Volume 2: The Undersea City Chapter 42: Not an Illusion
"Aren't the sea beasts in the Central Sea all in the deep sea? Why would they come to the shallow sea to attack you?" The hound was a little puzzled.
"I've already said it's 'that sea area'... No matter whether it's deep or shallow, as long as you get close to the underwater ruins, those sea beasts will attack... How should I put it, it feels... It feels like a tamed watchdog." Bartlett racked his brains for a long time before he squeezed out the metaphor of "watchdog".
"It is indeed possible. " Ke Lan nodded. In the A-087 ruins, the split-jaw worms they encountered were the "guards" raised by the Afar people in the ruins. This was not an isolated case, and this phenomenon existed in many ruins. However, hunters would not use the word watchdog to describe those creatures, but would collectively refer to them as "ruin guards."
Generally speaking, the guards outside the ruins will be cleared directly by air strikes. The firepower of a fighter squadron is enough to kill them. As for the guards inside the ruins, the exploring hunters will have to deal with them on their own.
However, the situation of this underwater ruins is rather special. It is difficult for air strikes to be effective, and the weapons carried by the ships are too bulky. Whether it is torpedoes or depth charges, not only can they not effectively destroy the target, but they can also easily affect the ruins themselves. It is no wonder that there are such large-scale casualties on their ship.
"By the way, has that relic been registered on the Hunter Network? What's the number?" Layton asked, his finger stopping on the PAD screen.
"Number...ah...let me think, it seems...it seems to be A-091?"
"No, that's not it. A-091 is in the Relin area, not the underwater city you mentioned." Layton glanced at the search results and shook his head.
"I remembered it wrong, I remembered it wrong... Then... Then try 094... A-094! This should be it!"
Layton entered the number "A-094" in the search bar, and this time it was finally correct... However, there was absolutely no exploration record of the ruins on the Hunter Network, and there was no useful information except the location.
"Tsk... Has no one been in here before?" The hound pouted and rubbed the stubble on his chin with his fingers. "It's a tricky virgin land."
"Didn't I say it... None of the people who went into the water last time came back, so there can't be any records." Bartlett said while chewing roasted leeks.
"It is directly rated as A-level without any exploration records. You know what I mean, old dog..." Ke Lan's tone was a little heavy.
"Hiss... I know..." Although the Hound did not say it explicitly, everyone present except Bartletti knew very well that the relic was initially evaluated as an A-level relic, and it had great potential to rise to S-level, or even the legendary SS-level.
During these fifty years, there were a total of 19 ruins that were initially rated as A-level, 17 of which were eventually rated as S-level. Three of the ruins even rose to SS-level at one point, but were later downgraded back to S-level for some reason, leaving SS-level ruins still vacant.
For any S-level relic, the price paid by mankind in the exploration is extremely painful, but the things discovered in each S-level relic are enough to raise the technological level of mankind to a new level - to put it in a more understandable way, the impact of each S-level relic on human civilization is no less than that of a great man of Einstein's level.
Moreover, these things are just the tip of the iceberg of the S-level ruins.
A scholar once asserted that if humans could completely analyze everything excavated from the existing 17 S-level ruins, they would be able to restore at least 30 percent of the technology of the Alpha civilization...which would be enough to advance human civilization by two thousand years.
"If this is another S-level ruins, a lot of people will probably die." Layton sighed and turned off the screen of the PAD.
"But if it is really rated as S-level, there will definitely be a lot of hunters vying for it... Everyone will think that they are one of the few lucky ones." The hound was playing with a steel skewer for skewering meat and picking his teeth with the nail of his little finger.
"You don't want to go too?" Bartlett widened his eyes and even stopped moving his mouth.
"That depends on the situation." Ke Lan knocked on the table lightly, "Old Ba, what would you like to drink?"
"Ah! It'd be best if it's Snow brand ice beer! If Snow isn't available, Blue Islander will do!" Bartlett's eyes lit up instantly, and he swallowed subconsciously.
"Fuck, you really dare to speak!" Ke Lan couldn't help but twitching his eyebrows. Snow and Blue Islander were both old brands passed down from the old era. Among so many brands of beer on the Ark, these two were the most expensive.
"Hehe... just kidding, just kidding. I'll be satisfied with a bottle of Roland." Bartlett shrank his head, rubbing his hands and apologizing with a smile.
"Boss, give him a bottle of——"
Before Ke Lan could finish his words, a tall and muscular man wearing a blue and white striped sweatshirt suddenly squeezed in from outside the store. When he saw Bartletti, he grabbed him and pulled him over.
Standing next to this guy, Bartlett, who was as thin as a bamboo pole, looked even thinner.
"Okay, Lao Ba, I finally found you!" The sturdy man's voice was very rough, and had a hoarse feeling like an old smoker.
"Quinn?! What do you want from me?" Bartlett tried to break free from the other party, but the huge difference in strength meant that his struggle was completely in vain.
"It's time to get to work! Our entire mechanic team is waiting for you, you bastard, it's so hard to find you!" Quinn yelled at Bartlett, his saliva almost spraying all over the latter's face.
"Aren't we going out to sea tomorrow morning?" Bartlett was a little confused.
"The plan has been changed and it's ahead of schedule. Don't worry, you'll get overtime pay... But if our entire team gets fined because of your lateness, then you're screwed!"
"Wait, wait, let me finish my drink!"
"Damn it! The ship is about to leave!" Quinn picked up Bartlett without saying anything and dragged him outside.
"Ah...that...that guy...next time we meet, don't forget my wine!" It was only then that Bartlett remembered that he didn't know the names of these hunters he had been chatting with for a long time... But to be honest, these people were all very nice, and the key was that they were generous.
"Old Ba, if you can come back alive, I will definitely keep the wine for you." Ke Lan waved at Bartletti.
The hound on the side suddenly rolled his eyes: "You are too cruel, aren't you? This flag is..."
"Do you still believe in this?" Ke Lan was speechless. "Lao Ba is from the mechanic team, not a combatant. Unless the ship sinks, he won't be in any danger."
"Stop, stop... If you keep talking, I feel like everyone on this boat is going to be killed by you..."
After eating and drinking, the three of them dispersed and went back to their homes. Although the harvest from the A-087 ruins could not be considered as sudden wealth, at least Ke Lan and the others would have no worries about food and clothing for the next six months. They were not in a hurry to study the underwater city that Bartlett mentioned. The initial exploration of a ruins with S-level potential could last one to two years.
Ke Lan's residence is located in the North Fifth District. It is a small room of only 20 square meters, which is a standard single-person residence on the Ark. As a registered hunter, Ke Lan only needs to pay 1,200 credit points per month to have the right to use it. Taking into account the housing subsidy issued by the Ark, this room is almost free.
Although it is small, it has everything needed. It has all the living facilities that a small room should have, and there is even a small compartment .
"I can finally have a good sleep in my own bed..."
Thinking so, Ke Lan walked quickly towards his home, but when he saw the door, he found a familiar figure squatting in front of the door. The man was wearing a worn gray knitted hoodie and holding a sheathed sword in his arms.
"Asano Aki!" Ke Lan was stunned for a moment, then ran over quickly, "You're still alive! When did you return to the Ark?"
"Just now." Asano Akira stood up from the ground. Ke Lan noticed that his expression was very strange.
"That's not an illusion." Asano Akira suddenly blurted out this incoherent sentence.
"Uh... w-what?"
"You said that the monster you saw was not an illusion."
"..." Ke Lan held her breath, her pupils shrinking slightly, "Why?"
"Layton, Ivan, the Hound... and I, we don't remember ever seeing that monster..." Asano Akira's tone was calm, but with an unquestionable determination, "But he still remembers it."
"He? Who is he?" This time Ke Lan was really confused. The "he" that Asano Akira was talking about... couldn't be Zhuoligetu, right? But wasn't he in a coma the whole time?
"My sword." Asano Akiu said in a shocking tone, "Although I have forgotten, my sword still remembers the battle with that monster."
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