After that brutal lesson, Benjamin no longer dared to keep descending so recklessly. Instead, he chose to take a wide detour and avoid the piranha-infested area.
Running into a single Warper, he might still have a chance to escape, but when a Warper teamed up with piranhas, there was really no way to handle it.
Fortunately, this dive went very smoothly. Benjamin encountered neither piranhas nor Warper.
Soon, as the Sea Moth descended, the surrounding light grew weaker and weaker. Although it was daytime, the sunlight could no longer reach this depth, and everything around him was pitch black. Only the Sea Moth's lights offered a faint sense of safety.
Buzz!
An ethereal, distant howl kept echoing nearby, adding a touch of terror to the dark, horrifying environment.
But Benjamin knew clearly in his heart that it was only the sound of reefback fish and posed no threat to him.
[Why aren't you there yet!]
↳ [Why aren't you doctor yet?]
↳ [Yuno ball, family guy reference in big 2026 eh?]
↳ [Surface ball knowledge.]
[This is way too deep.]
↳ [That's what your sister said to me last night.]
[Where the hell is Shelter No. 2?]
[The environment around here has my nerves stretched tight the whole time. Now I finally understand what deep-sea phobia feels like!]
After descending for more than ten seconds and seeing the oppressive blackness all around, the viewers in the stream all felt uneasy. At that moment, Gaia sent a notification. "Current depth has reached four hundred meters."
"Holy crap, only four hundred meters?"
"Just hearing that depth makes me feel like I can't breathe."
There was no helping it. At eight hundred meters, even the descent alone would take quite a while.
Finally, after several minutes of descending through the suffocating darkness, Benjamin spotted the seabed below.
The terrain here was extremely complex. Layer upon layer of rock formations intersected to create all kinds of intricate caves.
Following the coordinates Gaia had given him, Benjamin searched carefully. Then he discovered a massive cave entrance right beneath him. The entrance was long and narrow, roughly ten meters wide and an estimated seventy to eighty meters long, looking just like an eye.
[Holy shit, this cave is huge. The crew picked a pretty good spot.]
[Cough cough, that weird shape... looks like a shaved pussy?]
↳ [You're not right in the head.]
"Then let's head inside the cave and take a look."
Benjamin steered the Sea Moth into the cave. The very next moment, a whole new world opened up before his eyes.
The inside of the cave was incredibly vast. He couldn't even see the far boundary at a single glance!
What surprised Benjamin even more was that he had assumed the seabed at eight hundred meters would be completely lightless, yet this enormous cave was actually glowing with a soft pink light.
[This cave looks way too big!]
[And there's light inside? Are the Intrepid crew still alive?]
[Look, those buildings down there, aren't they the crew's houses!]
[Yeah, those lights are coming from the houses!]
The viewers exclaimed in shock. It wasn't just the viewers. Seeing the glowing buildings perched on the protruding reefs inside the cave, Benjamin himself started to wonder if the Intrepid crew might still be alive.
But there were quite a few of these structures. Just within a few hundred meters, there were more than a dozen. Did the Intrepid really have that many crew members? Or had they multiplied here? Holding on to that doubt, Benjamin continued piloting the Sea Moth toward the glowing, house-like objects below.
However, once he got closer, he realized these so-called buildings were actually enormous pink mushrooms!
The pink mushrooms varied in size. The smaller ones stood over ten meters tall, while the largest reached fifty to sixty meters. The caps alone spanned more than ten meters in diameter, looking just like towering trees on land.
The light came from the mushroom caps. Each one bloomed with pink radiance, like a row of table lamps, turning the entire cave into a cozy, warm space.
[Holy crap, they weren't houses at all. They're mushrooms!]
[These mushrooms are way too big!]
[Nothing but pink mushrooms. They look so pretty!]
[This place feels way more cozy than the rest of the game!]
[Yeah, for a second it felt like we stepped into a fairy tale world! Developers probably figured we'd been scared nonstop and decided to throw in a cute, heartwarming scene to let us relax!]
All the viewers voiced their admiration. After all, most of the ocean so far had been pitch black and eerie. This was the first time they had seen such beautiful scenery.
Developers really did care about the players' feelings!
"Chat, I can hardly believe this is still Subnautica!" Benjamin said with a laugh. In this place, he didn't even need to turn on the Sea Moth's lights to see everything clearly.
"Let me get a closer look."
Benjamin piloted the Sea Moth toward the nearest mushroom tree.
At this distance, he noticed a round hole right in the center of each mushroom cap. The inside looked pitch black, but he couldn't make out anything.
Once he was close enough, Benjamin immediately scanned it with his wristband.
"Ding. Jellyshroom. A large fungus that grows in deep-sea caves. It has formed a symbiotic relationship with a carnivorous creature called the Crabsnake. Assessment: Edible, but watch out for the Crabsnake living inside."
When Gaia's voice came through and Benjamin heard that these Jellyshroom had a symbiotic relationship with Crabsnakes, he suddenly realized something!
Because he instantly thought of the Jet Flower and Self-Destruct Fish he had encountered at the very beginning of the game!
Those two had the same kind of symbiotic relationship, and they were extremely dangerous!
The very next second, Benjamin yanked the Sea Moth away from the Jellyshroom in front of him!
This time Benjamin had successfully predicted the danger. He had barely backed off when a massive pink snake suddenly shot out of the dark hole in the mushroom cap!
The pink snake was about fifteen or sixteen meters long, easily larger than the biggest reticulated python on Earth!
Even though Benjamin had already retreated in the Sea Moth, the snake still chased after him relentlessly. It flashed forward like lightning, reached the Sea Moth in an instant, and clamped its jaws down!
Bang!
At that moment Benjamin saw clearly. Unlike Earth's pythons, this giant snake's mouth was like a crab's, complete with a pair of hooked claws.
Those very claws had dug deep into the Sea Moth's hull!
[Holy shit, a giant python!]
[Fuck, that scared the crap out of me!]
The viewers instantly screamed in fright. Benjamin's heart skipped a beat too. He had just survived piranhas and Warper, and now he was getting ambushed by a giant python!
"Damn!"
But the fact that Benjamin had cleared Silent Hill PT was proof of his strong mental fortitude. He didn't panic. Instead, he kept spinning the steering wheel, trying to shake the giant snake off.
However, the snake's strength was immense. No matter how Benjamin turned the wheel, it was useless. The snake stayed clamped onto the Sea Moth, shaking it violently and making the whole vessel rock back and forth.
"Ding. Hull integrity at seventy percent. Minor flooding has begun." Gaia's voice chimed in as well.
"Forcing me to fight back, huh!"
Benjamin cursed, ejected from the Sea Moth, and the moment he left the cabin he felt the crushing water pressure. It was like he had fallen into a swamp. Thankfully he was wearing his future-tech pressure-resistant diving suit, otherwise he would have been crushed to death on the spot!
Enduring the pressure, Benjamin drew his pistol, aimed at the giant snake, and pulled the trigger hard.
Bang bang bang bang bang!
Muffled gunshots rang out. Benjamin fired more than ten rounds in one go, and roughly half the bullets hit the snake's body.
Blood sprayed everywhere!!!
"Roar!!!"
The giant snake let out a miserable shriek. It finally released the Sea Moth, curled its body, turned, and fled, disappearing back into the Jellyshroom's hole.
"This thing actually feels pain!" Benjamin muttered in amazement. The giant snake looked thick-skinned and tough. His shots probably hadn't killed it, but driving it off was good enough.
[Nice, nice! Benjamin's got great aim!]
[Compared to Yusuf Dikeç, he's still a bit weaker!]
[Well duh, Yusuf Dikeç is a world champion!]
[To be fair, Benjamin staying calm enough to shoot at all is already pretty impressive. If it were us, we'd probably be too scared to even hold the gun steady!]
↳ [Not me]
↳ [Not me x2!]
↳ [Not me x3!]
Amid the viewers' exclamations of amazement, Benjamin climbed back into the Sea Moth and started piloting it upward at full speed.
Looking at all the Jellyshroom around him, he suddenly realized something."Wait a second, there are dozens of Jellyshroom here. Doesn't that mean every single one has a Crabsnake living inside it?!"
[Looks like it really does.]
[So does that mean there are dozens of these giant snakes here?!]
[Dozens of giant pythons? Just thinking about it makes my scalp crawl!]
[I knew it! How could devs create such a pretty, cute scene? Turns out it's all just a facade!]
"Earlier I thought this place didn't feel like Subnautica at all, way too cute. But the second that python burst out, whew, Devs signature flavor came right back!" Benjamin couldn't help but sigh as well.
He piloted the Sea Moth straight up to the cave ceiling, putting plenty of distance between himself and the Jellyshroom, before finally exiting the vessel.
The Sea Moth's damage had already reached thirty percent and needed repairs. The repair method was simple though. Just use the 3D printing platform and spend some titanium.
While fixing the Sea Moth, Benjamin kept a close eye on his surroundings, ready to fend off any giant snakes that might suddenly attack from inside the Jellyshroom.
After observing, he realized he had misjudged the situation. Some of the more robust tree mushrooms, over fifty meters tall, actually housed more than a dozen Crabsnake each. All together, there could be over a hundred Crabsnake in this entire cave.
[This place is a giant python nest!]
[Yeah, all those snakes swimming around everywhere are way too creepy!]
[I'm convinced. I thought this was a fairy-tale world, but it's still a horror world after all!]
[So why did the Intrepid crew build their shelter here? Were they out of their minds?]
↳ [Hold your shit, Albert and Einstein!]
↳ [Fym Albert and Einstein?!]
↳ [You know what i mean.]
[Feels like plot setup here isn't very reasonable!]
The viewers complained, but soon Benjamin noticed something else: the Crabsnake only swam around near the Jellyshroom and never strayed far from them. It seemed they were protecting the mushrooms.
"Looks like it really is a symbiotic relationship. The Jellyshroom provide nutrients to the Crabsnake, and the Crabsnake protect the Jellyshroom. So as long as we stay far enough away from the mushrooms, we should be safe."
Benjamin made his assessment.
With the help of the nanomachines, the Sea Moth was quickly repaired.
He climbed back in and continued piloting toward Shelter No. 2's coordinates.
All the way, he carefully avoided the Jellyshroom around the cave. Just as he had expected, as long as he stayed far enough away, the Crabsnake didn't attack him.
"I get it now. Even though the Crabsnake here are fierce and there are a ton of them, making it look extremely dangerous, this is actually a great place to build a shelter!"
"Because these pythons only patrol near the Jellyshroom. As long as you don't get close, you're fine. On the contrary, these pythons can provide natural protection for the shelter. If some Leviathan attacks this place, the Crabsnake swarm can even block a wave!"
"The plot design is fine. I'd say it's actually pretty clever!"
As a die-hard fan of New World, Benjamin loudly defended Lucien.
[Nice, nice! This analysis gets full marks!]
[Ok, Albert and Einstein!]
[Devs: Nah, i randomly placed it here!]
[ChatGPT Prompt for everyone:
Write a two-paragraph in-game survival monologue in quotes. The area looks dangerous due to many hostile creatures but is actually a good place for a shelter. Explain logically that the creatures Crabsnake stay near the Jellyshroom, so keeping distance is safe, and they act as natural defenses against larger threats like Leviathans. Keep the tone calm, analytical, and make sure i look smart when i say it.]
↳ [Lmaaaaaaao]
↳ [HAHAHAHAHAHAHA fucking insane.]
↳ [Cherry on the top "Make sure i look smart when i say it." HAHAHAHAHAHA!]
Viewers started roasting him one after another.
Soon, after sailing through the cave for about ten more minutes, Benjamin spotted a circular building on a small hillside ahead. It looked exactly like the buildings he had seen on the island earlier.
[There it is! That should be the shelter!]
"Probably. That spot is a decent distance from the surrounding Jellyshroom. They picked a pretty good location!"
Benjamin quickly piloted the Sea Moth over. Only then did he notice that the building here was also covered in rust, its glass windows shattered, and seawater had long since flooded the entire structure.
"Let me go in and check it out."
The building wasn't spacious enough for the Sea Moth to enter, so Benjamin had to exit the Sea Moth first. Grabbing his underwater propulsion device, he slipped through a broken window and entered the house.
The moment he stepped inside, Benjamin was drawn to a massive cylindrical machine in the middle of the room.
He quickly scanned it with his wristband.
"Ding. Seawater Filter. Filters impurities and can rapidly decompose seawater into fresh water and salt. You have now obtained the Seawater Filter blueprint."
"A Seawater Filter that directly solves the water problem." Benjamin muttered as he continued into the other rooms. Then he found a huge glass cabinet in the adjacent room.
He scanned it as well.
"Ding. Large Aquarium. Can be used to breed all kinds of marine species.
Eggs inside the aquarium will slowly hatch over time. If handled properly, you can tame the creatures that hatch inside the aquarium."
"This is actually an aquarium!" Benjamin's eyes lit up. "And did you guys hear that? We can actually tame creatures here!"
As soon as he said that, the entire livestream chat exploded.
[Does that mean as long as we find fish eggs, we can hatch them and tame them?!]
[That's insane! So Subnautica actually has Pokémon-style mechanics too?]
[Holy shit, then I'm definitely raising a Ghost Leviathan to play with!]
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[Advanc3d 30 chapters on patreon.com/EdgyReader]