Chapter 1357: Fish

The air fell into deathly silence once again.

Although Chen Ling had known back in the human domain that Lu Xun had prophesied the return of the Red Star, he hadn't known what the Red Star actually meant at the time, nor did he know the destructive power of [Y-012]. Now, it seemed this matter was far more serious than he had imagined!

The last candlelight world pierced head-on by [Y-012] had turned into the Gray Realm beneath their feet. Since these two worlds were adjacent, Chen Ling didn't think the human domain had the ability to resist the next attack from this thing. After all, next time it wouldn't just be a grazing pass; it would be crashing straight into them.

The current Gray Realm was the future fate of the human domain.

"Is there any way to stop it?"

The moment he asked this question, Chen Ling fell silent. He opened his mouth, then added: "...Never mind, pretend I didn't ask."

The "human self" engraved in Chen Ling’s mind instinctively began to place himself in the perspective of the human domain, but he immediately realized that he was no longer human... He was a Calamity of Mockery in the Gray Realm. Even if the candlelight world where the human domain was located were destroyed by the Red Star, what did that have to do with him?

The young man acted as if he hadn't heard the second half of Chen Ling’s sentence and continued:

"I don't know about that either... However, so far, there have been no cases of a candlelight world surviving the impact of a Y-series meteor."

"If the current state of the Gray Realm is due to the impact of the Red Star, then where do the Calamities come from?"

Chen Ling asked the question he cared about most.

"Good question."

As they spoke, the two had reached the depths of the Embers of Civilization.

The already chaotic and disordered city ruins became even more bizarre as they went deeper. Some matter even floated directly in the air, like specimens embedded in the cracks of the world. Small-scale civilization collapses constantly formed and vanished around them. Fortunately, with the young man leading the way, they could always bypass the collapsing areas a step ahead and avoid being caught in them.

If Wu Yi had really come here, given the density of the collapses, it would probably have been torn into three pieces on the spot.

"I have some guesses about the origin of these Calamities, but I haven't investigated them in depth... After all, I'm not interested in them." The young man pointed to a spot above his head and said calmly,

"If you want to know, go find out for yourself... This is the deepest part of the Embers of Civilization, burying a lot of intelligence from the final moments of this world. Perhaps you can find what you want here."

Chen Ling followed the young man’s finger and saw a massive nuclear submarine floating silently in the air. Around it floated a large amount of missile debris, as well as the remains of airplanes and even satellites.

"Is it safe there?"

"With me here, it is safe." The young man replied indifferently.

Chen Ling raised an eyebrow and stole a glance at him. For some reason, amidst the young man’s mystery, there was always a trace of imperceptible pride... It wasn't quite like Ji Xuan’s "chuunibyou" (delusions of grandeur); the young man before him was, how should I put it... a bit cocky when he spoke.

Chen Ling nodded and stepped through the air, flying straight toward the massive nuclear submarine.

The submarine was enormous; its shadow cast on the ground occupied several streets. It was engraved with characters Chen Ling couldn't understand. After circling the submarine once, he used "Reshaping" to open a door and walked inside.

As soon as he entered, a faint, fishy stench hit his face. Chen Ling felt the smell was somewhat familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had smelled it before.

He rummaged through the submarine for a long time but didn't see any human remains. Everywhere he looked, there were only specially made clothes scattered about...

But inside the submarine, he found quite a few paper documents.

These documents were a thick stack. Aside from a large amount of data and text Chen Ling couldn't understand, there were pictures, though it was hard to tell what exactly they were.

"If only I could understand the text on them." Chen Ling sighed.

He suddenly realized, could it be that the young man said he "wasn't interested" just now because he, like himself, couldn't read at all?

That shouldn't be it... Although he didn't know his background, the young man’s cognition clearly exceeded that of the human domain and the Fusion Faction. Perhaps he was a genius with vast knowledge and mastery of languages?

Just as Chen Ling was hesitating whether to take these documents to the young man for translation, an idea suddenly popped into his head.

He closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, the vermilion theatrical robes had been dyed black once more.

Chen Ling, having activated his second personality, felt a sharp glint flash in his eyes. The next second, an invisible storm swept out with him at the center!

[Thought Storm]!

As the Thought Storm swept these papers into its vortex, the text that Chen Ling couldn't recognize suddenly transformed into meanings he could understand, drilling into his mind!

"It works?"

The Thought Storm was an ability he had obtained from the Calamity of Thought, and the original text of the Gray Realm was also a part engraved in the "thoughts" of the Calamity of Thought.

Discovering that he could now read the Gray Realm’s text, Chen Ling immediately began flipping through the documents in his hand, one after another.

"July 11, 1990: The first deep-sea gene chain modification experiment is announced a success."

"Scientists from the Xitan Kingdom '???' successfully rewrote the anglerfish genetic code into a whale. According to observations, the experimental subject completed self-devouring and self-evolution within 30 days and survived healthily. This experiment caused a sensation worldwide. The research team named the subject '?????'..."

“……”

"1992: The Xitan Kingdom dissolves. '?????' is treated as a precious experimental sample and transferred among six countries. After a total of over three hundred experiments, the subject is confirmed to suffer from high-pressure syndrome and heavy metal poisoning, entering a period of senescence. After lobbying by the World Wildlife Conservation Association, it is finally decided to release '?????' back into the ocean."

“……”

"2009: Deep-sea exploration vessel No. 7, while executing an underwater mission, allegedly witnesses traces of a super-giant creature in the deep sea. To ensure the absolute security of the nation's waters, following an internal resolution by the Fran Kingdom, our ship is dispatched to hunt and kill it."

Chen Ling flipped to this point, and the printed materials basically ended. Those thick stacks of files were all various experimental reports and photos regarding this mysterious experimental subject.

He pulled out the most recent experimental photo and stared at the giant black shadow in the water tank for a long time, his brow furrowing slightly...

Above the giant shadow in the tank, two massive lantern-like eyes, each the size of a basketball, were crystal clear.

Chen Ling suddenly felt that this deep-sea anglerfish looked familiar.

"Could it be..."

Chen Ling seemed to realize something. He immediately pushed aside these files and took out the last handwritten document to read it carefully.