Ultraman: Because I am Gatanothor.

Nanase Kaede ignored his words, shoved him into the self-rescue device, and, disregarding his disheveled state, slapped the green button inside the device.

The self-rescue device was already activated before it arrived, and it shut down extremely quickly, in less than a second, with a piece of alloy steel sealing the entrance.

Fortunately, Fengdu pulled his hand back quickly, otherwise it would definitely have been crushed by the alloy door.

"Three...two..."

Upon hearing the alarm's countdown, Fengdu dared not linger and ran with all his might toward his self-rescue device.

"one!"

As the countdown ended, Feng Du himself fell into the self-rescue device, getting stuck just before Dolphin 202 was about to be hit by the seismic wave, and closed the alloy steel door in time.

The self-rescue device is filled with shock absorbers and airbags, ensuring the safety of the person inside even if they fall from a height of 200 meters.

The exterior is made of superalloy material, which can withstand the pressure of a forty-ton weight after molding.

In addition, as a self-rescue device, it is equipped with an oxygen supply system that is sufficient to support an adult's survival for 24 hours.

Moreover, once the self-rescue device is turned off, it will continuously send location signals to the outside world, making it easier for others to rescue you.

This is also the reason why Fengdu dared to pilot the Dolphin 202, its first deep-sea experiment.

Just as the self-rescue device shut down, Feng Du suddenly felt a tractor-like vibration, along with a dizzying sensation, as if he had fallen into a washing machine and was being tumbled around.

Having no idea how many times he had rolled, Fengdu felt dizzy and almost vomited.

But he forced himself to swallow it back.

The self-rescue device has a very simple structure: a battery powers it, a motor opens the door, a light illuminates it, and an air compressor supplies power. That's all. The simpler the mechanism, the less damage it can cause in extreme environments. There is no glass or display screen, so Fengdu has no idea what is happening outside.

The AI ​​voice of Dolphin 202 is still ringing.

"The epicenter has begun to lower..."

"Currently at level seven..."

"Level three..."

Although the self-rescue device is completely sealed, it can still transmit a slight sound through vibration.

Upon hearing this, Feng Du, inside the self-rescue device, was slightly taken aback, a sense of doubt welling up in his heart.

"how so?"

Generally speaking, natural earthquakes are vibrations caused by the release of enormous energy contained within the Earth's crust.

Therefore, after the first outbreak, there are usually aftershocks, just like when a person has diarrhea.

After jumping the first time, I can't help but break it off, and then I jump again.

Until all the contents of her stomach were used up.

But what the Dolphin 202 AI said just now left him completely baffled. How could the magnitude of the earthquake decrease so quickly?

It's like you just got bumped in the stomach and were forced to fart.

However, what he cares about most is the progress bar on his hand. He can see the progress bar on his palm without the aid of light.

The progress bar seemed to glow on its own, so obvious to Feng Du, but when Feng Du looked at it from around his palm, he could see that the progress bar didn't glow at all.

The data he cares about most is that it has increased a little more.

99.56%

In just over ten seconds, it rose by 0.56. How did this happen?

'Damn it, if only I knew what this progress bar was based on!'

At that moment, he suddenly noticed three banging sounds coming from his self-rescue device.

The sound was consistent throughout, unlike anything that could be produced naturally.

"Is this Director Ji Gang?" he asked loudly.

"It's me, everything's alright now!" Director Ji Gang's voice came through.

Fengdu hurriedly pressed the red button to activate his self-rescue device.

He sat up inside.

The self-rescue device shuts down very quickly, but it is somewhat slow to turn on. After seeing Feng Du, Director Ji Gang handed him a hand.

Feng Du was taken aback, then grabbed his hand and, with his help, emerged from the self-rescue device.

Tetsuji Yoshitsugu approached the passenger seat and, using the seat for support, leaned closer to look at the display panel.

Nanase Kaede followed and took a closer look.

The panel seemed to have been impacted, causing the display to stutter and become distorted, but it still allowed the two people to see what was happening outside Dolphin 202.

Three of the four headlights on Dolphin 202 have been turned off, with only the left front light still on, but it is flickering as if it will go out at any moment.

Using the light, Fengdu looked at the panel, a hint of fear gradually appearing in his eyes.

On the panel is an ancient building covered with seaweed, but the tremor just now caused some of the seaweed to fall off, revealing the murals carved on the stone walls inside.

The mural is simple, yet it feels incredibly lifelike.

These are four strange humanoid creatures, exuding darkness and an ominous aura.

Suddenly, a scene flashed through Fengdu's eyes.

"This is……"

'The Dark Four!?'

'Is this the Ruins of R'lyeh?'

Seeing the shock, fear, and a hint of excitement in Feng Du's eyes.

Yoshitsuji asked, "Do you recognize this mural?"

Upon hearing Yoshitsuji's words, Nanase Fudo quickly suppressed his excitement and did not voice his thoughts. Instead, he replied, "To find such a mural in such a deep ocean is clearly man-made. Perhaps this could lead to the discovery of a civilization buried in history!"

He spoke with the fervor of an archaeologist who had discovered a tomb.

Upon hearing this, Yoshitsuji found it amusing but said nothing more.

After regaining his senses, Fengdu hurriedly sat back in the driver's seat, pressing other switches while shouting, "Start the self-check program and tell me the injury report!"

"Self-check process has started and is expected to take three minutes..."

"Testing in progress..."

The image displayed on the main control panel also showed varying degrees of distortion.

Sometimes it turns into snowflakes, sometimes it turns into black and white.

As Fengdu manually performed the test, his brows gradually furrowed.

"how so!"

Yoshitsuji asked, "What's wrong?"

With his fingers constantly tapping on the keyboard, Fengdu replied, "The hardware of Dolphin 202 is not damaged much, but strangely, the software is damaged to varying degrees. Most programs are malfunctioning, some even displaying error codes, and the electronic components are also severely damaged."

"It feels like being hit by an electronic pulse."

Yoshitsuji frowned. "Is there any way to fix it?"

After thinking for a moment, Nanase Kaede replied, "I'll try to repair the main program. As long as the power system is fine, there's no need to format everything!"

As he spoke, he glanced at his chest, where a long, thumb-sized pendant hung.

They had anticipated the possibility of the system crashing, so their research group designed another operating system.

Simply format the original program on Dolphin 202 and replace it with the program on the USB drive.

However, that would take too long.

Fortunately, the impact was relatively small, and since the superconducting power was located at the tail, the electronic components were not significantly damaged.

Chapter 5 Encountering a Monster

chapter Five

"95% of the communication module is damaged..."

"The propulsion module is 12% damaged..."

"Radar detection is 86% damaged..."

"Oxygen supply impaired by 14%..."

"The voice control system is 24% damaged..."

As the AI ​​intermittently broadcasted the damage to Dolphin 202, Nanase Futari and Yoshitsuji couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness, this guy can still move!"

Fengdu nodded with lingering fear. Although the self-rescue device greatly ensured their safety, the Dolphin 202 was still much more comfortable than the cramped space inside the device.

"Yes, Director Ji Gang, what should we do next? Should we just surface?" Feng Du asked.

With such a big thing that just happened, TPC must be in a panic.

However, it wasn't because of him, but because of Director Ji Gang.

After thinking for a moment, Yoshitsuji looked at the screen transmission display panel again.

The image above still features a simple line drawing of four giants, with a dark hole next to it.

"It's so dark here, it gives me a very uncomfortable feeling. Let's come back another time!" said Yoshitsuji Yoshitsuji.

He was a naval officer and had no interest in archaeology.

Now that this accident has happened, Dolphin 202 can no longer be tested, so going back is the best option.

"Okay, fine!"

Fengdu glanced at it and said helplessly.

However, we've already come this far on our long journey and located the ruins of R'lyeh, so there'll be plenty of time to come here in the future.