Novel23 Chapter 282 - 275: Second Exploration of the Sea of Boiling
Chapter 282 - 275: Second Exploration of the Sea of Boiling
In the Sea of Silence, the heat was unbearable.
The farther south they sailed, the higher the temperature climbed.
A thin mist evaporated from the deserted sea, a spectacular sight of steam rising against the azure sky. Any ship sailing these waters would feel like it was entering a steamer, but for the Da Yu, navigating slowly through the haze, it felt more like a steam sauna gifted by nature.
This ship was now a den of crouching tigers and hidden dragons.
Even the cook was a B-level Awakened with formidable combat prowess. With just a casual display of his cleaver skills, he could easily subdue a D-level Awakened like Chunyi. Every single crew member was strong enough to hold their own and secure a core position on a Gold-level Wandering Ship.
Naturally, they weren’t afraid of such high temperatures.
Shi Ming was in the captain’s room, personally monitoring the Da Yu’s Sea Patrol Radar. He watched for any life signatures and abnormal fluctuations within its thirty-nautical-mile detection range. Even without him having to act personally, the ship’s cannons and firepower were enough to ensure no sea beast that attacked would ever return. Unfortunately, because of the Abyss Lord’s rage, the Sea of Boiling—once rampant with sea beasts—was now calm and tranquil. It had ironically become the area with the lowest density of sea beasts, and this voyage had yielded very little so far.
"Captain, we’re approaching the edge of the Sea of Boiling."
"Good. Stop the ship and hold position."
There was no need for the Da Yu to venture any further. The nearly one-hundred-meter-long ship was too conspicuous; if the Abyss Lord attacked, its large size would make it harder to escape. It was better to leave it here on guard.
Shi Ming flung Sunshot out from the warehouse.
He then pushed off with his lower body, leaping lightly to land steadily atop Sunshot. Like an arrow loosed from a bow, it shot off in flight mode toward the depths of the Sea of Boiling. At the same time, the Da Yu, which remained behind, activated its stealth mode and waited in place like a sentinel for the captain’s summons.
The second probe into the Sea of Boiling!
Dive mode, engaged!
Mimicry mode, engaged!
Shi Ming became a streak of light, diving into the scorching seawater. He immediately activated Sunshot’s mimicry mode, transforming the canoe-like craft into a common fish found in the Sea of Boiling and weaving nimbly through the water toward his destination.
’I have to be cautious!’
’I’m carrying too many strange things with me right now. Just setting foot in the Fujing Mountain region increased the probability of the Great Black Heaven Dragon awakening by a factor of three million. How can I not be careful now that I’m in the Sea of Boiling, which is also home to a Holy Hall-level Sea Beast?’
’Fortune favors the bold.’
’I refuse to believe that with my current abilities, I can’t retrieve a small mirror from a shipwreck deep in the vast ocean.’
Nothing in the world is ever completely safe, and the perfect opportunity never comes.
The adventurous spirit ingrained in the powerful is the greatest catalyst for growth.
...
...
...
「King-level Wandering Ship, the Lighthouse.」
「Holy Hall Laboratory.」
An assistant pushed the door open and entered.
"Doctor, the plan to acquire Purifying Marrow through official channels has failed. Da Yu claims to have donated all its remaining Purifying Marrow to Black Gold, and all our attempts to add Shi Ming on his personal communicator using various accounts have been rejected."
The Doctor listened to his assistant’s report without even looking up.
"Then add his subordinates! I refuse to believe that motley crew on his Silver ship is so united. There are no eternal enemies, only eternal interests. As long as we offer enough profit, we’ll find a weak link! Promise them ten times the price! If that still doesn’t work, use a third-party Wandering Ship as an intermediary!"
"Doctor... we can’t get through to his subordinates’ communicators either."
"Useless!"
The Doctor finally looked up, his face devoid of any expression.
The assistant continued, trying to justify himself:
"Perhaps Shi Ming has already sold all the Purifying Marrow? According to a secret report from our informant in Black Gold, they also acquired 500 milliliters of Purifying Marrow from him. The reason he’s not responding is probably because he’s short-sighted and already sold everything off. He likely has none left."
Black Gold again!
The Doctor frowned. His research colleagues were simply incorrigible fools.
Even if they used all the Purifying Marrow on the Sealed Prison, it would only suppress one undersea beast. But if it were given to him for research, his work would benefit generations to come. Then, forget about some insignificant creature under Black Gold’s control—even the threat of all S-class sea beasts in the entire Endless Ocean would be completely eliminated.
Humanity would once again become the masters of this world!
Since he couldn’t buy it, he would find another way. There were other methods to eliminate the violent power within the Dragon Flesh of the Great Black Heaven and render it docile.
"Proceed with this matter in an orderly fashion."
"Also, have we recruited any more volunteers for the project?"
At this question, the Doctor’s two assistants looked at each other, but neither spoke.
Volunteers?
As if there were any real volunteers.
The Lighthouse’s founding principles were freedom and equality. The Awakened living on this ship were all elites who understood the immense risks of such an experiment. None of them would ever volunteer to be a guinea pig, and if any coercion were to be exposed, it would cause a massive scandal.
Without volunteers, the project would be stranded.
The Doctor’s eyes darted back and forth.
In an instant, he had an idea.
"Find some volunteers from the Vortex Country. I hear they are loyal to Renhuang and have a spirit of self-sacrifice. They’re always willing to devote themselves to the cause of research and consider it an honor. The Endless Ocean will remember their contribution... Just invest some funds to build a subsidiary lab in their name. We’ll call it... hmm, 711. Remember, we only want volunteers. The process must be perfectly legitimate."
"Understood, Doctor."
Having solved a major problem, the Doctor leaned down and continued to observe the changes in the flesh within the petri dish.
The Dragon Flesh of the Great Black Heaven writhed, emitting an irrepressible aura of destruction. On the other side, the sloughed remains of the Immortal Evil Eye had already proliferated into a dense mass of tissue within the blood of Jia Fang, the "Homecomer." At the tip of each strand of tissue was a small, rapidly darting eye.
’How marvelous!’
’The cells of the Immortal Evil Eye can actually partially fuse with those of the Great Black Heaven Dragon. Shouldn’t the power of destruction and the power of eternity be completely antithetical? How is such a fusion possible? If I could fuse all the Holy Hall Powers, could I create a unique, superior being?’
’If Virus were here, she would surely offer me a whole new line of thinking.’
Unfortunately, the Awakened codenamed Virus had been missing for a long time. Despite all its efforts, the Lighthouse had been unable to find any trace of her in the Endless Ocean. Although they could execute her by controlling her Celestial Net Chip, doing so would make the probability of recovering the "Infinite Virus" as slim as finding a needle in a haystack.
Her disappearance had also become an unsolved mystery.