Chapter 465: The Choice
The reason for the blue blood, naturally, was that Ling Tian was, in essence, a member of the Zerg; blue was the true color of his blood. As for his usual human appearance, it was merely a disguise for survival in human society, as humanity's repulsion towards aliens was an almost instinctive, deeply ingrained trait.
...
After Bai Mo's figure vanished in the center of the sea, the wound that had torn the ocean by his presence rapidly collapsed under the force of gravity. Billions of tons of seawater from both sides of the fissure pressed into the central void, creating colossal walls of waves that, carrying boundless kinetic energy, collided with each other, producing an immense sound approaching two hundred decibels. If not for the nearby fish having already fled long before the battle began, the sea surface would now be littered with their corpses.
The ocean's fury was far from appeased. After the first wave of collisions subsided and the ocean's wound healed, the outward-spreading giant waves, incited by the currents, gradually evolved into two tsunamis that flattened everything in their path. One surged eastward, while the other swept westward, until it met the only landmass capable of stopping it: the American continent. In this tsunami disaster, the most unfortunate, naturally, was Yamato. Other Pacific Rim nations had either vanished from Earth or had long since abandoned their coastal lands, retracting their cities inland. No matter how ferocious the tsunami, it would not cause much loss there.
However, this time was different, for the entire densely populated area of Yamato was covered by a thick ice sheet! The tsunami initially triggered by Bai Mo's parting of the ocean had been actively frozen by him into a defensive ice sheet, intended to block this second wave—the tsunami caused by the ocean's gap closing after his departure. Every life on Earth had a purpose in his subsequent plans; unnecessary slaughter was simply a waste.
...
"The teacher has sacrificed himself." After the tsunami receded from Cthulhu City, the patriarch of the mutated dolphin clan, who possessed the strongest sensory abilities, relayed this fact to the other patriarchs in the council hall. However, upon hearing this news, neither the speaker nor the listeners harbored much sadness, for unlike the lower-tier Sea Race, they did not possess an almost blind fanaticism towards Seres. Through information gathered from the land, they knew that Seres was in fact an invading alien Zerg, and that its support for the Sea Race had ulterior motives. Yet, for various reasons, neither side had exposed this relationship, maintaining a superficial teacher-disciple dynamic.
"Are the preparations for departure complete?" the Great Elder of the Giant Whales asked.
"Large numbers of lower-tier clansmen near Hall City are in a state of mental confusion from witnessing the collapse of the Spirit of Nature, making them difficult to organize. Preparations in the other cities are complete and ready for evacuation at any moment!"
Seres had long since begun preparing to cultivate the Sea Race into its direct forces, thus continuously guiding them towards becoming space-faring organisms. Especially after encountering the Land of White, which showed great potential to unify humanity, Seres intensified its efforts to space-adapt the Sea Race. It brought forth a large number of Zerg biological technologies to drastically modify these aquatic animals, specifically inducing their mutations to grant these mutated creatures the ability to survive in space. After several years of unremitting effort, the Sea Race had already constructed a fleet of organic battleships, sufficient to transport a considerable portion of their lower-tier clansmen away. Coupled with the fact that each elder-level six-stage Sea Race member could survive in the vast, empty expanse of space for over a year, Seres had estimated at the time that this Sea Race fleet, even if fleeing, would at least be able to persevere until reaching the Moon to begin a new life.
After years of human development, the Moon was no longer as desolate as it once was, and seizing it to establish a new base was not a bad choice.
"It truly possessed foresight, deploying all of this so many years ago." Picking up from the Giant Whale Elder's words, a nearby Sea Race member sighed. Even though their relationship with Seres later became purely superficial, most of the Sea Race still respected it for its knowledge, as the seeds of Sea Race civilization had almost entirely been sown by it.
"Teacher..." With complex emotions, they mimicked human custom, observing ten seconds of silence for Seres, then prepared to take their positions and flee Earth!
Between the Sea Race and humanity, after more than a decade of war, countless blood feuds had long been forged. Now, with humanity holding every advantage and the Land of White possessing nearly overwhelming power, their own defeat was merely a matter of time. Under such dire circumstances, a bloody post-war reckoning seemed inevitable to them; they even considered the possibility of total extermination. Humanity's cruelty towards alien races was already recorded in countless accounts, and the Moon Dust Demons on the Moon were the latest and most vivid example. Rather than waiting for death, it was better to stake everything on a single gamble, escaping into the vastness of space to start anew on a different planet.
"Go."
The Elder Council deliberated briefly and decided to abandon the Sea Race members near Cthulhu Hall City. Having experienced the collapse of their faith and worldview, they were now practically a "mud that couldn't be propped up the wall," in a state of mental daze, completely unorganizable. Forcibly taking them along would only be a burden.
"Farewell, our ocean, our—Earth!"
"Gentlemen." Just as the Elder Council was about to issue the command for a full departure, a voice resounded within their minds.
"You intend to stop us?"
"Listen to my command! All cities break through independently and rendezvous at the destination, the Moon!" The Giant Whale Elder did its utmost, attempting to issue the final order to the Sea Race across the world. Originally, according to their plan, Seres, having smoothly advanced to the seventh stage, was supposed to hold back Bai Mo, while the other Sea Race members ascended to the Moon in an orderly fashion. But now, Seres had died before even achieving success, leaving them to confront this enemy with a colossal disparity in power. The Giant Whale felt their hope was slim, but still resolved to make a stand.
"Answer me! Have you received the command?!" The order had been sent out for more than ten seconds, yet all communication channels remained silent, which couldn't help but make it entertain some unpleasant thoughts.
"I have locked down your communication network," the voice said.
"You mean to catch us all in one fell swoop!" They appeared somewhat exasperated.
"I will not repeat what I am about to say a second time."
This time, not just the high-ranking Sea Race members, but every single person and every intelligent mutated creature on the entire planet heard that voice begin to speak from the depths of their minds.
Bai Mo had once again activated a global broadcast of mental fluctuations.
"You have one chance to choose: join my ranks, or leave this planet."
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