Starting With a Reef [Global Survival]

The seafloor was pitch-black, and by the time Yun Luohe dove down, the sky above had already turned completely dark.
She first used a Luminous Pearl to illuminate her surroundings. Although the light was extremely dim, there was no other option for now. She could only wait until she found clues before using a Night Vision Potion.
The Night Vision Potion only lasted for two hours, and using it too early would be wasteful. She only had two in total.
For now, she wanted to swim around first, searching for traces of Luminous Lantern Fish.
In this pitch-black seafloor, as long as the Luminous Lantern Fish appeared, they would be immediately noticeable.
After swimming for about ten minutes, Yun Luohe did not find any Luminous Lantern Fish, but she did discover a stretch of underwater rocks. Hidden in the crevices were several large lobsters.
With the faint light of the Luminous Pearl, she first caught sight of the lobsters' long antennae, and only then did she notice their bodies.
If it were not for those thin antennae probing out and swaying gently in the water, drawing Yun Luohe's attention, she likely would not have spotted them at all.
She quickly swam over, drew her Dual-Band Advanced Speargun with its rubber bands, and pulled it back, aiming directly under the rocks.
A sharp squeak squeak squeak rang out as the lobster thrashed its tail violently, letting out a distressed sound.
Yun Luohe reached out and grabbed the now-injured lobster, stuffing it into her backpack.
Next, within ten meters of that spot, she found another large lobster and captured it the same way.
The underwater rocks here could likely be processed into Lime. Yun Luohe took out her tools and knocked off several chunks, collecting resources for about half an hour.
Her backpack now contained over thirty large chunks of rock. Yun Luohe did not plan to stay here longer; her main objective was still locating the Deep Sea Ruins, with resource collection being a side task.
Since there was nothing useful here, she had no choice but to change direction and dive deeper.
Thanks to the High-Grade Diving Card, she was not affected by water pressure at these depths. It was impossible to know exactly how many meters below the surface she was, and when she looked up, there was only darkness—as if the surface was far, far away.
She had been down here for over an hour and a half already.
It would soon be time to recharge her dive with Sea Stones, so Yun Luohe quickened her pace and swam forward.
After another twenty minutes, she arrived at a massive seafloor rock formation, crawling with all kinds of marine life—brilliantly colored and dazzling to behold.
In the nearby Deep Sea Sand, there were several enormous sea cucumbers. Naturally, Yun Luohe would never pass up such valuable resources.
Sea cucumbers were known to be a highly nutritious delicacy.
One was a Plum Blossom Sea Cucumber, another a Zhubo Sea Cucumber, and the last a Black Sea Cucumber.
From a distance, they did not seem particularly large, but once Yun Luohe swam up to them, she realized that each one was at least five or six years old—each as thick as her arm.
A broad smile spread across her face as she collected all three into her backpack.
Just then, the High-Grade Diving Card's timer began its countdown. Yun Luohe did not hesitate to extend it by another two hours.
The countdown warning disappeared, and Yun Luohe planned to explore this area a bit more to see if there were any other good resources nearby. After all, this place seemed rather unique.
Sure enough, she soon found several Spider Conchs, Horned Snails, and two Chinese Spiny Lobsters.

Her collection of ingredients had expanded quite a bit. Back at the reef, she would surely be able to prepare more delicious meals and unlock new achievements.
After thoroughly searching this area and confirming there was nothing else, Yun Luohe was about to head elsewhere when suddenly, a school of Luminous Lantern Fish swam by.
The Luminous Lantern Fish glowed from the tops of their heads, moving in neat, orderly formation toward one direction.
Yun Luohe's mind sharpened with focus, and she hurried to follow them.
These fish were swift, and without her Pearl Scale Armor, Yun Luohe likely would not have been able to keep up.
The Luminous Lantern Fish swam toward a region densely overgrown with Seagrass. As they weaved through the grass, they abruptly disappeared from sight.
Yun Luohe was only five or six meters behind and watched them vanish with her own eyes, frowning instantly.
"Where did they go?"
She immediately dove into the Seagrass, searching carefully, and spotted a lone Luminous Lantern Fish that had fallen behind.
It was tangled in the Seagrass, foolishly stuck in place, unable to move.
Yun Luohe reached out, pulling the Seagrass apart to free the fish. Only then did the Luminous Lantern Fish seem to notice Yun Luohe's presence. It stared at her blankly, spun around twice as if looking for its companions, failed to find them, and darted downward in a flash.
Yun Luohe followed closely as the fish dove and vanished once again.
Was there a hidden passage down there?
The problem was that the area within the Seagrass was pitch-black. Yun Luohe could barely see anything—she only managed to spot the fish because of their glowing bodies, but the Luminous Pearl was nearly useless here. She felt like someone with severe nearsightedness, only able to see about a meter ahead.
It was time to use the Night Vision Potion.
——
In an instant, everything before Yun Luohe's eyes became crystal clear. The underwater world unfolded in vivid detail.
Only now did she realize there was a whirlpool beneath the Seagrass.
Sand continuously funneled into the vortex, but unless one was very close, it was nearly impossible to notice.
Yun Luohe reached out, feeling a faint suction force.
The Luminous Lantern Fish had swum straight into this vortex.
But whether her larger body could pass through was another matter entirely.
She swam closer, extending a hand into the whirlpool—and in the next second, her entire body was sucked inside.
The sensation of water currents rushing past her brought a slight stinging pain, but it was still tolerable.
Roughly fifteen seconds later, the current subsided, and Yun Luohe's body relaxed.
Where moments ago she had been surrounded by dense Seagrass, now...
The seafloor was filled with glowing fish swimming gracefully, dreamlike in beauty.
In addition to the Luminous Lantern Fish, there were many other species Yun Luohe did not recognize.
In the distance was an entire stretch of stunning Coral, identical to the illustration in the Bat Priest's Journal.
She had found the place!
But...
Yun Luohe quickly swam forward to the Coral Zone. The sheer number of corals here meant that even bringing back a portion would yield enough Lime to upgrade her reef.
The surface of the Coral was coated in sticky mucus and clusters of fish eggs. The mucus varied in color—some transparent, some blue—and it did not appear entirely safe. So this time, Yun Luohe did /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ not rush to collect the fish eggs.
She took out her tools and prodded the Coral twice. Instantly, the tools turned black.
The mucus on the Coral was toxic.
Thankfully, she had not touched it directly.
Bringing back this type of Coral would not be wise, but not all of them were coated in mucus.
At present, she still lacked poison-resistant gloves, so she could only collect Coral without the toxic coating.
But gathering Coral could wait—her top priority was locating the Deep Sea Ruins while the Night Vision Potion was active.
She took out the Bat Priest's Journal. Now that she had found this landmark, she could follow the three symbols marked within to pinpoint the Deep Sea Ruins.
The nearest symbol was located ahead to the right.
Yun Luohe continued swimming forward.
It did not take long to make another discovery.
She encountered a massive Giant Clam, snow-white, five meters tall, eight meters wide, perched atop a smooth, high rock platform. The rock was perfectly flat, and the Giant Clam sat upon it like a throne—resembling the seat of a mermaid queen from a fairytale. But the Giant Clam was tightly sealed.
The area surrounding the Giant Clam resembled an isolated space.
It was like an underwater garden.
At the center was the Giant Clam, surrounded by colorful sea anemones blooming like flowers. They swayed gently with the currents, their tentacles sparkling faintly, contrasting beautifully with the pure white shell. Transparent Shrimp flitted about, their bodies flickering in and out of sight beneath the shimmering light.
As Yun Luohe approached the Giant Clam, the system prompt sounded.
[Congratulations, player, mission one complete: Find the Deep Sea Ruins]
[Reward: Treasure Map Fragment ×1]
[Mission two: Open the throne left by the Merfolk]
[Reward: Tidal Windmill Blueprint ×1]
So, this was the throne left behind by the Merfolk.
But how to open it—Yun Luohe had no clue.
The massive Giant Clam, though sealed shut, clearly could not be forced open with brute strength.
Yun Luohe circled around the clam, studying it carefully.
But just then, she sensed a flicker of danger.
Immediately, she recognized the premonition from her Scan Eye trait. She leapt back, quickly putting distance between herself and her previous position.
A slender tentacle struck where she had just stood, narrowly missing her.
Yun Luohe's expression darkened—there was a Blue-Ringed Octopus beneath the clam.
Its body was only the size of her palm, but its tentacles were long and agile, adorned with vividly glowing blue rings that shimmered in the darkness.
The Blue-Ringed Octopus's tentacles rippled like silk threads, swiftly weaving through the water.