When everyone saw that the fireproof suits Xuelian had bought from a budget shopping site were cheap but of incredibly poor quality, they immediately took them off. Just as they were shedding the suits, their small boat reached a bend in the river where a fire was indeed burning. The sight of the flames stunned the assistant and the three women.

The assistant said in horror, "That flame... could it be fire spat out by the underground salamander, now burning on the rocks?"

Feeling the heat from the flame, Lili said fearfully, "This isn’t an ordinary fire. I think it’s Samadhi Fire. Feel its temperature! It’s so high it could probably melt steel..."

Yu Lan took out a thermometer and tested the flame. "My goodness," she said in horror, "the temperature is a full 1,000 degrees Celsius..."

As Xuelian stripped off her shoddy, counterfeit fireproof suit, she complained with regret, "If I’d known that shopping site sold nothing but fakes, I never would have bought cheap junk from there..."

Just then, the previously calm Underground Dark River began to surge violently. Seeing the water start to churn, the assistant and the three women screamed in panic.

The terrified assistant shouted, "Look! There must be a monster down in the Underground Dark River! It’s about to surface!"

Lili even picked up a huge rock and hurled it at the bubbling surface of the water. "Monster! If you have the guts, come on out! See if I don’t smash you to death with this rock!"

Yu Lan was even livestreaming the scene with her phone. "Hey folks, don’t forget to follow my channel! This is the beautiful Yu Lan, specializing in monster livestreams for twenty years..."

Xuelian’s eyes widened, her gaze fixed intently on the bubbling spot.

And just as they were all waiting in anticipation, a colossal underground salamander suddenly burst from the water! It exhaled hot steam from its nostrils and spewed a roaring fire from its mouth.

When they saw the underground salamander, they all screamed.

The assistant stammered in terror, "What underground salamander? This is a terrifying, colossal super lizard!"

Lili, her face pale, said, "Where’s the salamander? That’s clearly a gigantic herbivorous dinosaur!"

Yu Lan, catching her breath with her chest heaving, said, "So the so-called underground salamander is just a tiny gecko magnified 100,000 times..."

Xuelian, however, whipped the Shrinking Solution out of her pocket. It was the one Zhao Rong had bought from the Paradise Shopping Cart. Holding it high, she yelled, "Underground salamander, you think you’re so tough? I’ll put one drop of this Shrinking Solution on your head and turn this colossal underground dinosaur of yours into a tiny lizard!"

With that, Xuelian uncapped the bottle and hurled it toward the immense, ferocious, fire-breathing salamander not far away.

Seeing Xuelian throw the bottle of Shrinking Solution, the others cheered as if they had just witnessed the dawn of victory.

The assistant said excitedly, "The Shrinking Solution! That’s the Divine Artifact Zhao Rong bought from the Paradise Shopping Cart! Just one drop of that stuff can make a huge animal incredibly small. So, as long as that bottle Xuelian threw hits the underground salamander, we can instantly turn that colossal creature into a little gecko and kill it!"

Yu Lan also clapped her hands with delight. "I thought we’d have to pay a huge price to get past this. I never expected Xuelian to be carrying Shrinking Solution with her. She’s really thinking ahead and looking out for all of us!"

However, just as they were expecting the Shrinking Solution to shrink the massive salamander, the creature suddenly spewed a jet of flame, completely incinerating the bottle.

When they saw their ultimate weapon destroyed, they all hung their heads and sighed. "Looks like we’ll need Zhao Rong to handle this damned underground salamander after all," they muttered in disbelief.

At that moment, Zhao Rong pulled out his phone, opened the Paradise Shopping Cart app, and typed "Water Shield" into the search bar.

When the assistant and the three women saw what he was typing, they asked in confusion, "Zhao Rong, why not buy a shoulder-fired rocket launcher and just blow the salamander to pieces? Why a Water Shield? What even is a Water Shield? We’ve never seen or heard of such a thing. Can it really kill that giant salamander?"

Hearing their doubts, Zhao Rong explained, "You don’t understand. A Water Shield is exactly what it sounds like: a shield made of water. It’s fireproof."

Hearing Zhao Rong’s explanation, the assistant’s face lit up with understanding. "Zhao Rong, I get it!" he said excitedly. "You’re going to buy five Water Shields, one for each of us. As long as we have these shields, we won’t have to be afraid of the salamander’s fire anymore!"

Lili added happily, "The key to defeating the enemy is protecting ourselves! Zhao Rong, you’re amazing for getting us such a great defensive tool!"

"As the saying goes, water and fire are incompatible," Yu Lan said joyfully. "But I’d say water is definitely fire’s bane. So now, as long as we have these shields made of water, we can easily defeat this giant underground salamander!"

Xuelian, however, pulled a water-based fire extinguisher from her bag and asked, "Zhao Rong, are you sure a Water Shield is better than this?"

Before anyone could say more, Zhao Rong’s package arrived. He started opening it while explaining to the others, "A shield made of water might sound sophisticated, but the real thing is actually very simple and a bit ridiculous. So, please, try not to laugh when I pull it out."

With that, Zhao Rong opened the package and took out the Divine Artifact he had bought from the Paradise Shopping Cart: the shield made of water.

However, when the assistant and the three women saw it, their expressions went from shock to outright laughter.