Chapter 117: Return

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It must be said that the pioneers made an exceptionally wise choice in appointing the Sea Dragon Leviathan as the warden of the Sea Emperor Prison. The Tek solution corrodes all organic lifeforms that come into contact with it. The Sea Dragon, however, is a unique creature—part inorganic, part organic. It primarily feeds on the minerals found in the lava zones. At least half of its body is made up of inorganic substances, mainly mineral rock. Naturally, being composed of stone, it is immune to the corrosive effects of the Tek solution. This is similar to how the 'Rock Giants' on the Ark are unaffected by corrosion.

The Sea Dragon is inherently the perfect counter to the Leviathan, the Father of the Shark Swarm, which is born from a corrosive consciousness. After the Sea Emperor transformed into a grotesque giant shark, it ignored the relentless attacks from the Sea Dragon Leviathan and charged straight toward Qin Fei’s position. It was fully aware that death was inevitable and sought to take Qin Fei down with it.

Seeing the shark racing toward him, Qin Fei immediately leapt off the Sea Shrimp and extended his right hand.

[Skill Activated: Tek Architecture Mastery!]

In an instant, a cubic structure made of Tek walls materialized around Qin Fei, encasing him. Just as this cube appeared, the Leviathan—the Father of the Shark Swarm, born of corrosive consciousness—rushed forward.

Boom!

It slammed directly into Qin Fei’s position.

With the impact, Qin Fei, sheltered inside the Tek structure, felt as if the entire world trembled.

[Your Sea Shrimp is under attack!]

[Your Sea Shrimp has been damaged!]

Though the Tek building shielding Qin Fei was not shattered, the Sea Shrimp beside him was destroyed by the shark. The Tek walls boasted formidable defensive strength, and the Leviathan’s collision only cracked the structure in several places.

As the shark charged at Qin Fei, the Sea Dragon Leviathan swiftly followed, pouncing on the shark’s body to tear at it.

Meanwhile, Qin Fei, still inside the building, felt his heart leap to his throat. He had no clear sense of what was happening outside, only the sounds of battle and the roars of colossal beasts.

At that moment, a voice belonging to the Leviathan—the Father of the Shark Swarm—emerged in Qin Fei’s mind.

“You were sent by them, weren’t you?”

The sudden question left Qin Fei puzzled.

Them?

Qin Fei was momentarily stunned. The ‘them’ the Leviathan referred to—could it be the future humans from the Ark?

“If you help me deal with the Sea Dragon, I won’t kill you. I can even help you deal with them!”

Hearing this, Qin Fei finally understood. The people who built the Ark and implanted the samples might very well still be alive.

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But if that’s the case, why don’t they show themselves?

Pondering this, Qin Fei asked with curiosity, “Who exactly are the ‘they’ you mentioned?”

However, under the ferocious assault of the Sea Dragon, the Leviathan no longer had the time to explain who ‘they’ were.

Several seconds later, the roars of the giant beasts echoed again, gradually fading into silence... until all sounds vanished entirely.

Inside the lava cave, aside from the lingering cries of the Sea Dragon Leviathan, there was nothing else.

Apparently, the Leviathan—the Father of the Shark Swarm, born of Titan consciousness—had been slain by the Sea Dragon Leviathan.

Though all had gone quiet outside, Qin Fei did not rush to exit the Tek shelter surrounding him. He would not leave this protective structure until the system confirmed the Leviathan’s complete death.

After a moment, a blue light flickered from the rhombus-shaped crystal on Qin Fei’s wrist.

[Esteemed Ascender, you have completed the primary objective: slay the deep-sea leviathan—the Father of the Shark Swarm Leviathan!]

[Titan consciousness of this dimension has been eradicated...]

[Mission rewards: One Death Substitute Doll, Two Empty Cryogenic Pods]

[Your Ascender implant has been upgraded: backpack capacity increased; current load: 52/120 kg]

Qin Fei felt a surge of emotion. This main mission to kill the Father of the Shark Swarm Leviathan had been accomplished almost by accident. He had leveraged the Sea Dragon Leviathan’s natural resistance to corrosive consciousness to defeat it without direct combat.

Looking back, the main quest in this deep-sea voyage world wasn’t all that difficult. Survivors only needed to make their way from the sea to the lava zone, open the Sea Emperor Prison where the Sea Emperor was held, and then watch as the Sea Dragon Leviathan finished the job.

The sample implants would never assign a fatal mission to a traveler.

Success hinged not on whether the survivor could match the strength of the Father of the Shark Swarm Leviathan but on whether they could identify the true identity of the Sea Emperor using the clues given.

After that, all that remained was to entrust the Sea Dragon Leviathan guarding the prison.

With the death of the Leviathan, all within the lava cave began to dissolve into twinkling starlight, gradually dissipating.

As the light around him intensified, Qin Fei’s body slowly transformed into a stream of data codes, vanishing completely within the lava cave.

[Mission complete. Initiating return. Uploading data...]

The next moment, when Qin Fei opened his eyes again, he found himself aboard the Core Island Space Station.

In the station’s central area, he saw a fat pig, a toothless pterosaur, and a large gorilla. These three lively companions were his pet Eggy, Big Nose, and Snowman Friday.

As soon as Qin Fei noticed them, they noticed him too.

Big Nose immediately charged forward, knocking Qin Fei to the ground and began licking his face enthusiastically.

Eggy circled happily around Qin Fei, clearly delighted.

Friday joined in, howling excitedly as it bounded around him.

No one knew how long these three had been on the space station, but seeing Qin Fei had them all bursting with joy.

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However, Qin Fei found himself somewhat perplexed.

Come to think of it, wouldn’t they starve here on the space station?

Or perhaps lifeforms in the station don’t feel hunger?

After a while, once Big Nose calmed down a bit, Qin Fei pushed him away.

He stood and scanned the space station’s surroundings. Apart from these three pets, Qin Fei saw no other figures.

It seemed Qin Fei was the first to return from the mission world. His teammates, Xie Nainai and Caesar, were likely still trapped in their respective mission worlds.

Qin Fei walked toward the station’s central control terminal and placed his hand on it.

This terminal controlled the entire space station.

[Identity verified: Core Island Space Station Ascender! You have been granted control over this space station!]

[Current station members: Qin Fei, Xie Nainai, Caesar]

[Detected: Your teammate Xie Nainai is trapped in the Famine World. You may choose to enter this world to assist her!]

There was such an option?

Surprised by this prompt on the terminal, Qin Fei had not expected that, with the sample implant’s increased privileges, he could actively enter a teammate’s world to help.

However, Qin Fei did not immediately choose to enter but paused to consider.

After all, rescuing someone carries risks.

Even if the person in need is a teammate, one must carefully assess their own strength before deciding whether to intervene.

The Famine World, he recalled, was a dimension where steam technology and magic coexisted.

Besides the various monsters inhabiting it, the world also harbored mysterious and terrifying shadow creatures.

Overall, though, the difficulty of this world was manageable for Qin Fei at his current level.

His body had undergone multiple enhancements, and with the support of his Tek armor, self-preservation here should pose little problem.

To be safe, Qin Fei retrieved the cryogenic pods and placed Big Nose, Eggy, and Friday inside them.

That way, if he encountered trouble beyond his means, he could release them for assistance.

After completing these preparations, Qin Fei opened the dialog box on the terminal and selected the ‘Famine World’ option.

[Esteemed Ascender, you have chosen to enter the Famine World where your teammate ‘Xie Nainai’ is located. Initiating dimensional transfer countdown...]

(End of Volume Five: Deep Sea Voyage)