Chapter 18: Excellent Quality Celestial Rainbow Conch

Chen Sui cast a glance at the dark shapes that had been washed ashore, and their information immediately appeared before him in panel form.

[Red Sub-Coral]

Quality: Poor

A peculiar coral creature that periodically leaves its original location and begins to migrate, often getting swept onto the beach by ocean waves in the process.

[Pale-Spotted Sea Turtle]

Quality: Common

Talent: ?

Level: Wavecrest Rank, Tier 1

A gentle-natured sea turtle. The more markings on its body, the older and stronger it is.

[Gnawing Barnacle]

Quality: Common

Talent: ?

Level: Wavecrest Rank, Tier 1

It bites. It is strongly advised not to let it touch bare skin — it can gnaw off a chunk of flesh in the blink of an eye.

Looking at these strange sea beasts that had washed ashore, Chen Sui remained unmoved. None of them held much appeal for him.

He glanced down. Beneath Hai Linlin's disheveled hair were a pair of bright, dark eyes. Her gaze shifted restlessly as she studied the marine creatures that had been swept up onto the beach.

"See anything you like?"

Chen Sui asked softly.

Hai Linlin kept her eyes on the beach, neither nodding nor shaking her head. Chen Sui noticed that she was staring out toward the distant sea, and tiny glimmers of moisture had begun to well up in her eyes — betraying a pure, ancient longing and sorrow.

Two seconds of silence passed.

"Say something."

Chen Sui suddenly thrust his face right in front of Hai Linlin's, startling the little girl. Her cheeks flushed a warm, rosy red.

"Brother, what are you doing?!"

"You scared me half to death, kid — going completely still and silent like that. I thought something had happened to you."

Chen Sui finally let out a breath of relief. This child, Hai Linlin, had suddenly frozen and stared into the distance without moving — he had genuinely thought something was wrong with her.

"Nothing happened. I just wanted to…"

Hai Linlin trailed off mid-sentence.

"Wanted to what?"

Chen Sui asked.

"It's nothing, Brother. Let's go over there."

Hai Linlin quietly stood up and pointed in another direction.

"What did you want to say?"

Chen Sui pressed.

Hai Linlin said nothing.

Chen Sui reached out and tapped her on the shoulder. "Come on, what was it?"

"Brother, you're so annoying!"

Hai Linlin spun around, her little face red with irritation.

"There we go — that's more like it. What's with the stone-cold face? You're just a kid; show a little more expression."

Chen Sui laughed out loud.

Hai Linlin's face turned even redder. She jabbed a finger at him, huffing and puffing for a long moment, then turned and walked away briskly.

"Can't take a joke," Chen Sui muttered with a grin, then hurried after her.

The two of them made their way south along the coastline. Cold wind swept around them, and the rising tide continued to climb, swallowing up great stretches of the beach that had been exposed before.

Hai Linlin seemed to have a clear destination in mind, pressing steadily forward at a quick pace.

Chen Sui was a little curious about what she was looking for, so he asked:

"Linlin, don't tell me you're one of those kids with a special talent? You know what you're looking for, don't you?"

At those words, Hai Linlin's whole body stiffened — as if he had guessed exactly what was on her mind — then she continued forward without hesitation.

"Am I right?"

Chen Sui called after her.

Hai Linlin didn't want to answer him, but perhaps remembering what had happened earlier, she thought it over and spoke up with obvious reluctance:

"For certain special reasons, I know that a sea beast with great potential will appear during this rising tide. I'm going to find it."

Chen Sui's eyes lit up.

"Oh? So you really do have a special ability. Come with me next time I head out to sea."

Hai Linlin glanced at him, a hint of exasperation in her eyes.

"No. This is a special case — that's why I can sense it. It doesn't work for anything else."

"Fair enough."

The two walked on for a while longer until a massive seaside cliff loomed before them, its tall shadow falling over them both.

Hai Linlin's footsteps came to a stop.

"So where is this sea beast with great potential?"

Chen Sui looked around but saw nothing that resembled a sea beast.

"Up there."

Hai Linlin raised her head, and Chen Sui followed her gaze. There, clinging to the face of the cliff, was an enormous conch.

The conch was several meters across. Its shell was brilliantly colored and beautiful, its shape possessing a kind of natural, flawless perfection. The faint light of the night played across the patches of color on its shell, reflecting outward to form ring upon ring of what looked like solid rainbow light around its body.

A sea beast with its own special effects!

Chen Sui stared, transfixed — and not only because of its stunning appearance. Its panel was equally impressive.

[Celestial Rainbow Conch]

Quality: Excellent (Purple)

Talent: ?

Level: ?

A rare sea beast found only in special waters. A true fairy of the sea. It can bestow blessings upon an entire stretch of ocean. To witness one is considered an omen of fortune and good luck.

Chen Sui stood there for a long moment, then looked down to find Hai Linlin watching him, as if waiting for something.

He clicked his tongue. "Linlin, this thing is impressive, but your brother here can't beat it."

Gray, white, green, blue, purple.

With that Quality, plus the question mark for its level, Chen Sui could figure out with his little toe that he had no chance against it.

Hai Linlin studied his expression and shook her head. "A Celestial Rainbow Conch only comes ashore twice in its entire life — once when it is born, and once when it dies."

Chen Sui blinked, then his mind turned quickly and he understood at once.

"You mean this Celestial Rainbow Conch is about to die — and it's going to lay eggs?"

"Eggs."

"Right, right — little Celestial Rainbow Conch eggs."

Chen Sui nodded. "So we're just waiting for it to die?"

"Yes. A Celestial Rainbow Conch reserves all the nutrients of its entire life to nourish its young. The pain is no different from having great chunks of flesh carved from its body."

Hai Linlin gazed up at the Celestial Rainbow Conch on the cliff. Something seemed to cross her mind, and a trace of sorrow appeared in her eyes as she spoke quietly.

Chen Sui looked at the sadness on Hai Linlin's face and didn't quite know what to say.

From her name alone, Chen Sui could guess that Hai Linlin was no ordinary person — but she was still a child. Why should she have to carry so many heavy thoughts?

The Celestial Rainbow Conch on the cliff suddenly released a burst of seven-colored light. Carried away by the sea breeze, it vanished without a trace. And as the light faded, the Celestial Rainbow Conch's body began to shrink, dissolving away like scattered particles of light in an animated film.

Looking more carefully, Chen Sui realized it wasn't quite light — it was luminous powder. The Celestial Rainbow Conch's body was turning into this powder and disappearing, piece by piece.

The scene was hauntingly beautiful.

"It's dying," Hai Linlin said plainly.

Chen Sui glanced at her and patted her on the shoulder.

"A happy passing, a happy passing."

In an instant, every trace of sorrow in Hai Linlin's eyes vanished. That one sentence from Chen Sui had completely dissolved the mood. She almost felt like laughing now. This person — where did he even come up with "a happy passing"?

As the Celestial Rainbow Conch's body dissolved away, two small, colorful conch eggs appeared on the rock beneath where it had clung.

The moment they met the open air, their shells cracked open. Two tiny Celestial Rainbow Conchs crawled out from their eggs, their bodies translucent, each carrying a small, seven-colored shell on its back — utterly beautiful.

At that moment, a cluster of voices approached from the distance.

"Wow, I knew there'd be something good over here where it's less crowded. This is incredible — we're going to be rich!"

Hai Linlin frowned and turned her head, her expression growing serious. Celestial Rainbow Conchs were extremely precious sea beasts. It would be best if no one else found out about them — or at the very least, no one should know whose hands they had fallen into.

The voices drew closer.

"Those look like two conch shells — I can see them. Excellent Quality!"

"Am I seeing things? Isn't there not even a single Superior Quality one in the whole game right now? We're seriously going to be rich."

"But it looks like there are already people over there."

"Doesn't matter. Probably other players. We can just—"

Before the words were finished, a flash of snow-white blade light swept through. Three heads dissolved into white smoke and flew off, and three headless bodies crumpled to the ground.

Fishfolk Wavecrest stepped out from the darkness.

Hai Linlin stood frozen, turning to look — only to find that Chen Sui hadn't paid the slightest attention to any of that. He was already climbing up the cliff face.

With careful, deliberate movements, he caught both tiny Celestial Rainbow Conchs in his hands, then slowly climbed back down.

Chen Sui stood before her and opened his palm with a smile.

"Here — give it a try, Linlin."

Hai Linlin hadn't yet recovered from her daze. Chen Sui's gesture surprised her all over again. "You… you're giving them to me?"