"Amino life, right?"
"Lu Yongchang said softly."
Mao Zhengzhi's excited expression gradually froze, and he swallowed the words that were about to come out.
"Professor...you've already thought of that?"
Lu Yongchang remained focused on the holographic projection in front of him, casually waving his hand and saying, "Just like you, I just thought of it too."
Mao Zhengzhi breathed a slight sigh of relief, and the stiff expression on his face eased a little.
“An amide is a compound in which an acyl group is bonded to a nitrogen atom; it’s an organic compound formed when the hydroxyl group in a carboxylic acid is replaced by an amino group.” Lü Yongchang’s eyes were filled with astonishment. “I never imagined it could replace basic amino acids to form polypeptide chains…”
Unlike Lü Yongchang, Mao Zhengzhi's eyes were filled with excitement at this moment.
As a fellow of the Academy of Biology, this new life form attracted his attention like a magnet!
Although only polypeptide-like chains and protein-like chains have been discovered so far, the appearance of this organic matter directly proves the possibility of the existence of amino-based life!
"Professor, where were these substances found?"
Mao Zhengzhi asked, "What I mean is, in which area of the liquid ammonia ocean was it discovered?"
Lu Yongchang pointed to the huge holographic projection in the distance: "263.1 km below the sea surface, roughly one standard atmosphere."
"Holy crap?" Mao Zhengzhi was visibly stunned upon hearing this.
This data is terrifying for humans, or even for carbon-based life on Earth!
But soon, Mao Zhengzhi came to his senses and began to think.
"If there really are amino life forms in ice giants..."
"In such an environment, their physical strength must be incredibly impressive, right?"
He muttered to himself.
What was said unintentionally may have been taken to heart by the listener.
Lu Yongchang's expression suddenly changed, and he abruptly turned to look at the huge holographic image in the distance.
"Rise!"
"Zero! Control [Poseidon], ascend immediately!!!"
But clearly, it was too late.
"[Poseidon] Calling Command Center!" Hope's voice blared from the loudspeaker simultaneously, "We've encountered an unknown situation!!!"
...
Ice giant, liquid ammonia ocean.
More than ten minutes ago.
Hope and Hansent gazed silently at the deep ocean outside the porthole, and sighed in unison.
The two exchanged a glance, realizing this, and both gave a wry smile.
"I wonder when we'll be able to go back..." Hansent stretched lazily. "This exploration mission is inhuman."
Hope nodded in deep understanding.
The thought of being covered by liquid ammonia 263km above his head sent chills down his spine.
He turned to look at the playing cards placed to the side and clicked his tongue slightly: "Let's wait a bit longer."
"We can relax a bit once the research results from Dawn Star are available and we can resume the dive mission."
Hansent nodded noncommittally and turned his gaze back to the holographic projection in front of him.
The holographic projection displays images of the outside world transmitted by individual cameras.
Looking at the dark, boundless scene, Hansent shivered slightly.
"Do you always feel like something is watching us...?"
Hope was stunned for a moment, and after realizing what was happening, she couldn't help but swear.
"Don't talk nonsense!"
Perhaps startled by Hansent's words, Hope rubbed the goosebumps rising on her arms and said irritably, "What the hell could be in a 263km deep ocean of liquid ammonia? Aliens?"
Hansent realized his words were a bit outrageous, so he chuckled awkwardly, scratched his head, and apologized repeatedly, saying, "My bad, my bad."
"But... I really have this feeling."
"Maybe it's because I've been in this cramped space for too long. Once the mission is over, I need to go back and rest properly..."
As he spoke, Hansent's voice grew softer and softer until he stopped.
"Huh?" Hope hadn't yet realized the problem and instinctively asked, "What are you planning to do when you get back?"
"Is he going to be staying home again...?"
"Shh!" Hansent shushed him, interrupting Hope. "Hope, you, you take a closer look at this camera feed. I think I see a glimmer of light..."
"A light?" Hope frowned, turned to look in the direction Hansent was pointing, and said suspiciously, "I say, are you hallucinating because of too much stress?"
"I remember there's medicine in the warehouse, wait a minute, I'll get it for you..."
Hope's voice suddenly stopped, and then he raised his hand and rubbed his eyes vigorously.
You read that right.
In the footage transmitted by the camera, a flickering orange-red light appeared in the endless darkness.
"It seems... there really is light?" he said uncertainly.
The next moment, he snapped out of his daze, his expression changed slightly, and he shouted at Hansent, who was standing beside him in a daze, "What are you standing there for?!"
"Quickly turn on the sonar and see what that is!"
As he spoke, he pressed several buttons on the holographic projection.
"[Poseidon] Calling Command Center!"
"We have encountered an unknown situation! Repeat! We have encountered an unknown situation!"
Almost without any waiting, Lü Yongchang's serious voice came from the speaker.
"What happened?"
Hansent, who was standing nearby, was turning on the sonar system that he had just turned off, which was used for active detection.
“We…we’ve found a light source,” Hope said in a low voice, swallowing hard and staring intently at the camera feed in the holographic projection.
"light source?"
“Yes, the camera on Poseidon’s abdomen showed an orange-red flashing light, with an interval of about ten seconds between flashes. The light source was located… to our side and below,” Hope reported urgently.
The moment he finished speaking, Zero had already pulled up all the camera footage from the exploration ship.
Lü Yongchang frowned slightly.
He did not see the so-called light source in it.
"Wait, where's the light source?"
"Professor, the light source has disappeared!"
"Hancent, is the sonar on?"
Hansent's voice rang out: "It's open! It's open!"
Hope continued, "Professor, we've activated the active detection sonar..."
"Holy crap!!"
"What is this thing?!"
A series of chaotic sounds came through the communication channel.
Lu Yongchang's unease intensified. He didn't have time to ask Hope, but instead gave Zero the order directly: "Zero! Get the sonar data!"
Looking at the huge, streamlined gray shadow resembling a reef located below the exploration vessel in the holographic projection, all the researchers present subconsciously swallowed.
"A reef?" Hope's voice rose a notch. "Professor, is this a reef?"
“…” Looking at that gray shadow, Lü Yongchang managed to squeeze out a sentence.
"It is obvious that there are no reefs in the liquid ammonia ocean of an ice giant."
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