Chapter 605 - 249: Scorched Earth Spreads, Incinerating All Creation
Chapter 605: Chapter 249: Scorched Earth Spreads, Incinerating All Creation
[Zhu Mingyi]
Lin Ye opened the message and quickly scanned its contents.
The next second, a strange expression appeared on his face.
Without a moment’s hesitation, he left the matchmaking queue and logged off.
...
「One day later.」
Evening. Somewhere in the Pacific Ocean.
A massive ocean liner was sailing steadily across the shimmering, golden surface of the sea.
The setting sun dyed the clouds on the horizon a magnificent orange-red. Seagulls circled in the air, their cries crisp and clear.
Everything seemed peaceful and breathtakingly beautiful.
Lin Ye stood alone by the railing on the top deck, the salty sea breeze washing over him as he stared calmly at the distant horizon.
This liner was named the Far Star. On the surface, it was a civilian vessel for long-distance travel, but Lin Ye knew its interior had been armed to the teeth.
Electromagnetic Cannons and High-Energy Laser Emitters, hidden throughout the hull, were powerful enough to tear an ordinary sea behemoth to shreds in an instant.
On deck, the sailors and staff appeared to be leisurely going about their duties, but Lin Ye’s senses could easily detect the deep-seated vigilance and tension etched into their very beings.
Ever since the Calamity and the advent of source energy, the entire ecosystem of Blue Star had undergone a world-altering transformation.
Terrestrial creatures absorbed the diffused source energy, growing stronger and more ferocious, giving rise to countless mutated beasts.
But compared to the vast, boundless ocean, the changes on land were practically negligible.
The ocean covered more than seventy percent of the planet’s surface.
How many terrifyingly powerful mutated lifeforms had been born in the fathomless blue depths remained an unsolved mystery.
Humanity’s exploration of the ocean was even less extensive than its understanding of the Celestial Abyss Rift.
Throughout history, terrifying tides of mutated beasts had surged from the deep sea on more than one occasion, dealing devastating blows to coastal nations.
Some powerful oceanic sovereigns even possessed strength on par with the terrifying Celestial Abyss Lords.
At this moment, with his extraordinary Spiritual Power, Lin Ye could occasionally perceive massive, heart-stopping shadows flitting past in the thousand-meter depths below the liner.
They seemed curious about this steel behemoth, yet for some reason, they hesitated to approach.
The reason Lin Ye was here was because of the message Zhu Mingyi had sent him a day ago.
The message’s content was simple.
—The annual admission assessment for Great Xia’s most prestigious martial arts institution, Longyin Academy, has secretly begun.
He was instructed to arrive at a designated port at a specific time and board the Far Star.
As for the destination and the assessment’s content, the message mentioned nothing.
Lin Ye estimated that, aside from himself, perhaps only the captain on the bridge knew the true destination of this voyage.
Everyone else, including the crew, probably only knew that this mission was fraught with danger, but that the reward was lucrative enough to be worth dying for.
As the last ray of sunlight sank below the horizon, night began to fall.
Without any warning.
BOOM—!
The entire liner’s hull suddenly lurched violently!
It was as if it had struck an underwater iceberg!
On deck, countless crew members were sent tumbling, and cries of alarm erupted everywhere.
"What’s going on?!"
"What did we hit?!"
Then, something even more terrifying happened.
The sea surrounding the ship began to churn violently, spinning in a way that defied all logic!
A massive whirlpool, over a kilometer in diameter, had appeared out of thin air!
The dark water was like the Abyssal Maw of a great beast, unleashing an irresistible, terrifying suction that dragged the tens-of-thousands-of-ton steel behemoth uncontrollably toward the vortex’s center!
On the bridge, the first mate, his face pale, clung to the control console and screamed himself hoarse, "Captain! The power system has failed! We’re being dragged in!"
However, the captain—a man with graying hair and a face etched with weathered lines—remained exceptionally calm, though beads of cold sweat had also formed on his forehead.
He stared intently at the apocalyptic scene outside the window and said in a low voice, "What’s there to panic about!"
"Steady the ship! Someone will come to save us!"