After crossing the waves, the Infinite traveled along the ocean segment of the Ring Star Orbit, venturing into the deep sea. The weather was clear today. The ocean resembled a vast liquid blue plain, with sunlight pouring like molten gold foil over the surface. On both sides of the massive sea-based orbit floated scattered glimmers of light, as if the train was rolling through a star river studded with diamonds. Occasionally, flying fish leapt out, their silver bodies drawing parabolic arcs in midair before suddenly plunging into the unfathomably deep dark blue below.

Lin Xian and Chen Sixuan sat in the cockpit. Without a tractor, the train could only advance autonomously on the track, relying on radar and the driving system to detect the track’s condition.

After leaving the continental shelf and entering the deep sea, the ocean’s color shifted to deep blue. Lin Xian glanced to the right side of the track in the distance;

the horizon and sea level were obscured by a black curtain resembling a storm. He knew that was the edge of the No. 8 Star Abyss, which was also the fault zone of the ocean ridge deep sea.

Taking a deep breath, Lin Xian still felt a bit nervous. He feared that this massive track might suddenly break, causing the thousands of tons of steel train to fall directly into the deep sea.

Although he had upgraded each carriage of the Infinite with deep-sea cabins and underwater propulsion systems, he did not want to operate a submarine in the deep sea unless absolutely necessary.

Whoosh~

The Infinite sped along the ocean orbit like a steel dragon. Everything was calm and peaceful. After several hours, only the sky above and the deep blue below remained, seemingly endless.

Fire Bro, who had been called out for some fresh air, had set up a lounge chair on the Infinite’s roof, lazily watching the ocean around him with sunglasses on. Meanwhile, Takahashi Ryunosuke sat cross-legged at the front, his gaze focused.

Both of them possessed flying abilities and could make quick maneuvers in emergencies, so Lin Xian had asked them to get some air outside.

Soon, Chen Sixuan inside the cockpit noticed a layer of sea fog gradually rising over the surface, and the weather began to turn gloomy. At first, she thought a storm was coming, but the Infinite’s weather detection system showed no signs of a storm, as if the fog was only a localized haze.

The fog quickly thickened, darkening the surrounding light. Lu Xingchen, sitting slowly upright on the train roof, removed his sunglasses, his expression growing serious.

“Brother Lin, the weather has changed strangely. This kind of sky-covering mist could mean the sudden appearance of evil cultists during the day.”

“I’ve already slowed down,” Lin Xian replied over the communicator.

Takahashi Ryunosuke spread countless tiny grains of sand using his ability, which hovered within hundreds of meters around the Infinite like a sensory radar. As soon as they lightly touched anything approaching, he would immediately be alerted.

“This fog appeared rather strangely,” Chen Sixuan said inside the cockpit to Lin Xian. “It reminds me of the Mist Spider in Beiwang Town.”

Lin Xian nodded. “Same here.”

Viola controlled hundreds of flying drones ahead in a looped information chain to scout. At that moment, Lin Xian received a response.

[No abnormalities detected on the track ahead, approaching Taku Deepwater Port. No living organisms detected.]

[Metal detection shows serious rusting on numerous structures at the deepwater port.]

“At the deepwater port...” Lin Xian said gravely. Soon, before his eyes, the fog on the sea surface peeled away like a curtain, revealing the silhouette of a massive steel structure.

Four drilling platforms towered in the lead-gray seawater. In the center was a steel deepwater port covering over two square kilometers. Originally a cargo transfer hub for the Ring Star Orbit, it now resembled a steel graveyard. As the Infinite slowed to enter, it seemed possible to hear the rusted steel’s wailing under the faint waves.

A large number of suspended corridors formed the spine of this section, hanging with cobweb-like cables. Various large cranes dangled crookedly in midair, as if they might fall into the abyss at any second.

As they entered the port, Ning Jing and Xu Minze immediately noticed small amounts of burned mechs, fighter jets, abandoned trains, and several not fully deceased corpses under the platform. These bodies were not yet completely dried or decayed. Inside the power armor masks, only shriveled faces remained. In addition, the drilling platforms and various parts of the port were littered with decaying flesh-like tissue from the abnormal entities, also not long dried. It seemed this place had experienced a fierce small-scale battle, now engulfed in deathly silence.

[Blockage detected on the rear port transit track;

no minor damage to the track detected.]

At that moment, Viola’s voice came through. Ning Jing immediately ordered, “Viola, dispatch manned drones to clear obstacles, repair the track, and patrol the entire deepwater platform.”

[Understood.]

Ping~

At once, thousands of manned drones swarmed out. Attack drones flew to all corners of the drilling platform and cargo port for inspection, while engineering drones began clearing debris piled under the tracks.

“Ning Jing.”

At this moment, KIKI’s voice came through. “The sonar system detected something below the port.”

“A Bai and Shiori also sensed it,” Ning Jing added.

“Check it out carefully, watch for dark marks,” Lin Xian instructed.

“Got it!”

Ning Jing, Shu Qin, Lü Chang, and others immediately began searching.

The sea fog thickened. The entire deepwater port resembled a steel lonely boat floating on the ocean—quiet and eerie. Seawater slowly flowed between platforms, shimmering with an oily rainbow. Occasionally, waves struck the rusty pilings, echoing hollowly.

Lin Xian opened the cockpit and, clad in power armor, stepped onto the deepwater port with Chen Sixuan. The mist severely limited visibility to less than a dozen meters.

Under the radar and optoelectronic scans of the power armor, the outlines of various objects hidden in the fog appeared. The entire port platform was desolate, with dried and decayed corpses everywhere.

What caught Lin Xian’s attention was the numerous untouched firearms scattered everywhere, including overturned train carriages still holding large amounts of supplies.

“Has no one been to this sea port? It looks like it’s been at least two months,” Lin Xian frowned.

“I asked Jiang Yun. Since the Star Abyss started acting up, many end-of-the-world trains have stopped entering the ocean orbit. The battle at Dawn City basically pushed everyone toward Dawn Center. Perhaps after the Phoenix Society stopped using this orbit, the ocean segment wasn’t maintained. That’s why the convoys dared not travel by sea,” Chen Sixuan explained.

Lin Xian nodded. Indeed, ordinary end-of-the-world train teams usually choose safer land routes. If it weren’t for the Sky Dome train in his hands, he wouldn’t lightly venture into the Pacific Ocean.

After observing the surroundings, Lin Xian and Chen Sixuan headed toward the cargo platform’s supply warehouse. Over the communicator, KIKI’s voice came from high above.

“Lin Xian, I checked up high. This place is completely shrouded in sea fog. It looks abandoned for a long time, and judging by the situation, abnormal entities must have appeared here before.”

“Be careful,” Lin Xian said cautiously, his gaze sweeping over the corpse of a huge flying-winged creature that crushed half of the supply warehouse. “Protect Shiori and watch the sky.”

“I know.”

In the Infinite’s third carriage, Ding Junyi, who was focused on research, noticed the blood vine’s roots slightly twisting, each thorn glowing with a crimson light. She immediately approached and activated her ability to sense the changes.

Ding Junyi frowned and quickly called Xiao Yuan over.

“Xiao Yuan, look.”

Xiao Yuan came over and saw the blood vine visibly curling its tender shoots toward a certain direction. Soon, it reached the edge of the cultivation chamber.

“Director Ding, this disaster plant seems to be probing in a direction.”

“I noticed it too.” Ding Junyi picked up the cultivation chamber and rotated it by the window. Sure enough, as she rotated, the blood vine slowly changed the direction of its shoots, clinging to the transparent chamber’s edge. Then the shoots rapidly grew, emitting a series of creaking sounds.

“Southeast direction. Possibly…”

“Ah!”

Before Ding Junyi could finish, Xiao Yuan screamed. Ding Junyi turned to see Xiao Yuan covering her mouth, terrified, pointing toward the platform outside the window. Both of them looked and were shocked.

On the Infinite’s docking platform, beneath the dense fog, an unknown figure silently stood there. The figure resembled a human but was extremely tall, at least three meters. Its feet were like goat hooves bent backward, and its hands were long and drooping. Most terrifying was its head, which was a triangular open shape resembling a blooming flower, blood red inside. The triangular head stared motionlessly in Ding Junyi’s direction, chilling anyone who looked.

Screech!

In an instant, a golden flash lit up. The door of Carriage No. 5 opened. Daluo and Luo Yang rushed out. As Xiao Yuan’s alarm sounded, Qian Dele swiftly used his speed ability to arrive. He spotted the strange humanoid creature immediately and without hesitation launched a powerful kick.

However, when his fierce kick swept through, the monster twisted as if distorting the air for a moment, instantly vanishing, leaving a strange winding afterimage as it dashed deeper into the thick fog.

“Where are you running!?” Qian Dele shouted. The creature’s speed wasn’t fast, but his kick completely missed. He instantly felt something was off and strange. Seeing the afterimage disappear, he teleported and followed.

“Daluo, Luo Yang, guard the train. We’re going to check it out!”

Lin Xian and Chen Sixuan arrived quickly, their power armor in maneuver mode, swiftly navigating through the port ruins. Meanwhile, KIKI and Shiori flew in from above.

“Lin Xian, Shiori says she didn’t sense that creature’s spiritual fluctuation!”

“Let’s see if we can figure out what it is.” Lin Xian quickened his pace. Having fought abnormal entities for a long time, he knew any unusual movement couldn’t be ignored. If not dealt with decisively, it could cause serious trouble later.

A golden flash sped past ahead. In a flash, Qian Dele appeared on a cantilever of the drilling platform’s deepwater mouth, stopping with a puzzled look.

Lin Xian and the others caught up and looked at him. “What’s wrong?”

“Strange. It’s clearly not fast, but I just can’t catch it...” Qian Dele bent down, face darkening.

“Viola!”

[I’m here.]

“Have you locked the target’s location?”

Viola leapt down lightly and landed beside Lin Xian. Using her scanner, she quickly swept the entire deepwater mouth area, soon replying, [Cannot lock on;

no life signs detected.]

“How could that be? We all saw it,” Chen Sixuan frowned, scanning around. Suddenly, everyone lost the target.

KIKI landed with Shiori. She took out a spiritual fluctuation detector and said,

“No dark marks detected. No fluctuations around. We encountered this in White City too. Lin Xian, do you remember?”

Lin Xian nodded. He knew KIKI referred to the white figure they had encountered in White City’s tunnel—quickly vanishing without marking the team. This behavior seemed completely different from that of abnormal entities.

“Lin Xian.”

At that moment, Takahashi Ryunosuke arrived from above, bringing Ding Junyi and Xiao Yuan along. Ding Junyi held the blood vine’s cultivation chamber, saying to Lin Xian,

“It’s underwater!”

“I’ll check it out.”

“Wait!” Lin Xian called out to Takahashi Ryunosuke. Looking at the pitch-black seawater below the deepwater mouth, he said, “The fog is too thick;

it’s unsafe underwater. Viola, send ten underwater submersibles to search.” The source of this content ɪs novᴇlfire.net

[Got it.]

Suddenly, ten small yellow underwater submersibles were summoned by Lin Xian, rapidly descending from the deepwater mouth. Under Viola’s control, they turned on their lights and began searching.

Watching the submersibles sink deeper, KIKI said,

“That thing didn’t attack us, but it runs when chased. Could it be a scout for the abnormal entities?” She glanced at Lin Xian. “Wasn’t the Cloudthorn from Xilan City the scout for the No. 5 Star Abyss overlord?”

“That’s possible,” Qian Dele nodded. “Monsters having roles is normal. It means we’re being watched.”

Chen Sixuan said cautiously, “But the Cloudthorn in Xilan City’s purpose was to mark the entire city with a level 5 mark. Since the dark creatures use marks to identify targets, why haven’t we been marked at all, not even at level 1?”

“In any case, this thing definitely isn’t from Blue Star,” Lin Xian said, looking at Shiori. “Shiori, has Silent City ever encountered this?”

Shiori shook her head, paused, then nodded quickly, quietly saying, “It’s somewhat different, but yes, we have. We didn’t pursue because that monster seemed to run away as soon as it was seen...”

[Target found.]

At that moment, Viola suddenly responded, [The submersibles detected a large number of abnormal entity fluctuations 121 meters underwater. Please be cautious.]

Viola’s words made everyone tense. Lin Xian hurriedly asked, “Is it that monster from earlier?”

[No. The submersibles scanned numerous abnormal deep-sea creatures over 50 meters long, but so far, no disturbances.]

“What does no disturbance mean? They’re not heading toward us?”

Viola turned around and projected underwater images through the information relay, showing Lin Xian a holographic display.

[No. It looks like these creatures haven’t noticed us yet.]

Everyone’s eyes turned grave as a chilling sensation ran down their spines.

Beneath the dark deep sea, countless bizarre creatures with squid-like long legs and humanoid torsos floated upright in the deep water. Their heads resembled transparent snakefish, and their skirts slowly curled. Hundreds, even thousands, drifted with the currents, unmoving, like an upside-down forest submerged in the ocean.

Seeing this, everyone involuntarily drew a cold breath. The terrifying scene gave them goosebumps, and a deep-sea dread filled the air.

“So many abnormal entities...”

“Are they sleeping, or...”

“They probably haven’t entered their active cycle because the Black Tide hasn’t arrived,” Ding Junyi said. “Or maybe they can’t detect us because we don’t have dark marks.”

“Director Ding,” Xiao Yuan pointed at the cultivation chamber in her hands. “The blood vine seems to have stopped moving.”

Ding Junyi looked and saw that the blood vine, which had been growing and extending, had now curled back. The previously extended vines retracted. She immediately exchanged a glance with Lin Xian.

“Gone.”

“Let’s leave quickly,” Lin Xian said to everyone. “The clearing is done. We’ll leave the deepwater port and head for Haiyan Island. I feel uneasy here;

it’s better to be on the island.”

Everyone understood and prepared to leave.

Lin Xian called over the patrolling Ning Jing and Fire Bro. They quickly returned to the Infinite to prepare for departure. On the way back, he casually transferred an intact fallen aerospace fighter into the Black Star Forge to prepare for devouring.

Just as he entered the cargo station platform to board, Lin Xian’s Mechanical Heart suddenly roared violently, its intense energy flow jolting him awake.

“What’s going on...”

Lin Xian stopped and pressed his hand to his chest. The Mechanical Heart had calmed, but he had clearly felt an uncontrolled overload just moments ago.

At that moment, Lin Xian turned around and noticed a strange palm-sized tear in the pile of dried corpses at the metal cargo unloading station. It looked as if pierced by a sharp claw, yet there were no signs of an abnormal entity’s attack nearby.

This spot was exactly where the strange humanoid creature had been moments ago.

Lin Xian instinctively approached, his gaze growing increasingly uneasy. The edges of the tear in the metal plate were stretched tightly. His power armor’s deep scanning sensors detected higher temperatures around the edges compared to the surroundings. He squatted, turned on his light, and looked into the palm-sized hole. Upon seeing inside, his pupils constricted, and an incredulous expression appeared on his face.

The tear’s depth exceeded 10 centimeters. At the bottom lay a metal object shaped like a die, covered in rust powder and iron filings.

Lin Xian’s shock came from realizing the hole seemed to have been smashed out by this thumb-sized metal cube. Moreover, as he approached, his power armor monitor detected the metal cube’s temperature was higher than the surroundings, as if slight friction was still occurring.

“What is this thing?”

Lin Xian created a metal clamp with his hand, preparing to grab it. After all, making such a deep dent in the metal floor of the cargo station required not just kinetic energy but extremely high hardness. The Ring Star Orbit’s cargo stations were designed to bear thousands of tons of cargo and lifting loads, made from materials far superior to ordinary metal plates. Even armor-piercing bullets couldn’t make such a deep hole, and the bullet tip would never remain in such a perfect cube shape.

However, when Lin Xian tried to clamp it, he found he couldn’t grip it at all. So he created thousands of metal wires to wrap it up and lift it, but no matter how hard he pulled, the metal die didn’t budge an inch.

At this point, Lin Xian finally sensed something was wrong.

“Lin Xian, why aren’t you getting on the train?” KIKI called at the door.

Lin Xian turned and waved to her. “Come here, girl.”

KIKI flew over, looking puzzled.

“What’s wrong?”

Lin Xian pointed to the metal die in the ground. “Use your telekinesis to pull it out.”

“Why...”

KIKI glanced at it, then surged with telekinetic power. Suddenly, the air trembled lightly, and she failed on the first try. Her face showed slight surprise. She looked at Lin Xian and then at the metal die, focusing intently. Her eyes glowed with ability light as she fully enveloped the metal die.

Scrape, scrape, scrape!

The ground emitted a piercing tearing sound. Finally, under KIKI’s strong ability, the metal die slowly floated up.

“Lin Xian,” KIKI said seriously, her eyes flashing white light. “Do you know how heavy this thing is?”

“At least a thousand tons!”

Lin Xian’s eyes widened in shock as he stared at the metal die suspended in midair. He felt a cold breath escape his lips.

This metal die was only one cubic centimeter in volume but weighed a thousand tons. Its density nearly reached one percent that of a neutron star. Without extreme gravity, how could such mass exist on Blue Star?

Moreover, it maintained an absolutely smooth perfect cube shape.

Most bizarrely, circles marked the die’s spots, as if a divine creation, mocking humanity with an absurd and eerie joke.