We agreed to set sail, so you'd become the ruler of the deep sea?

Chapter 115 [The Rust Lord] and [The Serpent of Midgard]

"This thing can also drop [Secret Sea Crystal]?"

Xia En looked at the mechanical doll that was no longer moving and couldn't help but twitch his lips.

But thinking about it, it makes sense, since [Secret Sea Crystals] weren't originally limited to being obtained only from sea beasts.

These tin cans have been soaking in seawater for so long, it's normal for them to absorb some of the ocean's mysterious power, right?

"absorb!"

With a thought, a familiar cool sensation flowed through Xia En's body.

[Ship Spirit Level: LV3 (16%)!]

In the past few days, by staying at the anchor point in Coral City, Shane's ship soul experience has been steadily increasing.

Incidentally, the attributes of the Black Swan have also changed to some extent.

[Attributes: Firepower 25, Speed ​​30, Durability 29, Mysticism 31]

Under Feiya's nurturing, the efficiency of the [Gluttonous Steam Turbine] has improved. As for its mysterious attribute, it is mostly related to the hatching of the Bronze Dragon Song.

However, in reality, Shane's true attributes are much higher than these values.

Both advancements in the Secret Path profession directly enhanced his inherent attributes.

Not to mention the added benefits from talents such as [Blessed by the Sea] and [Captain's Majesty].

hum... hum...

Just as Shane put away the no longer beating steam heart, he heard a strange mechanical sound again.

He looked up, but his pupils shrank involuntarily.

In the dim and deep steel jungle, a flock of mechanical birds swam by, their dark red searchlights descending from above, moving and observing the deserted streets.

"Is it a mutated sea monster? Or another kind of mechanical puppet?"

"Was it attracted by the puppet's scream just now?"

Xia En's mind raced.

Just as he was considering whether to take action against them or avoid confrontation, the iron door of a house not far away suddenly opened from the inside.

Immediately, a low, hoarse voice came out.

"Hey kid!"

"Come here now if you don't want to die!"

Xia En's heart skipped a beat.

Clearly, like Coral City, this city also has its own native inhabitants.

As a projected body, he wasn't afraid of what tricks the other party might play, so he didn't hesitate and swam into the iron gate.

squeak...

The iron gate closed quickly.

Even after closing the door, the person inside remained vigilant, using a device resembling a binoculars to observe the situation outside.

Only when the dark red searchlight gradually disappeared into the distance did he breathe a sigh of relief and turn to look at Xia En.

"Kid, you're lucky. If those Rust Lord's lackeys had found out, the consequences would have been..."

"Huh? What kind of new diving device is this? I've never seen it before."

At this moment, Xia En was able to see the man's face clearly.

A rusty metal shell, limbs driven by gears and levers, pipes flowing with steam—

Everything about it is exactly the same as the mechanical puppet from before!
The only difference was the light emanating from those eyes; it wasn't red, but a deep, eerie blue.

A rational mechanical puppet!?

A look of surprise flashed in Xia En's eyes.

He wanted to ask, but these puppets made sounds differently from the sea creatures in the sea, so even with the [Seashell Necklace], Xia En couldn't communicate with them.

"Oh, I almost forgot, you don't have an underwater sound-emitting device."

The voice, like an old man's mechanical puppet, scratched the back of its head: "Well, it's fate that we met today."

"Come with me, I'll take you to a nice place."

After saying that, the mechanical puppet swam to a corner of the room, opened a hidden door, and swam in first.

Xia En followed silently behind him.

Soon, the two arrived at a special room where the walls were made of a special alloy and surprisingly showed little sign of rust.

After the main door was closed, the water level in the room suddenly began to drop, as if a water pump was constantly pumping away the seawater.

"call……"

The mechanical puppet shook itself violently, shaking off the seawater, and let out a particularly refreshing sigh.

"It's so much more comfortable here where there's no seawater! Otherwise, I feel like my whole body is going to rust."

Shane: "..."

Aren't you already rusty?

After the seawater was drained, the mechanical puppet opened the inner alloy door and said with a smile.

"Young man, welcome to the city of steam!"

Immediately afterwards, a powerful melody began to play.

It's like a very old song, so old that it dates back hundreds or thousands of years, back when the Rusty City was still known as the Steam City.

What came into Xia En's view was a bar with a strong punk vibe.

Flashing colored lights, a record player playing a hoarse tune, crowds swaying their bodies, and...

The thin air was filled with the smell of rust and engine oil!
The people here are not ordinary biological beings, but rather a series of bizarre mechanical puppets!
Such an absurd and bizarre scene unfolded before Xia En with undeniable reality.

It's hard to imagine that such a lively bar could exist in a desolate and rusty underwater city.

"Surprising?"

The uncle who brought Shane in boasted, "My name is Jack Wilson, and I own this bar. Everyone calls me Old Jack."

"Judging from your appearance, you must be a salvage worker at sea, right?"

"This job is not easy. I used to know a few salvage workers, but they all died within a few years."

Shane was a little unaccustomed to Jack's enthusiasm, so after nodding, he asked curiously.

"You... are all original residents of this city?"

Jack paused for a moment, then said in surprise, "I didn't expect you to ask that." "But it's no big deal to tell you."

"Your guess is correct. Before we turned into this grotesque state, we were indeed just ordinary humans."

These words instantly resolved Xia En's doubts.

If, in the face of the colossal wave sweeping the world, the former king of the Coral City took the measure of transforming humans into coral;
The vampires of the Blood Moon Realm chose to sink the entire city into the Secret Sea.
So, the lord of the Rusty Ruins embarked on another forbidden path—

The flesh and blood are weak and the machine soars!

Although it is unknown what methods the secret guides of this city used back then, they successfully transferred people's souls into these metal golems, which have survived on the seabed to this day.

Thinking of this, Xia En frowned and asked again, "What about the puppet I killed earlier..."

"Don't worry, that's an out-of-control person."

Jack looked at the swaying crowd on the dance floor and said calmly, "There are two types of [Out-of-Control Individuals] in the current Rusty Wasteland."

"One type is a machine that has never been given a soul."

"The other type is the residents who have gone mad."

"No matter which type it is, there is no cure. Death is the only relief for them."

Xia En's heart stirred slightly.

It's not hard to guess that the process of transforming the human body into a machine will inevitably have hidden dangers and side effects.

Not to mention, living in the dark, sunless sea for so long would also lead to mental alienation.

It was almost a miracle that Jack could remain sober and rational.

Shaun continued, "Speaking of which, what about that train running through the city?"

"Oh, you mean the Serpent of Midgard!"

Jack said knowingly, "That thing is indeed quite spectacular, after all, it's a treasure left over from the last era."

"The Serpent of Midgard?"

Xia En's expression was strange. He remembered that this was a giant serpent from a myth, capable of encircling the mortal world.

To dare to choose this name is undoubtedly to compare this steam city to the mythical Midgard, revealing its enormous ambition.

"Dad, you're back!"

Just then, a smaller, pink-painted mechanical puppet ran out from the crowd and nestled into Jack's arms like a fledgling swallow.

"Oh dear, my sweet daughter, have you gotten heavier again?"

"Your dad can barely carry you anymore."

Jack let out a hearty laugh and spun her around a few times.

This caused the pink robot to giggle.

If you ignore their unusual appearance, it is undoubtedly a very heartwarming scene.

"Your daughter?"

"Shane asked softly."

Jack asked frankly, "Yes, isn't it cute?"

Xia En answered frankly, "It is quite cute."

This answer surprised Jack somewhat.

Although the outsider's appearance was indistinct, he possessed an indescribable air of mystery, as if he had concealed himself with a special secret technique.

But he could still tell that this was the other person's true feeling.

When Jack interacted with the other salvage workers, he could actually sense that they harbored feelings of fear, disgust, and unease when facing him.

It is only natural to feel fear of the unknown.

So Jack didn't blame them for it.

However, this stranger didn't seem to have any such feelings at the moment, as if...

He treats himself and his daughter as equals, like normal people!
For a moment, Jack felt an indescribable emotion.

But then, the daughter in her arms spoke up: "By the way, Dad, we're running low on stock. Several customers are asking for it!"

"stock?"

Upon hearing this word, Xia En became curious and turned to look at the bar.

He saw that the glasses in people's hands contained a dark liquid with a metallic sheen.

For these mechanical puppets, the liquid seemed to act like alcohol or a stimulant, making them dance wildly.

"That's a diluted liquid of [Nether Gold], a specialty of the city's mining area."

"Drinking that stuff will make their heads feel a bit lighter."

As Jack spoke, he tapped his forehead, making a "clanging" sound.

"But these guys are going through this way way too fast!"

"【Nether Gold】..."

Xia En silently memorized the name.

Besides the rusted steel, there must be a lot of other special metals like this in the city, which might be used in the renovation of the Black Swan.

"Drip—drip—"

Suddenly, a sound like an alarm blared out, quickly drowning out the music in the bar.

The people on the dance floor immediately stopped moving, clearly showing signs of panic.

The blue light that flashed in Jack's eyes was somewhat deep. He said to Shane, "They are from the Rust Lord. You should hide first."

"They will not let any outsider go."

Although Xia En was curious about the title "Rust Lord", he knew that now was not the time to ask, so he quietly hid in a corner.

Shortly afterward, the gate opened.

Several mechanical puppets entered the bar.

They looked different from the others in the bar; their bodies and joints were covered with a black, flowing substance, like viscous black mud.

The gaze emanating from his eyes was unusually cold, devoid of any warmth of life.

They looked like corpses that had long since died.

(End of this chapter)