“It can be confirmed that these are dragon scales from the King of Bronze and Fire lineage.”
By the ship's rail, Liu Tongchen's face was serious as he magnified the image of the scales on the screen for Lu Mingfei and Liu Heguang. Thunder and lightning roared above them, and the drilling machine made an unsettling sound in the wind and rain.
Even under the illumination of the lights, the river water remained an unfathomably deep black; even the sudden flashes of natural light couldn't penetrate its depths.
Ye Sheng and Shuhtome Yaji also arrived. They weren't nervous about such natural phenomena, but that didn't mean they were without fear. Humans have always harbored a trace of fear towards things whose true nature they cannot discern.
“How far is the drilling machine from the door of the Bronze City?” Ye Sheng asked.
“Roughly 40 meters,” Liu Tongchen said calmly. “A underwater earthquake a week ago shook open a crack, and we can dive directly to the door through that fissure. Perhaps we won't even need the drilling machine.”
“The prepared air tanks only allow you one hour of free movement underwater. Manage your Measure the Days carefully. Once the exact location of the door is found, I will go down to replace your air tanks.”
The Moniyahe, a vessel disguised as a tugboat but actually a warship, began to roar. Its engines started, and the anchor was raised as it began to move upstream against the river current. In such turbulent waters, even the most skilled divers cannot maintain a vertical descent. They would travel dozens of meters ahead of their intended dive location before entering the water.
Liu Heguang helped Lu Mingfei fold the military flag and put it into a small personal box, then patted Lu Mingfei's chest armor. “Just do what you believe is right, don't push yourself too hard.”
“Are you really okay with us taking the cocoon?” Lu Mingfei adjusted the air tank on his back, sitting on the ship's rail with his back to the turbulent river, looking into Liu Heguang's eyes—though Liu Heguang was squinting so hard he couldn't actually see them. “This is more important than that military flag, isn't it?”
“It's different. The Family promised Angers that Kassel College could take away four items. The cocoon being taken away is within the rules, so they have to accept it, even if they don't like it,” Liu Heguang showed a faint smile. “Besides, the palace is right under our noses, and all the remaining ‘good stuff’ is ours.”
“Are the rest all good things?” Lu Mingfei chuckled.
“What I say doesn't count,” Liu Heguang also laughed. “Remember to take good care of Miss Zero underwater.”
Lu Mingfei paused. Without another word, Liu Heguang had already turned and walked towards the front cabin. Liu Tongchen, after saluting him, also followed to the front cabin.
He glanced back at Zero, grateful that the heavy rain was falling so hard that Zero couldn't hear Liu Heguang's words, which were full of misunderstanding.
Beams of light shot out from the cabin, illuminating the entire deck. All the engineers began to retreat, leaving only the intertwined shadows of Lu Mingfei and the other three.
The Moniyahe stopped moving, and the anchor was re-dropped to secure it. The four looked at each other, offering encouraging glances, then paired up and leaped into the water.
The white lights flickered three times before extinguishing. No one could be seen on the deck, only a few splashes of water that were instantly smoothed out by the heavy rain.
.
The searchlights in the deep water could not penetrate much distance, casting only a greyish-green band of light. Zero's petite figure floated nearby; Lu Mingfei could reach her with just a stretch of his hand.
But his diving partner was Shuhtome Yaji, so theoretically, he should prioritize rescuing his own partner.
That's why Lu Mingfei always felt strange. Senior Ye Sheng was communicating information with Senior Yaji, with Lu Mingfei and Zero between them. It seemed like the swapping of partners was just to fool the Execution Department?
“Mingfei, how are you feeling? Can you tolerate the water pressure?” Shuhtome Yaji suddenly asked.
“It's okay. I've pretty much adapted after the last three 50-meter deep dives,” Lu Mingfei replied. This senior, who had been responsible for him during his freshman year, was still gentle, and perhaps due to her impending marriage, she exuded a bit more maternal glow.
They had already reached the bottom. Unlike the fierce storm above water, only gentle ripples remained underwater; the 50-meter water layer completely filtered out nature's fury.
Steel claws sprang from the soles of their feet, fixing them to the rocks. Following the light of the searchlights, they advanced towards the “door.”
“Liu Tongchen, we need a sonar scan of the terrain,” Lu Mingfei called out.
“Understood, initiating sonar scan immediately,” Liu Tongchen's reply was simple and direct.
A 3D sonar map, outlined by dark green contour lines, appeared on the helmets of Lu Mingfei and the other three. Sound waves were far more useful than light in water.
“Found it. We won't trouble Senior Ye Sheng with using Yan Ling · Snake and wasting his physical strength,” Lu Mingfei nodded to Ye Sheng, who nodded back in response.
Under the complex and undulating riverbed, in the lowest depression, a bottomless crack lay quietly. Lu Mingfei and Ye Sheng exchanged glances and slowly swam over. To ensure they could react to any sudden attack by a Dragonborn using sound, their earpieces were filled only with the sound of their own breathing.
“It's so dark.” The searchlight shone on the pit wall. Due to water quality issues, the searchlight's visible range was halved, and more often, it was the darkness that threatened to swallow both light and person.
“Be extra careful,” Liu Heguang joined the channel, his voice soft and comforting.
That feeling from first seeing Liu Heguang after getting off the plane reappeared. His voice seemed to have a magical quality; as soon as his words fell, a little bit of the four's unease was reduced.
“Please help us record the subsequent descent depth.” Lu Mingfei picked up a stone from the ground, turned off the searchlight on his head, and prepared to fall into it.
The crack was at least two meters wide, wide enough for an adult to hold a large stone and save energy as they descended.
After entering the crack, it was pitch black. Lu Mingfei inhaled slightly, preparing to drop straight down for forty meters in one go, when suddenly someone placed a hand on his shoulder.
“The more it's like this, the less you can rush, Mingfei,” it was Shuhtome Yaji's voice. She held Lu Mingfei's wrist, negating his dangerous idea of dropping 40 meters in one go, and led him bouncing and jumping deeper.
“Safety first. While saving energy is a good idea, in some special circumstances, expending a bit more energy is actually safer,” Shuhtome Yaji said, her hand holding a knife to cut off a half-meter stone pillar. “If you drop straight down, these seemingly insignificant small things can cause unexpected energy drain.”
Lu Mingfei nodded, indicating he had learned.
On the other side, Ye Sheng also brought Zero down. “41.3 meters, about what we estimated. I'm going to prepare to use Rune,” he looked at Lu Mingfei.
“Okay, I'll pay attention to the changes around us,” Lu Mingfei nodded. Ten seconds later, he felt a thin film pass over him, and at the same time, he perceived a world rhythm range with a radius of one thousand meters.
Lu Mingfei was stunned, seemingly not expecting such a development.
Under his subconscious observation of the world rhythm of Yan Ling · Snake, and by virtue of the range that Measure the Days could affect, he actually enjoyed some of the authorities of this Rune.
