Chapter 129: A Whale Falls

"I don't believe in free lunch." Ke Lan said.

"Ms. Soma did mention additional conditions," Yui said, "but they have nothing to do with this commission. After you finish your trip to Leviathan, she will tell you the specifics of the conditions herself."

"Are you planning to have me reserve a blank check for her? If she asks me to return all the profits at that time, do I have to do the same?" Ke Lan curled the corners of her mouth. There were so many things that could be included in this "additional condition" that anyone with a little bit of common sense would not agree to it - it was like selling out herself.

"Ms. Soma said that this condition is optional, and you can agree or refuse...but she also said that it is impossible for you to refuse."

"Non-compulsory? How does she know I won't refuse? To be honest, I'm not only greedy, but also lazy. I can tell you clearly right now that no matter what the conditions are, I will refuse them."

"Ahem..." At this time, the old dog suddenly glared at Ke Lan, "Don't be so sure. What if the family's condition is that you become a son-in-law? You will refuse?"


"Ha, if that's the condition, then I'd love to have it." Ke Lan chuckled, "Old Dog, have you been staying up late to read novels lately? And you're only reading those silly and cool novels where all kinds of girls throw themselves at the protagonist without thinking?"

"Tsk! I'm going to say this today, this woman definitely likes you, if you don't believe me, how about we make a bet?" The old dog stepped on the accelerator in a huff.

"How much?"

"Five thousand!" said the old dog, gritting his teeth.

"How can that be enough? At least this number." Ke Lan stretched out five fingers.

"Fifty thousand? Are you really that ruthless?"

"What do you mean 50,000? It's 500,000. Anyway, I'm sure to win this time. If I wasn't afraid of hurting feelings among you guys, I would even want to shout for 5 million." Ke Lan said lightly.

"Five hundred thousand is five hundred thousand. I'm just afraid that you won't be able to cry in the end."

"Tsk... If you really bet right, I'll have already hooked up with a rich woman, and I still need this half a million?"

"Damn...it seems to be true? So you won't lose whether you win or lose...cough cough..." The old dog, who had just taken a sip of water, suddenly started coughing due to choking.

"Alright, alright, this kind of thing can just be thought about in dreams." Ke Lan knew very well that, regardless of whether the other party would like her or not, the class and status between the two was a gap that was impossible to cross.


As for Zofia Soma's real intention, it was probably that she wanted to win me over and make me her confidant... Although Ke Lan had not personally experienced the power struggle among the upper class, this kind of plot was extremely common in history. For example, the aristocratic families in ancient times kept retainers and assassins in order to let these people work for them one day. In this era, although the big chaebols and big families seemed calm on the surface, the struggle in secret had never stopped - it was obviously not an easy thing for Zofia to change from "one of the heirs of the Soma Group" to "the owner of the Soma Group".

Ke Lan still remembered the news last year about the first heir of a large consortium who died suddenly of a heart attack. That guy was less than 40 years old, and with the existing medical standards in the Ark and the medical conditions that the aristocracy could enjoy, sudden death from a heart attack was simply impossible - but it happened, and it happened at this critical time when the former chairman of the consortium announced his abdication. It is hard not to associate it with some dark things.

But some things, as long as they are done cleanly enough, even if everyone knows the inside story, as long as there is no evidence, it is as if the incident had never happened - there are only two heirs to that big consortium, one of whom is already dead. Even if it is known that the person who killed his brother is his younger brother, as long as the younger brother does not openly admit it, then the father, as the chairman of the consortium, will eventually hand over the family business to the younger brother.


It's not just because of blood ties, it's also an extremely cruel "survival of the fittest"... The law of the jungle is not only applicable in the jungle.

"If that's really the case... I'd better refuse it then." Ke Lan thought silently. Whether being a bodyguard for the young lady or being an assassin, it seemed like both were jobs with a high risk of death. It was really not worth it.

After this incident came to an end, the rest of the journey was relatively peaceful. Occasionally, indigenous creatures attracted by the sound of the engine were mowed into pieces by the large-caliber machine guns... As for threats like lava leeches or exiles, they were never encountered again.

On the morning of the seventh day, the skeleton of Leviathan, which could only be described as "majestic", finally appeared above the horizon.

Anyone who sees the skeleton of Leviathan for the first time would never associate this mountain range stretching across the wilderness with a giant beast - a relatively independent ecosystem has evolved above the corpse of Leviathan, with not only rocks and sand, but also forests and mountain streams, but also a lake with an area of ​​nearly ten square kilometers between the fourth and fifth vertebrae.

There are more than two thousand species of indigenous creatures living on the skeleton of Leviathan.

"My goodness, I feel like this is an island, an island standing in the desert." The old dog gripped the steering wheel tightly with both hands, staring at the skeleton of Leviathan in the distance in a trance.

"This is an island, an isolated island." Ke Lan said with emotion, "On Earth, there is a phenomenon called whale fall. Have you heard of it?"

The old dog shook his head: "I know about whales, but what is a whale fall?"

"Whale fall is the process of a whale's body falling to the bottom of the sea after it dies... During this process, the whale's body will be gradually eaten up by various organisms, until finally even the lipids in its bones are decomposed by bacteria... It may sound cruel, but for biologists, this phenomenon perfectly embodies the greatness and romance of nature."

"Great? Romantic? Isn't it just a dead whale? What's so romantic about that?" The old dog couldn't understand.

At this time, Ivan couldn't sit still any longer: "Old dog, have you ever seen the deep sea on Earth?"

"That's bullshit. I was born on the Ark. How could I have seen the deep sea on Earth? Is there anyone alive who has seen the Earth with their own eyes?"

"I'm referring to the deep sea in the video footage preserved from the old era."

"Isn't the sea bottom all the same, just pitch black?"

"Do you know about the ecology of the seabed?"

"I don't know." The old dog answered honestly.

"The depths of the Earth's oceans are actually a barren land, just like the desert on Planet Alpha... But a whale that falls to the bottom of the ocean will build an ecosystem that can last for hundreds of years. It's like an oasis in the desert, or an isolated island in the deep sea, a small world of its own..."

Ivan continued, "The flesh, blood, tissues, and internal organs of a whale are enough to feed tens of thousands of sea creatures. Even when its skeleton turns into reefs on the seabed, it can still provide a habitable place for species living in the dark and cold seabed. In that world where the sun does not shine, the materials and energy that this whale can provide are of immeasurable value to that world... I remember someone once used this sentence to describe this phenomenon: When a whale falls, all things come to life."


"This Leviathan is actually like a whale that sank to the bottom of the sea." Ke Lan let out a long breath and said, "And the species living on its remains, including us humans, are the sea creatures that feed on whale carcasses."

Ke Lan raised his head and glanced at the lead-gray sky through the skylight. If Leviathan was really the "giant beast that ruled the sky", then what was the essential difference between the Leviathan falling from the sky to the ground and the giant whale falling into the deep sea?

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