Chapter 684.1: The Truth |
Night had deepened over the turbulent sea.
Standing at the bow of the speedboat, Muda stared fixedly at the red and green lights rising and falling with the waves in the distance. His eyes uncontrollably reflected the colors of memory.
Just over two months ago, that place had still been peaceful and quiet. Orange-yellow cylinders drifted with the ocean current, glimmering under the sunlight like fields of ripened grain floating on the sea. The rolling waves were its swaying golden stalks.
But now, that magnificent gold had become history, vanished like the lost Shilong City.
Shattered metal pieces and ruptured pipelines had all sunk to the ocean floor. Turbine units, once galloping like wild horses, had been scattered to oblivion by the raging waves, disappearing into the endless sea.
Sometimes, Muda couldn’t help thinking to himself. Perhaps humans were simply creatures who never learned from their mistakes. They repeated errors again and again, cycling through destruction and rebirth, only to mourn what they had lost once everything was beyond saving.
Maybe, the Torch Church’s doctrines weren’t entirely wrong. If one wished to erase the root of human flaws, one had to remove those vile traits from the genes themselves, ascending into a higher species.
His thoughts drifted with the sea breeze. Estimating that time was nearly up, Muda pulled out his radio, pressed the button, and spoke. “This is the maritime patrol. We’re about to cross the restricted zone, requesting clearance.”
A burst of static crackled, followed by a lazy yawn and a rough voice. “Patrol? What’re you doing out here?”
“Alright, need backup?”
“Not necessary for now.”
“Got it. Stay in contact. If you need support, we’ll be there quick.”
The voice was relaxed, the sound of someone crunching potato chips audible in the background, showing no suspicion whatsoever. Clearly, after more than two months, the patrol units in these waters had relaxed again.
Not that he blamed them.
The ocean-current power station was already destroyed. Shelter 70’s submarine wouldn’t attack a ruined facility a second time.
The brief exchange ended. Muda let out a breath, wiped the sweat off his forehead, switched the radio channel, lowered his voice, and said, “The target is right below that buoy ahead. That’s all I can do for you. You better not stay too long, I can wait at most 15 minutes.”
Moments later, a reply came through. “Copy. Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it. Good luck.” Muda waved his hand, signaling the pilot to head northwest, circling around the buoy.
Behind him, a sailor with a rifle hesitated, then finally spoke. “… Why are we helping them?”
What they were doing was not a risk-free decision.
If the Federation’s navy discovered they had helped a Shelter 70 model submersible approach the ruins, no explanation would save them.
Staring into the dark, heaving sea, Muda didn’t quite understand why he agreed either.
The Federation had already concluded the incident. The conflict between the South Sea Archipelago and Shelter 70 went far beyond a single power station. Even if those outsiders found something new, he doubted it would change anything.
It was merely a fuse. And yet, he still wanted to know the truth.
Perhaps, there was a one-in-ten-thousand chance, another possibility…
After a long silence, he finally spoke. “We’re not just helping them, we’re helping ourselves.”
The sailor stared blankly at his back, unsure what to say.
At the same time, beneath the speedboat, a cylindrical submersible propelled itself slowly toward the sunken facility. It was the very submersible Huang Guangwei had stranded on the beach earlier.
The research team had not only repaired its damaged propulsion system, simplified its control panel, but also, at Sisi’s request, equipped it with a harpoon launcher, underwater grenade launcher, and several other weapons airlifted from Dawn City.
None of those weapons had been tested in real combat. Even the researchers didn’t know whether they would function properly. Still, considering underwater mutants might attack them on their mission, Sisi had chosen to bring everything.
She also prayed silently, that hopefully, she would need none of it.
“This place is really spectacular…”
Inside the cockpit, Sisi switched on the floodlights, moving the camera to inspect the massive metal wreckage up close.
Before them lay a circular ring over ten meters wide, half-buried in the seabed. In its center sat a huge metal turbine, now wrapped in cables like seaweed snaring a broken ship. That should have been one of the power station’s underwater turbines, different from the floating generators that had once drifted on the ocean surface before being swept away.
There were dozens of similar turbines nearby, and that was only what they could see.
Metal wreckage blanketed the rocky seabed, with colorful fish darting through the shadows. It looked less like a ruined power station and more like a drowned underwater city.
Seeing the illuminated view, Tail, sitting in the copilot seat, gaped in shock, letting out amazed exclamations:
“Giao… these lighting effects! This flowing texture detail! This CG-level scene modeling! It’s insane!”
If only her VM had signal, she would’ve shared the view with Sesame Paste, Roshan, and the forum right away.
“The submersible is detecting weak electrical currents outside. Seems a few turbines are still running… No wonder there aren’t any mutants around.”
Checking the alert on the control panel, Sisi turned left and soon located an area absent of fish. That should be the source of the leakage. Marking it on the map, she cross-referenced the machine-translated manual, tapped on the screen to adjust their route, and carefully steered around the hazard.
According to intelligence from the Shelter 70 resident, the research NPCs had created a full 3D model of the ruins and pre-planned the exploration path and data collection method, greatly reducing manual workload.
Once they reached the target, she would only need to adjust minor details.
The mission was actually easy. It was so easy she was already thinking about swinging by the Golden Coast survey ship’s wreck after she was done.
Unlike the busy Sisi, Tail sat glued to the cockpit window like an excited tourist rather than an infiltration operative.
Only when the submersible drifted beneath a turbine did she snap back to reality.
“Right, Sisi! How are we doing the investigation?”
Sisi inhaled deeply, eyes fixed on the 3D map. “Simple. We reach the marked area, deploy the probe, wait for data collection, then recover the probe.”
“Eh?!” Tail stared at her with raised eyebrows. “That’s it?”
“Well, it’s not that simple. There are plenty of dangers… But isn’t it being simple a good thing? Why do you sound disappointed?”
Tail scratched her head awkwardly. “No, no, simple is good. But that means we don’t even get to go outside?”
“Probably not.”
“Aw…”
Her crushed expression made Sisi sigh.
“But, but, but… shouldn’t we check carefully? What if clues are stuck inside a fish stomach or behind a rock?” Tail pouted.
“How would anything like that exist?” Sisi retorted. “This isn’t a crime scene in a detective show.”
After nearly two and a half months, the Federation would have already conducted extensive investigation. Hoping to find something they missed was unrealistic. The most promising clues were things like operational data.
Hearing they didn’t need to leave the submersible, Tail deflated into her seat like a punctured balloon.
Sisi glanced at her and asked, “… Aren’t you scared? This is over 100 meters deep.”
“Scared?” Tail looked confused.
“For example… thalassophobia?”
Seeing Sisi glued to the screen, Tail suddenly smirked. “Oh! Tail understands! Sisi’s weak point is the deep sea!”
“That’s not a weakness! And why would I?! there’s nothing scary about this!” Sisi denied it immediately, but her refusal to look out the window spoke louder than words.
Seeing her friend embarrassed, Tail revealed a wicked grin. “Then look outside!”
“No. Looking at the screen is the same.”
“Just one glance!”
“Enough, stop fooling around, we’re here, time to work!”
