After Lin Yu pulled himself away from the dining table using the rope, he immediately regretted his decision as the strong winds between the clouds battered against his body.
All for this Fluoxetine performance...
He'd definitely gone overboard this time!
Now gripping the rope for dear life without any "audience" to perform for, Lin Yu sobered up from his act slightly, feeling nothing but adrenaline coursing through his veins.
"Damn it, I could fall any second now!" Lin Yu thought nervously.
Visibility was extremely low in all directions, with the damp mist and rolling thunder only heightening his unease.
Some clouds clustered together like solid hills, while other areas condensed into thick water vapor. Certain ominous spots even swirled with dangerous vortices.
Further away, continuous flashes of lightning illuminated the distance.
But the terrifying environment and precarious feeling weren't Lin Yu's only concerns.
Were the "monsters" surrounding him.
Although Ka's ingredient list had described the four targets as "Cute Star", "Bubble Snail", "Saucer Shrimp" and "Transparent Fish" - all seemingly harmless creatures - the actual "organisms" Lin Yu encountered within the cloud layer were anything but cute.
A hideous, car-sized deep-sea anglerfish with a sickly green lantern darted past just dozens of meters away - moving at incredible speed because it was fleeing for its life.
Chasing it was a bus-sized squid.
Even further away, a dense swarm of crimson scallops was attacking a massive manta ray - within seconds, the ray (no smaller than the squid) had been reduced to bare bones.
This "aerial sea" was far more dangerous than imagined!
No wonder Ka's list only included four "safe" ingredients.
Most creatures here were violent and deadly.
At least the four listed creatures appeared non-aggressive.
"Better avoid these dangerous ones and search carefully..." Lin Yu thought, gripping the rope tightly as he moved cautiously through the cloud sea.
His free hand pulled out the [Guaranteed-Hit Revolver].
This marked the second time Lin Yu had lost faith in this weapon.
Most sea creatures here were so massive that he doubted a single bullet would do much.
The [BBE-300] obtained from Heavenly Artisan might actually deal effective damage.
But using a self-destructing robot mid-air seemed unwise - during testing, its wheeled form could move incredibly fast, even scaling vertical walls.
Here, it might function as a grenade - perhaps useful against exceptionally large monsters.
Still, none of these options felt reliable enough.
"Besides, while killing one of the four listed creatures would suffice, would 'Fluoxetine' really settle for ordinary ingredients after seeing all these exotic creatures?"
Though even if he did, no one would question it...
After all, this segment's greatest advantage was that no one could witness his actual "hunting" performance.
The space here was vast, and everyone had instinctively chosen different directions.
Under normal circumstances, they shouldn't encounter each other.
Otherwise, his incompetent performance might be exposed immediately.
Lin Yu suddenly realized something.
An extremely risky solution had occurred to him!
One perfectly in character for 'Fluoxetine' that would not only help him clear this dungeon segment, but also benefit his real-world situation!
Without hesitation, Lin Yu placed the revolver between his teeth and retrieved a parchment map from his coat.
[Active Map: Generates a 500-meter radius terrain map centered on current location. 72-hour cooldown.]
Instead of activating it immediately, Lin Yu maneuvered the rope back to the dining table first.
After unfolding and activating the map, he wondered:
"No idea if this thing even works in 'sky' conditions."
But the emerging ink lines didn't disappoint!
The spreading stains on the aged yellow parchment resembled an ancient treasure map.
Dense cloud formations appeared, some marked with rain, others with lightning...
Corresponding to the clearly hazardous areas Lin Yu had observed earlier.
After excluding these danger zones and considering everyone's chosen directions...
Plus the thirty-minute time limit...
Each player's actual activity area wasn't very large.
"Time to find the safest easy target first."
Clutching the revolver in his teeth while examining the map, Lin Yu urged the rope past the dining table at maximum speed.
Soon he spotted his first "easy target".
Behind a distant raincloud, the middle-aged man with a short bow fired an arrow into the tail fin of a vicious-looking meter-long flying fish.
A sharp whistle summoned a diving osprey whose talons viciously gripped the unbalanced fish.
Though struggling, the fish's movements slowed considerably under the osprey's control.
This created the perfect opportunity for Mosin-Nagant.
Another precise arrow pierced through both eyes of the fish, which instantly went limp.
Witnessing this impressive display, Lin Yu stored the map and applauded while holding his revolver.
"Magnificent... truly professional 'hunter' work!"
Mosin-Nagant turned in shock, immediately drawing his short bow with an arrow nocked and aimed at the armed Lin Yu.
"Fluoxetine, what are you doing?"
Lin Yu smiled at the drawn bow before casually raising his revolver.
"Robbery, of course!"
"Hand over your catch, or else... we'll have to settle this with a proper 'Wild West duel'!" Lin Yu declared loudly.
This was his "perfect solution".
While the [Guaranteed-Hit Revolver] might be useless against giant fish...
It could still kill people.
Rather than fighting monsters, why not just...
Rob the other players!