Chen Hao's hand was still hovering above the communication key, his fingertips were a little numb.
The screen in the control room had just recovered from the interference; the red light had faded, and in its place was the image transmitted from the external camera—the sea had cracked open.
It wasn't a literal break, but rather the entire body of water seemed to be lifted up from below by something. The eerie blue light patterns vibrated violently, like boiling water, spreading outwards in concentric circles. Then, a massive outline slowly rose, breaking through the water's surface.
"Damn it." Chen Hao swallowed his words and slowly lowered his hand. "It really came up."
Nana had switched to optical tracking mode, her finger rapidly swiping across the control panel. The camera zoomed in, and the creature's full form gradually became clear.
It's neither like a fish nor an octopus. Its body is streamlined, covered with a shell-like structure, but with rounded edges and no sharp corners. There's a row of regularly distributed luminous organs on its back, flashing in a rhythmic pattern, the color transitioning from deep blue to purple and back to blue, like breathing.
"Start the database comparison," Nana said.
Multiple windows popped up on the screen, displaying 3D models of giant sea lemurs, whale sharks, and other deep-sea giants. Data entries appeared one by one, with a match rate of zero.
“No corresponding record,” she confirmed. “This is not any known deep-sea creature on Earth.”
Susan tightened her grip on the notebook, the pen tip nearly tearing the pages. She looked up at the window; the creature had completely surfaced, half its body above the water, more than twice the height of the ship.
"Is it... watching us?" she asked in a low voice.
“It’s currently impossible to determine whether there is a visual perception system.” Nana pulled up the infrared image, “but it is indeed facing the main control room, and the energy is concentrated in the head area, which may be the sensing source.”
Carl's hand landed on the emergency valve again, this time not with pliers, but directly on the control lever. His knuckles were a little white, but he didn't say anything.
"Don't panic." Chen Hao leaned against the platform and grinned. "If it wanted to attack, that tremor just now would have been enough to capsize us. But it didn't move the boat, nor did it spray poison or spit out nets, which means it doesn't want to fight, at least not right now."
"Then what does it do?" Susan asked.
"Say hello?" Chen Hao shrugged. "Or check if the takeout has arrived."
No one laughed.
Nana's data refresh rate accelerated. The sonic echo indicated the organism was approximately 45 meters long and weighed an estimated 300 tons. However, when it surfaced, the sea was unusually calm, barely creating any waves.
“The propulsion mechanism is abnormal.” She continued her analysis, “There was no obvious water flow disturbance at the tail, which does not conform to the dynamic logic of muscle contraction or flipper swaying. It is speculated that its movement may involve local fluid manipulation or unknown physical field intervention.”
"Speak like a human being," Chen Hao said.
“It swims without using any strength,” Nana said, looking at him. “It’s like… climbing stairs without using your legs.”
Susan suddenly jotted down a line: **Fractal trajectory, non-random movement, possessing spatial prediction capabilities.**
She looked up: "The direction it came from perfectly avoided the blind spot of our detector. This is no coincidence."
"You mean, it knows which areas we can't see?" Chen Hao frowned.
“Yes,” Susan nodded. “And it has been keeping its distance, neither too far nor too close, just within range of observing us.”
Then, the creature slowly began to move. It neither accelerated forward nor suddenly sank, but instead circled the boat at a steady pace.
The first lap was quiet.
In the second lap, the frequency of the glowing organs on the back changed, from once every seventeen seconds to once every sixteen seconds.
“The signal has changed.” Nana immediately noticed the difference. “It’s the same as the initial pulse we received, but the period is shorter.”
"Is it adjusting the frequency?" Chen Hao stared at the screen. "To make us understand?"
On the third lap, it stopped, facing the main control room. Its head slightly raised, and the row of luminous organs simultaneously lit up for three seconds before turning off.
Immediately afterwards, a low-frequency vibration was heard.
The sound didn't come through the air, but directly from inside the ship's hull. The metal bulkheads resonated slightly, and even the floor trembled.
"Is it going to explode?" Susan took a half step back.
“It doesn’t seem like it.” Nana quickly pulled up the audio waveform. “The frequency is stable, the intensity is controllable, and it’s not destructive. It’s more like… a signal transmission.”
"Translate it," Chen Hao said.
"Decoding." She entered the parameters and compared them with the communication patterns in the database. A few seconds later, the results appeared: "No match for human language, but the waveform structure is highly similar to a mathematical sequence. Preliminary judgment: This is an information expression, not an attack."
"So, it's not yelling at us, it's talking?" Chen Hao stroked his chin.
"The probability is extremely high."
"Shall we reply?"
"How should I reply?"
"Turn off the engine," Chen Hao suddenly said.
"What?"
“When it sends a signal, we’ll stop for a moment. Let’s see if it’s a conversation.” He looked at the others, “Since it hasn’t made a move, let’s not use high-tech stuff and try the most basic method.”
Carl frowned: "What if it manages to get closer..."
“Then let it get closer.” Chen Hao laughed. “If something weighing three hundred tons really wanted to crash into us, our armor would be nothing but paper. But it didn’t crash, which means it was testing the waters. Since it’s testing the waters, let’s not just watch.”
He raised his hand and pressed the communication button: "Attention all personnel, prepare to execute a silent response. Shut down the main engine in three seconds, maintain backup power, everyone stand by."
The countdown has begun.
three.
two.
one.
The main engine shut down.
The ship dipped slightly, and all the noise vanished instantly. Even the hum of the instruments subsided.
The sea outside was eerily quiet.
Five seconds passed, and nothing happened.
Ten seconds.
Just when Chen Hao thought there was no reaction, the creature moved.
It sank slowly, not plummeting, but rather as if being supported by something, steadily retreating into the depths. The light on its back was still flashing, but the frequency returned to the initial once every seventeen seconds.
Then, it gave way to the channel directly ahead.
"It... made way?" Susan said softly.
“It’s not making way,” Nana said, looking at the trajectory map. “It’s clearing out the space, indicating that we can continue forward.”
"It allows us to pass?" Karl finally released the valve, his voice a little dry.
“To be precise,” Nana said, looking at the data stream, “it has completed the information exchange and responded to our signal with action. The hostile probability has dropped to 3.2 percent, which can be considered a non-threat state.”
Chen Hao let out a long breath and leaned back in his chair: "Alright, looks like I can still eat this meal."
"Were you really not afraid just now?" Susan asked, looking at him.
“Yes, I’m scared,” he grinned. “But I’m even more scared that when I get back you’ll say, ‘See? I told you I shouldn’t have come.’”
Susan glared at him, but her lips twitched.
Nana was still running the analysis program. Classification suggestions scrolled across the screen: **Unknown creature, tentatively codenamed "Abyss Watcher," characteristics match the model of a higher-sensory life form; it is recommended to establish an interaction protocol later.**
Susan closed her notebook and wrote the last sentence:
It's not a monster, it's more like a guardian.
Carl looked down at his empty hands and said softly, "We have no right to be afraid of it. It doesn't even see us as a threat."
Chen Hao stood up and walked to the window. The blue light on the water was still there, but it was no longer oppressive. The huge shadow had sunk into the deep water, leaving only a slowly spreading trail of light, like a path leading to the seabed.
“Restart the engine,” he said. “Set the propulsion power to 30 percent and maintain a low speed. Switch the detection system to passive listening mode and stop actively scanning.”
"Understood." Nana typed the command.
The engine started again, very softly.
The ship slowly moved forward, heading towards the deeper sea.
Susan put on her headphones, which played birdsong from the lakeside. The sound was so soft that it just drowned out the hum of the instruments.
After checking the last set of pipes, Carl walked back to the emergency control console. He placed the pliers on the table and rested his fingers on the manual valve next to it.
Nana's data refresh rate has increased.
“The energy field’s coverage area has expanded,” she said. “We expect to be fully within the core area within two hours.”
Chen Hao stared ahead, then suddenly smiled: "It invited us in, so we can't just stand there and do nothing."
The ship continued its journey.
The light on the water grew denser, as if the entire sea was being illuminated by something.
A warning message suddenly popped up on Nana's screen. She paused, then quickly zoomed in on the relevant data.
"What's wrong?" Chen Hao immediately went over to ask.
"The probe detected underwater movement," she said. "It's about 7,800 meters deep, huge in size, and moving in a direction parallel to us."
"Is it?"
“It’s not a single target,” she shook her head. “It’s multiple targets. They’re converging from different directions.”
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com