Star Hunter.

Chapter 250 Sea Fog Appears, Sea King Emerges

Chapter 250 Sea Fog Appears, Sea King Emerges

If you were captured by the enemy and subjected to a series of tortures, such as being placed on an experimental table for research, what kind of sound would you make?

Based on conventional judgment, many people would think that this sea monster was just making its last mournful cry as a trapped animal, but that is not the case.

Even the locals don't know much about deep-sea creatures. Capturing this one has already cost them a lot of manpower and resources. They built a data system specifically for the creature, which is constantly being upgraded and updated. However, after so many years of struggle, although the people on the planet have gained a lot of knowledge about the creatures, they still don't know much about some key species.

The gray cat pulled its ears back and said to Xilin, "Something's not right. This captured sea monster shouldn't be making that kind of noise."

"Hmm?" Xilin looked at the gray cat.

"The captured sea creatures won't live long, will they? As far as I know, captured sea creatures either commit suicide in despair or are used as test subjects. In either case, they won't live long," Vino said.

The gray cat shook its whiskers: "Judging from the sound, this sea monster certainly doesn't have much time left, but its cry just now wasn't the despair and sorrow you described, but rather a mixture of mockery and joy."

"Mockery and joy?" The group looked at the gray cat in surprise, waiting for its explanation.

"Yes, although I couldn't understand what it was trying to say, I intuitively felt that the sound was sarcastic, but it also contained a sense of joy."

"The cry of a sea monster nearing the end of its life is not a lament but a mockery? Mocking whom? The humans on the planet?" Dado pondered, stroking her chin.

York glanced at Kona Senza: "Could this be the reason Coco is uneasy? Since it makes that sound, there must be some reason that's causing it to do so."

Kona Senza seemed thoughtful, but she could only predict the possible state of affairs based on her feelings, but she couldn't figure it out clearly. So, although she had felt uneasy before, she couldn't say why she was uneasy.

The planet's leaders finally emerged. The planet's ruler was a minor nobleman, and although only a minor nobleman, they were quite stubborn and difficult to negotiate with. Sometimes, minor nobles are more difficult to deal with than major nobles; they have a bit of the "bad apples have nothing to lose" mentality.

"We would be most pleased to welcome the members of the Royal Society!"

The prime minister and the minor nobles came out to greet them, their faces beaming with smiles. However, their forced smiles revealed that their so-called "warm welcome" was actually a euphemism for "What are you doing here?"

The Royal Academy of Sciences sent negotiators. The two sides sat on opposite sides of the conference room, while Xilin and others stood aside in a daze.

There weren't many guards from the planetary government inside the meeting room, which showed that the planetary government was aware of the situation: they couldn't afford to offend the Royal Academy of Sciences too much, otherwise, they would end up in a fight to the death.

  

The two sides had already discussed the matter of Aquamarine before, but at that time the planetary government's attitude was quite tough and unyielding. However, now that the Royal Academy of Sciences has sent people to meet in person, it shows their sincerity in this matter.

There are no deals that can't be made; the only thing lacking is the right resources.

To persuade them, the Royal Academy of Sciences even brought certificates, contracts, and academician badges. The planetary government officials were clearly swayed, but still couldn't give a definite answer.

The minor nobles, as the owners of the planet, did not allow the Royal Academy of Sciences to contact the researchers who invented the new formula for Aquamarine. They were probably afraid that if the researchers were poached, they would simply leave and not care about anything else. However, on the other hand, if the planet could produce an academician of the Royal Academy of Sciences, it would undoubtedly be of great benefit to the planet.

The minor nobleman had his own selfish motives, so although the negotiations made progress, it was very slow.

Xilin estimated that the negotiations might take some time, and the nobleman would only relent once he had figured out his own thoughts.

Although they weren't particularly welcoming to the Huang Jie Academy of Sciences, the minor nobles arranged very comfortable accommodations for them.

The planetary government is located in the middle of the continental plate, which is also the farthest point from the coast. If the sea monsters can attack this place, then the struggle that has lasted for thousands of years will come to an end.

In the place arranged for them by the minor nobles, members and scholars of the Royal Academy of Sciences were discussing countermeasures and making academic comments on the situation of the planet.

In a room separated by a wall, Xilin and several other students were talking together.

"Hey, why don't you guys tell me why that minor nobleman didn't just reach an agreement with the Royal Academy of Sciences? This time, it's obvious that the people from the Royal Academy of Sciences are in a hurry, so that the minor nobleman can get more benefits, such as further arming the land defense system of this city, this country, or even this entire planet. After all, the Royal Academy of Sciences' weapons research is quite good," York said, leaning against the windowsill with his legs crossed.

"If external forces intervene, it will be seen as a disguised invasion. After all, once the long-term balance is broken, no one knows what will happen next. Haven't similar things happened on other planets before? They called in external help for internal struggles, but in the end, the external help benefited, and the planetary government was reshuffled." Dado understood these things clearly.

"Indeed," Vino nodded in agreement with Dado's view. "That little nobleman now sees us as a threatening contradiction. We can only get him to open up step by step, we can't push him too far." "Is it really worth it for a formula?" Wei Lai yawned and said lazily, lying on the table.

"That depends on who it is. This formula is crucial to a project of the Royal Academy of Sciences. For a major research project of the Royal Academy of Sciences, every minute of delay is equivalent to a huge loss of money, so time is of the essence. Can't you see how anxious those old men are?" a student next to him said.

Dado looked at Kona Senza, who had been silent, and said, "Coco, tell me your opinion."

Konasenza shook her head; she wasn't in the mood to discuss this with everyone. She frowned and said, "I have a feeling something's going to happen... Everyone should be careful today. There might be something unusual."

Dado felt a chill run down her spine, but the "possible" that Nasenza mentioned meant that there was an 80% or higher chance that it would happen.

After Kona Senza said that, the others in the room stopped talking and began to prepare for what might happen.

The gray cat, who was sunbathing and rolling around by the window, twitched its nose, opened its eyes, looked at the end of the street, then at the sky, and grinned.

coming soon!

The gray cat was having a good time when Xilin suddenly dragged it into the house.

"What did you find?" Xilin asked.

"Didn't you notice?" The gray cat pointed out the window.

Xilin, puzzled, dragged the gray cat to the window. With each breath, Xilin finally understood what the gray cat referred to.

"The air humidity is increasing."

The gray cat swung its tail up and down, its dilated pupils revealing its excitement. "Although it's not obvious now, I'm sure it's about those sea creatures. I can already smell the sea on them."

Before long, a commotion began to break out in the surroundings. After all, they were people who had been fighting against sea monsters for a long time, and they were quick to react to the possible changes brought about by the change in environment.

Air humidity display devices are essential for every household on the planet. Children use the fluctuations on the humidity display to make inferences about things, just like eating.

York opened the microbrain and began hacking into the planetary network. Here, the planetary government blocked much of the information and wouldn't tell the Royal Academy of Sciences what was happening.

Of course, what is happening is perfectly normal for the people living on the planet. Since it is normal, why should we tell you outsiders?

After hacking into the network, the images that popped up on the microbrain were astonishing.

"The coastal urban defense lines are shrouded in thick fog, which is spreading inland at an extremely rapid pace."

"Sea fog?"

Looking at the displayed analysis data, Dado leaned closer, seemingly to confirm its authenticity.

"This data was analyzed by local researchers, who are all professionals. It's highly credible," York said.

Xilin glanced around and saw the gray cat perched on the windowsill, looking into the distance and humming a little tune while shaking its head.

The happier the cat is, the closer those things are to coming.

Some of the surrounding buildings have closed their windows and other large openings. The buildings, which already looked like fortresses, now appear even more imposing and solemn.

The people inside the building have already started testing their weapons, making preparations regardless of whether they will be used.

Xilin and his group had only seen some short battle scenes, which could not represent the entire battle. The clips were too limited, and many sea monsters were only shown in small parts, without any full-body images.

"It's getting foggy," Xilin said.

The light in the sky had begun to blur, and the breeze carried a sense of moisture.

"Let's close all the windows too; there are hallucinogenic substances in the fog."

Upon hearing Xilin's words, two students suspiciously took out their detectors and checked the window. Indeed, as Xilin said, even if the amount of hallucinogenic factor did not affect them now, it was hard to say what would happen when the fog thickened. Moreover, it would be difficult to make amends once the amount of hallucinogenic factor was reached.

Several academicians have already sent people to guard the area. They are only separated from the other side by a wall, so they can protect them in time if anything happens.

After closing the window and activating the airflow balancing system, everyone watched the image displayed on the microbrain.

Since it can affect the central area, it's clear that this operation is quite large.

"We'll also be able to witness the famous battle between humans and beasts, and see just how strong the human and military power of this planet really is," one of the students said.

Some were expectant, some were nervous, but the gray cat was very unhappy, pacing around the window. Its "fishing" plan had been ruined! Oh dear!

This sea fog has spread over a wide area. Satellite images show that about a third of the continent has been obscured, starting from the edges.

The fog was very thick and covered a large area. No one knew how long the fog would last. In areas with very low visibility, the border guards were fully armed. If they didn't wear masks to breathe in such thick fog, they would collapse in less than five seconds.

The fog in the coastal area was so thick that ordinary cameras could only capture a blue expanse.

blue?

Yes, blue. If the color were any darker, it would definitely be the same color as the ocean.

When Xilin first arrived on this planet, he noticed that the color of the ocean was different from that of other planets; it was a blue that gave people a chill.

"It's not just the sea fog; some islands around the mainland and low-lying areas near the coast have also been submerged." York pulled up a topographical map. "The strange thing is, the ocean remains very calm..."

York hadn't finished speaking when an image stopped him in his tracks.

This is a view of the sky above a city at a certain distance from the coast.

Against a backdrop of spreading blue mist, a colossal, skyscraper-sized, shadowy figure suddenly appeared, its spiked spines barely visible as it moved. If it weren't for the still-intact city below, one would mistake it for a massive beast trampling it.

"projection?"

"Something like a mirage?"

"I don't know. Now that this dark shape has appeared, does it mean that this big guy has already shown up somewhere?"

York then pulled up another document and showed it to everyone.

"What is this?"

Vino and the others felt dizzy just looking at what was on the screen.

"Let the members of the Royal Academy of Sciences take a look at these, but won't those stubborn old fogies criticize our intrusive behavior?"

Xilin scoffed, "Even if they verbally criticize him, they still secretly agree with York's actions. Otherwise, why bring York along?"

York's cyber intrusion skills are exceptional, far surpassing his combat abilities. Bringing him on this mission must have been for a similar reason. However, the old fogies at the Royal Academy of Sciences are too proud to say it outright.

"Alright then, I'll just send it to them directly."

Two minutes later, an honorary scholar from the Royal Society who was traveling with them came in, looked at York's innocent face, and sighed, "Let me tell you what happened."

Several academicians went to study the documents York sent over, and only brought him over to talk to York and his students and "subtly" guide the direction of network intrusion.

Although Xilin was listening to the narration of this honorary scholar just like everyone else, his mind was already thinking about other things, and he also had the gray cat invade the planetary network to dig out some information.

The document York just found was a research report, studying a type of deep-sea behemoth known to researchers as "Sea King." Every battle was led by these "Sea Kings." Judging from the appearance, it's quite similar to the dark shadow in the mist we saw earlier.

The research report revealed that in the past century, humanity had only captured one "Sea King," but it died shortly after being captured. This research report was published back then. The voice that Xilin and his group heard at the planetary government earlier was not that of "Sea King," but rather that of a species of even lower rank than "Sea King" in the ocean pyramid.

The "Sea King," a giant deep-sea creature, has a layer of skin with ion-exchange capabilities. This allows it to absorb certain metallic elements from seawater, enabling it to camouflage itself. With this functional skin, it can swim near the surface without being detected by sensors. As long as it doesn't surface, it can often evade scanners, causing significant problems for humanity for a period of time.

Aside from the functional skin that these "sea king" sea monsters possess during their evolution, their voices are also quite unique.

"Aquaman" emits a pulsed sound wave to influence or intercept torpedoes or missiles aimed at it. A unique structure in "Aquaman's" throat acts like a sound wave converter, capable of instantly emitting high-energy pulsed sound waves with enough intensity to destroy or prematurely detonate locked torpedoes or missiles.

The powerful directional pulses of "Aquaman" caused a lot of trouble for humans, at least in the years when this research report was published.

According to some documents, whenever Aquaman appears, minor characters in shallow waters or the ocean all flee to make way for him. This is because the powerful sound waves generated by Aquaman's various sonar systems can cause the deaths of these minor characters.

"In a sense, 'Aquaman can also emit sound waves similar to infrasound'?" Vino asked.

The honorary scholar nodded: "You could say that."

Infrasound has a strong ability to evade interference; it can penetrate and reach very far. Each of Aquaman's roars can be heard in many cities, demonstrating its far-reaching propagation.

Just as the honorary scholar was explaining to the group, the gray cat jumped onto Xilin's shoulder and exclaimed, "Found it! It really is related to Aquamarine!"

When Xilin saw the functional skin on "Aquaman" mentioned in the document, he suspected that the formula of Aquamarine was related to this functional skin of "Aquaman". So he asked Gray Cat to hack into the network system to check, and the result was as Xilin expected.

"However, the research team of the minor nobles has only obtained a part of the tail of 'Sea King'. They are trying to obtain the functional skin of other parts of 'Sea King'. The metal ratio of different parts is also different. At least for now, the metal ratio of the functional skin on the tail and claws of 'Sea King' is different."

That means if Xilin and his team could obtain the analysis data of the functional skin of other parts of "Sea King", it would be equivalent to obtaining different upgraded versions of Aquamarine Gold. In that case, what kind of agreement would they need to negotiate with the nobles?

The gray cat, "Xilin," stretched its paws and chuckled, "How about I go get you some?"