Volume 16 Tower of Babel Chapter 836: Eye-to-eye
"Well, to be precise, it can't be considered as seeing it with his own eyes." The Hound thought for a moment and corrected himself, "What he saw should be some images that were preserved through special means."
"Well... in that case, it makes perfect sense that the city is in this state of destruction." Ghost Owl said. He did not ask further about the details. He knew very well that every hunter and every hunting group had their own secrets, and these secrets would not be easily shared with outsiders... Although Ghost Owl was now in the same boat with Hound and others, he still had this self-awareness.
He and the people of the God Hunting Group can trust each other, but this trust is limited to the situation where both parties cooperate for survival. As for things involving core secrets, the other party will never share them with a "temporary collaborator" like himself .
However, he also believed that if it was a secret related to the focus of this operation, the three people in front of him would not hide it from him... During these few months of getting along with each other, Gui Xiao had a relatively clear understanding of the temperaments of these people.
To be fair, these people gave Gui Owl a good impression. If he had not already signed a lifelong contract with the Gray Bird Hunting Group and this old boss had always treated him well, he might have really switched to the Hunting God Group.
Thinking of this, the ghost owl couldn't help but be stunned for a moment.
Although he was not very clear about the details and inside information of the current situation, he still knew what had happened in general - he certainly did not think that he had betrayed the Ark. Not only him, but also the people in the God Hunter Group who had been with him day and night during this period of time showed no signs of betrayal... Let alone signs, Ghost Owl could not even find the reasons and motives.
After much thought, there is only one possibility, that is, the God Hunters have discovered some technology left over from an alien civilization inside Yagunakotor, or something that is capable of overturning the existing balance of power. Driven by the inflated ambitions of some people, they might plot a rebellion... But the problem is that Ghost Owl has been on the front line of exploring Yagunakotor all this time. If such a thing really exists, it is impossible for him to not notice any clues.
Moreover, after being suddenly attacked by the Black Fleet, the performance of the God Hunters was exactly in line with his expectations - if this group of people were really plotting a rebellion, they would not be unprepared.
The only thing that puzzled Gui Owl was the "weapon" that instantly destroyed the black fleet. Although he still didn't know what the weapon was, judging from the performance of the members of the God Hunting Group, they, like him, knew nothing about it before.
The person who is most likely to have problems is Ke Lan, the leader of the God Hunter Group and the nominal captain of Yaguna Tor, who has disappeared for some time.
If he was the one who attempted to rebel, then would I... and the other members of the God Hunter Group be considered the pawns to be sacrificed?
Can I return to the Ark alive... and back home?
Just as the ghost owl was daydreaming, the submersible trembled slightly and stopped.
A tilted tall tower was less than three meters away from the porthole. Under Chi Hanfeng's control, two robotic arms stretched out from the bottom of the submersible and attached to the surface of the tower.
With the assistance of these two robotic arms, the submersible slowly crawled down like a robot.
"Do you think that the ruins of this city... although they are ruins, they are very clean?" Chi Hanfeng said as he looked at the images sent back by the camera at the end of the robotic arm.
"Yeah, it's really clean." The hound nodded - generally speaking, after a few years, a layer of something like rotten cotton wool will appear on the surface of a ship or building that sinks to the bottom of the sea. This layer is scientifically called "biofilm". Many people believe that biofilm is mainly composed of parasites such as water plants, corals or barnacles, but in fact, these organisms can only be regarded as latecomers who "move in with their bags", and it was actually bacteria that first "transformed the environment" of these prefabricated structures.
Even in the deep sea, there are many microorganisms that can live in extreme environments. For those bacteria that feed on metals or minerals, a ship or a house that sinks to the bottom of the sea can definitely be regarded as a delicious meal that can be feasted on by tens of thousands of generations of descendants.
These bacteria can corrode metal and concrete, forming a layer of "rust" on their surface... Over time, this layer of "rust" becomes thicker and thicker, gradually turning into a mini but complex ecosystem, attracting all kinds of marine life... At this stage, the shipwreck or sunken building has another name: "artificial reef".
But in this underwater city, this phenomenon is completely invisible.
The metal and concrete parts of the building do show signs of corrosion and oxidation by seawater, but this is just a very normal chemical change. No microorganisms are involved in this process.
"Is it possible that there are no microorganisms in this area of water?" Chi Hanfeng said with some disbelief.
"A true life-forbidden zone... Tsk..." The hound smacked his lips and whispered, "A deadly place."
The submersible climbed down along the tower for nearly a hundred meters and finally landed successfully on the street. The cover on the rear side of the submersible was lifted up, and two thicker folding mechanical arms protruded from it. The ends of the mechanical arms were three-toed structures, and each supporting toe was equipped with a pneumatic suction cup, which could firmly fix the submersible to the ground. Even if encountering an undercurrent, there was no need to worry about being swept away.
However, in this way, the shape of this submersible looks very much like a bipedal mecha, especially the recurved joint structure of its legs, which is almost exactly the same as the extremely classic "Walker" series of mechas.
"This thing, was it modified by Layton?" The Hound muttered, "It's so fancy, aren't you afraid that it will affect the stability of the structure?"
"The extra space required to install the mobile robotic arm will indeed affect the strength and stability of the main structure, but as long as the physical properties of the material are strengthened, this loss can be compensated." Chi Hanfeng continued, "The inner and outer shells of the submersible used to explore the 'Eye of Hell' abyss were made of N65-grade alloy materials, while the outer shell of the thing we are riding now is N97-grade, and the inner shell is made of pure Nino alloy. The strength is at least 30 percentage points higher than the prototype... The prototype has even been to a depth of 10,000 meters, so 3,000 meters will not be a problem for our 'special model'."
"When it comes to mechanical things, you suddenly become confident... In this respect, you and Layton are exactly the same." The Hound said, "What about weapons? What kind of weapons does this thing have?"
The biggest fear comes from insufficient firepower - although the Hound knows that conventional weapons are unlikely to be effective against those strange monsters, holding a gun will always make people feel a little more at ease compared to wandering around the ruins unarmed.
"The close-combat weapon is equipped with four circular Nino alloy saw blades and a 'Dragon Striker' that uses a crystal energy bomb as a driving mechanism." Chi Hanfeng said as he opened the weapon control panel on the side of the operating table. "As for long-range weapons, there is only one type, twelve 'Fang IV' torpedoes, each with a crystal energy bomb warhead. The prefabricated fragments also have hidden high-pressure liquid tanks filled with active cells of flesh-eating worms. Once the target is hit, the culture fluid with active cells will be directly injected into the target's body tissue. Even mutants can't withstand this dose."
Although the heretical sect has been destroyed and the remaining small fish and shrimp have been basically wiped out, considering that Ke Lan had been attacked by the Seed of Erosion on the nameless deserted island, the equipment research and development team led by Chi Hanfeng and Layton still regarded the monster Seed of Erosion as the primary imaginary enemy.
"Only twelve shots?" asked Ghost Owl.
"Due to space limitations, we can only carry twelve rounds." Chi Hanfeng nodded, "But don't underestimate the power of this thing. One round used to attack ships can sink an Iowa-class battleship from the old era."
"One shot to sink a battleship? Do you mean if it hits the ammunition depot or the engine room?" Hound's eyebrows twitched. Although he was not very interested in these things and did not know what level of battleship the Iowa-class battleship of the old era was, since it was called a battleship, its defense must not be too low. And judging from the image on the weapon control panel, this "Fang IV" torpedo is about the size of an adult's arm. It seems a bit unrealistic to use this thing to sink a battleship.
"No, as long as we can hit the main frame of the battleship, or explode inside the battleship, we can sink it." Chi Hanfeng said seriously, "The crystal energy bomb installed in the warhead is a 'concentrated' version."
Concentrated energy crystals are a "new type" of energy crystals artificially simulated by the research team of the Yeh Foundation after analyzing the structure of the "pure energy crystals" obtained from Leviathan. However, this concentrated crystal has a fatal problem, which is instability. It cannot output the energy stored inside in a stable manner. If it is used as an ordinary energy crystal, the violent energy flow will instantly destroy the internal structure of the converter and even cause an explosion.
The research team has exhausted a lot of time and energy to solve this problem but has not been able to do so. For this reason, apart from the prototype 'concentrated version' of the crystal energy bomb, this "concentrated crystal" has not been put into practical use in any field.
"Hiss... You actually put this thing into the torpedo? Is it stable? If it explodes, there won't be even a slag left of us, right?" The Hound gasped.
"It's not very stable, but it's not as dangerous as you think... Crystal energy bombs are not nitroglycerin. Besides, the warhead is in a suspended state, and ordinary collisions can't detonate the bomb at all." Chi Hanfeng said, "If the situation really reaches the point where the torpedo will be detonated, then I guess our submersible will no longer be airtight... By that time, we will be directly exposed to the heavy pressure of three thousand meters of sea water, and it will make no difference whether the torpedo explodes or not."
"That would be best..." The Hound had just breathed a sigh of relief, but suddenly he sat straight in his seat as if he had been electrocuted.
Not only him, Zhuo Ligetu and Gui Owl also had similar reactions.
The ghost-like black shadow just now was now hovering about ten meters behind the submersible!
This is a mass of seaweed-like stuff, or rather, a mass of tangled hair... If Ke Lan were here, he would definitely think that this thing is very similar to a monster called "Jin Po" in a novel he had read before. But unlike "Jin Po", this mass of "hair" is not made of solid matter. When those fine hairs sway with the water flow, the ends of them will produce a kind of mist like ink dripping into clear water... Those so-called hairs are actually made of a liquid substance.
Although no visual organs could be seen on the monster, the four people in the submersible still felt that they were being stared at through the portholes... This feeling was like being targeted as prey. The instinct in their hearts was screaming wildly, telling them to flee from this place as soon as possible.
"This thing...when did it follow us?" The Hound's facial muscles twitched extremely unnaturally, and his hands simply grasped the armrest on one side of the seat with such great strength that the protruding knuckles turned white.
"I don't know." As if he was worried about being detected by that thing, Chi Hanfeng shook his head so slightly that it could be ignored. He glanced at the sonar screen out of the corner of his eye, "The sonar didn't scan anything. Even now , the sonar is still telling me... there is nothing there."
"This thing seems to be in liquid form," Zhuoligetu whispered. "Pay attention to the edge of its 'body'. The boundary between it and the seawater is very blurred."
"I didn't expect you, Mongolian, to be so observant... I never noticed it before." The hound's body froze in place, and it didn't dare to make any big movements. "But the question is... Is its body solid or liquid? What difference does it make?"
"There is still a difference..." Chi Hanfeng lowered his voice, "If this thing is a mass of liquid, and the density of the liquid that makes it up is very close to that of seawater, then it can indeed be 'completely invisible' under sonar scanning... Sound waves penetrate its body just like penetrating seawater, and will not produce any abnormal feedback."
"So that's how it is..." The Hound took a deep breath and nodded, as if he had made a decision. "Old Chi, prepare to launch a torpedo... No matter what this thing is, we must strike first!"
"At this distance, if the torpedo explodes, we will also be affected." Chi Hanfeng said in a low voice.
