Ding Longyun said, "I wouldn't say it's fear. Who knows what these monsters are up to? Maybe there's something special on that island, something terrifying, and that's why they fled from it from afar."
"Hey, look, it seems like monsters are approaching the island—" Xu Haishui suddenly shouted.
By now, the small island had slowly drifted to within a thousand meters of the building. Everyone saw that in the distant waters, the large number of monsters that had originally avoided it were now drawing near. Then, corpse beasts, sea spiders, and other monsters began climbing up and onto the island.
"Guess I was wrong. Looks like these monsters aren't afraid of the island after all." Ding Longyun chuckled.
The horde of monsters surrounding the Zifeng Building also seemed to be dispersing, gradually moving toward the distant island.
Gong Xiao said, "I think these monsters have much sharper senses than we do. At first, they sensed something dangerous and scattered to avoid it. But now they might realize the island isn't so scary, so they're starting to gather around it again."
"No, it's a summons." Xu Xuehui suddenly spoke up.
"A summons?" Gong Xiao was momentarily taken aback.
Su Li said, "You mean the island is calling these monsters? That's why they're gathering toward it?"
Xu Xuehui nodded.
"So, this isn't an island at all, but some kind of life form that looks like one?" Su Li murmured, staring at the floating island, its surface covered in rock, as it approached a building.
It was a thirty-story building, about eight hundred meters from the Zifeng Building. Only one floor was above water; the other twenty-nine were submerged. The floating island was drifting straight toward this building. Amid the crowd's exclamations, it collided with the structure.
The island stopped. The building, struck by the impact, began to sway and was about to collapse. Just then, a startling scene unfolded.
The collapsing building tilted toward the floating island. Broken walls, cement, bricks, steel bars—all kinds of debris from the wreckage seemed drawn by an invisible force, falling onto the island. They merged with the island's rocks, piling up, and quickly transformed into new stone, becoming part of the floating island.
Through the torrential rain, everyone stared wide-eyed at the shocking sight in the distance. They watched as the floating island seemed to come alive, slowly "devouring" the remains of the collapsed building.
The whole process took only a few minutes. The part of the thirty-story building above water vanished completely, absorbed into the floating island.
"What kind of monster is this, able to eat buildings?" Ding Longyun couldn't help but shout.
"Oh no, it looks like it's heading our way now—" someone else suddenly cried out in alarm.
Su Li turned his head and saw it was Bai Wenwei, the one who got along well with Xu Haishui. His face was pale with fear, and his whole body trembled slightly.
Everyone recalled the scene of the floating island "eating" the building's above-water portion, and their hearts sank. As for whether the building's underwater part had been consumed, they couldn't see, but the process of the above-water floor being "eaten" was witnessed firsthand, sending chills down their spines.
After devouring that thirty-story building, the floating island—now the size of a football field above water—moved again, heading toward the Zifeng Building.
As the distance shrank, the island grew clearer in their view, and the gap between them narrowed.
"What do we do? It's really coming for us!" someone cried out in fear.
"Will the Zifeng Building be eaten too?"
"If the Zifeng Building gets eaten, what happens to us?"
"Should we flee now?"
Voices buzzed with panic and confusion.
Su Li frowned deeply, watching the island in the rain draw closer, now less than six hundred meters from the Zifeng Building.
As it approached, they could see more clearly the island's surface, cluttered with various piled rocks. Many monsters—corpse beasts, sea spiders, giant lizards—had climbed onto it, wandering around as if searching for something or just aimlessly drifting.
"Brother Su, what now? Should we try to leave while we still can? Grab as many supplies as possible before it's too late?"
Xu Haishui looked at Su Li. The island's approach to the Zifeng Building seemed inevitable. Their only option was to take some supplies and escape before the island crashed into and "ate" the building.
Su Li said nothing. Ding Longyun gritted his teeth and said, "With all those supplies, how much can we carry in such a short time? Are we really going to abandon this place?"
"What else can we do? We can't stop this island, unless it suddenly changes course. But we can't just stand here waiting for that." Xu Haishui shook his head, his eyes full of resignation.
He, too, hated to give this up, but the situation was overwhelming. This terrifying island could devour buildings—there was no way human strength could stop it.
Suddenly, a low voice from the crowd spoke up: "Who says we definitely can't stop it?"
Su Li turned at the sound and saw a man in his mid-twenties, standing straight with a crew cut. He recognized him as the only Level 5 Spirit Source user among the twenty or so from the cafeteria. Xu Haishui had mentioned he was a retired Sanda fighter named Luo Jun. Tao Bingjun and his group had tried to recruit him, but he refused to stoop to their level.
"Luo Jun, what do you mean? Do you have a plan?" Xu Haishui looked at him.
Luo Jun, usually quiet, now clenched his fists and said firmly, "Everything has a weakness. If this island is truly a life form, it must have some flaw. How do we know we can't stop or even destroy it without trying?"
His words stunned everyone. How could they possibly stop such a massive floating island?
Su Li suddenly chimed in, "Well said. I was thinking the same thing. We won't know until we try."
Xu Haishui looked at Su Li, hesitating as if to speak.
Su Li raised a hand to stop him and said firmly, "Let's prepare for both outcomes. Everyone at Level 5, come with me to check out this island and see what it really is. The rest of you, move as many supplies as possible onto the rafts and be ready to evacuate. If we can stop it, great. If not, we'll retreat then. It's still five or six hundred meters away and moving slowly. We have some time before it hits the Zifeng Building."
Su Li couldn't pinpoint the island's true nature or even confirm its life form. For now, they had to get close and use the "Peeking Rune" to observe it. Fortunately, though the island had smashed and "eaten" a building, it drifted slowly and didn't seem aggressive. Approaching it likely wouldn't pose an immediate danger.
"Good, that's the best plan." Gong Xiao nodded in agreement.
With Su Li's suggestion of a dual approach, everyone quickly agreed and sprang into action.
Most people rushed back to the thirty-seventh floor to move supplies, preparing for a quick escape.
Those at Level 5 followed Su Li downstairs.
Luo Jun didn't hesitate to join them. Many were surprised to see him follow, unaware he had reached Level 5. In this crisis, he clearly wasn't hiding his strength anymore.
Su Li noticed Xu Xuehui following too. He initially wanted her to stay behind but remembered her "Strange Eye Technique" and her eyes' special abilities. Given the island's strangeness, her vision might reveal something unique and prove useful, so he let her come.
The Zifeng Building had six people at Level 5: Su Li, Ding Longyun, Gong Xiao, Xu Xuehui, Xu Haishui, and Luo Jun. All armed, they followed Su Li down to the ground floor and jumped onto the nearest raft.
Though the monsters in the waters around the building were starting to scatter, their numbers were still immense. The six's sudden appearance drew their attention, and monsters immediately closed in, with more gathering from the water ahead.
"Brother Ding, don't hold back. Hit them with an 'Air Missile,'" Su Li said, reaching his right hand to his chest and drawing the Dragon Rhinoceros Sword.
"I've been itching to do that." At Su Li's words, Ding Longyun laughed, opened his mouth, and spat out an "Air Missile."
A flash of white light shot into the water ahead, exploding with a thunderous roar among a group of monsters. Flesh and blood flew everywhere; at least four or five monsters were killed instantly.
"Damn, not a single effective Spirit Source? Even if there's no Level 5 monster, not even a Level 4?" Ding Longyun grumbled, noticing that despite killing four or five monsters with one "Air Missile," the Spirit Sources gained were useless.
"Once you reach Level 5, killing monsters below Level 5 yields no effective Spirit Sources. The gap between Level 5 and Level 4 is huge—different from before," Xu Haishui explained.
"Is that so?" Ding Longyun was taken aback.
Previously, even killing a monster one level lower would yield one effective Spirit Source. But now, at Level 5, killing anything below that level gave nothing. Leveling up would be much harder, requiring kills of Level 5 or higher monsters.
Several corpse beasts lunged at them. Xu Haishui, while explaining, raised his short spear, which burst into flames, and thrust it into a corpse beast's chest.