Chapter 136: That’s the Egg
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Beneath the ocean, it was deep and dark; endlessly vast but, not quiet. The magic-like geoactivities of the ocean floor and the small number of deep-sea creatures that were active in this region could be heard making spooky noises. It sounded like the crooning of a nightmare. The MDT’s deep-sea phobia may have been fake but, Hao Ren knew before long, the phobia would catch up on it as the place really had the ability to stress people out.
The water pressure at this depth was unimaginable. If not for the siren's ability, Hao Ren felt that even his Steel Membrane Shield would not have survived the crushing force. He locked his eyes on the faint light in front of him. His enhanced vision allowed him to see his surroundings with the aid of the low glow from the MDT. A container-like structure was vaguely visible on the ocean floor. The rectangular structure leaned at an angle, and was partly buried in the sand. It was roughly 10m by 9m by 9m in dimensions. There was lighting on each of the container's upper corners, barely enough to make the entire container visible. The container seemed to be still intact. At least, the faint lighting meant its power source had not been completely depleted.
The container sat on a deep-sea sandbank, and was surrounded by high, sloping terrains on all sides. On one side of the slopes was a huge trail, which looked like a drag mark. It possibly resulted from the falling container. When Hao Ren and Nangong Wuyue came close to the container, they discovered some strange, tiny creatures, which were emanating a faint, blue light. They looked like crushed squids—they were flat and only about 10cm in length. These tiny creatures had obviously made the giant container their new home when it landed a couple of days ago as could be seen from the many little sand holes beneath the container. But before Hao Ren and Nangong Wuyue could come any closer, these tiny creatures fled.
"It’s bigger than what I had imagined." Nangong Wuyue released her grab on Hao Ren before she circled the container. "It looks like a small house, it’s bigger than any cargo container on Earth. Any idea how to open this thing?"
Hao Ren was followed Nangong Wuyue as she circled the container. There was sign of ablation on the container's surface and the once shining, alloy outer wall was damaged, probably due to the high heat during reentry after the carrier's disintegration. However, the structure itself was completely intact. The container had a double-layered wall; when Hao Ren tore down the damaged outer layer, the thick, inner alloy wall was revealed.
"I will find it." The MDT hovered above the container and started to beam its scanner, looking for an entrance. Before long, it found an entry point on the side of the container. "Found it—the safety lock is working. And its backup generator is powering the equipment's core protective function. The poor thing inside should be fine but, before we open the hatch, we need to block off the sea water to prevent it from causing secondary damage. Maybe we should move the container up to the surface."
"Getting this huge thing up to the surface?" Nangong Wuyue’s eyes blinked. "I’d rather block off the water. Please take a step back, Landlord. I’m going to create a dry zone."
As Hao Ren stepped back, Nangong Wuyue once again swam around the container in a circling motion but this time, her movements seemed to follow a particular pattern. As her long tail flexed back and forth, a faint glow started to permeate through the surrounding water. Nangong Wuyue then stopped dead above the container and uttered a strange-sounding syllable. A transparent hemispheric barrier popped up out of nowhere right above the container!
The spherical barrier was dozens of meters across, much bigger than the container itself. The water was separated from the inside and formed a spectacular scene of wonder. Hao Ren swam towards the barrier curiously. As he passed through the soft membrane, he entered into a water-free environment where even the sand under his feet was completely dry.
Hao Ren was awed by what he saw. "That was awesome, what you did! The ocean’s truly your heaven."
Hao Ren turned around and saw Nangong Wuyue coming in through the water barrier. Without water, the siren maiden could only move like a snake on the dry sand with her long tail. But, her body remained enchanting as ever. However, Nangong Wuyue herself did not think so. She grumbled. "This is uncomfortable... I’ve tried to 'walk' this way a few times since I was young, and I still can’t get used to it."
Hao Ren wanted to say she looked great swaying her hips that way but, was he taken aback by her next move: she shapeshifted back into a mermaid and jumped on her tail. She laid back down after a few attempts. "I can’t balance myself... How did my mom even do it?"
"....."
Nanyong Wuyue again shapeshifted back into the sea snake. She moved like a snake as she said to Hao Ren, "I think I should shapeshift into a mantis shrimp. That way I could at least walk steadily. Or maybe a crab..."
"Please, spare me!" Hao Ren jumped onto his feet and pointed at her tail. "Why don’t you just transform back into human form?"
"Yeah, but my cloths are still up there!"
"You’re right." Hao Ren now realized that Nangong Wuyue was just like the werehusky. They both could not keep their clothes once they shapeshifted. Not every other-kind was as poor and hypocritical as Vivian after all.
"If that’s the case, what about the clothes you’re wearing now?" Hao Ren pointed at her upper body. "Where did you get that?"
"These are my scales!" Nangong Wuyue patted her chest. "I’m now practically nude. Just that cultural and aesthetic differences keep my modesty intact before a man..."
"...Let’s get back to business then..."
He felt that if he kept talking with the siren, he was going to lose an important part of his life.
As the water around the container was drained, there was no worry of causing secondary damage to the occupant inside. The MDT hovered at the side of the big structure. It sent out a light beam and connected to the container's control system. "Let’s hope that the safety host is still switched on, or we’ll have to blast through the door... Yeah, looks like luck’s on our side."
Right after the MDT said, "luck’s on our side", a creaking noise was heard under the metal plate. It was as if the door's mechanism was rubbing against the damaged outer wall. It was then followed by a hissing sound. As the door slid open, it stopped at one-third of its fully opened position as though something had gotten stuck in the door's sliding track. But it did not matter. The opening was big enough to pass through.
Hao Ren squeezed himself through the door.
The cabin was pretty big and everything was intact. The silvery white cabin walls were undamaged. The amber and soft ambient light was so soothing. It was a stark contrast with the dark and cold world outside.
"The air and temperature is at a normal level since the atmospheric stabilizing equipment is still functioning. That greatly reduced the impact from the landing." The MDT was hovering closer behind Hao Ren. As it was connected to the cabin's computer controls, it had access to all data prior to the opening of the hatch. It relayed everything it knew to Hao Ren.
"Where’s the occupant?" Hao Ren carefully balanced himself on the slanted floor as he studied the unknown gadgets around him. There were racks on the wall, a display unit embedded in the wall and some other strange equipment he knew nothing of. It appeared that these things were built-in for the container. Nonetheless, the occupant was nowhere to be found.
The container was empty. There was no one in there.
Meanwhile, Nangong Wuyue had climbed in. That’s right, she essentially had to climb to get in, considering the state of her capacity to move. She could not move around freely so, she stayed behind Hao Ren. "Where’s the person?"
"No idea. It was empty when I came in." Hao Ren searched through the equipment and containers on the floor for clues but he found nothing meaningful. The MDT came closer and touched the display unit on the wall. "This thing’s primitive. I just can’t get used to it. Let's see what’s inside... There’s a log of a login, which means the occupant must still be here."
There were not many things in the container. If there was anyone in there, Hao Ren would have seen something. So, he gave up on his search and went back outside. He allowed the MDT to contact Raven 12345 while Nangong Wuyue followed him. The siren maiden found a white ball, which was bigger than a goose egg. She played with the ball, balancing it on the tip of her tail while her eyes were locked on Hao Ren as he made the "phone call".
"Hello? Is that Hao Ren?" Raven 12345's lazy voice could be heard at the other end. "Did you get it?"
"Get what? The container's empty!" Hao Ren felt depressed. "Is your intel valid?"
"What do you mean 'empty'?" Raven 12345 sounded stunned. "Did you look inside properly? How could it be empty?"
"Yeah, I’ve been looking high and low for a day." Hao Ren sighed. As he turned his head around he saw Nangong Wuyue tossing the white ball up and down so, he joked, "Yeah, found an egg!"
"That’s it! That's the egg!"
Nangong Wuyue’s tail suddenly froze and a cracking sound followed.
"What the f*ck!!!"
Again, Raven 12345 was stunned. "What happened?"
"It dropped!"
"F*ck!!"