’If it hasn’t grown a brain, then it’s normal that it isn’t reacting to my probing.’

"Huh..." Su Ze suddenly detected a slit on the Great Sea Shell’s surface.

It looked as if someone had carved a door into the Great Sea Shell.

Just as Su Ze was about to extend his Perception Tentacles inside, the "door" suddenly opened.

Someone really had made a door in the Great Sea Shell’s body, and it wasn’t small, either—it was a good four or five meters tall.

’Could I have been wrong? The Great Sea Shell isn’t the new king of the Marine Beasts; the thing living inside it is?’

’That makes sense. How could a brainless creature become a king!’

Although the large door had opened, it was only a crack. A pair of vertical eyes peeked out.

The small eyes seemed to convey caution and wariness, along with a somewhat shifty demeanor.

Only the eyes were visible, no other body parts.

That pair of eyes reminded Su Ze of a crab’s eyes.

’Could the new king be a crab?’

For a pair of eyes alone to give off such a shifty vibe... this didn’t quite match Su Ze’s idea of a "new king."

Su Ze didn’t know if the creature behind the door could detect his Perception Tentacles, but he tried to extend them past the door anyway, wanting to get a full view of this new king.

He saw a bright red creature hiding furtively behind the door, peeking through the crack with its small eyes and looking around.

It was a Beast that looked like a cross between a crab and a shrimp. It had a long "tail" curled up into a spiral, and its abdomen, unlike that of a shrimp or crab, looked soft and vulnerable at a glance.

A hermit crab.

Su Ze recognized it at once as a common hermit crab, the kind often seen by the sea.

But this hermit crab was huge, a good three to four meters tall, and it didn’t have a "house."

’Too big to find a suitable house?’

’No, that can’t be it. There are plenty of giant sea snail Beasts in the ocean.’

Su Ze suddenly understood. This Great Sea Shell was its "house."

The hermit crab was taking advantage of the creature’s lack of a brain, forcibly occupying the Great Sea Shell.

’But on what grounds could this hermit crab become the "new king"? It doesn’t look the part at all!’

Moreover, the Hermit Crab Beast clearly hadn’t noticed the presence of his Perception Tentacles.

It was obviously a Rank 6 Beast at best. Whether in the ocean or on land, there were plenty of ferocious Rank 6 Beasts. On what grounds could it become the new king?

For a moment, Su Ze couldn’t tell if the so-called new king was the Great Sea Shell or the Hermit Crab Beast.

’Or maybe... he’d guessed wrong...’

’There is no new king here at all. Perhaps this Hermit Crab Beast just has some sort of Gu-like ability to bewitch the hearts of beasts, allowing it to command these Marine Beasts?’

In any case, even if the Hermit Crab Beast wasn’t the new king, it was by no means simple. The very fact that it could make so many Beasts—including Rank 4 and even Rank 5 Beasts—come to pay homage meant it was anything but ordinary.

But whether it was the new king or not, Su Ze didn’t actually care that much. What he was truly concerned with was the golden energy.

His Perception Tentacles quickly swept through the Great Sea Shell’s interior. He discovered that the Hermit Crab Beast really knew how to live comfortably. It had shown no courtesy at all, hollowing out the inside of the Great Sea Shell to build itself a cozy little nest.

It had even carved out a special "storage room" to keep some of its belongings.

Su Ze’s Perception Tentacles swept over the "storage room," and sure enough, he made a discovery. Hidden there were two pieces of "gold ore"!

They were two fist-sized stones that contained a rich amount of golden energy.

’Is this some kind of unknown Evolution Ore? Or just ordinary stone that’s been saturated with golden energy?’

Su Ze wasn’t sure, but the golden energy he had previously extracted from killing Beasts couldn’t be stored in his body for long. The golden energy within these stones, however, seemed like it could be preserved indefinitely.

Su Ze coveted the two pieces of "gold ore," but after some thought, he decided it would be too difficult to get them.

The Hermit Crab Beast might have seemed a bit shifty, but its rank was definitely not low. He would likely be no match for it.

Besides, the creature was extremely cautious, opening its door only a crack. Even if he managed to sneak inside the Great Sea Shell, he would be trapped if the Hermit Crab Beast shut the door.

Taking such a huge risk for just two pieces of "gold ore" didn’t seem worth it.

The amount of golden energy in two pieces of "gold ore" was limited. He’d be better off just going back to kill more Beasts and extract it slowly, with no risk involved.

What Su Ze wanted to know even more was where these two pieces of "gold ore" had come from.

And the golden dust in the seabed mud at the bottom of the trench—where did that come from?

He shifted his attention to other parts of the trench, trying to find some clues. His Perception Tentacles delved into the seabed mud, sensing particles of golden dust, too small to be seen by the naked eye, mixed in with the mud and algae.

It seemed that the closer he got to the mud where the Great Sea Shell was, the more golden dust it contained.

An idea struck Su Ze. He directed his Perception Tentacles deeper underground. The golden dust seemed to be sprinkled only on the surface layer of the mud. Less than half a meter down, there was no trace of it left.

However, when Su Ze’s Perception Tentacles reached the mud directly beneath where the Great Sea Shell was rooted, they were suddenly repelled!

Su Ze was startled. This was the first time he had ever encountered such a situation. ’Could someone have discovered my Perception Tentacles?’

He carefully controlled his Perception Tentacles again, approaching the area beneath the Great Sea Shell. This time, he slowed down, inching closer and closer, until he finally saw a patch of purple!

It seemed to be a purple barrier. He tried his best to see what was inside it, but as soon as he got a little closer, he was repelled again.

However, Su Ze discovered a ring of fine, golden pebbles surrounding the purple barrier!

They were emitting the familiar golden energy.

Although they were much smaller than the Hermit Crab Beast’s two pieces of "gold ore," there were a great many of them. All the little bits added up would definitely be more than the Hermit Crab Beast’s two pieces.

’Just as I thought...’ Su Ze guessed that the source of the golden energy was very likely inside that purple barrier.

’There must be more "gold ore" inside the purple barrier!’

After thinking it over and over, Su Ze felt that if he just went back now, he probably wouldn’t be able to sleep at night.

Even if he couldn’t get his hands on any "gold ore," he had to at least figure out what was going on.

Of course, it would be even better if he could make a haul while he was at it.

The greatest advantage of the "gold ore" compared to the golden energy he extracted by killing Beasts was that it could be stored. He could take it out and use it anytime he needed to digest his extractions in the future.

With something like this, the more, the better, of course.

He decided to go down and give it a try, to see if he could make any gains or discoveries.

Su Ze’s willingness to take the risk was also related to the fact that the Great Sea Shell and the Hermit Crab Beast didn’t seem particularly intelligent.

Of course, he still only planned to send his clone down. It would sneak down in its liquid form to quietly investigate the situation beneath the Great Sea Shell and grab some "gold" while it was there.