"How do you tame them?" Gong Xiao was clearly intrigued, thinking that if he could tame a giant turtle, he could ride it wherever he went—fast and effortless, no more paddling on a raft.
Su Li said, "I'm not sure either. I wonder if it's like taming a wild horse." Though he'd never tamed a wild horse himself, he'd seen similar scenes on TV.
Gu Mingfeng rubbed his hands together excitedly. "Looks like we'll just have to give it a try."
Gong Xiao asked, "Do we need ropes? Loop them around their necks, climb onto their backs, and as long as we hold on without being thrown off, we can tame them?"
Xu Haishui nodded. "That should be it. I'll have someone fetch ropes." He remembered there were plenty stored on the forty-third floor.
Gu Mingfeng urged nervously, "Hurry, don't let them escape."
Luckily, the crocodile-toothed turtles were gathered around the dead giant turtle, stretching their necks to feast on the flesh, showing no signs of leaving yet.
Xu Haishui quickly called for someone to bring ropes down.
Soon, a bundle of ropes arrived. Everyone cut them into pieces, each taking one and tying it into a simple lasso.
Up on the higher floors, people were watching from the corridors, curious about Su Li and the others' plan to tame the giant turtles below.
So the spirit source beasts in this world could be tamed and used as mounts. Riding these turtles wherever you wanted was certainly novel.
"Be careful going down. Don't spook them. Each of you pick one target and stay focused," Su Li said, holding his own rope looped into a circle, ready to slip it around a crocodile-toothed turtle's neck and then climb onto its back.
Everyone was doing this for the first time, both curious and nervous, mainly afraid of scaring the turtles away.
Descending to the thirtieth floor, they cautiously boarded the floating rafts and approached.
Strangely, the crocodile-toothed turtles paid no attention to the approaching group, continuing to devour the flesh before them.
"I'll take this one," Su Li said, pointing carefully at one.
Gong Xiao pointed too. "Then I'll take this one."
"I'll take this one," Jiang Shuijue added.
Each person selected a target.
Su Li said, "I'll count to one, and we all act together. No one jumps the gun and scares the others off."
"Got it," they agreed nervously.
Su Li counted from three to one, and they all lunged at their chosen turtles, slipping the ropes around their necks.
To avoid mistakes, Su Li activated "Spider Walk," darting onto the back of his target turtle in an instant and looping the rope perfectly around its neck.
He pulled the rope tight, cinching it around the turtle's thick neck.
The others succeeded too, most getting their lassos on.
But it wasn't what Su Li expected. He thought the turtle would thrash wildly to throw him off, like taming a horse. Instead, it stayed calm, quickly diving downward.
Su Li held the rope tight as it dragged him into the water.
"Huh?" He frowned, following the turtle underwater. It didn't stop, swimming straight down.
The violent struggle he'd imagined never came. The turtle was composed, diving about ten meters deep before stopping, leisurely retracting its limbs and head into its shell, floating in the deep water to rest.
Su Li was baffled. He could hold his breath for nine minutes at most, but how long could this turtle stay underwater? Could it live there like a fish?
Was it trying to drown him?
He paused, watching it remain motionless.
"What's the game here?" Su Li mused, deciding to pull the rope and drag it back up.
The turtle finally resisted, not attacking or struggling, but refusing to be pulled up, instead trying to drag Su Li deeper.
Though Su Li had over six thousand jin of strength, it was hard to use fully underwater. They were like a tug-of-war, one pulling up, the other down, the rope straining to its limit, ready to snap.
If the rope broke, he'd never get it to the surface.
"Damn beast," Su Li growled, suddenly unleashing blue-white lightning from his hands. He released a "High-Voltage Shock," forming an arc that struck the disobedient turtle.
He controlled the charge to avoid killing it, but the high voltage hit the turtle, jolting it senseless.
Electricity crackled over its body, and it soon lost all strength, flipping over with its legs in the air.
Satisfied, Su Li used the rope to haul it back to the surface.
Back above water, the turtle stopped resisting. It raised its head, then lowered it repeatedly, extending its front limbs together as if bowing.
Su Li noticed and cautiously approached.
The turtle didn't attack. Instead, it stretched its neck, its posture pleading.
Su Li climbed onto its back and pointed at a floating island three hundred meters away. "Go there."
Strangely, the turtle seemed to understand, turning in the water and paddling swiftly.
It was fast, far faster than a raft, shooting forward like an arrow with Su Li aboard.
Su Li gripped the rope around its neck to keep from being thrown off.
In three hundred meters, the turtle carried him quickly to the floating island.
"Ha-ha!"
Thrilled to have tamed the turtle, Su Li realized it was different from taming a horse—simpler, really. Just beat it hard, and the harder you hit, the faster it submits.
Riding the turtle back to Building B, Su Li was in high spirits. He untied the rope from its neck.
The rope had been digging into its flesh, making it uncomfortable.
Since the turtle was fast in water and easy to fall off, Su Li found more rope, wrapped it around the shell a few times, and tied loops as handholds. This way, riding or sitting, he could hold on and not worry about being thrown.
Besides Su Li, Gong Xiao and Ling Yi also mastered the technique, each taming one turtle. The others all failed.
Hearing their experience, Jiang Shuijue regretted, "So that's all it takes. If I'd known, I'd have beaten it underwater when it dragged me down."
She wanted to try again with another turtle, but aside from the three tamed ones, the rest had fled.
"Leave the dead giant turtle here. It might attract more. With this experience, you might succeed next time," Su Li said, smiling to comfort her.
Jiang Shuijue pestered him to take her for a ride. Su Li agreed, wanting to practice anyway.
Gong Xiao took Xu Xuehui, and Ling Yi took Gu Mingfeng. The three turtles set off together.
Gu Mingfeng shouted, "Let's race to the floating island!"
"Alright, Brother Su, let's go! Beat them!" Jiang Shuijue cheered, gripping the rope and urging Su Li to speed up.
Xu Xuehui found it novel, her face flushed with excitement, even forgetting her sunflower seeds.
The three turtles sped along neck and neck, reaching the island almost simultaneously.
Jiang Shuijue suggested, "Hey, we should name them. These three look identical—can't tell them apart."
Su Li said, "We can tell by the ropes tied on them."
She looked and saw he was right. Though the turtles looked the same, the ropes on their backs were distinct.
Jiang Shuijue laughed, "Su Li's turtle was tamed first, so call it Number One. Gong Xiao's is Number Two, and Ling Yi, yours is Number Three. Simple."
Su Li chuckled, "Good names. From now on, you're Number One," patting his turtle's head.
The turtle seemed to understand, nodding slowly in agreement.
Everyone marveled.
Su Li thought, "No wonder the data says these turtles are smart. They seem to understand human nature."
Gong Xiao shrugged at the name for his turtle, indifferent.
Ling Yi nodded in agreement.
A raft appeared, carrying Wu Feng from Shimao Center and his girlfriend Lin Meimei to the island.
He'd noticed from afar what looked like people riding turtles and, curious, rafted over to see. Sure enough, there were three turtles.
After hearing the story, Wu Feng was envious. Lin Meimei tugged his arm, whining for a turtle to ride.
Wu Feng smiled wryly, "Got it. Next time we see one, I'll get you one. By the way, how do you tame these turtles?"