Zhou Ziwei was thrown dozens of meters away by the shockwave of the explosion before he released a large amount of attribute-less energy and converted it into water energy, thus controlling a large area of lake water around him with water energy.
With a "splash," the vast expanse of lake water, under Zhou Ziwei's control, transformed into an enormous hand, sweeping up two people who were drifting past him. It turned out to be a researcher from an underground base and a blind little girl.
With a whoosh, Zhou Ziwei pulled the two people in front of him, pressed his hand on their stomachs, and forced the lake water they had swallowed out.
Within the lake area controlled by Zhou Ziwei, he could guarantee that they would never swallow another drop of water. This was because every drop of water surrounding them now contained Zhou Ziwei's consciousness, as if it had become part of his body. Naturally, Zhou Ziwei would not allow others to swallow his body.
Under Zhou Ziwei's protection, although they were no longer allowed to have water poured into their stomachs, they still couldn't breathe air underwater, so they remained unconscious for the time being.
Zhou Ziwei had to get them to the water as soon as possible, otherwise their lives would still be in danger.
However, Zhou Ziwei has quite a few people to save right now. All seven members of the Dragon Group entered the underground research base simultaneously, and Zhou Ziwei naturally doesn't want to leave even one or two behind. As for the five researchers in the base… since they came from that secret laboratory, they must all have participated in this water sprite breeding research. Zhou Ziwei wants to obtain more research results from them. Moreover… the three water sprite seeds that have already begun to sprout during the research are still in the arms of the other three. Zhou Ziwei naturally won't let such things be left in the lake; otherwise… wouldn't all their efforts have been in vain?
Zhou Ziwei released his soul power to the fullest extent and quickly pinpointed the locations of these people one by one. Although the shockwave from the explosion was quite powerful and scattered everyone, no one was actually knocked out of the range of his soul power.
After Zhou Ziwei located the other nine people, he immediately used water energy to transform the lake water around him into the shape of a giant sea fish. With a gentle sway of its tail formed from the lake water, the giant fish instantly enveloped the three people's bodies and shot out straight out like an arrow shot from the water.
Zhou Ziwei was well aware of the law of survival of the fittest. Birds can fly freely in the sky because their bodies are adapted to the sky, and fish can swim freely in the water because their bodies are better adapted to the ocean. If Zhou Ziwei wanted to maintain high speed in this lake, if he were to transform the lake he controlled into the small boat shape he had seen during the tsunami, he would probably be slower than swimming alone in the water. Therefore, it would be more comfortable and efficient to swim in the water by transforming the lake water into a fish shape.
Just as Zhou Ziwei had expected, after he transformed the lake water under his control into the shape of a large fish, he swam more than thirty meters in an instant with a light stroke. This terrifying speed was almost as fast as his running speed on land. Caught off guard, Zhou Ziwei almost let Hawkeye pass by him.
Fortunately, Zhou Ziwei reacted in time. With a thought, the lake water that had transformed into a fish fin instantly turned into a hook shape and stretched several times its original length. With a "whoosh," it hooked Eagle Eye's clothes, who was constantly bubbling from his mouth. Then, with another thought, the hook-shaped water swung and threw Eagle Eye directly into the belly of the large fish formed from the lake water.
Zhou Ziwei then did the same thing again, pressing down on the guy's belly. With a gentle press, the guy, who had just been imitating a carp blowing bubbles, immediately opened his mouth and spat out a long jet of water, looking just like a water-type magical beast from a fantasy novel—quite ferocious.
Without pausing for a moment, Zhou Ziwei continued to steer the giant fish formed from the lake water at breakneck speed through the churning waters. In just a short while, he had rescued six more people. Now, only the last two remained: Jiang Chunshui, a member of the Dragon Group, and the female researcher from the research base.
However, these last two people, whether because they were lighter or because they didn't immediately lose consciousness after being hit by the shockwave of the explosion, managed to swim to a position close to the surface of the lake in a short time. Regardless of whether they had been completely unconscious before, they were now quietly floating in the water, just like two floating corpses, and would not move at all.
Zhou Ziwei increased his speed, forcefully flicking his lake-like tail, and immediately darted towards the two people on the water's surface.
Although the two were both near the water's surface, they were quite far apart, about a hundred meters apart.
Zhou Ziwei was now slightly closer to the female researcher at the research base, so he naturally planned to rescue her first, and then rescue Jiang Chunshui last, so he could successfully complete his mission and rise to the surface to breathe some fresh air.
However, at that moment, an unexpected event occurred. Another delayed explosion rang out from the direction of the underground base deep underground, causing the entire lake to churn violently once again. The two people floating not far below the surface were immediately swept away by an undercurrent surging from the depths of the water, and coincidentally... both of them were thrown into an area inhabited by terrifying creatures...
The creatures, resembling withered wooden stakes, were originally floating motionless in the water, waiting for unsuspecting prey to come to them.
These patient and ferocious creatures were startled by the tumultuous commotion in the depths of the lake and were becoming restless when a fragrant, live prey suddenly drifted into their hunting territory. The previously sluggish crocodiles instantly became excited, swishing their tails, opening their gaping maws like blood-red basins, and shaking their heads as they pounced on the delicious meal...
Ten, thirty, fifty... Damn... At least fifty or sixty crocodiles had surrounded Jiang Chunshui and the female researcher, while Zhou Ziwei was pushed dozens of meters away from them by the sudden wave.
Zhou Ziwei could swim extremely fast in the water, but... the crocodiles' mouths were almost biting their bodies, and what was most critical was that... the two of them were now even further apart than before. Even if Zhou Ziwei risked his life... he could probably only save one person at most, while the other person... would probably not be able to escape no matter what.
At this moment, Zhou Ziwei was still closer to the female researcher, and... the female researcher was still tightly clutching the small box containing the water sprite seed. If Zhou Ziwei were a qualified military elite, a true special agent, then completing the mission would be his top priority. In this situation, he wouldn't hesitate about the mission; of course, he would first rescue the female researcher... or snatch the small box from the crocodile's mouth... before considering whether to rescue his companion.
Of course... if nothing unexpected happens, after he finished dealing with the female researcher, his companions would most likely have been torn to pieces and swallowed by those dozens of crocodiles long ago.
Unfortunately... Zhou Ziwei is not a qualified special agent, much less an elite special forces soldier. He is not even a real soldier, so he has no concept of principles such as completing the mission as the top priority.
His principle in doing things was to follow his own heart, so... at this moment, he didn't hesitate at all. In the blink of an eye, three streaks of light flashed across the lake, instantly leaving three deep watermarks...
The butterfly darts travel at near-light speed in the air, but in water, the resistance is much greater, drastically reducing their speed. Because of this increased resistance, when the three butterflies glided across the water at such high speeds, the intense friction caused the water in their path to instantly vaporize, leaving three long, lingering trails deep within the lake…
As Zhou Ziwei fired three butterfly darts, his body, propelled by the lake water surrounding him, swam towards Jiang Chunshui's location.
Originally, Zhou Ziwei's swimming speed was already quite astonishing after mastering the technique of turning water into fish. However, now... because he had stuffed nine more people into the belly of this large fish, his swimming speed was greatly affected. But the situation was not good. He found that the closer to the surface of the water, the more numerous the crocodiles became. Zhou Ziwei was worried that his three butterfly darts alone would not be enough to deal with these ugly creatures. He had to quickly rescue Jiang Chunshui and bring her under his protection.
No wonder this underground research base has been neglected on this small island in the middle of the lake. They have raised so many man-eating crocodiles in the lake, who would dare to come to this island to die?
However, although Zhou Ziwei was fast enough, he was still no match for the crocodiles that looked extremely hungry. Zhou Ziwei's three butterfly darts, like three beams of light, hit Jiang Chunshui almost instantly, piercing the heads of the crocodiles that pounced on him the closest.
However, Zhou Ziwei had clearly underestimated the vitality of these creatures. Although their heads were pierced by bullets, these withered tree stump-like creatures were still mechanically opening and closing their foul-smelling giant mouths, and as if out of instinct, they were still biting at Jiang Chunshui's body without complaint or regret.
In his shock, Zhou Ziwei simply controlled the three butterfly darts to circle around the mouths of the crocodiles, severing all their sharp teeth before finally sparing the fish carcasses that should have been dead.
But in that brief moment of delay, even more crocodiles rushed forward one after another. In an instant, dozens of wide mouths appeared like deep, bottomless pits, and their snow-white teeth, like sharp daggers, emerged simultaneously around Jiang Chunshui.
"Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle..." Seeing that things were not going well, Zhou Ziwei immediately activated his abundant soul power, making the three butterfly darts fly and weave among the ferocious crocodiles as if they were real butterflies.
One by one, the flat, long, and enormous crocodile heads were sliced off by the three butterfly darts as easily as chopping vegetables. The crocodile eyes, which looked like light bulbs, were also extinguished one by one as if they were being targeted. The speed of the attack was so fast that it was almost impossible for anyone to react.
However... as the saying goes, even a tiger can't withstand a pack of wolves, and a hero can't withstand a crowd. These groups of crocodiles surged forward like shrimp in the sea, and the butterfly dart was simply too small. So even though the butterfly dart was moving at top speed, it still couldn't keep up with the speed at which the crocodiles were surging forward.
"Hiss..." The strong stench of blood emanating from the dead crocodiles seemed to have further fueled their greedy nature, causing even more crocodiles to surge towards this area in just a short time.
Zhou Ziwei was caught off guard, and in an instant, streaks of blood appeared as Jiang Chunshui's arm and leg were torn off by these ferocious crocodiles.
"Ah—" A shrill scream actually traveled through the somewhat murky lake water all the way to Zhou Ziwei's ears. Zhou Ziwei had long understood that sound could travel not only through the air but also through water, but only now did he suddenly realize... how terrifying the sound transmitted through water could be.
Jiang Chunshui, who had already fainted from swallowing a bellyful of lake water, was suddenly jolted awake by the immense damage to her body. She let out a scream as she saw the massive crocodiles and their gaping maws right in front of her. Overwhelmed by pain, shock, and fear, she fainted again without even a second's pause.
"You beasts...you're all courting death."
Zhou Ziwei opened his mouth and cursed loudly in the lake. Then, seeing more crocodiles go crazy because they smelled the blood of the alien creature floating in the water, they rushed towards Jiang Chunshui's blood-soaked body as if their lives depended on it.
"Die! All of you, die!"
In his extreme rage, Zhou Ziwei's misty soul power in his sea of souls began to surge violently and uncontrollably, seeping out of his body in wisps and naturally merging with the large lake around him that was controlled by water energy.
The lake water, water energy, soul consciousness, and soul power were completely intertwined in an instant. As if infected by Zhou Ziwei's emotions at this moment, they began to boil like a raging sea. Then, the strands of water with various energies intertwined were as if hit by the shock wave of an explosion again. With a "boom", they disintegrated once more and were ejected in all directions.
Although these streams of water shot out in countless streams, they were still subtly under Zhou Ziwei's control because they were imbued with his soul power and consciousness.
In that instant… Zhou Ziwei suddenly recalled how his partners and researchers, who had been forced to drink water, expelled the lake water from their stomachs, and how they spit out jets of water. A sudden thought struck him…
In an instant, the streams of water imbued with Zhou Ziwei's soul consciousness and water energy transformed into sharp arrows with a mere thought. Then, fueled by the intense combustion of the water energy, their speed increased tenfold, and in the blink of an eye… they shot into the swarms of crocodiles above…
Volume 3, King of the City, Chapter 529: Water Arrow Technique
Each water arrow, when it first burst away from Zhou Ziwei, was several feet long. However, as the water energy attached to it continued to burn, the water arrow immediately shrank, becoming smaller and smaller. The density of the water molecules began to compress drastically. After shooting for more than ten meters, the several-foot-long water arrow had been compressed to only a few inches long. This tenfold compression transformed the water arrow, which was composed entirely of pure water, into something resembling crystal. Although it was still colorless and odorless, it had become a tangible and substantial object. The structure of its water molecules also underwent a dramatic change under the continuous compression.
However... these changes are obviously only temporary. This is entirely due to the sudden burning of water energy under the influence of soul power and soul consciousness. Once the water energy applied to it is completely burned off, the water molecules that have been compressed to the extreme will rebound and return to their original state.
However, even though it was only a brief change, it was more than enough for Zhou Ziwei.
The lake water that Zhou Ziwei had gathered around him with water energy was at least a dozen cubic meters. However, under this extremely uneasy and violent state, more than half of it, or seven or eight cubic meters, was shaken away. Only a few cubic meters of lake water remained around him, which Zhou Ziwei managed to hold back tightly the person he had just managed to save.
Seven or eight cubic meters of lake water transformed into countless water arrows. Just how many were there... even Zhou Ziwei himself could hardly count them. In short, there were a great many, as numerous as raindrops falling from the sky.
And so many water arrows, due to their full condensation and combustion, suddenly possessed a lethality that far exceeded that of ordinary arrows. How terrifyingly powerful that was!
Because each water arrow was imbued with a fragment of Zhou Ziwei's soul consciousness, even though these water arrows shot out in all directions like a geyser without any discernible pattern, Zhou Ziwei could find a worthy target for each arrow with a slight thought.
Tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands, of water arrows crashed into the surrounding waters. Moments later, within a radius of 240 meters centered on Zhou Ziwei—the limit of Zhou Ziwei's soul power—all the crocodiles were wiped out, leaving no survivors.
These water arrows are naturally not as sharp as butterfly darts, and their speed is far inferior as well. However... their advantage lies in their sheer number. A single volley can overwhelm the entire area, pressing down like the end of the world. Even if each water arrow can only pierce a tiny hole in the thick-skinned crocodile, hundreds or even thousands of water arrows will take turns shooting at the same crocodile in an instant. Even if it's just grinding, it's enough to wear down an iron-clad crocodile to death.
Moreover, while these water arrows aren't as lethal as butterfly darts, they're still quite powerful. Each arrow, only a few inches long, is compressed from ten times its volume of lake water. This unique compression method makes these short arrows incredibly elastic. When part of the arrow, or even the entire arrow, penetrates the target, the compressed water molecules, under immense recoil, suddenly lose their compressive effect. This causes the short arrow to instantly revert to its uncompressed state, its volume increasing tenfold. In this situation, the target struck by the water arrow faces a truly terrifying apocalypse. A wound that might have been only an inch or two deep will be torn open instantly, becoming a wound several inches long. If the entire arrow had already penetrated the target's body... even a single arrow could potentially burst the target.
In that instant, tens of thousands of water arrows wiped out all living things within a 240-meter radius around Zhou Ziwei, except for the two humans who were not quite dead yet.
Even Zhou Ziwei, who had just had a sudden inspiration, was stunned by the terrifying effect and was speechless for a moment as he looked at the lake water around him, which was completely stained red with blood.
Fortunately, Zhou Ziwei was a man who had experienced countless battles. After a slight pause, he quickly regained his senses. With a thought, he once again mobilized a large amount of attribute-less energy from his middle dantian, transformed it back into water energy, and controlled the lake around him. Then, he immediately transformed into a fish in the lake water and swam swiftly towards Jiang Chunshui.
Because he had just cleared out all the crocodiles within a 240-meter radius, Zhou Ziwei encountered no further obstacles this time and easily rescued Jiang Chunshui.
Unfortunately... Jiang Chunshui was already severely injured at this time, with one leg and one arm having been swallowed up by the group of frenzied crocodiles.
At this moment, Zhou Ziwei didn't have time to treat Jiang Chunshui's injuries. He first used the lake water to transform into a large hand and swept Jiang Chunshui into his water energy protection. Under Zhou Ziwei's water energy protection, there was no need to give her any hemostatic medicine or bandages.
The surrounding lake water was the best hemostatic agent. Under Zhou Ziwei's precise control, the lake water would naturally generate a strong pressure, tightly pressing down on every wound and blood vessel on Jiang Chunshui's body, preventing even a single drop of blood from flowing out.
Zhou Ziwei did not immediately channel his soul power into Jiang Chunshui's body to help her wounds heal. Although this would not waste much time for Zhou Ziwei, he did not want to do so.
Her limbs were completely severed, and they had already been torn apart and eaten by a group of crocodiles. For an ordinary person or an ordinary hospital, such a horrific injury would likely only result in amputation and disinfection, with saving her life being the top priority.
But for Zhou Ziwei... he simply didn't want such a young and beautiful girl to become a cripple without limbs right in front of him.
Therefore... he absolutely cannot just irresponsibly close up Jiang Chunshui's severed hands and feet and call it a day.
Zhou Ziwei plans... Once this crisis is completely over, he will really try to see if he has the ability to regenerate a severed limb.
Although Zhou Ziwei felt that theoretically he should be able to have such an ability, he had never actually tested it and it was just an idea. Moreover, reshaping a limb for someone involved a lot of issues, which was a severe challenge for Zhou Ziwei.
If Zhou Ziwei were to use his soul power now to accelerate the healing of Jiang Chunshui's severed limbs, including blood vessels, skin, and bones, then when he wanted to repair her limbs later, he would have to cruelly reopen her skin, break her bones, and sever her blood vessels again. This would undoubtedly be another inhumane blow to Jiang Chunshui. Therefore, Zhou Ziwei temporarily used water energy to compress her wounds, preventing further blood loss and worsening of her injuries, while also suppressing the wounds to prevent them from healing.
There was one last person... The female researcher who was just about to be completely abandoned by Zhou Ziwei because of the dilemma, was fortunate enough to be spared when Zhou Ziwei suddenly displayed his great power.
Originally... she was already surrounded by hundreds of crocodiles, and it seemed she was about to be devoured until not even a bone fragment would be left.
But to Zhou Ziwei's surprise... a series of high-voltage electric shocks suddenly shot out from the small box the woman was holding, actually causing the crocodiles surrounding her to bounce back a distance.
Even amidst his busy schedule, Zhou Ziwei noticed this... It was clearly not the protection activated by the female researcher herself, but rather a protection program that the small box initiated on its own.
Zhou Ziwei, however, did not notice this situation when he rescued two other researchers who were also carrying water sprite seeds.
From this, we can infer that the small box the female researcher was holding was somewhat different. Zhou Ziwei didn't have time to scan and study it in detail at this moment, but he did find that the small box the female researcher was holding contained the water sprite seed that had already sprouted a tender seedling.
This thing was undoubtedly very important to Zhou Ziwei, and if possible, he certainly didn't want it to be swallowed up by those crocodiles.
However, Zhou Ziwei was too busy rescuing Jiang Chunshui to pay attention to the female researcher. The box in the female researcher's arms emitted three high-voltage electric attacks, barely withstanding the attacks of the crocodiles, and finally exhausted all the high-voltage current stored in the box.
The poor female researcher suddenly became a delicious meal in the mouths of the group of crocodiles whose eyes were already bloodshot.
In the blink of an eye, more than a dozen pieces of tender flesh were torn off his body.
However, at that moment, Zhou Ziwei suddenly burst forth, and in an instant, he had a flash of inspiration and grasped the method of launching water arrows. He released countless water arrows in one breath, wiping out all the crocodiles within the range that his soul power could scan.
This also saved the female researcher who was about to be devoured by a large number of crocodiles.
After temporarily pulling Jiang Chunshui to his side and suppressing her injuries, Zhou Ziwei once again swung the giant fish tail formed from the lake water and rushed swiftly toward the female researcher who was still covered in blood.
However, at that moment, more crocodiles, attracted by the strong, pungent smell of blood in the vicinity, began to surge forward even more frantically.
The female researcher was not close to Zhou Ziwei; she was almost at the very edge of the range of Zhou Ziwei's soul power.
Therefore, just as Zhou Ziwei turned around and swam a short distance towards her, countless crocodiles once again gathered around the female researcher.
“Very good... With so many live rakes for me to test my skills on, hehe... It saves me the trouble of troubling others.”
Zhou Ziwei wasn't alarmed at all when he saw such a large group of crocodiles surging towards him. He had just mastered the technique of the water arrow, and at this moment, he was like a child who had just received a new and exciting toy. If he didn't play with it to his heart's content for a while, he would feel restless and itchy. However, the use of the water arrow also came at a great cost. The attack just now had consumed a huge amount of Zhou Ziwei's attribute-less energy and soul power. If he hadn't recently broken through the million mark in soul power, he probably wouldn't have been willing to expend it like that.
So even if Zhou Ziwei was itching to use his skills, he wouldn't idly conjure water arrows and fire them randomly into empty space. That would be an enormous waste. Besides... the wonder of these water arrows lies in the rebound and restoration effect of the extremely compressed water molecules after hitting the target.
If you don't have a rake and just throw things randomly into empty space, you won't get any results at all, right?
The timely appearance of this group of crocodiles finally gave Zhou Ziwei a target to test his skills on. His eyes widened instantly, and after a quick scan with his soul power, Zhou Ziwei had basically determined the number of crocodiles around the female researcher.
Seventy-two! So many have gathered in such a short time! Just how many crocodiles are there in this lake...?
Based on the information he had gathered, Zhou Ziwei simply split off a small patch of lake water in front of him. A large amount of soul power suddenly surged out from Zhou Ziwei's sea of souls and poured directly into the split patch of lake water.