"You're saying that abnormal entity nest is actually a massive floating island?!" The crew aboard the Infinite all changed expressions upon hearing this news. Just hearing Laine describe it created an overwhelming sense of pressure, and according to Erica's account, this thing apparently appeared during daylight hours.

"Correct."

"Do you know when it appeared?" Laine asked with grave seriousness. "Ten days ago, to be precise. Right after the Dawn City defensive battle, this thing suddenly surfaced along with a maritime storm zone spanning over 100 kilometers in diameter."

Lin Xian frowned. "You're suggesting this is connected to the Dawn City incident?"

Laine shook his head with a bitter smile. "Who knows? But many strange occurrences have happened since then." He looked at Lin Xian's group. "All sea groups within several hundred nautical miles of Haiyan Island have been affected to some degree. Several small organizations have been completely wiped out. That area has become extremely dangerous now - I strongly advise you to prepare thoroughly. Once you leave Haiyan Island, unless you can fly, you won't see land for days. Several relay stations along the Pacific section have gone dark, and no one knows the exact situation."

"If it's so dangerous, why are you planning a hunting operation?" KIKI asked incredulously. "Isn't that suicide?"

Laine spread his hands. "There are four sea groups involved now, totaling over two thousand people."

Lin Xian sensed deeper implications behind this. "Two thousand people... Have you already identified what that floating island is? You seem quite confident."

"Are you hunting specifically for Level 4 blood crystals?" Monica chimed in.

Laine made an inviting gesture toward the aircraft carrier's interior. "If you're willing, we can share all our intelligence. I believe once you understand the full picture, you'll see why we're doing this - it may concern you as well. Consider it a tour of our floating home too."

"Alright." Lin Xian nodded, accepting the invitation.

Passing through the green farming area on the deck, the group reached a side hatch on the island superstructure. The heavy blast door slid open, releasing a wave of warm, humid air.

The first deck had been converted into a multi-tiered vertical farm. LED grow lights hung from metal frames, illuminating rows of hydroponic troughs where lettuce, tomatoes, and strawberries thrived in nutrient solutions. Several workers in protective suits monitored plant growth.

"This is our artificial light hydroponics section," Laine explained. "The ship's compact nuclear reactor provides enough power for year-round cultivation, but to conserve energy, most crops rely on natural light from the deck. We shut down the main reactor two months ago for safety reasons."

A straw-hatted middle-aged man in the farming area looked up, noticing the newcomers. He gestured to the strawberries. "Visitors? Care to try some?"

Before Lin Xian could respond, Shasha's eyes lit up. "Wow, really?"

"Of course!" The man handed over several ripe red berries. "After the apocalypse, fresh fruit is rare enough on land - let alone at sea. These strawberry seeds are worth several blood crystals each."

Shasha took one and bit into it, the sweet-tart juice bursting in her mouth. "Mmm... so sweet!"

Monica surveyed the area. "How do you handle pollination?"

"Manual pollination at first," Laine answered, then pointed to transparent beehives in the corner with a peculiar smile. "Later we introduced... some bees. Found them on Haiyan Island. Though you must be careful - post-apocalypse bees can be... aggressive."

"You actually found living bees?" Lin Xian sounded surprised.

"More than you'd think," Laine replied. "Cockroaches, geckos, ants - fewer crawling insects, but you can find some if you look carefully. There are fish in the ocean too, though we rarely fish. You understand why."

Next, Lin Xian and Laine passed several storage holds. Behind blast doors, supplies were stacked neatly on metal shelves - food, medicine, tools, weapons... even an entire wall dedicated to entertainment items from playing cards to vintage game consoles.

"You've collected quite an inventory."

"Some belonged to the original fleet," Laine said as they walked. "Our sea group mostly scavenges from the ocean rather than going ashore."

"Scavenge?"

"More than you'd imagine," the mechanical giant Azrael chimed in with heavy footsteps. "Sometimes ocean currents bring hundreds of shipping containers - all floating up after the Cataclysm. It's like opening mystery boxes. Surprisingly fun."

"We also trade at black markets or with other sea groups," Vanessa added, giving Lin Xian a meaningful look. "At sea... you don't meet many people."

This reminded Lin Xian of something. "We came from Taku Deepwater Port yesterday. Do you know what happened there?"

"Massacre."

Erica walked ahead without turning back, her voice cold. "That was Asia-Pacific's primary shipping port. Countless opportunists died there. After dark, it's a hotspot for abnormal entity attacks - long since became a ghost port. Many train groups met their end there. You were lucky."

Lin Xian fell silent - this matched his suspicions.

A petite girl counting cans noticed Laine's arrival and rushed over. "Commander, only 20 crates of compressed biscuits left in Warehouse 3. We need resupply soon."

Laine ruffled her hair. "Understood. We'll send a team to the east coast tomorrow."

Lin Xian spotted damaged drones and power armor parts in a corner. "You do mechanical repairs too?"

Azrael grinned, revealing metallic teeth. "No 4S shops at sea. We fix what breaks."

Further in, the noise intensified.

Inside a spacious compartment, sparks flew as mechanics modified weapons and vehicles, surrounded by welding equipment, hydraulic tools, and disassembled engine components.

"Our miniature armory," Azrael patted a half-completed power armor suit. "Not Phoenix Society quality, but good enough for repairs."

A grease-stained young man looked up excitedly. "Commander! The sonar's fixed! Operational tonight!"

Laine nodded. "Good work, Tom."

The group then followed Laine to the carrier's flight bridge - the Falcon Sea Group's information and command center.

The circular chamber was lined with displays and consoles, centered around a massive nautical chart table detailing nearby waters. Operators monitored radar and sonar data.

"Welcome to the Neptune," Laine smiled.

Lin Xian immediately noticed the walls covered in hand-drawn diagrams of bizarre marine creatures. "These are...?"

"Our 'Enemy Bestiary'," Geddy approached, pointing at one illustration. "Deep-sea giant squid - barbed tentacles can shred hulls. This is the face jellyfish - electric, uses psychic attacks to drag victims into the depths..."

"The face jellyfish..." Lin Xian recalled Viola's underwater footage from Taku Deepwater Port - likely the same creature.

Seeing the wall of horrors, Shasha shrank back. "So many monsters in the sea..."

"We've noticed many abnormal entities share convergent traits with Earth's original deep-sea creatures," Laine said solemnly. "People say there's only one Star Abyss in the ocean? Frankly, isn't the entire ocean an abyss?"

This made Lin Xian's expression change sharply. "What did you say?"

Laine shrugged at Lin Xian's intense reaction. "Those monsters lurk in oceanic trenches, day and night - like mutated versions of Earth's sea life blended with something else. From that perspective, the entire ocean is the Star Abyss, no?"

Lin Xian paused, surprised by this perspective, then nodded. "That's... remarkably insightful."

"Never expected to meet the Sword Bearer here. Perhaps fate. Since you helped Vanessa and Geddy, this intel might benefit you." Laine pulled up an aerial photo on the main screen. "This shows the underwater cliff zone east of Chatham Island, taken by Erica's aerial team. Chatham is the southeasternmost island near Haiyan, less than 100 nautical miles from that storm zone."

Lin Xian and Monica's team focused on the image - initially unremarkable, just a sea surface shot under blue skies. But when magnified, everyone's expressions changed as they noticed the horrifying detail hidden beneath the serene surface.

Beneath the azure waters, a circular abyss swirled ominously, resembling a giant underwater maw. More terrifyingly, this vortex was merely miles from shore - where sunny white shallows abruptly dropped into black oceanic trenches. The living, breathing quality of the phenomenon sent chills down their spines.

"What... what is that? An underwater whirlpool?" KIKI, who suffered from thalassophobia, immediately felt uneasy.

"That's no whirlpool."

Geddy crossed her arms, pointing to the photo's center. "See our drone ship? The surface was completely calm."

"An abnormal entity?" Monica frowned. "At that scale, it's beyond special-grade."

"And this is just one location." Laine switched images. "Similar anomalies have appeared east and south of Haiyan Island. That storm island is gradually approaching Haiyan at measurable speeds."

"This is highly unusual. We've also observed daytime evil creatures multiplying nearly threefold on Haiyan Island in these ten days."

Lin Xian narrowed his eyes. "You think something on Haiyan Island is attracting that abnormal nest?"

Laine met his gaze frankly. "Vanessa and Geddy were sent to confirm that theory."

"Oh~" KIKI caught on. "So you suspect Haiyan Island has something drawing special-grade sea monsters and that floating island, hence the ambush plan to harvest Level 4 blood crystals?"

The silence from Laine's group confirmed her guess.

Monica crossed her arms with an amused smile. "You can't be serious. Hunting special-grades - potentially multiple - is suicide."

Laine remained calm, turning to Lin Xian instead. "Captain Lin, if I told you Annihilator-level warriors have over 90% success rate with crystal lattice cultivation using Level 4 blood crystals, would you take the risk?"

"Absolutely not." Lin Xian remained impassive. "This plan sounds idiotic as described. But I suspect there's more to it, right?"

Vanessa and others' calm expressions proved Lin Xian correct. Laine took a deep breath. "Indeed. Level 4 blood crystals are extremely precious to both Starfleet and Phoenix Society now. For survivor groups like ours, taking down special-grades is near impossible - let alone a swarm."

He switched the display to a 3D hologram of the seabed topography, pointing to a peculiar conical formation northeast of Haiyan Island. Lin Xian immediately recognized it. "A submarine volcano?"

"Mount Garland. Located southwest of the Garland Trench along the Pacific Ridge, 96 nautical miles from Haiyan. A perpetually active volcano - though only low-frequency activity for two millennia. Its last eruption caused 490-meter tsunamis that split Haiyan Island into fourteen fragments..."

Lin Xian frowned. "How does this connect to the abnormal entities?"

"Not to them - to something on Haiyan Island." Laine dropped the bombshell.

"What? The volcano connects to something?" KIKI looked baffled.

"A certain forbidden artifact."

Geddy turned to face them squarely. "We had the same reaction when we learned this."

Lin Xian was stunned. "You're saying there's an artifact that can control submarine volcanoes, and you plan to use it against the abnormal entities?"

Laine shook his head, meeting Lin Xian's gaze earnestly. "Lin, don't you see? In this situation, we're the ones being hunted."

Vanessa stepped forward. "Level 4 blood crystals are valuable, but our main concern is escaping these waters safely amidst daytime special-grade attacks and Mount Garland's unrest."

Laine added, "It's undeniably risky. The Sanctum is also searching Haiyan Island for this artifact. The blood crystals... are secondary in our plans."

Lin Xian surveyed the Neptune and surrounding ships. If this fleet needed to flee, their only route was north around the Pacific Ridge. An aircraft carrier couldn't maneuver that distance in daylight alone. He instantly understood Laine's implication.

His heart grew heavy realizing Haiyan Island's dire situation. According to Laine, the surrounding special-grades were likely drawn by either the artifact or volcanic activity, with Haiyan at ground zero.

Fortunately, he'd prepared for broken tracks or storm zones before entering the ocean. The Infinite had underwater propulsion and military-grade diving capability exceeding 500 meters. In extremis, they could risk atmospheric S-class creatures and use the Celestial for transoceanic flight toward the Republican Archipelago. They weren't completely trapped.

Yet seeing those abyssal photos, underwater travel remained a last resort - as did flight, given their experience with the Sky City. Clearly, Laine's group joined this "hunt" mainly for self-preservation. Lin Xian now wondered about the plan's mastermind and full details.

"I'm curious - even if the volcano erupts, forget about defeating abnormal entities, how would you survive?" Monica voiced the key question matching Lin Xian's thoughts.

"We're seeking the artifact precisely to prevent eruption. If the Sanctum obtains it, that's the worst outcome."

Vanessa explained, "Our intel suggests this artifact can manipulate volcanic thermal energy - potentially attracting those daytime abnormal entities for controlled engagement during daylight."

Monica pondered. "So ultimately, you're still hunting special-grades?"

"Correct." Laine nodded. "And we believe daytime is optimal."

"Why?" KIKI asked.

"Three reasons." Vanessa raised a finger. "First, adaptability. The daylight-adapted evil creatures developed biological force fields, but their lifespan and vitality are significantly weaker - likely the price for overcoming darkness. This is our advantage - daytime is humanity's domain." The latest_epɪ_sodes are on_the novèlfire.net

"Second, lattice power." Geddy showed the crystalline patterns on her arm. "Our dark energy performs better in daylight without dark mark concerns."

"Third, monster tides." Laine concluded. "No mass outbreaks occur during daytime. We only face localized targets, not endless reinforcements."

"Impressive planning." KIKI sounded intrigued. "But what if multiple special-grades come? Like that abnormal nest - who knows how many entities it holds?"

Lin Xian looked gravely at Laine's group, answering for them: "I suspect they plan to activate the carrier's nuclear reactor for full-speed evacuation during the hunt."

He locked eyes with Laine, enunciating clearly: "Haiyan Island and Mount Garland would serve as massive... bait agents!"