The door to the valuables storage room was covered in a thick layer of black substance.
This indicated that the door had likely never been opened; an Abyssal Nester had simply plastered over it just like that.
Yu Xian and the others naturally understood what this meant: Shui Yuetian might very well be inside.
"Let me do it," Yu Xian said to Niman.
With that, the two swapped places. A golden rope appeared in Yu Xian's hand, which he then transformed into Heavenly Golden Feathers.
From his clash with the tiger-man moments ago, he had discovered that the Heavenly Golden Feathers could easily slice through the black substance. Using them to cut through it now was a perfect fit.
"Be careful, especially when you open the valuables storage room. It's best to prepare an isolation zone first," Niman reminded him attentively as she watched him cut away at the black substance with the Heavenly Golden Feathers.
The Primordial Water had already been corrupted by the Abyss, and even the space inside bore some of the Abyss's properties.
If opened rashly, should Shui Yuetian truly be inside the valuables storage room, she would very likely be tainted by the Abyss. Thus, the two spaces had to be isolated from each other.
Yu Xian nodded to show he understood, then continued using the Heavenly Golden Feathers to cut and scrape away the black substance pasted over the door.
It took a full ten-plus minutes before he finally cleared away the black substance from the door of the valuables storage room. He then began creating spatial bubbles.
Creating spatial bubbles inside the Primordial Water felt like trying to blow up balloons underwater—it required much more effort.
Spatial bubbles that usually took an instant to create now required at least a second or more, and sustaining them was harder than usual as well.
This showed that in Abyssal combat, spatial bubbles were truly of little use.
After producing dozens of bubbles sufficient to block off the doorway, layering them one over another until the entrance was sealed, he used newly forged Heavenly Golden Feathers to cut into the door of the valuables storage room.
The door to the valuables storage room was exceptionally thick—even thicker than the door to the captain's quarters—and had been forged from hundreds of different metals. As he sliced into it, layers of metal could be seen showing different colors, and sparks flew continuously as the Heavenly Golden Feathers cut through.
"This door looks delicious. Layer upon layer, it looks like pork belly," Little Nora remarked to everyone as she watched the door being cut open.
Yu Xian chuckled. "Want to have a bite, then?"
In fact, while cutting the door, he had used his Star Ring to hack into Shui Yuetian's Star Ring, but the space where Shui Yuetian was located was completely silent and extraordinarily stable. Because of this, he was already prepared mentally: Shui Yuetian was probably not in the valuables storage room.
Once the door to the valuables storage room swung open, Yu Xian peered inside. Sure enough, it was completely empty—not even a single hair was left.
"There's nothing at all," Little Nora said in disappointment.
Yu Xian stepped into the valuables storage room, his footsteps actually echoing.
He walked to the center of the room and plunged a Heavenly Golden Feather into the floor. According to the schematics of the Primordial Water provided by Aska, directly beneath the valuables storage room was the 3D printing room.
In the Abyss, one would always run into all sorts of bizarre emergencies that might call for all sorts of bizarre tools.
The issue was that although a warship was large, it couldn't possibly carry everything, which was why 3D printing was necessary to manufacture useful parts on demand.
In fact, better warships would even have a smithy adjacent to the 3D printing room, and sometimes even a resident blacksmith.
Yu Xian cut through the floor, and immediately laid eyes on a golden lion. Their gazes locked, leaving Yu Xian no choice but to smile and wave. "Hi!"
With that, he turned and bolted, an enraged roar from the golden lion erupting behind him.
"Actually, I've noticed a pattern," Yu Xian said to the others as he ran. "The better-looking a creature in the Abyss is, the stronger it turns out to be. Think about the tiger-man just now, all the monsters Niman killed, and now this golden lion."
Little Nora thought back for a moment and exclaimed in surprise, "That really is true! The tiger-man and the lion both look pretty cool, while the crocodile and snake Sister Niman killed were hideous."
"Not necessarily. There are also monsters that are exceptionally ugly yet extraordinarily strong," Niman said with a smile.
She had encountered far more Abyssal creatures than Yu Xian and the others, so she had seen beings covered in fleshy tumors that were nonetheless overwhelmingly powerful.
Just then, the golden lion shattered Yu Xian's spatial bubbles behind them. Moving like a bolt of golden lightning, it darted ahead of Yu Xian in the blink of an eye, squarely cutting off his path.
"See? I knew it'd be strong," Yu Xian said, stopping and staring at the golden lion.
This golden lion truly was too gorgeous—so gorgeous it looked completely out of place for a creature of the Abyss. Yet this very beauty was proof of its strength.
After all, the vast majority of Abyssal creatures were grotesquely deformed, some even repulsive enough to make anyone looking at them feel sick.
In reality, this indicated that those creatures themselves were poorly adapted to the Abyss's environment, causing their bodies to mutate and warp. Creatures like this golden lion, on the other hand, proved precisely that they were thoroughly adapted to the Abyss—meaning they would be exceptionally formidable in such an environment.
In gaming terms, it was an elite mob, or perhaps even a mini-boss.
"Are we going to fight it?" Little Nora asked.
Nora sighed. "I hope it can actually die."
"I wanted to save some time, but instead ended up wasting even more," Yu Xian sighed helplessly as he looked at the golden lion.
He had cut through the valuables storage room hoping to take a shortcut, sparing them from having to inspect the 3D printing room once they reached the lower deck. Instead, he had gotten tangled up with this golden lion.
Right then, the golden lion opened its maw and let out a roar toward Yu Xian and the others.
Yu Xian originally thought the lion was merely posturing, but the moment the roar began, he realized he had been too naive: the golden lion's attack was already underway.
Terrifying sound waves and shockwaves instantly blasted him back into the valuables storage room. His body was plastered flat against the wall, embossing a humanoid silhouette deep into the surface.
*Turns out its move is Lion's Roar!*
Yu Xian was pinned and unable to move, but fortunately, protected by the King of the Abyss Battle Armor, he suffered no injury.
Without the King of the Abyss Battle Armor, he probably would have been reduced to mincemeat by this single roar. The golden lion's might was far greater than the tiger-man's.
"I estimate its strength is already at peak Star Rank," Niman said gravely.
Peak Star Rank—that meant a combat power of over 900. Upon hearing that, Yu Xian's first thought wasn't marveling at how strong the golden lion was, but rather how ridiculously durable the King of the Abyss Battle Armor was.
The tiger-man's attacks hadn't breached its defense, and now the even stronger golden lion's attacks hadn't breached it either. Could it be that no attack below the Mighty One level could breach the defense of the King of the Abyss?
At last, the golden lion's prolonged roar came to an end.
Yu Xian peeled himself off the wall and examined the King of the Abyss Battle Armor. Sure enough, there wasn't even a scratch.
Thoughtfully, he said, "Guys, it seems we don't need to be so nervous after all."
No sooner had he spoken than the golden lion stalked up to the doorway of the valuables storage room. Blocking the exit, it opened its jaws and roared at Yu Xian once again.
Yu Xian was plastered against the wall once more.
This time, however, his expression was far more relaxed. After all, the golden lion truly had no way to break through the defense of the King of the Abyss Battle Armor.
Chapter 298