Star Hunter.

Is there a conspiracy in Chapter 251?

Is there a conspiracy in Chapter 251?

Is there a conspiracy in Chapter 251?

"Are you confident?" Xilin asked.

Honestly, it's best for Grey Cat to get the samples. Xilin can't leave now, so it's better for them to do it secretly. Besides, Guan Feng has told him some things. Even at the Royal Academy of Sciences, strategy is important. There's no safe haven.

Sending this restless fat cat to collect samples is certainly a good option, but Xilin doesn't have a precise assessment of the Sea King Beast's strength, and it remains to be seen whether the cat's combat power is sufficient to safely obtain samples from the Sea King Beast.

Upon hearing Xilin's skeptical question, the gray cat was about to explode.

"What can those fish do to me?!"

Xilin thought for a moment and then smiled.

Yes, even if we can successfully obtain a sample from the Sea King Beast, at least our lives won't be in danger. Xilin almost forgot that this thing isn't a purely animal; it's also a machine.

"Do what you can!" Xilin emphasized.

  

The gray cat flicked its ears, impatiently replied "Okay," and jumped out of the window that Xilin had opened.

"Hey, Xilin, you actually let out a purr at this time?!" Daduo asked in surprise as soon as she saw the gray cat jump out.

"That guy went out for a walk; he said he was bored staying here."

"Forget about it, I already feel uncomfortable being cooped up here." Wei Lai lazily slumped on the table.

Although there was a life support system to balance things out, perhaps because of the architectural style, the group didn't feel comfortable staying in this environment and always felt stuffy inside.

Sea monsters have already landed along the coast, and the border guards have begun their battle against them. However, no artillery fire can be heard from here, as it's too far away. But the blurry images seen online give a sense of the intensity of the fighting.

A dense blue fog enveloped the city, obscuring the sky and some surveillance cameras. This fog was different from ordinary fog. It contained metal ions and other influencing factors that could interfere with detection systems, so only the area near each scanning detector could be monitored.

At times like these, the demand for scanning detectors increases dramatically. The planet's inhabitants are accustomed to fighting in sea fog, and even though they haven't yet developed a penetrating detector specifically for this type of fog, they are still able to react quickly to the situation on the battlefield.

Several people followed the honorary scholar who came over to the room next door where the people from Huang Jie Academy of Sciences were staying. Now, only a few people that Xilin knows remain in this room.

York continued to infiltrate the planet's networks to understand the battle situation in the lower reaches of the planet. He then showed everyone images captured by local scanning probes.

"Actually, the Royal Academy of Sciences has developed scanning detectors with stronger transmission capabilities, which should be more effective even in this special sea fog," Eros said. "Do you think the people at the Royal Academy of Sciences might provide some equipment to soften that minor nobleman's stance?"

"I don't think so," Vino scoffed. "Leaving aside whether that minor nobleman appreciates it or not, do you really think those old guys at the Royal Academy of Sciences are compassionate? They'd love for the war on the planet to intensify, for the sea monsters to attack quickly. Then the minor nobleman's government would suffer a setback, and then they'd come begging for help. That way, the trade between the two sides could be accelerated, and the old guys at the Royal Academy of Sciences could even save face."

"Indeed. If possible, the old guys might even give us a helping hand behind the scenes," Dado agreed.

"At this rate, how long will this war last?" York asked, pointing to the images on the screen.

The images, filled with the vibrations of artillery fire and the cries of sea monsters, appear eerily shrouded in blue mist.

"When the fog clears, the sea creatures will naturally return to the sea. That's what I heard from people outside," said Kona Senza, who had just come back after going out. "But I have a feeling that this fog is unusual."

"What do the local residents say?" Xilin asked.

Konasenza shook her head. "They think it's quite normal. This fog is rather thick, covering almost the entire continent. The central area is better, not as bad as the coastal areas. However, the residents here say that fog of this scale occurs every twenty or thirty years, or even every seventy or eighty years. Each time it appears, the coastal cities are severely damaged by sea monsters, and the border defenses have to be rebuilt after the war, which is labor-intensive and costly."

Xilin sat in the chair without saying anything more, feeling that something was amiss.

Two days later, the fog remained thick, though it showed signs of weakening in the central region of the continent. This was undoubtedly good news for the people on the mainland, and it boosted the morale of the border guards, who were determined to eliminate the beasts one by one before the fog dissipated and the herds retreated.

Given the current situation, many places in the central region have relaxed their security levels. It's quite obvious where Xilin and his group are. Although the ventilation vents in the buildings are still closed, the people inside are much more relaxed. Some local soldiers even joke around sometimes. However, the people from the Royal Academy of Sciences look worried.

Over the past two days, the minor nobles and the planetary government seemed to have forgotten about them, paying no attention to them and only sending soldiers to guard the area, both for protection and surveillance.

With the fighting subsiding, Xilin and his group relaxed a bit. Their rooms were surrounded by members of the Royal Academy of Sciences, so now everyone just stayed in their rooms and slept whenever they had nothing to do. In any case, they would find out quickly if anything happened.

Xilin was in his room, and with each movement of his fingers, the images on his microbrain rapidly switched. If York in the next room knew that Xilin was also adept at hacking into the planetary network, one wonders what he would think. The others would probably be astonished, after all, their understanding of Xilin was limited to him being Guan Feng's disciple and possessing decent individual combat strength.

Xilin surveyed various locations along the mainland's coastal region, then hacked into the border defense forces' internal network and obtained a report detailing the defense operation.

Statistics include where sea monsters of various levels are found, how many have appeared, how many have been killed, and the extent of damage to local cities.

However, Xilin stared into deep thought as he looked at the red dot marked on a map.

These red dots indicate the locations where the "Sea King" level sea monsters have appeared this time, and according to the research record, compared to previous large-scale appearances of the "Sea King" monsters, these creatures have moved further inland, breaching several layers of border defenses.

Something feels off. What is it?

In one scene, Xilin heard the roar of the Sea King Beast. Even through the audio transmission of the video, it was terrifying, let alone the border guards who were fighting against the sea beast.

A thick blue fog obscured the view. Only a general understanding of the human casualties was possible: how many warships and armored vehicles were destroyed, how many fighter jets and aircraft were lost… that was all. The dense fog concealed the brutality of the battlefield. Only after the fog dissipated would the true extent of the carnage be revealed, showcasing the intensity of the battle.

Xilin tapped his fingers on the table.

Xilin had already familiarized himself with the coastal border defenses, the fortified structures, and their weaponry. However, logically, it shouldn't have been possible for Sea King Beast to penetrate so deeply in just two days. Was Sea King Beast really that powerful?

As Xilin was thinking, the gray cat jumped in. Judging from its tail held high, things were going fairly well.

"Are you full?" Xilin asked.

"I'm full!" the gray cat said, squinting its eyes, in a good mood.

The gray cat jumped onto the table in front of Xilin. *Ptooey!* A palm-sized, dark blue lump protruded from its shell.

"What is this?" Xilin asked the gray cat.

This is Xilin's room, and only Xilin and Gray Cat are here. There's no one else, so Gray Cat doesn't beat around the bush.

"I'm not sure either. It should be the functional skin you guys were talking about, right? I took a bite out of that big guy. Its skin is quite thick, and the outer layer doesn't have ion exchange properties, so I bit deeper. See if it's right," Gray Cat said.

Xilin was able to obtain the data he wanted simply by touching the piece of skin that the gray cat had brought him.

"It is indeed functional skin, with a special exchange layer in the middle that can absorb and attach metal ions. But, is this all you managed to get on this trip?"

The gray cat proudly hooked its tail, opened its mouth to the size of a water tank, and spat out piece after piece of its dark blue skin, each piece enough to be used as a mattress.

"I bit every part of that guy's body, but I didn't keep track of which part it was. You can figure it out yourself."

"Did you eat a sea monster?" Xilin asked suspiciously.

The gray cat smacked its lips. "It's not exactly like I ate one. But that one wasn't from the land mountain. I was afraid the human army would notice something was amiss if I made a move against a land-based sea monster, so I went straight into the sea and caught one. I didn't finish it, so I ate the good parts. These guys are crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. The skin is delicious, but the meat inside isn't that great. The crispy skin is much better."

Xilin nodded. Sure enough, this guy could eat anything, and he had a stomach with an unknown limit.

The gray cat spat out several pieces of sea monster skin one after another, and Xilin analyzed them one by one. In just this short time, Xilin had already obtained a lot of useful data, possibly even more than the sea monster data that the minor nobles possessed.

SeaKingmon rarely appear on the mainland, and very few are captured by humans. Even when captured, they usually end up self-destructing, rendering the samples from them largely unusable for research. In contrast, the samples Gray Cat provided to Sirin were fresh, and their data were far more valuable than that obtained from SeaKingmon on their deathbeds.

Suddenly, Xilin noticed that the gray cat's face twisted.

"What's wrong?" Xilin asked.

"N-nothing...wow—"

The gray cat spat out an egg about half the height of a person. The egg had a layer of dark blue, keratinous substance on it, and its surface was not smooth compared to the eggs we usually see.

After spitting out the egg, the gray cat looked a little better, licked its paws, and said, "It's nothing, I just ate too much."

Xilin: "..."

He picked up the gray cat and checked it over, making sure it was alright, and said, "If you can't eat it, then don't eat it. Why eat so much?"

"I can still eat, but these eggs aren't easy to digest. I ate too many eggs this time. I'll spit this one out and save it for when I'm hungry," the gray cat said nonchalantly.

Xilin: "..."

However, Xilin didn't dwell on the gray cat's appetite any longer. He circled the egg, examined it, and placed his finger on it, sensing the information contained within.

"Huh, it's still alive!" Xilin exclaimed.

"Of course, I would never eat a rotten egg like that!" The gray cat continued licking its paws.

"So, the one you caught was a female..." Xilin paused, "No, they're hermaphroditic. Hmm, you killed a pregnant sea monster."

Speaking of which, the gray cat slowed down its licking of its paws. "I noticed something when I was dealing with that Sea King Beast."

"What is it?"

"The eggs were all wrapped up at the base of the tail, where there was a thick protective layer covering them. But later, when I took the eggs out to eat, I found that the eggs were all different in size and shape, and even their genetic material was different—completely different species."

Judging from the substance covering their shells, they all looked similar. However, after biting into a few, I discovered they belonged to different species.

The gray cat transmitted the information it received to Xilin's microbrain for Xilin to analyze. Crushed eggs are digested quickly, while whole eggs last longer and are more satiating.

Looking at this information, and the genetic material data inside the eggs that the gray cat had chewed up, Xilin was puzzled.

"Does a mere sea monster like it steal eggs from other species?"

"Then I don't know. Wait a moment..."

As it spoke, the gray cat stopped licking its paws and shuddered.

"What are you doing?" Xilin asked.

"Two more undigested eggs were crushed."

Xilin: "..." I never expected it to be like this.

The gray cat then transmitted the information it received to Xilin's microbrain.

One of the pieces of information this time is related to the Sea King Beast that was defeated by the Gray Cat. However, the other one is not related; it is a different species, and the species information is different from the two that the Gray Cat gave to Xilin earlier.

"That's strange."

Xilin stared at the microcomputer in thought. The gray cat ignored him, glanced at the egg that had been spat out, and was about to swallow it when Xilin stopped it, "Keep this for now."

After saying that, Xilin took out a large box and put the eggs in it.

"Alright." The gray cat didn't mind. It wasn't hungry anyway, and eating more would be a waste of nutrients. After licking its fur, it jumped onto Xilin's shoulder and started to sleep. Eating makes you sleepy—that's the truth.

After thinking for a long time but still not figuring out why, Xilin stopped dwelling on the question and started searching for information online.

During his search, Xilin secretly infiltrated research institutes on many planets. Although he obtained a lot of information, most of it could not answer his questions.

However, while Xilin was sweeping through the coastal war zone's network, an inconspicuous little corner caught your sharp attention.

That area was also under attack from the sea monsters, and the fighting was fierce. But in this small corner, there were no scanning detectors, no military communications or tactical discussions, and no roars of the monsters. Although the fighting here had subsided somewhat, it should still be a scene of devastation. It was impossible for any residents to remain there and have the mind to go online.

Xilin went inside to take a look. Due to the war, the conditions there were limited, and they could not obtain images or audio from that side for the time being. They could only know that the owner of the microcomputer there was recording something.

The files that were pulled up made Xilin's eyes light up. They were all about the Sea King Beast, and the analysis was much more thorough than that of the research groups under the minor nobles.

Xilin read the man's previous records and learned that some sea monsters had tried to dig tunnels underground to sneak into the inland. However, the commotion was too great and they were quickly discovered. Digging tunnels directly from the ocean would be a thankless and arduous task, and many sea monsters were killed after being discovered. Therefore, the sea monsters stopped doing such things afterward.

A subsequent record documented the population changes of the Sea King Beasts over the past five hundred years. It also highlighted a crucial point—no Sea King cubs were found.

During the war between humans and beasts a thousand years ago, even if the sea monster cubs didn't join the invasion of land, they would still surface at sea. In the misty areas, people have seen young sea monsters peeking out. However, in recent years, no sea monster cubs have been found.

The minor nobles and their ruling government attributed this to the success of the war. After the battle, the sea monsters were severely weakened. For the Sea King Beasts, the already low birth rate became even lower. Some members of the research group under the minor nobles even claimed that the sea monsters were on the verge of extinction. Without the replenishment of new blood, the Sea King Beasts would eventually become extinct on this planet.

The report received a great deal of attention at the time and aroused a response from people all over the planet. People were happy and looked forward to the end of the Sea King Beast.

However, this person expressed doubts. Although there was no clear evidence, they analyzed many signs and even analyzed the personality of the Sea King Beast.

What is the personality of the Sea King Beast? What kind of personality could such a marine creature possibly have?!

When this person put forward his views, he immediately faced opposition from the planet's academic community, especially suppression from the research groups of the minor nobles. His words would undoubtedly damage the positive image the minor nobles had just cultivated. One can imagine his predicament.

If this person hadn't been lucky and hadn't always been active in coastal areas, he probably would have been killed long ago.

Xilin agrees with this person in some respects. Don't sea monsters have personalities? Don't sea monsters have rigorous thinking and high intelligence?

Who knows!

Xilin recalled the rat extermination mission he participated in at Seven Luminaries before; those black rats had devised a grand conspiracy.

So, what kind of conspiracy do these sea monsters have? (..)

I like this novel. (Recommendation)

For now, see this bookmark.