Its massive head floated on the water's surface, revealing half of its hideous and terrifying face, its ferociously protruding teeth, and that thin, curved dorsal fin spine.
At the tip of the spine dangled a small, black, fleshy mass.
No one had noticed this before, even though this thing had appeared before their eyes several times; they hadn't connected it to the lightbulb.
Even now, it was hard to imagine any connection between a lightbulb and this thing.
This time… could it be wrong again?
They couldn't afford another mistake.
If they were wrong again, those among them… those without puzzle pieces, would all be eliminated!
…
Shen Mo gripped the lightbulb and jumped into the water.
Everyone's nerves were taut as they watched the man and the fish in the water with bated breath, a single question echoing in their minds: This time, right or wrong?
The anglerfish monster in the water remained as quiet as ever.
It had been the same the previous two times; before its rampage, it would remain motionless, as if waiting for something.
However, the quieter it was, the more apprehensive everyone became, fearing that it would suddenly leap up and swallow all the players whole!
Shen Mo's actions, however, were decisive and swift.
After jumping into the water, he reached out, grabbed the dorsal fin spine, and pushed the lightbulb towards it!
The action was fluid and without a moment's hesitation!
Everyone held their breath.
The fleshy mass unfolded like a small claw and firmly gripped the lightbulb!
Crackle, crackle—
The lightbulb flickered twice and lit up!
Everyone was dumbfounded.
The fish monster grinned, seemingly satisfied.
Then, it blew a string of large bubbles, slowly sank into the water, swished its tail, and swam away…
Everyone: "…"
They felt a sense of relief, as if they had finally sent away a plague god, mixed with a touch of absurdity.
The water level was receding.
It dropped quickly, revealing the floor, the stairs, the wallpaper on the second floor. Looking out the window, they could see the clouds dispersing, the heavy rain stopping, and the slopes and woods emerging from the water, gradually becoming visible.
Even more surprising, the receding tide not only took the water away but also repaired the structure of the house.
The stairs and furniture that had been bitten and damaged were all restored to their original state.
Everyone went down the stairs to the first floor and found many sparkling beads scattered across the floor—not just 33, but at a glance, at least a hundred!
Shen Mo picked one up.
[Water Monster's unwanted eggs: Being hit by one will hurt, and there's a 20% chance of triggering an explosive effect.]
This information hadn't appeared when they were picking up the beads earlier, but now it surfaced in their minds. It seemed that the rewards wouldn't truly become rewards until after they cleared the level.
While everyone was captivated by the glittering beads scattered across the floor, a shrill, surprised voice rang out—
"You're not dead?!"
The crystal ball couldn't help but bounce off the music box and fly towards them in a flash! It seemed incredulous, circling them twice before stopping and saying:
"How is this possible?! None of you died during summer?!! No… impossible! Is there an error in the data? I need to re-examine the data information!"
It flew back to the music box and remained motionless, as if processing internal information.
After only two seconds of silence, the ball shrieked again!
"You actually passed summer! Just barely! Aaaah, just a little bit more, and the water monster would have eaten all of you! What a pity!!!"
Everyone: "…"
Bai Youwei glanced at it with annoyance and said wearily to Shen Mo, "Let's pick up the beads on the floor first. Although they're rewards, if we slip on them, we might get hurt."
Yan Qingwen also heard her words and nodded, "Let's pick them up together. Be careful where you step."
Having barely escaped with their lives, it would be too much of a loss to die from the reward items.
Everyone took heed and began picking up the scattered beads.
No one paid attention to the Overseer.
The ball, unable to bear being ignored, flew over again, wobbled, and finally settled in front of Shen Mo and Bai Youwei:
"Hmph! Don't get cocky! It's not over yet! The Nail-Tooth Monsters of autumn won't let you go! You won't escape this game!!!"