Chapter 128
Chapter 128
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 128
Chapter Title: Ep. 128
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After Adhai finished his meal, we set off for the atoll housing the research base.
His injuries hadn't fully healed, but we didn't have time to wait.
It had been four days since the creature escaped from the research facility. That wasn't a short amount of time, and who knew what hardships Specimen 026 might have endured in the interim.
'At least it's moving with the Fishrians, so its life shouldn't be in immediate danger.'
But the absence of visible external wounds didn't mean all was well. The researchers might have injected it with painful drugs for their experiments.
'The poor thing already has bad memories of labs.'
The longer it stayed confined, the worse it would be for Specimen 026. We had to rescue it as quickly as possible.
'From what Adhai said, the research base seems to be underwater.'
It wasn't entirely accurate, but Adhai appeared to have escaped using something like an underwater elevator.
As a Green Galleron, he was fairly intelligent, but it seemed unlikely he'd operated the elevator alone. Specimen 026 must have helped him.
'I'll figure out the rest when we get there.'
Right now, I was swimming with Sky Mother and Adhai riding on my back.
Despite my considerable weight, I could keep us afloat with the two beasts aboard thanks to my gliding membranes. The flaps folded between my six combat arms unfurled fully, preventing my body from submerging completely.
Webbed fingers acted as paddles, claws scattered across my body served as keels, and my long, thick tail functioned like a screw propeller.
I couldn't tie the backpack of spoils I'd gathered to my tail, so Adhai had strapped it across his chest instead.
Back in the swamp, I'd acquired the webbed trait along with fin characteristics.
Thanks to that, fins like my gliding membranes protruded from both sides of my tail. They stayed tucked away when crawling on land or burrowing underground, but they were perfect for swimming.
I couldn't match my tunneling speed, but I could swim faster than most ships.
My technique wasn't flawless, though—my body occasionally dipped underwater mid-swim. But since both Adhai and Sky Mother could fly, it wasn't a big issue.
As I swam diligently, I asked Adhai,
[Zzt-zz zzt (How much further?)]
｢Me｣ ｢Dark｣ ｢Once｣ ｢Adult｣ ｢Speed｣ ｢Similar｣
Adhai had hidden on one of the scattered islands across the atoll after escaping.
He'd sensed my psychic breath and flown straight here, taking a full day.
'From what Adhai says, we'll arrive tonight at the earliest, or by dawn tomorrow at the latest.'
Thanks to swimming through the night, the sun now hung high in the sky.
As I gauged how much farther we had to go, Adhai called out to me.
｢Adult｣ ｢Question｣
[Zzt (What is it?)]
Adhai hesitated, as if regretting having called out first.
[Zzt-zz zz-zzt zzt zz-zzt-zz zzt (No need to apologize. It wasn't your fault.)]
Seeming convinced by my words, he fell silent.
To comfort him, I used an erosion tendril to catch a fish and fed it to him. Knowing he needed to recover quickly, he accepted it eagerly, gobbling it down.
I handed one to our other passenger, Sky Mother, as well.
Before departing, I'd outlined the rough plan for her. While I dove to the deep-sea research base, she'd watch over the Fishrian village.
'She'll need to conserve her strength for that.'
｢……｣
She knew the plan, but she still seemed uncomfortable accepting food from me. Awkwardly, she began eating slowly.
We traveled for quite a while like that, and by the time we arrived, the sun had dipped below the horizon.
Amid the countless islands, an isolated one glowed with artificial lights. Water houses stretched from the beach into the shallows— the Fishrian village.
Beside the houses floated an alloy submersible. Its shape resembled an escape pod from a Mega Corp spaceship.
Next to it stood Fishrians with fish heads topped by lionfish spines, alongside humans. The humans chatted with the Fishrians, receiving what looked like fruits and loading them onto the submersible.
｢To think they were actually trading. Hard to believe.｣
[Zzt-zz (I see.)]
Once the trade was done, the humans boarded and departed from the water houses.
[Zzt-zz zz-zzt-zz (Time to part ways here.)]
Sky Mother could manage, but Adhai was nearly useless in underwater combat. It was best to leave the Fishrian village to them.
｢Right. We'll handle the village over there—this Green Gall... er, Adhai and I.｣
｢Adult｣ ｢Little Adult｣ ｢Help｣
[Zz (Got it.)]
Adhai spread his wings wide from my back. He winced slightly from the pain of his unhealed wounds but soon flapped vigorously.
Sky Mother followed suit, lifting off to trail him. I called out to her first.
[Zzz-zzz zzt zz zzt-zz-zz (Adhai's still not fully recovered—take care of him.)]
｢...Got it.｣
She nodded once, manipulated the air, and flew after Adhai over the sea.
With them gone, I dove in the direction the submersible had gone. It was night, so visibility was near zero, but I had my auxiliary organs.
The four appendages beneath my jaw detected vibrations in the water, tracking the submersible's path.
'This way.'
Guided by senses that transcended mere detection—bordering on the supernatural—I swam through the darkness.
As I swam, a hazy glow appeared in the distance. I thought it was the submersible's lights at first, but no. The lights were neatly aligned from below upward—an underwater elevator.
I approached. The elevator shaft extended from the deep sea up to about 100 meters below the surface.
Confirming the submersible enter the elevator, I dove deeper to scout the base's size and defenses.
Following the long, narrow cylindrical elevator down revealed a seafloor canyon plunging even deeper. The base wasn't inside the canyon but clung to its outer wall.
The facility formed a thin ring, roughly 2km in circumference. Passages connected the ring's center to the elevator.
'No external defenses detected.'
People researching Sea Demons wouldn't build here without defenses. I drew closer.
And soon understood why.
'Insane. The whole thing's made of Black Silver.'
This massive high-tech structure was built from Black Silver alloy.
Black Silver wasn't the rarest or most expensive metal, but it wasn't cheap either. Constructing something this size would cost an astronomical fortune.
'That's how they avoided the Sea Demons.'
Sea Demons wielded potent psychic powers.
A structure coated in Black Silver, which suppressed psychic effects, would neutralize that threat. The interior likely brimmed with anti-psychic gear and defenses.
'No wonder 26 and Adhai lost.'
Both relied heavily on psychic powers. Against foes prepared for it, they were powerless. That Specimen 026 had gotten Adhai out at all was impressive.
I swam around the base, mapping its layout, when I sensed faint vibrations from somewhere.
'What’s this?'
The waves were so subtle I nearly overlooked them, mistaking them for shifting currents.
But I couldn't ignore them—they were intimately familiar.
'26!'
｢Big... baby...｣
I hurried toward the source.
Reaching a section of the ring, I pressed my head flush against the outer wall.
[Zz-uu (26?)]
｢Big... baby?｣
[Zz zz (Yeah. I'm... here)]
｢Big baby!｣
The pressure of the deep sea or the Black Silver garbled the monster's tendril waves, breaking them mid-transmission.
Yet just as I'd recognized it instantly, 26 sensed me and replied.
｢Long time no see!｣
[Zz zz-zz zz-z (I'll get you... out soon. Everything okay... inside?)]
Even my fragmented waves prompted an immediate response.
｢I'm hungry.｣
I couldn't help chuckling at the answer. Sensing it had chosen those words despite greater hardships endeared it to me.
I promised 26.
[... Zz-zz... (I'll... save you... soon.)]
｢Yeah!｣
I pulled my head back from the wall and retreated a good distance. Once far enough, I thrashed my tail and combat arms powerfully.
My body shot forward. The base's black wall rushed toward my head.
The 2km ring-shaped research facility shuddered violently.
-
Chen Hai of the Zhao Family awoke in his bed.
A massive quake had jolted him even in sleep.
'Earthquake?'
A seafloor canyon lay near the base, home to terrifying predators like Sea Demons. Quakes happened occasionally.
The base was built tough enough for harsh conditions, shrugging off all but the most extreme impacts—unless a horde of sea predators went berserk and rammed it.
'But this one's pretty strong.'
He cocked his head and left his room. Fellow researchers had emerged into the hall, shaken too.
Thunder-like booms echoed from outside, as if monsters were battling.
"Hey, Hao. What's going on?"
"No idea."
"Earthquake should've triggered the alarms."
As if on cue, the corridor alarms blared deafeningly, faces twisting in annoyance at the urgent wail.
"Evacuate first, ask questions later."
"Got it. I'll wake G Sector."
"F Sector for me."
Chen Hai sent his colleagues off and walked the corridor. En route to F Sector, the alarms cut out abruptly.
"What? Over already?"
An announcement should've followed, but the ceiling speakers stayed silent.
Better safe than sorry—he kept going.
Halfway to F Sector, he noticed the corridor growing frigid.
'Thermostat broken?'
The base controlled its internal environment for extreme locales like deep seas or volcanoes. Something must've glitched; the once-warm hall felt like a freezer.
Seeing his breath, Chen Hai debated returning to his room. Then the lights failed entirely.
Emergency power kicked in, bathing the corridor in red.
'Fuck, what now?'
He decided to head to B Sector's control room instead of F.
Just past this corner. Arms crossed against the bitter cold, he pressed on.
His alloy boots splashed faintly against the floor.
'Water?'
Only then did he look down. The corridor floor was flooded, the red light hiding it till now.
"What the...?"
He realized too late how dire things were.
Those thunderous booms? Not monster fights.
'The base is flooding!'
Water poured around the corner ahead, linking to the control room.
"Gah, gaaah!"
He spun and ran, but couldn't outpace the torrent.
Ice-cold water engulfed him.
"Kaaah!"
Tumbling with the flood, he grabbed a door handle. The deluge rose to his shoulders before halting—likely the central computer sealing the section.
'Fucking hell! What bullshit luck!'
Soaked like a drowned rat, Chen Hai pushed toward the control room.
"You think... I'm done?! Prime Capital's within reach—no fucking way I'm quitting over this crap!"
He snatched drifting papers and a laptop—irreplaceable data that could rock the academic world.
Fueled by sheer spite, he endured the deep-sea chill and advanced.
Soon, the wall markers read B. Almost there—he picked up speed.
A torso emerged ahead. Red light obscured details, but the figure wore grimy blue coveralls, not a white coat—facilities team.
Chen Hai called out.
"Hey! What's happening?!"
No reply, despite the silence save for sloshing water.
"You mid-capital fuck! What's going on?!"
"……."
He shouted again, approaching.
Up close, he saw the facilities worker's state clearly.
"Why ignore... uh?"
Horror chilled him to his core.
The man was headless. His "blue" coveralls were soaked red with blood.
Behind him, a massive beast devoured a human head under the crimson glow.
"Wha... wh-what..."
Chen Hai's spine froze; his body trembled uncontrollably.
The monster finished the head and turned to him. Its eyes gleamed vividly in the dark.
"Hu-mans in-side num-ber rough-ly sev-er-al hun-dred."
"Hiiik!"
A deep male voice issued from its maw. Chen Hai screamed, hurling his laptop and papers.
It extended a serpentine tendril, snaring the fleeing man.
"This should be e-nough to fill her up nice-ly."
Gazing leisurely at the terrified, shivering Chen Hai, it murmured.