his mother ran a small store. He didn't have much money, but he had treated her to many meals, each costing at least 200 yuan. Where did Hailong get the money? The only possibility was that Hailong had been working hard behind her back and then treated her to meals every time they met. According to Hu Jing's thinking, Hailong must have been doing this. If so, she felt very moved but also very embarrassed. So she called to tell Hailong not to work so hard, that she didn't need him to always take her to fancy places. Even if they didn't go to 1913, she would be happy to go to a small restaurant with him.
Hu Jing said, "Hailong, don't work anymore, okay? I don't want you to be too tired. Don't skip class to work today. If I find out you're not in class, I won't talk to you. I don't really care about where we eat. As long as you're with me, I'm fine even at a small restaurant." By this point, Hu Jing's face was already red to her neck, and she couldn't say more, but she believed Hailong would understand her meaning.
Hearing Hu Jing's words, Hailong felt both helpless and sweet. He had to follow Hu Jing's advice and promised to go to class. Hu Jing was satisfied and hung up, but her face was still flushed. The light above her head was blocked by a shadow, and she looked up to see her three roommates grinning. Hu Jing knew she was in trouble again. Ignoring them, she lay down and covered her face with the blanket, not responding to their teasing.
After washing up, Hailong suddenly felt a huge sense of danger from his soul, making his body feel like it was being pricked. Looking around, his rented room was safe, with the windows and door locked, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Just as he was puzzled, Hailong realized that if nothing was wrong here, it must be the Dragon King. He quickly lay down and transferred his soul to the Dragon King's body.
When his soul entered the Dragon King's body, the sense of unease became even stronger. He immediately used a weak electric field to scan the surroundings. The scan revealed a shocking sight: the sea in front of the Dragon King's shipyard was already filled with jellyfish. Controlling the Dragon King, he looked out and saw the sea covered with jellyfish, including the two giant jellyfish. He could see their tentacles slapping the water.
Hailong couldn't believe that his liquid nitrogen hadn't killed the giant jellyfish but had only enraged it, leading it to bring its followers for revenge.
The Dragon King was in a shipyard at an abandoned ship factory. When the tide rose, the sea water would fill the shipyard. In the past, workers would use the tide to move newly built ships to the sea. It was now early morning, and the tide was rising. In about two hours, the sea water would reach the Dragon King's lair, and in another half hour, the giant jellyfish could enter the shipyard. If Hu Jing hadn't called Hailong, the Dragon King might have been in the giant jellyfish's stomach in two hours. Thinking about it, Hailong felt a cold sweat. The sea was indeed dangerous, and one small mistake could mean death without even knowing how it happened. Hailong wasn't sure if he would survive if the Dragon King died, and even if he did, he would be nothing without the Dragon King. Looking at the jellyfish, Hailong's eyes burned with hatred. He had to kill these pests today. Thinking of Hu Jing, he couldn't help but feel that she was his lucky star, his goddess, always helping him when he was in trouble.
The calm sea surface hid turbulent waves. Under the command of the two giant jellyfish, hundreds of thousands of jellyfish were gathering. The seabed was already full, and to be the first to kill the Dragon King, the giant jellyfish ordered the jellyfish to stack on top of each other. In two hours, when the tide came, the sea water would enter the shipyard, and the giant jellyfish would order the smaller jellyfish to rush forward, using their tentacles to drag the Dragon King to the deep sea and poison him with their toxic tentacles.
Hailong poked his head out and looked at the scene. The sun was rising, and the tide was coming in. He knew the tide had started, and in two hours, the sea water would reach his lair, and he would be doomed. The two giant jellyfish poked their heads out of the water, waving their tentacles, and saw the Dragon King's head. They became even angrier and waved their tentacles at the Dragon King.
Hailong sneered at the jellyfish, thinking that if it were just the Dragon King, he might have to run. But the Dragon King's soul was his soul. As the Dragon King, he couldn't beat them, but as a human, he could outsmart them. He controlled the Dragon King to poke his head out again and said to the giant jellyfish, "Do you know how unfair you jellyfish are? You enter the East Sea from the deep sea at irregular times, sometimes not even coming. Do you know how anxious the fishermen waiting for you are? How many people are waiting to eat wild jellyfish? You've forced people to farm jellyfish. If they knew there were so many jellyfish on the coast, they would catch you all in minutes."
Saying this, Hailong transferred his soul back to his body, took out his phone, and called Liu Yong'an.
At that moment, Liu Yong'an and the others were exercising on the beach, shirtless. Thinking of their leader's well-defined muscles, they felt very frustrated. After their leader left, Liu Yongquan and the others asked Li Guohui how long it would take to get such muscles. Li Guohui sighed and said, "At least two or three months. I don't know how your leader did it, but it's scary." Hearing this, they worked even harder. Even if their leader didn't treat them to a meal at Lishui Palace, they didn't want to be fined. It wasn't just about saving face; it was about losing out on the practical benefits. Half their salary was nearly 10,000 yuan