Steel torrents pioneering a different world

Chapter 238 Genetic Mutation of Otherworldly Creatures! Dangers Hidden in the Devil's Sea! (Please Subscribe)

Failure is not terrible; what is terrible is losing morale.

It's like you actively seek out your dream girl, but you can't even get there in time to chat or ask for her WeChat. So, there's no point in talking about anything else.

Then no.

Of course, military matters are certainly not like that.

You can use the "Tax Master" to extort money from Sakura and Xiba. If they don't pay within the specified time, I'll make them call me "Dad"!

If you don't give it to me, it's your fault.

And I won big!
To raise funds, Sakura is estimated to be planning a 300 million NTD "Giggle Goes to Southeast Asia 2.0" operation.

As for Xiao Xiba, it is estimated that the laborers will also have to put in a lot of effort.

Although Su Mingjin didn't say much, her expectation of "do or die" filled everyone's faces with determination.

After the confusion fades, it is replaced by determination, a resolve to succeed at all costs.

"come on!"

Someone shouted something, and the entire command center quickly transformed into a high-speed information gathering machine once again.

The clatter of keyboards, the hum of cooling fans, and the low growls of technicians, mixed with technical jargon, blended into a frenzied symphony.

"Group A, you're responsible for analyzing those strange vines in the video frames, estimating the angle, speed, and force with which that thing extends its vines each time!"

"Group B, audio data! Filter out all the noise. I need to know if there were any infrasound waves that we can't hear when that strange light appeared! I also need to determine our radiation concentration and whether there have been any abnormal changes in the detectors on the offshore and coastline."

"Group C, environmental data! The last data transmitted back: salinity, pressure, and temperature changes! Build a simulation for me!"

"Group D, didn't you collect a large amount of biological tissue this time? Organize it..."

Those who received the order began to work, and time ticked by...

The data carried by the tadpole probes quickly became the most important information for the human pioneering teams.

While collecting and processing data, some brand-new industrial designs specifically for the ocean and ancient ruins, along with corresponding countermeasures and precautions, have also emerged.

More targeted and specifically enhanced industrial equipment began to be collected and organized, and efforts were made to turn them into blueprints.

There's something interesting about industry: the pioneers who design the first product are the ones who face the greatest challenges and are the most admirable.

A certain Pengpeng created a robot that walks in a female-like posture, costing millions of dollars.

However, this price includes R&D expenses. If subsequent R&D funding is allocated, the price could plummet.

Because the other side was the pathfinder, they accumulated a lot of experience for those behind.

Similar principles apply to the field of exploration.

Once a feasible path is identified, one can continue along it. With perseverance, one will eventually reach the Heavenly Ladder of Zhongnan Mountain.

Once it was confirmed that a path led from beneath the ocean floor to the ancient ruins of the gods, the pioneering team began mobilizing resources to further develop the area.

Many of the previously verified technologies and difficulties have been summarized, and a lot of data has been compiled. We are now waiting for the science department to consolidate their research and develop some methods to defend against attacks from sea monsters, or at least to defend against inexplicable corrosive substances.
-
Earth, Zhuhe Grassland, Time-Space Gate Logistics and Overall Management Base.

In a quiet office, the only sound was the faint spraying of water from a kettle.

Li Weiguo was slowly watering several potted green plants on the windowsill with a small spray bottle. The water droplets on the leaves were crystal clear, making the greenery even more vibrant.

For him, this simple, repetitive action of greening is a kind of mental tranquilizer under high pressure.

Unfortunately, the good times passed quickly.

Boom!Boom!Boom!
Where should I send it?

The office door was suddenly pushed open, and Wang Kaixuan rushed in like a gust of wind, his face still showing signs of anxiety.

"Commander Li, an urgent report from the Devil's Sea!"

He respectfully handed an encrypted portable hard drive to Li Weiguo.

Li Weiguo paused for a moment, put down the spray bottle, wiped his hands with a towel, and then picked up the storage device.

Inserting the card into the desktop USB port, I saw the mission briefing sent by Su Mingjin, as well as some investigation findings from the Devil's Sea.

After seeing the top-secret video, he chose to open it.

Dark images of the deep sea flashed across the screen one by one... a boiling, devilish sea where monsters fought each other... a mutated giant octopus, blown to pieces but still terrifyingly long... a giant cephalopod, an ancient creature that should only exist in fossils, swam through the trench with its tentacles, actually managing to punch through the bulletproof glass of a human-made Type 022 missile boat...

There is also a swordfish with a head as sharp as a spear; the autopsy report shows that its mouthparts are as hard as crude steel.

These are just appetizers.

Li Weiguo tapped his fingertips quickly, the scene changed, and the protagonist appeared.

Within the forbidden area dwells a strange deep-sea leech with bizarre saliva.

And those bizarre vines that can devour entire marine ecosystems.

In the video, a large group of phototactic deep-sea fish, seemingly pulled by invisible threads, abandon their instinct to escape and swim foolishly and frantically toward the dancing vines, only to be completely devoured, leaving not even a fish bone behind.

"Possesses the ability to bewitch minds? Could it be a branch of the sacred tree of the elves?"

Li Weiguo muttered to himself, his eyes scanning the area. He noticed that Su Mingjin had also made a similar conjecture, but it was marked as awaiting scientific research and analysis.

He leaned back in his chair, silently lit a cigarette, and the pungent smoke swirled in his lungs, but it couldn't dispel the gloom in his heart.

Marine biologists are busy, but this is not a happy problem.

"This data must be handed over completely to the biology and physics teams." Li Weiguo exhaled a smoke ring and ordered Wang Kaixuan, who was standing solemnly to the side, "Tell them to find out the secret of that thing as soon as possible and come up with a countermeasure and shielding plan."

The fact that the giant, living vines on the seabed could affect the minds of living organisms was not unexpected for Li Weiguo.

Because the red-leafed, white-skinned, human-faced tree of the elves has a similar ability.

What they didn't expect was that these vines seemed to come alive. They flashed with light, and the fish automatically came to them, only to be awakened by the pain of death.

This is not an easy creature to get along with.

If humanity cannot find a solution, it will likely face numerous difficulties in trying to understand that place further in the future.

Besides this, there are also many bottlenecks in mechanical detection, and engineers need to work hard to design and research reasonable solutions.

"Yes!" Wang Kaixuan accepted the order and quickly left.

The office fell silent again. Li Weiguo stubbed out his cigarette and silently rubbed his temples.

"Those elves and dwarves aren't quiet either,"

Li Weiguo's fear of elves and dwarves remained constant.

The elves' mind magic, their ability to control animal packs, the dwarves' smelting techniques, and their identification abilities based on both steel and magic—these are all things that humanity cannot yet effectively counter.

Recent data suggests that the two races are likely to reignite their war against humanity.

So many things have been discovered in the forbidden underwater area, it's making us very uneasy.

The thought that humanity's understanding of dwarves and elves was still a complete mystery only added to Li Weiguo's frustration.

"I hope we've been overthinking it!"

He picked up the phone on the table and dialed a number in Shanghai.

The call was answered quickly.

"Yaoyao, how's the target?"

"Reporting to General Manager Li, the target is... sleeping in."

The answer on the other end of the phone made Li Weiguo's brows, which had just relaxed a little, furrow again.

"Sleeping in?" He glanced at the time; it was 12:30 in the afternoon.

"Has he written anything new lately? A script, an outline, or even just a few lines related to the ocean?"

"No, absolutely not." Zhong Mengyao said with a hint of helplessness on the phone.

In Shanghai, Zhong Mengyao sipped her iced Americano, her gaze shifting between the building across the street and the motionless humanoid silhouette on the life detector next to her.

"Mr. Li, besides games, his computer only has some F2C learning materials downloaded!"

"Yes, he also recently went to a spa, a proper place!"

"He's been ordering a lot of takeout lately. Oh, and yesterday he also got a rapid antibiotic test kit using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)!"

Why are you doing this?

"I heard from people at the company that they need to check the food delivery orders they buy for the company, especially seafood, to see if the vendors have added antibiotics."

Why didn't you mention that?

"Mr. Li, haven't you seen the trending news? This news is really hot today. It's about someone adding antibiotics to takeout food to prevent people from getting diarrhea."

Li Weiguo: "..."

"By the way, Mr. Li, Lin Li said we should consider including this in an animated film as material! He said that seafood dishes like sashimi are best cooked thoroughly before eating. Anyway, they're all food-related!"

Li Weiguo's brows furrowed immediately.

The frontline in the other world is currently extremely busy, but the only person who might know about the time portal and clues to the other world is currently fast asleep, even researching food safety.

What is this?

Is it implying that we shouldn't crave marine life because eating too much might cause diarrhea?

He took a deep breath, suppressing the absurd speculation in his mind.

“I understand.” Li Weiguo’s tone remained calm. “Keep an eye on him. He can’t be left unattended for 24 hours. Send him every single word he writes, even the scraps that are thrown into the recycle bin.”

"understand!"

After hanging up the phone, Li Weiguo looked out the window at the ammunition trucks busy transporting supplies, his eyes becoming deep.

Linli, oh Linli...

Why don't you provide any clues?
-
after one day!

Otherworld Biological Research Center.

Professor Zhong Zhenguo, who is in charge of marine biological specimen research, had his gray eyebrows furrowed into a knot.

He pointed to a set of unbelievable data curves on the tablet screen, his voice revealing the stubbornness of an old scholar.

"Xiao Chu, take another look at this peak value. Is there something wrong with the instrument? Or did one of you shake your hand while operating it? This data doesn't look right!"

Dr. Chu Zhiheng pushed up his glasses, the lenses reflecting the data on the screen.

He shook his head, his tone calm but firm: "Professor Zhong, we are your best students. This set of data came from three different groups, using two different analytical models, and was cross-validated five times. The data itself is absolutely reliable!"

Zhong Zhenguo didn't speak, but stared intently at the steep, almost vertical curve representing the energy reaction, muttering under his breath, "This shouldn't be... Sigh, another one that doesn't conform to the law of conservation of energy..."

"Teacher, it's definitely interference from special energy particles that caused these things to produce a special chemical reaction, just like the one with the previous Longhu Ke Zong!"

Just then, the door of an isolation laboratory slid open with a hiss, and Dr. Xiang Siyuan, who had taken off his mask, saw Zhong Zhenguo and the others outside and rushed out like a gust of wind.

His eyes were sunken and bloodshot, clearly indicating that he hadn't slept much all night.

However, his eyes were frighteningly bright, and he was clutching a data tablet tightly in his hand, as if it were a priceless treasure.

"Teacher Zhong! Teacher Zhong! Old Chu, I've figured it out!"

He rushed to Zhong Zhenguo, his voice trembling with excitement.

"Xiao Xiang, be steady! Scientific research can't be rushed, don't worry," Zhong Zhenguo said with a soft laugh.

"It's not that I'm making a fuss, it's just that this thing is too weird!" Xiang Siyuan shoved the data panel in front of Zhong Zhenguo's eyes, pointing to the analysis report on it, "The corrosive slime is indeed from those deep-sea leeches! But! But these data are just too damn strange."

His voice rose with excitement, and he even waved his arms: "It's hard to imagine how terrifying the magical creatures in that area must be. Those creatures seem to have special attack capabilities against our alloy armor steel."

Chu Zhiheng's pupils contracted, not quite understanding what Xiang Siyuan meant.

Zhong Zhenguo was stunned. He snatched the data tablet away, his old eyes full of doubt.

His rough fingers swiped across the screen, and the more he looked, the more his hands trembled.

"Let's go!" Zhong Zhenguo suddenly looked up, his voice hoarse and urgent. "This is a big deal!"

Zhong Zhenguo glanced at the time on his wrist and thought for a moment: "Come on, there's an important meeting about the ancient battlefield ruins coming up later. You two come with me; I bet President Su and the others are getting impatient! You two prepare your reports to share this new discovery!"

"Okay!" The two perked up, their hearts filled with excitement.

If they perform well this time, they will be promoted, receive a professorship, and have a bright future, as well as the potential to become academicians. They will definitely not be left behind.

Soon, it was time for the afternoon meeting.

The atmosphere inside the meeting room was extremely heavy.

Human probes have been constantly at work as they traverse the ocean and delve into the ruins of ancient giant civilizations.

Everything seemed peaceful until today when the north was suddenly attacked by a small-scale undead calamity.

Unlike before, this time the undead calamity is more dispersed, with only snow and no icy hurricanes with strong winds.

It seems those guys have discovered that these weather-altering spells don't reduce human attack power.

Besides this, humans have recently discovered many traces of elves appearing in the southern forests.

Although the dwarves did not discover any further information, they did see small groups of troops gathering in the nearby hills.

Not many, but the signals they send are not good.

After this operational coordination and follow-up response meeting concludes, that's when the scientists will release the news.

Su Mingjin sat at the head of the table, expressionless, her fingers unconsciously tapping lightly on the table, making an extremely faint sound.

The brigade commander sat in a military posture, like an iron tower, but his eyes were glancing towards the door out of the corner of his eye.

On the other side, Professor Deng Dakang, Professor Yu Qiwen who came to the meeting, Professor Peng, and others were also there.

Wen Min, whose research has been going poorly lately, kept wiping her glasses.

Several operations staff officers did not have many smiles on their faces; some even had furrowed brows, their minds clearly immersed in worry.

When it was Professor Zhong Zhenguo's turn to report, everyone's eyes were immediately drawn to him as he entered with two young men.

After a brief exchange and introduction, everyone learned about the two relatively young scientists. Su Mingjin then succinctly stated, "Professor Zhong, please announce the team's results."

Zhong Zhenguo took a deep breath and turned to encourage Xiang Siyuan and Chu Zhiheng to step forward and introduce themselves.

Zhong Zhenguo is a person who does not seek credit, and because of this, many young scientists are willing to follow him and participate in various projects.

Chu Zhiheng was closer to the front and faster, synchronizing the data to the main screen in the conference room. Various complex charts and models instantly covered the entire wall.

Chu Zhiheng, a young PhD who has made numerous achievements in the field of biomaterials and is about to be promoted to professor, is now the focus of everyone's attention.

He spoke calmly, “Leaders, we have collected various types of flesh and blood tissues from the 022 missile boat. After analyzing some swordfish and giant rock specimens, we have a lot of useful information to process. Let’s start with the strange octopus. We have confirmed through DNA sequence comparison that it is the same species as the high-value medicinal giant octopus we caught in Changhu Lake before.”

As soon as he finished speaking, a soft gasp filled the conference room.

A gray-haired chief of staff couldn't help but speak up, his tone full of doubt: "This... can't be right? The thing in Changhu is so different from the monster in the video just now, both in size and shape!"

"But their DNA strands are completely identical."

Chu Zhiheng's voice remained completely calm as he raised his hand and swiped several images across the screen. The DNA helical fibers of the two organisms began to appear.

"We found functional gene fragments in the remains that were exactly the same as those of the Long Lake octopus. However, this deep-sea octopus was larger and had undergone directional mutations that we do not yet understand, resulting in a geometric increase in both its aggressiveness and healing ability."

He paused, then added a sentence that sent chills down the spines of the military personnel present: "In fact, I would say that if our depth charges hadn't precisely hit the brain region of that hundred-meter-tall behemoth, I seriously doubt it would have died at all."

On the screen, two 3D models appear side by side.

On the left is the Long Lake Octopus, and on the right is a deep-sea monster reconstructed from the wreckage and sonar data.

At first glance, it looks cute and is only slightly larger than an octopus on Earth, but in reality, it is ferocious, brutal, and irritable.

This octopus from Changhu Lake is only tens of meters long and weighs between several hundred kilograms and several tons.

It has extremely high scientific research and medicinal value. Its skin can mimic and disguise itself. It can be sprayed with highly soluble substances, and its biological cells can be used as biological repair agents.

Although this thing is dangerous, it is a normal living organism and has many uses.

In contrast, the other one has a completely different style.

The mutated octopus is ferocious and terrifying in appearance, and its personality is savage, bloodthirsty, and volatile. Its body is covered with twisted scales, making it almost impossible to mimic. In addition, its tentacles are over 100 meters long, and if the tentacles are separated, they can cover an area of ​​200 meters.

Based on the previously scanned size, that terrifying thing must weigh at least several hundred tons.

These are two completely different species.

To be precise, it's roughly the difference between humans and apes, or between bamboo pit vipers and pythons.

They are the same species, yet they seem to be from two different dimensions.

Those present, looking at this unbelievable contrast and the words written on it suggesting that the changes were caused by some kind of infection or mutation, felt a chill run from their spines to the top of their heads.

“If they truly share the same origin, then it might be just as the scientists have speculated: there exists some terrifying source within that ancient giant's ruins that can induce drastic genetic mutations,” Commander Man said in a deep voice, his brow furrowed.

Everyone nodded silently.

Then, everyone turned their attention back to Chu Zhiheng.

"As for the giant hornfish and swordfish, we've made similar discoveries. It's as if modules from other organisms have been artificially added to the DNA helix of these creatures, which is why they look the way we do. Do you know what other things we've discovered?"

Su Mingjin was very dissatisfied with Chu Zhiheng's suspenseful explanation: "Everyone is in a hurry, hurry up and tell us."

Chu Zhiheng gave an awkward smile, then said, "We discovered excessive levels of lysergic acid, alkaloids, and other elements in the bodies of the giant hornfish, the collected swordfish, and the giant octopus!"

During this exploration of the deep-sea area of ​​the Devil's Sea, in addition to using various bombs to clear out the rampant marine life, helicopters and various salvage equipment also collected a lot of deep-sea biological specimens.

They collected a considerable number of swordfish, giant rockfish, and other species from the previous attacks. These items provided the biological research team with more control groups.

"Lyserine and alkaloids? How is that possible?" Deng Dakang was completely dumbfounded.

Leaving aside alkaloids, which are widely distributed in higher plants, such as dicotyledons, alkaloids can be found in Ranunculaceae, Papaveraceae, Menispermaceae, and other families.

Some people know that alkaloids are highly toxic.

Let's talk about lysergic acid. Its chemical formula is C16H16N2O2. It is an indole alkaloid organic compound extracted from ergot and appears as a white crystalline powder.

This substance is soluble in pyridine, sodium hydroxide, ammonia, sodium carbonate, and hydrochloric acid solutions, slightly soluble in dilute sulfuric acid, and generally decomposes at 240℃.

However, it has a very special function: it is a precursor to the synthesis of psychedelic Y, namely ergot diethylamine, and is listed as a Class I controlled chemical.

“Yes, it’s incredible, but that’s where we found these things.” Chu Zhiheng adjusted his glasses. “This might explain why those guys attacked us so frantically.”

"Just as some of the senses of drug addicts become extremely sensitive, when these two elements are in excess in the bodies of marine organisms, their nerves and brains become more sensitive to the processing and reception of unfamiliar sound waves!"

"Of course, this is just a hypothesis. We haven't yet fully investigated the reasons for the frenzy of the creatures in the Devil's Sea. To gain a complete understanding, we need to conduct scientific dissections and tests on more biological control groups!"

"Distinguished leaders, I have finished speaking."

After Chu Zhiheng finished speaking, Deng Dakang wanted to ask a question, but seeing everyone's eyes turning to the young Xiang Siyuan, Deng Dakang ultimately refrained from asking.

"Fellow leaders!" Xiang Siyuan stepped forward, his eyes still bloodshot, but his spirits were unusually high. "My side is mainly responsible for analyzing the deep-sea leeches that are gnawing on the submarines, and then... we discovered some strange things."

He didn't keep anyone in suspense and directly projected a set of data onto the screen.

The screen full of chemical formulas and biological terms would make non-professionals dizzy, but when Deng Dakang saw them, his pupils immediately contracted.

Upon seeing several entries highlighted in red, Deng Dakang was even more stunned: "Super-concentrated indoleacetic acid? And gibberellin?!"

"Wait a minute, why does this thing have so many plant hormones in its body? Is it trying to flower and bear fruit on the seabed?"

Xiang Siyuan grinned, scratched his head, and revealed a smile that looked even uglier than a grimace.

"Professor Deng is really sharp; he spotted the difference at a glance!"

Everyone's eyes lingered on Deng Dakang and Xiang Siyuan, and finally Deng Dakang gestured for him to speak.

"Distinguished leaders, at first we also thought that our equipment was malfunctioning. Indoleacetic acid, at low concentrations it promotes plant growth, while at high concentrations it becomes a special herbicide. Gibberellin, on the other hand, is used to accelerate plant growth."

"We found high levels of these two substances in the saliva left by the detector. We even believe that the levels of these two elements in the sea leeches in the forbidden area are absolutely outrageous, making them practically mobile fertilizer and pesticide factories!"

“That’s not the strangest thing.” He switched to the next page of the report. “We also found a lot of proteinase K and Clostridium thermophilum in its saliva, which is almost insoluble in water.”

"The so-called proteinase K can degrade keratin, and we usually use it to extract DNA. And Clostridium thermophilum is a treasure on Earth that we use to study how to convert plant fibers into biofuels."

"Leaders, we've discovered a bunch of things related to plants and terrestrial organisms in the saliva of a marine creature from another world. Is this reasonable? No, it's not!"

There was silence in the conference room.

Everyone was stunned by Xiang Siyuan's mind-blowing discovery.

Is it possible for a marine creature to have a complete terrestrial ecological chemical system crammed into its body?

Xiang Siyuan took a deep breath and continued to present his key findings.

"We'll temporarily call these things 'special magical creatures from another world,' possessing incredible diversity! After sorting them out, we'll move on to the next question—why can it corrode the special alloy used in our submarines?"

He spoke slowly and deliberately, his voice becoming extremely solemn: "Through testing, we discovered that the saliva secreted by sea leeches contains a special biofilm rich in... hydrofluoric acid and organic sulfides."

"Hydrofluoric acid!" Upon hearing this, the pupils of an officer in charge of engineering equipment design contracted.

In the industrial field, this name represents absolute danger and terror.

Hydrofluoric acid, also known as fluorocarbon, is an aqueous solution of hydrogen fluoride gas. It is a clear, colorless, corrosive liquid with a strong, pungent odor. Hydrofluoric acid is a weak acid with extremely high corrosiveness, capable of corroding metals, glass, and silicon-containing quartz.

"Yes, it's outrageous. The leech was completely unharmed! Leaders, we found far more than that in their saliva."

Xiang Siyuan scratched his head, and a few stray hairs fell from his receding, mountain-shaped hairline.

This patient with severe hair loss rarely uses hair regrowth products due to work and other reasons.

"When this mixed slime comes into contact with the special... energy particles of this world, it produces a catalytic reaction that we have never seen before."

"The corrosiveness it creates will increase exponentially!"

Speaking of this, Xiang Siyuan seemed to remember something and immediately played a video.

That was a video showing the experimental group directly adding magic crystal powder to highly adhesive saliva.

As soon as the magic crystal powder was added, the slime immediately became active, and fine bubbles began to appear on the steel it enveloped.

This is precisely the reaction that occurs during metal corrosion and rusting.

"This special saliva is amazing. We used a detector to find that the saliva of sea leeches contains a high concentration of special energy particles. These things, combined with previous random discoveries, make the feeding of sea monster leeches extremely destructive."

"By the way, we previously detected that forbidden area had extremely high levels of radiation and a very dense concentration of special energy particles (magical particles). We have reason to suspect that the sea monster leech has a body structure similar to that of a small demon dragon, capable of condensing special energy particles!"

After saying this, Xiang Siyuan laughed: "If we can raise these things, perhaps we won't lack magic crystal powder in the future!"

Some of those present were deep in thought, some frowned, and others pondered how to deal with them.

At the very least, the probe should be able to leave the restricted sea area and explore that isolated region.

What do you call this thing?

"Based on the host it was found to be, the team has temporarily named it HSG substance."

HSG is an abbreviation for Sea Monster Substance.

"Distinguished leaders, I have finished speaking!"

End of report.

The entire conference room fell silent for a moment, with only the heavy breathing of the group remaining.

The bizarre mutations of the octopus and the outlandish structure of the leech—each one weighs heavily on everyone's mind like a mountain.

After a long silence, Su Mingjin's clear and cold voice finally broke the heavy silence.

She didn't ask why this was the case, nor did she marvel at how amazing these discoveries were.

Her gaze swept over the crowd and landed directly on Xiang Siyuan, where she asked the most crucial and fatal question.

"Dr. Xiang, let's forget about those strange creatures for now. There are many strange creatures in this world: flying snakes, unicorns, dragons, and strange vines that can easily crush submarines."

"Now, I'll ask you this: can our existing materials defend against this HSG substance? The pioneering team needs to learn more about that restricted area. We must at least ensure that it isn't attacked by an army of sea monsters emerging from the ocean while we're locked in a fierce battle with the dwarves and elves!"

Although we haven't found anything that can emerge from the ocean yet, what if we really do?
You should know that in Western fantasy creatures, there are many strange and wonderful creatures such as sirens, fishmen, sea dragons, and abyssal demons that can come ashore!
Everyone looked at Xiang Siyuan again.

Xiang Siyuan wearily pushed up his glasses, his eyes bloodshot beneath the lenses.

After a long silence, he answered in a hoarse and bitter voice, "The current materials can't prevent it."

He didn't say it was difficult; instead, he gave the most affirmative answer.

"The corrosion principle of HSG substances is to use special energy particles in the environment as catalysts to carry out an exponential chain reaction. It does not dissolve the metal, but rather accelerates the transformation of the metal's properties in a catalytic way."

"Unless we can completely isolate those energy particles, our high-performance steel materials are just competing to see who dies the slowest."

He paused for a moment and gave a specific timeframe: "Based on the current rate of corrosion, our latest submarine hull will corrode within 12 hours at most."

"This is even when there isn't much saliva and the animal isn't actively biting."

12 hours.

This number struck everyone present like a shard of ice.

For a mission that requires venturing into a deep trench thousands of meters below the surface to conduct complex operations, a 12-hour survival window is far too short.

If we take into account exploration, adventure, gathering, and some complex missions, the probability of a human submersible returning safely is almost zero.

Unless we find some stronger new materials immediately!
The meeting room fell silent again, with even breathing deliberately suppressed.

"cough."

A cough broke the silence.

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw Professor Deng Dakang.

He adjusted his glasses and hesitated before speaking, "Um... I do have a preliminary idea about isolating energy particles."

Su Mingjin immediately turned her gaze to him: "Professor Deng, please go ahead."

"Does everyone still remember the Dragon Scale Device?"

The key researchers and high-ranking military officials present all nodded.

That was one of the technological achievements they obtained by analyzing the energy absorption characteristics of the little dragon. This device, which can actively absorb energy particles and supply the human body for secondary absorption and conversion, greatly increased the speed at which the warriors' bodies were strengthened.

Deng Dakang continued, "If we synthesize a completely new pressure-resistant material and make it into the main body of the submarine, or directly etch energy guiding patterns on the surface, theoretically we can form an energy-depleted zone around the submarine."

"As long as the saliva of those sea monsters and leeches cannot undergo a catalytic reaction with the energy particles, the destructive power of those substances on the submarine will be greatly reduced, thus..."

"no!"

Before Professor Deng could finish speaking, an engineer in charge of the energy systems immediately retorted, speaking rapidly. "Professor Deng, have you forgotten? The energy consumption of the Dragon Scale device is enormous!"

Deng Dakang frowned: "We only need to design one-time consumption."

"Professor Deng, putting aside the time required to redesign a submersible, just considering the environment of the deep sea, maintaining a stable energy particle clearance field that can cover the entire submersible would consume a lot of energy."

"Our energy batteries are lucky if they last ten minutes! Unless we use nuclear fission batteries, which are not very durable, but those things are not only expensive, but also quite bulky."

"Everyone, please don't forget that there are extremely aggressive and strange vines in that restricted area! Those guys eat strange fish and sea monsters and leeches more easily than they eat spicy strips."

"Professor Li is absolutely right. If our expensively built underwater vehicle runs out of power, it's just an iron coffin sunk to the bottom of the sea, without even the power to surface!"

Upon hearing this, Commander Man grinned, spread his hands, and said self-deprecatingly, "Isn't there a solution? Being eaten alive by leeches or broken by vines won't solve the problem we're facing!"

For a moment, the conference room fell silent once again.

Until Su Mingjin's cold voice rang out.

"Comrades, we can't just give up on solving difficulties just because we've encountered them, can we?"

Her fingers tapped lightly on the table, her gaze sweeping over everyone present.

"Gentlemen, we've fallen into a trap. Our goal isn't to build an invincible submarine capable of wrestling with sea monsters; our goal is—whether there's any intelligence within that unstable restricted area that could pose a danger to the battle!"

She emphasized, "We don't need the submarine to come back alive; I just need it to transmit the most important core data back before it's destroyed."

"Let's rethink this. We can abandon the expensive overall protection and use all our resources where they're most needed."

"We need a low-cost, rapidly deployable solution, even if it's a one-off suicide probe. As long as we can explore more areas, get into the sea, and get a few more views above the surface to send out more signals, that will be a victory for us!"

Her words were like a window that had been pushed open, leaving all the technical experts in the room stunned.

They are used to pursuing perfection and absolute certainty, which is a normal choice for those who often work within the system and have relatively tight research funding.

But they forgot the essence of the mission.

They've all been doing military missions.

Why would I care about the cost?!
At this moment, Brigade Commander Man's voice rang out, adding the final weight to Su Mingjin's proposal.

"Comrades, I have just received a report from the front. Our drones have detected that the Elves are gathering a small force on the northern edge of the Misty Forest."

"At the same time, we have also discovered many traces of dwarves in the coastal Frost Forest Mountains. They are fortifying their mountain passes. Their military network is very close to us! Their target is very likely us."

His sharp eyes swept over the crowd like knives: "If those vines in that underwater ruin are part of their mother goddess, or a group of sea monsters, or weapons they can control, we will face a three-pronged attack from the sky, the ground, and the deep sea."

"At that point, it won't be a question of whether we can explore the ruins, but whether our pioneering base can still exist."

"We don't have time."

These five words struck everyone's heart like a heavy hammer.

Professor Zhong Zhenguo took a deep breath and nodded solemnly: "General Su, Commander Man, we understand. We will immediately adjust our direction, organize multiple high-fault-tolerant detection schemes, and strive to produce a prototype within an hour!"

"Thank you for your hard work, everyone."

The meeting ended, and the crowd dispersed.

Su Mingjin did not leave immediately. She sat alone in the empty conference room and pulled up the most inconspicuous page of Xiang Siyuan's report.

On the screen is an analysis of two high-concentration plant hormones in deep-sea leeches—indoleacetic acid and gibberellin.

Her fingertips traced the two chemical terms across the cold screen, her eyes becoming deep and unfathomable.

"In many fantasy novels, the spirits and gods who represent nature and harmony have many problems."

"Based on our deductions, those elves shouldn't be able to control the vines and marine life in the sea, right?"

Looking at this information, she sighed, then opened the task report form, and lines of information were quickly typed out...

(End of this chapter)