Chapter 1404: Gas Outlet

## Chapter 1405: Air Vents

During this time, Teacher Ye was deeply distressed.

While living at the Mother Tree, although their movement area was not large, they could at least freely attend classes, choose their favorite meals, and manage their time as they pleased. Under that small canopy, it was their own free world.

But what about now?

Although the Fusion Faction had found refuge in the South Sea Realm, the children's lives were no different from those of prisoners. Their movement was restricted to a small factory, with constant patrols outside. Their daily meals were fixed, delivered by designated personnel, sometimes even escorted by Divine Path holders. The way these people looked at the Fusion Faction children was with an alertness, as if they were observing wild animals in a zoo.

Teacher Ye could see the children's eyes, once radiant at the Mother Tree, slowly dimming into fear and self-doubt. Everyone treated them like monsters, and even they themselves began to question their own nature.

Teacher Ye wanted to break people's prejudices. He didn't care if he had to go to the battlefield himself, and he believed that Old Wolf and the others would certainly be willing too. If they could earn merit on the battlefield, perhaps the children could gain some — even a tiny bit — of freedom and equality.

“No,” the Blind Man refused without hesitation.

“Teacher Ye, I hope you understand. This concerns the very survival of the South Sea Realm. We cannot afford to take even the slightest risk.”

At these words, Teacher Ye's face visibly paled. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something more, but ultimately fell silent.

Teacher Ye had no heart to listen to the rest of the meeting.

After the meeting concluded, he remained frozen in his seat until a hand gently tapped his shoulder.

Teacher Ye looked up to see Han Meng standing behind him.

“Teacher Ye, the meeting is over,” Han Meng reminded him.

“...Yes.”

Teacher Ye came back to his senses, turned, and walked out of the conference room, his back appearing weary and helpless.

After everyone had left the conference room, the Blind Man remained motionless. He sat quietly, his fingertips constantly calculating something in his hand, his brow furrowing deeper and deeper.

“Strange…”

“Why… can't I figure it out?”

Booming sounds—!!

Dull, heavy thuds echoed from the sky over the South Sea Realm.

On the other side of the sky, countless Runic Sea Monsters were climbing up the turtle shell in layers, frantically slamming its outer surface with their tentacles, teeth, tails, and sharp claws, creating thunderous roars.

But with every impact, a layer of inky script would ripple across the turtle shell's surface, as if adding a protective layer to the already incredibly tough shell. No matter how they struck, they could barely leave a mark; only a few high-tier Calamities managed to blast out cracks.

Meanwhile, at various points on the turtle shell, countless Calamities surged like whirlpools along the gaps in the shell's edge, continuously pouring inside.

“Quickly! The first defense line is about to break, the second line, move up!”

“Don't panic! The enemies will only attack through the air vents. As long as we maintain our rhythm, they won't be able to break through!”

“Two Seventh-Tier Calamities and one Eighth-Tier Calamity have breached in this wave!”

“Don't be afraid. Focus on dealing with the other Calamities; someone will handle the high-tier ones!”

Behind one of these air vents, countless figures charged forward relentlessly towards the invading Calamities. A semi-encircling defense line, combined with the Book Divine Path's 'Preserve Character' ability, had virtually turned the area into a Calamity slaughterhouse. Any relatively low-tier Calamity that breached would be slain within a minute.

As soon as the two Seventh-Tier and one Eighth-Tier Calamities broke through, several figures swept forth from the rear.

Pu Sanyuan had been ready for a long time. As he joined the battlefield, the fighting intensified.

Just as Han Meng was about to step forward, Pu Chunshu called out to him:

“Uncle Sanyuan is here; nothing major will happen. You should conserve your strength and go support the other air vents.”

“Where are the other air vents?”

“There's an air vent every fifteen kilometers.”

Han Meng paused slightly at these words, then seemed to realize something. “Are these air vents intentionally left open by you?”

“We don't have that kind of capability,” Pu Chunshu chuckled. “It's most likely an arrangement by Lord South Sea and our ancestors.”

Han Meng nodded. “That's very clever… If the entire South Sea Realm were completely sealed by the turtle shell without a single opening, it might be safe in the short term, but they would eventually force open cracks, and the location of those cracks would be unpredictable.

However, if you intentionally leave openings for them in advance, this horde of Calamities will abandon indiscriminate, widespread attacks and instead directly target those openings. This allows you to firmly control the battlefield's location, giving you a strategic advantage that enables a more prolonged defense.

No wonder you call them ‘air vents’ instead of just gaps.”

“Diverting is better than blocking,” Pu Chunshu summarized the South Sea Realm's tactics in four words. “Everything left by our ancestors has its reasoning.”

“Then I'll go check the other air vents.”

Han Meng set off towards the other locations.

Han Meng passed several air vents in succession. The size of these vents seemed to be precisely calculated; large vents were generally surrounded by smaller ones. Most Calamities from the Forbidden Sea were quite large, so those that could fit through the small vents would not be too powerful. The South Sea Realm used this method not only to block the Calamities but also to filter them based on their strength.

“This Lord South Sea is truly extraordinary,” Han Meng murmured to himself.

As Han Meng traveled, his peripheral vision caught sight of a nearby street. Perhaps due to the keen intuition granted by his Judgment, he instantly spotted a petite figure running purposefully through the crowd.

It was a young girl in a brown hemp tunic, wearing a small yellow hat. Her hands tightly gripped the brim of the hat, perfectly concealing the two fuzzy ears on her head. She was cautiously observing her surroundings while running towards the factory.

“...A Fusionist?” Han Meng's eyes narrowed slightly. After a moment of hesitation, he still chose not to intervene.

He could probably guess where the girl had come from.

Han Meng retracted his gaze and continued towards the next air vent.

At that moment, Little Tao was completely unaware of Han Meng's presence. She made her way through the bustling streets and arrived near the factory where the Fusion Faction resided.

She looked around to ensure no one was watching, then jumped directly into a nearby sewer. Following the 'dog hole' left by Little White, she crawled into the factory and then quietly sealed the 'dog hole' shut again.

“Little Tao, you're finally back!” Just then, a voice rang out from the darkness.