Chapter 55 Living, Vacuum, Moonlight Over the Sea He promised Yuan Jianxing...

Seeing this, Fu Ze finally understood the fundamental reason why Long Ji, the absolute head of the Kangming Group, had appeared at this transfer site that was completely irrelevant to him—

He was also there to conduct an experiment.

Unlike his small-scale experiments involving dozens of shipping containers, his test material was an entire cruise ship.

Considering the rhinoceros horn's delivery of the "key" to the research institute mentioned by Snake Eyes at the time, the experiments on Dragon Spine were most likely related to the "key".

As for Fu Ze, he was nothing more than a lab rat that Longji had thrown onto the experimental table on a whim.

Whether it lives or dies, Dragon Spine doesn't care at all.

Just then, Yuan Jianxing's green message finally overtook the warning and appeared at the very top of the remote control screen, bypassing the permissions.

What's the situation on the cruise ship?

Icarus is a deep-sea robot, so it is naturally equipped with a short-focus camera that can only see up close.

Moreover, even if it were equipped with a zoom camera, the extremely poor lighting conditions on the sea surface would not allow it to observe the anomalies occurring on the cruise ship.

Although in most cases, Yuan Jianxing's brilliant mind can often make up for many deficiencies in external hardware conditions.

However, this obviously does not include any imagination of the extraordinary abilities of the [Key].

Fu Ze sighed deeply.

For the first time, he seemed to feel a little envious of the person he was being surrogated for.

Because he had never received formal executive training, he was unable to convey any effective information to Yuan Jianxing on the other side of the screen through those complicated gestures.

However, Fu Ze quickly adjusted his mindset.

On the bright side, since Yuan Jianxing might not agree to his subsequent actions anyway, it would be better to act first and ask questions later without any explanation.

Anyway, there won't be another check.

Fu Ze waved to Icarus's camera, and then, as Yuan Jianxing controlled Icarus to approach, he quickly retrieved it and pressed the start button hidden on its side with lightning speed, forcing it to shut down.

No matter how skilled Yuan Jianxing was, he could not bypass the most basic laws of physics to forcibly manipulate Icarus.

Without the traction from Icarus, the lifeboat quickly slid towards the cruise ship's location under the influence of the subtly forming vortex-like current.

As he drew closer, Fu Ze once again vaguely felt his brain, heart, and internal organs begin to resonate with some kind of peculiar energy.

Perhaps because Dragon Spine was the first holder of the Key, or perhaps because he was much more skilled at using the power of the Key than Rhinoceros Horn, this time the power did not cause Fu Ze any stinging sensation.

Instead, it felt more like he was being bathed in warm golden light, feeling warm, comfortable, and pleasant.

But Fu Ze kept his position firmly in mind, and when the lifeboat was still dozens of meters away from the edge of the whirlpool, he restarted Icarus.

The moment Icarus turned on his computer, news from Yuan Jianxing flooded in.

What are you going to do?

[The machine has limited power; please do not misuse it.]

[Prioritize safety]

Such prompts and warnings popped up one after another.

Perhaps realizing once again that Fu Ze was determined to act without authorization, Yuan Jianxing's last message was:

[Living]

Fu Ze smiled gently.

Okay, no problem.

It's just about living, isn't it? He's the best at living.

-

After putting Icarus back into the sea, Fu Ze used a remote control to turn on the searchlight on its head and let it sink freely.

As Icarus fell, countless small sea creatures scattered in all directions under its light.

Once it had completely landed on the seabed, Fu Ze controlled it to firmly grip a rock.

The rope connecting Icarus to the lifeboat was straightened once again.

And so, Fu Ze finally stabilized once again.

In just under two minutes, the cruise ship sank even further, leaving only the unbalanced, upturned bow barely clinging to life on the surface.

Clearly, Fu Ze doesn't have much time or opportunity left to find out the truth.

Fortunately, although the ship had sunk more than halfway, many of its lights were still stubbornly shining, providing much-needed illumination in the dark night off the coast of Daraa.

Since there is nothing unusual visible on the surface of the sea, the problem must lie beneath the surface.

After taking off the life jacket he was wearing, Fu Ze sat down on the side of the lifeboat and untied the rope connecting Icarus to the lifeboat, tying it around his waist.

He then flipped himself into the water like a fish and sank below the surface.

Compared to observing from a distance through the sea fog, Fu Ze could finally see everything that was happening relatively clearly.

But his discovery sent chills down his spine, making him feel even colder than the surrounding seawater.

The cruise ship's sudden sinking was not caused by water entering the hull, but rather by—

The ship has vanished!

About two meters below the sea surface, there is a space with a volume of about 9 meters and a shape similar to a sphere that is constantly "digesting" everything that enters its space, including ship hulls, debris, lifeboats that drift by, marine animals that pass by, and even seawater.

Whenever a part of the ship's hull is eaten away, its center of gravity shifts, which is why it previously appeared to sink as if in a frame-dropping motion.

At this moment, the size of this space is still gradually increasing at a rate visible to the naked eye.

No wonder Dragonspine chose to conduct its experiments in the sea.

After all, on land, any public building the size of a cruise ship that is subjected to such erosion would inevitably cause a huge uproar.

After figuring out the problem, Fu Ze surfaced to breathe.

While continuing to tread water to maintain his physical condition, he pondered how to escape from this predicament where he could neither advance nor retreat.

Just then, the void in the seawater that seemed to devour all colors suddenly disappeared.

Fu Ze subconsciously felt that this must be the calm before the storm.

Sure enough, in the next second, a point of light suddenly exploded on the seabed, spreading outwards in a sweeping manner.

Compared to its expansion speed, everything around it seemed to slow down by a factor of ten thousand.

As before, any object that came into contact with this sphere vanished instantly.

The cruise ship, which had barely retained a ship-like shape, vanished completely, and the halo of light from the bow searchlight, which was the furthest away and thus the last to be swallowed up, became its swan song.

Whether it was due to the power reaching its limit or the dragon spine's intention, the sphere suddenly disappeared just before it could reach Fu Ze after expanding to a radius of tens of meters, leaving behind only a huge spherical vacuum in the middle of the sea.

In the instant the vacuum disappeared, time seemed to return to its normal flow, and the normal laws of physics resumed their function.

The surrounding seawater surged in one after another to fill the gap.

Fu Ze, caught in the middle, was tossed about like a leaf swept away by flowing water.

If he hadn't used Icarus to stabilize himself beforehand, he probably would have been swept away to who knows where.

Despite this, his situation remains extremely difficult.

Wave after wave of enormous waves shoved past him, each vying for ownership of that vacuum, and he could only steal a moment to catch his breath amidst their collisions.

As the struggle between the seawater subsided, Fu Ze was completely enveloped and swept into the center of a powerful and stable ocean current.

Although he knew that this anomaly would inevitably end once the vacuum in the sea was filled.

This time, unlike when he went into the water to retrieve the heavy robotic arm, Fu Ze did not prepare by taking in oxygen beforehand. In addition, the long time spent in the seawater and the ambient temperature gradually took away too much of his strength. He felt his vision begin to darken and his head began to feel dizzy due to lack of oxygen.

At that moment, the first thought that popped into his mind was:

Just hang in there a little longer, just hang in there a little longer.

He promised Hara Mihoshi that he would live!

With this belief in mind, Fu Ze tried to adjust his posture to follow the direction of the ocean current as much as possible in order to reduce the consumption of physical strength and oxygen.

At the same time, in order to slow down his heartbeat, he slowly stretched out his thoughts and shifted his attention.

Although Fu Ze had summarized some common patterns and judgment levels in the many previous "death and life substitutions".

However, he wasn't really sure this time.

Because he jumped out of the lifeboat himself, he didn't know whether his actions would be considered "suicide" or death from "non-human accident".

If one commits suicide or dies from a non-human accident, will they have another chance to open their eyes?

If I could, what would I look like?

If not...

Just then, Fu Ze was suddenly struck violently on the back, and a long string of tiny bubbles came out of his lungs.

Based on the slippery texture of the thing and the speed at which it fled after hitting Fu Ze, it's not hard to guess that it must have been a fish that had been swept away by the ocean currents and suffered an undeserved misfortune.

Fu Ze, too, suffered an undeserved calamity.

The already precarious oxygen levels have been further depleted, yet the ocean currents show no signs of weakening.

Even with Fu Ze's unwavering will, he couldn't help but feel a sense of despair.

Could it be that...?

Once that spirit is broken, the whole person collapses.

As he repeatedly inhaled and exhaled the last bit of oxygen in his mouth, Fu Ze slowly raised his head to look at the sea surface shimmering under the moonlight.

The last time he saw the sea from this perspective was before his feet were filled with cement and he was thrown into the sea to drown.

However, this cannot be blamed on Fu Ze.

After all, from the moment he woke up in that body after completing the "death and rebirth" process to dying again and repeating the "death and rebirth" process, it only took a few dozen seconds.

The only image that remained in his mind at that time was the same moonlit sea as it was now.

In a daze, Fu Ze thought he saw something transparent floating on the sea and vaguely approaching him.

Is it a jellyfish? Or a plastic bag?

Ah, I never expected that the last question left in this legendary life of mine would be so simple and unpredictable. Life is truly unpredictable.

Just before Fu Ze completely lost consciousness, the transparent object was very gently but firmly placed on his face.

Immediately afterwards, a powerful gust of air pushed aside the seawater and rushed straight to his face.

It's oxygen! It's a mask!

It's an oxygen mask!

Having finally caught a whiff of breathable air, Fu Ze's body reacted before his consciousness.

He immediately covered his face with the object and gasped for breath before vaguely realizing how absurd the scene was.

But Fu Ze's subconscious told him that the appearance of oxygen masks was extremely reasonable.

As the airflow continued, the mist that had condensed inside the mask due to Fu Ze's exhalation gradually dissipated.

A colossal creature, outwardly similar to Icarus but far superior in appearance and function, silently floated opposite Fu Ze, propelled by the ocean currents.

A tube extended from its abdominal cavity, connecting to the oxygen mask attached to Fu Ze's face.

At the same time, two extended mechanical arms encircled Fu Ze like embracing the most vulnerable baby, keeping the raging ocean currents at bay.

And who else could it be but Yuan Jianxing, the person standing behind the transparent observation window of this enormous machine and operating the console?

Through two layers of glass and the seawater in between, Fu Ze could vaguely see Yuan Jianxing making some hand gestures to him.

But as I said before, it's a real pity that he hasn't received systematic training as an executive officer and can't understand what Yuan Jianxing is saying.

So he could only follow the usual practice and make a heart shape with his hands for Hara Kensei.

However, because one hand was pressing on the oxygen mask at that moment, the heart shape had to be reduced to half.

But it doesn't matter, Yuan Jianxing's intelligence will allow him to understand.

Immediately afterwards, Fu Ze completely lost consciousness.

Yuan Jianxing did receive Fu Ze's signal, so his previously anxious heart was relieved.

The fact that he can still joke with himself means that his spirit hasn't collapsed.

Operating the robot, he put Fu Ze into the sampling box on his back.

Carrying their backs, they walked against the hurricane-like ocean currents, step by step, toward Dara Port, where the lights of thousands of homes along the coastline of L City were faintly reflected.

-----------------------

Author's Note: Taking You Back to Earth (The Version with the Storage Jar for My Wife)