The upper body of a person and the lower body of a fish is called a mermaid.

What about a fish head on a human-like body?

[Race: Fishman]

Their eyes bulbous like murky marbles, bodies covered with irregularly embedded scales, and three bright red gill slits located behind their ears that open and close rhythmically with their breathing.

In their crude palms, they held simple weapons resembling tridents, exhibiting a not-so-low intelligence, and the traps outside were likely their handiwork.

Three diving Puki were surrounded by a group of such fishmen in the center of the hall.

After detecting these fishmen, Lin Jun did not order the Puki to flee; exchanging 2.5 Puki for more useful information was quite worthwhile.

Strangely, although they had surrounded the Puki, they did not attack, merely fixing their dead fish eyes on the Puki, as if waiting for something.

Speaking of which, the three stone discs under the statue are probably altars, waiting for an auspicious time to hold a ritual?

Just enough for the Puki to occupy one each...

Lin Jun did not intend for these Puki to self-destruct, as there was certain exploratory value to these ruins claimed by the fishmen, and a random self-destruction might cause a collapse.

Clearing rubble underwater is much harder than on land.

In perception, another tardy fishman appeared outside the hall.

The other fishmen surprisingly gave way, creating a path.

An elderly individual, with wrinkles several times more than other fishmen, slowly swam over. Unlike the others holding tridents, it held a magic staff— a fishman spellcaster!

The intelligence of fishmen actually reached such a degree!

Lin Jun opened its panel, not expecting it even had a name.

[Name: Gugu Lu]

[Level: LV35]

[Fixed State: Nevrilla's Blessing (Wise Man)]

[Skills: Water Magic LV7, Spiritual Magic LV6, Magic Storage LV6...]

[Title: Wise Man (Intelligence Attribute Doubled)]

Wise Man!

What is this Nevrilla's Blessing, and can Xiao Hai get one?

Speaking of which, this is the second "blessing" Lin Jun had seen, the previous one being the "Church Blessing" on Inanna.

However, compared to the Church Blessing that provided Light Element Affinity LV4 and Light Magic LV4, the blessing with the Wise Man title was evidently more formidable.

Who is this Nevrilla, and why are they more formidable than the Church?

Uh... a god?

The moment this thought surfaced, Lin Jun immediately wanted to sever the connection with the three Puki and never come down again.

For no other reason, gods are too peculiar, completely belonging to the unknown realm, and Lin Jun did not want any involvement, at least not now.

Yet Lin Jun forcibly restrained this impulse, after all, it's just a blessing...

Inanna, blessed by the Church, was not seen constantly under the Church's surveillance, and this fishman hidden in the Underground City should not be watched all the time either.

Moreover, it wasn't even confirmed that this Nevrilla is a god.

"Outsider, may I ask what you seek by entering this place?"

!!!

The magic staff in old fishman Gugu Lu's hand glowed with magical light.

Telepathy?

Lin Jun was somewhat astonished at the spell the old fishman would use.

Unlike the fishman's ugly appearance, the voice in the old fishman's telepathy was gentle and intellectual.

If one forgot its identity as a fishman, just by the voice in the telepathy, Lin Jun would even imagine it as an elderly sage in a library.

Is this the "Wise Man"!

Wonder if obtaining this title would make one's voice become the same?

This clever old creature guessing the Puki could converse did not surprise Lin Jun. After all, the first challenge to entering here was opening the mechanism door.

After a little thought, Lin Jun gave up the option of playing dumb and responded:

"I have no intention of disturbing you. Entering here was unintentional.

I am searching underwater for a possible Rift. Do you have any clues?"

Being able to communicate means being able to cooperate, and in this regard, this group of fishmen was even easier to interact with than the Tree Demons.

Back then, the Tree Demons had grudges with Xiao Hai, but the present fishmen had no past enmity with Lin Jun.

Besides, regarding the Rift, Lin Jun and the fishmen's interests should align, provided this fishman leader was not an utter fool despite the "Wise Man" title, it would understand the stakes.

Sure enough, fishman Gugu Lu replied: "Rift? There was one, but it disappeared long ago."

Had it and disappeared, that's likely referring to the Demon Tide period.

"Not anymore?

The Rift I'm talking about might not be very large, even a small opening less than a palm-size could be possible.

Have you noticed any place with peculiar water flow or any other anomalies recently?"

Upon hearing this, Gugu Lu turned to look at a fishman beside it, whose size was a circle larger than the others.

The two fishmen emitted some "gurgling" sounds, which seemed to be their language?

If there was a language, then dismantling a fishman corpse might grant a "Fishman Common Language LV1"?

A few minutes later, Gugu Lu said: "At least within our activity range, no such discovery was made."

"May I ask, what is your approximate activity range?"

"Beyond this structure, it's most of the underwater area," Gugu Lu did not conceal.

That range is quite large.

Truth be told, after searching for the Rift up till now, Lin Jun believed there was likely no Rift on the Seventh Floor, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

"If that's the case, I'll search elsewhere."

The Puki tried to return the way they came, and the fishmen did not have any intention of blocking them.

"Wait," Gugu Lu suddenly telepathed, "let them help find the Rift together."

Under Gugu Lu's indication, including the larger fishman from earlier, three fishmen followed along, and Lin Jun did not refuse.

After leaving the ruins, the three fishmen voluntarily swam ahead, thoroughly showcasing their survival skills underwater to Lin Jun.

They maintained a triangular formation, expertly navigating the undercurrents, and precisely identifying underwater paths.

When stray demons leapt out from crevices and sand heaps, the cold glint of the trident always arrived before the howls.

And when facing more troublesome predators, the fishmen would abruptly change their swimming pace,

and for the truly dangerous demons, they'd hide behind seaweed or in the complex topography of the rocks and ruins until the threat passed.

Though there wasn't any communication along the way, the fishmen protected the Puki quite well.

The three Puki barely had a chance to use their skills, following behind them gave Lin Jun the feeling of following a Tree Demon on the Sixth Floor.

After over ten hours of exploration, Lin Jun had almost covered the entire underwater area, indeed finding no Rift.

Watching the three fishmen return to the ruins as the door slowly closed, Lin Jun felt a strange sensation all along.

How to say, it was too friendly.

If it were Lin Jun and outsiders entered their home, even stripping and throwing them out would be an act of leniency.

This group of fishmen was willing to help find the Rift.

Of course, the reason probably lies with the old fishman Gugu Lu, the fishmen evidently listened to it, and its friendliness was likely due to certain considerations.

Nevertheless, it wasn't a bad thing.

Maybe Lin Jun should communicate more with them, perhaps next time ask about the ruins and their beliefs?

...

...

...

The three diving Puki did not return to the surface; without Magic Storage, their energy was depleted after a whole day of exploration.

In fact, if not for the fishmen helping save a lot of energy, they would have starved earlier.

The three diving Puki stopped activities near the ruins, disappearing into the Fungal Network.

Not long after, a fishman found the three Puki corpses, not yet consumed, and brought them all back to the ruins.

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